Downtown East Swot Analysis Essay Example for Free

Downtown East Swot Analysis Essay Downtown East was well-known in Singapore as an entertainment hub as it provides a variety of services. Food, Drinks, Shopping and Entertainment, all under one roof. However, in every business or organization, it will certainly have its strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats, therefore, our group would give a detail explanation on each of these aspects, helping the company to focus on activities where it is strong in, and where the greatest opportunity lies. We would first start off with strength. Basically, strength refers to the good qualities or the strong points of the business. Downtown East is situated around many places of interest, therefore being able to create packages which will attract customers. Furthermore, it is currently the only theme park in Singapore where there is both water activities (Wild Wild Wet) and outdoor rides (Escape Theme Park). As Downtown East homes the only theme park in Singapore, Downtown East would definitely be the first choice that comes into the mind of people seeking for both thrills and entertainment. Not only that, it also have many indoor activities such as arcades for children, teenagers and even adults. Therefore, Downtown East not only have outdoor entertainment, it also have indoor entertainment as well, thus, even on rainy days, people going to Downtown East could also have fun. Weakness is an aspect where the business should spend time studying on it and then work out for solutions to overcome it. The limited land area is a weakness to Downtown East. As land in Singapore is expensive, Downtown East would find it hard to expand their land area to provide more entertainment for customers. Other than that, Downtown East is quite inaccessible. It is troublesome to get there because the only public transport to get there is by bus, thus, making it hard for the people in the west side of Singapore to go to Downtown east. Not only that, it is also expensive to maintain. For example, if equipment in the Escape Theme Park is faulty or spoilt, quite a large sum of money would be needed to either repair or even buy a new one. People might get bored if the attractions are not change constantly and changing the attraction would mean the requirement of new equipments and this would in turn increase the expense of the business. Opportunity refers to the chances available for the business to grow. The government is promoting Singapore as a city of entertainment which will help attract tourists. For instance, launching the F1 grand prix is a move by the government to â€Å"broadcast† Singapore worldwide, thus, attracting people from other countries to visit Singapore. As Downtown East had many facilities and is entertaining, investors may be interested to work together with them. Furthermore, more and more places of interest are being built (e.g Integrated Resort) to attract tourists to Singapore. Although this may be seen as an act to steal customers from Downtown East, the tourists coming to Singapore would not only come for Singapore for a specific area of interest but the various kind of places of entertainment Singapore offers and Downtown East may be one of them, thus, this could be seen as an opportunity. Other than that, Downtown east is located at the east near the coast and the area there could be used to expand their business so as to introduce more facilities and entertainment so as to attract customers. Lastly, it is the threats. Threats would normally be seen as a pressure to the decrease of sales or revenue. Economic downturn is one of the threats which may result in people not willing to splurge on entertainment. As the economy is doing badly, salaries of the workers may be reduced and retrenchment would be common. Reduced salary or no salary (retrenchment) would mean that less money would be available for living expenses, thus, people would save money and visit such entertainment places less frequently. Also, as mentioned in the previous paragraph, more places of interest are built to attract the tourists. Although it can be an opportunity, it can also be a threat to Downtown East if the tourists choose to go to other places of interests rather than Downtown East.

