Essay on Overpopulated Cities

Essay on Overpopulated Cities Essay on Overpopulated Cities This is an example essay on Overpopulated Cities: Many countries throughout the world have the problem of overpopulated cities but none more than those countries that are still developing themselves. This problematic nature of increasing overpopulation in the cities of developing countries is the biggest global problem needing to be addressed in the 21st century, and will continually need to be addressed in to the future, as overpopulation is increasing at an alarming rate. One country suffering such problems is Bangladesh and its hugely overpopulated capital city of Dhaka. Many different factors affect this city from education, water quality, health care, the cycle of poverty and many more, while this is a struggling developing country it can be compared to a very developed country such as Japan which is developed and extremely stable in comparison. Throughout Dhaka the lack of educational services is extremely apparent and the need for new schools, university and other tertiary institutions is more than obvious. This educational problem has become so large that Dhaka is and could quite easily get trapped in the â€Å"cycle of poverty† meaning that their lack of educational facilities means that they cannot produce enough qualified people to do all the jobs a developing country requires. With only about 20 per cent of people able to read and write, and there is only two universities in the whole of Bangladesh, and even when they can get into schools â€Å"about 40 percent of those enrolling in primary school drop out before completing primary education† (General Information, 2001 [Online]). For a developing country such as Bangladesh they need more schools and universities so as they can study technology, find suitable places for mines or other resource stocks. This cycle is nearly impossible to break since if they have very few teachers and schools then it will take a long time to get more teachers even if they were able to put in more teaching facilities. This cruel cycle is heavily fueled by the fact that they are an overpopulated and developing country, for instance if this was Japan, a country with the same population (around 126,000,000) schools and universities could be supplied by the government or privately owned financiers. Famines, drought and poor water quality in cities like Dhaka in developing countries force many of the inhabitants living out in the country farming or what not to move into the city to seek aid. Bangladesh is highly â€Å"Disaster prone and is a victim of repeated natural disasters such as cyclones, floods, droughts and earthquakes† (General Information, [Online]). It is these horrific natural climatic conditions that make it hard for farming and so on but also forces a lot of people into the cities. Around, 48 per cent of rural and 44 per cent of the urban population live below the poverty line defined as 2122-calorie intake per person. Average households spend 59 per cent of their income on food, yet 60 per cent of children below 5 years of age are malnourished. Resources required to bring about improvements in standards of living are limited. (Md. Mujibur Rahman and Hasin Jahan 1997, [Online]) These statistics show how a developing country cannot take the strain of an overpopulated city. And would almost have to look globally for help. As food isn’t the only problem many also are in need of good quality water facilities, More than 90 per cent of the rural people have access to safe drinking water and only 18 per cent use proper sanitation facilities. 47 per cent of the total urban population has access to public water supplies and 42 per cent to hygienic sanitation. (Md. Mujibur Rahman and Hasin Jahan 1997, [Online]) So as urbanization becomes and even bigger factor to life in an overpopulated city in a developing country so to is the problems of water quality, famine and natural disasters/weather, Japan also suffers from these terrible natural disasters (earthquakes) but they manage to survive since they import so much food but there strong economy – compared with Bangladesh can sustain this. Many countries all over the world have overpopulated cities, many in developed countries and even more in developing countries but the key difference is how overpopulated cities like Dhaka in Bangladesh struggle since the country has not yet been able to set up the adequate facilities to sustain such a high population (127,567,002 people). This is when water sanitation and food supply all mentioned above become a real threat to a cities health With Dhaka suffering â€Å"Between 35 and 50 of every 100 newborns suffer from low-birth weight†¦ 70 percent of mothers are afflicted by nutritional deficiency and anaemia. Another perennial health challenge is the long-term effects of naturally occurring arsenic in ground water† (General Information, 2001 [Online]). The city and country is so busy putting money out of its budget into feeding the people and trying to keep some kind of decent standard of living that all the things required for a developing country are neglected. Such as advances in technology, putting in place a good government system and many more. This is why a developing country finds it extremely hard to sustain an overpopulated city. In comparison however a developed country like Japan can support a large population, since everything required is in place; especially government. This overpopulation then becomes a matter on the global scale since, The effects of urbanization on the environment and water resources are evident. When the number of inhabitants in a certain area gets too big the environments own power of regeneration decreases and the problems will occur. Wastes will accumulate to air, soil and water. The level of living decreases dues to pollution, traffic, noise, inadequate housing and lack of own space. The consumption of the hinterland’s goods will increase above the production and food has to be transported from far away.