Apple Inc. Crafting Strategy

Free Essays on Business Plan

Can’t find a greeting card that suits you? Tired of writing out practically hundreds of Christmas cards each year? No one show up for that garage sale on Saturday? Uh-Oh. Sounds like you need our help. Personalize It! strives on providing simplicity and easing the burdens of the lives of our consumer by creating a flawless card, invitation, or flyer at the drop of a hat. We want your invitations to be for a party that everyone wants to go, the â€Å"Happy Birthday† card that creates a tear, and the signs that nobody could possibly miss. Our plans for this small business is to individually design and create personalized greeting cards, invitations, and flyers. We will make a wide variety of cards such as graduation notices, wedding invites, and party invitations, but our specialty will be holiday greeting cards. We can also produce simple, yet eye-catching, flyers for your next garage sale or for your band’s next concert. Our open door policy means that people can come to us with their ideas and leave with a product that will not only be personal, affordable, and dependable, it will be memorable. Personalize It! is an equal opportunity business making its expertise available to help its customers create their own products. Keeping in tune with the needs of the consumer, utilizing the latest technology and trends, all while ensuring that the client receives the individual attention they deserve is the vision and daily mission of Personalize It! Our goals include consistent, accurate achievement of the client’s wishes, competitive pricing for the quality of services provided, and significant profit made on each product produced. Founded in 2003 on a part-time basis, Personalize It! is a small business designed to meet the needs of the ever-changing social world. New York City is the current home with plans to expand to branch offices within four years. Personalize It! is invested in the community it reside... Free Essays on Business Plan Free Essays on Business Plan Executive Summary The Dark Side, is an after hours coffeeshop located on East Evans Avenue and South High Street. Hours of operation being 4 pm to 2 am, the intention is to attract people ages 15 to 30 years, mostly being students especially from the University of Denver. By offering three distinctive atmospheres within the coffee shop our goal is to satisfy the diverse needs among this age group. We will do this by implementing a study room, a lounge and a main room. On weekends we plan to host live bands on our stage in the main room. In order to attract international students, we are selling international newspapers and hosting international conversation groups. The coffee industry is growing, and we feel that our coffee shop will fit a set of needs that have not yet been met. After surveying a group of people from our draw area, we determined that our business will meet the needs and wants of our target market. The direct competition is mainly Starbucks, Stella's and Colorado Espresso. By utilizin g our unique qualities we will be set apart from our competition. By using the zip code breakdowns, we have determined that our target market consists of 76,047 people that live in 6 specific zip codes. (EST) From this number we determined that we would have 5,497 hot prospects. (EST). These people would visit The Dark Side a total of 134,678 times in one year. (EST) From this estimate our anticipated annual sales is $538,712. Our objective is to meet the needs of our target market, to maintain repeat customers, and to break even after one year. Our goals are to have 70 percent of our customers return at least once during the year. We also plan on breaking even, and perhaps making a profit after our first year in business. Our distribution channel runs from producer to wholesaler to distributor to retailer to consumer, this is the most efficient way for our small business. Price stability is the pricing strategy that we have chosen, this ... Free Essays on Business Plan Business Plan Business Plan: Progressive Consulting What follows is a complete business plan for a hypothetical company. Please copy or save to your disk and use as an example in developing your own business plan. If you would like to read a series of articles jump to Web Marketing . For additional business aids click on The Practical Tools of Consulting 1. 0 Executive Summary Progressive Consulting will be formed as a consulting company specializing in marketing of high technology products in international markets. Its founders are former marketers of consulting services, personal computers, and market research, all in international markets. They are founding Progressive Consulting to formalize the consulting services they offer. 1. 2 Mission Progressive Consulting offers high-tech manufacturers a reliable, high quality alternative to inhouse resources for business development, market development, and channel development on an international scale. A true alternative to in house resources offers a very high level of practical experience, know how, contacts, and confidentiality. Clients must know that working with Progrssive Consulting is a more professional, less risky way to develop new areas even than working completely in house with their own people. Progressive Consulting must also be able to maintain financial balance, charging a high value for its services, and delivering an even higher value to its clients. Initial focus will be development in the European and Latin American markets, or for European clients in the United States market. 1. 