Enron paper Research Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Enron - Research Paper Example Enron was a among leading promoters in restructuring of energy markets which led to the emergent of its name, but the name was later changed to energy country as a result of its invention in new global market. Enron was a pioneer company in the legend of elite of workers in financial world. The company acquired miscellaneous investments to its portfolio and had the capability of obtaining returns of 200% of its investments to shareholders. By 2000, Enron had become a massive company in the industry. They opened branches in South America, India Asia and a host of other European States and countries. They extended their functions by starting occupation in additional projects that they had started, and it is when they started the online manufacturing of energy and telecommunication facilities. They further introduced services such as, risk management, consulting services, internet broadband services, and the launch of outstanding products that protected against bad weather (Hutton 5). H owever, in October 16, 2001, the company was involved in some fraudulent activities and this led it to bankruptcy. On December 2, 2001, in Southern District of New York, Enron Company went ahead and filed for bankruptcy after it recorded a loss of an approximated $638 million in its third quarter earnings, and chose Weil Gotshal and Manges as their bankruptcy counsel. This bankruptcy was as a result of, top executives involved in huge scandals such as, money laundering, corruption and a series of other conspiracies. To add on top of that, they lost their goodwill, investments and confidence by admitting fraud in income of about four years, which was about $586. They also admitted to have hidden $3 billion in debt to create limited partnerships. Afterwards, they faced a massive deterioration in the stock market with, is $90 per share falling to less than $1 per share in 2000. (Bhatnagar et al. 8) Employees of Enron Corporation became affected in disastrous ways, stating form unemploy ment to their retirement savings getting lost in the fraud. Banks also became victims of circumstances by losing millions of dollars of investments that the company had acquired as loan, due to fake earning reports. The firm was sidelined by a number of its clients and workers resulting to them quitting out of business. The report of these financial frauds were preplanned, and systematically arranged to undertake fraudulent activities. The counterfeiting of strategies, embezzling of profits and hiding increased debt diminished the company’s stock value through the fraudulent activities, they were able to gain access in borrowing extra wealth and with this, and they were boosted. The statistics revealed that top executives gave incorrect audit reports about the company’s economic conditions. In February 2002, the company was inquired by Senate Commerce Committee and they later came out of bankruptcy in November 2004 (Bhatnagar et al, 10). Accounting Problems Enron start ed experiencing accounting problems in late 2001 that, compounded of some of its several businesses not doing well as required. In October 2001, Enron announced a series of asset losses which included an

Crisis and Expansion Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Crisis and Expansion - Essay Example Critics have argued that the Manifest Destiny was a disputed concept that many famous Americans such as Ulysses S. Grant, Abraham Lincoln, as well as a majority of the Whigs rebuffed it. American expansionism did not signify an American consensus, but it aggravated bitter dispute in the national polity. Countrywide, perhaps most Democrats, people endorsed the Manifest Destiny, but a majority of the Whigs strongly rejected it. Manifest Destiny offered the rhetorical tone for the biggest acquisition of United States territory (Adams 35). It was utilized by Democrats in the mid-1800s to defend the Mexican war, and it was also applied to split the Oregon with Britain. However, the Manifest Destiny always crawled along due to its internal restrictions, as well as the issue of slavery. It never turned into a nationwide priority (Adams 35). By 1843, John Quincy Adams, formerly a key ally, had changed his view and rejected the Manifest Destiny since it meant the extension of slavery in Texas (Greenberg 97). From the onset of the Manifest Destiny—huge in the plan, in its sense of continentalism—is had a small number of supporters (Greenberg 98). It missed sectional, national or party following proportionate with its size. The basis was it did not echo the nationwide spirit (Greenberg 98). The idea that it reflected nationalism is supported by little evidence. The Manifest Destiny was, at all times, a very general idea instead of a precise policy (Adams 35). There was never any principle describing the manifest destiny. Nonspecific but intensely felt, the manifest destiny was a feeling of certainty in the decency and value of imperialism, which complemented other accepted thoughts of that period, including Romantic nationalism and American exceptionalism (Greenberg 98). Andrew Jackson, who talked of expanding the field of freedom, characterized the conflation of Americas likely greatness, the country’s

Discussion based on the east asia crisis Assignment