Non Controlling Interests And Goodwill Accounting Essay

Non Controlling Interests And Goodwill Accounting Essay Introduction IFRS 3 which involves Business Combinations will build important changes in business combinations accounting. IFRS 3 develops more the acquisition representation and applies to more day to day transactions, because combinations by contract only in addition to combinations of common entities are incorporated in the standard. Nevertheless, ordinary managed transactions and the development of joint ventures are not factored in the revised standard. IFRS 3 applies to the 1st period of accounting commencing on 1/07/09. Notably, retrospective appliance to previous business combinations isnt permitted. It can be used early as long as its not in the period of accounting commencing on or after 30/07/07. Background In 2008 the International Accounting Standards Board finished the 2nd stage of its Project on Business combinations by releasing a revised edition of IFRS 3 relating to Business Combinations. It was amended in order to replace the 2004 version. The revised IFRS 3 is the outcome of a combined project with the Financial Accounting Standards Board Scope Description of business combination . Its a occurrence of transactions whereby the purchaser gains power over 1 or many business entities. A business entity is described as an incorporated place of actions that is able to perform and operate in order to give a return to shareholders or other capital owners or any other participants in the business. The purchaser or the acquiring company ought to be recognized or identified. IFRS 3 stipulates that an acquirer must be acknowledged or identified in all cases involving business combinations. Variations in the scope from the 2004 version of IFRS 3 as compared to 2008 IFRS 3 version is used in combinations of joint business entities as well as combinations which do not have consideration for example dual listed company shares. Such are not included in unrevised IFRS. Exclusions from the scope: The IFRS 3 cannot be used in case of development of a joint venture or combination of business entity under common management or control. IFRS 3 cannot be used the purchase of an asset or a collection of assets which dont comprise a business entity. Purchase consideration Important changes to the standard involve the purchase consideration. Fair value of all benefits held formerly by the acquirer in the newly acquired company is currently incorporated in the consideration. This incorporates all interest in joint ventures undertaken and associate as well as equity interests in the newly acquired company. Any preceding venture is perceived to be given up in order to obtain the company/entity and on disposal date a gain or loss is taken into account. In case the acquirer previously had interest in the entity obtained prior to acquisition, IFRS3 stipulates that the current venture to be revalued to fair cost as at the acquisition date, factoring in all changes to the profit and loss account as well as any gains formerly documented in equity that pertain to the current holding structure. A gain is accepted in the income statement during the period of business combination. Contingent consideration requirements have been modified. Contingent consideration is nowadays accepted at fair value even in cases where its not likely to pay at the acquisition date. All ensuing modification to liability contingent consideration is taken to the income statement, instead of goodwill account because it is perceived to be a debt acknowledged in the international accounting standard 32/39. If debts for superior performance by the results in the subsidiary cause expenditure in the income statement to increase and under-performance by the subsidiary against targets will lead to a cutback in the anticipated payment and will be accounted as a profit in the statement of income. These changes in contingent consideration were formerly taken in the goodwill account. The standard no longer treats transaction costs as a component of the purchase cost; such overheads are expensed throughout the accounting period. Transaction costs are now considered not to constitute what is given to the party selling the entity. They arent supposed to be taken as assets of the acquired entity which ought to be acknowledged on the purchase date. The standard stipulates that businesses should reveal the quantity of transaction expenses that have been paid. IFRS 3 takes into consideration the treatment of employee share-based payments by including supplementary regulation on estimation, as well as how to come to a decision on whether share payments constitute part of the payment for future service compensation or business combination. Non-controlling interests and Goodwill IFRS3 provides businesses with an alternative, on an individual operation basis, to value minority interest or non controlling interest at fair value in relation to their share of particular liabilities and assets or at their fair value. The 2nd technique will consider goodwill relating to the non-controlling interest together with the controlling interest acquired while the 1st technique will lead to valuation of goodwill, which is essentially similar to the current IFRS Measurement of goodwill can also be undertaken using the full goodwill basis, in this method goodwill is measured for the minority interest/ non-controlling and also the controlling interest in a subsidiary. In the preceding edition of IFRS 3, non controlling interest was valued at their proportion of net assets and excluded any goodwill. Under the Full goodwill method it means that minority interest (non controlling interest) together with goodwill is increased by the value of goodwill that pertains to minority interest. Example Mercer has purchased a subsidiary company on 2 February 2008. The net assets fair value of the subsidiary company is $2,170million. Mercer purchased 70 percent of the total shares of the subsidiary company for $2,145million. The minority interest was measured at $683million. Goodwill recognized on the full and partial goodwill techniques under IFRS 3 would be computed as: Mercer partial goodwill method Assets (net) 2,170 Minority interest (Non Controlling Interest) (30% x 2,170) (651) Assets purchased 1,519 Consideration on acquisition (2,145) Goodwill amount 626 Full goodwill Method Fair value of identifiable net assets 2,170 Minority interest (683) Assets taken over 1,487 Consideration on Purchase (2,145) Goodwill amount 658 Goodwill is in actual fact adjusted for the variation in the figure of the minority interest which factors in the goodwill belonging to the non controlling interest. This preference of technique of accounting for non controlling interest only causes a disparity in acquisition figures where less than 100 percent of the entity obtained is bought. The full goodwill technique will cause an increase in net assets reported on the statement of financial position which means that any prospective goodwill impairment will be greater. While valuing non-controlling interest at reasonable cost may be complex, testing goodwill impairment may be less difficult in full goodwill, because there is no point of summing-up goodwill for subsidiary companies which are partially owned. Fair measurement of liabilities and Assets IFRS 3 has brought about some alterations to liabilities and assets documented in the statement of financial position. The present conditions to distinguish the net identifiable liabilities and assets of the entity being acquired are retained. Assets ought to be measured at fair value excluding some specific items for example pension liabilities and deferred tax. International accounting standard board has given supplementary regulations that are likely to lead to recognition of additional intangible assets. Purchasers are obliged to identify and record trade licenses, client relationships and brands, plus other assets classified as intangible. There are minor alterations to existing regulation under IFRS in relation to contingencies.. Following the business combination date, conditional liabilities are re-valued at the initial figure and the quantity in current relevant standard whichever is higher. Contingent assets are not identified or recorded, and contingent liabilities are valued at fair cost. Other Matters and Issues IFRS 3 gives direction on some precise details of combinations of entities such as : business combinations done with no reallocation of consideration acquisitions done in reverse identifying and recording assets which are intangible the re-examination of the purchasers contractual provisions at the date of acquisition Holding Companys Disposal or Acquisition of extra shares in Subsidiary Proportional sale or disposal of a subsidiary while still maintaining control. . This is treated as an equity exchange with shareholders as well as loss or gain not recoded. Proportional disposal of a subsidiary where control is lost. Losing controlling power on re valuing of the remaining fair value held. Disparity between carrying value and fair value is treated as a loss or gain on the disposal, recorded in the income statement. Afterwards, using international accounting standard 28 and 31 is suitable, to the outstanding investment. Purchase of extra shares after control of subsidiary was gained This is treated as a transaction involving equity with shareholders (such as purchase of shares in the treasury. Goodwill is not revalued in such an event. Disclosure The purchaser must reveal all relevant financial information to users of its annual reports to assess the financial outcome of a business combination that happens throughout the present reporting phase or subsequent to the end of the phase but before the reports are approved for issue. Disclosures necessary to meet the previous purpose are : A depiction and also the name of the purchaser Date of purchase proportion of voting interests purchased Principal s purpose of the business combination and a explanation of method used by the purchaser to acquire power over the seller Account of the reasons that show goodwill recorded, for example probable synergies from combining activities, and non qualifying assets. purchase-date fair cost of the combined consideration taken over and the purchase-date fair cost of every main category of consideration Particulars of dependent consideration provisions as well as indemnification assets taken over. Particulars of purchased receivables the value for all key category of assets purchased and debts implicit Particulars of contingent liabilities recorded. Combined value of goodwill that is anticipated to be removed for purposes of tax. Facts of all activities that take place individually from the purchase of assets and debts in business combination Facts concerning negative goodwill. In conclusion I believe that the speedy endorsement of IFRS 3 will end the doubt regarding the treatment of financial statements and reports. Hopefully the aims of the revised IFRS Board will be achieved and end the requirement for reconciliation between different accounting standards as well as end the conflicting use of the revised IFRS3 in the accounting profession . I look forward to the outcome caused by the implementation of the IFRS3 with interest!

