Segregation during 1960s

Segregation during 1960s THESIS: The civil rights movements opened a new chapter in the nation’s history. African-Americans were embroiled in a vicious war that aimed to end discriminatory and segregation laws. They fought â€Å"the war of a lifetime† in which they demanded suffrage, educational and housing rights. In addition, they wanted equal access to employment opportunities as well as the abolishment of state and federal laws, which discriminated against them in public places.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Segregation during 1960s specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More The civil rights movement Demand for full civil liberties Discrimination in Churches and other public places Use of visual symbols and metaphors Use of Irony Use of caricatures and stereotypes Use of visual arguments Segregation during 1960s In 1960s, the civil rights movements opened a new chapter in the nation’s history. Blacks were embroiled in a vi cious war that aimed to end segregation laws. They fought â€Å"the war of a lifetime† in which they demanded suffrage, educational and housing rights. In addition, they wanted equal access to employment opportunities as well as the abolishment of state and federal laws that segregated them in public places. In this editorial cartoon, posted in the Washington Post in 1960, the Herblock explicitly demonstrates that segregation laws were prevalent in public places across the United States (n.d). Essentially the Church is considered the house of God. Consequently, it ought to embrace every person regardless of his color, race, ethnic background, class, or religion. However, in this cartoon the Church symbolizes the extent to which segregation laws had affected blacks in Churches and other public places. In the earlier 1960s and before the passage of the Civil Rights Act in 1965, African-Americans worshipped in separate Churches and attended separate schools from the whites. In t his cartoon, the cartoonist has ironically implied that this was â€Å"The First Segregationist Church,† which represented â€Å"The Brotherhood of Man† (Herblock n.d). At this point, it is also important to note that the cartoonist himself visually exaggerates the message when he selectively employs white and black backgrounds to label the signpost of the church. This categorically presents substantial grounds to support the fact that segregation laws had profound effect on the American society although they were unconstitutional. He strategically places an old, fat white man, who obviously looks worried at the sight of African-Americans who have come to the Church. This view clearly symbolizes that segregation laws were intact in the minds of conservative Americans. The title of the cartoon, â€Å"Pray, Keep Moving Brother† also provides another form of ironical expression.Advertising Looking for essay on history? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More The white man standing at the entrance of the Church is telling the father of the little boy to keep on praying and it is indisputable that the little boy is listening to the conversation. In essence, the whites are not comfortable to share the same Church and other public places with blacks however; because of the government’s decision to outlaw discrimination in public places, whites reluctantly begun recognizing blacks. This is shown when the white man in the cartoon uncomfortably calls blacks his â€Å"brothers† and mockingly tells them to pray and keeps moving in order to get official constitutional recognition. The name of the Church itself â€Å"first segregationist Church† is a slogan that is used to assert that indeed this was the first Church that allowed both blacks and whites to share the common platform. It is also crucial to note that conservative whites were not ready to share similar platforms with blacks despite the fact that the government outlawed segregation laws. Consequently, the editorial cartoon oversimplifies the view that whites boycotted Churches and other public places because the Civil Right Act gave blacks the legal recognition to share public places with whites, this is shown when the white old man leaves the first segregationist church to pave way for blacks. The cartoonist also emphasizes the fact that blacks were determined to share the American dream because they defied all odds to show whites that attaining civil rights was their constitutional right as revealed by the middle-aged father who brings his son to the first segregationist Church. The cartoon is arguing against racial discrimination and the enforcement of segregation laws as evidently portrayed when the cartoonist dresses the white old man in black suit and dresses the blacks in white suit. In addition, the cartoon is asserting that blacks not only wanted an end to segregation laws they also fought alongside their children as depicted by the father who has brought his son to the Church. In conclusion, this editorial cartoon symbolizes the extent to which segregation laws affected blacks in Churches and other public places during the 60s besides it also emphasizes how blacks confronted whites in public places to achieve basic civil liberties. Herblock. â€Å"Segregation 1960.† The Washington Post14 Aug. 1960. Web. loc.gov/exhibits/herblock/Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Segregation during 1960s specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More

Same Year, Same Author How to Reference Sources Correctly

Same Year, Same Author How to Reference Sources Correctly Same Year, Same Author? How to Reference Sources Correctly Many referencing systems use the author’s surname and year of publication in citations, with full source information given in a reference list. However, if you are citing multiple sources by the same author from the same year, the name and year alone won’t be enough to cite a text clearly. What do you do if you need to cite two sources from one author that were published in the same year in a paper, then? In this post, we look at how this works with author–date citations. Two Sources from the Same Year in Author–Date Citations To show how this works with author–date citations, we’ll use the APA referencing system. However, the same rules described here apply to other similar systems (e.g., Chicago and Harvard). The basic rule when citing two sources from the same year is to add a letter after the year: Pellow (1994b) originally claimed that love is all around. However, later the same year he claimed to have located it specifically in a wishing well (Pellow, 1994a). Here, for example, we have two sources by â€Å"Pellow† from 1994. Without adding â€Å"a† and â€Å"b† after the year of publication in these citations, we would not be able to tell the sources apart. Pellow is perhaps better known for his pop career than his time in academia.(Photo: Andwhatsnext, aka Nancy J Price) You may be wondering why we used â€Å"b† instead of â€Å"a† for the first citation above. This is because the correct letter to use for each source depends on its position in the reference list. With APA referencing, you would usually list multiple sources by the same author chronologically. However, when multiple sources are published in the same year, you organize them by title: Pellow, M. (1994a). Goodnight Girl: Finding Love in a Wet Place. Glasgow: WWW Inc. Pellow, M. (1994b). Love Is All Around: A Geolocational Study. London: Troggs Publishing. In this case, then, Goodnight Girl is assigned the letter â€Å"a† because â€Å"Goodnight† comes before â€Å"Love† alphabetically. It is vital that the same letters are used in the reference list as in citations, as otherwise your reader will have no way of knowing which source you are citing in each case.

Computer Architecture Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Computer Architecture - Assignment Example In his 1946 paper authored with Hermann H. Goldstine and Arthur W. Burks, and titled "Preliminary Discussion of the Logical Design of an Electronic Computing Instrument,† von Neumann provided an elaborate explanation and plan concerning the physical layout of a basic computer and how it should operate. The ideas and explanations in the paper were to have a massive influence on virtually every subsequent design and development of computers (Aspray, 1990). His pioneering design ultimately led to the building (in 1952) of the EDVAC computer. According to Aspray (1990), the von Neumann architecture is what has always been used in the computer world whenever computers are being designed, and it is what most people are used to anyway. It is considered to be a groundbreaking innovation that laid one of the strongest foundations in the design, organization and development of electronic computers. In the "Preliminary Discussion" section of his paper, von Neumann states that a computer s hould have 4 main "organs." These â€Å"organs† can be categorized as connected to memory, connection to human input, control and arithmetic; they are otherwise known as the control unit, the arithmetic logic unit, input-output devices and the memory unit. von Neumann considered the ability to store orders, or instructions, that resulted in computation, as well as the results of this computation, as the core elements of a computer. As a result, more attention was to be paid to these elements. It is important to note that von Neumann defined every one of the four components he saw as integral to the development of general purpose computers, and therefore made it easy for subsequent developments to be made (Aspray, 1990). Question 2 As one of the two main buses in a computer, the system bus plays a crucial role in ensuring that a computer functions normally and commands are executed as required. The system bus is a network formed by the linking of the different sections in a co mputer; these are the system memory, the CPU and other components that are located on the motherboard. The main function of the system bus is to enhance modularity and reduce production costs all at the same time (Appleman, 2000). For example, earlier computers were bulky and were considered them too expensive for regular people who wanted to own a computer. The primary reason behind this was that companies found it hard to fit all the components of a computer into the motherboard, and therefore had to use more materials in order to create enough space to house all of them. Thus, a combination of poor ergonomics and high production costs meant that it was inevitable that the final product would be huge and prices would be prohibitive. However, with the invention and increasing use of the system bus, it was possible to make smaller computers that performed just as well as (if not better than) the earlier versions. In addition to this, there was a lot of expectation from customers tha t prices would be lowered and modulation between memory, cost and input-output devices would be enhanced (Appleman, 2000). Over time, the system bus has been refined and improved on, leading to even smaller computers and eventually the development of laptop computers that incorporate sleeker and more sophisticated system buses. Question 3 Due to the fact that computers run in binary (using zeros (0s) and ones (1s) only), it

Analaysis ratio Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Analaysis ratio - Research Paper Example In comparison, Tesco offers massive return to its share holders. The trend resembling that of Morrison, the ROE of Tesco also decreases in the financial year 2009. From investor’s point of view, it is far more lucrative to invest in Tesco as compared to Morrison’s as the earlier gives an attractive return on the investments. Return on Capital Employed Being quite similar to the ROE, the ROCE of Morrison’s also illustrates that the profits of the company declined after the financial year 2008. One reason for decrease in the ratio could be due to the fact that in the years subsequent to the financial year 2008, the Morrison’s might have issued new shares in order to raise capital. It has been generally observed that it takes time for the fresh injected capital to generate the desired returns and even if it does, it is not in proportion. ROCE is better in Tesco comparatively which represents that the company is providing expected and lucrative returns to both the financers and shareholders. Net Assets Turnover The net assets turnover analyzes how effectively the company is utilizing its asset in generating the sales revenue. Morrison’s net assets turnover ratio increased in the financial year 2009 as compared to 2008.

