Financial Planning and Forecasting Essay Example for Free

Financial Planning and Forecasting Essay We have also provided comprehensive documentation on the templates so that you do not need to guess or figure out how we implemented the models. All our template models are only in black and white color. We believe this is how a professional financial template should look like and also that this is the easiest way for you to understand and use the templates. All the input fields are marked with the ‘*’ symbol for you to identify them easily. Whether you are a financial analyst, investment banker or accounting personnel. Or whether you are a student aspiring to join the finance world or an entrepreneur needing to understand finance, we hope that you will find this package useful as we have spent our best effort and a lot of time in developing them. ConnectCode Pg iii Financial Planning and Forecasting Version 1. 0 1. 1. 1 Financial Planning and Forecasting Pro Forma Financial Statements Financial statements projections and forecasting are very common in corporate financial analysis. The reason is that it is very useful and important to forecast how much financing a company will require in future years. The projections are achieved by using historical sales, accounting data and assumptions on future sales and costs. These financial statements projections are known financial modeling as Pro Forma financial statements. 1. 2 Financial Statements Modeling This spreadsheet provides a template for financial statements forecasting. It requires simple financial statements inputs from the past 5 years and will automatically generate all the necessary Pro Forma Financial Statements projections outputs. The following diagram illustrates the process of using this template for financial statements forecasting.

The Roles of a Citizen in a Democracy Essay Example for Free

The Roles of a Citizen in a Democracy Essay A Democracy is a type of government that is for the people to choose their leaders and to hold their leaders accountable for their policies and their conduct in office. The people are the ones who decide what they want and who they want to represent them, usually by a majority vote. But who exactly are these people? We refer to them as citizens of where ever they are from. We are citizens of the United States of America and we also live in a democracy. As citizens in a democracy we have many rights but also many duties that we have to fulfill such as to actively participate, to use nonviolent pressure to speak our opinions to the government and to follow laws but, to not follow unjust laws. One of the only ways a democracy can work is to have active participation from all the citizens. A reason this is especially important is when we are voting for a governor or president or even just a city mayor. If some people decide that they dont want to vote, then maybe next time some more people will decide not to vote and then next time even more people are not voting, soon enough there are only a few people holding all the votes. This is not what democracy is about. In a democracy, all the citizens are supposed to have a say in everything. When only a few people are voting and only a few people are getting there opinions across then its only a matter of time before they are the ones holding all the power and the citizens who did not say anything before will have no choice. This is why there needs to be active participation from all the citizens in a democracy. If a democracies officials are beginning to stray then it time for the citizens to use their nonviolent protests and actions. Nonviolent actions are simply ways to get your point across with out causing any harm. The Government is much bigger and more powerful than the citizens and if we tried to fight using gun power and other physical means then we would eventually get crushed by the overwhelming forces of the government. Martin Luther King, Jr. once said I must say to you that we have not made a single gain in civil rights without determined legal an d nonviolent pressure(letter from a Birmingham Jail, 1963). He was very true in a sense that nonviolent actions are what has peacefully brought us how far we are today. The government can sometimes become corrupt and it is our duty as a citizen to counter whatever the government is doing with our power of legal and nonviolent pressure. A citizen in a democracy must also follow the laws provided by their government but also they have to not follow the unjust laws. The government officials give laws in order to protect us from other people or even from ourselves. There may come a time however, that we will be handed a law that is very much unjust. How can we tell if a law is just or unjust? Martin Luther King, Jr., said Any law that uplifts human personality is just. Any law that degrades human personality is unjust.(letter from a Birmingham Jail, 1963). When the government put out the segregation statutes, people were saying it was a unjust way to treat other humans. It makes the segregator feel superior and the segregated feel inferior. The citizens decided not to stand this treatment so they began using nonviolent protests and petitions and eventually won out. This example shows that in a democracy it is the citizens voice that must come out and they are really the ones that will make it work. In a democracy a citizen must use nonviolent actions to show their opinions, follow just laws, and actively participate in the government. A democracy is a great way to run a group of people but it will really only work. Although some people say that a democracy is not the way to go, I would have to disagree and say that a democracy can and will work. The citizens in a democracy are really the ones that make it work. Without the citizens doing their responsibilities and using there rights then it will quickly turn into a place where the government controls everything and then they ways of a democracy are lost.

