Human motivation Essay Example for Free

Human motivation Essay Success is not what we get, success is what we achieve and this success we get from Motivation, whether you are appearing for final exams, you are a player or a singer or in Army fighting battles in the field, you will reach the pinnacle of success only if you are motivated. Motivation is your desire and your impulse, which can make you break the icebergs. The word Motivation was derived from the Latin word movere, meaning to move. (Romando, 2007). There are many theories describing the human’s tendency towards motivation; but here I am dealing with five theories, which influences and determines the human behavior. †¢ Self Determination Theory †¢ Humanistic Theory †¢ Instinct Theory †¢ Cognitive theory †¢ Need Theory Every human being needs motivation to grow, which he attains from several sources like his own self -realization, listening to music, nature, Society etc. The influence of Society motivates the person towards actualization of their goals and allows them to make decisions. The self-determination theory has been into practice since last three decades and constitutes set of four mini theories, cognitive evaluation theory, organismic integration theory, Causality orientations theory and basic needs theory. (Faculty at the University of Rochester, 2007). As Shapiro in 1981 said, â€Å" The key issue for self-direction, is flexibility in psychological structures-the flexibility that allows ones attitudes to direct action towards the active achievements of one’s aims†. (Deci, M Ryan, 1985) Self Determination theory deals with the extent to which the inner tendencies of humans impel them for psychological growth and development, take most challenging tasks and integrate their life experiences for their satisfaction and fulfillment of their self. Although, these are natural tendencies, which determine and motivate humans but are only fulfilled by influence and support of the social environment. It is the society, which provides an individual healthy environment, nutrients and basic psychological needs enabling him or her to think and make choice independently and rationally. (Beck, 2003) Self- Determination permits the person to positively involve taking risks and incorporating in the social fabric of society. Especially for the persons with disabilities, self-determination acts as a medicine boosting their self-esteem. (Faculty at the University of Rochester, 2007) Another aspect to this theory is the value of risk taking. The self determined humans are also not devoid of risks too, their over confidence can take them on the downward slide of career path. External coercion, without giving independent thought too may affect humans psychologically and mentally. Humans also go by their instinct to accomplish a task or to move ahead in the journey of their life. Sigmand Freud and William James brought forth the instinct theory to capture the intricate nature of human beings. The inclination of humans to act and think emerges out from their soul. Their decision comes what their inner perception and inner self directs him to, for e. g. all the tastes and preferences of the humans come from their inner voice, which directs and helps the person to make choice. Scientists and Researchers have not yet come into any concrete evidence to support the instinct theory, yet it is true. Human beings going by the instinct avoids considering the cost of risk they might be subjected to. People neither make calculated move nor consider pros and cons rather they just jump into action what their inner instinct tells them too, which may not come out to be true. The value of risk taking is very high to the persons who are motivated by the inner instinct and its best example is death instinct theory propounded by Freud in 1920, whereby he stated that humans with their instinct go to the extent of loosing their will to survive. According to Freud, humans have two instincts: one is life-favoring instinct Eros, which in Greek means love and another instinct is Thanatos, which in Greek means death. It clearly shows that instinct theory is also risky. (Kastenbaum, 2007). If someone believes that â€Å"Perception is everything†, this means that he is cognitivist. (Heffner, 2004) Perception means to reorganize what the senses perceive into practicality. Your thoughts are your determining factor to take practical decisions and mould your emotions, behaviors and your whole personality. Cognitive theory depends on this perception. The theory states that by changing the thoughts, a person can change the moods, reduce tensions and anxiety and can develop good relationships. But thoughts can be deceptive too, and as said by Leon Festinger in 1957, â€Å"There are always conflicts and discrepancies between thoughts and actions or between belief and actions and we will act to resolve conflict and discrepancies. †(Huitt, 2001) The value of risk is imbalance between our thoughts and actions for e. g. persons’ thoughts would pronounce that smoking is detrimental to health, still he smokes this means he is conflict with himself. Every human being is born with his own personality and grows with his personality and has certain needs to be fulfilled, which motivates them towards the self-realization of their goals and for over all growth and development. The theory, which revealed this very perplexing nature, so intricately woven in humans is known by researchers and psychologists as Humanistic theory. Abraham Maslow (1908-1970) who came out with this theory too states that, â€Å"All human beings has â€Å"Hierarchy of needs to fulfill before becoming a self-actualized, fully able