Why Interracial Dating is still not accepted Essay Example for Free

Why Interracial Dating is still not accepted Essay The representatives of different races have always been founding shelter and new home for them on the U. S territory, but in the last hundred years the quantity of immigrants has increased. Thus, it is no wonder that nowadays dating and marriages between the representatives of different races have also become more often. The main racial groups that live on the U. S territory, White Americans, African Americans and Asian Americans nowadays enter mixed marriages much more often than forty or thirty years ago, as nowadays the impact of social norms that disapprove of interracial relationship has become much weaker. Thus, the Black vice White, and Asian vice White couples with kids can be seen in every American city. Nevertheless, while racial discrimination has diminished its influence in the marital aspect, new problems have appeared for the interracial couples, and new societal attitudes developed, which complicate the life of those, who decided to tie the knot with the representative of the race different than his or hers. The number of people who strongly disapprove of interracial dating has declined since the middle of the 20th century, but still there are citizens, who insist that marriages between the representatives of different races should be banned. They explain their viewpoint by the fear for the future of children born in these kinds of marriages, and by the imbalance in the social and cultural levels of people of different races. Nevertheless, it is not the main reason for the negative attitude towards interracial dating that still exists in the American society. The main cause of disturbance about interracial dating and marriages nowadays is statistical. The history of this phenomenon shows that with the outspread of this kind of marital relationships, the married/single ratios for the representatives of most races that live on the U. S territory has changed dramatically. The roots of this change lie in the lop-sided distribution of people in the interracial marriages. Statistics says that if we talk about marriages between the representatives of different races, than White vice Black and White vice Asian marriages are the most widespread. The problem is that in most White vice Black marriages black men marry white women, and in White vice Asian couples those are white men who have Asian wives. In the 1990 Census, 72 per cent of black-white couples consisted of a black husband and a white wife. In contrast, white-Asian pairs showed the reverse: 72 per cent consisted of a white husband and an Asian wife (Sailer, 1997). The 1992 Sex in America study of 3,432 people found that ten times more single white women than single white men reported that their most recent sex partner was black. In 1990, 1. 46 million Asian women were married, compared to only 1. 26 million Asian men. It is obvious that this distribution creates severe problems among African-American women and Asian males, who feel the scarcity of partners within their own race, and have little possibility to find them outside of it. The reason is that marriages between white man and African-American women, as well as between Asian males and white women are rare. African-American vice Asian marriages are even harder to found. Thus, every year the U. S society gets a considerable quantity of African-American women, and Asian-American men who are unable to find a partner. No wonder that African-American and Asian American communities arent silent about this problem. Numerous talk shows, books, and movies acquainted the American society with the problems African-American women have. The Afro-American activists created a feeling in most of the female representatives of this race that white women steal black man from Afro-American women. This attitude provokes hostility towards white women among the Afro-American ones, and also worsens the attitude towards interracial marriages in the whole society. Asian-American males are also downtrodden by the existing situation. They, in their turn, develop negative attitudes towards white men, who deprive them of the possibility to create families with Asian women. Some researchers propose that to solve this problem white males should be encouraged to marry Afro-American women, and white women be keener on having relationships with Asian males, but the other prove it would be ineffective for purely biological reasons. The thing is that, as the researchers proved, those are mostly hormonal reasons for which black males and Asian females are seen as the most attractive partners. The scientists found out that black men are on average more masculine than the white and Asian ones, while Asian females are the most feminine. In the same time, most men see Afro-American women as less feminine than white females, and Asian males, due to their build, are considered to be less masculine. In addition to the biological reasoning, these images are supported and promoted by the media stereotypes, where Afro-American males are depicted as hyper masculine, and Asian women – hyper feminine. Nature and society dictates that a person should choose a heterosexual partner with the most prominent features of the representative of the opposite gender, thus the Afro-American women and Asian males have problems finding partners, which, in its turn, creates strained attitudes towards interracial dating and marriage in the whole U. S society. The attitudes towards interracial dating and marriages have become much more tolerant in the past forty years, but the strain concerning this question still exists in the society. It is mostly caused by the fact that due to social and biological reasons Afro-American females, and Asian males experience problems trying to find a partner, as the considerable part of males and females who belong to their races prefer to have white partners. Works Cited 1. Sailer, S. Is love colorblind? public opinion about interracial marriage. National Review, 1997

Social and Intellectual Barriers in the Classroom Essay -- School Girl

Social and Intellectual Barriers in the Classroom Peggy Orenstein's School Girls is a book about adolescent girls, and how low levels of self-esteem and confidence can hinder a positive self-image and contribute to poor academic performance. Orenstein compares and contrasts the experiences of girls from two different junior high schools, Weston and Audubon, and finds that factors such as family, culture, teacher attitude and social class affect girls differently. By looking at both Audubon and Weston from an academic standpoint, one would find that there are more barriers between Audubon students and education, than there are for students at Weston. Ninety percent of the students at Audubon represent everything but "the white and the wealthy" (136): they are "African-American, Latino, Asian, or Filipino" (137). According to Orenstein, two-thirds of these students are poverty-stricken and come from lower class, and perhaps single parent households. Unlike economically advantaged school districts, lower class students are reminded daily that they will never excel beyond their current status, and will only represent or contribute to a national statistic of academic failure. Not only are the students at Audubon reminded of their race and class status, they are ignored in the classroom. In Mr. Krieger's English class, students are given a license to conduct their own lessons--lessons on conversation skills and classroom chaos: "Within fifteen minutes, however, he has mined that vein to exhaustion, and the class degenerates into chaos†¦one of the boys is stuffing a friend into a supply closet with the assistance of roughly half t he class, while Mr. Krieger sits at the front of the room chatting†¦" (139). An educational environm... ...ool, the students from both schools academically perform in accordance with what is expected of them. Because the students from Audubon come from low-income families, teachers and administrators set minimal expectations for student performance. There are more barriers between Audubon students and education because they are reminded daily that economic constraints equal underachievement; and thus, the students are being deprived of an education. On the other hand, the students at Weston Middle School have every opportunity to learn, and do--they learn how to fulfill gender roles in the classroom. The girls at Weston find passive resistance acceptable behavior because not only do gender biases exist in the classroom, they exist in the home and the workplace. Thus, these girls are taught that it is acceptable to be ignored, overpowered and reduced to just "girls."

