Financial Analysis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Financial Analysis - Essay Example The current ratio shows the ability of a company to pay off its short term debt. It is calculated dividing current assets divided by current liabilities. Agnico Eagle had a current ratio in 2012 of 3.26. This ratio is very good because it is better than the industry average of 1.50. The quick ratio is another liquidity ratio that measures short term liquidity. The difference between the quick ratio and the current ratio is that inventory is subtracted from the numerator of the formula making the quick ratio a more strict liquidity ratio. The company had a quick ratio in 2012 of 2.02 which is better than the industry average of 0.70. The debt ratio of the firm in 2012 was 0.35. This ratio shows that the company is not too highly leveraged. In the future, the company could use additional debt to finance its growth. The debt to equity ratio of the firm was 0.54. This ratio measures a number of assets being provided by creditors for each dollar of assets being provided by stockholders. T he earnings per share (EPS) of the firm was $1.81. A good EPS result tends to have a positive effect on the market price per share. The dividend per share of the company was $1.02. The dividend payout ratio of the firm was 56.35% which implies that more than half its earnings were distributed to common shareholders. The net margin shows the absolute profitability of a firm. Agnico Eagle had a net margin in 2012 of 16.21%. Its net margin was extremely good considering that the industry average net margin that year was -25.60%.

Does Being Socially Responsible Impact Corporate Sales Revenue Research Paper

Does Being Socially Responsible Impact Corporate Sales Revenue - Research Paper Example As it has been said that the business has to return something back to the society where it is operating and it is the responsibility of the corporations operating in the society to return back and this has been termed as ‘Corporate Social Responsibility’. The fundamental goal of the business is to provide the shareholders with profits as Milton Friedman wrote in his article â€Å"the only social responsibility of the business is to increase the business profits of the shareholders†, yet CSR has played an important role in influencing the customer to purchase the company’s product (Beurden, and Gossling, 407-408) In recent decades the concept of corporate social responsibility has gained a lot of support from businesses as well as the society as this strategy provides the company to survive and differentiate itself in the market environment. This strategy is aimed to provide the customers with the products according to their need by assuring the eco-friendly environment and the advancement of the society. 1.2. BACKGROUND OF THE RESEARCH By applying the concept of corporate social responsibility the businesses are said to have higher impact on the sales of the company’s product. It had been noted that the company that implements the social responsibility have higher sales volume than other companies. It has also been found that this emerging trend has gained exceptional popularity with the passage of time as this social responsibility focuses on the economic, ethical and legal components rather than focusing on single idea of profit for the stakeholders. Corporate social responsibility is one of the business strategies that business people have shown their support for as this strategy focuses on responding to the society priorities and expectations with positivity and willingness. The economic component focuses on the profitability of the company. This is the foundation of the business that keeps the business keep going on. The second component of the corporate social responsibility is the ethical which focuses on the commitment to do what is right and to avoid any process that might harm the environment or the society. The last but not the least component of CSR is the legal component which is to obey the laws and regulations of the country and to do what is acceptable by the country and to avoid those procedures that are ignored by the society. 1.3. IMPACT OF CSR ON BUSINESS Corporate social responsibility plays an essential role in the success of the business. It not only retains the employees and the customers of the company due to their higher satisfaction le vel but also helps the company to attain new customers on behalf of their contribution towards the sustainable development of society (Jose and Patrice, 4). Corporate social responsibility helps the company to enjoy many benefits. Some of the benefits that a company enjoys due to such a strategy are strengthened brand positioning,

