he only observation that could be made here is that one would expect a larger proportion of the total expenses to be allocated to research and development, given the fact that this is such an important part of Microsoft's activity and essential in order to obtain a competitive advantage on the market.
Asset and Capital Structure

2008

Cash and cash equivalents

$10,339

Accounts receivable

$13,589

Inventories

$985

otal fixed assets

$29,551

he asset structure at Microsoft reflects some of the particularities in the industry, notably the fact that the inventory levels tend to be quite low, as compared to the other assets. his means that the I industry is not one supporting production on stock. At the same time, the value of the total fixed assets is significantly high, which can be partly explained by the size of the company and the investments in land, buildings and equipment.

Part III -- Ratio Analysis

he current ratio in 2008 was 1.45, as compared…...

mla

The return on assets at Microsoft was 0.24 in 2008, as compared to 0.22 in 2007. As most of the other profitability and asset management figures, the return on assets also shows a better performance in 2008.

Part IV -- Conclusions and Recommendations

Microsoft's results, both in terms of absolute value from the income and cash flow statements and balance sheet and the ratio analysis, show a solid, extremely competitive company, whose results have improved from 2007 to 2008, despite the global economic crisis. Its capacity to retain low levels of inventory, to gradually increase its efficiency in using assets and to bring new products to the market are some of the positive aspects at Microsoft. As a recommendation, the company could consider allocating a larger proportion of its expenses into research and development.

41 in the next three years. The current price for al-Mart implies strong growth prospects. The company does have a sound strategy to retain its new customers and refocus growth efforts on less-saturated markets overseas.
In short, while there can be little doubt as to al-Mart's operational excellence, it is not necessarily a great investment. Growth has in recent years been of the slow and steady variety. The company's present valuation may be symptomatic of its status as a safe haven for investors during tough economic times. This means that the growth implied by its current share price may not be justified. Therefore, while al-Mart is a great company to own, it may not be the best investment at its current price and with the market beginning to show signs of recovery. The 0.20 beta and historic low volatility mean that al-Mart shareholders will not reap the benefits of market increases.…...

mla

Works Cited:

Wal-Mart 2009 Annual Report. Retrieved June 7, 2009 from  http://walmartstores.com/sites/AnnualReport/2009/ 

Some financial data and ratios from MSN Moneycentral. Retrieved June 7, 2009 from  http://moneycentral.msn.com/investor/invsub/results/statemnt.aspx?Symbol=WMT 

Cheng, Adriana. (2009). Wal-Mart needs to prove it's more than a recession play. Marketwatch. Retrieved June 7, 2009 from  http://www.marketwatch.com/story/wal-mart-needs-to-show-legs-beyond-recession-play 

Loth, Richard. (n.d.) Financial Ratio Tutorial. Investopedia. Retrieved June 7, 2009 from  http://www.investopedia.com/university/ratios/

Strategic Management
Company Overview

Me Gusta Marketing is a boutique advertising agency that specializes in social media promotions. The company was founded in late 2010 and currently has three employees. The firm is in the advertising industry, and competes with a niche strategy. The firm specializes in social media promotions, an area where many traditional advertising agencies are relatively weak. The company was founded after its principle started an online promotions campaign for a friend's DJ night at a local pub. The response was far better than expected, so the principle decided to professionalize the service and seek new customers. From there, two other friends were hired into the firm and a number of clients have been signed up thus far. The business is in the process of becoming organized and needs to determine what the business will look like going forward now that the venture looks as though it will be…...

mla

Works Cited:

Adams, N. & Myers, J. (2009). Ad industry hit by economic crisis. NPR. Retrieved May 1, 2011 from  http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=99120537 

Greenwald, D. (2010). Social media: Changing the world of business communication. Bowling Green University. Retrieved May 1, 2011  http://www.businesscommunication.org/conventionsNew/proceedingsNew/2010New/ABC-2010-08.pdf 

Reinhard, K. (2005). Advertising industry's commitment to social responsibility. Advertising Educational Foundation. Retrieved May 1, 2011 from  http://www.aef.com/on_campus/classroom/speaker_pres/data/3010