Financial Analysis of Carrefour

Chapter 5 Carrefour S. A. Teaching Note Version: March 2007 Introduction The Carrefour case is a financial analysis case. Carrefour S. A. is one of the world’s largest retailers. During the first half of the 2000s, the company’s share prices steadily declined, despite the fact that the company reported above-average returns on equity. Students are asked to analyze Carrefour’s financial statements and segment data to find explanations for the company’s poor share price performance and to make recommendations for the future. The discussion of the financial analysis is preceded by a discussion of Carrefour’s strategy and accounting.Both the accounting analysis and the financial analysis are affected by Carrefour’s switch from French GAAP reporting to IFRS reporting in 2005 but specialist knowledge of French GAAP and IFRS (and first-time adoption) is not required. Questions for students 1. 2. Analyze Carrefour’s competitive and corporate s trategy. What are the key risks of the company’s strategy? Analyze Carrefour’s accounting (including the effects of Carrefour’s switch to IFRS-based financial reporting). Are any adjustments to Carrefour’s financial statements necessary?Analyze Carrefour’s operating management, financial management and investment management during the years 2001 to 2005, making use of both financial statement data and segment data. What are the primary drivers of the company’s poor share price performance? Summarize the key findings of the financial analysis and provide recommendations for improvement to Carrefour’s management. What actions could management take to regain the confidence of Chrystelle Moreau and her fellow investors? 3. 4. Case analysis Question 1 Key characteristics of Carrefour’s strategy and the associated risks are the following: – Competing on price and product.Carrefour follows a strategy that combines some elements of a differentiation strategy with elements of a cost leadership strategy, especially in its hypermarkets. Specifically, the hypermarkets differentiate themselves from competitor supermarkets (1) by offering a much broader assortment (more product categories (food and non-food) as well as a wider choice of brands within one product category (including its own brands)) and (2) investing in customer loyalty programs (e. g. , the â€Å"Pass† card). This strategy is backed up by a strong marketing campaign.At the same time, however, Carrefour realizes that—especially during economic downturns—its customers have low switching costs and are relatively price – sensitive. The company therefore wishes to keep the prices in its hypermarkets at economic levels. The way in which the company can achieve this is by: o Keeping a close eye on what consumers want (through customer surveys and building a â€Å"customer behavior database† using data gathered through , for example, the company’s customer loyalty card) and by timely adjusting its assortment and pricing to changes in consumers’ preferences. Having a well developed logistics network. This keeps turnover high and helps to control costs. o Benefiting from economies of scale, not only in logistics but also in purchasing of supplies (aggregation of purchasing; international negotiations with suppliers). o Selling low-priced products under Carrefour’s own brand name. An important risk of following a combination of strategies is that Carrefour’s hypermarkets become â€Å"stuck in the middle. † The planned changes that Jose Luis Duran—the new CEO—announced after replacing Daniel Bernard suggest that this happened during the first half of the 2000s.While many of Carrefour’s competitors, such as Leclerc, Auchan, Aldi, and Lidl, were able to aggressively lower their prices during the economic downturn, according to Duran Carrefour had f ocused too much on differentiation and improving its margins per square meter of store space (which mixes percentage margins and asset turnover). Consequently, the company lost its competitive edge to price discounters (by losing its reputation for low prices), which slowed down Carrefour’s growth and harmed its domestic market share. International growth.When large companies such as Carrefour start to obtain a dominant position in their domestic markets, they may be â€Å"forced† to expand overseas or enter other industries. Carrefour’s corporate strategy is to expand overseas rather than diversify. More importantly, as indicated above, achieving growth is an essential part of Carrefour’s strategy because (international) growth helps the company to obtain economies of scale in purchasing, logistics and the development of Carrefourbranded products. For example, Carrefour sells its own branded products in the same packaging worldwide (of course printed in different languages).The company’s overseas retailing operations are, however, more risky than its domestic operations. First, to some extent retailing remains a local business because consumers’ tastes differ substantially across countries. Profitable expansion outside Carrefour’s domestic market is only possible if the company has good knowledge about local customers’ preferences and tastes. Consequently, a slightly safer way to expand abroad is to acquire local supermarket chains. A disadvantage of this strategy is, however, that acquisition premiums have to be paid, which can also drive down profits.Second, many of Carrefour’s â€Å"intercontinental† hypermarkets are located in countries where the economic environment is risky: consumers in economically less developed countries are likely to be more price sensitive; East Asian and South American countries tend to have more bureaucracy and stronger government protection of local firms. Th ird, in several countries, Carrefour has to compete with other multinationals such as Tesco and Wal Mart, who are trying to gain a strong market position (mostly through severe price competition).In sum, Carrefour’s overseas operations tend to be in countries where consumers are likely more price sensitive, several multinationals engage in severe price competition, and the economy is less stable. Note, for example, that Carrefour generated 10 percent of its fiscal 2005 profits (before interest and taxes) in South America and East Asia, although the company generated close to 15 percent of its fiscal 2005 sales in these areas. Question 2 In 2005, Carrefour changed its accounting policies from French GAAP to IFRS.This change affected the company’s financial statements and, consequently, could affect the analysis of Carrefour’s historical performance. More specifically, to improve comparability across years the analyst must assess how Carrefour’s pre-2004 pe rformance and financial position would have been under the newly adopted accounting standards. When doing so, the following changes are important to consider: – Under French GAAP, Carrefour was required to amortize goodwill. IFRS does not allow goodwill amortization but requires companies to regularly test goodwill for impairment.The elimination of goodwill amortization increased Carrefour’s net profit in 2005 by close to 25 percent (and ROA by 0. 8 percentage points). Pre-2004 earnings figures might be understated because of goodwill amortization charges. However, amortization charges may have replaced/prevented impairment charges in these years. Hence, the net effect on net profits is likely to be (significantly) less than 0. 8 percent of total assets. – French GAAP based earnings did not include an expense for stock option grants to Carrefour’s employees.Because such a grant imposes costs on Carrefour’s shareholders, IFRS requires that the Black & Scholes value (or the value from another accepted option valuation model) of these option grants is recognized as expense in the income statement during the vesting period. In 2005, Carrefour’s stock option expense had a negative effect on net profit of 1. 4 percent (and a negligible effect on ROA). – The switch from French GAAP to IFRS has resulted in negative adjustments to both inventories and cost of sales in 2004.The reason for these adjustments (which was not explicitly mentioned in Carrefour’s 2005 financial report) is that under IFRS, inventories include amounts for (inventory-related) services that Carrefour billed to its suppliers. That is, instead of recognizing the amounts as revenues in the period of billing (as the company did under French GAAP), Carrefour now delays the recognition of these to the period in which the associated inventories are sold. This change of treatment reduced end-of-year inventories in 2004 by 10. 2 percent (and equity by 5. 7 percent).In addition, cost of sales in 2004 increased because the amounts billed for services related to the beginning-of-year inventories were smaller than those related to the end-of-year inventories. More specifically, the adjustment reduced net profit by 3. 