Strategies To Resolve The Principal Agent Problem Accounting Essay

Strategies To Resolve The Principal Agent Problem Accounting Essay In general, the principal-agent problem refers to difficulties of motivating one party the agent to act for the best interest of the other party the principal. In a company, the owners of the assets (the stockholder) are the principals and the managers of the company are the agents. The stockholders of the company authorize the managers to manage and use their resources to make profit for the stockholders. (Kaskarelis, I. A. 2010) The cause of the principal-agent problem is that the information asymmetry between the principal and the agent and the principal and agent have different interests. (Ulrike, L., Arleta, M) Generally, the Agents are the managers of the resources and have more information than the principals. In a company, the managers of the company will have more information about the company than the stockholders of the company. The agents may use this asymmetric information to get interest for themselves rather than the principals. Figure 1, Basic Model of Principal-agent problem In general, the principal-agent problem is the problem that the agent is not doing the best for the principals. The so-called principal-agent problem is really caused by the interest conflicts between the two parties. As a principal, he or she wishes the agent to do the best for his or her interest. As an agent, he or she should do the best for the principal. However, without enough and appropriate motivations from the principal, the agent may not doing the best for the principals. If the agent is not acting for the interest of the principal, the moral hazard happens. This is the classical model of principal-agent problem. In order to motivate the agent to work for the best interest of the principal, incentives should be given. Strategies to resolve the principal-agent problem Make appropriate incentive structure The first strategy of solving the principal-agent problem can be from the incentive aspect of the agent. The cause of the principal-agent problem is the motivation given to the principals. Based on the experiment of principal-agent problem, high performance of the agents were observed if good compensations were given to the agents. (Ulrike Leopold-Wildburger, Arleta Mietek, 2010) Even though the relationship between the compensation and the performance is not linear, the outputs of the agents have positive relationship with the compensation of the agents. Yuliy Sannikov (2008) advocates that the dynamic incentives play very important role in the economic life. In a company, the wages of the managers and also the employees can affect the performance results of the company. Connecting the compensations of the agents to the performance will give incentives to the agents to do their best. In a company, the employees salaries can be connected to the performance results of the employees. The managers salaries can be linked to the performance of the company. In this situation, the managers of the company will have enough incentive to do their best. The stockholders of the company can also enjoy the better profits of the company. One alternative solution is to give the managers of the company certain amount of corporate stocks. The income of the managers are affected by the stock prices (Bruhl, R. H. (2003). The managers will have the incentive to do the best to increase the stock price of the company. In fact, many listed companies have the so called Equity Incentive Package (Bronstein, R. J. 1980). Pro and cons This strategy of solving the principal agent problem is the most basic one and the short-term effect can be seen immediately. Linking the agents compensation with the performance by giving the managers corporate stock is the most effective way to solving the principal agent problem. The potential drawback of this strategy is that giving the managers stock may result in the possibility of insider trading. Evaluate the performance of the agent continuously The second strategy of solving the principal-agent problem is to monitor the agents behavior and evaluate the performance of the agents. I will explain this in the case of a company. In a company, the managers as the agents and the stockholders of the company are the principals. The managers behaviors are monitored by the stockholders closely in order to make sure that they are doing the best for the interest of the stockholders. In the company, the evaluation of the performance of the company is also very important. When the evaluation of the performance plays a role in determining the compensation of the employees, that is to say there is still room for the employees to improve the performance (Carl Blumstein, 2010). with the monitoring of the companys performance, the managers of the company tend to perform better. Pro and cons Continuous evaluation of the performance in a company can motivate the managers continuously (Long, N., Sorger, G. 2010). Because of the continuous motivation, the performance of the company can keep improving. This is the biggest advantage of the strategy. However, the evaluation process of the managers is a time and money consuming task. The evaluation or monitoring of the agents may incur a lot of expenses. Regulate the agent with moral standards The principal-agent relationship is not only a kind of legal relationship between the principal and the agent. The principal agent problem is also a moral hazard problem (Randy, S. 2011). According to the basic business ethics, it is ethical for the agents to do the best to represent the interest of the principals. The first strategy of solution by building the appropriate incentive structure of the agents and the second strategy of monitoring the activities of the agents can get only short term results. In the long term, establishing the ethical awareness of representing the best interest of the stockholders can be a good choice. With a good ethical awareness, the principal and agent problem can be solved in the long term (Ruachhaus, R. W. 2009). In the case of Psychiatrists Relationships with Industry, the principal agent problems can be solved from both incentives and ethical view (Appelbaum, P. 2010). The doctors are the agents of the patients. The doctors with high moral standard will not recommend medicines of high cost to the patients unless is necessary. Pro and cons The moral standard improvement requires a long time and also needs the commitment of the employees. The moral issues in the principal agent problem can be seen clearly, but sometimes it is very difficult to distinguish. The potential advantage of this strategy is that it can achieve long term result in the company. Conclusion The principal agent problem comes from the asymmetric information between the principal and the agent and the principal and agent have different interests. The principal hires the agent to work for him and the agent works for the interest of the principal. Without enough motivations, principal agent problem appears. The principal agent problem is also a moral hazard problem. There are three alternative solutions to overcome the principal agent problem. One is to give incentives to the agent. The second is to evaluate and monitor the agents activity to make sure the agent works best. The last solution is depending on the moral standards. All these three solutions have different advantages and disadvantages.

