Personal Responsibility Essay Example for Free

Personal Responsibility Essay Personal responsibility means that I have the discipline to put a plan together. This allows me, to create achievable goals. In order to succeed during each of my college courses. My overall success in my college courses is very important to my end goal. My end goal is to attain my degree in Psychology. The psychology degree is to be able to better work with and help children in the child protective services system. Time and stress management are the two biggest obstacles, which I must overcome. To manage my stress; I need to utilize a calendar to create a schedule. Utilizing a calendar, in which I make a schedule will not only overcome my stress and time obstacles, but also my procrastination. The utilization of a calendar will allow myself the time break down each part of my day and week, I can effectively devote time to my family, homework and working around the house by dividing up my day accordingly without wasting or losing time. Dave Ellis, author of becoming a Master Student, said it best â€Å"Time is an equal opportunity resource. All of us, regardless of gender, race, creed, or national origin, have exactly the same amount of hours in a week. No matter how famous we are, no matter how rich or poor, we get 168 hours to spend each week-no more, no less. Time is something I cannot afford to lose when it comes to my family or school and in some cases there is not a do over button I can press. Time and stress management will be the two biggest hurdles I must master for the sake of my success at the college level. Not only will must I master these hurdles for the sake of my college success but also my professional goals. My team mates must attempt to master these goals as well. As a student I will be working with teams throughout the entire time I am in college. Working in teams is a part of the fundamental, we are taught as children to work together with others to complete a task. The one way I see to succeed with a team is by creating a network of activity as outlined in chapter 8 of Project Management written by Jack R. Meredith and Samuel J. Mantel The way the authors talk about a project and are creating a network of activity which shows the activity and event relationships between the tasks in a project. This shows what specific task each individual will undertake, who they will coordinate with and what resources they will use. It ensures that proper communication takes place and identifies when the project will be completed to include which processes will take the longest and how long each person can take without delaying the project. This will ensure that my team and I keep our personal responsibilities in perspective without failing the class and ourselves. By using this method, everyone will know what the expectations are while completing an assignment. When it comes to being a responsible student, I know that my own personal responsibility is important to how well I do in college. I have to make a plan from the start. This plan I make will include all of my long term goals as well as my short term goals. I will be able to keep my long term goals, in sight while making small changes to my short term goals to keep myself on course. I will begin my plan by using a yearly calendar for each year along with each college year. This way I can write down all of my long term goals up to graduation on the calendars. The calendars will break down into daily increments of time. I can use the days or weeks to mark down short term goals or make changes to them as I need. These calendars will also allow me to include time out of my day to devote to my family and other activities. The use of calendars and reminders will also assist in my team projects when communication is necessary I can pencil in the time I need to set aside for team work projects. The use of daily planners is will assist me beyond my college responsibility. They will also help to keep me on time for personal events with my family and court hearings for my foster children. Using calendars will keep all of my planned times with homework and other activities from bleeding over into each other. This plan of action will allow me to achieve all of my goals and keep me on course so I can complete my degree. The completion of my degree is my responsibility so that I may complete my goal to become a child psychologist. It is my personal responsibility to pay for my college classes and materials and study for the courses I take. Responsibility is essential for my success as a student, so that I do not take my education lightly and waste the time of my instructors of class mates. I must take into account that my instructor and class mates depend on my personal responsibility to attend class and complete my assignments in a timely fashion. In conclusion by taking personal responsibility of my actions in my education and professional and personal life I will become a successful individual. I will be able to complete my short term and long term goals and commitments, when taking responsibility. I can translate these small victories and experiences into college success for my class mates, team mates and myself. I must keep in mind and never forget that it is my personal responsibility to attend class and complete all my course work for my degree. Once I have the personal pride in knowing and seeing the achievements of my personal responsibility, I will be able to share this with my family. Finally, once I have passed each and every one of my college courses this will also lead to my attaining my long and short term goal and also lead to becoming a college graduate.

Teaching and Learning Online: Reflection

Teaching and Learning Online: Reflection Teaching and Learning Online In this reflection, I will capture a few of my thoughts that have changed my views the most. Although there was far more that I reflected on in my learning journal, I will focus on the main topics that interest me to take forward into my teaching. I found the initial orientation between different tools confusing, as I had been using Blackboard for everything previously. Moving to Canvas was good as it has a friendlier feel, less institutional, more laidback, which helped in feeling freer to informally chat. This helped create a sense of community. The wiki was initially overwhelming, now, as there are all the course materials and assignments kept there, I see it as a fantastic repository of shared knowledge, I shall use this idea in the future on teacher training courses. I was tentative about the online sessions as I had previous negative experiences of these and wondered if it was ever possible for the technical aspects to be overcome as Schrum Hong (2002 b) say, minimizing technical difficulties is very important, I felt this myself and at the start of the course, this experience can lead to a feeling of foreboding about online sessions. After the first synchronous session, I bought a new web camera and contacted my ISP to check all my connections. This worked well for me, as I was able to join the next sessions, albeit tentatively, and the technical problems were fixed. This was a huge relief and meant that I could follow and participate in the sessions. The effect of this meant that where I was originally much more at home with an asynchronous environment, I now started to see the real benefits in synchronous sessions, not least the social, community building aspect. I think that the technical aspect of online learning must be given a lot of tho ught and any use of new tools must also include clear guidelines or help in how to use them. As I progressed through the course, I noted in my journal times when I felt that the literature and course activities were overlapping, which led to several mini epiphanies. For me, this lead to a deeper understanding of the subject as I was reading the theoretical background and acting it out at the same time. Schrum Hong (2002 a)’s recommendations was a paper I found very helpful. The way that it is set out forms an excellent framework for thinking about how to organize online courses and in looking through these at the end of the course, I was able to see that they were all part of the course. Vicarious learning was quite revelatory for me; it gave a name to something I had been aware of. This somehow made it a more acceptable way of being an online learner and made me reflect on the fact that all learners are different, and while participation is a key factor in learning online, students can participate in different ways. On the forum I noted that â€Å"I found the Sutton (2001) paper very interesting from the point of view of reflecting on my own learning in online environments. I think that it would be difficult to categorise myself as either a direct interactor or vicarious interactor, as I use both aspects to greater or lesser extents. I think that the context does influence which one I am at any given time.