3 percent. During years in which Carrefour’s inventories (as well as the services that Carrefour provides to its suppliers) increase, the IFRS treatment will most likely result in higher cost of sales than the French GAAP treatment. In the 3 years immediately prior to 2004, inventories decreased by fairly small amounts.It is therefore unlikely that during these years the French GAAP treatment of inventories had created significant differences between reported net profits and net profits that would have been reported under IFRS. The French GAAP treatment did, however, result in higher inventories (and equity and deferred tax liabilities) than those that would have been reported under IFRS. Assuming that during the se years, the overstatement of inventories due to the immediate recognition of revenues from services provide to suppliers has been around â‚ ¬500 million, the overstatement of equity has been in the range of 4-5 percent.Under IFRS Carrefour has to recognize (slightly) greater employee benefit obligations and classify (slightly) more leases as finance leases (hence reported on the balance sheet) than under French GAAP. In 2004, employee benefits have resulted in a negative adjustment of end-of-year equity (by close to 4 percent) and a positive adjustment of end-of-year non-current liabilities (by close to 3 percent). Financing lease adjustments affected primarily non-current assets and current liabilities.In addition to the changes mandated by IFRS, Carrefour made one voluntary change in its estimates of the economic useful lives of buildings: the company increased the depreciation period from 20 to 40 years. Assuming that this change was justified, depreciation of buildings prio r to 2004 was overstated. In particular, Note 15 indicates that the difference between restated accumulated depreciation and â€Å"original† accumulated depreciation on buildings at the end of 2004 was â‚ ¬158 million. This suggests that depreciation in 2004 was initially overstated by â‚ ¬158 million, resulting in an understatement of ROA of close to 0. percentage points (all under the assumption that the new policy is correct). In summary, under French GAAP, return on (total) assets may have been â€Å"understated† by, at maximum, 1. 2 percentage points because of â€Å"overstated† goodwill amortization and buildings depreciation. In addition, under French GAAP equity may have been â€Å"overstated† by at maximum 8 percent because of its accounting for inventories and employee benefits, but, at the same time, may have been â€Å"understated† because of (an unknown amount of) â€Å"overstated† goodwill amortization.Note that the adjus tments that Carrefour made to its financial statements because of the change in estimates are not the same as the adjustments that an analyst would make if he/she would assume that Carrefour had always depreciated its buildings over a period of 40 years. Carrefour does not â€Å"restrospectively† adjust its financial statements, but uses the new 40-year depreciation period only for 2004 and later fiscal years. At the end of 2005, Gross Buildings equaled â‚ ¬8,031 million.Unfortunately, the carrying value of Net Buildings is not disclosed, making it impossible to derive the average age of Carrefour’s buildings and forcing the analyst to make a crude assumption. Under the assumption that the average age of Carrefour’s buildings is 5 years, the carrying value of Net Buildings would have to be increased by an amount of â‚ ¬1,004 million ((5/20 – 5/40)x8,031) to retrospectively adjust Carrefour’s financial statements.Similarly, under the assumptio n that the average age of Carrefour’s buildings is 10 years, the carrying value of Net Buildings would have to be increased by an amount of â‚ ¬2,008 million ((10/20 – 10/40)x8,031) to retrospectively adjust Carrefour’s financial statements. In addition to the overly conservative depreciation rate on buildings, Carrefour’s noncurrent assets may be understated because the company has operating leases. At the end of 2005, Carrefour had large operating lease commitments. Exhibit TN-1 estimates the net present value of these commitments.The estimated NPV of Carrefour’s operating lease payments is approximately â‚ ¬3. 1 billion, which is equivalent to slightly more than 48 percent of Carrefour’s net non-current debt in 2005 (3,121/[10,443 – 226 – 3,773]) and implies an understatement of Carrefour’s non-current tangible assets by approximately 18 percent (3,121/[13,864 + 3,121). The use of operating leases is not abnorma l in the retailing industry. For example, at the end of the fiscal year ending on February 26, 2006 (labeled fiscal 2005), Tesco, one of Carrefour’s U. K. based competitors had operating leases for an estimated amount of ? 2,718 million, which was equivalent to slightly less than 75 percent of Tesco’s net non-current debt in 2005 (2,718/[4,958 – 1,325]) and implied an understatement of Tesco’s non-current tangible assets of approximately 15 percent (2,718/[15,882 + 2,718). – In summary, Carrefour’s non-current tangible assets appear to be understated by an amount in the range of â‚ ¬4 – 5 billion (or 22 – 27 percent (versus 15 percent for Tesco)). Question 3 Carrefour versus Tesco Exhibit TN-2 displays a set of ratios for Carrefour and Tesco.The ROE decomposition indicates that Carrefour has lower operating profit margins than Tesco but higher asset turnover. The net effect is that Carrefour has a moderately lower operating ROA than Tesco. Although Carrefour’s Operating ROA is lower than Tesco’s, Carrefour has a higher return on equity than Tesco, both in 2005 and 2004. The reason for this is that Carrefour is more leveraged than Tesco. Note that operating returns on assets are substantially greater than returns on assets. This is because both Carrefour and Tesco make much use of vendor financing, which makes their working capital negative.This emphasizes the importance of recasting the financial statements and using the alternative approach to ROE decomposition. The differences in the components of ROE between Carrefour and Tesco may find their origin in the strategic differences between both companies. However, they may also reflect differences in the effectiveness of operating management, investment management and financing decisions. We will discuss each of these sources below. Strategic differences. – Carrefour focuses more on creating a reputation for low prices and engages m ore in price competition with discounters than Tesco.Consequently, Carrefour’s profit margins are likely to be smaller at the benefit of higher asset turnover. – Tesco has a lower presence in non-European markets (such as Asia and South America) than Carrefour. Especially in these markets, entering multinational retailers such as Carrefour, Tesco and Wal Mart strongly compete on price to become the dominant market player. Operating management. – As indicated, Carrefour’s net operating profit margin is lower than Tesco’s, possibly because Carrefour engages in price competition more than Tesco. The ratio Cost of materials/sales indeed confirms this.In 2005, this ratio was 3. 6 percentage points higher for Carrefour than for Tesco, which illustrates the margin-reducing effect of price competition. Possibly because Carrefour competes less on product and services than Tesco, its personnel expenses as a percentage of sales were 1. 2 percentage point lowe r than Tesco’s. Depreciation and amortization charges as a percentage of sales are approximately equal for both competitors. Investment management. – The PPE/Sales ratio suggests that Tesco has invested a substantially larger amount in property, plant and equipment.There are various reasons for this difference: o Part of the difference between Carrefour and Tesco is due to the fact that Carrefour has a slightly greater proportion of its PP&E financed under operating lease agreements. Tesco’s decision to sell and leaseback a substantial proportion of its property suggests that Tesco’s management believes that Tesco does not yet optimally benefit from lease financing. In addition, Carrefour’s depreciation of buildings has been overly conservative in the years prior to 2004. Consequently, Carrefour’s understatement of non-current – – angible assets is estimated to be approximately 10 percent greater than Tesco’s (see also q uestion 2). o Statistics disclosed in the notes to the financial statements suggest that Tesco owns significantly more expensive stores (possibly at significantly more expensive locations) than Carrefour. In particular, the cost price of Tesco’s land and buildings per square meter equals ? 2,778 p. sq. m. (14,247/5. 129), or â‚ ¬4,086 p. sq. m. , whereas the same statistic equals â‚ ¬1,005 p. sq. m. (11,141/11. 08) for Carrefour (in fiscal 2005). o Sales per average square meter in fiscal 2005 was â‚ ¬6,850 (76,496/[0. x11. 08 + 0. 5Ãâ€"10. 671]) for Carrefour versus ? 8,140 p. sq. m. (39,454/[0. 5Ãâ€"5. 129 + 0. 5Ãâ€"4. 565]), or â‚ ¬11,972 p. sq. m. , for Tesco. Hence, although Carrefour’s square meters of store space are substantially less expensive, Carrefour needs, on average, more square meters than Tesco to generate a euro of sales. Although Carrefour’s PPE/Sales ratio is substantially lower than Tesco’s, the companies’ net no n-current asset/sales ratios are almost equal. (Note that part of the remaining difference is explained by the fact that Carrefour’s non-current assets are more understated than Tesco’s. The explanation for this is that Carrefour has a much greater amount of goodwill recognized on its balance sheet. This amount of goodwill has primarily arisen from the acquisitions of Compoirs Modernes (1998/99: â‚ ¬2,356m), Promodes (1999: â‚ ¬3,032m), GS (2000: â‚ ¬3,136m), and GB (2000: â‚ ¬1,128m). The negative effect of goodwill on asset turnover illustrates that Carrefour (past) strategy of growth through acquisitions has a downside: organic growth is typically more profitable than growth through acquisitions (see also question 2). Carrefour’s working capital turnover is substantially lower than Tesco’s.More specifically, it takes Carrefour approximately twice as much time as Tesco to sell its inventory. For a retailer, this is important because inventor ies comprise a large proportion of the company’s assets. This may be due to a difference in strategies: the company that sells relatively more non-food products will also have lower inventory turnover. Historically, Carrefour has been the European leader in selling a mix of food and non-food products. During the past decade Tesco has added more and more nonfood products to its assortment.Although both companies are not very open about their reliance on non-food sales, there are some (older) statistics available. In 2004, about 46 percent of Carrefour’s hypermarket sales came from dry grocery, 16 percent from fresh food, 17 percent from consumer electronics, 7 percent from apparel, and 14 percent from general merchandise. In comparison, 22 percent of Tesco U. K. sales came from non-food sales in 2004. Under the assumptions that (1) Carrefour sold its non-food products only in hypermarkets (which generated 8 percent of total 2004) and (2) Tesco sold a similar percentage of non-food products in its non-U.K. markets, the contribution of non-food products to the companies’ total sales is fairly comparable: 22 percent (0. 