Self-Assessment on Group Work

Self-Assessment on Group Work The End or The Beginning? Donald J. Peters Doug Flemming Introduction This module has served as a reminder that I should not give up on group interaction. I need to embrace the dynamics so I can be a better manager, leader and group member. We have learned about the significance of groups and that a large part of our professional life fundamentally relies on our group interaction skills. Improving group interaction skills can be very satisfying to all group members and advance the business organizational model as well. There are also some significant difficulties and hurdles intertwined with small group interaction. This makes groups a crucial focus for study, examination and action. The goal of this summary paper is to identify key concepts or topics that we have discussed, examine why we study group interaction, a self-analysis of our ability, and a discussion on how group OL313 is functioning. Topic 1 Discussion Background factors The first subject I want to discuss is background factors. By definition, background factors are attributes that existed prior to the groups formation and will probably endure after the group no longer exists. Some relevant background factors include personalities, age, health and values. Personality is one of the most important background factors in small group interaction (Tubbs, 2009). I am a member of a modification proposal working group and attend monthly meetings for my organization. In this working group, we discuss issues and the perceived failures of the modification proposal process. The normal attendees from the Tinker AFB location include both government and civilian employees who were purposely selected by the working groups senior member and government manager. There are various subject matter experts who also attend based on leaderships selected topics and questions. I was directed to attend and support this working group as I have been anointed the subject matter expert for these issues. My office has the responsibility to receive the modification proposals from the initiator and insure approval in a timely manner. Often this is not as easy as it appears. The working group chairperson is one of the high-ranking government employees in our building. Questions are asked at the meetings and the answers are not listened to. These processes are documented by the Air Force and there is very specific guidance detailed in the instructions. It is my observation that the chairperson has a need to control or influence the process to the point that it is interfering with the outcomes of the group. Due to my perceptions of the chairperson and the group in general, this meeting is basically a time killer for me. I continue to provide information as requested but I no longer have the patience to deal with the point counter point discussions which keep the process moving in a circle. There have been interactions with other group members who have noticed that there is a difference in my attitude when I attend this meeting. I would say I need to do a better job of camouflaging my attitude while attending this meeting. I dont believe I can bypass my attitude without engaging the source. Personality appears to be the most relevant background factor in this situation. It appears that the chairperson has trained themselves to look for opportunities for improvement without regard for the documented process. I was trained to follow the documented process for repeatable, sustained results. I have conceded that the documented processes may be too restrictive for our purpose, but there is also a process to seek relief from said restriction. Situationally, I have determined that this could be a personality issue, at least on my part. The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI), a popular method of measuring personality, revealed that I demonstrated a high tendency towards introversion. Some of the ways introverts are described include, more reserved, like to be alone and more focused. I have learned, that although I dont see this as my fault, I have been a contributing factor to the problem or issue at hand. I have been a hindrance to the working groups goal of resolving the modification proposal issues. I have set a personal goal to try and resolve this conflict. I may not be able to fix a problem within a working group but I should be able to control my actions and set an example to follow. Topic 2 Discussion Circumstance and Structure I work in a windowless building but the technology used in some of our conference rooms is our window to the world of the B-2 bomber. Normally the atmosphere of the building I work in feels restricting. A dreary place where the atmosphere never changes. The conference rooms however, are very well maintained and tastefully decorated. It gives off a good vibe when you attend meetings in these conference rooms and I believe it effects the way people act and react to the information discussed in these venues. The meetings that I normally participate in take place in three large, well maintained conference rooms located throughout the building. There are normally several large rectangular tables set up in a horseshoe design and the chairs are very comfortable. The horseshoe layout allows dignitaries or the head of the meeting to sit at the head of the table. This position allows all participants to view the leader of the meeting. Due to the number of personnel, there is an overflow area established on both sides of the tables. One large advantage we utilize in our conference rooms is the ability to video teleconference (VTC) between geographically separated units. The attendees can view each locations speaker if they share the same equipment architecture. The conference rooms also have the capability to push briefing slides, normally power point, across multiple locations and that ability allows all participants to share data. I enjoy the capability to observe the VTC briefers as they provide their information to the group. It helps me remember that they are people like me, and not just another voice with a tasker or an assignment. The VTC capabilities also help to reduce travel expenses that would otherwise be accepted as the normal cost of doing business. During the last five years, I have noticed that people tend to sit in the same locations when attending meetings