Saturday, January 25, 2020

History of the United States :: Technology, Inventions

Over the year’s technology have affected America’s identity. It has been a simple life living without technology. However technology brought many positive things to America. Technology helped America to travel, trade, and gives the lasts news. Technology was good to America.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Living without technology was difficult. It was harder to get new around America because technology was so low. It was harder for the families to talk to each other or to even meet, because technology was invented yet. Not until telephones was invented that the communication in America started to increase. Also news from all over America can be reach through radios. It made people in America live an easier live with telephones and radios.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  It wasn’t pleasant to live without light in the house. People in history had to light up candles to see in their houses. It was so inconvenience to lit the candles. In 1752 electricity was invented and it changed the Americans way of living. They were able to have light in the house without burning down their houses. Also it’s easier to have a light bulb then to light a candle. Electricity had a big impact on American lives.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  As for traveling, it was awful because it would take them days to get to where they would need to go. However the railroad came along. It changed everything. People were able to import and export goods and travel farther put of their hometown. Railroad had really made a difference to the Americans.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  As years went by technology made it ways through. It changed and made the society a better and easier way of living. History of the United States :: Technology, Inventions Over the year’s technology have affected America’s identity. It has been a simple life living without technology. However technology brought many positive things to America. Technology helped America to travel, trade, and gives the lasts news. Technology was good to America.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Living without technology was difficult. It was harder to get new around America because technology was so low. It was harder for the families to talk to each other or to even meet, because technology was invented yet. Not until telephones was invented that the communication in America started to increase. Also news from all over America can be reach through radios. It made people in America live an easier live with telephones and radios.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  It wasn’t pleasant to live without light in the house. People in history had to light up candles to see in their houses. It was so inconvenience to lit the candles. In 1752 electricity was invented and it changed the Americans way of living. They were able to have light in the house without burning down their houses. Also it’s easier to have a light bulb then to light a candle. Electricity had a big impact on American lives.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  As for traveling, it was awful because it would take them days to get to where they would need to go. However the railroad came along. It changed everything. People were able to import and export goods and travel farther put of their hometown. Railroad had really made a difference to the Americans.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  As years went by technology made it ways through. It changed and made the society a better and easier way of living.