Discussion based on the east asia crisis - Assignment Example The international monetary fund (IMF) and world bank had not surveyed the abundant achievements of the area. According to Stilgitz, this may have resulted due to the East Asia rejections to follow western policies such as the Washington consensus so as to attain success (Stiglitz 89-99). Stiglitz discusses two patterns. The devaluation of the nation’s currency which occurred frequently all over the area. If a merchant believes a currency will devaluate they sell their stocks of that money, this leads currency to devalue since the supply of money rises while demand does not. The government also spends its foreign currency reserves to pile up its own currency until it gets exhausted of the reserves, either way the currency falls in value. This case was mainly in Thailand(Stiglitz 99-111). The second pattern was realized after the end of the Korean War. The country reformed its economy by tightly controlling its financial markets. After much pressure from the United States it reluctantly allowed its firm to borrow from aboard, this borrowing from the abroad exposed themselves to the vagaries of the international market. The Withdrawal of the World Bank from lending it caused its downfall in the economy (Stiglitz 99-111). IMF had a role of lending the money to the East Asia countries. But it did it at a higher interest rate, cutbacks in government spending and increase in taxes. Other additional conditions a county was mandated to make increase in openness and transparency and improve in the financial market as well as minor reforms such as abolition of the clove monopoly in Indonesia. Moreover, the idea of the capital account liberation without evidence that such policies promote growth was the one of most important factor to the cause of the crisis. This made the developing nations subject to both rational and irrational whims of the investor community. The Beggar-thyself

Assignment 5 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Assignment 5 - Essay Example â€Å"Bullwhip effect describes how inaccurate information, a lack of transparency throughout the supply chain, and disconnect between production and real-time supply chain information result in lost revenue, bad customer service, high inventory levels and unrealized profits† (Paritosh Agarwal, 2009). The Bullwhip effect can be minimized by studying the drivers of demand and supply patterns. Moreover, companies should try to reduce the cycle time, ensure smooth and quick flow of information and take corrective actions to reduce the impacts of price fluctuations, inaccurate demand forecasts and order batching. Question 2: explain why Volvo manufacturing department believed that customers had started to like green cars in the mid 1990’s. Answer: the demand and supply variations at Volvo resulted in huge stocks of unsold green cars. The overproduction of cars can have a potential impact on unrealized revenues and excessive cost for storing the cars. Therefore, the company planned to offer incentives in order to increase the demand of green cars. On one hand the company was successfully able to sell the excess stock which resulted in the revenue realization of the green cars. However, the production department misinterpreted the sales record and started ordering excessive raw materials in order to produce more cars. This inaccurate assessment of the situation can have a multiplier effect on the profits and production capacity. In future, the company will again have to offer some incentives and attractive deals to deal with the overproduction of cars which will not only reduce the profit margins but it will also lead to increased workload and decline in quality caused by 100% capacity utilization. SUPPLY CHAIN MANAGEMENT AT WAL-MART. Question 3: Discuss how the Bullwhip effect can be reduced. Explain how Wal-Mart uses IT to reduce the Bullwhip Effect. Answer: the Bullwhip effect can be controlled by accurately forecasting demand by gathering the real-t ime information, which can be acquired by working closely with suppliers and distributors. The regular flow of information combined with the proper management of sales and inventory growth can be helpful in attaining the proposed financial results. From a different perspective, all the parties involved in the supply-chain management process are mutually dependent on each other and they can significantly influence the rest of the industry players with their actions. Therefore suppliers, distributors, production department and customer relationship department should work in coordination with each other in order to improve the business-customers sales record. Apart from this, organizations should try to improve the downstream communication by using the point of sales (POS) data collection method and vendor-managed inventories (VOI) so that demand is not over/under estimated. Also, price fluctuations caused by various discount offers can create variability in demand; therefore, every da y low price (EDLP) should be used to keep the prices stable. Moreover, cycle time should be reduced to make the availability of the product faster and easier and â€Å"order capacity reservations† could be used by production department so that the retailers reserve a specific quantity of items to be purchased in a given time frame which will help to keep the distributor’