person†. (Mercury, 1999). Even Carl Rogers (1902-1987) echoed the views of Maslow and further stated that for development, a person requires an environment, which can give him ample scope for self-disclosure, recognition and understanding and without these even the healthy human being will fade, just like a tree which cannot grow without sunlight and water. The risk is as Rogers says people may face anxiety when they face the real situation, which can be contradictory. According to Critics, The humanistic theories are very optimistic, vague and are unscientific. (Mercury, 1999). Among all the theories, the most determining factor for the human beings are their needs, and the priority that humans show on their needs motivate them to lead their fruitful life. Maslow came up with a â€Å"Hierarchy model† on the basis of needs theory. These needs are psychological needs, safety needs, social needs, esteem needs and self-actualization needs, according to this hierarchy. (Huitt, 2001) Once one need is fulfilled, it will lead to another need. But according to the critics this theory has several drawbacks. One person can have several needs at the same time, and can over lap. It is not necessary that fulfillment of one needs may actually motivate a person, as it is a human tendency that fulfillment of one need instigates the person to pursue in the quest for the acquirement of another need, and in this pursuit many persons may resort to anti-social activities harming the society. All theories came out with the one basic fact that it is the individual himself only, who in true sense is a force behind his own success and failure. All motivation comes from within individual himself, which is real essence of human motivation. WORKS CITED Becks Robert, (2003), Motivation: Theories and Principles (5th edition), Prentice Hall. Edward L. Deci, Richard M. Ryan, (1985), Intrinsic Motivation and Self-Determination in Human Behavior, Springer, Inspirational. Richard Romando, Motivation Theory, Enzyne Articles, http://ezinearticles.com/? Motivation-Theoryid=410700 Faculty at the University of Rochester (Last Updated: 2007) Self Determination Theory: An Approach to Human Motivation and Personality. Retrieved June 30, 2007 from W. W. W: http://www. psych. rochester. edu/SDT/theory. html Heffner L. C. (Last Updated: 2004). I think therefore I have a Personality. In Cognitive Theory. Retrieved on June 30, 2007 from W. W. W: http://allpsych. com/personalitysynopsis/cognitive. html Huitt, W. (2001). Motivation to learn: An overview. Educational Psychology Interactive. Retrieved on June 30, 2007 from W. W. W: http://chiron. valdosta. edu/whuitt/col/motivation/motivate. html Kastenbaum Robert (Updated 2007) Death Instinct. Encyclopedia of Death and Dying. Retrieved June 30,2007 from W. W. W: http://www. deathreference. com/Da-Em/Death-Instinct. html Mercury M. F. (1999) Humanistic Theory. bbc. co. uk: The Guide to Life, The Universe and Everything. Retrieved on June 30, 2007 from W. W. W: http://www. bbc. co. uk/dna/h2g2/A147151.

Integrated Severe Accident Codes

Integrated Severe Accident Codes Advanced safety evaluations and design optimizations that were not possible few years ago can now be performed. Nowadays, it becomes possible to switch to new generation of computational tools in order to get better realistic simulations of complex phenomena and transients. The challenge today is to revisit safety features of the existing research reactors in order to verify that the safety requirements still met and when necessary to introduce some amendments, coming from not only the new requirements but also, in order to introduce new equipments from recent advancement of new technologies. The objective of this work is to give an overview of the state of the art in performing safety analysis of research reactors and to emphasize the need and the provision to achieve such goals. An attempt to perform standardized safety analyses for RR was proposed by the International Atomic Energy Agency e IAEA. In the framework of core conversion from the use of highly enriched uranium fuel to the use of low enriched uranium fuel. In this regard, a safety related benchmark problem for an idealized generic 10 MW MTR light-water pool-type reactor was specified in order to compare computational methods used in various research centers and institutions. The related benchmark problem covers large steady state kinetic and thermal-hydraulic calculations and wide range of hypothetical dynamic transient conditions. However, almost all of the safety analyses have so far been performed using conservative computational tools. Nowadays, an established international expertise in relation to computational tools, procedures for their application, including best estimate methods supported by uncertainty evaluation, and comprehensive experimental database exists within the safety technology of Nuclear Power Plants (NPP). The importance of transferring NPP safety technology tools and methods to RR safety technology has been noted in recent IAEA activities. However, the ranges of parameters of interest to RR are different from those for NPP. This is namely true for fuel composition, system pressure, adopted materials and overall system geometric configuration. The large variety of research reactors prevented so far the achievement of systematic and detailed lists of initiating events based upon qualified PSA (Probabilistic Safety Assessment) studies with results endorsed by the international community. However, bounding and generalized lists of events are available from IAEA documents and can be considered for de eper studies in the area. In the area of acceptance