Friday, January 17, 2020

Mcdonald’s Business Plan Essay

McDonald’s Corporation is the world’s leading food service organization. By 1967 McDonalds expanded its operations to countries outside the U.S.A. This unyielding expansion led the Corporation to open 23,000 McDonald’s restaurants in 110 countries in 1994, producing $3.4 in annual revenues. In addition, McDonald’s opens a new restaurant every three hours and has twice the market share of its closest U.S. competitor, Burger King, representing 7% of total U.S. eating-out sales. Similarly, McDonald’s serves about 1% of the world’s population on any given day through its 23,000 restaurants internationally. Big Mac, the world’s most sold hamburger was developed by Jim Delligutti in 1967 to feed construction workers. ‘Big Mac’ is the biggest attraction and backbone of the corporation. Moreover, McDonald’s maintains its competitive advantage by constantly creating new items to add onto its menu. This shows us that McDonald ’s practices an analyzer type of strategy, introducing new items and defending its existing ones. This is a sample business plan and here we reflect our standard business plan model, some of the numbers shown in our following Financial Plan are fictitious, so be advised. 1.1 Industry McDonalds Industry is one of the biggest food chain companies around the world; is the world’s largest fast food restaurant chain, with over 32,000 locations in over 110 countries. McDonald’s operates its own restaurants and franchises its brand to local businesspeople (about 70% of the world’s McDonald’s restaurants are franchised). In the U.S, McDonald’s focused on increasing sales at existing locations by renovating stores, expanding menu options and extending store hours. Internationally, McDonald’s expanded aggressively, opting to franchise rather than operate its new locations, providing new income with little overhead. Domestically, McDonald’s  continues to perform well despite a pullback in consumer spending and is even benefiting as consumers trade down from more expensive eating options and at the same time, international operations are driving profit growth. 1.2 Target Customers McDonald’s uses demographic segmentation strategic with age as a parameter. The main target segments are children, young adults and the busy executive on the go. Kids reign supreme in FMCG (Fast-moving consumer goods) purchase related to food products so, to attract children McDonalds has Happy Meal with which toys ranging from hot wheels to various Walt Disney characters, the teenagers with the price on the products to satisfy their expectative as well as the facility of the WI-FI which it makes it attractive to most of the student’s college students. Also, the strategy is aimed at making McDonald’s a fun place to eat attracting the young urban families wanting to spend some quality time while their children have fun at the outlet. 1.3 Competitor Analysis McDonald’s is the clear leader of the fast food industry in terms of revenues generated and restaurants established; it faces competition from other fast food chains which are introducing new products themselves. The major direct competitors in the (hamburger-based) fast food industry that includes: Burger King the second largest hamburger fast food chain, Wendy’s which are the third largest hamburger fast food chain, and some others. McDonald’s also competes with non-hamburger-based fast food restaurants, local and national dine-in restaurants (such as Red Robin’s and Shari’s), pizza parlors, coffee shops (Starbucks), street vendors, convenience stores and supermarkets. But, even though McDonalds still the most famous and visited by the different types of families worldwide. 1.4 Company Description McDonald’s was founded and started franchising in 1955. A man name Ray Kroc, who was a milkshake mixer vendor, came across brothers Dick and Mac McDonald, who were running a small hamburger stand. He saw how quickly  customers were being served and suggested the brothers open a chain of restaurants. They did, and Kroc became their business  partner. McDonald’s, and the signature golden arches, have since become internationally recognized symbols. Their signs proclaim â€Å"millions served,† and that is not an exaggeration. With over 32,000 locations worldwide, McDonald’s is the leading global fast food franchise. 1.5 Products / Service Plan Customer perception is a key factor affecting a product’s success. Many potentially revolutionary products have failed simply because of their inability to build a healthy perception about themselves in the customers’ minds. McDonalds being an internationally renowned brand brings with it certain expectations for the customers that expect to be in a hygienic ambient and a little sophisticated brand that respects their values. The customer’s expect the brand to enhance their self-image. Customer responses obtained at the Vile Parle, Mumbai outlet confirmed the fact that they connect strongly with the brand. However, fulfilling some of the customer expectations like a broader product variety provide McDonald’s a great scope for improvement. 1.6 Mission and Vision Vision: Is to be the world’s best quick service restaurant experience. Being the best means providing outstanding quality, service, cleanliness, and value, so that we make every customer in every restaurant smile. Mission: Be the best employer for our people in each community around the world; deliver operational excellence to our customers in each of our restaurants; and achieve enduring profitable growth by expanding the brand and leveraging the strengths of the McDonalds system through innovation and technology. Marketing Plan 3.1 Market Description There are close to 50,000 fast food chains across the United States, with McDonalds being the largest restaurant chain. In the world, there are more than 500,000 fast food places. Kids between the ages of 6 and 14 eat fast food 157,000,000 times every month. Ninety-six percent of kids in school could recognize an image of Ronald McDonald, the face of McDonalds. The only recognizable figure that ranked higher was Santa Claus. To top it off, Americans spend nearly $100 billion on fast food every year. There are around 13,000 McDonalds in the U.S. 40% of all of American family meals are eaten outside the home. 3.2 Market Facts McDonalds has grown rapidly in the last 10 years, following are some points related to the fast food customers in the USA. * 40% of all of American family meals are eaten outside the home. * 1 in every 4 Americans eat at a McDonalds on a daily basis 11 * McDonalds sells more toys than Toys R Us each year. * With all the tests scientists did, they came to the conclusion that many children can recognize McDonalds before they can even speak. * Over 25 percent of Americans consume fast food every day 3.3 Market Growth Fast food restaurants represent one of the largest segments of the food industry with over 200,000 restaurants and $120 billion in sales in the U.S. alone. Fast food restaurants, also known as quick service restaurants, are noted for their short food preparation time. Some of the largest players in this category include international giants like McDonald’s. 3.4 Market Demand Fast food restaurants in the USA are getting more demanding with the passage of time. Following are some common demands that have arise in the recent past. 1. Affordable: Fast food is affordable people and families with low income are able to afford the food from fast food restaurants. 2. Convenience: Families today are always on the go between works, school, and after school activities the quick accessibility to be able to order, get served, and eat a meal in just minutes makes it convenient for families today. 3. Easy access: They are now the world’s leading fast-food retailer, with more than 30,000 restaurants serving more than 52 million people in more than 100 countries each day. This makes it easily accessible for everyone. 3.5 Market Opportunities McDonalds offers a lot of opportunities for existing and potential investors. Their market is growing for many reasons some of them are the following: 1. More than 70 percent of McDonald’s restaurants around the world are owned and operated by independent local businesspeople. 2. The most frequently used method to buy a McDonalds franchise for sale is by buying an existing restaurant. 3.6 Barriers to Entry Government regulations, economies of scale, customer loyalty, advertising budget, and an exclusive agreement with suppliers are some barriers to entry for the fast food industry. 3.7 Targeted Audience McDonalds will be starting its operations in Miami, Florida. McDonalds target their advertising at children and students which is an important market for them. A parent with children might visit which gives children a treat. McDonald’s Happy Meals are one example, which includes a toy often, tied in with a newly-released children’s film, building playgrounds inside their restaurants, and creating one of the world’s best-known mascots, Ronald McDonald. The children want to visit McDonalds as it is a fun place to eat. McDonald’s was the first chain to put its restaurants near—and inside—schools as a strategy to market to children. In Chicago, one of the chain’s biggest markets, more than 90 percent of the city’s McDonald’s were located within walking distance of a school. Children watch, on average, an hour of fast-food commercials on television each week—more time than many children spend playing outside. The average child sees about 20,000 fast-food commercials every year. In 2006, fast-food restaurants sold more than 1.2 billion kids’ meals with toys. An estimated 20 percent of public schools sell branded fast food, mostly in high schools, where kids have more  discretion to buy â€Å"a la carte,† rather than from the regular lunch program. 3.8 Competition In one sense, McDonald’s doesn’t have any real competitors, as they are the  largest restaurant chain worldwide. But some of the other restaurant chains large enough to cut into its market share include Burger King Corporation. So how is it possible for Burger King to go up against history itself? Surprisingly they did and even though McDonald is still the best fast food franchise Burger King is trailing by not too far. One of the reasons why Burger King was so successful includes many factors but one of them was location. One of the best ways to explain it is Burger King has always found outlets where there is a large concentration of people but that wasn’t there only strategy because they also had the great idea of going head-to-head with McDonald across the street. By setting outlets in front or near a McDonald outlet they were guaranteeing visibility of their franchise. McDonald can come up with new marketing ploys and new food but it couldn’t have the advantage of location like Burger King. Remember both of them are fast food franchises so for the common customer the closest franchise is enough. In most cases people who have ate at McDonald’s have tried Burger King and people who ate at Burger King have tried McDonald and that’s completely normal. At the end of the day there isn’t much difference except for the name of every meal. If you look at it both franchises have the same types of combo which includes a hamburger, fries and a soft drink. The process may vary a little bit but in general you’ll be eating the same thing at both outlets. I. Product The first p is product. Which is one of the important things to remember when offering menu items to possible customers is that there is a huge amount of preference available to those potential customers with regard to how and where they spend their money. Marketing constantly monitors the customers’ preferences. In order to meet these changes, McDonald’s has created many new products and removed old ones over time, and they will continue to do that depending on what the customers’ needs are.