58 x [7% + 17% + 14%]) versus 22 percent. Carrefour’s trade receivables turnover is also substantially lower than Tesco’s. An important reason for this difference is that Carrefour’s financing company provides consumer credit to Carrefour’s customers. This credit has been extended to Carrefour’s customers through point-of-sale financing (offering a credit facility that enables customers to amortize the cost of their purchases over a longer period) or private credit cards.The short-term portion of this credit has been classified as trade receivables. Point-of-sale financing and private credit cards were common especially in Carrefour’s domestic market, France. Carrefour may therefore need to supply these financial services in order to effectively compete with its French industry peers. F inancial management. – Carrefour is more leveraged than Tesco. Carrefour’s degree of leverage is, however, not abnormal for a retailer. This is illustrated by the fact that Tesco has planned to sell and leaseback a substantial amount of property (more than ? billion) and return the proceeds of this transaction to its shareholders. The net effect of these transactions will be that Tesco’s leverage will get closer to Carrefour’s. In addition, Carrefour’s interest coverage ratios are—although lower than Tesco’s—sufficient, indicating that Carrefour experiences no problems to meet its interest obligations. Carrefour’s performance over time When analyzing Carrefour’s financial performance over time, the analysts has to take into account that Carrefour applied IFRS for the first time in 2005.A pragmatic approach to account for this is analyze year-to-year changes in ratios that are based on the same accounting standards (change in 2005 = IFRS-based change from 2004 to 2005; change in 2004 = French GAAP-based change from 2003 to 2004). Exhibit TN-3 displays the year-to-year changes in various ratios. The following changes are noteworthy: – Operating management. Both personnel expenses and cost of materials as a percentage of sales have increased during the past two years. As indicated, this most likely illustrates the margin-decreasing effect of severe price competition. – Investment management.In 2004, Carrefour managed to increase asset turnover, which mitigated the negative effect of the operating margin decrease on operating return on assets. In 2005, both margin and turnover decreased, suggesting that Carrefour has been unable to effectively compete on price. – Financial management. Leverage (as well as Carrefour’s financial leverage gain) decreased for three consecutive years. This seems inefficient because Carrefour’s spread is still positive and its intere st coverage is still sufficient. On the other hand, Carrefour’s financial spread, and with that the benefits of leverage, has decreased over the past two years.Analysis of Carrefour’s segment information Exhibit TN-4 displays several ratios that have been calculated using Carrefour’s segment information. Based on the segment analysis (at least) the following conclusions can be drawn: – The comparison of Carrefour’s with Tesco’s asset turnover illustrated that Carrefour’s sales per square meter of store space was substantially less than Tesco’s. The segment analysis shows that this difference in turnover is primarily caused by the underperformance of Carrefour’s stores outside France: o In 2005, sales per square meter was â‚ ¬10. 6 thousand in France versus â‚ ¬5. 90 thousand, â‚ ¬3. 13 thousand, and â‚ ¬3. 55 thousand in the Rest of Europe, South America, and Asia, respectively. o In 2005, fixed asset turnove r was 4. 51 in France versus 2. 18, 2. 62, and 2. 59 in the Rest of Europe, South America, and Asia, respectively. – EBIT margins were also much lower in Carrefour’s foreign markets than in its domestic market. However, like turnover, Carrefour’s profit margins declined in its domestic market after 2003. – There has been a strong decline in sales per square meter in France after 2002.This decline can possibly be attributed to Carrefour’s loss of market share in its domestic market. – During the first half of the 2000s, Carrefour primarily invested outside France. – It is puzzling that sales per square meter is substantially lower in hard discount stores (where one would expect low margins and high turnover) than in hypermarkets. Analysis of Carrefour’s cash flow performance Exhibit TN-5 displays Carrefour’s standardized cash flow statements. Between 2002 and 2005, Carrefour’s operating cash flow before working cap ital investments ranged from â‚ ¬3. 6 billion (in 2005) to â‚ ¬3. 9 billion (in 2003).In 2006, Carrefour will have (at least) the following uses of its cash flows: – Carrefour’s management announced in the company’s 2005 financial report that capital expenditures in the years 2006-2008 would be close to â‚ ¬3. 3 billion per year (on average). – Dividend payments equaled â‚ ¬758 million in 2005. Given the pattern of dividend increases over time, dividend payments in 2006 are likely to exceed â‚ ¬800 million. If in 2006 operating cash flow before working capital investments will be similar to historical values, Carrefour will need additional sources of cash to finance its investments and dividends.The question therefore arises as to what sources of cash flow might be available to the company: – Carrefour’s management is likely resist cutting dividends or raising new equity as this may put further pressure on the company’s share prices. – Like in previous years, the amount of net investments in non-current assets will be less than the amount of capital expenditures. This is so because Carrefour will divest stores that are underperforming. However, as restructuring progresses cash inflows from divestments can be expected to decrease. This illustrates the necessity for Carrefour to improve its cash flow from operations.As argued above, possible ways to do this is by improving margins outside France or by regaining market share in France. In addition, the company may reduce its investments in inventories either by improving logistics or by improving knowledge of customer preferences. Question 4 Analyst Chrystelle Moreau could use the following summary of key issues (and potential recommendations) arising from the analysis of Carrefour’s (and Tesco’s) financial statements: 1. The analysis suggest that Carrefour’s management should take actions to improve operations management. In particular: a. Carrefour’s low inventory turnover (relative to Tesco’s) suggests that the company needs to improve logistics. This would improve asset turnover, improve cash flow from operations and help the company to more effectively compete on price. b. Carrefour could also make better use of vendor financing. The company’s trade payables turnover is relatively high compared to Tesco’s. Vendor financing may help the company in lowering its net debt (and interest expense). 2. Compared to Tesco’s, Carrefour’s sales per square meter is too low: a.The decrease in France suggests that management should take action to regain market share in France (in accordance with its announced intentions). b. The observation that sales per square meter (and margins) are especially low in Carrefour’s foreign markets suggests that in those markets operations need to be improved. 3. It is questionable whether a focus on growth by adding stores is the most appropriate strategy for the near term. Given the low level of sales per square meter, a less expensive way of growing might be to focus on improving sales levels in Carrefour’s current stores.In addition, as indicated, asset turnover could be improved by improving logistics and, consequently, increasing inventory turnover. Finally, a substantial proportion of Carrefour’s net assets consists of goodwill. Adding more goodwill would probably have a further negative effect on the company’s abnormal profitability. One way to provide a powerful positive signal to investors about Carrefour’s future cash flow generating ability is to follow Tesco’s example in selling and leasing back a substantial proportion of the company’s property. (Analysts estimate Carrefour’s property to be worth â‚ ¬25 billion. The proceeds from this transaction could then be used to return cash to investors. Because future lease payments discipline managemen t’s actions and forces management to improve operating performance (see cash flow analysis), the transaction would signal management’s confidence in Carrefour’s future performance and has the potential to put an end to the company’s share price decline. Subsequent developments Carrefour continued the refocusing of its growth strategy under the adagio of â€Å"more square meters in fewer countries†. Carrefour expanded its store network primarily in Europe (especially outside France).The company disposed of its stores in underperforming markets, such as Mexico, Japan, Czech Republic, Slovakia, and South Korea and increased its store space in well-performing markets such as Poland, Italy, Turkey, Romania, Brazil, China and Taiwan. For example, in December 2006, Carrefour acquired all of Ahold’s Polish supermarkets and hypermarkets for the amount of â‚ ¬375 million. In September 2006, Carrefour announced its earnings for the first half year o f 2006. Both sales and net profit had increased relative to the first half of 2005. In particular, net profits had increased from â‚ ¬637 million to â‚ ¬706 million.The increase in net profits was, however, lower than analysts expected. On January 12, 2007, Carrefour announced that its fourth-quarter sales in 2006 had decreased by 1. 