Solar Energy For Desalination Technologies in Saudi Arabia Essay

Solar Energy For Desalination Technologies in Saudi Arabia - Essay Example Saudi Arabia is a country of paradoxes, not only in its history and culture but even in its natural resources. In its substrata lies the 18 per cent of all the world’s proven oil reserves, the largest anywhere in the world (Revenue Watch Institute, 2011), and because of this the country is assured of a steady stream of petrodollars that has the potential to make it one of the world’s wealthiest economies. On the other hand, Saudi Arabia is situated in one of the world’s most arid regions, with little surface water, very little rainfall, and increasing desertification which is gradual loss of once arable and fertile land to encroaching aridity (TeachMideast, 2011). Thus while it is abundant in the world’s most expensive natural resource, Saudi Arabia is however sorely lacking in that commodity essential to life and plentiful in nearly every other region of the planet – fresh water. Through the years the process of desalination has enabled countries in arid regions to obtain potable water from brackish or seawater. In Saudi Arabia this is being done today on a large scale through oil powered desalination plants. While the use of fossil fuels poses no present concerns for this oil-rich country, government officials, scientists and policy makers are all aware that the supply of oil is not inexhaustible, and eventually shall be depleted. At such time, the country should have been able to build the capability to desalinate water using sustainable sources of energy such as solar radiation, which this desert region has a limitless supply of. Presently, the country is unable to accomplish solar powered desalination on a large scale, and many are pessimistic that this could be done. Statement of the Research Objective: This dissertation aims to explore the viability of harnessing solar energy for the purpose of large-scale desalination of water in Saudi Arabia. Research questions: In order to satisfactorily achieve the research objective, the dissertation shall seek the answers to the following research questions: 1. What is the currently prevailing situation of large-quantity water desalination in Saudi Arabia? 2. What is the rate of water consumption of Saudi Arabia’s population, and what are the chances of a projected shortfall of potable water in the event of the closure of its oil powered desalination plants? 3. How is large-scale solar powered desalination technology described, and what is its feasibility in Saudi Arabia? Q1: Currently prevailing desalination situation An Overview of Desalination Process in Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia is the world’s largest producer of the desalinated water, accounting for at least 30 per cent of the total world output. The Kingdom has invested nearly $25 billion in the last 80 years developing the technology for desalination, and in building and operating the desalination plants. Presently, ther e are some 30 desalination plants in the country, 27 of which supply drinking water to the principal urban centers and industrial locations via a

Later Adulthood Development Report Essay Example for Free

Later Adulthood Development Report Essay Aging occurs in every stage of life, and as adults grow older and move from one stage of adulthood to the next many new changes can occur in their everyday lives. The transition from middle adulthood to later adulthood can bring a whole new level of changes to an individual’s life. The aging process includes changes in roles and social positions, considering living accommodations with health care needs, transitioning from work life to retirement, changes in social policies, and changes in relationships with family members and peers. As aging occurs individuals notice a numerous amount of changes in their lives. Some of those changes occur in their roles and social positions. As an individual ages they may begin to notice both physical and mental changes that decrease their ability to carry out activities in their daily routines. An individual who was once the leader of company meetings may notice that they are no longer able to hear or see things as well as they were before, and they may not be able to process their thoughts as quickly. They might also notice a delay in their reaction time. While some people may assume it is because of a medical issue, it could just be because of aging. As aging continues throughout later adulthood individuals may also notice changes in their physical appearances such as loose or wrinkly skin and a decrease in muscle tone. Throughout life individuals may decide to move from one place to another to experience what it is like to live in a new place. As individuals age their health starts to decline, and in some cases, some families have to make the decision to put their loved ones in a nursing home or hire a nursing staff to do home visits. When the health of a loved one becomes an issue family members have to make sure they are getting the  proper care they need to ensure their loved ones are safe and their health needs are being met. Some elderly individuals are able to go through life and not need any type of assistance caring for themselves, but