The Utilitarianism ethics theory Essay Example for Free

The Utilitarianism ethics theory Essay Utilitarianism, virtue theory, and deontological ethics are major approaches to normative ethics. They share differences and similarities and also with ethics and morality. Values, virtues, and moral concepts also share a relationship with each other. The Utilitarianism ethics theory suggest that an action is morally correct when it maximizes the total utility to produce more good than bad, or more happiness than suffering. Utilitarianism does not relate to morality nor ethics because these are actions are taken in order for the most usefulness, no matter the outcome or end result. Also if we do not know the end result of something we cannot determine if it is ethical or not. The Virtue theory of ethics is known to be different from utilitarianism and deontological theories because they use ones desires and inclinations that are applied to morality. Virtue theory focuses on one’s characteristics instead of looking at an action that someone is or has taken. Virtue theory relates to ethics because it looks at one’s personal virtues on how to live a good life as well as it takes reason an emotion into account. The Deontological ethics theory is similar to and relates highly to morality. Both morality and deontological ethics refers to how we make choices morally no matter if they are required permitted, forbidden. This theory is the complete opposite of virtue theory. This theory can relate to ethics only because it determines if an action is right or wrong; however, it does not leave room for questions. Virtue, values, and moral concepts all show a relationship to each other that apply more to the virtue theory of ethics. Virtue means to do what is right; values is do what is right based on another person , group, or set of principles; and moral concepts is the rules of right or wrong, and making good, or bad judgment choices. The Virtue theory shows a bigger relationship because this is based on the morals and ethics of building’s one’s character and the following of rules to build better character and morals to live a better life. I too believe I follow the virtue theory of ethics because my moral decisions are based on my own person values, virtues, and moral concepts that are also a reflection of my religion and how I was brought up. For instance, I was brought up following the Catholic Church, and we were to make moral decisions based on the beliefs of the church and was also told to build our character to make us a better person, and to reflect this on others. Reference: Boylan, M. (2009). Basic Ethics, 2nd Edition, Chapter 6, 10, 11. Prentice Hall.