† I was not previously aware of this category, the vicarious interactor, and would have put it down to social anxiety or shyness. This has never really sat well with me before, as I am not especially shy or introverted in social situations, and do not feel intimidated by posting my own opinions online. However, I can see that I have many traits of the vicarious interactor. I like to observe and process direct interaction, often before interacting myself and I do learn from the actions of others. I find it useful to reflect on my learning style and I think that this also plays a big part in my teaching. This is especially true when I am involved in teacher training, I like to observe the actions of participants, and draw threads and ideas together. I think that this works well when cultivating a social learning environment. As stated by Garrison Cleveland-Innes (2010), interaction plays a central role in any educational experience, and online learning is no exception. I had previously noted in my journal that I felt that there were two types of online learning, one where the teacher taught a class online, through a tool such as Adobe Connect, that would be similar to a lecture, and one where the teacher used an LMS to provide learning materials and was fairly hands-off after that. I now started to think that the teacher needs to be more active in monitoring progress and reacting to emerging needs, and also to act as a facilitator to the social experience. The idea of flexible learning as proposed by White (2006) and Collis Moonen (2008) was something that resonated with me. I had previously noted in my journal that I thought that one of the key factors in online learning for me was good quality learning materials. While I still agree with this view, Collis and Moonen (2008) said that learning situations need to be flexible and adaptable and White (2006) talks of making sure that learners receive sustained attention. On reflection, I think that this is a large part of teaching online. In the classroom, students expect the teacher to give them attention and to provide personalized learning according to their needs. I had tried out a number of MOOCs and always gave up due to the sheer size of them. Many of the materials were excellent, but I just did not engage with the course. I realize that this was one of the factors in my failure. I found that the framework proposed by Collis Moonen (2008) of the before, during and after activities one that could be easily and effectively transferred to my teaching context. Many teachers in my organization lack technical know-how and appear unwilling to try out new ideas. This framework can quite easily be adapted as many teachers use a similar lesson framework for activities such as listening comprehensions. This could be an excellent way of getting teachers to start working on using online learning with their students, probably with an emphasis on a blended learning approach. Word count: 1,081 †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ References Collis, B. Moonen, J. (2008) The Contributing Student, Computers in the Schools, 19:3-4, 207-220 Garrison, R. Cleveland-Innes, M. (2010) Facilitating Cognitive Presence in Online Learning: Interaction Is Not Enough, American Journal of Distance Education, 19:3, 133-148 Minocha, S. Roberts, D. (2008) Laying the Groundwork for Socialisation and Knowledge Construction within 3D Virtual Worlds, ALT-J, Research in Learning Technology, Vol. 16, No. 3, September 2008, 181–196 Moore, M.G. (1997) Theory of Transactional Distance, in Keegan, D., ed. Theoretical Principles of Distance Education (1997), Routledge, pp. 22-38. Schrum, L. Hong, S. (2002 a) Dimensions and Strategies for Online Success: Voices from Experience and Educators, JALN Volume 6, Issue 1 July 2002 Schrum, L. Hong, S. (2002 b) From the Field: Characteristics of Successful Tertiary Online Students and Strategies of Experienced Online Educators, Education and Information Technologies 7:1, 5–16, 2002 White, C. (2006) Contribution of Distance Education to the Development of Individual Learners, Distance Education, 26:2, 165-181 Sutton, L.A. (2001) The Principle of Vicarious Interaction in Computer-Mediated Communications, International Journal of Educational Telecommunications, 7(3), 223-242 Electronic Submission Form – Version 1.0

Christmas Essay -- Narrative Essays, Descriptive Writing

A few days before Christmas, Oxford street is swarming with last minute shoppers, laden with parcels and bags. Christmas is the highlight for many people, especially little childen, from as tall as your ankle to as tall as your knee. Small todlers were moaning and disappearing into the clothes racks like magicians disappearing in a puff of smoke entertaining the gullible audiences. Families and friends gradually emerge from clogged buses and congested trains, tired, exhausted and hungry even at this very early stage, as if they had spent the whole night awake, like a distressed parent waiting for their child to arrive home from a party but has still not arrived, two hours past their curfew. Oxford street is the main high street of the whole of England. It flocks many tourists, as though it has a force or power, just like opposite ends of a magnet attract one another. Oxford street is as long as I can possibly imagine; it is 10 time longer than any local high street and is as wide as six elephants put together. Oxford street contains a lot of various shop which other high streets have, plus some extra. It is as if Oxford street encloses a immeasurable proportion of England as it has a great deal of stores; some immense while some petite. It's not restricted - even Regents street is much more genteel like a magnificent pet and Bond street is tremendously aristocratic like a diamond engagement ring and only the posh shop there. Oxford street is one maze, with all sorts of mystical secrets to be uncovered and adventures to be explored and experienced. It is one colossal, huge, extensive, perpendicular road with a range of exits... ...ng for breath. As I walk through 'MK1', I can undoubtedly see that many shoppers were haggling over the price of purchases. Then someone barges into me and I very nearly fall over with the force of it. After I recover from my sudden fall, I widen my horizon and gaze upon particular groups of people. I get attracted to look at the people with loud voices. The brightness of the light decreases as the clouds begin to fasten together together structuring one massive cloud. It began to snow. The cold was beating on me. I felt the cold reaching my body even with wearing a thick layer of wool covered by a fur coat. It was as though I was wrapped with a sheep, which had never had its fur, trimmed. The bitter air smacks my face as I walk, without any energy and worn out, forwards towards the end of the road to relaxation.

