Deutsche Brauerei

QUESTION FOR REPORT/ DISCUSSION 2. What are the characteristics of Fund flow statement and its uses? What do the financial forecast and sources and uses of funds statement of company tell us? Discuss about breakeven analysis. What does the breakeven chart of the company tell us? [pic] Fund Flow Statement Financial statements mainly include profit and loss account and balance sheet. Profit and loss account lists out all the expenses made by the firm and revenue earned over a period of time. Balance sheet depicts the financial position of the firm at a particular point of time. While fund flow statement is complimentary to both balance sheet and profit and loss account, it brings a clear idea about the movement of funds in and out of the firm, during a particular period of time. Meaning of Fund Flow The financial statement of the business indicates assets, liabilities and capital on a  particular date and also the profit or loss during a period. But it is possible that there is enough profit in the business and the financial position is also good and still there may be deficiency of cash or of working capital in business. If the management wants to find out as to where the cash is being utilized, financial statement cannot help. Therefore, a statement is prepared of the sources and applications of funds from where Working Capital comes and it is utilized. This is called Fund Flow statement. Meaning of ‘Fund’ In a popular and generally accepted sense the term ‘fund’ is used to denote the excess of current assets over current liabilities : Working Capital  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   =  Ã‚  Ã‚   Current Assets – Current Liabilities Meaning of ‘Flow’ of Fund Flow of funds means transmigration (coming and going) of funds. In other words, Flow of funds means change in Working capital, as in funds flow statement the words ‘funds’ mean net working capital. Hence Coleman rightly states that, â€Å"The fund statement is statement summarizing the significant financial changes which have occurred between the beginning and the end of a company’s accounting period. † The flow of fund if is represented by changes in working capital, then it can happen, only if a transaction involves changes on both current item and noncurrent item. Every transaction has double entry. Various cases can be that transaction involves Change on current assets and on fixed assets (cash purchase of fixed assets) o Cash being current item and fixed assets are non current ? Change on current assets and on current assets (credit sale of inventory) o Debtors is a current item and inventory is also current in nature ? Change on current assets and change on current liabilities (payment made to creditors) o Cash is current asset and creditor, current liability ? Change on current liabilities and change on current liabilities (short term loan taken to clear overdraft) ? Change on fixed assets and on fixed liabilities (sale of investments to redeem debentures) So, amongst all these combinations, transactions which involve change, on one hand on current item and on other hand on non current item, they would only lead to fund flow. E. g. * Sell investments in cash. * Issue of shares * Raising long term loans, etc. Thus fund flow statement enumerates various sources from which funds come in organization and various applications which lead to usage of funds. It is an important tool to check the efficiency of management in the firm. It can make future projections about working capital requirements and thus firm can arrange for those requirements and can allocate funds in a more efficient manner. Preparation of fund flow statement involves preparation of adjusted profit and loss account which is prepared by excluding the non fund and non operating items from the initial figure of net profit. Different Names of Fund-flow Statement * A Funds Statement * A statement of sources and uses of fund * A statement of sources and application of fund * Where got and where gone statement * Inflow and outflow of fund statement Objectives of Fund Flow Statement The main purposes of Fund Flow Statement are: 1. To help to understand the changes in assets and asset sources which are not readily evident in the income statement or financial statement. 2. To inform as to how the cans to the business have been used. 3. To point out the financial strengths and weaknesses of the business How to Prepare a Fund Flow Statement Fund flow statements are prepared by taking the balance sheets for two dates representing the coverage period. The increases and decreases must then be calculated for each item. Finally, the changes are classified under four categories: (1) Long-term sources, (2) long-term uses, (3) short-term sources, (4) short-term uses. It is also important to zero out the non-fund based adjustments in order to capture only the changes that are accompanies by flow of funds. However, income accrued but received and expenses incurred but not received reckoned in the profit and loss statement should not be excluded from the profit figure for the fund flow statement. Fund flow statements can be used to identify a variety of problems in the way a company operates. For example, companies that are using short-term money to finance long-term investments may run into liquidity problems in the future. Meanwhile, a company that is using long-term money to finance short-term investments may not be efficiently utilizing its capital. Steps in Preparation of Fund Flow Statement: 1) Preparation of schedule changes in working capital (taking current items only). 2) Preparation of adjusted profit and loss account (to know fund from [or] fund lost in operations). 3) Preparation of accounts for non-current items (Ascertain the hidden information). 4) Preparation of the fund flow statement. Importance of funds flow statement: Funds flow statement is an important analytical tool for external as well as internal uses of financial statements. The users of funds flow statement can be listed as under: 1. Managements of various companies are able to review cash budgets with the aid of funds flow statements. They are extensively used by the management in the evaluation of alternative finance & investments. In the evaluation of alternative finance & investment plans, funds flow statement helps the management in the assessment of long-range forecasts of cash requirements & availability of liquid resources. The management can judge the quality of management decisions. 2. Investors are able to measure as how the company has utilized the funds supplied by them & its financial strength with the aid of funds statements. They gauge can the company capacity to generate funds from operations. On the basis of comparative study of the past with the present, investors can locate & identify possible drains on funds in the near future. 3. Funds statement serve as effective tools to the management for economic analysis as it supplies additional information, which cannot be provided by financial statements, based on historical data. . Fund statement explains the relationship between changes in working capital & net profits. Funds statement clearly shows the quantum of funds generated from operations. 5. Funds statement helps in the planning process of a company. They are useful in assessing the resources available and the manner of utilization of resources. 6. Funds statement explains the financial c onsequences of business activities. They provide explicit & clear awareness to questions regarding liquid & solvency positions of the company, distribution of dividend & whether the working capital has been effective or otherwise. 7. Management of companies can forecast in advance the requirements of additional capital & can plan its capital issue accordingly. 8. Fund statement provides clues to the creditors & financial institutions as to the ability of a company to use funds effectively in the best interest of the investors, creditors & the owners of the company. 9. Funds statement indicates the adequacy or inadequacy of working capital. 10. The information contained in fund flow statement is more reliable, dependable & consistent as it is prepared to include funds generated from operations & not net profit after depreciation. 11. Funds flow statement clearly indicate how profits have been invested, whether investments in fixed assets or inventories or ploughed back. Financial forecast: A financial forecast is normally an estimate of future financial outcomes for a company. Using historical internal accounting and sales data, in addition to external market and economic indicators, a financial forecast is an economist's best guess of what will happen to a company in financial terms over a given time period — which is usually one year. In this case, the company has forecasted its data for the years 2001 and 2002. Sources of funds 1. Net Income: Net income  is equal to the  income  that a firm has after subtracting costs and  expenses  from the total  revenue. Net  income can be distributed among holders of common stock as a  dividend  or held by the firm as  retained earnings. The items deducted will typically include  tax expense, financing expense (interest expense), and  minority interest. Net income is informally called the  bottom line  because it is typically found on the last line of a company's  income statement. [pic] The forecasted net income is increasing in the projected year. It has been projected that there would be an increase in the net income of 28% in 2001 and 17% in 2002. This can be credited to their expansion strategy in the coming years. There has been a dip in the net income in the year 1999 owning to the depreciation of Ukrainian currency by 125%. 2. Allowance for doubtful accounts: The allowance for doubtful accounts is a balance sheet account that reduces the reported amount of accounts receivable. Providing an allowance for doubtful accounts presents a more realistic picture of how much of the accounts receivable will be turning to cash. If a firm has made a sufficient provision in its allowance for doubtful accounts, reported earnings will not be penalized by bad debts when the bad debts occur. If uncollectible accounts are larger than expected, however, the firm will have to increase the size of the account and reduce reported income. [pic] There has been a sharp increase in allowance for doubtful accounts in the year 2001 which subsequently reduced. This can be linked to the increase in the credit they plan to give to the distributors owning to their expansion plans for the period and their recovery policy. The increase in doubtful accounts is a bad sign for the financial position for the company. 3. Depreciation: A  noncash expense  that reduces the  value  of an  asset as a  result  of  wear and tear, age, or  obsolescence. Most assets lose their value over time (in other  words, they depreciate), and must be replaced once the end of their useful life  is reached. Because it is a  non-cash expense, depreciation lowers the  company's  reported  earnings  while increasing  free cash flow. Calculated by two methods: 1. Straight Line Depreciation Method 2. Declining Balance Depreciation Method [pic] There has been gradual rise in the depreciation in the projected years. This can be related to increase in their number of assets (they are planning to buy more equipments and properties) which would lead to devaluation eventually. 4. Short-Term Debt: The account which comprises of any debt incurred by a company that is due within one year. The debt in this account is usually made up of short-term bank loans taken out by a company. The value of this account is very important when determining  a company's  financial health. If the account is larger than the company's  cash and cash equivalents, this suggests that the company  may be  in poor financial health and does not have  enough cash to pay off its short-term debts. Although  short-term debts are due within a year, there may be a portion of the long-term debt included in this account. This portion pertains to payments that must be made on  any long-term debt throughout the year. [pic] In initial years they heavily depended on short term debts. Over the years the financial health of the company improved which lead to the reduction in the debts. Owning to their credit policy and increase in investment in fixed assets, the company is not able to recover the money. This could have lead to increase in short term borrowings. 5. Accounts Payable: An accounting entry that represents an entity's obligation to pay  off a short-term debt to  its creditors. The accounts payable entry is found on a balance sheet under the heading current liabilities. Accounts payable are debts that must be paid off within a given period of time in order to avoid default. [pic] Increase in accounts payable shows that the company is making more purchases on credit. It could be due to taking more time to pay bills, buying more products on credit, paying higher prices for credit purchases. 6. Other Current Liabilities: A balance sheet entry used by companies to group together current liabilities that are not assigned to common liabilities such as debt obligations or accounts payable. Companies will group together these other current liabilities into one account on the balance sheet for the sake of simplicity. [pic] Since this category is made up of accruals and similar items, it increases as the company gets larger. It increased in 1999 owning to higher investment in Ukraine. The increase in the other current liabilities has been more or less stable in the projected years. 