Impacts of Adderall Abuse

Impacts of Adderall Abuse The Abuse of Adderall (Blog Project) By Monisha, Kyle, and Sashwat Ethics of Adderall With the recent surge in illegal Adderall use by students, there has been many concerns with the ethics of illicit use. There is three ways you could look at it. One way is the way that is currently being used now, in which we say this is an illegal aid to memory, alertness, and therefore we ban it. The second way to look at it would be that we use all kinds of aids in helping us be more alert and remember better, such as coffee, which is very useful, but it is not banned. In the future, there is a likely chance that new drugs come on the market, which enable us to be much more intelligent than we are right now, so are we then going to say We have no interest in being smarter?. The third was of looking at it would concern the grading of students. One group of students will be using Adderall and another wont, so does that mean we will be wanting better performance from the group that does use it in order to get an A? Will be then be lenient with regards to the non users in terms of a chieving a high mark? The ethics of the use is not black-and-white, such as its legality and risks involved. Whenever there is a discussion of the advantages of students using Adderall, there will be without a doubt a comparison to steroids. The comparison usually forms this logic: Adderall helps to get ahead in class. Steroids allow you to get ahead in sports. Consequently, Adderall is just like a steroid, and steroids are cheating, which in turn makes Adderall bad. The problem with this argument is that sports and academics are two distinct fields. In sports, the outcome of the match only matters to the players and those directly associated with them. However, cognitive enhancement is different in that it is not a zero-sum game. If a student uses Adderall to further his education, that in no way affects any other student. Furthermore, when discussing research, using cognitive enhancements to develop a breakthrough in cancer research is beneficial to society, unlike when athletes use steroids in a selfish attempt to improve their own statistics. The use of Adderall in research could benefit all of mankind. However, there is still some issues of fairness that arises when discussing the use of Adderall in university. The reason for this is that students are usually not marked in vacuum, but on a curve, so if a student uses the drug to get ahead of her classmates, it will directly affect the whole class. An easy solution to this would be to legalize the use of Adderall and let all student takes it. However, that leads to another issue of fairness, in that drugs are expensive, and the legalization of Adderall will turn into a socioeconomic problem. Wealthy student would be able to purchase more of the drug than poorer students, as a result further widening the gap between the wealth and the non-wealthy students. How does Adderall work? The drug is a combination of two stereoisomers of amphetamine, which is a stimulant, and related to street drugs such as methamphetamine and ecstasy. The chemical structure of Adderall is close to that of family of neurotransmitters called catecholamine, which includes dopamine, epinephrine, and norepinephrine. Adderalls similarity to these brain chemicals allows it to mimic the same actions. The catecholamine family functions in the area of the brain that is responsible for arousal and emotion. For example, dopamine has a crucial role in the pleasure and reward system, while norepinephrine is involved in the sympathetic nervous system, the same system that controls our flight or fight response. Finally epinephrine, also known as adrenaline, also partakes in the flight or fight response, and is involved in the rush we feel when exited or nervous. By being a catecholamine agonist, Adderall recreates these same sensations by binding to the receptors for epinephrine in the adrenal gland, and norepinephrine and dopamine in the brain. In addition, Adderall also blocks transporters the remove catecholamine to end the response, and instead allows for some reverse transport of the endogenous catecholamines out of the neuron and into the receptor so they too can bind. Adderall essentially overloads the brain with chemicals the leave us alert, ecstatic, and ready to take the day. But, like any drugs, Adderall also has some negative side effects. By causing an intense arousal, the drug can lead to anxiety and insomnia, which has the chance to manifest into a schizophrenia like psychosis . The side effects are not only limited to the brain. Adderall can affect the body as well, causing an increase in blood pressure and an elevated heart rate. This is not good for people who already have pre-existing heart problems. Finally, like all drugs, such as caffeine, Adderall has the prospective of being addictive, which is why it is a Schedule II Controlled Substance, in the same group as opium, methamphetamine, cocaine, and oxycodone, which all have a high risk of dependence. WHAT IS ADHD? ADHD or Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder is a very common psychiatric brain disorder. It is usually diagnosed between the ages of 7 and 12. Once it has been diagnosed, there are medications (which will be discussed later) to help deal with it, but there are no found cures to get rid of it. About 50% of people loose it as they age into their adulthood, but there are no ideas as to why this happens. It affects about 6% of children and therefore 3% of adults. ADHD slows the maturation of certain parts of the brain, which help with, strategic thought, making quick decisions and of course focusing. The symptoms first begin to show up as a child or young adolescent. When being clinically diagnosed, it is very hard to do so due to the fact that many people do not like to focus on things that bore them. It is difficult to tell whether someone is not focusing because they can’t or because they don’t want to. With that being said, some other symptoms include: loosing things, not following instructions, and not being organized. Not all of these symptoms always apply, and often times very few of them do. The Stigma There is an existing stigma that people with ADHD are less intelligent than others who do not have it. Intelligence is defined as: â€Å"1) the ability to adapt to the environment and 2) the ability to learn from previous experience.† People who have ADHD often do score lower on tests, but it has nothing to do with intelligence. It is just the fact that a test requires constant mental effort, which is something people with ADHD have trouble with. On a long test, people with ADHD are easily distracted and therefore may lose time on a test that way, or speed through questions without wanting to put in as much time and effort as someone who doesn’t have it. If tests were shorter than there would be very little difference in test scores of people with and without ADHD. When testing for ADHD, kids are given tests, which involve a wide range of problems and it is found that problems that can be answered in one step (math or patterns) are done very well, compared to longer que stions (English based). The Solutions (Drug Free) As with many disorders, there are a multitude of ways to combat it, without the use of drugs. One simple solution is exercise. Exercising is a helpful way to help release stress physically, and to help combat ADHD. By releasing stress, kids are more likely to sit down and focus, whether it is studying or taking a test. Additionally playing sports encourages them to focus on something that they love or are passionate about, and by having this as an example, it teaches them that focusing is possible even if it is on something they don’t like as much. Additionally, there is another method to help people with ADHD focus. This is known as mindfulness based cognitive therapy. MBCT is a therapeutic way to help people with ADHD relax and focus. It focuses on being aware of their surroundings and being one with their body and mind. People who begin this meditation can begin with as little as 30 seconds per day, just sitting somewhere quiet and meditating. This can move upwards past 30 minutes, if it works. When silently meditating, it works best when the person envisions them self succeeding at something whether it is a test, presentation, or just another aspect of their life (staying organized). By imagining themself succeeding in a peaceful environment, it often actually translates to the real world. Adderall Controversies While Adderall can be a very helpful drug to people who suffer from ADHD, it can also be quite harmful as well, especially to people who take it without having ADHD. Because Adderall is helpful when it comes to focusing, some people, who need to focus in their daily lives, take it without the need to. This is problematic because Adderall was designed for ONLY people who have ADHD, not for everyone. Unnecessarily taking Adderall is especially popular with students who are in high school or post secondary learning institutions. Adderall greatly increases the amount of time one can focus at once, and the quality of the focus. Therefore, illegal Adderall distribution and consumption is a problem, especially in high-end universities and colleges. Students, who have trouble focusing, or simply do not want to, may take Adderall to help them focus, when stuffing for a test or exam. In 2006 researches from the University of Kentucky found out that 34% of the people they interviewed admitted t o illegal Adderall usage to help gain an edge in their classes. Additionally, an interview with one student, he said that Adderall not only increased the quality of his study time, but the quantity as well. He stated that he achieved the highest marks in his class and got perfect on his final exam, due to Adderall. The previous year when he hadn’t taken it, he did not achieve nearly as good results. Another study conduced by the University of Southern California stated that of the students they found taking illegal Adderall, 95% of them had simply faked the signs and symptoms in order to receive the prescription. With numbers like this it is clear that Adderall should be harder to get, and the diagnosis should be more thorough. Abuse and Problems If Adderall helps people with ADHD and helps people who don’t have it, isn’t it a good thing? It’s a win-win for everyone and higher test results for everyone. WRONG. Improper use of Adderall can lead to harsh side effects, which may all together counteract the improved studying. Just because it helps with studying doesn’t mean it helps with other aspects of your life as well. Improper Adderall use can lead to severe sleeping problems, including, not being able to fall asleep, not being able to stay asleep, and shortened REM cycles. This would definitely counteract better studying, and would take a toll on the body as well. Additionally, some other symptoms of Adderall abuse include: headaches, stomachaches, sweating, nausea, changes in sex drive, and as mentioned earlier, sleeping problems. Furthermore, with increased consumption of Adderall without a prescription can lead to: blurred vision, seizures, shaking limbs, and paralysis. With all these risks it is clear that Adderall is not a beneficial way to achieve higher test scores.