This strategy was combined with the company's focus on CAFE-based compliance and support for Fair Trade-based trading practices with coffee suppliers. This renewed focus on managing their supply chains to tighter levels of profitability and performance metrics including increasing quality standards has led to a significant reduction in operating expenses and control of variable costs (Starbucks Investor elations, 2011). Starbucks was also able to manage costs of closing locations effectively, and when this strategy was combined with supply chain cost savings, greater focus on in-store profitability and faster new product introductions, Starbucks was able to reverse a negative trend on gross margins and profitability. Beginning in FY 2010 and continuing through the current fiscal period, Starbucks continues to see their gross margins and operating profits including Net Margin, Gross Margin and EBITDA Margin. Figure 1, 5-Year Trend Margin Analysis Shows Impact of Strategic Marketing shows the aggregate impact of…...

mla

References

Melanie Godsell (2007)."Starbucks to push food line. " Marketing QSR. June, pp. 34 -- 35.

Jeffrey S. Harrison, Eun-Young Chang, Carina Gauthier, Todd Joerchel, and et al. (2005) "Exporting a North American Concept to Asia: Starbucks in China. " Cornell Hotel and Restaurant Administration Quarterly 46.2: 275-283.

Kanter, R.. (2010) "How to Do Well and Do Good. " MIT Sloan Management Review 52.1. 12.

Mintel Research, 2006, A Classy Cup of Coffee, Convenience Store News March 15, 2006. Retrieved November 29, 2011 from  http://www.csnews.com/csn/foodservice/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1002158065

System Concepts
Company Overview

Complete Solutions plc (CS) is a successful organization specializing in IT consultancy business with annual turnover of £40 millions. The company is located at North of England with branches in the U.S. And France. Established in 1980, the company was taken over by a larger company, and the take-over bid led to the rapid expansion of the company. Complete Solution has several sections with approximately 400 users in the UK divisions. The company internal services are based in Manchester with the Training Solutions (TS) consultancy section, Sales, and Marketing section. The overall services of Complete Solution consists of the IT consultancy service as well as selling of hardware and software, training and recruitment, software development and, outsourced services. The other services provided by the Complete Solution are consultancy services. With rapid expansion that the company is enjoying, the Complete Solution is planning to go public by floating on…...

mla

References

CO3601 System Concepts (nd).Soft Systems Methodology Case Study: Complete Solutions

Checkland, P.(1985). Achieving 'Desirable and Feasible' Change: An Application of Soft Systems Methodology ST. The Journal of the Operational Research Society. 36(9): 821-831.

Gasson, S. (1995). The Role of Methodologies in IT-Related Organizational changes. Proceedings of BCS Specialist Group on IS Methodologies, 3rd Annual Conference.

Simonsen, J. (1994).Soft Systems Methodology. Computer Science/Roskilde University.

Confidential and Private
Company overview

Yahoo!, Inc. is a large digital media company that specializes in the delivery of personalized digital content as well as experiences across millions of devices around the globe (Market Watch, 2012). The company provides highly engaging and innovative canvases that are used in advertisement in order to connect with the millions of online target audiences across the globe. The company provides several services to different categories of people and businesses. To the normal users, it provides various services like online properties, news, entertainment and email services while to the advertisers, Yahoo! Inc. provides a wide range of marketing services that are designed in way that ensures that it effectively connect with the subscribers of its Yahoo! Properties products. The website also connects advertisers with other third-party entities through its integrated Yahoo! Advertisement offerings. At the moment, the company through its Yahoo! Properties provides users services that fall…...

04
1,204.52

1,264.15

1,060.36

Accounts receivable

1,892.39

1,855.93

1,953.50

2,033.68

2,125.03

Other receivables net

Net eceivables

Inventories

2,417.37

2,629.60

2,502.83

2,431.84

2,526.98

Assets held for sale

Discontinued operations

Other current assets

Income Taxes

Prepaid expenses

Subtotal

5,063.31

5,137.28

5,041.29

5,026.67

5,274.03

Total Current Assets

6,083.35

6,121.94

6,245.81

6,290.82

6,334.40

LIABILITIES

Accounts payable

2,170.42

2,236.14

2,194.42

2,220.41

2,337.33

Accrued liabilities

1,326.44

1,198.68

1,274.71

1,414.72

1,437.94

Compensation

Shortterm debt

Other current liabilities

Income & other taxes

Deferred income

Cash dividends payable

Total Current Liabilities

3,759.82

3,933.80

3,907.24

4,074.28

4,205.46

Working Capital

2.223.83

2.128.94

As being revealed in Table 5, the working capital ratio from 1.53 in 2011 to 1.58 in 2012 revealing the company is growing strong in term of its working capital.