5 percent in comparison with fourth-quarter sales in 2005. Following this announcement, Carrefour’s share price decreased by 5 percent to â‚ ¬44. 50. On March 8, 2007, Carrefour’s President of the Supervisory Board (and protege of the company’s primary shareholder, the Halley Family), Luc Vandevelde, resigned, possibly as a result of a disagreement with the Halley Family. Vandevelde was replaced by Robert Halley.On the same day, private equity investor Bernard Arnault and US Fund Colony Capital acquired a 9. 8 percent stake in Carrefour. Analysts expected that they were planning to force Carrefour to sell (and lease back) i ts valuable property (estimated to be worth â‚ ¬25 billion). – – – – Exhibit TN-1 (1) Calculating the interest rate implicit in finance leases (implicit rate = 9. 6%) and (2) calculating the present value of operating lease payment using the implicit rate of 9. 6% Year Reported Payment finance leases â‚ ¬52 196 in 5 y. 196 in 5 y. 196 in 5 y. 196 in 5 y.PV Assumed PV PV Reported Assumed Payment factor finance Payment Payment operating finance leases operating operating leases leases leases leases â‚ ¬52 0. 9552 49. 7 751 751 717. 4 39. 2 39. 2 39. 2 39. 2 39. 2 39. 2 39. 2 39. 2 39. 2 39. 2 39. 2 39. 2 39. 2 39. 2 39. 2 39. 2 39. 2 39. 2 39. 2 8. 2 0. 8715 0. 7952 0. 7255 0. 6620 0. 6040 0. 5511 0. 5028 0. 4588 0. 4186 0. 3819 0. 3485 0. 3180 0. 2901 0. 2647 0. 2415 0. 2204 0. 2011 0. 1834 0. 1674 0. 1527 34. 2 1780 in 5 y. 31. 2 1780 in 5 y. 28. 4 1780 in 5 y. 26. 0 1780 in 5 y. 23. 7 1780 in 5 y. 21. 6 2670 in 7. 5 y. 19. 7 2670 in 7. 5 y. 18. 0 2670 in 7. 5 y. 6. 4 2670 15. 0 2670 13. 7 2670 12. 5 2670 11. 4 2670 10. 4 9. 5 8. 6 7. 9 7. 2 6. 6 1. 3 372. 6 in in in in in 7. 5 7. 5 7. 5 7. 5 7. 5 y. y. y. y. y. 356 356 356 356 356 356 356 356 356 356 356 356 178 310. 3 283. 1 258. 3 235. 7 215. 0 196. 2 179. 0 163. 3 149. 0 136. 0 124. 1 113. 2 51. 6 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 196 in 5 y. 2012 and 557 in 14. 2 y. subsequent (557/39. 2) 557 in 14. 2 y. 557 in 14. 2 y. 557 557 557 557 557 557 557 557 557 557 557 557 in in in in in in in in in in in in 14. 2 14. 2 14. 2 14. 2 14. 2 14. 2 14. 2 14. 2 14. 2 14. 2 14. 2 14. 2 y. y. y. y. y. y. y. y. y. y. y. y. 3,132. 1Exhibit TN-2 Carrefour versus Tesco 2005 IFRS Traditional Decomposition of ROE Net profit margin (ROS) Asset turnover =Return on assets xFinancial leverage =Return on equity (ROE) 1. 9% 1. 61 3. 1% 5. 52 17. 1% 2004 IFRS 2. 2% 1. 73 3. 8% 6. 06 22. 9% Carrefour 2004 2003 French French GAAP GAAP 1. 9% 1. 86 3. 6% 5. 16 18. 4% 2. 3% 1. 80 4. 2% 5. 51 23. 0% Tesco 2002 French GAAP 2. 0% 1. 77 3. 5% 5. 88 20. 7% 2001 French GAAP 1. 8% 1. 60 2. 9% 5. 89 17. 2% 2005 IFRS 4. 0% 1. 75 7. 0% 2. 41 16. 7% 2004 IFRS 4. 0% 1. 68 6. 7% 2. 34 15. 6% Distinguishing Operating and Financing Components in ROE Decomposition Net operating profit margin 2. % 2. 6% 2. 3% xNet operating asset turnover 3. 55 3. 91 4. 65 =Operating ROA 8. 1% 10. 1% 10. 9% Spread 6. 0% 7. 7% 7. 0% xFinancial leverage 1. 50 1. 67 1. 07 =Financial leverage gain 9. 0% 12. 8% 7. 5% ROE = Operating ROA + Financial leverage gain 17. 1% 22. 9% 18. 4% Asset Management Ratios Operating working capital/Sales Net non-current assets/Sales PP&E/Sales Operating working capital turnover Net non-current asset turnover PP&E turnover Accounts receivable turnover Inventory turnover Accounts payable turnover Days' accounts receivable Days' inventory Days' accounts payable . 8% 4. 37 12. 4% 8. 3% 1. 28 10. 6% 23. 0% 2. 7% 4. 09 10. 9% 6. 4% 1. 54 9. 9% 20. 7% 2. 6% 4. 00 10. 5% 4. 9% 1. 35 6. 7% 17. 2 % 4. 2% 2. 69 11. 3% 9. 6% 0. 56 5. 4% 16. 7% 4. 2% 2. 56 10. 9% 8. 8% 0. 54 4. 8% 15. 6% -9. 2% 37. 3% 18. 6% -10. 9 2. 7 5. 4 12. 8 9. 6 7. 0 28. 1 37. 5 51. 5 -10. 1% 35. 7% 18. 0% -9. 9 2. 8 5. 5 15. 2 10. 1 8. 2 23. 7 35. 5 43. 8 -11. 7% 33. 2% 17. 7% -8. 5 3. 0 5. 6 23. 8 9. 1 7. 5 15. 2 39. 7 48. 1 -10. 0% 32. 9% 17. 4% -10. 0 3. 0 5. 8 22. 2 9. 6 7. 7 16. 3 37. 5 46. 7 -9. 5% 33. 9% 18. 0% -10. 5 2. 9 5. 5 21. 8 9. 3 8. 0 16. 38. 7 44. 8 -10. 3% 35. 3% 19. 6% -9. 7 2. 8 5. 1 23. 6 9. 1 7. 3 15. 3 39. 5 49. 3 -8. 3% 45. 5% 40. 3% -12. 0 2. 2 2. 5 44. 2 20. 2 3. 2 8. 1 17. 8 113. 9 -9. 2% 48. 3% 42. 9% -10. 9 2. 1 2. 3 44. 0 19. 3 2. 9 8. 2 18. 6 122. 6 Exhibit TN-3 Carrefour’s performance over time 2003 to 2004 2004 to French 2005 GAAP IFRS Common-sized Income Statement: percentage point changes in†¦ Sales 0. 0% 0. 0% – Cost of Sales -0. 2% -0. 3% – SG -0. 1% 0. 1% – Depreciation and Amortization 0. 3% 0. 0% – Other Operating Income, Ne t of Other Operating Expenses -0. 4% -0. % – Net Interest Expense or Income 0. 0% 0. 1% – Investment Income 0. 0% 0. 0% – Tax Expense 0. 0% 0. 0% – Minority Interest 0. 0% 0. 0% Net Profit -0. 3% -0. 4% Pro forma income statement items: percentage point changes in†¦ – Cost of Materials (nature) -0. 2% -0. 3% – Personnel Expenses (nature) -0. 5% -0. 2% – Depreciation and Amortization 0. 3% 0. 0% 2002 to 2003 French GAAP 0. 0% -0. 1% 0. 3% 0. 1% -0. 1% 0. 2% -0. 1% -0. 1% 0. 1% 0. 3% 2001 to 2002 French GAAP 0. 0% 0. 2% 0. 3% 0. 1% -0. 2% 0. 1% 0. 0% -0. 2% 0. 0% 0. 2% -0. 1% -0. 1% 0. 1% 0. 2% 0. 1% 0. 1%Distinguishing Operating and Financing Components in ROE Decomposition: percentage (point) changes in†¦ Net operating profit margin -0. 3% -0. 5% 0. 2% 0. 0% xNet operating asset turnover -9. 1% 6. 6% 6. 7% 2. 2% =Operating ROA -2. 0% -1. 5% 1. 5% 0. 4% Spread -1. 7% -1. 3% 1. 9% 1. 5% xFinancial leverage -10. 4% -16. 4% -16. 9% 13. 5% =Financial leverage gain -3. 8% -3. 2% 0. 7% 3. 2% ROE = Operating ROA + Financial leverage gain -5. 8% -4. 6% 2. 2% 3. 6% Asset Management Ratios: percentage (point) changes in†¦ Operating working capital/Sales 0. 9% Net non-current assets/Sales 1. 6% PP/Sales 0. % Operating working capital turnover 10. 1% Net non-current asset turnover -4. 4% PP turnover -3. 1% Accounts receivable turnover -15. 7% Inventory turnover -5. 5% Accounts payable turnover -14. 9% Days' accounts receivable (change in days) -1. 2 Days' inventory (change in days) 4. 4 Days' accounts payable (change in days) 2. 1 -1. 8% 0. 4% 0. 4% -15. 2% -1. 1% -2. 0% 7. 2% -5. 6% -2. 8% -1. 1 2. 2 1. 3 -0. 5% -1. 1% -0. 6% -4. 8% 3. 2% 3. 6% 1. 7% 3. 3% -4. 0% -0. 3 -1. 2 1. 9 0. 9% -1. 4% -1. 6% 9. 1% 4. 1% 8. 9% -7. 6% 1. 9% 10. 0% 1. 3 -0. 7 -4. 5 Exhibit TN-4 Segment analysis France 4. 1% 5. 50% 6. 00% 5. 88% 5. 55% 5. 16% 3. 62% 4. 51 5. 09 5. 23 5. 17 4. 95 4. 57 4. 11 2. 22% 2. 45% 2. 29% 1. 73% 2. 26% 2. 00% 4. 04% Rest of Europe 4. 22% 3. 94% 3. 73% 3. 37% 3. 31% 3. 69% 2. 15% 2. 18 2. 31 2. 19 2. 01 1. 93 1. 55 1. 88 4. 40% 3. 72% 4. 58% 5. 18% 6. 49% 6. 10% 14. 00% Latin America 2. 62% 1. 06% 0. 28% 0. 43% 0. 63% 2. 47% 3. 48% 2. 62 2. 33 2. 26 2. 48 2. 16 1. 73 1. 44 4. 89% 4. 89% 6. 39% 5. 13% 4. 38% 5. 19% 19. 25% Asia 3. 22% 2. 92% 3. 08% 3. 04% 2. 93% 2. 49% 1. 54% 2. 59 2. 56 2. 44 2. 37 2. 20 2. 19 1. 50 6. 63% 6. 59% 9. 40% 7. 65% 6. 96% 9. 02% 23. 10%EBIT margin 2005 2004 2003 2002 2001 2000 1999 2005 2004 2003 2002 2001 2000 1999 2005 2004 2003 2002 2001 2000 1999 Fixed asset turnover CAPX to sales Exhibit TN-4 Segment analysis (continued) France Sales per sq. m. 2005 2004 2003 2002 2001 2000 1999 10. 96 11. 69 12. 23 12. 62 12. 64 12. 62 NA Rest of Europe 5. 90 6. 36 6. 39 5. 70 5. 90 5. 84 NA NA Latin America 3. 13 2. 55 2. 43 3. 00 4. 73 5. 58 NA Asia 3. 55 3. 41 3. 78 4. 41 5. 08 5. 21 Hypermarket 6. 18 6. 12 6. 39 6. 56 7. 23 7. 40 7. 49 Supermarket 5. 71 5. 64 5. 57 5. 80 6. 38 6. 59 5. 65 Hard discount 3. 85 3. 97 3. 93 5. 03 4. 8 5. 01 4. 58 Sales per store 2005 2004 2003 2002 2001 2000 1999 21. 38 23. 41 24. 66 26. 49 26. 41 19. 80 20. 50 6. 61 7. 09 7. 08 6. 94 6. 95 5. 64 4. 83 6. 21 5. 52 5. 67 7. 72 12. 98 16. 72 18. 98 13. 55 15. 00 23. 30 37. 72 43. 50 43. 99 32. 47 52. 21 53. 08 55. 45 57. 60 62. 40 67. 04 66. 83 8. 73 8. 75 8. 63 8. 63 10. 29 10. 26 10. 20 1. 49 1. 35 1. 41 1. 74 1. 66 1. 67 1. 46 Sq. m. per store 2005 2004 2003 2002 2001 2000 1999 1. 95 2. 00 2. 02 2. 10 2. 09 1. 57 NA NA 1. 12 1. 12 1. 11 1. 22 1. 18 0. 96 NA 1. 98 2. 17 2. 34 2. 57 2. 74 3. 00 NA 3. 82 4. 40 6. 17 8. 54 8. 56 8. 45 . 45 8. 67 8. 68 8. 78 8. 64 9. 06 8. 93 1. 53 1. 55 1. 55 1. 49 1. 61 1. 56 1. 81 0. 39 0. 38 0. 36 0. 35 0. 34 0. 33 0. 32 Exhibit TN-5 Cash flow analysis 2005 IFRS Net profit Profit before taxes minus Taxes paid After-tax net interest expense (income) Non-operating losses (gains) Non-current operating accruals Operating cas h flow before working capital investments Net (investments in) or liquidation of operating working capital Operating cash flow before investment in non-current assets Net (investment in) or liquidation of non-current operating assets Free cash flow available to debt nd equity After-tax net interest expense (income) Net debt (repayment) or issuance Free cash flow available to equity Dividend (payments) Net share (repurchase) or issuance Net increase (decrease) in cash balance 2004 IFRS 2004 French GAAP 1,509. 1 2003 French GAAP 1,737. 6 2002 French GAAP 1,539. 4 2001 French GAAP 1,438. 5 1,943. 0 263. 6 (206. 0) 1,564. 0 3,564. 6 175. 0 3,739. 6 (2,617. 0) 1,122. 6 (263. 6) 428. 0 1,287. 0 (758. 0) 88. 0 617. 0 1,723. 0 279. 7 (103. 0) 1,939. 0 3,838. 7 875. 0 4,713. 7 (2,148. 0) 2,565. 7 (279. ) (1,723. 0) 563. 0 (677. 0) (368. 0) (482. 0) 317. 7 (117. 9) 2,102. 2 3,811. 1 841. 2 4,652. 3 (2,146. 6) 2,505. 7 (317. 7) (1,675. 0) 513. 0 (608. 9) (367. 6) (463. 5) 368. 9 (253. 7) 2,066 . 0 3,918. 8 323. 0 4,241. 8 (1,966. 2) 2,275. 6 (368. 9) (855. 4) 1,051. 3 (522. 5) 17. 3 546. 1 453. 4 (344. 6) 1,950. 0 3,598. 2 (149. 0) 3,449. 2 (3,163. 7) 285. 5 (453. 4) (1,541. 1) (1,709. 0) (475. 5) 300. 4 (1,884. 1) 550. 3 (1,193. 9) 2,537. 8 3,332. 7 837. 9 4,170. 6 (1,005. 6) 3,165. 0 (550. 3) (559. 4) 2,055. 3 (424. 6) 183. 7 1,814. 4