in these conference rooms. I also sit in the same locations depending on the meeting content and my role during the meeting. There are meetings when I am required to brief information to the group and its during those meetings when I sit at the table. That seat is as close to the VTC camera as possible so I am off camera to the group, but located near a microphone so I can be heard. Another meeting I attend puts me more in a support role and I try to sit away from the table, but close enough to the briefer to assist with questions or clarifications. These perceived seating assignments appear to be accepted as the norm by all attendees. I have needed to sit in other locations than my normal place and there have been times when the meeting chair did not think I was in attendance. The size of the group does have an impact on discussion. Smaller groups, less than ten, appear to be more relaxed and willing to facilitate the exchange of ideas or speak up when required. The larger groups, to include the offsite attendees, lose focus on the discussion topic and start sidebar conversations. Theses sidebar conversations can be very distracting and limit the exchange of ideas and reasoned answers to topics at hand. I personally think I perform better in the smaller groups and need their feedback to help my performance. The larger groups are a challenge for me as I dont always know who the players are and how they normally function. It appears or feels as if there is no cohesion or unity. The communication network that I see demonstrated during these meetings, using our wonderful VTC system, is the wheel. In this case the leader is viewed as the central person, or hub of the wheel and all communication and comments must pass through the hub or leader (Tubbs, 2009). The leader of the meeting is in control of the technology and responses are restricted to the leader of the meeting. The other offsite users appear to manage their meeting in the same fashion. I think it works very well in preventing people talking over one another while using the technology. The ability to have productive meetings is related to many different factors. From the setup of the conference room tables to your territorial seat at the meeting, these influences can contribute or impede the groups ability to operate. Some organizations have grown very adept at the use of this technology and I feel that its use provides everyone with more feedback on the items discussed. Although it appears our leade rship is using a restrictive communication network described as the wheel, it seems to work well for the groups using this technology. Why Study Group Interaction At the basic level interaction is simply communication. Small group interaction is the process by which three or more members of a group communicate, verbally and non-verbally, to influence one another (Tubbs, 2009). Why does an organization or individual need to educate themselves about interaction? The answer appears to be straight forward in that almost every business requires some form of interaction or communication. For that communication to be successful, it requires certain skills and capabilities. The continued study of communication will refine your skills and competencies which, in turn, will allow you the opportunity to become a more effective manager, leader and team member. This knowledge can save the organization time and limit expenditures. Self-Analysis The first thing that comes to mind is how much time has passed since I have been in a classroom. The experience has initiated a reassessment of my abilities as a student, learner and team member. As a student, I realize I need to improve my study skills and practice interaction daily. After retiring from the military, I intentionally sought out employment that would limit interaction. I did not want to be in leadership or management as I did not want to have that responsibility again. As I have progressed through the current company, I require those skills once more if I hope to be promoted. My ability to learn has not changed and for that I am thankful. But knowledge application has suffered. This course has shed light on some communication issues I am experiencing at work and that identification has led me to a new goal. That goal is to participate in the process through interaction and communication. Im not sure if I can reverse any of the negative interaction trends I have noticed, but I am sure I want to be a person that contributes, not a person that detracts from the group goals. Once I wrapped my head around what the professor expected and the teaching style, I enjoyed the class. I am a slow starter with new information but my interest in the subject matter increased with each week of instruction. Group OL313 Another module down and the group is that much closer to completing the objective of a college degree. I dont presume to know what the rest of the class thinks but I for one am very comfortable being part of this group. The fact the most of us have either had military experience or have worked close to the military complex seems to be the one thing we all share; other than being human I mean. I do not recall one instance where we had an issue within the group. As the oldest member of the group, I have faced technology challenges during instruction. Everyone in OL313 has helped or offered to help me sort out those issues. There have been several in our group who appear to have shown a marked improvement in communicating and interacting. It has been a pleasure to witness those changes for the better. I appreciate working with a group of this caliber and look forward to the few months we have remaining in this program. Conclusion To conclude, I have briefly discussed the background factor of personality and that it is the one of most important factors to small group interaction. Personalities exist prior to group formation and will likely remain the same after dissolution. The topic of structure was addressed with discussion centered on seating arrangements and technology. A brief self-analysis of my skills and where I think I need to go from here; as well as some thoughts on why we need to study small group interaction. And finally, I closed with analysis if how I think the OL313 group is performing. References Tubbs, S. L. (2009). A Systems Approach to Small Group Interaction. New York: McGraw-Hill.