some individuals get sick and cannot properly take care of themselves any longer. Alzheimer’s and Dementia are two of the worst diseases an individual can develop as they age. Once Alzheimer’s or Dementia really set in the individual start to forget life as they previously knew it. They no longer recognize their family or friends and have a hard time remembering anything about their lives. According to the Alzheimer’s Association there are three stages to Alzheimer’s disease, the early, middle, and late stages. In the early stages of Alzheimer’s disease an individual may still function as well as they did before they knew they had the disease, â€Å"He or she may still drive, work, and be a part of social activities† (Alzheimer’s Association, 2015). According to the Alzheimer’s Association, â€Å"The middle stages of Alzheimer’s are typically the longest and can last for many years†. The third, and final stage of Alzheimer’s, the late stages, according to the Alzheimer’s Association, â€Å"may last for several weeks or several years and requires intense are the clock care†. As Alzheimer’s progresses the individual may experience symptoms such as; anger, anxiety, depression, hallucinations, memory loss, confusion, repetition, and physical discomfort. As Alzheimer’s slowly starts to take over the individual it becomes harder and harder for both the individual and the family to deal with the changes that are occurring. That is why it is so important to make sure there is a trained medical professional on site at all times to care and comfort the individual dealing with the disease. The transition from working life to retirement can be a difficult process for some adults as they struggle to accept the changes that will occur in their lifestyle. But, on the other hand, retirement can also be an enjoyable time for some adults as they see it as an opportunity to do things they love without having to worry about work interfering with their plans. Some aging adults have a hard time coping with the thought of retirement because of the drastic change in income and they do not know what to do with  all the extra time they will have throughout the day. While the changes in income between a weekly or biweekly paycheck greatly differ from their previous profession and the amount of money received through social security, most employers offer a 401K savings plan to help with retirement and life after working. Social policies were put in tact to ensure that anyone in need is able to have their needs met. These needs can include medical, nutritional, and income needs. The government has funded programs such as food stamps to help families all over the country provide food for their families. Other government programs such as Medicaid and Medicare are intact to help cover medical expenses for people who cannot afford health or dental insurance. When it comes to the elderly, social programs such as Social Security and the Older Americans Act were put intact to ensure the elderly (anyone aged sixty five or older) are able to financially support themselves. Social policies are a great way to ensure individuals are properly taken care of and are able to support themselves. Family is forever, and nobody should ever feel as if they have to go through life alone. As we age it is important to remember how important our family and friends really are to us. We spend our whole lives searching for someone to spend the rest of our lives with and to build a family with, but as we age and people in our families start to die people begin to feel lonely. Losing a close family member or even a friend can leave individuals with a feeling of loneliness or even depression, â€Å"Most people seventy years of age or older are widowed, divorced, or single† (Zastrow Kirst-Ashman, 2010). Grandparents and great- grandparents should never have to feel like they are unimportant or unwanted by their families. As individuals mature and go on with their own lives they should always continue to stay in touch with everyone in their family, but they should especially make sure their grandparents and older family members are healthy and well taken care of. The changes that occur throughout our daily lives are preparing us for the next stage of life. As individuals age they experience new things and learn  new things about themselves. Some people fear aging as they fear they will no longer be able to properly care for themselves any longer, but with the love and support from our families anything is possible. The aging process includes changes in roles and social positions, considering living accommodations with health care needs, transitioning from work life  to retirement, changes in social policies, and changes in relationships with family members and peers. Aging is just one of the many aspects of life that everyone has to deal with, and it is up to us to determine how we want to deal with it and let it affect our everyday life. References: Alzheimer’s Association. The Stages of Alzheimer’s. Retrieved from: http://www.alz.org/living_with_alzheimers_4521.asp U.S Department of Health and Family Services. Caring for Frail Elderly People: Policies in Evolution. Retrieved from: http://aspe.hhs.gov/daltcp/reports/chap14.htm Zastrow, C.H. Kirst-Ashman, K.K. (2010). Understanding Human Behavior and the Social Environment (8th Ed.)