International Business: Doing business in another country Essay

1.0 INTRODUCTION This report will investigate the viability of â€Å"Aussie Boardies† expanding its business overseas. The potential country chosen is India. This country will be analysed with its business protocol, communication and cultural differences. The report will also investigate the strengths and weaknesses of setting up business in India and make comparisons to Australian business ethics. An informed recommendation will be made based upon evidence within the report in relation to establishing an overseas branch. 2.0 GENERAL FACTS 2.1 CLIMATE India’s climate and weather are varied depending on the relevant region; the three main regions are the Northern Plains, Central India and the Southern region. The Northern Plains have cities like New Delhi that experience extreme ranges of temperature and are very prone to monsoons during the monsoon season (June to September). Central India consists of hot and dry weather but temperature drops at night. It is the most monsoon prone in all of India during the monsoon season. The southern region of India has generally high humidity throughout the year and relatively low rainfall. The southern region of India’s climate is the most similar to the Gold Coast as they are both tropical and generally high temperatures throughout the year (see Appendix 2). 2.2 GEOGRAPHIC LOCATION India occupies most of the Indian subcontinent in Southern Asia. Its western border consists of only Pakistan and the eastern border is Bangladesh (see Appendix 1). The town of Chennai located on India’s south eastern coast would be the optimal place to set up â€Å"Aussie Boardies†. Chennai’s beaches are similar to the Gold Coast, and are the main tourist attraction. Thus, the demand for swimwear would be higher in that area. Therefore, this will be the optimal area in India to set up a branch of â€Å"Aussie Boardies†. The  distance from Australia to India is evident in appendix 6, as it is 7822.21km apart from Australia. 2.3 LIFESTYLE India is one of the most diverse countries, with an incredibly large mixture of races and hundreds of different languages spoken. Many aspects of the western lifestyle have been embraced in India in modern day. Foods are liked by the different areas of India but vegetables, pulses and rice are very much liked by all Indians. The people who live near the oceans diet consist mainly of fish as they are mostly fisherman. The Indian clothing is still traditional at its core, with many women wearing the Sari (Appendix 3). However, swimwear is the same as contemporary western styles, making â€Å"Aussie Boardies† have more relevance in the Indian society. 2.4 RELIGION As Appendix 4 shows, the main religion of India is Hinduism, with Islam as a minority. 2.5 FLAG The flag of India sports 3 coloured lines being, Saffron (top), white (middle) and India green (bottom). In the centre is the design of Ashoka Shakra in navy blue. 3.0 ECONOMIC/POLITICAL DETAILS 3.1 DEMOCRACY, MONARCHY, DICTATORSHIP India’s constitution describes the nation as a â€Å"sovereign socialist secular democratic republic†. (see Appendix 5) Politics of India take place within a constitution. India is a federal parliamentary democratic republic in which the President of India is head of state and the Prime Minister of India is the head of government. The political structure of India is similar to  Australia, as they are both democracies and operate within a constitutional framework. 3.2 POLITICAL ISSUES The social issues of India include a lack of homogeneity which naturally sees certain social groups being discriminated against base upon religion, race etc. Economic issues like unemployment, poverty and economic development are also a concern in India. (The Economic Times, 2014) Unemployment effectively hurts the country as it reduces productivity, therefore reducing the GDP. Also, with less people in gainful employment, the nation’s economy won’t be as active through less expenditure. This will effectively reduce the cash supply within the economy and strengthen the value of the currency, as it will deflate. A strengthening of the Indian currency will be very beneficial towards domestic business, as the currency is valuable, making a branch in â€Å"Aussie Boardies† a good investment by acquiring Indian assets. 3,3 GROSS DOMESTIC PRODUCT India is the world’s tenth largest economy and the second most populous. The most important and the fastest growing sector of Indian economy are services. Trade, hotels, transport and communication; financing, insurance, real estate and business services and community, social and personal services account for more than 60 percent of GDP. GDP (Gross domestic product) is an economic indicator that is measured by the final output of goods and services produced by a country within a certain period of time. It is typically used as the main economic indicator when reviewing a countries economic status. (Investorwords.com, 2014) The GDP value of India represents 2.97% of the world economy. India’s GDP is currently $1841.7 billion, which has seen a steady growth since 2010. (See appendix 8) The GDP growth rate of India expanded by 0.6% at the end of the 2013 quarter, as shown by appendix 9. This steady increase of GDP will increase the confidence of businesses, as the rising rate of GDP guarantees a stable economy. It would be recommended to set up a branch of â€Å"Aussie Bardies† in India at this time as the growth rate of GDP is seeing no fluctuations, indicating a healthy  economy. 3.4 WORKPLACE ISSUES Unemployment is measured by the amount of people who are out of work and are actively seeking employment. (Pettinger, 2010) The rate of unemployment is a key economic indicator to the health of an economy. India’s current unemployment rate is 3.8%, as appendix 10 shows; unemployment has seen a rapid decline in the past 3 years, from 9.4% to 3.8%. This low unemployment also encompasses children, as child labour is a big issue in India. The main cause of this compulsory child labour is no education and a high amount of poverty. (ilo.org, 2014) A 2011 UNICEF report showed that in India, 28 million children under the age of 14 were engaged in child labour. (Digitaljournal.com, 2014) This can potentially be beneficial to branching â€Å"Aussie Boardies† to India as it can assist in hiring child employees as they don’t require an adult’s income, and need the work, making it a mutually benign arrangement. 4.0 TRAVEL INFORMATION 4.1 TIME DIFFERENCE As appendix 11 shows, India is 3 hours 15 minutes behind Australia. If you were to set up an international conference, it would have to be ahead to ensure it is between the working times in India. 4.2 CURRENCY The Indian rupee (INR) is the official currency of India. As appendix 12 shows, 1 Australian dollar can purchase 55.16 Indian rupees. As India’s inflation has seen a steady trend of decreasing, this will increase the purchasing power and value of the Indian currency, thus making it a good investment to set up an the Australian â€Å"Aussie Boardies† branch in India. (See appendix 7) 4.3 LANGUAGE As appendix 13 shows, there are many different languages spoken in India. The official language spoken is Hindi along with English and French as minorities. If the Australian business was to set up a branch in India, a translator would probably not be needed as some of the population would know English. This would make communication with the local customers a lot more efficient within the established branch of â€Å"Aussie Boardies†. 5.0 CULTURE AND CUSTOM 5.1 COMMUNICATION STYLES As India is part of Asia, their communication styles are very similar to that of Asians. Likewise with many Asians, Indians consider it extremely troublesome to say â€Å"no† – feeling that to do so might be hostile and lead to harmful towards future relationships. Accordingly, when confronted with difference, Indians are likely to express dubiousness and lack of commitment. (Worldbusinessculture.com, 2014) This is a polar opposite to how Australians communicate, being western in their communication style. Australians are confronting and to the point, they will express how they feel and aren’t afraid of declining. Australia has alot of slang that other cultures would not understand and should be weary not to use it to avoid miscommunication. In India, a nonverbal form of greeting is to bow slightly with palms together. Australia’s form of nonverbal communication is shaking hands as per usual with western culture. 5.2 SOCIAL BEHAVIOUR Indians want to work with those they know. Numerous organizations are family run and may utilize numerous family members, since it is accepted that you can trust family over all others. Indeed in multi-national organizations, it is normal for one relative to be contracted and, assuming that it works out, recommend that cousins, siblings, or different relatives discover occupation there, as well. (Rw-3.com, 2007) This is less prominent in Australia as they  value friendship or â€Å"mateship† rather than families when doing business. The value of modesty is emphasised in India, as boasting about ones achievements is considered rude. This is similar in Australia, as pretentiousness is loathed and authenticity is appreciated. 5.3 ETIQUIETTE In India, business meetings are more casual when it comes to scheduling and dont need much lead time. Scheduling is recommended to be carried out through telephone or letter. It is good to set up a meeting between October and March to avoid the heat and monsoon seasons. (Kwintessential.co.uk, 2014) Also be considerate of the numerous religious holidays in India. When entering a meeting room, it is conventional to greet the most senior member first. In Australia, the hierarchy is based on the position rather than the age. When doing business in India, business cards should be exchanged at the first meeting. It is a good idea to have it translated in Hindi as well as English on one side as an indication of respect rather than linguistic need. (Intercultures.ca, 2014)When giving your business card to someone you should present it with your right hand and have it face up with the text facing the recipient so they can read it as you hand it to them. Likewise, it is convention to receive it with your right as the left hand is considered unclean in India. Also, putting the business card in your back pocket is considered rude, as you should put it in your wallet to signify prosperity. Australia is indifferent to how someone receives the business card as it is more of the contents of the card that matters. 5.4 STATUS, RANK AND POWER India is a male dominated society, making the status of women in business fairly low. Foreign women don thave issues being accepted in India, but Indian women are usually discriminated against. Although it might be hard for a woman in India to be in a higher position, it still occurs and they are treated with the same respect as a male in that position. Australia has gender equality and doesn’t discriminate, as women have the exact same opportunity as men within business. In India, senior members of the business  are usually revered and are in higher positions. This is contrary to Australia as age is respected, but not to that magnitude; with experience and status valued more. 5.5 DECISION MAKING Business negotiating in India is non-confrontational and it is uncommon for fellow peers to disagree. Decisions are usually made by the person with the highest authority and rarely any discourse occurs in challenging the decision. (Indiahorizonz.com,2014) The process of decision making is slow paced and it is honourable to show patience. Losing your temper out of impatience is looked down upon, making you unworthy of respect and trust. With Australia preferring to sign legal documents and contracts in the knowledge that there is equity in the law for justice should an agreement be broken. Indians wouldn’t appear over legalistic in agreements as they do not trust the legal system. Generally speaking, one’s word is sufficient to reach an agreement and is considered a reflection of their integrity. When decisions are made or negotiations are successful, they are often celebrated with a meal. 5.6 GRATUITIES Indians believe that gift giving signifies an easing transition into the next life. (Kwintessential.co.uk, 2014) It is recommended to not give expensive or cash gifts, as they can be considered a bribe in a business context but are suitable for family and close friends on special occasions. Gift-giving in Australia is generally not part of the business culture, as minor gifts would only be given at business parties of wine or chocolates. Be mindful in India to not have gifts that are meat or made of leather, as most Indians are Hindu or vegetarian, making a cows skin extremely offensive for them to look at. Gifts should be wrapped using primary colours as any black/white wrapping is considered unlucky. 6.0 RECOMMENDATIOBN Based on the impact of various distinctive elements it can be confidently stated that establishing a branch of Aussie Boardies in India has some risks, but is outweighed by the significant amount of benefits. The climate in the southern part of India’s climate has many similarities to the Gold Coast in which Aussie Boardies is located as it has high temperatures and is generally tropical. The optimal area of India to set up business would be the town of Chennai. Located on India’s south eastern coast, Chennai’s beaches are similar to the Gold Coast, and are the main tourist attraction. Thus, the demand for swimwear would be higher in that area. India is seeing a transition into a first world country with increased development as India is very stable with a booming rise in GDP and a fairly low unemployment, thus setting up a business at this time would be encouraged. The Indian currency is also seeing a strengthening through deflation; this is good for an Australian business as the exchange rates are very high with Australian currency which could see potential profits with an investment of Indian assets. Child labour is a prominent issue in India; however, this labour is not forced and is a result of high poverty and low education. This can potentially be beneficial to branching â€Å"Aussie Boardies† to India as it can assist in hiring child employees as they don’t require an adult’s income, and need the work, making it a mutually benign arrangement. As one of the official language used in business is English in India, this lowers a communication barrier with most of the population speaking English. The social and business etiquettes of Australia and India are diverse but Indians are usually accepting of the cultural differences and are open minded about them. Although, many of the core business protocols are similar and the re isn’t any radical changes. 7.0 CONCLUSION Considering the analysis of the viability of expanding the business â€Å"Aussie Boardies† overseas, there are many positive factors. Based on the evidence of the stable economic outlook of India, business protocols, communication and cultural differences, expanding business overseas is highly recommended.