3 Keys to Success Excellence in fulfilling the promise completely confidential, reliable, trustworthy expertise and information. Developing visibility to generate new business leads. Leveraging from a single pool of expertise into multiple revenue generation opportunities: retainer consu... Free Essays on Business plan Business Plan Business Plan: Progressive Consulting What follows is a complete business plan for a hypothetical company. Please copy or save to your disk and use as an example in developing your own business plan. If you would like to read a series of articles jump to Web Marketing . For additional business aids click on The Practical Tools of Consulting 1. 0 Executive Summary Progressive Consulting will be formed as a consulting company specializing in marketing of high technology products in international markets. Its founders are former marketers of consulting services, personal computers, and market research, all in international markets. They are founding Progressive Consulting to formalize the consulting services they offer. 1. 2 Mission Progressive Consulting offers high-tech manufacturers a reliable, high quality alternative to inhouse resources for business development, market development, and channel development on an international scale. A true alternative to in house resources offers a very high level of practical experience, know how, contacts, and confidentiality. Clients must know that working with Progrssive Consulting is a more professional, less risky way to develop new areas even than working completely in house with their own people. Progressive Consulting must also be able to maintain financial balance, charging a high value for its services, and delivering an even higher value to its clients. Initial focus will be development in the European and Latin American markets, or for European clients in the United States market. 1. 3 Keys to Success Excellence in fulfilling the promise completely confidential, reliable, trustworthy expertise and information. Developing visibility to generate new business leads. Leveraging from a single pool of expertise into multiple revenue generation opportunities: retainer consu... Free Essays on Business Plan Can’t find a greeting card that suits you? Tired of writing out practically hundreds of Christmas cards each year? No one show up for that garage sale on Saturday? Uh-Oh. Sounds like you need our help. Personalize It! strives on providing simplicity and easing the burdens of the lives of our consumer by creating a flawless card, invitation, or flyer at the drop of a hat. We want your invitations to be for a party that everyone wants to go, the â€Å"Happy Birthday† card that creates a tear, and the signs that nobody could possibly miss. Our plans for this small business is to individually design and create personalized greeting cards, invitations, and flyers. We will make a wide variety of cards such as graduation notices, wedding invites, and party invitations, but our specialty will be holiday greeting cards. We can also produce simple, yet eye-catching, flyers for your next garage sale or for your band’s next concert. Our open door policy means that people can come to us with their ideas and leave with a product that will not only be personal, affordable, and dependable, it will be memorable. Personalize It! is an equal opportunity business making its expertise available to help its customers create their own products. Keeping in tune with the needs of the consumer, utilizing the latest technology and trends, all while ensuring that the client receives the individual attention they deserve is the vision and daily mission of Personalize It! Our goals include consistent, accurate achievement of the client’s wishes, competitive pricing for the quality of services provided, and significant profit made on each product produced. Founded in 2003 on a part-time basis, Personalize It! is a small business designed to meet the needs of the ever-changing social world. New York City is the current home with plans to expand to branch offices within four years. Personalize It! is invested in the community it reside... Free Essays on Business Plan Business Plan Template Here's your sample Title Page. It's a great idea to put a color picture of your product right on the front. But leave room for the following information. [Your Company Name] Month, 19xx [month and year issued] Business Plan Copy Number [x] This document is confidential. It is not for re-distribution. [Name of point man in financing] [Title] [Address] [City, State ZIP] [Phone] [e-mail] [company home page URL] This is a business plan. It does not imply an offering of Securities. Table of Contents Here's a sample Table of Contents. Be sure to modify the page numbers when you’ve finished your Business Plan. Executive Summary 1-1 Mission 2-1 Company Overview 3-1 Legal Business Description 3-2 Strategic Alliances 3-3 Product 4-1 Current Product 4-2 Research and Development 4-3 Production and Delivery 4-4 The Market 5-1 Market Definition 5-2 Customer Profile 5-3 Marketing Plan 5-4 Sales Strategy 5-5 Distribution Channels 5-6 Advertising, Promotion, PR 5-7 Competition 6-1 Risk/Opportunity 7-1 Management Team 8-1 Capital Requirements 9-1 Exit/Payback Strategy 9-2 Financial Plan 10-1 Assumptions 10-2 Financial Statements 10-3 Conclusion 10-4 Exhibits 11-1 Executive Summary If the executive summary doesn’t succeed, your business plan will never sell investors. We recommend that you write the summary first and use it as a template for the plan as a whole. Since one of its primary functions is to capture the investor’s attention, the summary should be no longer than two