Irony in Joseph Conrads Heart of Darkness Essay -- Heart Darkness ess

Irony in Heart of Darkness      Ã‚   The use of irony within the ‘The Heart of Darkness’ by Conrad is an important notion.   Irony in this novella helps to bring about encapsulating self-discovery and enlightenment of the self.   Furthermore the use of characters and what they represent also brings about communicating what it means to be civilised.   Thus these two facets shall be the focus within my essay. Firstly each of the main characters in Heart of Darkness plays a significant role in the overall theme of the novel, as mentioned above. The central character is a thirty two year old sailor, Charlie Marlow. He is a dynamic character who essentially controls the development of the theme. Through Marlow's experiences and revelations, the author illustrates how forces of light and darkness serve to weave the human soul together; thus, essentially how both good and evil are reflected within the individual. Marlow's journey leads him in an urgent search for Kurtz, the one man who can provide him with the truth about himself. One central theme that prevails throughout the novel is mankind's capacity for good and evil. Illustrated in the evolution of the two central characters, Marlow and Kurtz. Both symbolize the two conditions of human nature. "Kurtz represents what man could become if left to his own intrinsic devices outside ... ... startling use of characterisation is that of the black slave with white pearls around his neck, this example of semiotics epitomises how black innocence personified in trapped beneath white materialism.      Works Cited "The Congo" Created December 07, 1997 (Accessed 12 February 2002). Conrad, Joseph. Heart of Darkness. New York: Penguin Books, 1983. "The Fear" Created December 07, 1997 (Accessed 12 February 2002). "Heart of Darkness: A systematic evaluation of the darkness inherent in men's souls" "The Perfect Native" Created December 07, 1997 (Accessed 12 February 2002). "The Setting" Created December 07, 1997 (Accessed 12 February 2002).