criteria, established standards accepted by the international community are available. Therefore no major effort is needed, but an effort appears worthwhile to check that those standards are adopted and that the related thresholds are fulfilled. The importance of suitable experimental validation is recognized. A large amount of data exists as the kinetic dynamic core behavior form SPERT reactors tests. However, not all data are accessible to all institutions and the relationship between the range of parameters of experiments and the range of parameters relevant to RR technology is not always established. However, code-assessment through relevant set of experimental data is recorded and properly stored. An established technology exists for development, qualification and application of system thermal-hydraulics codes suitable to be adopted for accident analysis in research reactors. This derives from NPP technology. The applicability of system codes like RELAP5, COBRA and MARS to the research reactor needs has been confirmed from recent IAEA activities. Definitely, system codes are mature for application to transient analysis in research reactors. However, code limitations have been found in predicting pressure drops as a function of mass flux at low values of mass flux when nucleate boiling occurs. The importance of the Whittle and Forgan experiments shall be mentioned, as well as the dependence of results from the noding (cell subdivision) adopted by the code users. Several code user choices, including time step may have a significant effect upon prediction, thus confirming the need for detailed code user guidelines. Furthermore, code validation must be demonstrated for the range of parameters of interest to research reactors. The crucial role of uncertainty in research reactor technology has been emphasized, (a) for the design, with main reference to the prediction of the nominal steady state conditions and, (b) for the safety issues, with main reference to the prediction of the time evolution of significant safety parameters. It has been observed that suitable-mature methods exist, but the spread of these methods and procedures within the community of scientists working in research reactor technology is limited. Therefore, the purpose of the present report is to provide an overview of the accident analysis technology applied to the research reactor, with emphasis given to the capabilities and limits of the used computational tools. There are many analysis codes for transient and accident analysis and simulating individual phenomena of severe accident. These analysis codes can be categorized into the different groups as shown in Table 1, where various analysis codes are classified into several groups. The integrated severe accident codes are formed by selecting and combining individual analysis tools. They can be used to model the whole sequence of the severe accident which may occur in the plant system or in the experimental facilities.

If A Tree Falls in the Philosophical Forest, Someone Managed to Undermi

To truly think about knowledge brings about some interesting thought. When asked to think about knowledge, most individuals concern themselves solely with what they know such as certain subjects, theories or facts. In the grand scheme of things, this way of thought is seemingly only minute or even superficial. As human beings, we do not always considered how we come to know what we know. We often place are acquisition of knowledge lower in a taxonomy of importance. All too often, individuals take knowledge and its power for granted. However, individuals like Renà © Descartes and his work, The Meditations, provide a deep exploration of knowledge and all its facets. For every individual or scholar this work is very important in that it causes the reader to consider what we assume as truth and to envision a foundation for knowledge that is indubitable. The aim of this paper is to consider the role of knowledge in epistemology, to expose the concept of an indubitable foundation for all knowledge and the overall influence of Descartes on the imminent enquiries. First of all, I demonstrate that epistemology is the study of all that encompasses knowledge. Furthermore, I support the traditional epistemological concept of justified true belief by arguing that this model is largely relied on in the expectations of current empirical data. Second, I examine Descartes intentions, method and product, The Meditations. Following this review, I assert that it is impossible to find a true foundation for knowledge due to the unknown origin of human creation, the element of subjectivity and solipsism and the limitations of knowledge being indubitable. Furthermore, I critically assess that the Cartesian circle and Descartes presumption of God in h... ...rably thoughtful but is not without flaw and criticism. As stated, his goal and ambition is admirable in that he sought to support what his previous achievements, and those of many others, where fatefully resting upon. Whether scholars, students or just the individual interested in philosophy may agree or disagree with Descartes meditations, one thing I argue is truly beneficial about Descartes work is that doubt can be very valuable to our every day lives. All to often individuals take such facets of news, gossip, literature and theory all too seriously and fail to see the implications of implying indubitable confidence in what we accept as individuals. References Descartes, R. (2003). Meditations and Other Metaphysical Writings. Toronto, ON: Penguin Classics. (Original work published 1641). Lightbody, B. (2011). Philosophy 1F91 Lectures. Brock University.