Capital Punishment is Not an Effective Crime Deterrent Essay -- essays

While Capital Punishment has been one of the most feared things of our time, it is still being questioned if it is unconstitutional. The Death Penalty is being enforced in more than 100 countries in the world and are usually used in politically-related cases. Although it has been the case in many countries throughout the world it has been said that the Death Penalty is "cruel and unusual punishment" which is a direct violation to the Bill of Rights. Capital Punishment is a certain copy of the earliest days of slavery, when you had no rights or any different opinion, and like then, executions have no place in our civilized society. The Death Penalty, throughout it's years of existence, has always been against the views of the people, either because of it's brutality or because of it's lack of effectiveness. The Death Penalty has been opposed by the people since the beginning of it's era, which was around 1976, when the United States Supreme Court declared that the death penalty was not against the Constitution. But if read directly the Eight Amendment of the U.S. Constitution "prohibits cruel and unusual punishments" and not only that but abolitionists also think that Capital Punishment ensures Americans equality for all . The abolitionists also did a poll which ensured that there was "no support for the view that the death penalty provides a more effective deterrent to police homicides than alternative sanctions. Not for a single year was evidence found that police are safer in jurisdictions that provide for capital punishment" The highest homicide rates were also in Death Penalty states with executions: 9.7 homicides per 100,000 people... ...of the crime committed by the convicted person because it is judicial murder. Capital Punishment is a brutal act that does not enhance respect for human life, it cheapens and degrades it . Abolitionists also believe that "the state is a teacher and when it kills, it teaches vengeance and hatred. If the "barbaric practice of execution has been abolished in most major industrial countries, even in south Africa, so can the United States ("Death"2). "An execution is a dramatic, public spectacle of official, violent homicide that teaches the permissibility of killing people to solve social problems--the worst possible example to set for society" Will society put money into schools, rehabilitation, community services, and jobs, or will it bankrupt itself with more prisons and more victims? The death penalty is no solution to violence. Capital Punishment is Not an Effective Crime Deterrent Essay -- essays While Capital Punishment has been one of the most feared things of our time, it is still being questioned if it is unconstitutional. The Death Penalty is being enforced in more than 100 countries in the world and are usually used in politically-related cases. Although it has been the case in many countries throughout the world it has been said that the Death Penalty is "cruel and unusual punishment" which is a direct violation to the Bill of Rights. Capital Punishment is a certain copy of the earliest days of slavery, when you had no rights or any different opinion, and like then, executions have no place in our civilized society. The Death Penalty, throughout it's years of existence, has always been against the views of the people, either because of it's brutality or because of it's lack of effectiveness. The Death Penalty has been opposed by the people since the beginning of it's era, which was around 1976, when the United States Supreme Court declared that the death penalty was not against the Constitution. But if read directly the Eight Amendment of the U.S. Constitution "prohibits cruel and unusual punishments" and not only that but abolitionists also think that Capital Punishment ensures Americans equality for all . The abolitionists also did a poll which ensured that there was "no support for the view that the death penalty provides a more effective deterrent to police homicides than alternative sanctions. Not for a single year was evidence found that police are safer in jurisdictions that provide for capital punishment" The highest homicide rates were also in Death Penalty states with executions: 9.7 homicides per 100,000 people... ...of the crime committed by the convicted person because it is judicial murder. Capital Punishment is a brutal act that does not enhance respect for human life, it cheapens and degrades it . Abolitionists also believe that "the state is a teacher and when it kills, it teaches vengeance and hatred. If the "barbaric practice of execution has been abolished in most major industrial countries, even in south Africa, so can the United States ("Death"2). "An execution is a dramatic, public spectacle of official, violent homicide that teaches the permissibility of killing people to solve social problems--the worst possible example to set for society" Will society put money into schools, rehabilitation, community services, and jobs, or will it bankrupt itself with more prisons and more victims? The death penalty is no solution to violence.

The Disgrace of Flag Burning :: Argumentative Persuasive Topics

The Disgrace of Flag Burning To Those Who Want To Burn the Flag, just ask permission........ Does the First Amendment give us the right to desecrate the American flag? Or is the flag a sacred symbol of our nation, deserving protection by law? For those who want to light Old Glory on fire, stomp all over it, or spit on it to make some sort of "statement," I say let them do it. But under one condition: they MUST get permission from three sponsors. First, you need permission of a war veteran. Perhaps a Marine who fought at Iwo Jima? The American flag was raised over Mount Surabachi upon the bodies of thousands of dead buddies. Each night spent on Iwo meant half of everyone you knew would be dead tomorrow, a coin flip away from a bloody end upon a patch of sand your mother couldn't find on a map. Or maybe ask a Vietnam vet who spent years tortured in a small, filthy cell unfit for a dog. Or a Korean War soldier who helped rescue half a nation from Communism, or a Desert Storm veteran who repulsed a bloody dictator from raping and pillaging an innocent country. That flag represented your mother and father, your sister and brother, your friends, neighbors, and everyone at home. I wonder what they would say if someone asked them permission to burn the American flag? Next, you need a signature from an immigrant. Their brothers and sisters may still languish in their native land, often under tyranny, poverty and misery. Or maybe they died on the way here, never to touch our shores. Some have seen friends and family get tortured and murdered by their own government for daring to do things we take for granted every day. For those who risked everything simply for the chance to become an American....what kind of feelings do they have for the flag when they Pledge Allegiance the first time? Go to a naturalization ceremony and see for yourself, the tears of pride, the thanks, the love and respect of this nation, as they finally embrace the American flag as their own. Ask one of them if it would be OK to tear up the flag. Last, you should get the signature of a mother.