7 Bad Study Habits that Crush Your Productivity

7 Bad Study Habits that Crush Your Productivity After reading this article you’ll be able to boost your performance and conquer the world with style and savvy. Each one of the habits we’ll discuss are disturbingly common. Common as say†¦mediocrity. 1. You Guessed It†¦Procrastination Let’s be honest, some people can master the art of procrastination and some can’t. In reality, what those people are really doing is allowing the information to marinate in their minds. They’re making sense of it internally. Constantly dreaming about it. Thinking about it before they sleep each night. The people who can’t do it, pretty much just push things off until the last minute. Only then do they really direct their energies towards the problem or issue. That doesn’t really work. It just doesn’t. 2. Getting Stuck with Indecision Indecision causes us to become immobile. We stagnate, transforming into a human version of Pavlov’s Dog. Pick a place to start, the most accessible and begin. Tackle the simplest component and move on from there bit by bit. Furthermore, when in doubt go find someone with the answers and consult with them. Doing otherwise, just trying to be the proud Lone Ranger-type is oftentimes flat out ridiculous. And stop waiting for the perfect circumstances to arise, or that special feeling or whatever. That’s just indecision in disguise. You’re saying to yourself that you know what you â€Å"want† to do, but you can only perform miracles once you decide you HAVE to. 3. Listening to the Passing Cloud of Thought Is there anything under the sun more potentially distracting than your inner monologue? Honestly. At every second of every day it just keeps chattering away. Or, if you’re one of the more internally silent types, they tend to act up when you try to focus on something important. Learn to put it in the background and keep it there otherwise you’ll end up going on mental tangents over and over and over again wasting mountains of time. In reality those little tantalizing thoughts are energy vampires. You’ve only got so much before you have to disengage so choose wisely which thoughts you entertain. 4. Not Staying Physically Active Embody your studying whoever possible, or make sure to exercise at least once every day five days a week†¦period! The human mind and body thrive on physical activity. We’re genetically bred for it from our heads to our toes. Resistance sharpens up. When you have a break from your math homework, instead of staying mind-centric go give your body some attention. Take a jog. Go for a swim. Workout. Whatever. Confidence is also a pretty big productivity booster in nearly every respect. Think about it: don’t you do better in all areas of your life when you hold yourself and your abilities in higher esteem? The more focused your body, the more focused your mind can become†¦which in turn makes it easier to keep your internal monologue (not the same as your gut instincts) in check. 5. Caving to Technology Distractions It’s everywhere, calling for your attention second by second day in and day out. Social media networks are live 24/7. You could check recent updates. See if people commented on your blog. You could play some Angry Birds†¦The Xbox is backing thee. Virtual reality is ready to envelope your avatar once again. It goes on and on. You have got to completely disengage your mind from techno-distractions for a while if you’re going to get something done, especially if you’re forced to use a computer to do it. Don’t have tabs or windows open that don’t have to do with the problem at hand. Stop checking your email. Stop checking Drudge†¦! 6. Your Multi-tasking is Too Complex Getting lots of things done at once is awesome. It’s efficient. But, once you reach a point where the complexity is too much only pride and pure ignorance keep you chugging along at 30%. If you’re a chronic multi-tasker try this: do one thing at a time and see if you get more or less done. How about it? You up for the task? You can either go from easiest to hardest, or just mix things up in any way you see fit. Give it a shot. Oftentimes you’ll end up just grouping 2 or 3 things together as you can rather than the whole lot! 7. Avoiding Sufficient Nutrition Guess what genius, without sufficient hydration and micronutrient intake you’re cutting yourself drastically short. Take a simple biology, or human physiology class and be amazed by how much water and energy your brain requires. It’s shocking. Speaking of which, how about you shock yourself and eat quality food rather than top ramen, chili powder and peanut butter. Okay, we’re done. It’s your turn. What the #1 productivity killer to you?

Intercultural Interview Analysis Essay

Intercultural Interview Analysis Essay Intercultural Interview Analysis Essay Cultural changes have been witnessed in most parts of the world. In the current world, it is becoming difficult to maintain indigenous cultures. This is attributed to the rate at which technology is transforming the world across borders and making interactions between people of different cultures easier. The interaction has facilitated erosion of several aspects of people’s cultures. In place of these cultural norms, people adapt universal ways of doing things which determine how they carry out social aspects of their lives. However, this has not always been the case; people had distinct cultural values that determined how they went about their economic and social affairs. These elements identified the different cultural groupings back then. Consequently, understanding these aspects and adapting to them represent the greatest challenge for people who work across borders. Even though there have been continuous erosion of most cultural values, these changes are more pronounc ed in the younger generation. The older generation is more rigid in the aspect that they have held to cultural values. Understanding a people’s culture is critical in communicating with the people. It is the reason why one has to know the culture before setting out to interact with a different cultural group. The best way to understand cultural differences is by carrying out interviews. This paper structures such an interview with a fellow student who is a Mexican. Interview structure The questions to ask in the interview are modeled to understand the differences between North American culture and Mexican culture. These questions put emphasis on the importance of communication in the Mexican culture, and how communication is facilitated across different members of the culture. The first question will ask recognizable differences on how people communicate in America as compared to Mexico. The second question will focus on whether there is equity across gender groups in the Mexican culture. The third question focuses on the use of non verbal signs in both cultures while the last question will ask the difficulties in adapting to American culture if one is from Mexico. Getting adequate answers to these questions will help in understanding the Mexican culture and how communication can be facilitated between an American and a Mexican. Interview analysis The interview which took about 30 minutes brought out certain differences as well as similarities between the two cultures. Most importantly, it helped provide information on how communication can be facilitated between the two cultures. Starting with the differences, the Mexican culture has a different inclination on what prompts their interest in conversations. In North America, it is easy to elicit conversations through fairy tales and detective stories as these thrill a significant part of the American communication. This is very different from Mexicans who find thrill in stories themed on love myths and legends. The difference is critical in establishing what mode of communication to adopt in reference to Americans or Mexicans (Crouch, 2004). It is worth noting that Mexicans delight in fantasy or fantasizing while Americans prefer hard reality. Using factual information as a head start for a conversation with a Mexican may not prompt a conversation and it would hinder communicat ion between the individuals. Americans are automatically trusting. On the other hand, Mexicans are automatically suspicious and require a clear indication of intent coupled with actual evidence before trusting. To encourage communication with a Mexican, one needs to give them time to understand the person or else they would become suspicious. Consequently, in such cases, no meaningful communication would take place. Americans encourage criticism and are not opposed to change. Mexicans on the other hand eschew criticism and are fearful of change. Criticizing a Mexican the same way one would do to an American would attract a hostile reaction which would hinder effective communication. There are also views on gender equity which impacts communication between Americans and Mexicans. Americans have little emphasis on male supremacy and talking to a woman is not taken as belittling a man. In contrast, Mexicans are a patriarchal society where talking to a woman preferentially is viewed as demeaning to a man. This disco urages sober communication and in some instances elicits hostility from the predominantly patriarchal society. However, there are some similarities in the two cultures, the most common being use of gestures in communication. These gestures include nodding which means acceptance and shaking of one’s head which denotes negation (Mente, 2009). These are the only clear cut similarities impacting on information between the American and Mexican cultures. In conclusion, intercultural analysis enabled by this kind of an interview involves an actual encounter between two participants who represent different linguistic and cultural backgrounds. It presents an opportunity to identify similarities and differences between these linguistic and cultural backgrounds. By identifying these differences and similarities, those seeking to interact have a basis of doing it successfully by creating the right impression. The right impression encourages communication and makes it easy to elicit information or conduct business in the foreign culture. However, the success of this is dependent on the structure of the interview which should include questions on all aspects that impact communication within the other culture. From the above comparison, it is easy to understand the Mexican culture and this facilitates easy communication within the cultural setup.

Sacagawea-the greatest souls so easily forgotten Essay

Sacagawea-the greatest souls so easily forgotten - Essay Example There had been only scare legitimate information on the life and times of Sacagawea, but the reality which remains quite clear is that the lady deserved to be adorned as a crucial part in the American history. Sacagawea was only 16 years of age when she joined the Lewis and Clarke expedition (National Park Service, 2007). There is difference of opinion on the early years of her life. The year of birth of Sacagawea is supposed to be 1790 (National Park Service, 2007). One of the argument about her life history is that the girl which born as the daughter Shoshone chief, was kidnapped by Hidatsa and was taken to their village in Missouri at an age of ten. She was married there by a French trapper named Toussaint Charbonneau (PBS, 2008). When Lewis and Clarke engaged Toussaint Charbonneau in the team of expedition as an interpreter with exposure to the local people and conditions, his wife Sacagawea also joined the team. Her expertise in the Shoshone language prompted the team leaders to engage her so that she may be of help to them in taking help from Shoshone tribes in exploring and fighting over the naturally complex terrains and water heads (Clark & Edmonds, 1983). The factor of sacrifice and hardship that Sacagawea had made is confirmed while considering the fact she was pregnant when joining the tedious Lewis and Clarke expedition as an interpreter. Sacagawea proved to be a real heroine while being with the team. In 1805, she rescued quite crucial documents which included journal of the expedition from the river as it fell down from the boat. In recognition of her timely action, the leaders of the team named the river after her as Sacagawea River (Clark & Edmonds, 1983). In this context, it must be remembered with honor that without the help and service of Sacagawea the evidence of the so crucial periods in the history of American land would have been lost. Later the role Sacagawea as a