The Tempest Essay -- Literary Analysis, Shakespeare, Classics

The similarities and differences between Aime' Cesaire's ATempest and William Shakespeare's The Tempest gives the reader an idea that it is a political response. From the way that both of the titles of these works of literature differ, an idea of concept is offered. They share a similar story line yet, after some one has read A Tempest : a different perspective is gained. A Tempest is actually considered a post colonial period piece of writing and one can acquire and prove this by the forms in which Aime' Cesaire portrays the characters and switches around their personalities and their traits,the time periods and the acquisition of language, and the ways power is used reveals that it is indeed a political response from a post colonial perspective. Shakespeare's The Tempest and Cesaire's A Tempest differ in the way it is expressed. From the words, the and a the whole concept of tempest is changed completely. The definition of the word tempest could mean two things, a violent windstorm, frequently accompanied by rain,snow,or hail and/or a furiosus agitation, commotion,or tumult; an uproar. Shakespeare's The Tempest is correlated with the first definition while Cesaire's A Tempest associates more with the second one. Shakespeare's The Tempest starts of with a storm and on a ship [A tempestuous noise of thunder and lightning heard] (Shakespeare 1667-69) while Cesaire's begins with Caliban shouting, "Uhuru!" (Cesaire 1721) which means freedom. Those examples gives us the concept of the storm and an a uproar. The time period in which The Tempest was written is the age of exploration is within the time frame of the mid 1400's towards the late 1500's. The discovery and colonization of far off lands, these years were filled ... ...liban called him "a colony addict" .(Cesaire 1727) Also,Cesaire made it seemed as Prospero revenge was another conquest not really a vengeful act. By the end, the reader sees this with his reasoning of why he forgived them. Ariel was always overly compliant and was always called my dear Ariel by Prospero. While Caliban, the black slave was treated horridly and threatned. Prospero told Ariel it doesn't matter what that villain plots against me?All the nobility of Italy,Naples,and Milan and henceforth combined,will protect my person."(Cesaire 1723) There is no doubt that Cesaire is trying to say no matter what, us Europeans always stick together, so he has nothing on me, he doesn't phase me which is one of the main ideals in this political response.During slavery, Europeans had alot of control over the Africans fate but, there were always limits that caused a tempest. The Tempest Essay -- Literary Analysis, Shakespeare, Classics The similarities and differences between Aime' Cesaire's ATempest and William Shakespeare's The Tempest gives the reader an idea that it is a political response. From the way that both of the titles of these works of literature differ, an idea of concept is offered. They share a similar story line yet, after some one has read A Tempest : a different perspective is gained. A Tempest is actually considered a post colonial period piece of writing and one can acquire and prove this by the forms in which Aime' Cesaire portrays the characters and switches around their personalities and their traits,the time periods and the acquisition of language, and the ways power is used reveals that it is indeed a political response from a post colonial perspective. Shakespeare's The Tempest and Cesaire's A Tempest differ in the way it is expressed. From the words, the and a the whole concept of tempest is changed completely. The definition of the word tempest could mean two things, a violent windstorm, frequently accompanied by rain,snow,or hail and/or a furiosus agitation, commotion,or tumult; an uproar. Shakespeare's The Tempest is correlated with the first definition while Cesaire's A Tempest associates more with the second one. Shakespeare's The Tempest starts of with a storm and on a ship [A tempestuous noise of thunder and lightning heard] (Shakespeare 1667-69) while Cesaire's begins with Caliban shouting, "Uhuru!" (Cesaire 1721) which means freedom. Those examples gives us the concept of the storm and an a uproar. The time period in which The Tempest was written is the age of exploration is within the time frame of the mid 1400's towards the late 1500's. The discovery and colonization of far off lands, these years were filled ... ...liban called him "a colony addict" .(Cesaire 1727) Also,Cesaire made it seemed as Prospero revenge was another conquest not really a vengeful act. By the end, the reader sees this with his reasoning of why he forgived them. Ariel was always overly compliant and was always called my dear Ariel by Prospero. While Caliban, the black slave was treated horridly and threatned. Prospero told Ariel it doesn't matter what that villain plots against me?All the nobility of Italy,Naples,and Milan and henceforth combined,will protect my person."(Cesaire 1723) There is no doubt that Cesaire is trying to say no matter what, us Europeans always stick together, so he has nothing on me, he doesn't phase me which is one of the main ideals in this political response.During slavery, Europeans had alot of control over the Africans fate but, there were always limits that caused a tempest.