Philips vs Panasonic: Facing the 2008 Economic Crisis Essay

1. Introduction Panasonic and Philips are two of the main consumer electronics companies in the world with different origins but similar international path. Several hurdles were faced by both companies in their evolution. This paper will analysis how the administrative heritage of Philips and Panasonic caused problem in the changing of their strategy, causing problem in the implementation of the respective strategic decisions. Moreover it tries to explain how time contingences and the external environment had influenced the strategy of the two MNEs and shape the organizational structure; sometimes leading to success, sometimes losing ground in the market field. Nowadays the main tasks of the two companies are conflictual : for Panasonic defending its leadership position, for Philips challenging the global leader. How to reach these goals? The last paragraph will address these objectives providing to the CEOs of the respective companies further steps to consider in order to remain com petitive in the market field, from 2008 looking forward. 2. How the environment and culture shape companies’ strategy and organization 2.1 Philips evolution: from responsive to integrated Philips’s strategy, right after WWII, led the company to its success. The economic situation during the 30s, forced the company to transfer part of its assets and laboratories abroad. This led to a dispersion of responsibilities. Countries protectionism, high tariffs and trade barriers required local production facilities. These problems led to the adoption of a decentralized federation with independent and self sufficient units and autonomous marketing. The contingent environment spurred the management to rebuild their structures upon National Operations (NOs). Philips built its success on a worldwide portfolio of responsive national organizations. Economic conditions, tastes and preferences, at that time, differed across countries; corporate management treated subsidiaries as independent national businesses with the aim to satisfy local needs. National Organizations were so vigil that they manage to preempt products required by customers, launching products such as the first color TV, the first stereo TV and the first TV with teletext. Innovation and R&D were the core strength of the company. They were flexible, responsive and fast in the approach to market. Entrepreneurial initiatives derived, not from top down imposition, but from every single division. The company succeeded in managing its innovation and to bring it to the next level, making innovation and customer’s needs the purpose of their business. The focus on national responsiveness was appropriate since the 50-60s, when it started to become the firm’s limitation. The great focus given to tailor solution to costumers’ tastes increased the cost of production and led to a dispersion of subsidiaries across too many countries. Problems of efficiencies and coordination arose. The company took several years to get rid of its matrix structure. Attempts to shift the companies to a slimmer organization in order to become more efficient in its production were slow and cumbersome. The National Operations continued to detain major responsibilities. The company was captive of its past. Contrarily to management prevision, the matrix structure created more problems that it solved. It was more complex than either the â€Å"worldwide area structure† or â€Å"the worldwide product structure†, and it created conflicts of responsibilities. Market signals warned the company to implement changes in the way business was conducted. However, in the 1990s, the company was, still, going through major losses. The structure was too costly and value added higher, compared to Japanese production facilities. Even if a good objective were settled in the strategic planning, however, as history showed, the further step of re-organization failed due to difficulties encountered in rebuilding the organization. It was not a zero-base reconfiguration. For more than 35 years, from 1971 onwards, different CEOs tried to take action in order to reduce the power of NO and create an agile and simple divisional organization that could create efficiencies, however trying not to neglects their sources of innovation: respond to country specific markets. 2.2 Matsushita evolution: from integration to responsiveness Matsushita point of departure instead was complete different from the one undertaken by Philips. Matsushita employed a divisional structure with a strong centralized decision making. The adoption of the divisional organization was well-thought due to the large and highly differentiated product range manufactured by the companies, aimed to different target clients. This allowed the company to reduce the organizational complexity and reducing transaction costs within the company. Matsushita exploited the favorable characteristic of the post war era, such as a convergence of tastes across borders and the â€Å"uncontrollable† globalization. In the 60s, the firm managed to expand its product range. It created self-funded research laboratories to develop new product solution. At the time, Matsushita detained a strong distribution channel directly owned by the company with more than 25.000 domestic retail store. However, when the demand in the domestic marketed slowed down, what was a competitive advantage domestically was not replicable abroad. The company made a lot of effort in expanding its international presence, without being demoralized. However as times passed by, the highly centralized control structure, create problems in their offshore operations. By the 1980s, the company, mainly concentrated on global integration instead of localization, decided to re-tailored its strategy . Decentralization of responsibilities was more than a necessity. Matsushita’s strategy was too focused on global efficiencies neglecting innovation, and learning and flexibility. R&D was vital in this industry. Actions of several CEO tried to address these issues, changing the company’s strategy from copycat to promoter of invention. However, as Philips encountered problem in its â€Å"transformation†, so did Mastushita. The firm had difficulties in promoting self initiatives among different divisions. The former centralized hub organizational structure was still present in the employees’ mentality. The initiatives, such as the introduction of local managers with stronger responsibilities in key positions and locations, did not give the expected outcome in the short run. It took several years and a lot of effort to see some res ults. Again the company was captive of its past. Today, Mitsushita’s configuration is mainly built around 3 main divisions: Digital networks, Home appliance and Components; reduced from the 36 product divisions used in the 1980s. The simplification was clear and so its advantages. The reaction of such a structure led the company to be more flexible to local need, reduce costs of duplication and achieve economies of scope. The products developed within each division were highly linked. However the company was not safe from competition. With the crisis’ approaching, the economical situation of the company does not remain untouched. What else is left to do? 2 Core issues today in the consumer electronic industry The current economic situation differs drastically from the one encountered in 10 or 20 years ago. Phenomena like globalization have given companies such as Philips and Panasonic the chance to provide their product to an extensive market, raising however new challenges. The global economic recession has created new needs. Consumers are more price sensitive and less willing to pay high prices for low quality products. Companies need to be aware of their cost structure and be ready to take respond to rapid technological changes and changing consumer preferences with timely and cost-effective introductions of new products in markets that are highly competitive in terms of both price and technology. The access to low factor cost, such as low labor force in emerging country as become crucial. Moreover, developing markets, such as India and China, are not only location where firms can manufacture products at lower costs, but also new opportunities where companies can market their own produ cts. In the consumer electronic industry, competition has become extremely high and innovation, now more than ever has become crucial as new source of revenues. 3. Recommendation for Philips: Exploit contingencies of the time you are in The 2008 situation of Philips is not flourishing. In 2008, the company scored a net loss of â‚ ¬260 million. This was probably due to the financial crisis that affected the company drastically. However, company’s loss can not only be attributed to external factors. The company has made some mistakes, in the recent years, and should take action and correct its own strategy, remembering it origins. Coherence with past is crucial to tailor an effective strategy that could lead to innovative solutions for the future. That’s why Philips should continue to develop consumer-centric solutions. Research laboratories should remain independent but linked across one another. Philips should tackle the recession without sacrificing its long term strategic ambition: â€Å"Improving people live through meaningful innovation†1. That why now, more than ever, the company should be able to forecast marke t trends. Philips should continue more efficiently to re-allocate resources to growth opportunities and emerging markets. To do so it should transfer part of its qualified personnel to target markets, such as from India and China, building a strong teams of both local and expatriates managers and engineers. The combination of foreign and local figures could help the firm to continue the strategy of local responsiveness. To do so, it is necessary to include in the company agenda selective mergers and acquisitions. M&A, however, should not be out of focus. Philips has reduced its current division to 3 main domains: healthcare, lighting and customers lifestyle. My recommendation would be to stay true to these three core segments, acquiring key strategic companies in foreign markets. How to finance these new objectives? Disinvestments in peripheral activities and less profitable plans are still needed in order to obtain liquidity to reinvest in developing countries. This tactic would not repay within short term but long term profits would offset the high level of investments. Moreover leveraging of local subsidiaries in emerging markets can a springboard, to target back developed markets selling low cost products. 4. Recommendation for Mastushita: defending worldwide dominance The economic situation of Panasonic is different from the once faced by Philips. Panasonic is the world’s leading plasma maker in the industry and has to defend its worldwide dominance. Matsushita has based its competitive advantage ion low cost production. However, particular during financial crisis period, several other initiatives are to be implemented. First the company has to reduce its cost structure in order to face the deep decrease in demand in order to continue to make profits. Panasonic its already leader in this activities, however, there are always margins of improvements. To achieve cost reduction, it has to downsize its workforce. The firm should prioritized certain businesses over less profitable ones. Moreover adopt a lean management in order to reduce at the minimum the wastes in the value chain. Secondly it should restructure its organization to make it as clear and simple as possible in order to avoid cost duplication, slow process and cost of bureaucracy. In addition, The shift of demand and the focus on emerging market, in particular Asian markets, should be the highest priority. The market signaled opportunities in untapped market. The firm should be upfront in order to gain advantages over competition. These is a necessity to shut down plants in Japan and oversea and transfer workforce and capital to new sites. This initiative can also overcome exchange currency risk. Also distribution channels in these countries should be enhanced. However, the company should not forget its heritage: leverage on efficiency. The company should achieve a â€Å"transnational strategy†; incrementing its local responsiveness and innovation and learning, at the same time. Even during times of recession in essential to continue to invest in R&D, with the objective to grow faster than competitors when the market recovers. The main revenues for the companies come from distinct technologies. Local responsiveness could be achieved through the delegation of, even more, profit responsibilities to the three main divisions. This could enhance the company performance and to keep it on the podium. 6. Conclusions The structural variety is function of the environmental characteristics, Organization has to adapt to the external environment. Both companies has gone through several changes in their evolution. Environmental factors pushed companies to rethink their strategy and consequently their organizational structures. In some cases the difficulties encountered in the transition, for instance from an highly integrated company to more responsive, was slow and cumbersome. Both companies has been proved to be reluctant to change. . It is true that the set of strategies a firm is limited by the decisions the company has made in the past, however, these limitation should not be considered as insurmountable. Change can occur and rapidly. Philips and Panasonic lacked the ambition to design solution at 360 °. Firms should learn from their past and continue to leverage on their own competitive advantages, building on existing infrastructure. Do not be captive of your own past, but use your past experience to create a strong advantage, compensating your deficiencies. 5