pages. The shorter the better. Want to see what the pros think about raising money? Tune into The MoneyHunt Show (for info on showtimes, etc., go to moneyhunter.com/htm/show/show.htm). Mission Our company's missi... Free Essays on Business Plan „h Broad Market and Segmentation o We are going to go into three parts of Austria. The northern Limestone Alps, High Alps, and southern Limestone Alps. o There are about 10 resorts within these mountains and this is whom we will focus on. o Within Austria the mountains take up about 68% of the total land. o There is a high standard of living in Austria and this is why we are bringing a top of the line snowboard into the region. o Snowboarding is a male dominant sport in Austria making up 85% of the sport o The dominant race is Caucasian o Snowboarders in Austria are between the ages of 15 and 29 o Austrians are introduced to new products and product lines through rental shops „X So we will find rentals shops to sell our product to and sell our product in bulk to them each season „h Size and Trends o The ski resorts busiest time of the year is the first month and a half of the ski season o There are 9 million people living in Austria and it is a cold country that receives lots of snow annually and we plan on the snowboard distribution to be very successful. o Snowboarding was introduced in Austria in the early 1990 ¡Ã‚ ¦s so it is extremely new cold weathered sport compared to skiing o Snow sports are the most popular sport in Austria and there is a high demand for the newest sport, snowboarding o Statistically Austria ¡Ã‚ ¦s younger generation (15-24 years old) are more willing to try new products and/or sports „h Buying Criteria of Consumers o About 78% of the Austrian population has buying power, and are able to use the product themselves. o Rental shops are the best way for people to try the new products and we will entice them to buy them by letting them try them through the rental shops „h Receptivity to New Ideas o Skiing is the most popular sport in Austria, although there is an upcoming focus on snowboarding o We feel this is a good place to show off...

Recognize the elements of a negotiable instrument, as well as the Essay

Recognize the elements of a negotiable instrument, as well as the elements of rules affecting transferability and liability - Essay Example The other types of instruments are constructed in form of an order. Does the instrument in question meet the requirements of negotiability under the Uniform Commercial Code? This question can best be dealt with by comparing the elements of a negotiable instrument under the Uniform Commercial Code with the instrument in question. These elements are: Writing can be on anything that is permanent and has portability (3-103 UCC). Since the above instrument is written, there appears to be no contention that the instrument in question meets the first requirement. This is intended to authenticate it (3-401 UCC). Bob by handing over a pen to the maker in this question implicates that he wants the maker to put his signature and make him be bound by the document. The maker here will be bound by making any mark on the instrument which purports to be a signature. â€Å"The promise must be an affirmatively written undertaking more than a mere acknowledgement of a debt† (Howard 1964). Apart from acknowledging that he has a debt amounting to $20 000 plus interests the maker further makes an affirmative undertaking to discharge the debt. This can be ascertained by the use of the phrase ‘I promise to pay’. Payment cannot be conditional and the promise or order cannot be subject to rights or obligations stated in another source save for any exception provided by the Uniform Commercial Code. The document in question does not imply any condition. Take for instance if the document was worded in the following manner; â€Å"I promise to pay to the order of Bobs Auto Emporium $20 000 with interest...defaulting by which I shall be liable to pay double the value of interest†, this is a prima facie case of a condition and such an instrument shall be void (Martindale 2011). Any instrument payable in money are negotiable (3-304 UCC).The above instrument is payable at a fixed amount of $20 000 and hence satisfies this test of negotiability. The Uniform

GlOBALIZATION AND INTERNATIONAL MANAGEMENT Research Paper

GlOBALIZATION AND INTERNATIONAL MANAGEMENT - Research Paper Example The warranty policy for products and/or services in China is for two years while the company provides warranty for a period of one year. The warranty policy of the company is criticized by the media, Communist Party, celebrities and consumers in the market of China. This issue is mainly criticized for the violation and the negligence of the company towards the rules as well as the regulations of China in relation to foreign companies operating in the Chinese market segment. The company is also seemed to face challenge in relation to after sales services. The consumers also complained that they are not provided with adequate customer services with issues including technical faults among others. The state media of China is a major challenge for the company i.e. Apple as the Chinese media has undertaken every measure in criticizing the policies of the company and revealing the ill-treatment that Chinese journalists has faced in the offices of Apple in China through news. The state media is determined to adopt aggressive tactic of criticizing the operations of Apple in China with the intention of enhancing the performance of local telecom companies to compete with Apple (Barboza and Wingfield, â€Å"Pressured by