(Summary and Conclusion, 2001 [Online]). This high consumption of resources by an overpopulated city puts high undue strain on a developing country. In turn this also becomes a global problem, since the world can only have so much farming land and so many crops growing at any one time, and if a city requires the importation of food from outside sources this then puts a strain on the global food market, and Bangladesh finds it so hard to sustain good farm land due to the problem of natural disasters. With all global resources being put under pressure. This global problem does require the address of the world’s attention since the strain of world resources is a global problem. As years pass the worlds population is only going to get larger and thus the strain on world resources is going to continue to rise, and the problem of overpopulated cities in developing countries has to be addressed. Perhaps a possible solution could be found in trying to limit the population as was done in Japan with the one child policy. Since when you compare the two countries (Japan and Bangladesh) it is clear that they are two countries of equal size yet of far different economic states. When you compare the two, Japan with a very slow birthrate (around .9) and Bangladesh with hardly any contraception available and a high birthrate of around 1.5. When a health condom survey was done in 2000 it was found that, â€Å"condoms are unpopular in†¦Muslim Bangladesh† (Condoms unpopular in overpopulated Bangladesh, 2000 [Online]). In relation to GNP and so fourth, as seen in tables in Appendix A, Japan has a far better economy and GNP 38,160 (US$) per capita, whereas Banglad esh only have a GNP of 270 (US$) per capita. Bangladesh do keep a decent health system however with some rather unusual strategies put in place, like working over the internet to pick up cheap medical to keep all hospitals fully equipped, at least to there best potential. They even have special services done by the government that allows women in Bangladesh to purchase loans which in turns allows them to set up there very own businesses, this however small does slowly help to breaking the cycle of poverty. Although Bangladesh does implement these unusual methods they have a lot to strive for before being as stable as Japan. With the country of Japan able to keep its birthrate so low, (below 1) this enables that they will not get too overpopulated as they already are, but the fact that they have realized this and implemented measures to contradict a population boom just shows how developed they are. Bangladesh needs to be able to implement some way of educating the men and women of Dhaka and surrounding cities of how overpopulation is a vicious circle and is in fact a global problem, with Bangladesh’s projected population at 80 million by the year 2020. Clearly the growing population of cities in developing countries is going to be a continual problem until some sort of global â€Å"law† can be introduced to help the countries battling malnourishment, education problems and sever lacks of technological advance. It is this problematic nature of increasing overpopulation in the cities of developing countries that is the biggest global problem needing to be addressed in the 21st century, and into the future, as overpopulation is increasing at an alarming rate. ______________ is a professional essay writing service which can provide high school, college and university students with 100% original custom written essays, research papers, term papers, dissertations, courseworks, homeworks, book reviews, book reports, lab reports, projects, presentations and other assignments of top quality. More than 700 professional Ph.D. and Master’s academic writers. 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Punctuating So at the Beginning of a Sentence

Punctuating So at the Beginning of a Sentence Punctuating â€Å"So† at the Beginning of a Sentence Punctuating â€Å"So† at the Beginning of a Sentence By Maeve Maddox A reader remarked on my punctuation of so at the beginning of several sentences in a recent post: No commas after â€Å"so† as you have used here in your examples! Here are two of the offending sentences: So, how was the interview? So, what should we do now? These examples appear in a discussion of a use of so that is common in spoken English. The written form I gave them represents a style of casual speech. It’s questionable if so can even be called a conjunction in contexts in which it is difficult or impossible to discern what thoughts are being joined. Formal written English treats the punctuation of so at the beginning of a sentence differently. Some speakers feel strongly that the conjunction so shouldn’t begin a sentence at all: I almost fainted when I read the email about the acceptability of beginning sentences with [a conjunction]. I’m firmly in the camp that believes starting a sentence with a conjunction is an error. Although such feelings persist, authorities like The Chicago Manual of Style do not share them: There is a widespread belief- one with no historical or grammatical foundation- that it is an error to begin a sentence with a conjunction such as and, but, or so. In fact, a substantial percentage (often as many as 10 percent) of the sentences in first-rate writing begin with conjunctions. It has been so for centuries, and even the most conservative grammarians have followed this practice.