Acid Rain Research Paper Essay

Rain is one of the most dire and essential needs for a thriving ecosystem, and to sustain human, animal, and plant life. The water provided by the water cycle, the event causing rain, is required to keep all life on Earth alive. Rain, although naturally acidic, seems to have been increasing at a rapid rate due to many reasons. Some of these many reasons include, pollution. Pollution from homes, factories, power stations, cars, and many more man-made products. So even though rain, while naturally acidic, was not referred to as â€Å"Acid Rain† till man-made pollutions began to alter it in a greater way. The effect of these pollutions on rain, is now the reason why acid rain is of existence. However, contrary to popular belief, acid rain isn’t just a problem that’s occurred in the past thirty years. Over a hundred years ago, a chemist named Robert Smith found great evidence that the rainfall in Manchester, U.K. was more acidic than reasonable. After studying chemicals like sulphur dioxide, he found a link between the increased acidity in the rain and the amount of chemicals being given off when coal was burnt in factories. Acidity levels in rain rise mainly when pollutants from all aforementioned sources are mixed with the atmospheric moisture. Due to this mixing of the atmosphere, it is incredibly hard to maintain and/or contain the levels of acidity in rain to a single area. Pollutants and chemicals may be carried in clouds over incredibly long distances before finally resulting in downpour. This means that outside of factories and industrial zones, acid rain can hit commercial areas, and can also spread to wildlife areas, such as rainforests, forests, jungles, and other biomes. All this attributes to the rising rates of acidic rain over the past 100 years. The effects of acid rain on living things, such as plants, marine life, animals, and humans? There is an obvious and increasing link between acid rain and the harm done to organic life. Primarily, since more easily documentable, human health seems to be affected the most in this trifle. People can be harmed by breathing in toxins, chemicals, and pollutants, from either dry deposits of this acid rain, or chemicals can be released through vapor/liquid form. This can range from causing chest illnesses, breathing problems, birth defects, and other unusual diseases more and more commonly being revealed as time progresses. Some birth defects include, but are not limited to, birth without certain limbs, birth without ability to reproduce, or lacking reproductive organs completely, and other respiratory conditions. These respiratory conditions occur because when toxins burrow into the lungs, it acts as a poison, and causes the airways to get narrower. The narrowing of the respiratory system’s airways causes it to become harder to breathe. The same conditions exist for other organic life, only in a slightly different manner. Marine life and animals seem to exhibit nearly the same conditions that humans do, except with less frequent birth rates with lack of limbs. Breathing gets more difficult for all living organisms with a respiratory system, or similar breathing mechanism. However, acid rain becomes a much more complex matter when dealing with plants. Over the progression of time, scientists have noted a slowed progression of forests, leaves turning brown and dying whereas they should be green and healthy. After massive conductions of tests, scientists have noted that acid rain is one of the primary reasons for dying/slowed/injured rainforests. In other studies, it’s shown that soil degradation is a product resulting from acid rain, mainly in the eastern regions of the US. The effects of acid rain on buildings? The acidity levels in rain have a much slower impact on constructions and buildings than they do on organic life, but the impact is still notice, increasingly over the past few years. It is a proven scientific fact that acids have a corrosive effect on many buildings and sculptures, most notably, the statue of liberty. The Statue Of Liberty, being made from  copper, has an extreme reaction when having dealt with acid rain. As well as having a dire effect on constructions of copper, other materials such as limestone and marble also have an extreme corrosive reaction to acids and acid rain. It is scientific fact that any wet or dry deposition of sulfur dioxide drastically increases the rate of corrosion on limestone, marbles, sandstones, and coppers. A common test to prove this would be dropping an egg into vinegar, a test many have conducted as proof to this fact. Eggshells are made from the same materials as limestone, calcium carbonate, and vinegar also has a great acidity level. Within an hour from dropping this egg into the vinegar, the shell will completely dissolve. In these two pictures you can see the effects of acids on different