Marvel Case

MARVEL ENTERTAINMENT GROUP Bankruptcy and restructuring Introduction Marvel entertainment group was started by Martin Goodman in 1939. It originally was a comic book business, known as Marvel Comics now. We have no way to forget the images of X-men, Spider-Man, and Thor. Marvel Entertainment Group has had a glorious history, and a dominant position in the comic market. However, this glorious empire regretfully elapsed in the end. The historical rise and fall influences not only comic fans’ life, but most importantly to its investors and the financial market.Here we discuss in detail about the reason Marvel file for bankruptcy, the evaluation of the restructuring plan, equity worth per share under restructuring plan, its influence on the debt rising ability to other firms in the group, and why the portfolio managers choose to sell their zero coupon bonds. Part 1 Analyzing problems: why did Marvel file for Chapter 11? Were the problems caused by bad luck, bad strategy, or bad ex ecution? After taking a deep look into its performance of a six-year period, we reached the conclusion that the fall of this comic star is mainly caused by bad strategy it adopted, especially the one to acquire Skybox.Though the first two issuance of debt did bring along good operating results, Marvel’s core business began to falter shortly after the third issuance. The sales of three major business lines: Sports and Entertainment Cards, Children’s Activity Stickers, and Published comic books all decline significantly after 1993. The main reason for this decline can be explained by the fact that child entertainment is becoming more diversified, with alternatives appearing such as video games. Besides that, collectors’ declining willingness to invest in comic books drive the sales down dramatically.However, these reasons have little things to do with luck: because a successful and experienced entertainment company like Marvel should have the ability to notice thi s kind of demand change. What is more, sufficient market research should also be done when deciding long-term business strategies. But the creator of Spider man really disappointed us by heading for a totally wrong direction at the turning point of this industry. To be qualified as a bad strategy adopter, Marvel decided to acquire Skybox in 1995. At that time, Marvel has a leverage ratio as high as 52%, which made it hard to pay back the huge debt when revenues are declining.Moreover, the declining demand for entertainment cards will make this expansion unlikely to boost its revenues. We can see more clearly from its operating and financing ratios that this acquisition resulted in worse performance of the whole Marvel group. Marvel’s operating and leverage ratios 1991 Operating Ratios Sales Cost of Sales Cost of Sales/Sales SG&A SG&A/Sales Net Income Net Income/Sales Leverage Ratios Total Debt Shares Outstanding Share Price Market Value of Equity Debt/D+E EBITDA EBITDA/Sales Interest Expenses EBITDA/Interest $115. 10 58. 50. 57% 21. 4 18. 59% 16. 1 13. 99% 1992 $223. 80 112. 6 50. 31% 43. 4 19. 39% 32. 6 14. 57% 355. 3 98. 6 12 1183. 2 23. 09% 67. 8 30. 29% 6. 5 10. 43 1993 $415. 20 215. 3 51. 86% 85. 3 20. 54% 56 13. 49% 324. 7 102. 6 26 2667. 6 10. 85% 114. 6 27. 60% 14. 6 7. 85 1994 $514. 80 275. 3 53. 48% 119. 7 23. 25% 61. 8 12. 00% 585. 7 103. 7 16 1659. 2 26. 09% 119. 8 23. 27% 16. 5 7. 26 1995 $829. 30 538. 3 64. 91% 231. 3 27. 89% -48. 4 -5. 83% 934. 8 101. 3 12 1215. 6 43. 47% 34. 7 4. 18% 43. 2 0. 80 1996 $581. 20 372. 4 64. 07% 168 28. 90% -27. 9 -4. 0% 977 101. 8 4 407. 2 70. 58% 40. 8 7. 02% 42. 7 0. 96 97. 7 5 488. 5 35. 5 30. 84% 3. 5 10. 14 As we can see from the number facts above, both operating and leverage ratios show that bad performance of the company became even worse after the acquisition. On one hand, during this six-year period, Marvel’s operating ratios decreased greatly: Net Income/ Sales dropped from 13. 99% of 1991 to -4. 80% of 1996. Besides, the cost of Sales/Sales rose significantly from 50. 57% to 64. 07%. At the same time, SG&A/Sales also increased from 18. 6% to 28. 9%.On the other hand, the leverage ratios also showed that the leverage is already quite high before it made the acquisition decision. During the period from 1991 to 1995, the operating results were not satisfying and leverage coverage kept falling. Based on this situation, Marvel’s decision makers still expanded further, resulting in a worse situation: after the acquisition, its interest coverage ratio dropped rapidly to only 0. 96; the EBITDA/Sales ratio also declined to 7. 02%. Therefore, we can see clearly that the bad strategy Marvel adopted is the main reason for its bankruptcy.When facing with both an internal problem—financial distress, and external threats—declining demand for cards, Marvel should absolutely seek growth within existing business rather than impudently expand through acquiring Skyb ox. Part 2 Evaluation of the proposed restructuring plan: will it solve the problems that caused Marvel to file Chapter 11? As Carl Icahn, the largest unsecured debt holder, would you vote for the proposed restructuring plan? Why or why not? In early 1996, Perelman announced a restructuring plan in order to bail out.According to the plan, $365 million would be invested in Marvel in exchange for 427 million new Marvel shares to maintain the 80% ownership; Marvel would acquire Toy Biz, using its revenue to serve Marvel’s debt and offset Marvel’s NOLs; debt with a face value of $894. 1 million would shift into equity. In our perspective, this new plan can only solve part of Marvel’s recent problems, while it would be helpless to completely help the company out. The proposed restructuring plan is supposed both to relief Marvel’s debt burden and to increase the liquidity. To achieve this goal, Marvel planned to increase equity investment, and retire 894. milli on of debt, whose interest would be secured by 77. 