- CMS, 5.206. In formal writing, in contrast to a casual style, a so that begins a sentence is not followed by a comma. Lucius Caesar died at Massilia in 2 CE.; two years later, Gaius Caesar succumbed to a wound he received fighting against Armenian nationalists. So Augustus adopted Tiberius as his son in 4 CE and got him tribunician power and consular imperium for ten years. Note: If a beginning so is followed by a parenthetical expression, a set of commas is needed: So, misinterpreting Ragland’s order, Nolan told Lucan to send the Light Brigade on a frontal attack against the Russian guns. Related posts: Beginning a Sentence with And or But Can And or But Begin a Sentence? Can You Start Sentences with â€Å"And† or â€Å"But†? Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Punctuation category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:Types of RhymePrecedent vs. PrecedenceTitled versus Entitled

Resume and cover letter assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Resume and cover letter - Assignment Example As such, I am particularly interested in the practical application of science. This is because, through science and engineering, I can be able to develop a logical approach to determinations of various mechanical problems. Moreover, engineering provides me with the opportunity to apply various theories and techniques that can be used to tackle and provide solutions to mechanical problems. Moreover, the fact that I am always excessively fascinated with the functioning of machines has also made develop the interest of practicing mechanical engineering. In fact, during my younger years, I usually dismantled my toys with the aim of learning how the machines functioned and integrated. Quite surprisingly, I found out that changing various aspects of the machines such as motor transmission would alter or lead to a modification of how the toy operated. As I grew up, this interest developed even further and I thus started of working on relatively bigger machines such as my mountain bike and my father’s old broken motorcycle. I was intrigued by complexity of the integration and functioning of the several parts of the machinery. This made me develop an understanding of how machines works in terms of converting electrical, kinetic, or man power into movement. My choice to major in Mechanical Engineering was therefore facilitated by my liking of Maths and Physics as well a s an intense curiosity of knowing how the machines integrated and functioned. Career planning is an important factor that can enable an individual to attain success more so after the completion of the undergraduate degree. Essentially, CP 101 played a big role towards influencing me on opting to choose mechanical engineering as my career of choice. At school, due to my high performance and interest in maths and physics, many professors, including my calculus professor, recommended that I should consider becoming a maths tutor. I took this suggestion

Marketing- Analyzing Buying Behavior Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Marketing- Analyzing Buying Behavior - Essay Example â€Å"eco-friendly† product can be created through informative advertising by telling consumers the hazards of using the product that are not made for the wellbeing of the environment. Another danger in the proposal is the pricing of the new product which will be charged 150% more than the current price. However, if the consumer perceives that the product is not doing a better job than their conventional products, then once again our marketing proposal could lose out. Hence, careful pricing needs to be done to see if it is consistent with the benefits that it promises to render. The increase in the availability of the product in various retail outlets will be very beneficial for the business and this could increase our sales and profits and we can try to increase retailing outlets for even our conventional products. Commercial products are often sold to different organizations once a problem is recognized by these institutions. As far as the anti-bacterial is concerned we should go with the plan. The reason behind this is that currently there is no competitor in the market and we can afford to charge high prices without losing any customers. We can therefore squeeze the maximum revenue from the market until new competition arises in the market of anti-bacterial cleaners. The consumers in this market have no opportunity for supplier search and we can squeeze the total market sales from our production. Neither will they need any proposal solicitation nor will they be reviewing our performance as there be no benchmark in the market. Thus we can go in the market to meet our objectives. Similarly, we can also repackage the wax product due its distinct features in the market and command high prices. This again will be a success due to lack of any similar product in the market. Therefore, we can trust Rena and immediately implement the plans as proposed by her to meet our marketing objectives. This exercise provided us with knowledge that businesses can produce a

Thesis Project Essay Example for Free