China, Apple Apologizes for Warranty Policies†). ... The company is identified to face pressure in the Chinese market due to rivalry issues amid China and the US. China has faced cyber-security issues in relation to hacking of computers of various American companies. Additionally, it has been identified that the Government of the US had proposed to restrict the operations of two Chinese companies in the US. The two Chinese companies which include Huawei and ZTE are the leading producers of telecommunications equipment had been advised to stop their businesses in the US due to engagement in espionage activities (V.V.V., â€Å"Unparalleled Arrogance, Full Apology†). These are the various challenges which are faced by Apple in the market segment of China. Furthermore, these challenges are seemed to act as a trade barrier for the US corporations to operate their business activities in China. 2. RISK MANAGEMENT STRATEGY OF APPLE Apple is identified to possess certain risk management strategies with the objective of mitigating risks w hich arise both in the national as well as international market segments. It can be stated that the company does not possess adequate risk management strategies in order to eliminate those risks at the time of identification. The company is seemed to adopt risk management strategy for interest rate and foreign currency risks but is ineffective in the management of risks arising within challenging marketplaces regarding consumers. It is observed that in the market segment of China, the company has faced various challenges in relation to warranty policy and customer services which are affecting the performance and customer base. The company is a multinational corporation and accordingly it has over the years faced various challenges in relation to rules and

Analysis of Islamic Banking in the UK

Analysis of Islamic Banking in the UK This research plan will be a hub of attention to inspect the opportunities of progress and growth as well as the major challenges to Islamic banking in the UK. The UK is the hub of Islamic banking and contains importance in Islamic financial sector due to its fast growing Muslim population. Islamic banking is facing some great challenges in the UK because the financial system is more favourable to conventional banking. There are greater opportunities in the UK for development and growth of Islamic financial system because Muslim community is eager to take financial products and they are willing to spend their lives according to their religion. There is need to educate the Muslim community toward Islamic financial products; service providers need to improve the information system within the communities and Islamic banking institution is need to work hard for survival and compete with conventional banking system in the sector of regulations and supervisions. The keywords in this resear ch are Islamic banking, Islamic finance, Muslim population, Muslim scholars, Islamic banking growth in the UK and Islamic banking challenges. 2.0 RESEARCH SIGNIFICANCE According to the figures of Office for National Statistics 2001, there was 1.6 million (2.8%) Muslims living in the United Kingdom but according to Home Secretary the Muslim population is increasing with high growth rate. In just seven years there is an increase of 40,000 Muslims in the UK and figures reached on 2 million which consist of 3.3% of total UK population. There was no any facility available to Muslim community before 2000 but the Muslim population want to spend their lives according to their faith. According to Islamic teaching interest is strongly prohibited in Islam and they want to take banking services such as saving accounts, current accounts, home finances, insurance and loan according to Islamic Shariah law. The United Kingdom is non-Muslim country and all its financial rules and regulation in favour of conventional banking. Because the Muslim community is active part of the UK economy, there was need to start a system which is acceptable to these people. Islamic b anking is started in the UK in 2003 with authorization of Financial services Authority. From 2003 to 2009 there is enough improvement and development in Islamic banking system. Currently two main high street conventional banks and one wholly Islamic bank are involved in Islamic banking services. But Islamic banking institution is still in the growth and infancy stage and Islamic banking is facing different challenges in this Western society such as socially, economically, fund management and regulations. With increasing popularity of Islamic banking in Western countries especially in the UK there are some difficulties in the way of Islamic Shariah law, Islamic banking system as well as the role of Financial Services Authority and UK Government are the critical issues. It is necessary to find out the opportunities for development and growth of Islamic banking in the UK and major challenges are faced by Islamic banking. 3.0 RESEARCH OBJECTIVES The main objectives of this proposal is to find out the opportunities for development and growth of Islamic banking in UK and challenges which are currently faced by Islamic banking in the world and United Kingdom specially. The main objective of this research proposal is to investigate the basic understanding of Islamic banking in community and in  banking sector because without basic understanding it is difficult to develop this financial  system, whether there is any opportunity for growth and development in the UK and which kind of challenges is faced by Islamic banking. The objectives of the research proposal are to: Examine that how important to know the fundamentals for Islamic banking for Muslim community and service providers. Investigate that do Muslims really believe and know the difference between Islamic banking and conventional banking and what are the factors which make Islamic banking prior to conventional for Muslim community. How important in Sha riah law and its practise for Islamic finance and the role of Islamic scholars in promoting Islamic banking services and products. 