3 million of Marvel’s shares. In these cases, Marvel would acquire new financing support without giving away part of its ownership, which is vital for the tax and NOLs purpose of the company. Besides, the leverage ratio would decrease sharply as a large proportion of debt would turn into equity, given that the market price of stock would not decline significantly. As a result, the plan could solve the liquidity problem of Marvel, as well as solve the problem that led Marvel to violate specific bank loan covenants.However, the company misemployed the newly acquired liquidity in the wrong place. Rather than transforming its original business strategy, which is problematic, into newly emerging industries such as video games to increase revenue, Marvel would maintain its original business lines, majority of which face downturns in the market. At the meantime, Marvel would continue to expand its current business by acquiring remai ning shares of Toy Biz. As what was mentioned previous in this report, the main reason why Marvel filed Chapter 11 was that it mistakenly bought business that produces non-demanded products.S&P downgraded the company’s debt by noting that Marvel’s earnings â€Å"have fallen while it has added debt to make acquisitions†. To acquire Toy Biz, an estimated $361. 5 million would be paid in cash by Marvel. Though Marvel believed that the acquisition would help generate sustainable cash flow to the company, we consider the revenue of Toy Biz, a company which is closely related to Marvel’s current business lines, is far from guaranteed as a foreseeable downturn in traditional entertainment industry. It means that the relieved debt burden could be ultimately offset by the prudent acquisition.Marvel would be inevitable in crisis. Furthermore, the debt holders, debt of whom would be transformed into equity, would not be fully paid off. After the restructuring plan w as announced, the stock price of Marvel plummeted. From what was shown in Exhibit 3, Marvel’s stock price continued to decline afterwards. Under the downward pressure of share price, the value of the collateral shares for the bonds are now much lower than it used to be at the time of the bonds being issued. In other words, the new shares could now only cover partially the face value of original bonds.For Carl Icahn, the largest unsecured debt holder who would have to invest in the highly discounted share once the restructuring plan is passed, whether or not its investment could be paid back would be doubtful. Though Bear Stearns, a company who prepared financial projections for Marvel’s acquisition of Toy Biz, predicted modest growth for Marvel and significant growth for Toy Biz, and that Marvel was valued more as a going concern, the argument of Bear Stearns is questionable and hard to be guaranteed. Therefore, as Carl Icahn, we would not vote for he proposed restruct uring plan. Part 3 Evaluation of Marvel’s equity: how much is Marvel’s equity worth per share under the proposed restructuring plan assuming it acquires Toy Biz as planned? What is your assessment of the pro forma financial projections and liquidation assumptions? We proceed to estimate equity worth per share by employing the capital cash flow method. Capital cash flow valuation incorporates mainly two approaches: starting with NI or starting with EBIT. Concerning the difficulty of reaching for such items as EBIT, we prefer the NI method particularly.Then the whole valuation process could be divided into two parts: calculation of PV (CCF) and number of shares. Part 1: PV (CCF) How to determine the discount rate is crucial for PV (equity value). This valuation uses data from Exhibit 10. Marvel entertainment group asset beta Risk-free rate Risk premium Pre-tax WACC Note: Pre-tax WACC = Rf + ? a * risk premium We use the five-year yields on US treasury bills, notes, and b onds for correspondence with our estimation time range starting from 1997 and ending in 2001. It gives us the pretax WACC as 11. 35%, used as our discount rate in the case. Then we proceed to the next section of CCF, based on information on Exhibit 9. Table 3. 1 has all the calculations shown in explicit steps with our desired result as equity value = 435. 99. Part 2: number of shares outstanding Up till now, equity value per share is only one step away with the missing number of shares, which is presented directly underneath Exhibit 6, as 528. 8 Therefore, we can come straightforward to the final calculation as: Equity value per share = 435. 99/528. 8 = 0. 2 What makes this case special is that distressed M&A could offer substantial corporate strategy opportunities in the troubled economic times ahead, while at the same time, the value of such opportunities could often be hidden amidst the confusion and distress of bankruptcy, such as the one listed as follows. Liquidation value is presented in table 3. 2. 0. 65 6. 36% 7. 5% 11. 235% Part 4 Will it be difficult for Marvel or other companies in the MacAndrews and Forbes holding company to issue debt in the future? Yes. It will become much harder for other companies in the MacAndrews and Forbes holding company o issue debt in the future, under the influence of Marvel’s bankruptcy. In 1995, S&P and Moody’s downgraded the holding companies’ debt from B to B-. Again, in 1996, Moody’s downgraded Marvel’s public debt once more. After the huge volume debt of Marvel downgraded by two rating agencies, Marvel had announced that it would violate specific bank loan covenants due to decreasing revenues and profits. Because downgrading of debt increases the chance of default, and the default probability would surely bring difficulties to other companies in the MacAndrews and Forbes holding company to issue new debt.This would happen step by step. First, the low credit rating indicates a hi gh risk of defaulting on a loan and, hence leads to high interest rates or the refusal of a loan by the creditor. Then, Investors realize this risk and therefore would require a higher default premium to compensate the risk. After that, increased default premiums would raise the cost of capital for the holding company. Given the increased risk premium and default possibilities, Marvel and other companies in the MacAndrews and Forbes holding group would having more difficulties issuing new debt in the future.Some difficulties would be generated from Perelman, because debt holders and creditors where raising questions about the integrity on the judgment decisions from Perelman. Judge Balick approved Marvel did not discriminate unfairly against non-affecting creditor classes and provided it was fair and equitable to all classes. In reaction, a lawyer challenged the Bearn Stern’s conclusions and insinuated Bearn Sterns had multiple levels of conflicts due to the contingency fee p rovided by Perelman. In the end even the Vice-Chairman of the Andrew group had to come with a statement to overcome all the negative sounds in the market.Anyhow it looks like Perelman’s reputation was damaged already. Also, this would influence the whole company’s reputation and the credibility of issuing new debt. Part 5 Why did the price of Marvel’s zero-coupon bonds drop on Tuesday, November 12, 1996? Why did portfolio managers at Fidelity and Putnam sell their bonds on Friday, November 8, 1996? On Nov 12, 1996, Marvel’s zero-coupon bonds fell by more than 50% when the spokesman for the Andrews Group announced the details of the proposed restructuring plan. According to he announcement, Perelman was to purchase, through Perelman-related entities, 410 million shares of newly-issued Marvel common for $0. 