Thesis Project Essay My senior year of college required me to do a thesis project.   As a drama major I had to choose and direct a full length play.   From the moment I began choosing this project, until its completion; I learned a lot about myself, mainly how I approached and solved problems.   I had two primary goals to focus on while working on this.   The first and biggest, I had to satisfy the panel of reviewing professors before opening night.   The second, I had to please a college audience of savvy theatergoers, in addition to making good changes requested by the professors.    As one might imagine the road to completion came with some bumps. First off, I had to choose my play, and then the cast of characters.   Choosing it came more easily to me than most.   I wanted a contemporary play and found one I liked very much in the library quite easily, David Rabe’s Hurlyburly.  Ã‚   Finding the right cast proved more difficult than I imagined.   We had a few good actors who I knew I wanted for the principal roles.   Generally the department frowned on having more than one set of auditions. However, I could call myself a friend of several of these key players; so I approached them before auditions and begged them to try out for the play.   I had an open mind to any surprises, and some occurred, but I ended up casting my preconceived choices in the main roles.   I never had high hopes for some of the lesser roles, but luckily the right people auditioned for those.   So with some luck and begging, I had my cast. It turned out that casting the play was the easiest thing I had to do, next part editing.   If I had not edited this play it would have gone on for well over three hours, which I could not accept, nor could the professors.   I had an editing assistant who simply started crossing out pages haphazardly.   I basically ignored her recommendations and made edits of my own.   I stubbornly kept the play too long, which I regretted later. Lastly, came directing.   I quickly found that conceiving an entire play differed greatly from directing a single scene for a class.   Mainly, with all the time on our hands until opening, I had to get the most out of my actors.   At the same time, actors do not enjoy a director telling them how to do their job.   One simply needs to elicit more out of them.   I learned to do that over the course of rehearsals, by asserting myself more, coupled with having a clear vision of how I wanted things to look. Luckily the play opened to good reviews.   I learned a lot about myself in the process.   I met each of my challenges choosing a play, casting, editing, and directing head on.   I enjoyed it, but would give serious thought before doing it again.

The Role of Women in Shakespeares Tragedies Essay -- Tragedy Plays Sh

The Role of Women in Shakespeare's Tragedies In Shakespeare’s tragedies and his plays in general, we can come across several types of female characters. Their influence with other characters and their purpose or role, often underestimated like women themselves, will be this essay’s main subject. Women in Shakespearean plays have always had important roles, sometimes even the leading role. Whether they create the main conflicts and base of the plays, or bring up interesting moral and cultural questions, they have always been put in challenging situations. Some women are stronger than others, and their effect on the play is different for each one. They often even surpass the male heroes. It’s almost unbelieveable, if we take into consideration the status of women, of course with its discrimination and cruel conditions, in Shakespeare’s days - sixteenth century Elizabethan England. But there could have been many reasons, why he gave his characters such qualities. It could have been the Queen Elizabeth I. on the throne, or a certain influence of his marriage with older woman. Some modern critics claim, he was a feminist, or on the contrary it is historically incorrect, because we shouldn’t forget that he wrote maily for a male entertainment. Particulary in h is comedies we frequently see a woman take on the strongest character, while often in his tragedies he has a male play the isolated tragic hero. It’s highly necessary to know the context to fully understand it. The women couldn't do much of anything but cook and clean for their husbands. They were also spoken to and commanded like they were common dogs. Also the women did not get to choose who they married. They were supposed to act like dolls. Their loyalty belonged first to their fathers and then to their husbands. This patriarchal structure has forced them to become repressed and helpless, not only in the eyes of men and society. Overall women were treated horrible compared to today's time. There’s evident inspiration and writer’s reaction. Nevertheless, in the midst of this male-dominant society Shakespeare portrays women with strengths at least equal to those of men. Shakespeare's views on women clearly define his plays and how, by using the women as some of the most powerful and stage dominating characters, and he shows a remarkable gift for breaking down the barriers that held women captiv... ...ve. Lady Macbeth’s behavior certainly shows that women can be as ambitious and cruel as men. Whether because of the constraints of her society or because she is not fearless enough to kill, Lady Macbeth relies on deception and manipulation rather than violence to achieve her ends. Beyond doubt, three witches, as supernatural characters in â€Å"Macbeth†, embody an unreasoning, instinctive evil. They represent Macbeth‘s evil ambitions and aspirations. It is evident the women’s role in Shakespeare’s tragedy is unlike his comedy. In comedies the women are empowered, that means they are mostly strong, independent, and capable, despite the male-dominant society of Elizabethan England. But in fact, women who were gifted and imaginative were not given the chance to develop their skills to become better in their craft. are often depicted as meek, obedient, and vapid creatures who stand behind their husbands. Their biggest role is usually one as wife or sister, hardly ever straying to be different. And that reflects exactly on Shakespearean tragic female characters, along with all difficulties, struggle and despair. Unfortunately, some of these characters survived not only in drama...