Table 5: Staples Working Capital atio

Nov. 3, 2012

Aug. 3, 2012

May 3, 2012

Feb. 3, 2012

Nov. 3, 2011

Y / Y Current Liabilities Growth

-10.6%

Y / Y Current Assets Growth

Working Capital atio TTM

1.58

1.55

1.55

1.54

1.53

Total anking

# 228

# 252

# 256

# 268

# 274

Seq. Current Liabilities Growth

Seq. Current Assets Growth

However, as being revealed in Table 5, the company working capital per revenue remains unchanged between 2011 and 2012. The working capital per revenue is 0.09 in 2011 and remained 0.09 in 2012.

Table 6: Staples Working Capital

Y / Y Working Capital…...

Typically, buyers have the ability to switch their tastes from one soft drink brand to the other.
Barrier to Entry: It is very difficult to enter the industry due to several factors:

First, a new firm will need to implement economic of scale to enjoy cost reduction and compete favourably within the industry. To establish economic of scale, a new firm will require huge capital investment ranging from several millions of dollar. Huge capital needed to enter the industry serves as a barrier for a new firm. More importantly, a new firm will need to overcome the tremendous marketing muscle to establish market presence within the industry, and entering into the industry requires substantial capital. Moreover, government regulation is another factor making entry into the industry very difficult. egulations such as Soft Drink Inter-brand Competition Act are making the new entry nearly impossible in the U.S. market.

Assessment of the Industry

Overall assessment…...

mla

References

Annual Report, (2010). Coca Cola Company. USA.

Frost and Sullivan Research (2011).Financial Assessment of Non-alcoholic Beverages Market. Frost and Sullivan Research Service.USA.

IMAP (2011). Food and Beverage Industry Global Report -2010. A IMAP Consumer Staple Report.

Lagos, T. & Smith, V. (2001). Analysis of the Coca-Cola Company. Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Toyota Corporation
Company Overview

Toyota Motor Corporation is a Japanese company which deals with manufacture of automobile. The company is among the largest companies in the world in manufacture of automobiles. In 2008, the company was ranked the largest company for the first time in automobile industry (Wankel, 2009). The company has approximately 600 subsidiary companies in various parts of the globe. These corporations are involved in the manufacture of automobiles, commercial as well as industrial vehicles, and automobile parts. Headquarters of the company are in Toyota city, Japan.

Toyota Motor Corporation started in 1933 as a constituent of Toyoda Automatic Loom Works (Wankel, 2009). The first car to be produced by the company was the Model AA sedan, in early 1936. In 1937, the company was incorporated and it became Toyota motor company. In 1982, the company took its present name (Wankel, 2009). This is when Toyota Motor Company merged with Toyota…...

mla

References Series on Green Society: Toward a Sustainable Future: Green business: An A-to-Z guide. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications, Inc. doi: 10.4135/9781412973793

Hitokoto, T. (2010, May 13).  http://www.istockanalyst.com/article/viewiStockNews/articleid/4118409 

Investopedia.com (2011). The industry handbook: Automobiles. Investopedia. Retrieved August, 2011, fromhttp://www.investopedia.com/features/industryhandbook/automobile.asp

Toyota. (2012) Annual Report 2011. Retrieved August, 2012 from  http://www.toyota-global.com/investors/ir_library/annual/pdf/2011/ 

Wankel, C. (Ed.). (2009). Encyclopedia of business in today's world. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications, Inc. doi: 10.4135/9781412964289

Ebay needs of to pay attention to brand equity and get back to the basics of offering good customer service to its customer base. Otherwise, it is an open market for anyone to step in and take their place. Losing focus of brand and company vision has been the downfall of many corporate giants.
eferences