NAFTA Essay -- essays research papers fc

NAFTA Since the beginning of civilization, trade has been an important issue. Christopher Columbus sailed to the Americas in search of a faster and safer trade route to India. We as Americans fought for our independence over trade related issues, such as tariffs and rules on with whom we were allowed to export and import goods. Our people have always fought for the rights and ability to buy and sell what they want at a reasonable price. The North American Free Trade Agreement, or NAFTA, is yet another attempt at this. NAFTA was signed on December 17, 1992 and put into effect on January 1, 1994 (SICE). It is a trade agreement between Canada, the United States, and Mexico. This paper will explain all the finer points of the agreement, its affects on our economy, and some predictions to the future. I shall end with my opinion of NAFTA based on what I have learned while researching this paper. To discuss NAFTA with a greater understanding, it is important to realize why the three major governments on the North American continent would want to form a trade alliance. According to the law library at Southern Methodist University â€Å"its purpose was to remove tariff barriers between Canada, the United States and Mexico† (North). Removal of these barriers obviously promotes trade between these countries. It also promotes the buy and selling of goods between these countries by making those goods more easily accessible. Sellers can produce with lower costs and buyer can get the end product cheaper than if the tariffs were included in the price. But NAFTA had much loftier goals then just lowering cost and price. It was established â€Å"with the goal of fostering greater economic growth in Canada, the United States, and Mexico† (John). The ways in which NAFTA planned to create this spark in the economies of three different nations, was outlined in the actual NAFTA agreement text, in Article 102: Objectives. It states that the purpose of the agreement is to: eliminate barriers to trade in, and facilitate the cross-border movement of, goods and services between the territories[†¦], promote conditions of fair competition[†¦], increase substantially investment opportunities [†¦], provide adequate and effective protection and enforcement of intellectual property rights [†¦], create effective procedures for the implementation and application of [NAFTA], [†¦] for the resolution of dispu... ...4. Economic Policy Institute. 03 Apr. 2004. 6.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The John F. Henning Center for International Labor Relations: The North American Free Trade Agreement. 2003. The John F. Henning Center for International Labor Relations. 04 Apr. 2004. 7.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Key Points to Remember. Economic Research: Federal Researve Bank of St. Louis. 02 Apr. 2004. 8.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Mumme, Stephen. â€Å"Nafta and Enviroment†. Foreign Policy In Focus. Volume 4. Number 26 (1999): 9.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Negatives of Trade. Economic Research: Federal Researve Bank of St. Louis. 02 Apr. 2004. 10.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  North American Free Trade Agreement. 01 Jul. 2003. SMU Underwood Law Library. 02 Apr. 2004 11.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã¢â‚¬Å"The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA): Deepening Economic Integration and resposes to Competition†. Center for North American Studies. Jul. 2003. Texas A&M University. 10 Apr. 2004. 12.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  SICE:North American Free Trade Agreement. SICE: Foreign Trade Information System. 06 Apr. 2004. 13.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Qualifying for NAFTA. FedEx. 05 Apr. 2004.