Abortion :: essays research papers

Abortion. Is there any other word that creates such hatred and charged emotion? The word abortion means â€Å"the loss or removal of an embryo or fetus before it can survive outside the mother’s body† (Day 7). The meaning of abortion, however, is completely different. To people who are pro-life, abortion is a vicious and murderous word dripping in blood and disgust. To people who are pro-choice the word is just as emotional. It represents women being able to control their own thoughts, feelings, bodies, and futures. The question facing Americans today is, "Should abortions be illegal for women to obtain?" The government cannot have control over a woman’s body. It is her body and her rights. The freedom to make choices and decisions for ourselves is part of the foundation of our nation. To deny the basic freedom rights that our forefathers fought to obtain for America is a step backward, not forwards. Once the government can control the individual lives of people, where would it stop? Ending abortions is not the answer; abortions should remain a legal choice in the United States. Many pro-life advocates feel that abortion is murder. While they may have arguments to support this fact, the truth is, a fetus is not a living person. It cannot feel pain or live outside of the mother’s body. Pain in a human starts as an electrical signal in the body’s pain receptors. In a fetus, the pain receptors develop around seven weeks after conception, long after an abortion would occur. Many pro-life advocates claim the fetus can feel pain while these systems are partly formed and forming. Pro-choice advocates feel that it is necessary for the synaptic connections within the fetus’ brain to develop in order to feel pain (Planned Parenthood). The issue is so heavily biased by a pro-life/pro-choice stance that even the debaters are incapable of making objective observations. A panel of experts appointed by the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists addressed the issue of fetal pain. The panel consisted of experts in fetal development, law an d bioethics. They obtained experts with both views on abortion so as to eliminate the bias that had occurred with the issue thus far. The group determined that a fetus could only feel pain after the nerve connections become established between two parts of the brain: the cortex and the thalamus. This happens about twenty-six weeks after conception.