construction material. This massively demonstrates the fatalities of acidic rain levels being increased over time. In the picture to the right, the eggs in water and orange are practically new, where as the egg in coke seems to have a few obstructions. However, the egg that is in the vinegar, is shown to be completely dissolving with bubbles even popping out from around it. In the picture to the left it show’s the stature of liberty as how it once used to be (Artists depiction), and of how it is now. These drastic effects are fatal on the environment, natural or manmade. Solutions to solve this problem of acid rain? To reduce the acidity levels of rain, industries must cut down the amount of sulphur dioxide being produced when fossil fuels are burned and used. Viewing it like this, industries have a few options in which to choose from. They can produce and use coal that has little to no amounts of sulphur on it, research can be done to find a way in which to remove sulphur from coal. Other choices, but less conventional range from using a different kind of fuel, or researching a way in which when the coal is burned, the sulfur is destroyed before being emissed into the atmosphere. There seems to be many ways to combat this issue, but the most conventional seems to be halting the emissions of pollutants all in all. Reducing the amount of nitrogen oxide emissions caused by car exhaust is an effective solution. Public transport systems need to be improved so that people can travel without having to use their cars. If more people used public transport, it would cut the number of  private vehicles on the roads, and would reduce pollution dramatically. Everybody needs to work together to reduce pollutants to make the world a safer and healthier place to live. In conclusion, acid rain continues to develop into a greater and more massive problem as time progresses. However, if certain countermeasures are taken, which in hindsight, shouldn’t have to have been even contemplated if measures were taken in the past, can prevent acidity levels in rain to become a greater problem than it already is. In addition to limiting its growth, we can also work together, industries and the common denizens of society, to lowering its level as a whole.

Ratio Analysis of Starbucks vs Mcdonald’s

Running Head: RATIO ANALYSIS Starbucks Corporation & McDonalds Corporation McDonald’s Corporation McDonald’s Corporation operates in the food service industry. The company has its restaurants in more than 100 countries of the world. McDonald’s, the world’s largest food chain is headquartered in U. S. having an employee population of 390000 (About McDonald's†¦ , 2008). Starbucks Corporation Seattle based, Starbucks Corporation is the leading coffeehouse chain in the world. The company has its operations in more than 44 countries. The main products offered by Starbucks various kinds of drinks, snacks, coffee beans. The company also operates in the field of marketing of music, books (The Company, 2008). Ratio Analysis Ratio Analysis (2007) RatiosStarbucksMcDonalds Current Ratio0. 790. 80 Quick Ratio0. 300. 67 Debt Equity Ratio1. 340. 92 Proprietary Ratio0. 430. 52 Solvency Ratio0. 570. 48 Inventory Turnover Ratio12. 13118. 77 Gross Profit Ratio (%)23. 3434. 69 Net Profit Ratio (%)7. 1515. 67 Return on Proprietors' Funds (%)29. 4515. 67 Earning Per Share0. 912. 06 Current Ratio Current Ratio may be defined as the relationship between current assets and current liabilities. It is also known as working capital ratio or 2: 1 ratio. It is calculated by dividing the current assets by current liabilities. The main components of this ratio are current assets and current liabilities. Current assets of a firm represent those assets which can be, in the ordinary course of business, converted into cash within a period not exceeding one year. Current liabilities mean those obligations which are to be paid within a period of one year of current assets or by creation of current liabilities (Van Horne, Wachowicz & Bhaduri, 2005). Current ratio of the Starbucks Corporation and McDonalds Corporation is . 79 and . 80 respectively in the year 2007. There is little difference in the current ratio of both the companies. The ratio reflects weak liquidity position of both the companies and it shows that the companies do not have short term solvency. Liquidity position can be improved to some extent and can be made equivalent to industry average. The industry average of current ratio is . 90: 1. Quick Ratio This ratio is also helpful in analyzing short term financial position of a business. Quick ratio is the measure of the instant debt paying ability of the business enterprise, hence it is called quick ratio (Van Horne, Wachowicz & Bhaduri, 2005). A quick ratio of 1:1 is considered as an ideal ratio. If the liquid ratio is more than 1:1, the financial position of the firm seems to be sound and good. On the other hand, if the ratio is less than 1:1 the financial position of the firm is unsound. Quick ratio of Starbucks is . 