Killing Mr. Griffin, by Lois Duncan :: Killing Mr. Griffin Lois Duncan

I read the book Killing Mr. Griffin, by Lois Duncan. There was an English teacher, Mr. Griffin, which nobody liked. He was a tough teacher, and didn’t give anyone an A. Not even the smartest student, Susan McConnell. They disliked him so much that they wanted to try and scare him by kidnapping him. One day after school, Mark told his friends his idea of what to do to take care of Mr. Griffin. He decided that they should threaten to kill him so he would give them better grades but not actually kill him. After some convincing, all Mark’s friends agreed to his plan. Then they carried out their plan and got Mr. Griffin where they wanted him. They left him all alone and tied up in the mountains. Susan and David were worried about Mr. Griffin, so after a couple of hours they just went to check on him. But when they got there, they found and realized that Mr. Griffin was dead! They panicked, and didn’t know what to do. They went back and told the others. They all promised each other that they wouldn’t tell anyone what had happened. Now they had to cover up all the evidence that my lead to them. Mark was willing to do anything to do that! After a few days, Mr. Griffin’s disappearance was on the news. Of coarse, no one knew where Mr. Griffin really was, and what had actually happened to him. It was hard for them to keep it in. They all felt so bad, except for Mark. Mark was the leader of this plan, and he secretly did things to cover up evidence that his friends didn’t know about. Not at first anyway. He killed David’s, but Susan figured that out. He also tried to kill Susan because she was going to tell the police the whole story. She couldn’t stand keeping it in anymore. But after a while, people started putting things together and figured out what had really happened.

American Well Case Writeup

American Well, a pioneer in online healthcare is at the crucial stage where the business opportunities look propitious at the same time it could make the company lose its perspective. It has the first-mover advantage with strong core competency. But still, some of the questions concerning the future of the company do needs to be addressed. Some of the main questions that American Well faces are 1. Introducing the product to new customer segments 2. Capturing the international market 3. Pushing the products beyond health care industry.American well is currently serving the connectivity between patients and physicians. The new product â€Å"Team Edition† will serve the connectivity between primary care physicians (PCPs) and the specialist. They are also considering the prospect of online health care to Hospitals, Retail clinics and Pharmacies. The adverse effect is it could be too soon for American Well to launch a new undertaking, given their core services has not yet been adop ted widely. Furthermore, this requires new hiring and additional funding. Stepping back has its own drawback of failing to capture the opportunity when there was demand.Meeting real-time excess demand with real-time excess capacity is a whole new world to be explored not only in health care but in many other industries. Also, the need for online health care has a great demand oversees too and American Well can explore its business in these new countries and can become a world leader in delivering virtual healthcare services in a many-to-many platform. Even though it is true that American Well has all the ideas and advantages – the main disadvantage is the lack of infrastructure and the awareness of an internet-based health service.There is still a lot of opportunities and work needed to be done with its present venture and stepping big foot too soon cannot be as beneficial for the company as it sounds. The â€Å"Team Edition† is an innovative product and the American W ell should concentrate on its existing customer base i. e. the payers. They should probably do extensive market research on all these new opportunities. A research team could be formed including members from American Well and personnel from top insurance companies to explore the scope of extending its services to hospitals and pharmacies.They should wait for the â€Å"spending freezes† to be over and need to analyze on how the new health reforms will affect the existing organization. Another conceivable strategy could be a hybrid of Direct-To-Customer model and Business-To-Business model. American Well can establish a DTC model where they would directly sign up patients and doctors to a nationwide system along with their existing B2B model. This will cover more customer base. The short term goal

Augustine on free choice of the will book 1 Essay

Three major points made by the author Evil can be used in two ways- when someone has done evil and when someone has suffered evil. Since God is good, God does no moral evil; however, because God is just, God punishes the wicked and thus causes the evil of punishment. People are the cause of their own evildoing. Furthermore, because learning is good a thing, we do not learn evil. It is people’s inordinate desires that drive their evildoings. There are two laws- eternal law and temporal law. Both laws are good and guarantee people to live perfectly. To live perfectly and well, we need to know that we are alive, that we live with reason and understanding. And when the impulses of the soul are guided by reason, a person is perfectly ordered- eternal law. However, it is possible that the reason or mind does not rule. According to Augustine, this can only happens if a person’s own will and free choice make the mind a companion of cupidity. It is up to us to decide whether we want out will to be good or bad, and whether we desire things we can lose or we can’t lose. Thesis (What is the central point of the reading?   Use no more than three sentences.): Augustine claims that people do evil by the free choice of our will. Your questions So if God is all good and omnipotent, then why will God allow anyone to do evil by the free choice of their will? If we are images of God, and God is all good and omnipotent, shouldn’t we be all good and not act in ways that conflicts with God’s image?