Capital Structure Essay

Capital structure is how a company finances its overall operations and growth by using funds from equity or debt (Investopedia, 2012). Of course, every company must determine its preference on its debt-to-equity ratio and determine which capital structure works best for them. Some approaches to analyzing capital structure are: 1.EBIT – EPS: This analyzes the impact of debt on earnings per share (EPS). Optimizing shareholder’s wealth is the optimum goal and therefore, this approach analyzes the high EPS based on an expected range of earnings before income taxes (EBIT). 2.Valuation: Determines impact of debt use on shareholder’s value by determining the level of debt at which the benefits of increased debt no longer outweigh the increased risks and expenses associated with financing (Wenk, 2012) 3.Cash Flow: Analyzes a firm’s debt capacity by using the weighted average of cost of capital (WACC). The WACC is a calculation of a firm’s cost of capital in which each capital source (bonds, stock and other long-term debt) are proportionally weighted to determine how much interest the company has to pay for every dollar it finances (Investopedia, 2012). Look more:  capital budgeting examples essay Part of Competition Bikes’ (CB) main consideration in the decision to merge or acquire Canadian Biking is working capital. Lets use the EBIT – EPS approach to determine how to maximize shareholder return while minimizing the cost of capital. We currently know Canadian Biking’s moderate sales forecast of EBIT figures for the next 5 years (Year 9 – 13), therefore we can apply the EBIT – EPS approach to choose an optimal capital structure. The total of capital sources in each of the 5 years is $600,000. We will use EBIT – EPS to determine which assortment of bonds*, preferred stock, and common stock is the best option to increase Canadian Biking’s EPS. The five alternative capital structures include: Option 1: 100% Bonds (fully financed) Option 2: 50% Preferred Stock & 50% Common Stock (no bonds) Option 3: 20% Bonds & 80% Common Stock Option 4: 40% Bonds & 60% Common Stock Option 5: 60% Bonds & 40% Common Stock *Annual bond interest rate is 9% After using the EBIT – EPS approach using the forecasted EBIT amounts for Years 9 through 13, we can average the EPS for each of the 5 years to determine which capital structure produced the highest EPS. The EPS averages computed for the capital structure options are: Option 1: Average EPS = .0452 Option 2: Average EPS = .0542 Option 3: Average EPS = .0526 Option 4: Average EPS = .051 Option 5: Average EPS = .0494 Based on the EBIT – EPS approach, the recommended capital structure is option 2, â€Å"50% preferred stock & 50% common stock†. This is the best capital structure mainly because there are two things to consider: 1) long-term debt and associated interest expense and, 2) equity and # of common shares. Option 2 is the best capital structure because there are no bonds and therefore, no interest expense. For example, if we look at option 1 in Year 9, and the bond interest is 9%, then the bond interest expense is $54,000 (.09*600,00). This lowers the income before taxes by $54,000. Although companies can finance debt and use the interest expense deduction to lower their taxable income, it doesn’t make sense for Canadian Bikes to fully finance their capital, because the interest expense costs outweigh the benefit of the tax deduction, resulting in a significant decrease in total income available for common stock. Additionally, because the capital structure consists of 300,000 shares of preferred stock, the company must pay dividends of 5%, reducing the company’s total income available for common stock by $15,000 (.05 * 300,000). Although this reduces the total income available for common stock, the company will maximize its EPS by only having 50% capital in common stock. This reduces the total number of common shares outstanding, which means less shares to divide the total income among. Therefore, Option 2 is the most optimal capital structure that considers minimizing long-term  debt expenses and the optimal number of common shares in order to maximize shareholder return. CAPITAL BUDGETING: Competition Bikes’ is considering building a manufacturing facility in a new Canadian location. The total investment for this project would be $600,000 USD. This consists of $400,000 to build the facility and an additional $200,000 in working capital to support operational costs. The company has projected cash flows over the next five years; therefore we can use cash flow budgeting methods such as net present value (NPV) and Internal Rate of Return (IRR) that consider time value of money for long-term investments (Pearson Education, Inc., 2008). Net present value analyzes the profitability of a project by determining the difference between the present value of the project’s cash inflows and outflows followed by subtracting the initial investment. (Investopedia, 