30:1 and McDonald’s ratio is . 67:1. There is high difference between the quick ratios of both the corporations. McDonald’s liquidity position is much better than Starbucks. Overall, the short term liquidity position of both the firms is quite poor because both the ratios are less than the desired norms. For instance, current ration should be 2:1 whereas, it is 1:1 approximately. Similarly the liquidity ratio is much less than 1 as compared to ideal standard of 1:1. Therefore, the companies will face difficulties in current obligations on maturity. Debt Equity Ratio This ratio indicates the relative proportion of debt and equity in financing the assets of a firm. Debt Equity ratio reflects the relative claims of creditors and shareholders against the assets of a firm. The industry average of ratio is . 42:1. Debt equity ratio of McDonalds is . 92:1 which is highly satisfactory as normally the ratio of 1:1 is considered reasonable. The Starbucks ratio is 1. 34:1 which is very high. A high debt equity ratio has serious implications from the firm’s point of view. A high proportion of debt in the capital structure lead to inflexibility in the operations of the firm as creditors would exercise pressure and interfere in management. Proprietary Ratio Proprietary ratio establishes relationship between proprietors or shareholder’s funds and total assets of the business. This ratio highlights the general financial strength of the firm. It is of great importance to creditors since it enables them to find out the proportion of shareholder’s funds in the total assets used in the business. The ratio of Starbucks is . 43:1 and for the McDonalds it is . 52:1. Though, ratios are quite similar but McDonalds again has a better position than Starbucks Corporation. Solvency Ratio This ratio measures the long term solvency of the business. It reveals the relationship between total assets and total external liabilities. This ratio measures the proportion of total assets provided by creditors of the firm i. e. what part of assets being financed from loans (Van Horne, Wachowicz & Bhaduri, 2005). The total assets of Starbucks and McDonald’s are more than total liabilities which indicates that the company is solvent. So, the higher the ratio, the grater is the amount of creditors that is being used to generate profit foe the owners of the firm. The difference in both the companies’ ratio is small but still Starbucks has better performance than McDonald’s in terms of solvency. Inventory Turnover Ratio The ratio indicates the number of times inventory is replaced during the year. It measures the relationship between the cost of goods sold and the inventory level. The inventory turnover ratio measures how quickly inventory is sold (Van Horne, Wachowicz & Bhaduri, 2005). The inventory turnover ratio of Starbucks is 12 times while McDonald’s ratio is 118 times. McDonald’s has an efficient inventory management. Whereas Starbucks has low inventory turnover ratio and it is unsatisfactory. In general, a high inventory turnover ratio is better than a low ratio. A high ratio implies good inventory management. A very low level of inventory has serious implications. It adversely affects the ability to meet customer demand as it may mot cope up with its customer requirements. Gross Profit Ratio The ratio expresses the relationship of gross profit on sales to net sales in terms of percentage (Van Horne, Wachowicz & Bhaduri, 2005). Goss profit is the result of the relationship between prices, sales volume and costs. Gross profit margin of Starbucks Corporation is 23% whereas the ratio for McDonald’s is 35%. McDonald’s ratio is high as compared to Starbucks which is a sign of good management. It implies that the cost of production of the firm is relatively low. The McDonald’s has reasonable gross margin which ensures adequate coverage for operating expenses of the firm and sufficient return to the owners of the business, which is reflected in the net profit margin. Net profit Ratio This measures the relationship between net profits and sales of a firm. The net profit margin is indicative of management’s ability to operate the business with sufficient success not only to recover revenues of the period, the cost of merchandise or services, the expenses of operating the business and the cost of the borrowed funds, but also leave a margin of reasonable compensation to the owners for providing their capital at risk (Van Horne, Wachowicz & Bhaduri, 2005). Net profit ratio of McDonald’s and Starbucks is 15. 67% & and 7. 