4.0 LITERATURE REVIEW Literature review illustrates the concept, scope and principles of Islamic banking around the globe in general and specifically in the United Kingdom. Islamic banking is a universal concept in the conventional banking, which is in practice with its many products in most of high street banks in the UK like HSBC, Lloyd TSB and as well Islamic Bank of Britain. 5.0 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY There are two main research paradigms positivistic and phenomenological. It is possible that different authors may use the alternative terms for these main paradigms in different time. The most commonly and alternatively used the terms are quantitative research method for positivistic and qualitative for phenomenological (Collis and Hussey, 2003). The originally the positivistic paradigm was developed in the natural sciences to study natural phenomena and it is confirmatory and deductive in nature. The phenomenological paradigm was developed in the social sciences to facilitate the researchers to research and analyze social and cultural phenomena and this approach is exploratory and inductive in nature (www.socialresearchmethods). The paradigm is very important because it gives you a right path to use the right methodology. According to Collis and Hussy (2003 p.55) à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Regardless of which paradigm you are employing, it is important that you pay attention to all the featur es, and ensure that there are no contradictions or deficiencies in your methodologyà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬?. The paradigm of this research is phenomenological because it tends to produce qualitative data not quantitative. The quantitative research is objective in nature that involves analysis of numerical data by applying statistical tests (Collis and Hussey, 2003). But the qualitative research is much more subjective in nature, concerned with generating theories and can be generalized in understanding of the phenomenon of challenges and opportunities of Islamic banking in UK. 6.0 RESEARCH PURPOSE Islamic banking is a hot topic in western countries especially in the UK. In the UK almost 2 million Muslims community is living and they want to spend their lives according to their religion (www.guardian.co.uk). This community is well contributing to the economy of the UK due to this the UK government gives more importance in the sector of Islamic banking. Nowadays the UK is the hub of Islamic banking and most of the high street banks providing the services of Islamic window. Due to this growing demand, Islamic banking faces some difficulties and challenges in western countries. The purpose of the study is to examine and analyze the growth and opportunities of Islamic banking in the UK.   7.0 RESEARCH METHOD For this research project, I chose to undertake qualitative research method. The qualitative method is a type of research that emphasizes the quality of meaning in consumer perceptions and behaviours; there are different criteria or techniques can be used in qualitative method such as in-depth interviews and focus groups. The most common qualitative research techniques include: In-depth interview Focus group Case study Direct observation   7.1 Reason for choosing In-depth interview: I chose in-depth interview technique for my qualitative research due to its unique advantages over other techniques such as focus group and questionnaires. In the way of in-depth interviews it is easy to speak to an individual and keep his attention on specific topic comparatively it is difficult in focus group interviews. There is a lot of time saving and reducing the hassles to take an appointment from individual. The main advantage of in-depth interview is that the interviews can be easily conducted with key community leaders through that researcher can get a fast overview of a community according to his requirements. 7.2 Sources of data: 7.2.1 Primary data: This research is based on a study of the UK because growing population of Muslims community is playing positive role for the UK economy. Actually most of the Muslims want to spend their lives according to their faith. In this case study it will be examined that what are the problems and opportunities in the UK for Islamic banking. I will use the qualitative method of research in this project. There are different techniques of qualitative method but according to the situation the in-depth interviews is more suitable form for this project. According to Collis and Hussey (2003) in phenomenological approach the interview questions are unstructured or semi- structured in pattern not closed questions like positivistic approach. The plan is that the researcher will prepare semi-structured questions that are helpful to take maximum information from interviewees because in closed questions it is possible that some important information will be ignored. In semi-structured interviews the resear cher has an opportunity to probe various areas and to raise specific queries during the semi-structured interviews. 