2012). The decision rule applied to NPV is fairly simple, if the NPV is positive, invest; if the difference is negative, do not invest. Competition Bikes applies NPV to forecasted low and moderate sales for the next 5 years. After using the forecasted sales for low demand, the total present value (after subtracting cash outflows from inflows) is $560,719. If we subtract the initial investment of $600,000 from this amount, the NPV is -$39,281. This is a significant warning that the company should not proceed in building a manufacturing facility. On the other hand, if we use the forecasted sales for moderate demand, the total present value is $608,447. If we subtract the initial investment of $600,000, the NPV is $8,447. Therefore a positive NPV indicates the company should proceed with building the manufacturing facility. The biggest concern is determining which NPV to lean towards based on low or moderate sales. Unfortunately, the risk of having low sales outweighs the profitability benefit of having moderate sales. It is too risky for CB to move forward with the investment based on the NPV of low sales (-$39,281). In order for the company to profit from this investment, CB would need to have a moderate sales demand at minimum! The present value in NPV is calculated using an interest rate, also known as the required rate of return. CB’s required rate of return is 10%. When this interest rate is altered or calculated to make the total present value equal to the initial investment, the NPV becomes equal to zero; this is called the internal rate of return (IRR) (Pearson Education, Inc., 2008). The IRR is what a company can expect to earn from investing in the project and the higher the IRR, the more desirable the investment. The calculated IRR for low demand cash flows is 8.2% and the IRR for moderate demand cash flows is 10.4%. Based on these IRR figures, the company should not pursue the capital investment because the average IRR between both low and moderate sales is 9.3%. This is below the company’s required return on capital (hurdle rate) of 10% to pursue a capital investment. Again, the company would need to have a moderate sales demand, at minimum for this capital investment to be profitable and should therefore not pursue building a new manufacturing facility. WORKING CAPITAL: CB must effectively obtain and manage working capital for the expansion of the operation. CB must first look at their operating cycle, cash conversion cycle and free cash flow factors in order to improve production and management of working capital. Let’s discuss the company’s current status of each of the working capital and cash flow factors and determine how the company can improve in these areas. First, the operating cycle involves CB sending the distributor a monthly invoice for all raw materials ordered with terms of net/30 days. This can be improved by renegotiating the payment terms will distributors to net/15 days. This would increase cash flows by improving payment turn around time and accounts receivable collections. Additionally, the company can improve its relations with its distributers to increase effectiveness of its collection process. Another operating cycle factor is ordering and paying for inventory. Currently, the company pays for inventory in the month following production and all inventory ordered for the month is used leaving inventory levels (at the end of each month) at consistent levels. In order  to improve working capital the company should utilize and lower its year ending inventory balance. For example, at the end of Year 8, the company had $91,573 worth of inventory left over. The company should utilize the current inventory on hand before ordering similar raw material items. This will decease cash flows and leave fewer inventories on hand at the end of the year. Currently the average time in inventory is 25 days. This is a substantial turnaround time currently, however in the future, the company can consider replacing labor workers with fixed asset items to improve production time. This will satisfy customer demand by decreasing delivery time and improve cash flows by invoicing customers more frequently than 25 days after production. CB’s cash conversion cycle factors also impact working capital. Currently, the CB’s suppliers invoice at the end of the month for orders that month with terms of net/15. CB does an excellent job of preserving its cash flows by paying the invoices on the 15th of the month following the order.. CB can improve its working capital by negotiating for longer payment terms, i.e. net/30 days, allowing for more time for the company to earn money to pay their invoices. If this is not possible, the company can improve its forecasting measurements for ordering supplies and order the majority of the supplies needed for the month at the beginning of the month. This would increase the amount of time the company has sufficient supplies on hand without having to pay more