85 per share, 81% discount to the then prevailing market price of $4. 625. After Marvel met the managers of Fidelity and Putnam, those two institutional investors sold their Marvel bonds on hand immediately in response of the meeting before the announcement of the restructuring plan. Public holders predict Fidelity and Putnam should have the insider information about the restructuring plan.Their action made the public holder feels the restructuring plan is not favor to the bond holder and therefore sold it to avoid a greater loss. Apart from that, Marvel’s zero-coupon bonds were secured by its equity, rather than the company’s assets or operating cash flows. Due to the problem Marvel suffered, their share price dropped. Once the stock price dropped below $11. 6 per share, the collateral would not be sufficient to cover the debts. The public debt holders might consider that these bonds were no longer worthy to be held to maturity while the credit risk soared. Therefore they sold the bonds in arge quantity under the deteriorated signals in the market. As a result, the bond price plunged. Due to the restructuring plan, t he prices of Marvel’s shares and bonds dropped 41% and 50% respectively. On Nov 8, 1996, Howard Gittis, vice chairman of Andrews Group, called Fidelity Investments and Putnam Investments, two of the largest institutional holders of Marvel’s public debt, and asked them what they would like to see in are structuring plan. Portfolio managers at Fidelity and Putnam decided to sell more that $70 million of Marvel bonds at a price of $0. 37 per dollar of face value on the next day.Perhaps, during this conversation, they got some detail information of the plan which proved the present value of Marvel’s bonds was overvalued. It gave the chance for them to avoid tens huge losses in diminished value that would have followed and suffer the time they continued to hold the bonds already existing facts were revealed. To explain the portfolio managers at Fidelity and Putnam sell their bonds on Friday, November 8, 1996, we can compare the value of the bond value at the market a nd the expected equity value belong to the public holders after restructuring, Bond value on November 8, 1996, Face value of $894mn X 0. 37per dollar of face value = $ 330mn Equity value belong to the public holders after restructuring, $ 77mn shares X $0. 49 (our projected equity worth per share) = $ 38mn We found that the market value of the Marvel bond is far higher than the value of the future equity worth belongs to the bondholders. So, the bond selling price of Fidelity and Putnam is relatively much attractive rather than the converted equity value after the restructuring plan. ConclusionIn the above analysis, we reached at the conclusion that Marvel’s bankruptcy mainly resulted from its bad strategy and management problems. First, it chose to expand in a wrong time and to a wrong direction. Second, its restructuring decision can only solve its liquidity problem temporarily, and Carl Icahn should veto the restructuring plan. Third, Marvel Entertainment Group in this cas e will have bad influence on other companies and make it hard for them to issue new debt in the future. We also use the capital cash flow method to calculate the equity worth under the restructuring plan.Generally speaking, it does sound that attractive and only resulted in investors’ chagrin. Table 3. 1 (millions) Net (loss) income + depreciation or amortization – change in working capital – capital expenditure + amortization of goodwill – equity in net (loss) income in unconsolidated subsidiaries + minority interest in Toy Biz + provision for deferred taxes +Interest Capital cash flow Growth rate of each year Geometric growth rate Discount rate Present value of CCF Sum of Present value Debt value of Sept. 996 Equity value ? ? ? Terminal cash flow = CCF2001 * (1+g)/(r-g) We use geometric average here because of the rule of thumb: the more volatile the return stream, the more important it uses geometric average Because the market value and book value of d ebt are nearly the same, we directly subtract the debt value from Sum of PV (CCF) to get the final equity value. -7. 12% 11. 235% 248. 21 1412. 99 977. 0 435. 99 192. 3 91. 04 162. 12 118. 67 600. 52 1997 (35. 7) 34. 5 75. 4 83. 0 30. 5 0. 1 3. 0 9. 8 71. 0 271. 6 1998 17. 5 43. 4 11. 5 67. 4 21. 8 0. 2 -8. 3 68. 0 238. 1 (12. 33%) 1999 (12. 1) 44. 1 (44. 3) 47. 4 21. 5 (2. 2) -6. 3 64. 6 125. 3 (47. 38%) 2000 27. 6 44. 8 42. 0 46. 7 21. 2 (3. 2) -8. 1 61. 0 248. 2 98. 08% 2001 33. 6 45. 9 (2. 0) 45. 1 21. 5 (4. 4) -5. 8 56. 6 202. 1 (18. 57%) 1022. 67 Terminal CF 1022. 67 Table 3. Liquidation value Cash Accounts receivable Inventory Deferred income tax Income tax receivable Prepaid expenses and other current assets Current assets PP&E (net) Goodwill and other intangibles (net) Investment in subsidiaries Deferred charges and other assets Total assets Accounts payable Accrued expenses and other current liabilities Short-term borrowings Current portion of long-term debt Current liabil ities Long-term debt Other long-term liabilities Total liabilities Minority interest in Toy Biz Liquidation value Sep-96 35. 9 257. 2 99. 1 32. 5 18. 2 58. 2 501. 1 87. 7 595. 3. 2 72. 7 1260. 4 95. 8 170. 1 28. 7 625. 8 920. 4 0 56. 6 977. 0 102. 9 180. 5 Millions adjustment % 100 85 50 0 100 0 value 35. 9 218. 6 49. 6 0 18. 2 0 322. 3 Note s 1L 2L 3L 4L 50 50 0 0 43. 9 297. 9 0 0 664. 0 5L 6L 7L 7L 90 90 0 0 86. 2 153. 1 0 0 239. 3 8L 8L 9L 9L 0 0 0 0 239. 3 9L 10L 0 0 424. 7 11L 12L Note: all adjustments are based on our group’s estimations, prepared from the 1996 standpoint. ? The second entry accounts receivable is adjusted downward to 85%, based on the â€Å"rule of thumb† of liquidation situations, note (2L), (5L), and (8L) are done likewise.To make it more precise, expert appraisers are needed for specific consultation. ? Notes (3L), (4L), (7L), (9L), (10L) and (11L) identify the items written down to zero if liquidized. ? Note (6L) were written down to 50% bec ause of the perceived value of Marvel’s character portfolio (Spiderman and X-man did enable them steal the thunder), while we still need someone expertise for more accurate estimation. ? Lastly, subtracting liabilities from assets in Table 3. 2 gives us the liquidation valuation of $424. 7 million