Essay --

At the core of the conflict between the States of Palestine and Israel is constant development of new settlements by the State of Israel in Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPT) in the effort to fragment the Palestinian State in order to preclude the establishment of a structured, Country of Palestine. Despite numerous Security Council Resolutions condemning such settlements and reaffirming their illegality, Israel continues to erect settlements in The West Bank, the Gaza Strip and East Jerusalem, refusing to withdraw from them and supposing a barrier between themselves and any potential peace solution that could be achieved or that have tried to be arrived to in the past. The Israelis have varying levels of authority in the Occupied Palestinian territories, but mostly retain full control of such regions, without any indications of possible leniencies arising. Apart from constituting serious breaches in the humanitarian law, the settlements are illegal by international law and viol ate the 4th Geneva Convention relative to the Protection of Civilian persons in Times of War. Regardless of this and using numerous justifications that call upon the right of the Israelis to settle in Palestinian Territory, settlement growth continues to increase even as international pressure for peace also becomes stronger. 1948- 1968 In May 1948 the State of Israel declares it independence. From this declaration to the Six Day War, there is no settling taking place due to Israel being at constant conflict with its neighboring Arab States. In 1967, the Six Day War marks what have come to be called the 1967 borders. Israel illegally annexes 70km2including considerable portions of Gaza, the West Bank and East Jerusalem. This same year, Israel’s De... ...srael’s security and that therefore must be annexed. The plan is not yet taken to action but will serve as a future reference for security oriented settlements. In 1982 the government continues to rule out any potential peace plans that could involve land being taken away from the State of Israel. The Prime Minister in 1984, Isaac Shamir presents his plan according to The A Hundred Thousand Plan contrived by the Ministry of Agriculture for settlements up to 2010 and emphasises there would be no change in the sovereignty held in the West bank. 1988-1992 During this period of time, the amount of Israeli settlements increases by 60%, following the Hundred Thousand Plan. The Israeli government continues to be transparent in its desire to continue building settlements and ensuring the development of them through infrastructure and control. By the end of this period,

Hamlets soliloquy Essay -- essays research papers

William Shakespeare’s Hamlet is a complex play regarding the kingdom of Denmark, and the unusual stage it is going through. The main focus of the play concerns Hamlet, prince of Denmark, and his feeling of ambiguity toward his recently lost father and his remarried mother. Hamlet is a complicated character who plays assorted roles in order to manipulate people. These various roles make it problematic to develop a sense of the real Hamlet. Only during the soliloquies is the reader given a chance to understand Hamlet, they allow the reader to attempt to decipher who is the real Hamlet and what is an act. The first soliloquy allows the reader to initially delve into the character of Hamlet, by showing his anger and distaste towards his mother. The soliloquy also shows that, even through his anger, he is in a coherent state of mind.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Though this first soliloquy occurs rather promptly in the play, there are still a lot of proceedings that lead up to it. Hamlet comes back from school to find all is not well in the state of Denmark. His father has died a mysterious death, and his mother has already remarried his father’s brother. In royal times it was customary to mourn the death of royalty for a year, yet his mother only waited two months to remarry. She not only waited two months, but she was committing what Hamlet and others considered incest. This anomalous marriage paired with the recent meeting whit his mother and stepfather, where Hamlet is embar...

Euthanasia Essay - A Proper Death :: Free Euthanasia Essay

Euthanasia and a Proper Death Assisted suicide is a very controversial topic in American society that must be dealt with. In assisted suicide, a patient who is terminally ill requests the doctor to administer a lethal dose of medication to end his life. Assisted suicide brings up many moral and legal issues regarding the right of a patient to die with respect and the duties of a doctor. This issue is divided among people who believe that doctor assisted suicide is illegal and immoral and those who believe that suicide is a right that people have. Doctors who aid a patient to commit suicide are performing an illegal act and should be penalized to the full extent of the law. According to most state laws assisted suicide is illegal. An assisted suicide is a form of murder since the doctor administers a lethal dose of medication to the patients. Therefore, a doctor who has performed this act should receive the jail sentence of a murderer. Some people believe that these doctors are not performing anything illegal and that they should continue their practices. This group of people believe in euthanasia, meaning an easy and painless death or a peaceful manner of dying (Webster 631). This includes committing suicide when the person is fully competent but wishes to end his life as a result of the pain that he must endure every day. Committing suicide is viewed by its opponents as an act of cowardice that many people perform because they do not want to deal with their problems in life. This type of action should be dealt with immediately. A study shows that one-fifth of all doctors and nurses have actively helped end a patient’s life (Van Biema 2). This i s not a promising statistic for the future of America. One out of every five doctors has helped a person escape his life. Aside from being illegal, doctor assisted suicide is also immoral. From the following information, it can be clearly seen that doctors who commit these crimes have violated many of the rules and values that they agreed to follow when they became a doctor. They have violated all the moral values that they agreed to follow when they became doctors. A doctor’s job is to help a patient at any cost, not help the patient to end their lives. Doctors who have aided patients in committing assisted suicides have violated the Hippocratic Oath, which very doctor must swear to before he receives his license to practice.