7. Total sources of cash: It is the sum total of all the components of sources of funds. [pic] Uses of Funds 8. Dividend Payments Dividends are payments made by a corporation to its shareholder members. It is the portion of corporate profits paid out to stockholders. When a corporation earns a profit or surplus, that money can be put to two uses: it can either be re-invested in the business (called retained earnings), or it can be paid to the shareholders as a dividend. Many corporations retain a portion of their earnings and pay the remainder as a dividend. [pic] There is a sharp increase in the dividend payment as the company is projecting a higher increase in their profits. The dividends are paid from the net income from the same year. Increase in dividend payments implies strong commitment to maintain higher level of dividends in the future. 9. Increases in cash balance Amount of available cash that a management decides to maintain in cash planning, to avoid or cover up cash shortfalls resulting from mismatch between cash inflows and outflows during an accounting period. [pic] The company is having optimum cash balance hence maintaining sufficient working capital. 10. & 11. Increases in accounts receivable Accounts receivable (A/R) is one of a series of accounting transactions dealing with the billing of customers who owe money to a person, company or organization for goods and services that have been provided to the customer. In most business entities this is typically done by generating an invoice and mailing or electronically delivering it to the customer, who in turn must pay it within an established timeframe called credit or payment terms. [pic] In Germany, the company has maintained a tight hold on the credit that they supply to the distributors; thus there isn’t a significant change in the accounts receivable as compared to Ukraine. pic] Increases in accounts receivable (Ukraine) that is disproportionate to any growth in revenue may indicate the company is having trouble collecting money from its customers. Depending on the company's cash situation, this could require the company to borrow money to plug the hole from the unpaid money it is owed by its customers. Eventual ly, the company might need to write-off some of these accounts receivable as bad debt, in recognition of the fact that some customers might never pay. In extreme cases, the company might run out of cash and have to shut down. 12. Increases in inventories Inventory is a list for goods and materials, or those goods and materials themselves, held available in stock by a business. An organization's inventory can appear a mixed blessing, since it counts as an asset on the balance sheet, but it also ties up money that could serve for other purposes and requires additional expense for its protection. Inventory may also cause significant tax expenses, depending on particular countries' laws regarding depreciation of inventory. Inventory appears as a current asset on an organization's balance sheet because the organization can, in principle, turn it into cash by selling it. Some organizations hold larger inventories than their operations require in order inflating their apparent asset value and their perceived profitability. [pic] The fragile distribution system in Ukraine pre-2000 lead to increase in the inventories of the company as company is working on improving the distribution channel due to which the product flow has been projected to be smooth in coming years leading to decrease in inventory which is a healthy financial sign. 13. Increases in other assets Assets are economic resources owned by business or company. Two major asset classes are tangible assets and intangible assets. Tangible assets contain various subclasses, including current assets and fixed assets. Current assets include inventory, while fixed assets include such items as buildings and equipment. Intangible assets are nonphysical resources and rights that have a value to the firm because they give the firm some kind of advantage in the market place. Examples of intangible assets are goodwill, copyrights, trademarks, patents and computer programs, and financial assets, including such items as accounts receivable, bonds and stocks. pic] There is a negative growth in the increase in the other assets because of the depreciation of other assets and they are not planning to acquire any new assets in near future. By 2002 they are planning to buy enough assets just to overcome the negative growth. 14. Reductions in long-term debt Long-term debts are loans and financial obligations that last for over one year. For example, debts obliga tions such as bonds and notes, which have maturities greater than one year, would be considered as long-term debts. pic] Reduction in long term debts from 1998 to 1999 could be due to overnight success of the company in Ukraine. The sound financial condition of the company has ensured the stable repayment of long term loans and would continue to do so in future. 15. Capital Expenditures Capital expenditures (CAPEX or capex) are expenditures creating future benefits. A capital expenditure is incurred when a business spends money either to buy fixed assets or to add to the value of an existing fixed asset ith a useful life that extends beyond the taxable year. Capex are used by a company to acquire or upgrade physical assets such as equipment, property, or industrial buildings. [pic] The sharp increase in the CAPEX can be explained by the inflow of capital through long term debts and the operating profit the company is planning to achieve in the projected period. 16. Total uses of cas h: It is the sum total of all the use components in the fund flow statement. [pic] Break Even Analysis The break-even point for a product is the point where total revenue received equals the total costs associated with the sale of the product (TR=TC). A break-even point is typically calculated in order for businesses to determine if it would be profitable to sell a proposed product, as opposed to attempting to modify an existing product instead so it can be made lucrative. Break even analysis can also be used to analyse the potential profitability of an expenditure in a sales-based business. Breakeven analysis is a management accounting tool used for profit planning of a firm. Profit planning is a function of the selling price of a unit of product, the variable cost of making and selling the product, the volume of product unit sold and in case of multi-product companies, sales mix and finally, the total fixed costs. Breakeven point (for output) = fixed cost / contribution per unit. Break-even analysis is a technique widely used by production management and management accountants. It is based on categorising production costs between those which are â€Å"variable† (costs that change when the production output changes) and those that are â€Å"fixed† (costs not directly related to the volume of production). Total variable and fixed costs are compared with sales revenue in order to determine the  level of sales volume, sales value or production at which the business makes neither a profit nor a loss (the â€Å"break-even point†). Break even analysis depends on the following variables: 1. The fixed production costs for a product. 2. The variable production costs for a product. 3. The product's unit price. 4. The products expected unit sales. On the surface, break-even analysis is a tool to calculate at which sales volume the variable and fixed costs of producing your product will be recovered. Another way to look at it is that the break-even point is the point at which your product stops costing you money to produce and sell, and starts to generate a profit for your company. Break even analysis solves various managerial problems: †¢   Setting price levels: A price level is a hypothetical measure of overall prices for some set of goods and services, in a given region during a given interval, normalized relative to some base set. Hence with the help of BEP analysis a firm can determine the price level of product and particular sales volume which is necessary to produce an X amount of operating profit.   Targeting optimal variable/ fixed cost combinations †¢   Determining the financial attractiveness of different strategic options for your company. Break even Chart A breakeven chart is a strategic tool used to plot the financial revenue of a business unit against time or sales to determine the point when sales output is equal to revenue generated. This is reco gnised as the breakeven point. The information used to determine and analyse the breakeven point includes fixed, variable and total costs and the associated sales revenues. The analysis of a breakeven chart considers whether a venture runs at a profit or a loss. A sale above the breakeven point indicates continued and profitable growth. The principle of break-even theory is that during the early stages of a business venture, total costs, both fixed and variable, exceed sales. As output increases, sales begin to rise faster than costs and, eventually, they become equal (breakeven point). If sales continue to rise and exceed total costs, the business achieves profitability. The tool assumes that all the goods which are produced will be sold and that costs, namely the price, will remain constant. Likewise, it also relies on the capacity in terms of output to remain unchanged. Breakeven charts are universally applied to simply and graphically illustrate and forecast a company's projected revenue, and to calculate the time for profitability to be reached. It is used by financial and marketing strategists to predict the effect that changes in price will have on the percentage change in sales over time. It is also a useful tool to analyse the relationship between fixed and variable costs and to predict the effect on profitability of changes to those costs. Income Statements | | | | | | | |   |   |   |   |   |   |   | |Sales: Germany |62032 |62653 |64219 |66216 |68203 |70249 | |Sales: Ukraine |0 |4262 |17559 |25847 |37479 |48722 | |Total Net Sales |62032 |66915 |81778 |92063 |105682 |118971 | |Production Cost & Expenses |32258 |35366 |44271 49827 |61393 |71609 | |Excise duties |9143 |9108 |10486 |11557 |11625 |13087 | |Allowance for doubtful accounts |5 |7 |38 |24 |2 01 |60 | |Total Variable Cost |41406 |44481 |54795 |61408 |73219 |84756 | |   |   |   |   |   |   |   | |Administrative & Selling Expenses |12481 |13014 |16274 |18505 |18500 |18500 | |Depreciation |3609 |4314 |5844 |6068 |6766 |7448 | |Total Fixed Cost |16090 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |(â‚ ¬ per hectoliters) | | | |Per unit Sales | |9206300/1173000 = | |78. 8508099 | | | |Per unit variable cost | | | | | |61408000/1173000 = | |52. 35123615 | | | |Contribution per unit | | | | | |Per unit Sales – Per unit variable cost = | |26. 3384484 | | | | | | |Breakeven Point = |Fixed cost/Contribution per unit | | | | | | | |24573000/26. 13384 = |940274. 633 | | | | | |Hence Number of units requires to be sold to reach breakeven point=940275 hectoliters | | | | | | | | | |Net Sale in year 2000 = 1173000 hectoliters | | |Revenue calculated from the sale of Breakeven volume sales = |breakeven point volume* per unit sale price |â‚ ¬ 73797559. 3 | | | | | |Total Variable cost at Breakeven Point = Breakeven volume * Per |940275 * 52. 32123615 = |â‚ ¬ 49224558. 57 | |unit variable cost | | | | | | | | Total Fixed Cost = â‚ ¬ 24573000 | | | | | | |Total cost of Production of Beer |Fixed cost + variable cost |â‚ ¬ 73797558. 57 | | | | | This analysis identifies the break-even volume, where revenues just equal total costs and Deutsche Brauerei recovers all its fixed cost at the break-even volume sale. Sales above Break-even Point will bring profits for the company. Margin of Safety (volume) = Total volume Sold – Breakeven volume 1173000 – 940275 = 232725 hectoliters Margin of Safety (Revenue) = per unit sale price * Margin of safety volume = 78. 48508099 * 232725 = â‚ ¬ 18265440. 47 Variable Cost for selling 232725 hectoliters = per unit variable cost * Margin of Safety (volume) = 52. 35123615 * 232725 = â‚ ¬ 12183441. 43 Deutsche Breuerei has already covered up fixed cost expense with break even volume sale hence they will make profit above the sale of break even volume. Net profit = Margin of Safety (Revenue) – Variable Cost for selling 232725 hectoliters = â‚ ¬ 18265440. 47 – â‚ ¬ 12183441. 43 = â‚ ¬ 6081999. 041 From the above analysis it is seen that as the volume increased above the break even volume, the profits rise disproportionately faster. The analysis of a breakeven chart shows that Deutsche Breuerei has to sell more than 940275 hectoliters of beer to start making the profit for the venture. A sale above the breakeven point indicates a continued and profitable growth, and venture makes a profit of â‚ ¬6081999. 041. Hence Deutsche Breuerei should stick to the current price level of beer and profit planning. Break even chart of Venture shows that if they can reduce the Production Cost in coming years through new facility and equipment they can increase the profits in long term. As the company is showing a healthy sales of good they can invest on production facility to reduce the per unit production cost and expenses to increases the overall profits. ———————– DEUTSCHE BRAUEREI Case Analysis- Question 2 MBA PHARM. TECH. (4th year) [pic] [pic] |ROLL NO. |NAME |ROLL NO. NAME | |38 |Devang Mehta |41 |Upasana Nagpal | |39 |Anand Menon |42 |Abhilash Nair | |40 |Manish Mishra |43 |Kadambari Narang | SCHOOL OF PHARMACY AND TECHNOLOGY MANGEMENT †0[pic]? 0[pic]? 0[pic]? 0[pic] 1[pic]†1[pic]x1[pic]|1[pic]? 1[pic]u1 [pic]2[pic]2[pic]2[pic]I2[pic]? 2[pic]N3[pic]l3[pic]A4[pic]A4[pic]? 4[pic]eOA »Ã‚ ­A »A »Ã¢â‚¬Å"| ­h ­Ã‚ »WI8A! h`fJh? *B*[pic]OJQJ^J[? ]ph333h? *B*[pic]CJOJQJph! hNu—h? *B*[pic]CJOJQJNet income =Revenue – Cost of goods sold – Sales discounts – Sales returns and allowances – Expenses – Minority interest – Preferred stock dividends Deutsche Brauerei QUESTION FOR REPORT/ DISCUSSION 2. What are the characteristics of Fund flow statement and its uses? What do the financial forecast and sources and uses of funds statement of company tell us? Discuss about breakeven analysis. What does the breakeven chart of the company tell us? [pic] Fund Flow Statement Financial statements mainly include profit and loss account and balance sheet. Profit and loss account lists out all the expenses made by the firm and revenue earned over a period of time. Balance sheet depicts the financial position of the firm at a particular point of time. While fund flow statement is complimentary to both balance sheet and profit and loss account, it brings a clear idea about the movement of funds in and out of the firm, during a particular period of time. Meaning of Fund Flow The financial statement of the business indicates assets, liabilities and capital on a  particular date and also the profit or loss during a period. But it is possible that there is enough profit in the business and the financial position is also good and still there may be deficiency of cash or of working capital in business. If the management wants to find out as to where the cash is being utilized, financial statement cannot help. Therefore, a statement is prepared of the sources and applications of funds from where Working Capital comes and it is utilized. This is called Fund Flow statement. Meaning of ‘Fund’ In a popular and generally accepted sense the term ‘fund’ is used to denote the excess of current assets over current liabilities : Working Capital  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   =  Ã‚  Ã‚   Current Assets – Current Liabilities Meaning of ‘Flow’ of Fund Flow of funds means transmigration (coming and going) of funds. In other words, Flow of funds means change in Working capital, as in funds flow statement the words ‘funds’ mean net working capital. Hence Coleman rightly states that, â€Å"The fund statement is statement summarizing the significant financial changes which have occurred between the beginning and the end of a company’s accounting period. † The flow of fund if is represented by changes in working capital, then it can happen, only if a transaction involves changes on both current item and noncurrent item. Every transaction has double entry. Various cases can be that transaction involves Change on current assets and on fixed assets (cash purchase of fixed assets) o Cash being current item and fixed assets are non current ? Change on current assets and on current assets (credit sale of inventory) o Debtors is a current item and inventory is also current in nature ? Change on current assets and change on current liabilities (payment made to creditors) o Cash is current asset and creditor, current liability ? Change on current liabilities and change on current liabilities (short term loan taken to clear overdraft) ? Change on fixed assets and on fixed liabilities (sale of investments to redeem debentures) So, amongst all these combinations, transactions which involve change, on one hand on current item and on other hand on non current item, they would only lead to fund flow. E. g. * Sell investments in cash. * Issue of shares * Raising long term loans, etc. Thus fund flow statement enumerates various sources from which funds come in organization and various applications which lead to usage of funds. It is an important tool to check the efficiency of management in the firm. It can make future projections about working capital requirements and thus firm can arrange for those requirements and can allocate funds in a more efficient manner. Preparation of fund flow statement involves preparation of adjusted profit and loss account which is prepared by excluding the non fund and non operating items from the initial figure of net profit. Different Names of Fund-flow Statement * A Funds Statement * A statement of sources and uses of fund * A statement of sources and application of fund * Where got and where gone statement * Inflow and outflow of fund statement Objectives of Fund Flow Statement The main purposes of Fund Flow Statement are: 1. To help to understand the changes in assets and asset sources which are not readily evident in the income statement or financial statement. 2. To inform as to how the cans to the business have been used. 3. To point out the financial strengths and weaknesses of the business How to Prepare a Fund Flow Statement Fund flow statements are prepared by taking the balance sheets for two dates representing the coverage period. The increases and decreases must then be calculated for each item. Finally, the changes are classified under four categories: (1) Long-term sources, (2) long-term uses, (3) short-term sources, (4) short-term uses. It is also important to zero out the non-fund based adjustments in order to capture only the changes that are accompanies by flow of funds. However, income accrued but received and expenses incurred but not received reckoned in the profit and loss statement should not be excluded from the profit figure for the fund flow statement. Fund flow statements can be used to identify a variety of problems in the way a company operates. For example, companies that are using short-term money to finance long-term investments may run into liquidity problems in the future. Meanwhile, a company that is using long-term money to finance short-term investments may not be efficiently utilizing its capital. Steps in Preparation of Fund Flow Statement: 1) Preparation of schedule changes in working capital (taking current items only). 2) Preparation of adjusted profit and loss account (to know fund from [or] fund lost in operations). 3) Preparation of accounts for non-current items (Ascertain the hidden information). 4) Preparation of the fund flow statement. Importance of funds flow statement: Funds flow statement is an important analytical tool for external as well as internal uses of financial statements. The users of funds flow statement can be listed as under: 1. Managements of various companies are able to review cash budgets with the aid of funds flow statements. They are extensively used by the management in the evaluation of alternative finance & investments. In the evaluation of alternative finance & investment plans, funds flow statement helps the management in the assessment of long-range forecasts of cash requirements & availability of liquid resources. The management can judge the quality of management decisions. 2. Investors are able to measure as how the company has utilized the funds supplied by them & its financial strength with the aid of funds statements. They gauge can the company capacity to generate funds from operations. On the basis of comparative study of the past with the present, investors can locate & identify possible drains on funds in the near future. 3. Funds statement serve as effective tools to the management for economic analysis as it supplies additional information, which cannot be provided by financial statements, based on historical data. . Fund statement explains the relationship between changes in working capital & net profits. Funds statement clearly shows the quantum of funds generated from operations. 5. Funds statement helps in the planning process of a company. They are useful in assessing the resources available and the manner of utilization of resources. 6. Funds statement explains the financial c onsequences of business activities. They provide explicit & clear awareness to questions regarding liquid & solvency positions of the company, distribution of dividend & whether the working capital has been effective or otherwise. 7. Management of companies can forecast in advance the requirements of additional capital & can plan its capital issue accordingly. 8. Fund statement provides clues to the creditors & financial institutions as to the ability of a company to use funds effectively in the best interest of the investors, creditors & the owners of the company. 9. Funds statement indicates the adequacy or inadequacy of working capital. 10. The information contained in fund flow statement is more reliable, dependable & consistent as it is prepared to include funds generated from operations & not net profit after depreciation. 11. Funds flow statement clearly indicate how profits have been invested, whether investments in fixed assets or inventories or ploughed back. Financial forecast: A financial forecast is normally an estimate of future financial outcomes for a company. Using historical internal accounting and sales data, in addition to external market and economic indicators, a financial forecast is an economist's best guess of what will happen to a company in financial terms over a given time period — which is usually one year. In this case, the company has forecasted its data for the years 2001 and 2002. Sources of funds 1. Net Income: Net income  is equal to the  income  that a firm has after subtracting costs and  expenses  from the total  revenue. Net  income can be distributed among holders of common stock as a  dividend  or held by the firm as  retained earnings. The items deducted will typically include  tax expense, financing expense (interest expense), and  minority interest. Net income is informally called the  bottom line  because it is typically found on the last line of a company's  income statement. [pic] The forecasted net income is increasing in the projected year. It has been projected that there would be an increase in the net income of 28% in 2001 and 17% in 2002. This can be credited to their expansion strategy in the coming years. There has been a dip in the net income in the year 1999 owning to the depreciation of Ukrainian currency by 125%. 2. Allowance for doubtful accounts: The allowance for doubtful accounts is a balance sheet account that reduces the reported amount of accounts receivable. Providing an allowance for doubtful accounts presents a more realistic picture of how much of the accounts receivable will be turning to cash. If a firm has made a sufficient provision in its allowance for doubtful accounts, reported earnings will not be penalized by bad debts when the bad debts occur. If uncollectible accounts are larger than expected, however, the firm will have to increase the size of the account and reduce reported income. [pic] There has been a sharp increase in allowance for doubtful accounts in the year 2001 which subsequently reduced. This can be linked to the increase in the credit they plan to give to the distributors owning to their expansion plans for the period and their recovery policy. The increase in doubtful accounts is a bad sign for the financial position for the company. 3. Depreciation: A  noncash expense  that reduces the  value  of an  asset as a  result  of  wear and tear, age, or  obsolescence. Most assets lose their value over time (in other  words, they depreciate), and must be replaced once the end of their useful life  is reached. Because it is a  non-cash expense, depreciation lowers the  company's  reported  earnings  while increasing  free cash flow. Calculated by two methods: 1. Straight Line Depreciation Method 2. Declining Balance Depreciation Method [pic] There has been gradual rise in the depreciation in the projected years. This can be related to increase in their number of assets (they are planning to buy more equipments and properties) which would lead to devaluation eventually. 4. Short-Term Debt: The account which comprises of any debt incurred by a company that is due within one year. The debt in this account is usually made up of short-term bank loans taken out by a company. The value of this account is very important when determining  a company's  financial health. If the account is larger than the company's  cash and cash equivalents, this suggests that the company  may be  in poor financial health and does not have  enough cash to pay off its short-term debts. Although  short-term debts are due within a year, there may be a portion of the long-term debt included in this account. This portion pertains to payments that must be made on  any long-term debt throughout the year. [pic] In initial years they heavily depended on short term debts. Over the years the financial health of the company improved which lead to the reduction in the debts. Owning to their credit policy and increase in investment in fixed assets, the company is not able to recover the money. This could have lead to increase in short term borrowings. 5. Accounts Payable: An accounting entry that represents an entity's obligation to pay  off a short-term debt to  its creditors. The accounts payable entry is found on a balance sheet under the heading current liabilities. Accounts payable are debts that must be paid off within a given period of time in order to avoid default. [pic] Increase in accounts payable shows that the company is making more purchases on credit. It could be due to taking more time to pay bills, buying more products on credit, paying higher prices for credit purchases. 6. Other Current Liabilities: A balance sheet entry used by companies to group together current liabilities that are not assigned to common liabilities such as debt obligations or accounts payable. Companies will group together these other current liabilities into one account on the balance sheet for the sake of simplicity. [pic] Since this category is made up of accruals and similar items, it increases as the company gets larger. It increased in 1999 owning to higher investment in Ukraine. The increase in the other current liabilities has been more or less stable in the projected years. 7. Total sources of cash: It is the sum total of all the components of sources of funds. [pic] Uses of Funds 8. Dividend Payments Dividends are payments made by a corporation to its shareholder members. It is the portion of corporate profits paid out to stockholders. When a corporation earns a profit or surplus, that money can be put to two uses: it can either be re-invested in the business (called retained earnings), or it can be paid to the shareholders as a dividend. Many corporations retain a portion of their earnings and pay the remainder as a dividend. [pic] There is a sharp increase in the dividend payment as the company is projecting a higher increase in their profits. The dividends are paid from the net income from the same year. Increase in dividend payments implies strong commitment to maintain higher level of dividends in the future. 9. Increases in cash balance Amount of available cash that a management decides to maintain in cash planning, to avoid or cover up cash shortfalls resulting from mismatch between cash inflows and outflows during an accounting period. [pic] The company is having optimum cash balance hence maintaining sufficient working capital. 10. & 11. Increases in accounts receivable Accounts receivable (A/R) is one of a series of accounting transactions dealing with the billing of customers who owe money to a person, company or organization for goods and services that have been provided to the customer. In most business entities this is typically done by generating an invoice and mailing or electronically delivering it to the customer, who in turn must pay it within an established timeframe called credit or payment terms. [pic] In Germany, the company has maintained a tight hold on the credit that they supply to the distributors; thus there isn’t a significant change in the accounts receivable as compared to Ukraine. pic] Increases in accounts receivable (Ukraine) that is disproportionate to any growth in revenue may indicate the company is having trouble collecting money from its customers. Depending on the company's cash situation, this could require the company to borrow money to plug the hole from the unpaid money it is owed by its customers. Eventual ly, the company might need to write-off some of these accounts receivable as bad debt, in recognition of the fact that some customers might never pay. In extreme cases, the company might run out of cash and have to shut down. 12. Increases in inventories Inventory is a list for goods and materials, or those goods and materials themselves, held available in stock by a business. An organization's inventory can appear a mixed blessing, since it counts as an asset on the balance sheet, but it also ties up money that could serve for other purposes and requires additional expense for its protection. Inventory may also cause significant tax expenses, depending on particular countries' laws regarding depreciation of inventory. Inventory appears as a current asset on an organization's balance sheet because the organization can, in principle, turn it into cash by selling it. Some organizations hold larger inventories than their operations require in order inflating their apparent asset value and their perceived profitability. [pic] The fragile distribution system in Ukraine pre-2000 lead to increase in the inventories of the company as company is working on improving the distribution channel due to which the product flow has been projected to be smooth in coming years leading to decrease in inventory which is a healthy financial sign. 13. Increases in other assets Assets are economic resources owned by business or company. Two major asset classes are tangible assets and intangible assets. Tangible assets contain various subclasses, including current assets and fixed assets. Current assets include inventory, while fixed assets include such items as buildings and equipment. Intangible assets are nonphysical resources and rights that have a value to the firm because they give the firm some kind of advantage in the market place. Examples of intangible assets are goodwill, copyrights, trademarks, patents and computer programs, and financial assets, including such items as accounts receivable, bonds and stocks. pic] There is a negative growth in the increase in the other assets because of the depreciation of other assets and they are not planning to acquire any new assets in near future. By 2002 they are planning to buy enough assets just to overcome the negative growth. 14. Reductions in long-term debt Long-term debts are loans and financial obligations that last for over one year. For example, debts obliga tions such as bonds and notes, which have maturities greater than one year, would be considered as long-term debts. pic] Reduction in long term debts from 1998 to 1999 could be due to overnight success of the company in Ukraine. The sound financial condition of the company has ensured the stable repayment of long term loans and would continue to do so in future. 15. Capital Expenditures Capital expenditures (CAPEX or capex) are expenditures creating future benefits. A capital expenditure is incurred when a business spends money either to buy fixed assets or to add to the value of an existing fixed asset ith a useful life that extends beyond the taxable year. Capex are used by a company to acquire or upgrade physical assets such as equipment, property, or industrial buildings. [pic] The sharp increase in the CAPEX can be explained by the inflow of capital through long term debts and the operating profit the company is planning to achieve in the projected period. 16. Total uses of cas h: It is the sum total of all the use components in the fund flow statement. [pic] Break Even Analysis The break-even point for a product is the point where total revenue received equals the total costs associated with the sale of the product (TR=TC). A break-even point is typically calculated in order for businesses to determine if it would be profitable to sell a proposed product, as opposed to attempting to modify an existing product instead so it can be made lucrative. Break even analysis can also be used to analyse the potential profitability of an expenditure in a sales-based business. Breakeven analysis is a management accounting tool used for profit planning of a firm. Profit planning is a function of the selling price of a unit of product, the variable cost of making and selling the product, the volume of product unit sold and in case of multi-product companies, sales mix and finally, the total fixed costs. Breakeven point (for output) = fixed cost / contribution per unit. Break-even analysis is a technique widely used by production management and management accountants. It is based on categorising production costs between those which are â€Å"variable† (costs that change when the production output changes) and those that are â€Å"fixed† (costs not directly related to the volume of production). Total variable and fixed costs are compared with sales revenue in order to determine the  level of sales volume, sales value or production at which the business makes neither a profit nor a loss (the â€Å"break-even point†). Break even analysis depends on the following variables: 1. The fixed production costs for a product. 2. The variable production costs for a product. 3. The product's unit price. 4. The products expected unit sales. On the surface, break-even analysis is a tool to calculate at which sales volume the variable and fixed costs of producing your product will be recovered. Another way to look at it is that the break-even point is the point at which your product stops costing you money to produce and sell, and starts to generate a profit for your company. Break even analysis solves various managerial problems: †¢   Setting price levels: A price level is a hypothetical measure of overall prices for some set of goods and services, in a given region during a given interval, normalized relative to some base set. Hence with the help of BEP analysis a firm can determine the price level of product and particular sales volume which is necessary to produce an X amount of operating profit.   Targeting optimal variable/ fixed cost combinations †¢   Determining the financial attractiveness of different strategic options for your company. Break even Chart A breakeven chart is a strategic tool used to plot the financial revenue of a business unit against time or sales to determine the point when sales output is equal to revenue generated. This is reco gnised as the breakeven point. The information used to determine and analyse the breakeven point includes fixed, variable and total costs and the associated sales revenues. The analysis of a breakeven chart considers whether a venture runs at a profit or a loss. A sale above the breakeven point indicates continued and profitable growth. The principle of break-even theory is that during the early stages of a business venture, total costs, both fixed and variable, exceed sales. As output increases, sales begin to rise faster than costs and, eventually, they become equal (breakeven point). If sales continue to rise and exceed total costs, the business achieves profitability. The tool assumes that all the goods which are produced will be sold and that costs, namely the price, will remain constant. Likewise, it also relies on the capacity in terms of output to remain unchanged. Breakeven charts are universally applied to simply and graphically illustrate and forecast a company's projected revenue, and to calculate the time for profitability to be reached. It is used by financial and marketing strategists to predict the effect that changes in price will have on the percentage change in sales over time. It is also a useful tool to analyse the relationship between fixed and variable costs and to predict the effect on profitability of changes to those costs. Income Statements | | | | | | | |   |   |   |   |   |   |   | |Sales: Germany |62032 |62653 |64219 |66216 |68203 |70249 | |Sales: Ukraine |0 |4262 |17559 |25847 |37479 |48722 | |Total Net Sales |62032 |66915 |81778 |92063 |105682 |118971 | |Production Cost & Expenses |32258 |35366 |44271 49827 |61393 |71609 | |Excise duties |9143 |9108 |10486 |11557 |11625 |13087 | |Allowance for doubtful accounts |5 |7 |38 |24 |2 01 |60 | |Total Variable Cost |41406 |44481 |54795 |61408 |73219 |84756 | |   |   |   |   |   |   |   | |Administrative & Selling Expenses |12481 |13014 |16274 |18505 |18500 |18500 | |Depreciation |3609 |4314 |5844 |6068 |6766 |7448 | |Total Fixed Cost |16090 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |(â‚ ¬ per hectoliters) | | | |Per unit Sales | |9206300/1173000 = | |78. 8508099 | | | |Per unit variable cost | | | | | |61408000/1173000 = | |52. 35123615 | | | |Contribution per unit | | | | | |Per unit Sales – Per unit variable cost = | |26. 3384484 | | | | | | |Breakeven Point = |Fixed cost/Contribution per unit | | | | | | | |24573000/26. 13384 = |940274. 633 | | | | | |Hence Number of units requires to be sold to reach breakeven point=940275 hectoliters | | | | | | | | | |Net Sale in year 2000 = 1173000 hectoliters | | |Revenue calculated from the sale of Breakeven volume sales = |breakeven point volume* per unit sale price |â‚ ¬ 73797559. 3 | | | | | |Total Variable cost at Breakeven Point = Breakeven volume * Per |940275 * 52. 32123615 = |â‚ ¬ 49224558. 57 | |unit variable cost | | | | | | | | Total Fixed Cost = â‚ ¬ 24573000 | | | | | | |Total cost of Production of Beer |Fixed cost + variable cost |â‚ ¬ 73797558. 57 | | | | | This analysis identifies the break-even volume, where revenues just equal total costs and Deutsche Brauerei recovers all its fixed cost at the break-even volume sale. Sales above Break-even Point will bring profits for the company. Margin of Safety (volume) = Total volume Sold – Breakeven volume 1173000 – 940275 = 232725 hectoliters Margin of Safety (Revenue) = per unit sale price * Margin of safety volume = 78. 48508099 * 232725 = â‚ ¬ 18265440. 47 Variable Cost for selling 232725 hectoliters = per unit variable cost * Margin of Safety (volume) = 52. 35123615 * 232725 = â‚ ¬ 12183441. 43 Deutsche Breuerei has already covered up fixed cost expense with break even volume sale hence they will make profit above the sale of break even volume. Net profit = Margin of Safety (Revenue) – Variable Cost for selling 232725 hectoliters = â‚ ¬ 18265440. 47 – â‚ ¬ 12183441. 43 = â‚ ¬ 6081999. 041 From the above analysis it is seen that as the volume increased above the break even volume, the profits rise disproportionately faster. The analysis of a breakeven chart shows that Deutsche Breuerei has to sell more than 940275 hectoliters of beer to start making the profit for the venture. A sale above the breakeven point indicates a continued and profitable growth, and venture makes a profit of â‚ ¬6081999. 041. Hence Deutsche Breuerei should stick to the current price level of beer and profit planning. Break even chart of Venture shows that if they can reduce the Production Cost in coming years through new facility and equipment they can increase the profits in long term. As the company is showing a healthy sales of good they can invest on production facility to reduce the per unit production cost and expenses to increases the overall profits. ———————– DEUTSCHE BRAUEREI Case Analysis- Question 2 MBA PHARM. TECH. (4th year) [pic] [pic] |ROLL NO. |NAME |ROLL NO. NAME | |38 |Devang Mehta |41 |Upasana Nagpal | |39 |Anand Menon |42 |Abhilash Nair | |40 |Manish Mishra |43 |Kadambari Narang | SCHOOL OF PHARMACY AND TECHNOLOGY MANGEMENT †0[pic]? 0[pic]? 0[pic]? 0[pic] 1[pic]†1[pic]x1[pic]|1[pic]? 1[pic]u1 [pic]2[pic]2[pic]2[pic]I2[pic]? 2[pic]N3[pic]l3[pic]A4[pic]A4[pic]? 4[pic]eOA »Ã‚ ­A »A »Ã¢â‚¬Å"| ­h ­Ã‚ »WI8A! h`fJh? *B*[pic]OJQJ^J[? ]ph333h? *B*[pic]CJOJQJph! hNu—h? *B*[pic]CJOJQJNet income =Revenue – Cost of goods sold – Sales discounts – Sales returns and allowances – Expenses – Minority interest – Preferred stock dividends

Daryl Atkins

Daryl Atkins Eligible for execution is about Daryl Atkins murder case. Unlike most murder cases though Daryl Atkins was mentally retarded and the debate wasn’t weather he was guilty or innocent, it was if he should receive the death penalty for his crime or not. The location of the crime played a big role in the jury selection because York County was a more white area compared to Hampton County where Atkins abducted Nesbitt. â€Å"The prosecutor is the public official who represents the people in legal actions against the criminal offender† (pg 25).For serious cases like this case the prosecutor gets involved earlier and work with the police to create a case. Virginia appoints lawyers that meet certain qualifications to represent people who can’t afford a lawyer. Hampton County appointed George Rogers for Atkins and 2 lawyers for William Jones (Timothy Clancy and Leslie Smith). â€Å"Under Virginia law â€Å"the willful, deliberate and premeditated killing of a ny person during the commission of a serious crime, such as robbery, abduction, or rape, constitutes capital murder† (pg. 0). Daryl Atkins bail was overly excessive at $650,00 considering he wasn’t believed to be the killer, had know violent acts prior, and was to poor to actually post that bail amount. A grand jury is when a group of people are presented evidence from the prosecutor. The grand Jury looks over this evidence and decides if the case should go forward and proceed to trial which would be a ‘true bill indictment or if the case should be thrown out.The book talks how a grand theft charge can be moved down to a petit larceny charge through plea-bargaining. William Jones struck a plea bargain by saying he was guilty to all charges except non-capital murder. Punishment must fit the bill in the U. S. criminal justice system. A person who steals a TV isn’t going to jail for life but a person who kills a person may be going to jail for life. The more s erious the crime the more time must be spent on gathering evidence to make sure there isn’t a mistake which might cost an innocent person his life.The main argument against the death penalty is that killing is wrong so know matter who the person is. The other argument is that killers don’t think of the consequences when they act, so the death penalty doesn’t make a person not kill. Another objective is that life in prison should be justice enough; these inmates don’t pose a threat to society anymore so why bother killing them. The Furman v. Georgia case was important because at that time any person who was convicted of killing a person was punishable by death.Furman accidently killed William Micke and was found guilty, but the Supreme Court upheld the ruling and in doing so outlawed most uses of the death penalty. By having Mary Jones testify it showed how the murder affected the family and that her families’ life will never be the same. Judge Smil ey sentenced Daryl Atkins to death and set his date for execution for August 20, 1998. The Supreme Court decided that it was illegal to have a mentally retarded person receive the death penalty.Prior to the ruling South Carolina still allowed for mentally retarded people to be executed but they hadn’t executed any mentally retarded person after the Penry case. Since Daryl Atkins never had a IQ test prior to 18 they couldn’t use his test to declare if he was mentally retarded or not. The case continued and because of a Brady case infraction Daryl Atkins was sentenced to Life rather than the death penalty. Work Cited Walker, Thomas G. Eligible for Execution: The Story of the Daryl Atkins Case. Washington, D. C. : CQ, 2008. Print.

Security Automation in oil and gas company Assignment

Security Automation in oil and gas company - Assignment Example In 2002 the National Research Council also emphasized the importance of research for systems that can guarantee security in the oil and gas industry (National Research Council 2002). This study would focus on the Security Automation systems used in the oil and gas industry, as these systems have been found to have a critical role in increasing security in the industry’s firms. I have been motivated to do research on this topic mostly because of the following reason: the security problems reported in oil and gas companies are many; the firms producing SA systems have tried to develop products that are effective in controlling the industry’s security risks. However, so far, the limitation of these risks has not been secured. I believe that this study could help the industry’s firms to locate effective security tools. Also, the study could help me to increase my knowledge on the needs and challenges of the firms operating in the oil and gas industry. My studies, so far, are related to computing; my involvement in a research project related to the practical use of computing systems would help me to become more competent in managing these systems in different operational environments. The topic of this study focus on a ‘researchable problem’ and not to a ‘personal problem’ as this view is based on the following facts: a) the security threats for the firms of oil and gas industry are many, b) most of these threats cannot be appropriately controlled due to the failures reported in the security systems used in the industry’s firms and c) the importance of this problem has been highlighted by organizations, as explained in the first section of this proposal, but also by academic researchers. In other words, the potential involvement of SA systems in the oil and gas industry is an issue related to the daily operations of all the industry’s firms; it is not an issue that affects an individual at personal level. The ‘Scientific method’ of research is

Kodak and Fujifilm Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words - 11

Kodak and Fujifilm - Essay Example George Eastman created the Kodak Company whose headquarters are in New York in the late 1880s. Ever since, the company has specialized in the production of imaging and photographic equipment, imaging services as well as such other materials as are used in the photography industry. The popularity of the company has been in photographic film products and such consumables as chemicals and films. Over years, Kodak commanded the larger film and photography industry with its success being associated with such principles as low-cost mass production, international distribution, customer focus as well as extensive advertising. Although the company started with such products as dry photography plates, the company easily embraced innovation and this led to the introduction of the Kodak camera and later on in the early years of 20th century, the company invented the motion camera.Great success followed the operations of the company but was halted by technological advancement and the rise of Fuji film.The Fujifilm Company has risen to command a global reputation in the industry of photography and films. Fujifilm has had its core operations focused on development and production, digital camera sales and servicing, color paper, photographic film, materials for graphic arts, photofinishing materials, optical devices as well as photocopiers and printers among other areas of specialization. Besides, penetrating in an already monopolized industry, the company was able to embrace effective marketing procedures and innovation.

A Philosophical Understanding of Researching Gangs in the NTE Essay

A Philosophical Understanding of Researching Gangs in the NTE - Essay Example As postulated by Plato, the Greek philosopher (427-347 BC), knowledge can be distinctively considered as â€Å"Justified True Belief†. The theory encompasses major queries regarding the basis of knowledge, the methodical approach of its acquisition, people’s understanding level, and how & why is it necessary to know what one perceives. There is a subtle difference epistemologically between the theory and practical (of what is gathered by experience) aspects of knowledge. (Watson, 2004) John Locke advocates the idea of Innatism, which proposes that the knowledge accumulated in an individual through experience, is actually born of that person’s pre-existing sub-conscious knowledge base. Empiricism is a theory of knowledge that lays emphasis on the role of experience, especially the experience based on constant observations by the five senses. Some empiricists think that all the knowledge is empirical while others separate mathematics and logic from the stream. (Fum erton, 2005) The German philosopher Immanuel Kant of the 18th century states, "although all our knowledge begins with experience, it does not follow that it arises from experience" (Taylor, 1989, p.80). From here also we get the essence of â€Å"Transcendental Absolute† as guided by the theorists of Innatism. In his works of Personal Knowledge, Michael Polanyi attempts to bring out the distinction between â€Å"knowing that† and â€Å"knowing how†. The level of consciousness is heightened through the attainments of multiple experiences and different perception levels. The epistemological approach identifies two basic types of knowledge; one is â€Å"A priori† which interprets the structure of knowledge is independent of empirical experiences and the other one â€Å"A posteriori† is justified by the experiencing through the practical way. Hume’s epistemological treatise on natural knowledge

Government Control Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

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Building the Boeing 787 Case Study Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4500 words

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Cultural Relevance of Artwork Essay Example for Free