money, (because the suppliers will still invoice for the orders at the end of the month, regardless of how early in the month the supplies were ordered). This can increase working capital because it acts as a contingency plan, to reduce the likelihood of running out of supplies, avoiding delays, or ordering supplies in excess. Free cash flow factors also affect CB’s working capital. Currently, the company recognizes depreciation in both manufacturing overhead and as depreciation expenses depending on the fixed asset. The company can use their depreciation data to increase management of cash flows by predicting when the company will have to spend a significant amount of money to replace an asset when its useful life expires. This will prepare CB for those unwanted – although necessary – fixed asset costs. Currently the  corporation’s marginal tax rate is 25%. The company can consider obtaining working capital by financing debt. This will leave the company with an interest expense at the end of the year, which is deductible from gross earnings and results in paying lower taxes. After CB improves its working capital, let’s discuss how CB can use its working capital for the lease vs. buy option for a factory building in Canada. CB can use its working capital to cover the $50,000 down payment (or buy out option if they decide to lease) and $200,000 for operational costs of the new factory. According to the data provided for the lease vs. buy option, the lease option will preserve cash outflows of $12,339, (purchase cash outflows are $333,999 and lease cash outflows are $321,660). Therefore, the company should lease the manufacturing facility to preserve cash outflows. Leasing the facility will also allow CB to deduct annual interest payments (6% interest) from the gross earnings to lower their tax payments. This will increase the company’s net earnings at the end of the year, also resulting in higher retained earnings and increased shareholder value. MERGER OR ACQUISITION: CB should consider many factors when deciding to merge or acquire Canadian Biking. Let’s analyze the pros and cons between a merge vs. acquisition and determine what the best move would be for CB. First off, if the company were to merge with Canadian Biking, the potential EPS would increase by approximately .021. This shows potential for increased ownership earnings, but is it significant enough? At the same token, the price/earnings ratio for Canadian Bikes at the end of Year 8 was 9 and CB’s was 70. This shows that CB’s current investors are expecting greater earnings in Year 9 and are willing to pay $70 for $1 of current earnings. This is not the case with Canadian Biking’s investors. Unfortunately a low P/E ratio of 9 indicates that investors are not expecting a significant growth in company earnings. This raises a concern if the merge will result in a potential increase of .021 in EPS. On the other hand, a merge would result in lower costs because CB would not be purchasing Canadian Biking outright. Canadian Biking also has a lower cost competition bike that can decrease production costs and complement CB’s current bike model being offered. This will result in  greater net earnings and cash flows. If the company were to acquire Canadian Bikes, CB can expect a gradual increase in cash inflows over the next 5 years. However, the current offered sales price for Canadian Biking is $286,000; this is 30% more than what the company was valued at, at the end of Year 8. Although CB has enough working capital to make the purchase, it would take 5 years of gradually increasing cash inflows to recoup the price tag of $286,000. This means it could take approximately 5 years, before shareholders saw a significant increase in earnings per share. Based on the pro and cons, CB should merge with Canadian Bikes to lower their production and delivery costs, increase net income, EPS and cash flows, and preserve working capital. The price to acquire Canadian Biking is simply unreasonable based on predicted cash inflows over the next 5 years. The merger will enhance CB’s market position in Canada by having a local distributer to handle all customer orders and provide cost effective and great customer service to the growing Canadian market. References Investopedia. (2012). Capital Structure. Retrieved from http://www.kotzinvaluation.com/articles/capital-structure.htm Investopedia. (2012). Weighted Average Cost of Capital. Retrieved from http://www.investopedia.com/terms/w/wacc.asp#axzz2Azkq4E2V Investopedia. (2012). Net Present Value. Retrieved from http://www.investopedia.com/terms/n/npv.asp#axzz2Azkq4E2 Pearson Education, Inc.. (2008). Horngren Accounting. Retrieved from http://wpscms.pearsoncmg.com/wps/media/objects/6716/6877765/hha08_flash_main.html?chapter=null&page=1042&anchory=null&pstart=null&pend=null Wenk, D. (2012). Using an optimal capital structure in business valuation. Retrieved from http://www.kotzinvaluation.com/articles/capital-structure.htm