Public Smoking Ban In The UK

Smoking is a major income to the government; it brings in about à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½10 billion pounds annually. The government has proceeded to raise the tax rate of tobacco above the inflation rate from 1993 to the present day, this was implemented to help reduce consumption further. This policy has resulted that tax on tobacco in the UK is amongst the highest in the world and far ahead of any of those in other EU member states. For example the price of a typical pack of cigarettes in the UK is currently à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½5.54, whilst in Belgium the price is about à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½2.70 and in Latvia they retail at a mere 42p. The cost to the NHS of smoking related illnesses is generally not believed to outweigh the income the government makes out of tobacco sales. The government is being very hypocritical of themselves because a large amount of public money comes from the tax of cigarettes but at the same time the government is trying to stop people form smoking by banning people to smoke in public places and also with adverts on television urging people to stop smoking. There has been a lot of opposition to the smoking ban of which the arguments have been that the ban will be disastrous to small pubs that rely on smokers to keep their business afloat. Small pub landlords have said that they will loose vital trade from people who normally go out to the pub to have a smoke and a pint who now will stay at home instead and smoke and drink there. A knock on effect of the economic down turn is perceived to be a loss of jobs across the industry and rising pub prices as landlords would have no choice but to subsidise their loss of business by increasing prices. The closure of pubs would ultimately result in a lack of choice for the customer. People who are still against the ban argue alternative methods of how to reduce the health impact of passive smoking. The introduction of the use of ventilation is regarded by some as an adequate solution on its own. Some respondents are strongly of the opinion that ventilation removes all the harmful effects of smoking from the air. Designated smoking areas in public places are have previously been used before the smoking ban came into effect in various shopping malls, restaurants and clubs. People did not complain about these smoking areas, of which people who wanted to smoke could do so inside out of the way of other people who did not want to smoke. People against the smoking ban argue that separate designated smoking areas with good ventilation is a better alternative then banning smoking in public places altogether. The government doesn't want to stop there with banning smoking. They have almost banned the rights of people to smoke in their own car. The law now states that if the driver is smoking and does not have full control of the vehicle the driver can be prosecuted for smoking while driving. This is an extension of the current law which is that the driver must have full control of the vehicle at all times. What I do not understand is that why the government feels that they now have to have a separate law to cover smoking while driving, does that not also come under the law that states that the driver must have full control of the vehicle at all times? There have now also been talks that a law is trying to be passed to stop adults smoking in their own vehicle while a child is present, is this just saying to the nation that they cannot look after their own children? Ibi from Birmingham thinks that banning smoking is a way for the government to take all of our fun away. â€Å"This seems ok but doesnt anybody else worry about this being a slippery slope. First, no smoking in public places, then no smoking at all, then no drinking, no shouting, no laughing, no talking and no fun. And once this is all done they will find something else to ban. And im a non smoker.† Howard John Dell from Chelmsford agrees that the money made by the government from smokers is too high to ignore the rights of one of its biggest money makers. â€Å"I do not agree with a total ban on smoking. It is my right to smoke and the government make a considerable amount of money from my smoking through taxes which easily pays for any health cost tot he NHS.† Colin McEwan from Edinburgh agrees that the smoking ban could have bigger economic consequences than we think. â€Å"The Scottish government is drafting its own regulations regarding smoking and seems to be bent on a total ban. This, in my view is a step too far at this time. I work in Ireland where such a ban has, I believe, reduced pub sales substantially in some areas and has cost many jobs. I have no issue with the argument that people must not be subjected to passive smoking. But the alternatives, such as designated smoking areas with proper ventilation have not been properly considered. Sure it will be difficult to implement properly but the ‘Ban it everywhere' brigade does not seem to be interested in the logic †¦ only the principle.† The smoking ban seams to be supported by many more non-smokers than smokers. I think that because smokers are a minority here, the majority have won their case outright. There seams to be more suitable alternative methods than the banning of smoking in public places completely. I think that the banning of smoking in public places was a policy set up by the government to try and win the votes of the majority of people because people had lost faith in the current government because of the currently unsuccessful invasion of Iraq.