Backbone network Essay Example for Free

Backbone network Essay The chapter starts out explaining how a BN (Backbone Network) works. Backbone Network: Connecting all of the LANs of an organization entails another type of network (BN). A properly designed backbone network provides a high-speed circuit that serves as the central conduit across which the LANs of an organization can communicate. They can also be used to connect LANs within a building, across a campus, and, increasingly, across much greater distances. A BN, as indicated by its name, is a network of its own. Besides connecting the various network segments, the backbone may have its own devices that can be accessed by other network segments Metropolitan area network (MAN): MAN spans a city and is often used to connect remote BNs. MAN in some cases can be considered a citywide BN and as the geographic distances they cover have increased, especially with the use of fiber-optics. BNs connect networks between floors of a building, across a city, or between states and countries. BN and MAN are sometimes used interchangeably, based on the scope of the BN. Network Segments: Each individual LAN owned by an organization is reffered to as a network segment. Horizontal Segment: A moderate- to large-scale organization might have a network segment on each floor of a multistory building. Because each network segment, or LAN, typically occupies its own floor, this type of network segment is often referred to as a horizontal network. For example, assume that a business occupies three floors of a building. On each floor is a separate LAN, or horizontal network segment. Vertical Network: LANs could, and probably would, be connected to each other by a BN. This type of multi-floor connection is an example of a vertical network. The BN in this instance is the central connecting cable running vertically from floor to floor that enables the horizontal networks to communicate with each other. Part of configuration analysis includes determining how each network segment connects to the BN. Generally, each network segment is connected to the BN using either a switch or a router. Deciding which Backbone Protocol to use? Questions to ask: 1) Traffic Demands 2) Constant Communication 3) Mostly Independent Gigabyte Ethernet: is a very popular choice for BNs. The IEEE’s initial standard for Gigabit Ethernet is the 802.3z standard. Gigabit Ethernet allows for a data rate of 1,000 Mbps, or 1 Gbps. A major advantage of all of the officially recognized forms of Gigabit Ethernet is that each form builds on the standards of the preexisting Ethernet protocol. This means that the MAC layer and access method for Gigabit Ethernet are the same as those for standard and Fast Ethernet. Additionally, Gigabit Ethernet supports both half- and full-duplex communications. Other protocols that might be used for a backbone include Frame Relay (FR) and Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM). Frame Relay and ATM are also frequently associated with WANs. As such, discussion of Frame Relay and ATM will be reserved for Chapter 7, which focuses on WANs. Backbone Architecture: two most common BN architectures are distributed and collapsed. Factors that influence a business’s decision as to which architecture to use include business needs, the condition of the physical facility (sometimes called the plant or campus), how users need to communicate, and the budget. The larger and more complex the organization, the more critical the decision becomes as to what type of backbone architecture to use. It can be very costly to change an existing backbone architecture once one has been put in place. Distributed Backbone: runs throughout the entire enterprise. This type of backbone uses a central cable to which the network segments are connected. The central cable, which is the backbone, requires its own protocol, such as Gigabit Ethernet; it is also its own network. The backbone is considered to be distributed because each network segment has its own cabled connection to the backbone. The backbone is distributed to the LANs by connecting the LANs to the backbone. They maybe connected with routers and switches. In some cases even servers. A distributed backbone typically has separate routers that connect each logical network to the backbone. Because separate routers are used, internetwork traffic may have to pass through several routers to reach its destination. One advantage of a distributed backbone is that it allows resources required by most, if not all, internetworking users to be placed directly on the BN. Collapsed Backbone: connects all of the network segments to a centra l, single router or switch. This central device is, in effect, the backbone. The network segments typically connect to the central backbone device by means of a hub, switch, or router. Because only a single,central backbone device is used, cabling is greatly reduced. Furthermore, additional connecting devices are not required. A collapsed backbone can result in significant cost savings. Backplane: is an internal, high-speed