Consumers Union. (2007). Winning at Ebay. How to bid smart & play safe. Consumers eports.org. August 2007. etrieved February 6, 2011 from http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/money/shopping/shopping-tips/ebay-8-07/overview/0708_ebay_ov_1.htm?Extkey=SY95PI0&CMP=KNC-COVMYSSP&HBX_OU=51&PK=yssp

Ebay.com (2011). Spoof (fake) emails. etrieved February 6, 2011 from http://pages.ebay.com/education/spooftutorial/

Ebay Inc. (2001). Burger King Corporation and eBay Announce First Loyalty Program in Fast Food. Ebay Inc. November 14, 2001. etrieved February 6, 2011 from http://www.ebayinc.com/content/press_release/2001111564901

Gomes-Casseres, B. (2001). Ebay. Spring 2001. etrieved February 6, 2011 from http://pages.cs.brandeis.edu/~magnus/ief248a/eBay/history.html

Jones, M. (2009). The Ebay Business Model and a Largely unused Strategy. Articlesbase. etrieved February 6, 2011 from http://www.articlesbase.com/internet-articles/the-ebay-business-model-and-a-largely-unused-strategy-862249.html

Williams, M. (2007). Ebay, Yahoo Japan Sign Auction Deal. IDG…...

mla

References

Consumers Union. (2007). Winning at Ebay. How to bid smart & play safe. Consumers Reports.org. August 2007. Retrieved February 6, 2011 from  http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/money/shopping/shopping-tips/ebay-8-07/overview/0708_ebay_ov_1.htm?Extkey=SY95PI0&CMP=KNC-CROVMYSSP&HBX_OU=51&PK=yssp 

Ebay.com (2011). Spoof (fake) emails. Retrieved February 6, 2011 from  http://pages.ebay.com/education/spooftutorial/ 

Ebay Inc. (2001). Burger King Corporation and eBay Announce First Loyalty Program in Fast Food. Ebay Inc. November 14, 2001. Retrieved February 6, 2011 from  http://www.ebayinc.com/content/press_release/2001111564901 

Gomes-Casseres, B. (2001). Ebay. Spring 2001. Retrieved February 6, 2011 from  http://pages.cs.brandeis.edu/~magnus/ief248a/eBay/history.html

Medtronic Analysis
Company Overview

Medtronic, Inc. is one of the world's leading suppliers of medical technologies used in a variety of therapies and procedures in hospitals, private practice offices, and other medical settings (Medtronic, 2012; Yahoo Finance, 2012). As many of their products, especially some of those that are more profitable to the company, are generally associated with aging and medical conditions that become more common and/or severe with age, the company would seem to be a solid investment in the coming years as the "baby boomer" generation ages (Yahoo Finance, 2012). Determining whether or not this is truly the case requires a financial analysis of the company as well, however. This analysis, broken down into areas of risk, return, and equity valuation, is presented below, with a conclusion providing a summary of the findings and the current advisability of Medtronic, Inc. As an investment opportunity.

isk

Given the company's strong sales and fiscal…...

mla

References

Medtronic. (2012). Accessed 24 February 2012.

 http://www.medtronic.com/investors/annual-reports/ 

Yahoo Finance. (2012). Medtronic, Inc. Accessed 24 February 2012.

 http://finance.yahoo.com/q?s=MDT

Athletics Supreme Marketing Plan
Company Overview and Market esearch

Overview of Company

Athletics Supreme is a company that has been in the sporting product industry for 10 years now. The main offices and largest retail store of the company is located in New York City. In particular, the company has become a household name in providing sports equipment, such as tennis rackets and balls, rugby balls and footballs. In addition, the company offers sporting exercise equipment, such as treadmills, weights, rollers and the like. The company has grown, both in scale and size, over the past five years. It has been able to open several other retail stores in different states across the nation. In addition, the company has also been able to expand globally with one store in Canada and another in the United Kingdom. In the contemporary, owing to the increase in demand from consumers and popularity, Athletics Supreme plans on…...

mla

References

Aders, A. (2015). The 4 Essential Research Strategies in Content Marketing. Retrieved 25 January, 2016 from: http://www.inc.com/aaron-aders/the-4-essential-research-strategies-in-content-marketing.html 

Lamb, C., Hair, J., McDaniel, C. (2012). Essentials of Marketing. Ohio: South Western Cengage Learning.