7.3 Data collection methods: For the collection of primary data I shall use technique of in-depth interview. The plan is to hold the eight in-depth interviews from different sectors of the society. The researcher will hold four interviews from the banks authorities such as HSBC, Lloyd TSB and Islamic Bank of Britain that will give the clear facts and figures about the growth, opportunities and problems related to Islamic banking with reference to shariah compliance and Governmental authorities. Two with such Muslims who already customer of the Islamic banking which will facilitate the research through providing the information why they did take up Islamic banking, advantages and disadvantages of this system and as well about the scope of Islamic banking in UK. Two with such Muslims that are not using Islamic banking product which will helpful to investigate why they have not taken the Islamic banking product and which factors are stopping them from these services that are according to their faith. My plan is to speak to non-Muslims that are using the Islamic banking products that will provide the best information for the growth and strong fundamentals of Islamic banking. The planned is to conduct these interviews through sending letters to banking authorities and emails to customer services department of the perspective banks to arrange an appointment. To take interviews from customers and non-customers of the Islamic banking the interviewer will use the posters advertisement in the mosques and libraries in that area where the Muslims are living in majority. The interviews will be recorded using the voice recorder with the permission of the interviewees. If the voice recorder is not possible then the interviewer will take notes which will be summarized with full detail and also these notes will be available on demand for further investigation. 8.0 Research limitations: This research was proposed to be conducted in a very short span of 8 weeks, which forced the researchers to curtail the research from expanding in to a wider spectrum. According to the proposed planned of seven interviews it is possible that there should be some hurdle to get all information from customers of Islamic banking. In the course of research if the researcher will feel to get more widely information about the growth of Islamic banking then mini open ended questionnaires will be conducted. As the research was a part of student project there where huge limitations on financial resources. Lack of financial backup congests the team, which in turn curbed the research team from dilating the research. Conclusion: The purpose of research is to find out opportunities of growth and development as well the main challenges to Islamic banking in the United Kingdom. The primary data which was collected through in-depth interviews is to match with the different opinions of the community members about the scope and future of Islamic banking in the UK. The outcomes and results of these in-depth interviews are matched with aims and objectives of the research.

Class Distinctions and Internal Struggle in the Works of James Joyce Es

Class Distinctions and Internal Struggle in the Works of James Joyce      Ã‚  Ã‚   In the early twentieth century, Ireland, and more specifically Dublin, was a place defined by class distinctions. There were the wealthy, worldly upper-class who owned large, stately townhouses in the luxurious neighborhoods and the less fortunate, uneducated poor who lived in any shack they could afford in the middle of the city. For the most part, the affluent class was Protestant, while the struggling workers were overwhelmingly Catholic. These distinctions were the result of nearly a century of disparity in income, education, language, and occupation, and in turn were the fundamental bases for the internal struggle that many of Joyce's characters feel. Torn between the life they lead and the one they dream of, these people are reflections of the harsh setting in which Joyce himself spent his life. Although Joyce never explicitly explains why his main characters in "A Little Cloud," "Eveline," "Counterparts," and "The Boarding House" are so deprived, it is clear that they are at an unfair disadvantage in some way. He uses them to spotlight and protest the hardships that so many people of Dublin were forced to endure simply because of their religion and its effects on the other aspects of their lives.    The Irish-Catholics of Dublin in this era were overwhelmingly poverty-stricken, especially when compared to the English people who controlled the government and businesses. In fact, in 1914, the same year that Dubliners was first published, "74,000 people in Dublin lived in one-room tenements, and about 56,000 more in two-room tenements; and this 130,000 people represented 42 per cent of Dublin's citizens" (Cahalan 178). Even a noted employe... ...Handbook. Ed. James R. Baker and Thomas F. Staley. Belmont, Calif.: Wadsworth Pub. Co., 1969. 120-24. Joyce, James. "The Boarding House." The Bedford Introduction to Literature. 332-37. ---. "Counterparts." Dubliners. New York: Viking Press, 1968. 86-98. ---. "Eveline." The Bedford Introduction to Literature. 329-31 ---. "A Little Cloud." The Bedford Introduction to Literature. 337-45. Ledden, Patrick J. "Education and Social Class in Joyce's Dublin." Journal of Modern Literature 22.2 (1998): 329-36. Ryan, Ellen Bouchard, Howard Giles, and Richard J. Sebastian. Attitudes Toward Language Variation: Social and Applied Contexts. London: Edward Arnold, 1982. Torchiana, Donald T. Backgrounds for Joyce's Dubliners. Boston: Allen & Unwin, 1986. Walzl, Florence L. "Patterns of Paralysis in Joyce's Dubliners." College English XXII. (1961): 226.