communications bus that is used in place of the connecting cables found in a distributed backbone. Because fiber-optic cabling is used to connect network segments to the collapsed backbone’s backplane, long distances are possible. With fiber-optic cabling, network segments may be widely scattered across a building or even a campus. Backbone Fault Tolerance: is the capability of a technology to recover in the event of error, failure, or some other unexpected event that disrupts organizational communications and functions. Should the backbone fail for some reason, internetworking may no longer be possible. In such an event, business could come to a standstill and, depending on the recovery time, irreparable damage may occur. However, if fault tolerance has been built into the backbone, internetworking will likely still be possible. Fault tolerance will determine its ability to survive an error, damage, or some other unforeseen circumstance. Redundant Backbone: Should one backbone become unavailable, the other can still be used for internetworking traffic. Furthermore, using a redundant backbone also allows for the load balancing of internetworking traffic. By placing half of the network segments on each backbone, internetworking traffic is shared, or balanced, across the backbones, resulting in improved communications performance. It is also VERY expensive. Wiring Closet: The patch panel is usually housed in the wiring closet. The wiring closet may also contain servers that provide resources across the enterprise. In a multifloor design, wiring closets are usually placed one above the other. Placing the wiring closets in vertical alignment greatly facilitates their connection. Data Center: usually moderately to largely spaced and house all of the necessary networking equipment for the entire enterprise in a central location. As with wiring closets, data centers should be tightly secured and environmentally appropriate for the equipment they house. The data center may contain routers, switches, servers, and even network segment hubs that connect individual devices to their network segment. Rack: Hubs, Servers, Switches, Routers are bolted to them. Packet Errors: Related to Early Collisions and Late Collisions Early Collisions: Collisions in an Ethernet network are to be expected, and the collisions themselves are not a problem. However, when too many collisions occur, say, 5 percent or more of the total packets, then corrective measures are needed. If this happens too often, the segment network may have to be split. Late Collisions: can be caused by excessive cable lengths. Another potential cause is the use of too many repeaters. Late collisions can result in lost packets that require retransmission by higher-level protocols. Runts: Too small of a packet, may result from a defective NIC. They are also caused when a transmitting device stops transmission in the middle of a packet due to the detection of a collision. Runts can never be entirely eliminated, because they result from normal collisions, but when the number of runts is greater than the monitored number of collisions, a problem is indicated, may be caused by a defective NIC. Giants: Too large of a packet, and usually caused by a jabbering NIC. Jabbering: NIC is one that is transmitting continuously and incorrectly. Unlike runts, giants are not the result of a normal Ethernet operation, and therefore indicate a definite problem. Whereas a bad NIC is the mostly likely cause of a giant, another hardware device may also be faulty or a cable segment may be defective. If a NIC or cable segment is found to be the cause of the problem, the best solution is to remove and discard the failing component and replace it with a new one. Broadcast Storm: When the total broadcast traffic reaches or exceeds a rate of 126 packets per second, a broadcast storm results. The major problem with such a storm is that it is self-sustaining, resulting in a flood of garbage packets that eventually consume all network bandwidth, preventing any other valid communications from occurring. SMDS (Switched Multimegabit Data Services): supports the exchange of data between LANs in different parts of a city or between network segments over a large campus. SMDS is a packet-switched datagram service for high-speed MAN traffic. SMDSIP (Switched Multimegabit Data Services Interface Protocol): provides for three layers of protocols that define user information frame structuring, addressing, error control, and overall transport. SMDSIP Level 1 defines the physical interfaces and the type of trans- mission medium and signaling system used. SMDSIP Level 2 provides an access method, defined in IEEE Project 802.6, that is referred to as a distributed queue dual bus (DQDB). (It is beyond the scope of this text to go into the details of DQDB; however, it is interesting to note that the access method used is not contention or token passing, but one called distributed queues.) SMDSIP Level 3 accepts user data and adds header and trailer information to it for processing by the SMDS network.