Life Span Perspective Paper

Life Span Perspective Paper Life span is the time of conception till the day a person takes their last breathe. So many situations take place in a person’s life like reaching other developmental periods within life. A child grows from an infant and becomes of age to go to school for the first time or simply graduating from high school and entering the next phase of life when responsibility becomes everything. Each phase of life means that a person is developing whether they are transitioning from a young adult to being a middle aged adult there are developmental stages that take place until the final transition which is death.In order to better understand human development the process of studying takes place which in turn means moving from one stage to the next within a lifespan. Through the years observation, predictions and evolving technologies have opened up doors to the way individuals develop and reach stages by pinpointing differences and predictions that prove to be in accurate or simply that have not risen to the occasion over the years of change. There are considered to be five characteristics of development; multidirectional, multicontextual, multicultural, multidisciplinary and plasticity.Multidirectional is the study of change within human development. Multicontextual is dealing with contexts such as an individual’s surroundings or environment that can affect development. Multicultural is when individuals do not notice cultural differences because they have become so used to their own surroundings. Multidisciplinary which pertains to multiple academic fields which all deliver the same insight as to how data and insight are contributed. Plasticity is when change occurs sometime during the lifespan of an individual. A person could be fine and then experience the lost of a parent and become altered forever.These five characteristics all intertwine with one another in order to explain in detail how people transition and develop through mul ti stages within life. There are also three domains of human development; biosocial development, cognitive development and psychosocial development. (Boyd and Bee, 2006). Two theories of lifespan development are grand theories and emergent theories. Grand theories are a combination of behaviorism, cognitive theory and psychoanalytic theory which refer to child development through comprehensive theories of psychology in a detailed manner.Emergent theories are not as detailed but it does incorporate the interpretations of development but touches on preconceived comprehensive and systematic instances. Behaviorism studies observable behavior and is sometimes referred to as the learning theory because behavior is learned in a number of ways. Cognitive theory focuses on how the thought process develops and is ultimately configured. Psychoanalytic theory is when a child has inner drives and motives such as obtaining the cookie from the cookie jar after their parent has told them not until after dinner. Boyd and Bee, 2006). Heredity is when your skin tone or height is passed down through the generations within a family. Your genes and DNA that make you who you are as far as features and sometimes personality and reactions to a situation. Environment is where a person lives, is raised or chooses to reside. A person can come from a family that has never been to college but allows a positive environment to flourish newer ways of learning to achieve a major goal within their life.No one can change their DNA or even their genes but allowing positive versus negative environments to influence their future thought process can really provide a lot of good. On the other hand a person can have the makeup of having an addictive personality that can ultimately be very negative outcome as a person that has two alcoholic parents and paternal and maternal grandparents that have issues with drugs and alcohol. If the individual takes a drink of alcohol and the addictive traits get wake n up then the individual could really cause harm to themselves by subduing to alcohol and drugs.An environment can truly have an effect on the development of an individual. A person can be raised in a tense environment and exude a negative temperament as a result of being in non nurturing situation. In conclusion everyone in the world has reached some stage within the lifespan developmental stage and in order for these stages to have been identified research, observation and scientific experiments have taken place. There is such a wide array of characteristics of development that pinpoint the differences that are faced within the entire life of an individual.Grand theories are three incorporated theories that are detailed and well observed in order to showcase development of the years as everyone is very different. Emergent theories are theories that are not detailed and can change at any given moment because they are predicted theories that might not be proven to be true. Heredity and environment play such pivotal roles in development because people mimic behaviors and influences that are around them whether negative or positive. ? Reference Boyd, D. , & Bee, H. (2006). Lifespan Development (4th ed. ). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson. Life Span Perspective Paper Life Span Perspective Paper Life span is the time of conception till the day a person takes their last breathe. So many situations take place in a person’s life like reaching other developmental periods within life. A child grows from an infant and becomes of age to go to school for the first time or simply graduating from high school and entering the next phase of life when responsibility becomes everything. Each phase of life means that a person is developing whether they are transitioning from a young adult to being a middle aged adult there are developmental stages that take place until the final transition which is death.In order to better understand human development the process of studying takes place which in turn means moving from one stage to the next within a lifespan. Through the years observation, predictions and evolving technologies have opened up doors to the way individuals develop and reach stages by pinpointing differences and predictions that prove to be in accurate or simply that have not risen to the occasion over the years of change. There are considered to be five characteristics of development; multidirectional, multicontextual, multicultural, multidisciplinary and plasticity.Multidirectional is the study of change within human development. Multicontextual is dealing with contexts such as an individual’s surroundings or environment that can affect development. Multicultural is when individuals do not notice cultural differences because they have become so used to their own surroundings. Multidisciplinary which pertains to multiple academic fields which all deliver the same insight as to how data and insight are contributed. Plasticity is when change occurs sometime during the lifespan of an individual. A person could be fine and then experience the lost of a parent and become altered forever.These five characteristics all intertwine with one another in order to explain in detail how people transition and develop through mul ti stages within life. There are also three domains of human development; biosocial development, cognitive development and psychosocial development. (Boyd and Bee, 2006). Two theories of lifespan development are grand theories and emergent theories. Grand theories are a combination of behaviorism, cognitive theory and psychoanalytic theory which refer to child development through comprehensive theories of psychology in a detailed manner.Emergent theories are not as detailed but it does incorporate the interpretations of development but touches on preconceived comprehensive and systematic instances. Behaviorism studies observable behavior and is sometimes referred to as the learning theory because behavior is learned in a number of ways. Cognitive theory focuses on how the thought process develops and is ultimately configured. Psychoanalytic theory is when a child has inner drives and motives such as obtaining the cookie from the cookie jar after their parent has told them not until after dinner. Boyd and Bee, 2006). Heredity is when your skin tone or height is passed down through the generations within a family. Your genes and DNA that make you who you are as far as features and sometimes personality and reactions to a situation. Environment is where a person lives, is raised or chooses to reside. A person can come from a family that has never been to college but allows a positive environment to flourish newer ways of learning to achieve a major goal within their life.No one can change their DNA or even their genes but allowing positive versus negative environments to influence their future thought process can really provide a lot of good. On the other hand a person can have the makeup of having an addictive personality that can ultimately be very negative outcome as a person that has two alcoholic parents and paternal and maternal grandparents that have issues with drugs and alcohol. If the individual takes a drink of alcohol and the addictive traits get wake n up then the individual could really cause harm to themselves by subduing to alcohol and drugs.An environment can truly have an effect on the development of an individual. A person can be raised in a tense environment and exude a negative temperament as a result of being in non nurturing situation. In conclusion everyone in the world has reached some stage within the lifespan developmental stage and in order for these stages to have been identified research, observation and scientific experiments have taken place. There is such a wide array of characteristics of development that pinpoint the differences that are faced within the entire life of an individual.Grand theories are three incorporated theories that are detailed and well observed in order to showcase development of the years as everyone is very different. Emergent theories are theories that are not detailed and can change at any given moment because they are predicted theories that might not be proven to be true. Heredity and environment play such pivotal roles in development because people mimic behaviors and influences that are around them whether negative or positive. ? Reference Boyd, D. , & Bee, H. (2006). Lifespan Development (4th ed. ). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson.