Jetblue Ipo Pricing Essay Example

Jetblue Ipo Pricing Paper 1. Introduction An initial public offering (IPO) is defined as the first offering of shares by a private company to the public. A share is one of a finite number of equal portions of the capital of a company that entitles the shareholder to a proportion of distributed, non-reinvested profits known as dividends, and to a portion of the value of the company in case of liquidation. Shares can be either voting or non-voting, meaning that the shareholder may have the right to vote on the board of directors and thus the corporate policy (Draho, 2004). The money the private company raises through the issuance of shares is either transferred to the original investors of the company, used to pay-off existing debt, used to finance operating expenses, or, is used to fund future company projects. The ability to conduct an IPO efficiently and effectively encourages entrepreneurship and economic growth through increasing the availability of equity and lowering the cost of equity finance (Kleeburg, 2005). The following report introduces a generic process of an IPO without detailing specifics for an individual country or region. The advantages and disadvantages of choosing an IPO to raise capital is then discussed followed by an examination of the various pricing and allocation techniques that are commonly adopted in the IPO. The final section uses the 2002 IPO of JetBlue as a case study to demonstrate the accuracy and effectiveness of the discussed pricing techniques. 2. The IPO Process Jenkinson and Ljungqvist (2001) define 5 generic steps that are required to be undertaken in the process of raising equity through an IPO: We will write a custom essay sample on Jetblue Ipo Pricing specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Jetblue Ipo Pricing specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Jetblue Ipo Pricing specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer Figure 2. 1 – Five generic steps undertaken in the process of an IPO Each of the 5 steps are briefly discussed in the following section paying particular attention to the role of the investment bank and the pricing and allocation decision. 2. 1. The Choice of Market It is important to note that the act of ‘going public’ has two distinct requirements: †¢Investors who are willing to purchase the shares †¢Exchange regulatory conditions that companies must meet Historically, the first aspect of finding investors has not been of great concern, however, given the increasing levels of integration of global financial markets companies are able to select the market that best suits their requirements. The choice of market is therefore essentially focussed on ensuring that there is enough depth within the market so that the company can raise the amount of equity required and that the company is able to comply with the regulations imposed by the stock exchanges and their regulatory bodies (Jenkinson and Ljungqvist, 2001). . 2. Producing a Prospectus The second stage of an IPO is the preparation and lodgement of a prospectus with the market regulatory authorities. A prospectus sets out the terms of the equity issue and provides information on the financial and management performance of the issuing company. It is used to ensure adequate information is provided so that investors can make an informed investment decision (ASX, 2008). Investment banks ar e usually engaged to assist in the preparation of the prospectus to ensure due diligence has been performed. Due diligence refers to the process of providing reasonable grounds that there is nothing in the prospectus that is misleading, and typically involves reviewing company contracts and tax returns, visiting company offices and facilities and interviewing company and industry personnel (Draho, 2004). This prospectus usually includes either a fixed price for the offer (where a predetermined price has been established) or an initial price range (a first ‘best guess’ on the price) that have been determined by the investment bank. With the latter technique the initial price range is usually modified throughout the remaining stages of the IPO (Brau and Fawcett, 2006). 2. 3. Marketing Having produced a prospectus, the next stage is marketing the issue to investors. This marketing can take place in a variety of forms and usually involves a road show, where the issuing firm and the investment bank conduct presentations to a high concentration of institutional investors. Where the offer price has already been established (i. e. fixed price offering) the main purpose of the marketing stage is to elicit bids from investors. Where an indicative price range has been given, the key purpose is to produce expressions of interest and thus begin the process of book building. Book building encompasses the collating of non-legally binding offers of price and quantity that is used to develop a demand curve and thus a more accurate price range for the subscription (Geddes, 2003). An important aspect that influences the marketin g technique is the role of the investment bank as the underwriter. Underwriting can be in the form of a firm commitment, where the investment bank accepts the risk of the issue by agreeing to purchase any securities that had not been subscribed, or on a best efforts basis, where the investment bank agrees to only use its expertise to sell the securities to the best of their abilities (Jenkinson and Ljungqvist, 2001). 2. 4. Pricing and Allocation Where a fixed priced is initially established, it is typical for either heavy over or under subscription to occur. In these cases, allocation methods such as pro rata allocation, retail investor bias allocation or random allocation are utilised depending on the policies imposed by the market regulators (Jenkinson and Ljungqvist, 2001). Where book building has occurred, if the issue is oversubscribed the allocation is typically based on either a common strike price (where a single price is quoted and allocation is based on the amount of information contained in the bid and/or the investor reputation), or, allocation and pricing starting from the highest bid downward until the issue demand is fully met (Draho, 2004). . 5. After the IPO Once the final pricing and allocation decisions have been made, trading in the shares usually commences within a few days. In some countries it is typical for the investment bank to be involved in a price stabilisation process where the principal purpose is to protect the downward price pressure once trading begins. This process of price stabilisation is usually linked with the granting of an over-allotment option (typically 15% of the total number of shares issued) which have usually been sold during the marketing process (Geddes, 2003). 3. Advantages / Disadvantages of the IPO Decision There are considerable advantages with obtaining equity through the IPO process. There are, however, some drawbacks that also need to be taken into consideration. Table 3. 1 outlines the key advantages and disadvantages as outlined by Fishman (1993). AdvantagesDisadvantages The partners can obtain a true value of the shares they possess in the companyThe market is extremely unpredictable and an unsuccessful IPO can result in a great loss of time as well as money for the company Partners can remove their signatures from the lines of credit and thus, are no longer personally liable to the creditorsThe ownership of the partners is dissolved and they become mere employees who are responsible to the shareholders and Board of Directors The overall financial condition of a company is improved as it brings in non-refundable moneyContinuous dealing with shareholders and the press is a time-consuming process A broader capital base gives the company more access to credit which gives the company an option to venture into new business opportunitiesShareholders judge the performance of the company on the basis of the profits and stock price and may cause managers to overlook the long-term strategic objectives Capital raised in an IPO can be used to pay off debt and t hus reduce the interest costs and enhance the company’s debt to equity ratioThe company needs to make nation-wide presentations about its performance to the interested shareholders, brokers and the investment bankers The value of the stock may see an upward trend thus increasing the initial investors financial wealthThe company’s continued success may bring a lot of close scrutiny by the public When a company goes public, it attracts the attention of the media and financial community thus providing free publicity and helps in creating a better corporate imageLarge amounts of fees and expenses are associated with a public company on a continual basis commissions, advertising costs, securities exchange fees etc. By going public and listing on a stock exchange it can directly foster public reputation in general Table 3. – Advantages and disadvantages of going public through the IPO process 4. IPO Valuation Techniques Deriving a value for an IPO is the critical par t of the process. In both fixed price and book building offers some form of initial price must be determined by the investment bank. The key methods that are used to determine the value of a company and thus the initial IPO price include (Geddes, 2003): †¢Discounting Methods – based on a firms intrinsic value (future cash flows) †¢Comparable Multiples Method: value based on similar publicly traded companies 4. 1. Discounting Methods Theoretically, the price of a share is derived by discounting all future cash flows that accrue to shareholders. These techniques are used throughout industry, however, they do suffer in practical application due to the risk associated with forecasting both revenue and expenses (Draho, 2004). The two most frequently used discounting methods include the discounted free cash flows (DCF) and a residual income model (RIM). 4. 1. 1. Discounted Free Cash Flows Free cash flows are defined as the cash flows from operations after investment in working capital and any capital expenditures. These cash flows are considered more appropriate than accounting earnings which include non cash items such as depreciation that cannot be used to pay shareholders. Cash flows are used to pay dividends and thus capture true value for the investor. These cash flows are then discounted using a risk adjusted rate. The rate is estimated either by using the capital asset pricing model (CAPM) for a 100% equity company or by calculating the weighted average cost of capital of the firm’s debt and equity (Geddes, 2003). 4. 1. 2. Residual Income Model The DCF model requires accounting earnings to be converted to cash flows. This is considered inappropriate as accounting values do not take into consideration the time value of money and may be subject to manipulation by way of accounting methods. The RIM is similar to the DCF method in that both methods use a risk adjusted discount rate. The RIM model, however, utilises the difference between the realised earnings and the expected earnings, where the expected earnings is the cost of equity multiplied by the start of period equity book value (Draho, 2004). 4. 2. Comparable Multiples This is the most common method used by investment banks to value IPO’s. Its fundamental approach is the comparison of ratios of companies that operate in similar businesses that possess the same characteristics of risk, current and future profitability and growth prospects (Geddes, 2003). There are number of ratios that can be used under this method, the most common being: †¢Price/Earnings multiples †¢Price/EBIT †¢Market value/Book value †¢Price/sales The successful application of this method lies in choosing an appropriate comparison company. One method used by practitioners is to select up to 10 company’s operating within the same industry and to use the group’s median multiple to value the issuer. The second and most common method is to select 3-4 companies that are direct competitors within the particular industry to the issuer. The third method is to use multiples of firms that have recently gone public assuming all issuers share common valuation multiples (Jenkinson and Ljungqvist, 2001). Comparable multiples is a popular method to value an IPO due to its simplicity and accuracy (Richardson and Tinaikar 2004). With the use of multiples there is no need to estimate the cost of capital, neither is there a need to depend on forecasted earnings and assumptions of valuation models. The use of multiples is supported by the idea that relevant ratios capture the markets estimate of risk and growth (Zarowin, 1990). 5. JetBlue Pricing Table 5. shows the results of utilising the techniques discussed in the previous section for determining the share price for the 2002 JetBlue IPO (for complete calculations see Appendix 1 and 2). The initial subscription price of the IPO was given by th e investment bank (in this case Morgan Stanley) at $22-$24 and this was revised to $25-$26 during the book building process. MethodShare Price ($) Discounted Cash Flow Free Cash Flows$94. 00 Industry Averages Price / Earnings Multiples$40. 38 Market Value / Book Value$115. 22 Price / EBIT$33. 13 EBIT Multiple Leading$38. 92 Competitor Averages Price / Earnings Multiples$97. 06 Market Value / Book Value$274. 54 Price / EBIT$88. 33 EBIT Multiple Leading$65. 10 Recent IPOs EBIT Multiple Leading$40. 37 Table 5. 1 – Share prices for the JetBlue IPO using the different techniques It should be noted that the JetBlue opening share price, this being the price of the stock at the end of the first day of trading, was $50. 30 demonstrating that the IPO was heavily underpriced. The price peaked in September 2003 at just above $90. 00. JetBlue’s current trading price is approximately $17. 21 (after adjusting its actual price of $5. 10 for the three 3:2 share splits and dividends distributed). This shows that there has been a significant loss since the shares began trading in April 2002 (for historical monthly stock price data see Appendix 3). This could reflect either changing market conditions since the IPO or inadequate pricing techniques used at the time of the IPO. Table 5. 1 demonstrates the wide range of share prices that can be achieved depending on the technique that is adopted. The free cash flows technique utilised Southwest Airlines data, assumptions for the airline industry and cash flows given from JetBlue management (see Appendix 1). This value was quite high but reflects high investor demand which took the share price above $90. 00. Of the comparable multiple techniques, the industry average and recent IPO methods reflect the first day closing price, whereas, the competitor average technique reflects similar results to the discounted cash flow technique. Recognising that the discounted cash flow method utilises data for Southwest Airlines that may not accurately represent JetBlue’s conditions, a sensitivity analysis was conducted (see table 5. 2). The four variables that were examined were the horizontal growth rate, the beta (a measure of company returns relative to market returns), the credit rating and the debt to equity ratio. VariableShare Price ($) Growth Rate Forecasted4%$94. 00 Optimistic5%$133. 44 Conservative3%$64. 18 Beta Forecasted1. 3$94. 00 Optimistic1. 1$149. 74 Conservative1. 5$52. 78 Credit Rating (spread) ForecastedBa (3. 00%)$94. 00 OptimisticBaa (1. 50%)$96. 37 ConservativeB (5. 0%)$90. 90 Debt / Equity Ratio Forecasted5. 0%$94. 00 Optimistic10. 0%$108. 03 Conservative2. 5%$86. 96 Table 5. 2 – Sensitivity analysis of share price for fluctuations in the growth rate, beta and credit spread Changes in the value of beta, the perpetual growth rate and the debt to equity ratio provide considerable variatio n in the calculated share price. Credit rating had little influence over the final value. As the premise of the discounting cash flow method is the forecasting of data, this sensitivity analysis demonstrates that caution should be used when relying on this technique given the uncertainty of forecasting information. 6. Conclusion In conclusion, the initial public offering (IPO) process involves a decision on which market is used to raise the funds, the preparation of a prospectus to meet regulatory conditions, marketing of the issuance to institutional investors and a pricing and allocation decision based on the type of subscription that is being offered (fixed price or book building). The key challenge for both the issuing firm and potential investors is the pricing of the shares. The two key techniques of discounted cash flows and comparable multiples, demonstrate that considerable variation in value can occur depending on the technique used. The reliability and accuracy of forecasted and historical data is also of considerable importance in ensuring accurate pricing. In order to overcome many of the disadvantages of an IPO, accurate pricing is paramount to ensure ongoing investor involvement. To draw any conclusion on the accuracy of techniques from this case study would be inappropriate, however, the complexities of the pricing decision has been quite clearly demonstrated. 7. Reference List Australian Securities Exchange. (2008, February 29). Listing on ASX. Retrieved April 23, 2008, from http://www. asx. com. au/professionals/listing/index. htm Brau, J. Fawcett, S. (2006). Initial public offerings: An analysis of theory and practice. The Journal of Finance, 61(1), 399-436. Draho, J. (2004). The IPO Decision: Why and How Companies Go Public. Cheltenham, UK: Edward Elgar Publishing. Fabozzi, F. Modigliani, F. (2003). Capital Markets: Institutions and Instruments (2nd ed. ). New Jersey, Prentice Hall. Fishman, L. (1993). Going public: The pro’s and cons. The Secured Lender. 49(4), 58-60. Geddes, R. (2003). IPO’s and Equity Offerings. Oxford, UK. Butterworth-Heinemann. Jenkinson, T. Ljungqvist, A. (2001). Going Public: The Theory and Evidence on How Companies Raise Equity Finance (2nd ed. ). United States: Oxford University Press Inc. Kleeburg, R. (2005). Initial Public Offering. Ohio, Thomson. Richardson, Gordon D, and Surjit Tinaikar. (2004). Accounting based valuation models: what have we learned? Accounting and Finance, 44(2), 223-255. Zarowin, Paul. 1990. What determines earnings-price ratios: Revisited. Journal of Accounting, Auditing Finance, 5(3), 455-457.

Chapter Nine Summary essays

Chapter Nine Summary essays In this section of the book, Paul finally understands what the war is about and why he is there. But he learned this grim reality after a traumatizing event. He begins to see the devastation and agony the war brings accompanied with its empty heart. After being reassigned to a flank that is brought in whenever the battle plans go wrong, Paul prepares for battle. But he is reassured knowing his faithful comrades, Kat and Albert, are at his side. But Kat and Albert cant assist him with his mind struggle for the company of his mother. While conversing with Kat and Albert, Pauls hunger can be contained no longer and he pulls out his mothers potato-cakes. Paul pauses for a minute and pictures his mother in front of a hot stove with a broken heart. Pauls thought of this brings him to tears, but he must push this to the depths of his heart in preparation for the arrival of the Kaiser. The soldiers spirits are lifted after being handed new equipment that shunned their old ones. Paul and his comrades begin to converse of the war and the Kaisers arrival which erupts into a debate of who is the enemy and who is the good guy. They regard that both sides are defending their homes and their fatherland so it stands to reason of who is committing wrong doing. This debate then strikes up an argument of how the war could have been avoided, but Tjaden clears the air with the view that the war will bear peace for future generations. Following the inspection of camp by the Kaiser, the soldiers become enraged after finding out that the new equipment was only a front for the Kaisers inspection. Paul feels safety after hearing he and his flank will be going to Russia because of rumors going around camp, but he discovers that it was actually a rumor. He will just be going through the forest, up the line once again. In the forest is w...

ACT Score Chart Raw Score Conversion to Scaled Score

ACT Score Chart Raw Score Conversion to Scaled Score SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips If you've taken an ACT practice test, you've probably wondered how the questions you answer on each test section translate to a final score out of 36 points. What is a raw ACT score? What about a scale score? How does one score affect the other? In this article, we explain what the equating process for the ACT is and give you info on how your raw scores translate to scale scores for each section of the test. What Is a Raw ACT Score? A Scale ACT Score? First off, what do we mean by "raw ACT scores" and "scale ACT scores"? Your raw score is the total number of questions you get right in a section. This goes for English, Math, Reading, and Science (Writing, however, is scored a bit differently). For example, if you got 70 out of 75 English questions right, your raw English score would be 70. By contrast, a scale score is the final score you get for each section, on a scale of 1-36. Specifically, it's a translation of your raw score via an equating process developed by ACT, Inc. If you've taken ACT practice tests, you probably noticed that your raw scores don't always translate into the same scale scores. Through this equating process, ACT, Inc., can account for differences and ultimately ensure that scores are consistent across test dates. This means, for example, that a 30 on the April ACT will represent the same level of skill as a 30 on the June ACT will. Confused? Let's use an example. Say you took the ACT in September and your friend took a different ACT in October. Both of you got 22 out of 40 questions right on the Reading section, but your friend scored a 21 scale Reading score while you only scored a 19. What gives? Remember that the same scale scores on different ACTs indicate the same ability. Thus, this 2-point difference doesn't mean that your friend simply lucked out- it means that your friend got a harder ACT Reading section than you did. In other words, because your Reading section was easier, you would've needed to score more raw points (i.e., get more questions right) on it to get the same scale score (21) as your friend. Raw ACT Score to Scale Score Conversion Chart As you know, equating an ACT raw score to a scale score allows for comparisons between various test versions and all test takers (regardless of what month or year you took the ACT). But how can you know exactly how a raw score will convert into a scale score? The short answer is, you can't. ACT, Inc., is pretty secretive about its equating process, so there's no way to know for sure how a raw score on one ACT will translate into a scale score. What's more, since every official ACT test is equated differently, each has its own raw-score-to-scale-score conversion chart. For example, here are the conversion charts for the 2018-19 and 2017-2018 official ACT practice tests (from the "Preparing for the ACT" PDF): 2018-2019 Scale Score English Math Reading Science Scale Score 36 74-75 59-60 40 40 36 35 71-73 57-58 38-39 - 35 34 70 55-56 37 39 34 33 69 54 36 38 33 32 68 53 34-35 - 32 31 67 51-52 33 37 31 30 66 49-50 32 36 30 29 64-65 47-48 31 - 29 28 63 45-46 30 35 28 27 61-62 42-44 - 34 27 26 59-60 39-41 29 32-33 26 25 56-68 37-38 28 31 25 24 53-55 34-36 26-27 29-30 24 23 50-52 32-33 25 26-28 23 22 47-49 31 23-24 24-25 22 21 44-46 29-30 22 22-23 21 20 41-43 27-28 20-21 20-21 20 19 39-40 25-26 19 18-19 19 18 37-38 22-24 18 17 18 17 35-36 19-21 16-17 15-16 17 16 32-34 16-18 15 14 16 15 29-31 13-15 14 13 15 14 26-28 10-12 12-13 -12 14 13 24-25 8-9 10 13 12 22-23 7 10 9 12 19-21 5-6 8-9 8 10 16-18 4 7 7 10 9 13-15 - 6 6 9 8 -12 3 5 5 8 7 9-10 - - 4 7 6 7-8 2 4 3 6 5 6 - 3 - 5 4 4-5 1 2 2 4 3 3 - - 1 3 2 2 - 1 - 2 1 0-1 0 0 0 1 2018-19 Official ACT Score Chart 2017-2018 Scale Score English Math Reading Science Scale Score 36 75 60 40 40 36 35 72-74 58-59 39 39 35 34 71 57 38 38 34 33 70 55-56 37 37 33 32 68-69 54 35-36 - 32 31 67 52-53 34 36 31 30 66 50-51 33 35 30 29 65 48-49 32 34 29 28 63-64 45-47 31 33 28 27 62 43-44 30 32 27 26 60-61 40-42 29 30-31 26 25 58-59 38-39 28 28-29 25 24 56-57 36-37 27 26-27 24 23 53-55 34-35 25-26 24-25 23 22 51-52 32-33 24 22-23 22 21 48-50 30-31 22-23 21 21 20 45-47 29 21 19-20 20 19 43-44 27-28 19-20 17-18 19 18 41-42 24-26 18 16 18 17 39-40 21-23 17 14-15 17 16 36-38 17-20 15-16 13 16 15 32-35 13-16 14 12 15 14 29-31 -12 12-13 14 13 27-28 8-10 10 13 12 25-26 7 9-10 9 12 23-24 5-6 8 8 10 20-22 4 6-7 7 10 9 18-19 - - 5-6 9 8 15-17 3 5 - 8 7 12-14 - 4 4 7 6 10- 2 3 3 6 5 8-9 - - 2 5 4 6-7 1 2 - 4 3 4-5 - - 1 3 2 2-3 - 1 - 2 1 0-1 0 0 0 1 2017-18 Official ACT Score Chart You can see here that raw ACT scores from different tests don't always convert into the same scale scores. As a result, there's no one-size-fits-all chart you can use to predict score conversions. ACTs are like shoes: one size doesn't fit all of them! That said, if you want to estimate a raw-score-to-scale-score conversion, you can use any available conversion chart from an official ACT practice test. While it won't be 100 percent accurate, it can give you a good understanding of where you need improvement. Another (better) option is to use the chart below. This chart shows how raw ACT scores generally translate into scale scores on any ACT. We calculated these raw scores (and score ranges) by taking the averages of the raw scores for each scale score on all six official ACT score charts. Once again, while this chart won't give you a perfectly accurate conversion (the most accurate ACT score chart will be the one for your specific test), it's as close as we can get to a "one-size-fits-all" ACT score conversion chart. Scale Score English Math Reading Science Scale Score 36 75 60 40 40 36 35 73-74 58-59 39 39 35 34 71-72 57 37-38 - 34 33 70 55-56 36 37-38 33 32 69 54 - - 32 31 68 52-53 35 - 31 30 67 51 34 36 30 29 65-66 49-50 33 35 29 28 64 47-48 31-32 34 28 27 62-63 44-46 30 33 27 26 60-61 41-43 29 31-32 26 25 58-59 39-40 28 29-30 25 24 55-57 37-38 27 28 24 23 53-54 35-36 25-26 26-27 23 22 51-52 33-34 24 24-25 22 21 48-50 31-32 23 22-23 21 20 45-47 29-30 21-22 20-21 20 19 42-44 28.000 20 18-19 19 18 40-41 25-27 19 17 18 17 38-39 21-24 18 15-16 17 16 35-37 18-20 16-17 14 16 15 32-34 14-17 15 13 15 14 29-31 -13 13-14 -12 14 13 27-28 9-10 12 10 13 12 25-26 7-8 10- 9 12 24 6 8-9 8 10 20-23 5 7 7 10 9 18-19 4 6 6 9 8 15-17 3 5 5 8 7 12-14 - 4 4 7 6 10- 2 - 3 6 5 8-9 - 3 2 5 4 6-7 1 2 - 4 3 4-5 - - 1 3 2 2-3 - 1 - 2 1 0-1 0 0 0 1 As you can see, your raw ACT scores don't tell you much about how your scores compare with those of other test takers. Since each ACT differs in content and difficulty, you'll need your test's conversion chart in order to get accurate scale scores and be able to compare your scores with other students'. Scale scores, on the other hand, reflect how well you did in relation to other test takers who took any variation of the ACT. So if a test is relatively easy and more people did better on it than usual, higher raw scores will be needed to get certain scale scores. By contrast, if a test is especially difficult, slightly lower raw scores will net you those same scale scores. If you took the ACT with Writing, note that your ACT Writing score is not part of your composite score out of 36. While colleges generally look closest at your composite score, a high essay score can definitely raise your chances of admission, so be sure to do your best on it! Want to improve your ACT score by 4 points? Tired of wasting time prepping in ways that don't work? We have the industry's leading ACT prep program. Built by Harvard grads and ACT full scorers, the program learns your strengths and weaknesses through advanced statistics, then customizes your prep program to you so you get the most effective prep possible. It's the best prep program available right now. Best of all, we guarantee your money back if you don't improve your score by 4 points or more. Check out our 5-day free trial today: Improve Your ACT Score by 4+ Points, Guaranteed How to Calculate Your Scale ACT Score: 4 Easy Steps Now that you've seen how official ACT score charts work, how can you use them to estimate your own scale scores based on your raw scores from an ACT practice test? Follow the four simple steps below to get started. Step 1: Find the ACT Score Chart for Your Test If you've taken an official ACT practice test, your score chart will come near the end of the test PDF. For example, if you took the newest 2017-18 ACT test, you'll use the score chart that comes at the end of this test (pictured above). Don't use a chart from a different practice test. Each test is equated differently, so you'll get the most accurate scale score when you use the chart for your specific test. What if you took an unofficial ACT practice test, though? In this case, it's best to use the average ACT score chart given above. While this won't be 100 percent accurate, it'll give you the closest idea you can get as to how your raw scores will likely translate into scale scores. Step 2: Calculate Your Raw Score for Each Section Now that you've got a score chart, it's time to calculate your raw scores for each section. To do this, simply use your test's answer key to add up all the correct answers you got on each ACT section. For example, if you answered 60 out of 75 English questions correctly, your raw English score would be 60. I recommend writing down your raw scores on a piece of paper so you don't forget them. Step 3: Convert Your Raw Section Scores to Scale Scores Now, it's time to use your raw scores and score chart to find your ACT scale scores. Using a chart is simple: all you do is locate your raw score for each section and then look across to see which scale score it corresponds to. For example, if you took the 2017-18 practice test and got a raw English score of 60, your scale English score would come out to 26: Do this for every raw section score until you have four scale scores (each out of 36). Step 4: Figure Out Your Composite Scale Score Once you have your four scale scores (one each for English, Math, Reading, and Science), you can calculate your scale composite score, which uses a scale of 1-36 and is equivalent to the average of the four section (scale) scores. For example, let's say these were the scale scores I got on my practice ACT: English: 26 Math: 30 Reading: 28 Science: 27 To get a composite score, all I need to do is add up the four section scores and then divide their sum by four. In our example, this would look like this: 26 + 30 + 28 + 27 = 1. Now, I just need to divide this sum by 4: 1 / 4 = 27.75. If you get a decimal as I did, you'll need to round your score to the nearest whole number. Here, 27.75 would round up to give me a final composite ACT score of 28. Nearly every college and university in the United States accepts both SAT and ACT scores. However, for some of these schools, there is a significant difference between the level of SAT scores and the level of ACT scores of admitted students. What schools accept students with comparatively lower SAT scores, and what schools accept students with comparatively lower ACT scores? We've gathered our proprietary research on this topic and analysis of what these score differences mean for your testing and application strategies into a comprehensive guide. Final Words: The Importance of Raw and Scale ACT Scores There are two types of scores on the ACT: raw and scale scores. Raw scores are equal to the number of questions you answer correctly, whereas scale scores are final scaled versions of raw scores. How raw scores translate into scale scores can vary depending on the ACT or ACT practice test you take. ACT, Inc., uses this equating process so that the difficulty of different ACTs doesn't affect test takers' final scores. This process also allows scores to be compared across all test dates (in other words, a 30 will always represent the same skill level, regardless of when you take the ACT). To convert your raw ACT scores to scale scores, you'll need to find the score chart for your specific test. All official ACT practice tests have their own individual score charts (remember, these charts, and thus their raw-score-to-scale-score conversions, will differ with each test!). If you don't have a chart for your practice test, you can instead use the average conversions in our chart above. This won't give you perfect conversions, but they should be close enough to give you a rough idea of what your scale scores are. Calculating your scale scores is a super helpful tool for test prep- you'll not only see where you're currently scoring, but also how much you need to improve by in order to hit your ACT goal score! What’s Next? Got more questions about ACT scoring? Check out our articles on how the ACT is scored and ACT score percentiles to learn what the current trends are and how you can use this info to your advantage. Not sure what ACT score to aim for? Then definitely take a look at our in-depth guide to good and bad ACT scores to get tips on how to find your goal score. And if you're aiming for a perfect 36, read our expert guide written by a real full scorer! Need help interpreting your ACT results? We've got you covered! With our guide, you'll learn how to read your ACT score report as well as how to address your biggest content weaknesses. Want to improve your ACT score by 4+ points? Download our free guide to the top 5 strategies you need in your prep to improve your ACT score dramatically.

Geographic Information System on a civil engineering Research Paper

Geographic Information System on a civil engineering - Research Paper Example Key to this research is the various information software used in the analysis and presentation of civil engineering works. Introduction The GIS (geographic information system) is a modern scientific system and software capable of acquiring or capturing, recording, integrating and present in more clearly and understandable format for all geographic data. The system will analyze information such as landscape, terrain and hydrology and eventually display the required output whether in 3-D or maps to be used in engineering purposes. Since GIS is jurisdictional, they can be specifically designed to analyze and present civil engineering data and therefore aid in civil engineering design. Such application especially witnessed in GIS is restrictive and would therefore be a civil engineers very important tool. Any application information system that has the ability to capture, integrate, analyze and display in such formats that can be understood is called GIS (Chang 2008). In civil engineerin g GIS can be taken to use such software as CAD and PROKON which analyze and present civil engineering data. PROKON can be adequately used to carry out structural analysis and present the results in more practical engineering terms. The info is then used for the practical design to ensure completion of the project. Others include Nisa Design Studio, Fastrack, Structural BIM, Vision Civil and S-Frame (Fu & Sun. 2010). Literature review Application of GIS can be traced back to the 1832 use of spatial analysis in what has recently become known as the field of epidemiology. This was done by the Geographer Charles Picquet who attempted to represent the whole city of Paris, showing all its districts, using colour variations or gradient. Further developments could include the cholera representation in London by John Snow where points were used to indicate specific cases in specific areas in regard to geographic location and proximity. The Snow representation added value to the previously ex isting ideas of topography as the element of analysis of clusters was incorporated in addition to the aspect of representation or depiction that was earlier known. This has been the basis of GIS applications where cartographic methods are used to analyze geographically dependent elements (Chang 2008). With advancement in technology and by the 20th century, there was the development of photozincography where maps could now be split into layers to represent vegetation, water and similar phenomena. Though tedious, the aspect of separate layers made it more interesting and accurate as confusion was easily avoided by the draughtsman working on the maps. Colour printing improved this further where printing was done and this enhanced quality output of the maps as well as proper storage. This was the basis of the contemporary GIS concept (Chang 2008). The Canadian GIS (CGIS) brought with it more advantages as opposed to the previous technique of computer mapping. Through CGIS, it was possib le to do overlays, measurement and scanning, a feature not previously available through computer mapping. Since the system supported the national coordinate system which covered the whole continent and also stored locational information as supporting files, the system was more effective in analyzing geographic data for it was mainly designed. The result of the Dr. Tomlinson’s contribution is the basis of the modern GIS and is thus conveniently referred to as

Entry into Chinese Market Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Entry into Chinese Market - Case Study Example When they decide to enter newer countries, firms have to analyze both the opportunities as well as challenges, so that those challenges can be effectively managed. The first aspect they will have to analyze is the entry mode, so they can pick the best entry mode which has minimal risks, and this applicable to retail firms as well. In addition, they have to focus on the economic and legal aspects that could aid as well as impede them. China is one country, which has optimal opportunities for all firms including the retail firms like the fictional firm of Pesco. This paper will discuss the advantages as well as the disadvantages of entering China by the firm Pesco, focusing on the feasible entry modes, and how Pesco can or have to manage the economic and legal aspects. With the onset of globalization and the opening of the Chinese markets in 1990s, foreign firms particularly retail firms are more than eager to enter to tap the large prospective customer base. China being a country whic h runs on Communist principles, for most part of the 20th century, China raised an â€Å"Iron Curtain† and restricted the foreign firms’ entry, thereby protecting the indigenous firms. However, with globalization providing more opportunities to firms, and with its entry into WTO, Chinese government started to allow foreign firms into its territory. â€Å"Indeed, if we can identify a single moment when the  ­Western- ­dominated Globalization 2.0 gave way to Globalization 3.0, it may have been when China acceded to WTO membership on December 11, 2001† (Walker, n. d). Due to these developments, China particularly started lessening its trade restrictions particularly in the retail sector. The foreign firms for their part are enticed by the huge population of China and how they can be tapped as a huge customer base. â€Å"Most of the world’s major global retail firms are desperate to grab a slice of the world’s largest and most rapidly growing emer ging market† (Gamble, 2006). In addition, the sizable sections of this population have high purchasing power. As the Chinese economy as a whole, is improving optimally, it has resulted in the accentuation of its citizens’ purchasing power, and for the retail firms including Pesco, this can be huge advantage. Because of this favorable business environment in China, Pesco can open its retail outlets. When it comes to the entry mode, Pesco can enter in the form of wholly owned subsidiaries. This entry mode can provide many advantages for Pesco, including in the economic and legal sphere. However, there are risks as well, when this mode is adopted. The first advantage Pesco can garner if it uses the wholly owned subsidiary option and not the joint venture option is the benefits from the new tax regime. The main feature of this new tax regime is that foreign firms as well as foreign firms having joint ventures with Chinese entities have to pay land-use taxes, which is equal and even more than the indigenous Chinese companies and foreign firms’ subsidiaries. That is, in under the earlier favorable tax regimes, the foreign firms including joint ventures were given exemptions from the land-use tax, and were also given permission to construct infrastructures on non-taxed lands and function in them. However, in the new tax structure, foreign firms’ tax payments have been even tripled from the old rate. That is, â€Å"in large cities the annual property tax rate will range from 1.5

Analytical Hierarchy Process Essay Example for Free

Analytical Hierarchy Process Essay Abstract The analytic hierarchy process (AHP) provides a structure on decision-making processes where there are a limited numbers of choices but each has a number of attributes. This paper explores the use of AHP for deciding on car purchase. In the context of shopping, it is important to include elements that provide attributes that make consumer decision making easier, comfortable and therefore, lead to a car purchase. As the car market becomes more competitive, there is a greater demand for innovation that provides better customer service and strategic competition in the business management. This paper presents a new methodological extension of the AHP by focusing on two issues. One combines pair wise comparison with a spreadsheet method using a 5-point rating scale. The other applies the group weight to a reciprocal consistency ratio. Three newly formed car models of midsize are used to show how the method allows choice to be prioritized and analyzed statistically. INTRODUCTION The Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) is a structured technique for helping people deal with complex decisions. Rather than prescribing a correct decision, the AHP helps people to determine one. Based on mathematics and human psychology, it was developed by Thomas L. Saaty in the 1970s and has been extensively studied and refined since then. The AHP provides a comprehensive and rational framework for structuring a problem, for representing and quantifying its elements, for relating those elements to overall goals, and for evaluating alternative solutions. It is used throughout the world in a wide variety of decision situations, in fields such as government, business, industry, healthcare, and education. Users of the AHP first decompose their decision problem into a hierarchy of more easily comprehended sub-problems, each of which can be analyzed independently. The elements of the hierarchy can relate to any aspect of the decision problem. Once the hierarchy is built, the decision makers systematically evaluate its various elements, comparing them to one another in pairs. In making the comparisons, the decision makers can use concrete data about the elements, or they can use their judgments about the elements relative meaning and importance. It is the essence of the AHP that human judgments, and not just the underlying information, can be used in performing the evaluations. The AHP converts these evaluations to numerical values that can be processed and compared over the entire range of the problem. A numerical weight or priority is derived for each element of the hierarchy, allowing diverse and often incomm-ensurable elements to be compared to one another in a rational and consistent way. This capability distinguishes the AHP from other decision making techniques. In the final step of the process, numerical priorities are derived for each of the decision alternatives. Since these numbers represent the alternatives relative ability to achieve the decision goal, they allow a straightforward consideration of the various courses of action. EXPLANATION For instance let’s consider cars (an example) which touch the lives of hundreds of millions of people nearly everywhere on this planet on a daily basis. Other than a house, a car is perhaps the largest purchase that we make. With the average cost of a car well over US$ 15,000, choosing just the right one becomes a major decision. Buying a new car is regarded as a decision-making problem and a reflection of customer preference. Someone shops for a new car, he or she want to take a look at finances and options. The possible budget is then a constraint in the decision on which car to buy. Most people shopping for a new car rank safety high among their purchase considerations. Other important attributes include: fuel economy; comfort and convenience features; insurance information; specification and warranties and resale value. Constant changes in customer demands lead manufactures to produce new and improved designs. Automation of manufacturing technologies allows this. Recently the production life cycle has become shorter. For example, General Motors in the USA is leading the industry in developing ground-breaking technologies to improve the driving experience and to meet the changing needs and life styles of modern drivers. They are making efforts to lower the cost of the technology to a level that will make advanced cars an attractive purchase. As the automobile market becomes more competitive, the industry has no choice but to adopt innovation that brings better customer service. Many customers seek advice from car experts or friends when purchasing a car. In many cases, there are times when the price and special features do not match the budget. An appropriate decision-making method for selecting the best car is useful to both customers and producers. An analytic method not only reduces the dealers burden, but also may increase sales The analytic hierarchy process (AHP) is an intuitively easy method for formulating and analyzing decisions .It was developed to solve a specific class of problems that involves prioritization of potential alternate solutions. This is achieved by evaluation of a set of criteria elements and sub-criteria elements through a series of pair wise comparisons. The AHP model depicted in this paper uses the following decision criteria: exterior, convenience, performance, safety, economic aspect, dealer, and warranty as well as 39 sub-criteria. For the implementation of the AHP, we considered the three midsize passenger car models as alternatives 2. EVALUATION CRITERIA The source for deriving the evaluation criteria candidate was: 1. A telephone interview with dealers who are part of companies that make the models. The manufacturing company with the highest market share considered graceful body styles and smart design of facilities related to safety to be most important. On the other hand, warranty on the car and the dealers strategies for marketing are regarded as important customer criteria; 2. The use of personal experiences recorded on an online bulletin board was corrected using the Internet; The AHP model shown consists of three levels. Exterior involves components and factors seen from the outside such as color, length and width, tyres, trunk, wheels, doors and headlamp styles. It includes the following sub-criteria: model, style, length, quality of interior decoration, number of available color types, and instrument cluster. Convenience is related to the design of the equipments for easy operation. It includes: inside width, ease of loading or unloading packages, convenience of operating instruments, modern fittings (such as electronic systems and a burglar alarm), forward visibility and quality of the audio system. Performance is related to the functioning of the car. It includes maximum torque, maximum speed, fuel tank capacity, braking ability, cornering ability, inside noises and traveling comforts. Safety is enhanced by a body designed to protect the drivers and passengers against collisions. The most important safety features are those that reduce the risk of death or serious injury. It includes: airbags, antilock braking system ABS, impact protection systems, trunk safety, seat belts, safety of the body and number of alarm facilities. Airbags provide total chest and face protection. The ABS allows drivers full steering control and shorter stopping distance in adverse situations. The economic aspect refers to the price and cost of a new car, or maintaining the car within budgets, etc. It includes: purchasing prices, fuel consumption per month, insurance costs and installment conditions, resale prices of used cars and optional equipment costs. The dealer criterion refers to personal characteristics and attitudes that lead the customer to make the purchasing decision. This criterion includes: visits or calls needed to persuade the customer to buy, the dealers attitude, the dealers expertise and belief in the dealers promises. The warranty criterion include: the number of service stations, ease of acquiring spare parts, customer satisfaction after services, and the average repair time for minor troubles. We mailed questionnaires to each of two groups. The first group was given a questionnaire that contained a pair wise comparison sheet. The members consisted of 13 managers who were serving in the sales department and who had experience exceeding 10 years (see Appendix A for this questionnaire). Respondents were domain experts who easily recognized their own sales products and have valuable knowledge about the customer requirements and preferences. Twenty-two potential customers with experience over 7 years were in the second group (see Appendix B). They answered about their satisfaction with their current car. 3. Implementation and ranking A procedure of prioritizing each car model is shown in Table 1 shows the C.R. for each individual, where the circle represents meaningful C.R. Using Expert Choice, we obtained the synthesized priorities of the main criteria and sub-criteria. The reason that the groups weight is 1/C.R. is to assign higher weights for higher consistent persons. As a result, safety gains are the highest priority in the main criteria. The body safety is especially important. The synthesized priorities and ranks resulted in Table 2 (Case-II). The priorities of the sub-criteria are not proportional to those of the main criteria. This means the decision-makers have different opinions on the importance of the main criteria. By synthesizing the drivers rating values with the priorities, we obtain the priorities of the car models and the ranks with respect to the goal and synthesized priorities for each main criterion when the C.R. is bounded by the limit (see Table 3). In Case-I and Case-II, the computational methods used are reasonable when the groups consistency is more important than the individual ones. Because the conventional AHP has no choice but to increase the Delphi rounds in order to increase the groups consistency, much effort is required to reduce the C.R. If the Delphi rounds are not sufficiently processed, it is unreliable through the inclusion of inconsistent matrices [12]. Using the Spearman rank correlation test [1], accepting H0 means that the ranks are either uncorrelated or negatively correlated. That is, two decision makers exhibit an insignificant level of agreement in ranking for each criterion. Rejecting H0 means that the ranks are positively correlated. As shown in Table 4, we conclude that there are significant effects between groups since the rate of the H0 acceptance is 83% (65/78 Ãâ€"100). This shows that Case-I is the more appropriate method. It rejects greater agreement between groups. 4. SENSITIVITY ANALYSIS Sensitivity analysis allowed us to verify the results of the decision. A sensitivity analysis can be formed to see how sensitive the alternatives are to change with the importance of the criteria. The Expert Choice implementation of AHP provides four graphical sensitivity analysis modes: dynamic, gradient, performance and two-dimensional analysis [4]. Here performance sensitivity analysis is employed. It depicts how well each alternative performs on each criterion by increasing or decreasing the importance of the criteria. In addition to this, each sub-criterion performs on each main criterion by increasing or decreasing the importance of the main criteria. It should be noted that if a criterion is not sensitive, it would be better to eliminate it from the AHP model. In the case of increasing importance of a criterion to the maximum value of 1.0, we assigned the alternative that gained the highest rank to score 5 and the lowest rank to score 1. The value of Model 1 is 25, Model 2 is 21 and Model 3 is 15. In summary, we can conclude Model 1 is the best among the alternatives, although the highest priorities were different in Case-I and Case-II. 5. CONCLUSION This paper presents a decision-making method for selecting the best passenger car models through combining the AHP and a spreadsheet model. The C.R. is used as the decision-makers weights. As an implementation of the AHP, three car models were prioritized. Through the sensitivity analysis, the fact that Model 1 ranked the highest is consistent with the result of the highest market share. References E.H. Forman, T.L. Saaty, M.A. Selly, R. Waldron, Expert Choice, Decision Support Software, McLean, VA, 1983 T.L. Saaty, K. Kearns, Analytical Planning: The Organization of Systems, Pergamon Press, Oxford, 1985. Y Wind and T L Saaty, ‘Marketing Applications of Analytic Hierarchy Process,’ Management Science, Vol. 26, No. 7, July 1980

Free College Essays - The Prejudice in Pride and Prejudice :: Pride and Prejudice

The Brutality of Prejudice in Pride and Prejudice The passage which best relates the theme of Pride and Prejudice, by Jane Austin, is on page 125, in the middle of the page. This is where Mr. Darcy is proposing to Elizabeth, and is informing her of the inferiority of her family and connections. This passage is significant because it is one of the few times where the characters openly acknowledge that the sole purpose of a person's life is to achieve a high salary and a high social position. It is evident from every point of the story that all people care about is marrying into a higher social rank. And even for those who are comfortable with their current status, it is imperative that they only marry someone of at least equivalent rank. This idea possesses every character in the story and seems to motivate every action that is taken. The superficiality of this idea goes so far as to break the bonds of love. Darcy is willing to insult a girl as he is proposing to her, just to inform her of what he has to go through in order to stoop to someone of her level. Regardless of what Darcy thought his chances were at acceptance, he was still addressing a girl that barely knows him, and actually dislikes him. That is not a situation where insults are likely to bring results. This point is compounded because Elizabeth only gets slightly insulted by this comment. Her initial refusal of Darcy was based almost totally on his actions towards Jane and Bingley's relationship, and his treatment of Mr. Wickham. However, she is barely perturbed by this comment of Darcy regarding her family. This is so strange because one would expect Elizabeth to at least be equally mad for personal insults as well as for what was done to others. Pride and Prejudice ends with Elizabeth and Darcy each overcoming their anger against each other, and falling in love. However, this touching scene is ruined because of the appearance of Lady Catherine. She demands Elizabeth to marry Darcy, and tells Darcy that it would reflect negatively on his family if he were to marry someone as "low class" as Elizabeth. Free College Essays - The Prejudice in Pride and Prejudice :: Pride and Prejudice The Brutality of Prejudice in Pride and Prejudice The passage which best relates the theme of Pride and Prejudice, by Jane Austin, is on page 125, in the middle of the page. This is where Mr. Darcy is proposing to Elizabeth, and is informing her of the inferiority of her family and connections. This passage is significant because it is one of the few times where the characters openly acknowledge that the sole purpose of a person's life is to achieve a high salary and a high social position. It is evident from every point of the story that all people care about is marrying into a higher social rank. And even for those who are comfortable with their current status, it is imperative that they only marry someone of at least equivalent rank. This idea possesses every character in the story and seems to motivate every action that is taken. The superficiality of this idea goes so far as to break the bonds of love. Darcy is willing to insult a girl as he is proposing to her, just to inform her of what he has to go through in order to stoop to someone of her level. Regardless of what Darcy thought his chances were at acceptance, he was still addressing a girl that barely knows him, and actually dislikes him. That is not a situation where insults are likely to bring results. This point is compounded because Elizabeth only gets slightly insulted by this comment. Her initial refusal of Darcy was based almost totally on his actions towards Jane and Bingley's relationship, and his treatment of Mr. Wickham. However, she is barely perturbed by this comment of Darcy regarding her family. This is so strange because one would expect Elizabeth to at least be equally mad for personal insults as well as for what was done to others. Pride and Prejudice ends with Elizabeth and Darcy each overcoming their anger against each other, and falling in love. However, this touching scene is ruined because of the appearance of Lady Catherine. She demands Elizabeth to marry Darcy, and tells Darcy that it would reflect negatively on his family if he were to marry someone as "low class" as Elizabeth.

Federalism in the Philippines Essay

A pleasant morning to everyone, I am, AB Political Science. I am here in front of you to discuss about the value and importance of education. First of all, what is education? As far as I am concern, education is the delivery of knowledge, skills and information from teachers to students, inadequate to capture what is really important about being and becoming educated. The proper definition is basically the process of becoming an educated person, but that begs the question of what counts as an educated person. Being an educated person means you have access to optimal states of mind regardless of the situation you are in. You are able to perceive accurately, think clearly and act effectively to achieve self-selected goals and aspirations. Therefore, education is the process of mapping your experiences and finding a variety of reliable routes to optimal states of mind when you find yourself in non-optimal states. But, what was the problem behind in regards of education in our country? The first thing that comes up in my mind was the mentality that we Filipinos posses and also the corruption as well in our country. First, let me give you my short perspective about the corruption in country. As a senior Political Science student here in Adamson University, I was able to know about how our government runs and also the process and purposes on each and every department in our country. In our country there are three main branches of the government such as the Executive Department, Legislative Department, and the Judiciary Department. In every department in our government there are their own agencies, organizations, departments, or bureaus that help to execute and implement the rules and regulations that our government possesses. This agencies or organizations are known as the Quasi-department or also known as the four department of our government. As far as I know each department of our government was their own way of corruption. The biggest budget that our government has is the Department of Education but sad to say that this department is also the one of the agencies or organizations that has severe corruption in our country. The best evidence that I can tell you is the Public Schools that our country has, look at the public school in our country especially in the urban areas and you will see the evidence lack of chairs for the young students, low salaries for the teachers, and very old equipments for teaching and this all caused to poor standards of teaching and learning. In this connection, I am strongly believe that we should not all blame this failure to our government. The duty of our government is to protect us, maintain our economic progress, and give us due process of law that I think our government failed to implement and execute. But, like I said earlier we Filipinos has also our own mistakes and wrong mentality the â€Å"Bahalana mentality† that one of the reason why many of our country men did not prosper in their life. People should think twice or much better more than twice, before they acts or decide things. The problem of our generation today is that, some of the students did not really know the real value and importance of education. Some of them adopt the â€Å"Bahalana mentality† they rather choose to destroy their life instead of going to school and have a better future. Some of the students now a day did not really knew the real obligation of a true student. Some of them tend to go to the computer shops and play online games or worst going to bar and get drunk and waste the money that their parents gave them. I am not speaking in front of you all as representative of the conservative people but rather a victim of this tremendous crime. So, I am strongly encouraging all of the students to change their bad hobbies into a responsible students and also a responsible citizen of our country. Thank you.

Secret to Success

Everybody wants to judge themselves to the lens of a moment. They want to be cool right now and they are asking themselves, â€Å"What's the least I need to do to feel invigorated? What's the least I need to do to be successful?† Once I stopped asking these questions and I started thinking about really who I could become and really harnessing the human ability to adapt what people need to ascertain. Humans have become the apex predator not by being the toughest, not even by being the most intelligent but rather by being the most adaptive to change and when you realize all of us are born with nothing. Our job isn't to be peerless today. It is to build ourselves brick by brick and that is what separates the illustrious from everyone else. It's about actually delivering a result. We all have things that we're believing for, dreams that we want to attain but sometimes as it goes on month after month even year after year, we don't see anything changing. It's easy to get disheartened and think, â€Å"This is never going to happen. I'll just learn to live with it.† We all go through despondency, setbacks, and loss. Pain is a part of life; they don't leave us the same. Now, how it changes you is up to you. The challenge is don't just go through it, grow through it. There will always be forces trying to induce us to settle where we are. Life has a way of pushing our dreams down. They can become buried under discouragement, past mistakes, and low self-esteem. It's easy to settle from mediocrity even though we have all this potential obscured on the inside. Turn it all around and remember our aspirations. Stop worrying about the echo and start cogitating about the shout. Believe in who you can become tomorrow and let every day until the day you drop. Be about ringing that potential out of yourself, building something and becoming competent of something today that you weren't capable of yesterday of asking yourself how far you can go of becoming obsessed with that process and no longer thinking about the end. When you assimilate the difference between no longer focusing on being a titleholder and instead of delivering a championship performance, everything changed because it's the people who build themselves into someone who can give championship performances that win. The people you see who are victorious are the ones who tough grind every single day. They're the ones who have decided to keep working on enriching themselves and their work every time someone told them they weren't good enough or they weren't what they were looking for; the ones who never took no for an answer, who kept pushing forward when the world was telling them to quit because those were the people with a vision and a dream. These are the secrets to success, never giving up even when the cards are all dealt against you because they are just human. They had a goal but they didn't stop pursuing it, no matter what life threw their way. Having a strong will is a must and don't take no for an answer if it's what you really want. That's how you make it and that's how you become successful.

The Star A Universe with an Unneeded and Heedless Deity

The Star A Universe with an Unneeded and Heedless Deity Arthur C. Clarke, in his 1955 short story â€Å"The Star†, proposes an immensely plausible explanation for the appearance of an unusually bright and light in the sky near the time of the birth of Jesus in Palestine. He suggests that a supernova of enormous strength was the event that caused the phenomenon attested to in the Christian New Testament.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on The Star: A Universe with an Unneeded and Heedless Deity specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More He elaborates on this interesting notion by constructing a tale of a space-faring Earth vessel, engaged in long-range exploration. In Clarke’s story, the ship locates and investigates evidence of a sophisticated alien civilization once thriving in the star system around the former supernova. The evidence from these investigations reveals that this supernova, which wiped out this species, would have coincided exactly with the star that appe ared in Bethlehem. Clarke’s protagonist, a Jesuit priest and astrophysicist on the spaceship, finds his faith challenged by this discovery. The narrator deplores and questions in an agony of doubt what he sees as a cruel waste of lives in order to make a point on Earth. This suggests that Clarke, who has described himself as an atheist views the universe as huge and filled with unlimited potential for wonder, and the Christian God as either nonexistent, unnecessary, or heedlessly cruel, and ultimately not worthy of human faith (Clarke, Credo, 2010). The vision that Clarke presents of the universe is accurate in its depiction of its enormous size. It is also hopeful in its suggestion that almost any phenomenon could possibly turn up, if humans look far enough. This, in Clarke’s view, includes finding another sentient species, whether living or dead. The spaceship has already found, â€Å"ruins of ancient civilizations on other worlds† (Clarke, The Star, 1974) . T his is congruent with what is reported on the science news regularly. The public is assured by astronomers that there are billions of star systems. Given these numbers, it seems reasonable to infer that somewhere there is another one that could include a rocky planet. It is further reasonable to imagine that a planet could exist with temperatures that permit carbon based life forms to develop. Thus, Clarke is placing his story in a plausible universe congruent with the facts that are now known about our galaxy and others, and filled with possibilities. However, the universe that is out there, in Clarke’s vision of the universe, could operate without the benefit of control by a God. The crew members of the spaceship are all apparently atheist or agnostic; the narrator says of them, â€Å"Few of them have any religious faith†. (Clarke, The Star, 1974).Advertising Looking for essay on british literature? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More The ship’s doctor describes the universe, its creation, and its possible creator as follows: â€Å"it goes on forever and forever, and perhaps Something made it. But how you can believe that Something has a special interest in us and our miserable little world- that just beats me.† (Clarke, The Star, 1974) This character believes that God is not even necessary. Furthermore, the doctor is suggesting that even if there were an intelligence that could encompass the creation of the universe’s immensity, it would be too big and too detached to be immanent in human affairs. This seems like a reasonable objection to the disparity between the size of the universe and the size of petty human problems. For deeply believing Christians, however, the problem with this view is that it places limitations on the power and capacity for love of an infinite God. The human mind can envision a God who is both capable of creating a universe of staggerin g vastness, but also interested, aware of, and active in, the daily lives of billions of human beings. This is a stretch, but it is a matter of scale rather than absolute possibility. If a universe-creating deity can exist, then it is merely a matter of scaling in the other direction to invest this God with the capacity to simultaneously listen to individual prayer. Ultimately, this view of God’s unbounded power leads the narrator, and potentially, the reader, into a mess. This is because the author Clarke in this story has linked an act of love (the incarnation of the deity in the person of Jesus in Bethlehem on a particular date) with an act of destruction (the immolation of the alien culture by the supernova). Clarke acknowledges that God has the right to do whatever God wants with the creation that God has created. The Jesuit narrator affirms, â€Å"God has no need to justify His actions to man. He who built the Universe can destroy it when He chooses. It is arrogance- i t is perilously near blasphemy- for us to say what He may or may not do.† (Clarke, The Star, 1974) However, the mind of even the priestly astrophysicist revolts against this idea once he knows and appreciates the lost alien culture. He protests. â€Å"But to be destroyed so completely in the full flower of its achievement, leaving no survivors- how could that be reconciled with the mercy of God? â€Å" (Clarke, The Star, 1974) This is not an entirely new conflict for believers. The Bible/Torah is sprinkled with incidents that puzzle the faithful, and raise questions about the lovingness of God. The Book of Job, for example, describes acts of God (or rather, acts that God permits to be done to Job by Satan) that seem heedlessly, almost frivolously, cruel. (Jones, 1985) The Star does not offer a comforting solution. The solution, for believers, in the past, has been that God’s purposes are unknowable and humans must accept on faith that they are tending towards the good . Clarke proposes a hypothetical situation that would strain even this long-tested strategy of faith. The narrator of this story is left unable to cope. He says, â€Å"But there comes a point when even the deepest faith must falter, and now, as I look at the calculations lying before me, I have reached that point at last.† (Clarke, The Star, 1974)Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on The Star: A Universe with an Unneeded and Heedless Deity specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More A number of palliatives for the problem that Clarke has manufactured could be suggested. Perhaps the alien race was taken up into heaven, into the presence of God, immediately upon death. Perhaps God somehow communicated with them that their demise would allow another species to come to a greater knowledge of God, and a deeper communion with the deity. Perhaps they volunteered for this task of signaling to the magi that Jesus was being born. Thes e might satisfy the Jesuit astrophysicist in The Star, but if they were to do so successfully, Clarke would probably have included them in the story. Clarke leaves the reader with no comfort, forced to consider the possibility that God could be so wasteful of, â€Å"peoples thrown into the furnace† just to make a dramatic announcement elsewhere in creation. (Clarke, The Star, 1974) The vision of the universe and of God that Clarke presents is deeply skeptical. While the author acknowledges the possibility that God is the author of the universe, Clarke also casts doubt on the credibility of the Christian notion of a loving and involved deity. He insists, by linking the incarnation with a hypothetical alien holocaust, that in order to accept an immanent God, a believer must also accept the possibility that this deity is capable of doing something appalling and without discernible justification. This is a very cynical tactic but Clarke makes a powerful point that challenges the faith of all believing readers. Clarke, A. C. (1974). The Star. In A. C. Clarke, The Nine Billion Names of God: The Best Short Stories of Arthur C. Clarke (pp. 235-240). NY, USA: Signet NAL. Web. Clarke, A. C. (2010). Credo. In P. Kurtz, Science and Religion: Are They Compatible? (pp. 181-185). New York: Prometheus Books. Web. The New Jerusalem Bible. Ed. Susan Jones. New York: Doubleday, 1985. Print.Advertising Looking for essay on british literature? 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Employee Rewards System At Marriot Hotels Assignment

Employee Rewards System At Marriot Hotels - Assignment Example †¢ Heart of the house: The positions offered to the employees under this role are housekeeping, kitchen service, security, maintenance and engineering services and information technology where teamwork is essential †¢ Heart of the house: The positions offered to the employees under this role are housekeeping, kitchen service, security, maintenance and engineering services and information technology where teamwork is essential (Marriott International, Inc, 2015c)†¢ Hotel management: The positions offered under this role are Director of Finance, Operations Manager, General Manager, Director of banquets, Restaurant manager and Manager of Security where leadership qualities and guidance is essential to achieve the desired results.Jobs supporting Marriott’s BusinessThe different roles offered for supporting the business:†¢ Jobs at Headquarters: The associates have to manage the portfolio of brands that belong to Marriott; they also have to perform in different s pecialized fields like accounting and finance, operations management, different business disciplines and human resources portraying leadership and supportive skills.†¢ Regional and national jobs: The associates of Marriott working in offices provide support to the business in different countries, continents and regional markets by serving in different areas of marketing and sales, human resources, accounting and finance, risk management, tax planning and working across the globe employing the supporting and leadership skills.

Henry Clay, In Defense of the American System, 1832 Essay

Henry Clay, In Defense of the American System, 1832 - Essay Example rs worked against tremendous odds in 1824, as those opposed to the American System predicted its doom on several counts like the destruction of the public revenue, inevitability of the enhancement of direct taxes, destruction of the navigation, misery of the commercial cities, sharp increase in the commodities of public consumption and blow to the export market with decline in international trade. All the predictions of the critics went haywire, and the American Economy passed through the phase of economic boom. 2. With economy regaining its original health and prosperity booming on all counts, America was facing the consequences arising out of that boom. The foes of the American System, being jealous of that great leap in economy, were on the scheme of subversion, and the vast amount of revenue produced created its own problems as every branch of American navigation had increased. Certain consequential actions relating to the progress of fulfillment of the benefits were considered necessary. One of the worst economic indicators of the economy was the enormous public debt of the country. Time was ripe to abolish the system to which the legislations owed so much to the public prosperity and the country looked forward to a period of redemption and consolidation of the economy. To get rid of the public debt as the interest liabilities were heavy was the first priority. The system had to break free of this economic serfdom. Opinion was divided about the liquidation of the public debt liability. Some argued that the public debt was the secondary concern and other projects and accomplishments needed to get priority. The Henry Clay argued â€Å"But the people of the United States have not coupled the payment of their public debt with the destruction of the protection of their industry, against foreign laws and foreign industry.† (Clay, 1832)The liquidation of the public debt was considered absolutely essential. The other economic indicators were establishment of a