Mars. (2013). Sales metrics and the sales process for early-stage tech startups. Retrieved 25 January, 2016 from:  http://www.marsdd.com/mars-library/sales-metrics-and-the-sales-process-for-early-stage-tech-startups/ 

Pearce, B. W. (2007). Senior Living Communities: Operations Management and Marketing for Assisted Living, Congregate and Continuing Care Retirement Communities. Maryland: The John Hopkins University Press.

Calverta's Case Study
Company Overview

Calveta was founded by the Italian immigrant Antonio Calveta in 1966 that instilled a strong set of values into the foundation of the company. A neighborhood restaurant in Brooklyn expanded into a couple more and then in 1972 the company crafted a niche by beginning meal deliverance services to nursing homes. The market was a very promising one as most nursing homes in the United States chose to outsource their dining services.

Calveta's values were especially well suited to this niche and by 2008, Calveta Dining Services Inc. was the fourth-largest food delivery service in the U.S. The company has built strong market share and is growing much faster rate than the industry average. The company focuses solely on this niche while most of its competitors offer a broader range of services to different demographics. Calveta's focuses solely on nursing homes and specializes in planning, preparation, service and…...

Ritz Carlton HR Analysis
Company Overview

Human Resources Decision Criteria

Recruitment and Selection

Policy on Diversity

Training and Development

Company Overview

The Ritz Carlton is a high end hotel chain that operates in locations around the globe. Hotel locations reside in over twenty four different countries in over seventy different locations. The organizations current staff consists of rough forty thousand employees. The organization is structured so that it operates as a completely independent division of the Marriott International parent company. The hotels are often coupled with kinds of facilities that provide amenities such as spa treatments, golf facilities, as well as luxury condominiums.

The Ritz Carlton's mission and vision both include providing their customers the highest quality service in the industry as its core competency. Additionally, the class of consumers it serves has rather high expectations for what top quality service might entail and is extremely high compared to other market niches. The Ritz Carlton had to invent…...

mla

Works Cited

Lampton, B. (2003). My Pleasure. Retrieved from Expert Magazine: http://www.expertmagazine.com/EMOnline/RC/part2.htm

Partlow, C. (1993). How Ritz-Carlton applies "TQM." Cornell Hospitality Quarterly, 34(4), 16-16.

The Ritz Carlton. (2012). Diversity. Retrieved February 22, 2012, from The Ritz Carlton Corporate Information: http://corporate.ritzcarlton.com/en/Careers/Diversity.htm

Financial Analysis of Bestwish Limited
Company Overview

Bestwish Limited produces extensive range of quality products such as gift dressing, greetings cards, and plush merchandise of more than 50,000 stocks. The production of different categories of products involve between 2 and 15 processes. The company produces standardized products and custom designed products ordered from customers on contract basis. However, Bestwish Limited is facing challenges to control the costs because of varying production process, reliance on indirect costs and large number of stock keeping units.

Bestwish Limited has just closed the 2010 fiscal year account and the company is finalizing the 2011 budget. Bestwish intends to analyze the 2010 financial statement to present the accurate picture of the company financial performances.

Objective of this report is to analyze 2010 financial statements to assess the viability of Bestwish Limited.

Task

Attn:

Audit Committee of the Board

Finance Director

Subject: Financial statement Analysis

Date: 27 January 2013.

This report verifies the 2010 financial statement of…...

mla

References

Drury, C. (2009). Management Accounting for Business, 4th Edition (Cengage Learning EMEA, ) ISBN 1408017717.

Harris, R. And Sollis, R. (2003).Applied Time Series Modelling and Forecasting (John Wiley and Sons) ISBN 0470844434

Glynn, J. Perrin, J. Murphy, M. And Abraham, A. (2003).Accounting for Managers, 3rd Edition.(Thomson Learning) ISBN 186152904X

The Times 100, (2012). Financial statements and reporting A Cadbury Schweppes case study. The Times 100 Business Case Studies.