Cultural Relevance of Artwork Essay The very spirit of an artwork remains in the time it was created. There is no better way to appreciate art than to understand its situational context, that is, the space and time of its creation. Works of art are like photographs taken in a particular time and place. In this paper we explore the situational context of three works of art: (1) Produced in the late seventeenth century, Wedding of Mary and Joseph is Peruvian painting; (2) Pierre-Auguste Renoir’s Acrobats At The Cirque Fernando (1879) shows two young Parisian girls; and (3) Figure of a Mother Holding a Child, created in the nineteenth century by an unknown Lulua artist (See Appendix). All three pieces of art tell interesting, unique tales about their makers and the conditions of their times. What’s more, layers upon layers of human thought through different times and places of human history may be unearthed through this process of art appreciation. Our present understanding of historical societies and cultures must also influence the process of interpreting a work of art. After all, one scholar may consider a painting with the eyes of a sociologist in our time, while another may be a trained psychologist. Such designations did not exist before now. Regardless of how an artwork is interpreted and with what lens and in which frame it is looked through; works of art stay alive as we glean historical information through them. As the following section on Wedding of Mary and Joseph shows, it is possible to develop various interpretations about the time and place of an artist even if researched historical information is there to assist us in our interpretation. Wedding of Mary and Joseph Produced by an unknown artist, Wedding of Mary and Joseph is an oil painting on canvas, depicting the couple getting married before the high priest who is clothed in a â€Å"richly flower-patterned hooded mantle (â€Å"Wedding of Mary and Joseph†). † There are clergymen assisting the high priest. Joseph is carrying his staff which has flowers at the top. Moreover, both the bride and bridegroom have golden halos. Ann, the mother of Mary stands right behind the bride. By Ann’s side is a suitor of Mary who has been rejected by God’s command. The suitor is shown breaking his staff, which has not flowered like the staff of Joseph (â€Å"Wedding of Mary and Joseph†). The painting is enriched by â€Å"gold stamping,† which â€Å"unifies the composition (â€Å"Wedding of Mary and Joseph†). † There are Peruvian flowers scattered on the ground where Mary and Joseph stand. This transfers the scene of the Bible from the Holy Land to Peru (â€Å"Wedding of Mary and Joseph†). Furthermore, it describes an important movement in Peruvian art history by the name of Cusco School (Bennett). Indeed, this painting accompanies a very important period in Peruvian history. Spanish colonization had not only managed to transfer the Spanish Inquisition to the Spanish territories around the globe, but also brought European art into Peru (Bennett). The Spanish Inquisition had claimed many lives in Europe. In Peru, the Inquisition had centered on the discovery of people who were Jews by birth, but had claimed to have converted to Christianity. These people were suspected to have gone back from Catholicism to Judaism. Thus, the Peruvian Inquisition was about punishing the Jews or converted Catholics for apostasy (Lea). The Peruvian Inquisition had taken place in the seventeenth century. Seeing that the sociopolitical environment of Peru revolved around religious affairs at the time, it is not surprising that the Christian, Peruvian artists started a new art movement – the Cusco School – to create religious art in particular (Bennett). As a matter of fact, the Wedding of Mary and Joseph is a perfect example of Cusco art. The Cusco School happens to be the largest movement of art in the Peruvian art history. The movement was represented by â€Å"mestizo painters and sculptors who produced countless depictions of religious figures adorned in gold (Bennett). † The Spanish colonizers had used religious art to teach Christianity to the New World. Subsequently, the native artists of Peru had begun to meld European art with their local style and tradition (Bennett). So, while the figures of Mary and Joseph in the Peruvian painting reveal European, Christian influence on the Peruvian artist; the flowers and long tailed birds of Peru scattered on the ground show that the artist continues to love his land despite colonization. The golden halos of the bride and the bridegroom are, of course, the signature of the Cusco School. Hence, the painting, Wedding of Mary and Joseph, reveals itself as an excellent tool to understand the culture of Peru with respect to Spanish colonization. By discovering more about the conditions of the artist’s time, history of the Americas may also be studied in great depth. Moreover, this painting helps viewers to appreciate how artists are influenced by their environments and the times. Acrobats At The Cirque Fernando Produced in another place and time altogether, renowned Parisian painter, Pierre-Auguste Renoir’s Acrobats At The Cirque Fernando (1879) shows two real girls, most probably between twelve and fifteen years of age, taking turns to perform their act at the circus (Mancoff). The facial and bodily expressions of the girls and their onlookers are open to any number of interpretations. One of the young girls is carrying balls around her chest while the other is communicating with the audience as part of her act. The girl who is communicating with the audience has a questioning, innocent expression on her face. The one who is carrying balls is possibly waiting for her turn to perform. She, too, is innocent and fresh in appearance as the other. However, she seems to be dwelling on her new experiences of semi-adulthood. Perhaps she is musing on the boys in her life – the young men who admire her very much. The audience depicted in the painting, behind the bodies of the two young girls, appears to consist of men alone after all. The men appear like judges, in their black coats, giving them the semblance of uniformed officers. Only one of the men has his face visible through the painting, and the face is hard enough for the girls to display their innocence in all its glory with the assumption that the counterpart of a harsh and doubtful attitude must be softness. Although the girl carrying the balls has her back turned toward the hard faced man, she knows that she too would have to perform. The expressions of the male and the females in Renoir’s Acrobats At The Cirque Fernando are rather similar to the expressions of the two sexes depicted in many of the artist’s works of the time. The woman is seen as the adored and innocent object that performs, even though the man is hard faced, perhaps weary of the work that he performs to fend for his family day after day. The woman is the amuser, the muse, and the object of entertainment to fend for. After all, she is beautiful (Norfleet). The only beautiful facet of the man is that he is strong – in Renoir’s paintings, at least. What is more, the man is always staring at the woman in Renoir’s works. He fondles her whenever he has the chance. The woman remains faithful to him – this is depicted through the innocence on her face. If she becomes unfaithful she knows that the hard faced man would discontinue supporting her. The French word for ‘thank you’ is merci, which, if used in English, perfectly describes the attitude of the woman in late nineteenth century Paris. Although Paris was one of the first places in the west where women were generally believed to have been liberated, Renoir’s painting reveals that the women were definitely not liberated through promiscuity or debauchery. Rather, the urban Parisian women in the late nineteenth century seem to have been given permission by their men to be out and about, entertaining them, while remaining faithful to their innocence as well as their marital vows (Norfleet). As the facial expression of the young girl carrying the balls in Renoir’s Acrobats At The Cirque Fernando reveals – women understood their position in Parisian society even as they were aware that men and women are equally dependent on each other. Then again, the painting remains open to numberless sociological interpretations. Figure of a Mother Holding a Child As our analysis of Renoir’s painting shows, it is possible to understand the situational context of a painting in any number of ways. Sociologists and historians may be more interested in discovering the history of society in a block of time. If psychoanalysts were to join in, there would be various intricacies of the human mind revealed through artworks. On that note, Figure of a Mother Holding a Child is a very interesting sculpture because there are multiple ways of understanding its import. On one hand, the sculpture is a perfect depiction of the pain of starvation that the African people have been experiencing for a long time, and that nobody outside of Africa has done anything consequential about – despite the fact that the entire world discusses it. On the other hand, it represents a ritual that the Lulua tribe of the Democratic Republic of Congo had practiced for its own survival (â€Å"Figure of a Mother Holding a Child†). The sculpture is that of a skinny, African female with an infant in her arms. The woman’s head is larger than her body. The bone lines on her neck are particularly telling. Even so, the bone lines on her neck and the wrinkles on her face had actually been created by the artist to show that the Lulua peoples had used scarification to adorn their bodies (â€Å"Lulua Tribe: Democratic Republic of Congo;† â€Å"Figure of a Mother Holding a Child†). Indeed, it is scarification that adorns the woman carrying the infant. Just the same the viewer is made to feel sorry for the woman and her child because they appear extremely poor. Made with wood and copper alloy, the woman in the sculpture has bulging eyes and a â€Å"pointed base (â€Å"Figure of a Mother Holding a Child†). † According to the Brooklyn Museum, the base was most probably â€Å"thrust into a pot containing earth and various bishimba, or materials of mineral, plant, animal, or human origin endowed with protective powers (â€Å"Figure of a Mother Holding a Child†). † In actuality, the sculpture had been created for a Lulua woman who had experienced difficulties in childbirth. The Lulua people believed that it was the evil spirit which interrupted the process of childbirth for women. So that the woman would attract the ancestral spirit of the Lulua tribe and get rid of the evil spirit, the artist gave her the sculpture to care for until delivery. The bulging eyes of the sculpture reveal that the woman is aware of the influence of the evil spirit that is stopping her from becoming a mother (â€Å"Lulua Tribe†). The Lulua peoples had migrated from western Africa to the Democratic Republic of Congo during the eighteenth century. These people lived in â€Å"small regional chiefdoms,† and therefore formed closely knit communities (â€Å"Lulua Tribe†). Because they were immigrants, they were rather concerned about their continuity. Moreover, the Lulua people believed that their sculptures had to be created for religious reasons (â€Å"Lulua Tribe†). The Lulua artists who created sculptures such as the Figure of a Mother Holding a Child must have had faith that they were carrying out their moral duty toward their own people. Indeed, the religious values of the Lulua people were guarded by their art. Sculptures of females were quite popular among them, as these figures exemplified â€Å"the union of physical and moral beautify (â€Å"Figurative Sculpture†). † The Lulua people believed in equating proper behavior with physical beauty (â€Å"Figurative Sculpture†). It can be inferred that the Figure of a Mother Holding a Child and all other sculptures created for the same reason were reminders for the Lulua people that the human body cannot be separated from morality. This principle is clearly exemplified by the bond between mother and child. Conclusion We focused on the political conditions surrounding the artist of Wedding of Mary and Joseph. Societal context of Renoir’s painting, Acrobats At The Cirque Fernando, was explored with a brief overview of gender relations in 19th century Paris. This study may have been conducted with historical information gleaned through novels, too. Finally, the cultural context of Figure of a Mother Holding a Child was explored. Although this discussion was centered on political, societal and cultural contexts of three works of art, it was clarified as part of the discussion that an artwork may be appreciated in any number of ways. There are countless theories and innumerable stories about the history of mankind. What is more, every piece of artwork tells a tale about the space and time of its artist alone. The work lives on as students of art and historians delve into paintings over and again. Any number of assumptions could be made about the situational context of an artwork thus. Perhaps, therefore, it is reasonable to state that a work of art has as many minds as interpreters as the number of people that consider the artwork through the passage of time. Moreover, only assumptions can be made about the situational context of an artwork. History is best left to those that lived it. After all, we only make educated guesses about what people of the past lived through to gather useful information for our lives in the present. Works Cited Bennett, Caroline. â€Å"Art and Architecture. † Viva Travel Guides. 11 Nov 2008. http://www. vivatravelguides. com/south-america/peru/peru-overview/art-and-architecture/. â€Å"Figurative Sculpture. † Central African Art. 11 Nov 2008. http://africa. si. edu/exhibits/journey/figurative. html. â€Å"Figure of a Mother Holding a Child. † Brooklyn Museum Collections: African Art. 11 Nov 2008. http://www. brooklynmuseum. org/collections/african_art/50. 124. php. Lea, Henry C. â€Å"Inquisition in 17th Century Peru: Cases of Portuguese Judaizers. † Modern History Sourcebook. 11 Nov 2008. http://www. fordham. edu/halsall/mod/17c-lea-limainquis. html. â€Å"Lulua Tribe: Democratic Republic of Congo. † For African Art. 2006. 11 Nov 2008. http://www. forafricanart. com/Lulua_ep_56-1. html. Mancoff, Debra N. â€Å"Paintings by Pierre-Auguste Renoir. † How Stuff Works. 2008. 11 Nov 2008. http://entertainment. howstuffworks. com/paintings-by-pierre-auguste-renoir7. htm.