Marvel Holdings

To determine Whether or not it will be difficult for Marvel or other companies in the MacAndrews and Forbes holding company to issued debt in the future, we should analyze two perspectives, one is historical and the other one is the future perspective. Historically, Marvel Holdings issued zero-coupon senior secured notes which were all secured by Marvel’s equity rather than its assets or operating cash flows. However, this was a very attractive offer since the stock price was trading above $25 per share which had a value of $1.9 billion, well above the face value of the bonds issued. The interest payments on these bonds would be made from revenues received through tax sharing agreements between Marvel and Marcel III Holdings; moreover, all issues were scheduled to mature in April 1998, which in other words, the company would have a huge cash outflow when the bonds came to maturity. After the issurance of debt, company’s revenue decrease due to the comic book and trading card business failure, which caused share price to fall significantly. Despite the problems of revenue fallen, Marvel acquired SkyBx and financed the acquisition with $190 million of additional debt in early 1995. S&P then downgraded the holding companies debts from B to B-. The fianancing structure and the revenue fallen problems lead to Marvel announced that it would violate specific bank loan covenants due to decreasing revenue and profits. Moody downgraded Marvel’s public debt after the announcement and caused the price of the zero-coupon bonds to fall drastically by more than 41%. Moreover, their two largest institutional holders desided to sell the bonds even at a price of $0.37 per dollar of face value. When the resturcture plan was announced, the stock price fell by more than 41% and the zero-coupon bonds fell by addition 50%, to $0.18. As shown on the Balance Sheet, there was a $625.8 millions of current portion of long-term debt in 1996 which was increased significantly compare to previous years. Moreover, the short-term borrowing has also appeared on liability in the year of 1996. Total long-term debt and total liabilities also increased drastically in 1995 and more significantly in 1996. From the Consolidated statement of operations, the cost of sales increased since 1995. Moreover, the amortization of goodwill increased which is due to the decrease in revenue of trading cards and comic books. Interest expense also increased due to significant increase in debt. All these caused a loss in income and earning per share becomes negative at the end of 1995. Based on all the above historical evidences, it will be really difficult due to the fact that the company has a debt-to-total capital ratio of 88% which is $805.4 million in total debt and $107.4 million in equity. With the downgrade of the public debts, it will make the financing situation even worse since the issueing notes or bonds will not raise as much financing as when the rating is good and will be more costly since the interest rate has to increase due to the increase in risk. In the future perspective, a restructure plan was mentioned by Perelman. However, Marvel was facing three options: 1. if marvel was going under chapter 7 liquidation, the debtholders would get around 70% of the original value and the holding company debtholders and equityholders would get nothing. 2. If Marvel did not aquire Toy Biz, the total enterprise value would between be no more than $660 which was not enough to settle the debt, and the equity would again be worthless. 3. If Marvel acquired Toy Biz, the company could transform into an integrated entertainment company which would operate theme restaurants, movie studio, entertainment software, and etc. Marvel believed with the growth of new media exposure, they would be able to have modest growth and pay secured and unsecured creditors in full. This plan had passed the feasibility test, which in other words, the company was not likely to be liquidized or reorganized. let’s assume Marvel implement the restrurture plan and make modest growth of profit. As they slowly payoff the debts, start earning profit and rebuild their reputation, It will become easier to raise debt. Moreover, if their performance is good, it might be even possible to increase their rating which will lower the cost due to the decrease in default risk.