15% respectively. McDonald’s is generating adequate returns for its owners. On the other hand, Starbucks net profit margin shows inadequate returns to its owners. Overall efficiency and profitability of McDonald’s is higher than Starbucks. Return on Proprietary Funds The ratio expresses the percentage relationship between net profit and proprietors funds or shareholder’s investment (Van Horne, Wachowicz & Bhaduri, 2005). It is used to ascertain the earning power of shareholders investment. Return on proprietors’ funds for McDonald’s is 15. 7% and for Starbucks it is 29. 5%. Starbucks has better performance and higher return than the McDonald’s. Earning Per Share The rate of dividend on shares depends upon the amount of profits darned by the firm. Whatever profit remains, after meeting all expenses and paying preference share dividend, belongs to equity shareholders (Van Horne, Wachowicz & Bhaduri, 2005). These are the profits earned on equity share capital. The earning per share is calculated by dividing the profit available to equity shareholders by the number of shares issued. This is a popular ratio as it measures the profitability of a firm from owner’s standpoint. McDonald’s EPS is higher than Starbucks which shows that the market price of the firm would be greater. It will also help the company to raise additional capital without any difficulty. This ratio plays an important in comparison of two companies from investment point of view. Investment Decision I would like to invest in McDonald’s Corporation as the overall performance and productivity is high for the firm. The liquidity analysis performed through current ratio and quick ratio reveals that the McDonald’s is better in terms of liquidity position. The company also has satisfactory position in terms of long term solvency. Though solvency ratio of Starbucks is higher but overall McDonald’s has good financial position. Firm is able to quickly convert various assets into cash. McDonald’s has high profit margins which is necessary for the higher returns to the shareholders. It shows that the resources are effectively utilized at the firm. EPS is very high which is necessary for the investment. Thus, investment in McDonald’s Corporation is beneficial and it would give higher returns. References About McDonald's†¦ (2008). Retrieved November 19, 2008, from http://www. mcdonalds. com/corp/about. html McDonald's Corp: Financial Statement. (2008). MSN Money. Retrieved November 19, 2008, from http://moneycentral. sn. com/investor/invsub/results/statemnt. aspx? Symbol=US:MCD&lstStatement=Balance&stmtView=Ann Starbucks Corp: Financial Statement. (2008). MSN Money. Retrieved November 19, 2008, from http://moneycentral. msn. com/investor/invsub/results/statemnt. aspx? Symbol=SBUX&lstStatement=Balance&stmtView=Ann The Company. (2008). Retrieved November 19, 2008, from http://www. starbucks. co m/aboutus/overview. asp Van Horne, J. C. Wachowicz, J. M. & Bhaduri, S. N. (2005). Fundamentals of Financial Management (12th Ed. ). (pp. 130-133). United Kingdom: Pearson Education.

Consider the claims that Baudelaire makes and the points of argument Assignment

Consider the claims that Baudelaire makes and the points of argument that he makes - Assignment Example Instead, it posits the popular sense of being a mirror of the physical, visible world. However, at the same time to a fine artist, the photograph would depict a sensational piece of artwork depending to the title that it is given. If the title in totally sums up all the elements of the photograph without exaggeration or assumption, then it would much the fine art that Baudelaire talks about. The photograph does not show the element of surprise that would also symbolize a sense of beauty that comes with it. The photograph seems more or less dry, lacks taste and a sense of humor or wonder (85). This is due to lack of beauty that goes hand in hand with wonder and enthusiasm of scrutiny at the image as an image of mental reflection by the artist and the art lovers. As such the photograph is a qualification of the fact that photography cannot be allowed to deputize arts activities as it will altogether corrupt the good work of art. Photographs in many instances serve as a reminder of the many memories that the photographer would prefer to keep. The consideration of photography as an important part of the art does not reflect wholly on what fine art ought to be. Photographs in terms of artwork do not depict the amount of creativity of the photographer as much as painting would (86). This is because in photography, in most cases there is no a predetermined kind of thoughts and imagery that runs in ones mind as is mostly seen in the art of painting. As time goes by the scene of art has been corrupted as more and more elements are being considered as a piece of art so long as it is beautiful to the eye of the public. As a result, "art is losing in self-respect, is prostrating itself before external reality," (88) while the artists have become more inclined to works that are not driven by dream but what is appealing to the physical eye. The creativity of an