Essay and Art Essay Example for Free

Essay and Art Essay In the essay Pablo Picasso: Living in His Own Shadow, author Ellen Goodman uses fact, emotion and personal experience to illustrate the cycles of creating and aging, living in the limelight and passing on the torch. Goodman captures the sadness and the beauty of being replaced or falling out of fame while using Picasso and his works as an example of how even the most talented of persons must succumb to limitation. Goodman makes a point that some artists graciously recognize when it is time to cease their works but others persist despite the fact that their prime has passed. According to Goodman, Pablo Picasso represents the limitations in which we all must recognize but also the beauty in rebellion and persistence. Goodman juxtaposes Picasso against many famous people who like Picasso grew old and eventually had to admit that they could no longer perform at peak performance. â€Å"It is said that when Picasso was a teenager, his artist-father gave the boy his own palette, brushers and colors, and never painted again, (LoRocco Coughlin, 1995, p. 198).† This actually seems to be factual. When Picasso was 13-years-old his father gave up painting admitting that his son had surpassed him in skill, (Pablo Picasso, n.d.). It is interesting that Goodman introduced the essay using this example considering the entire essay is about artists and well known figures who did not step out of the spotlight when their time was due.   Ã¢â‚¬Å"We feel sad that Joe DiMaggio sells coffee makers and uncomfortable that Willie Mays ‘stayed too long.’ Few of us know how to deal with the man or woman who ‘used to be’ somebody, (LoRocco Coughlin, p. 199).† Goodman describes her personal feelings when reviewing Picasso’s work at an art exhibit. She states that although Picasso was an exceptional artist at every age his later work is lacking in many ways. Goodman uses her observations to express sympathy toward Picasso as opposed to disdain for his later works. â€Å"Yet as we wandered through the last thirty years of his life, you could see it all slip. The exhibit kindly excludes the commercial peace doves and greeting card poster art of the last few years. But still, it is easy to see the versatility turning frenetic – the search turning downhill. There is even a sense that perhaps he began to imitate himself – not just create but to create ‘Picasso,’ (LoRocco Coughlin, p. 198).† In essence Goodman shows contempt for Joe DiMaggio and Willie Mays yet for Picasso Goodman expresses a sense of being perplexed and full of wonder, similar to her response to other artists including Frank Sinatra and Tennessee Williams. â€Å"It is something I have thought before. I’ve though of it whenever Tennessee Williams turns up in the news, alive but rarely well, writing poorly in comparison to his own brilliant retrospectives. I’ve thought of it when Frank Sinatra goes on stage, all blue eyes and strained vocal cords. They are pale versions of themselves, (LoRocco Coughlin, p. 198).† But was Picasso a â€Å"pale version† of himself? According to Goodman there was a sense of grace and rebellion in the fact that Picasso worked until his death. â€Å"There is something, not sad but remarkable, in this refusal to ‘act his age,’ or retire gracefully. Surrounded by his own collection of his favorite cubist work, he must have known his limits. But out of compulsion or conviction he kept working.† It is true that Picasso worked rigorously until his death. â€Å"Death holds no fear for me,’ Picasso recently told a friend. ‘It holds a kind of beauty. What I am afraid of is falling ill and not being able to work. That’s lost time, (Time, 1973,  ¶ 1).† Picasso, as opposed to Mays and DiMaggio, did not work to make extra funds doing something which reminds us of their failing talents, like sell coffeemakers, Picasso worked to work. He created for the enjoyment of creating. His final work may have been pale in comparison to the masterpieces of his youth but as Goodman points out everything in life pales in comparison with youth. â€Å"Living in your own shadow is a problem of aging athletes and beautiful women and artists and actors and, to an extent, all of us, (LoRocco Coughlin, 1995, p. 198).† Goodman’s experience at the exhibit for Picasso’s art left her contemplating what it would be like to find oneself living in a world where the past constantly haunts the present. She expresses the sadness of this by using examples of other artists and athletes who have made history and then faced limitations. But living with ones past is part of life and the limitations associated with aging do not have to be stifling. â€Å"Creation,’ Picasso said. ‘Is the only thing that interests me, (LoRocco Coughlin, 1995, p. 199).† This statement must have been true for Picasso, who spent his entire life creating despite the fact that his later years are not defined as his most influencial in terms of artistic expression. References LoRocco, C., Coughlin, J. (1995). The Art of Work: An Anthology of Workplace Literature (1st Edition ed.). : Glencoe/McGraw Hill. Pablo Picasso. (n.d.). Retrieved Jan. 4, 2009, from Wikipedia: www.wikipedia.com Time, H. (1973, April 23, 1973). Pablo Picasso’s Last Days and Final Journey. Time Magazine, .

Muscle Contraction Electrical

Muscle Contraction Electrical Experiment 5: Muscle Structure and Function Introduction Muscles are found almost any parts of our body. They can be classified in to 2 types (smooth muscle and striated muscle) based on their morphology and functions. The function unit of muscle cells is called sarcomere. The mechanism of all muscles contraction is generally the same that is based on the sliding-filament theory involving the interaction of the contractile proteins actin and myosin. Muscles are very important in locomotion, eating process, sound production and etc. different types and patterns of electrical signals will result in different muscle contraction. The aim of this experiment is to study the muscle contractions when applying electrical signal to a nervous system. The sciatic nerve of the frog was electrically stimulated to mimic the physiological trains of action potentials traveling down the nerve and its innervated muscle. When sciatic nerve was stimulated electrically, it depolarized and generates an action potential which passing along the nerve to gastrocnemius muscle through neuromuscular junction. Gastrocnemius muscle depolarized by the incoming electrical signal and contracted in respond. As a result, the gastrocnemius muscle that located on the upper legs of frog will contract. By adjusting the intensity and frequency of stimulation, the contraction pattern of a single twitch, temporal summation, tetanus and fatigue of muscle were examined. Procedure Please refer to the lab manual P.54- P.62, except In part C, students are not required to do single twitch. 2. P.62 Part D Step 8 = stimulate the muscle with electrode (not the clamp) Precaution 1. Dont touch the nerve with metal (use the glass rod instead), otherwise, no electrical current Rinse nerve and muscle with Ringer water regularly to keep them alive. Leave enough muscle for femur clamp to hold the sample. Dont damage the nerve. Result Part A: Single muscle twitch

Performance Analysis of Littleton Manufacturing Essay -- Business Anal

Performance Analysis of Littleton Manufacturing   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Littleton Manufacturing facilitates poor upward and downward communication throughout all levels of the organization.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  As a result of the ineffective communication system, Littleton faces a number of issues which ultimately has affected the bottom line of the company. Key challenges to note are low employee morale, low level of unity within the organization, poorly designed organizational structure and confusion in interpreting procedures and rules. Improving the accuracy and speed of the flow of communication should be an important first step in the resolution of the presented issues, thus allowing the organization to function more effectively and efficiently.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The importance of organizations and their reasons for existence are outlined in Exhibit 1. Littleton currently is performing poorly across all of these factors, decreasing their importance and contribution towards society. Littleton is categorized as a large-batch, mass production manufacturing system (Daft, 246). Based on this, Littleton should be, but aren ¡Ã‚ ¯t carrying out properly, a mechanistic organizational structure with standardized jobs and formalized procedures to ensure efficiency (Daft, 248). Top management seems to be aware of this point, but they are not communicating the rationale and need for a mechanistic structure to the rest of the organization. Littleton ¡Ã‚ ¯s two units (fabrication and components) serve different domains and therefore  ¡Ã‚ °have different performance and accountability needs ¡Ã‚ ±. Although these two units obviously require different structures, they are viewed and treated as one by management and employees, which causes communication barriers through inconsistencies in management style and rule implementation.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  All three symptoms of structural deficiency are present at Littleton. There is delay and lack of quality in decision making. Information linkages in either the vertical or horizontal direction may be inadequate to ensure decision quality (Daft, 120). The organization does not respond innovatively to a changing environment, this is caused by the fact that departments are not coordinated horizontally (Daft, 120). Also, too much conflict is evident. Organization structure has to specify a single set of goals for the entire organization (Daft, 120). Littleton seems to have a lack of st... ...a are further clarified in appendix 2. ?6 ¦1  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Enhance both upward and downward communication across all levels of the organization ?6 ¦1  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Improve management effectiveness ?6 ¦1  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Help improve employee morale ?6 ¦1  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Feasible in regards to cost ?6 ¦1  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Be timely and enable Littleton to adapt to changes quickly. The following alternatives were generated for Winslow to consider implementing: 1.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Sell off either the Fabrications of Components part of Littleton. 2.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Redesign the organizational structure emphasizing an effective and efficient communication process. 3.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Initiate job rotation/cross training between departments. 4.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Continue to function as it currently is. Exhibit 1 (Daft, 13) Organizations exist to do the following 1.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Bring together resources to achieve desired goals and outcomes 2.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Produce goods and services efficiently 3.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Facilitate innovation 4.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Use modern manufacturing and information technologies 5.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Adapt to and influence a changing environment 6.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Create value for owners, customers, and employees 7.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Accommodate ongoing challenges of diversity, ethics, and the motivation and coordination of employees

Internet :: essays research papers

  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The Recording Industry   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  We all listen to music wether we want to or not. Its in our homes, watching TV, driving in our car, going to the store, its unavoidable. Then why is the recording Industry trying to make people feel guilty about burning â€Å"illegal† CDs, when we can go to the mall and hear as much music for free as we want . I for one will never feel guilty because I always support the artist I download, by buying his/her cd’s or going to their concerts. The industry has always been about money instead of music. They are just mad because consumers have finally figured them out.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The first record created was in eighteen-seventy-seven. The song was Mary Had a Little Lamb. The artist/Inventor was Thomas Edison. Edison had created the worlds first phonograph, capable of playing back up to two to three minutes worth of recordings. His invention started a cultural revolution that went hand in hand with its cousin, the industrial revolution. The idea that sound could be recorded and played back at our pleasure was astonishing. I’ am sure no one had in mind the endless profits one could make. Profit was a word that would be associated with music about thirteen years later, because in eighteen-ninety the jukebox was first introduced at a bar in San Francisco. In it’s first six months of operation the coin operated machine grossed over one- thousand dollars. It did not take a genius to realize that the United State’s was home to thousand’s of bar’s each capable of making equal or greater value. Thus music and mone y became synonymous. Singer’s and songwriter’s were no longer artists, but commodities.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Along with money comes greed and in nineteen-hundred when Thomas Lambert invented a way of mass-duplicating his patent of â€Å"indestructible† phonograph cylinder’s, and although the patent was upheld in court, costly lawsuit’s filed by Edison put him out of business just seven years after his invention.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Record’s became an instant hit with the American public. People were flocking to bar’s to listen to recorded sound. The library of congress began recording and saving â€Å"Sounds of America† to preserve popular and influential music of the time, everything from bluegrass to classical. It was no surprise that the general public soon yearned for their own way of playing record’s from the comfort and privacy of their home’s. In 1906 a company called victor introduced a enclosed phonograph player that had been designed to look like a piece of furniture.