Wednesday, January 8, 2020

Financial Recession And The Auditors Role Essay Example Pdf - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 3 Words: 768 Downloads: 7 Date added: 2017/06/26 Category Finance Essay Type Narrative essay Did you like this example? The current recession was precipitated by the rapid growth of the internet industry, mainly dot-com businesses, sparked investor interest. Millions of dollars were invested in these internet companies and unfortunately they were unable to produce a profit causing a crash in the stock market in 2000 and 2001. In addition to the trouble caused by the internet boom, the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001 caused the United States economy to suffer greatly (Barth et al, 2009). In an effort to stimulate the economy, the Federal Reserve began lowering short term interest rates which eventually fell to around 1.1 percent by 2003 (Kolb, 2010). 1With the interest rate dropping drastically, homeownership became an attainable goal and subprime mortgages helped those with blemishes on their credit record to achieve this goal. From 2001 to 2006 house prices in the United States increased by 51 percent; 34 percent when adjusting for inflation (Ovanhouser, 2009). It was d uring this time that subprime mortgage share went from 7.2 percent in 2001 to 20.1 percent in 2006. The growth of house prices and subprime mortgages became rampant as did securitization. Proper documentation for originating a loan was increasingly incomplete due to the lack of oversight, growing from 20 percent in 2001 to more than 35 percent in 2006 (Jarusic, 2010). Its been suggested that documents were missing due to the fact that the demand in homeownership caused lenders to leave appropriate documentation out or that lenders saw an opportunity to gain on these subprime mortgages by giving borrowers unrealistic loans. Normally such loans would not be permitted as they are considered predatory lending, but the lack of documentation gave lenders the ability to do so (Jarusic, 2010). Subprime mortgages, although riskier for the borrower, became very popular during this time resulting in a 451 percent increase in the amount issued(Kolb, 2010). The ability to refinance, sell, or tak e out a home equity loan was made possible and profitable as homes continued to appreciate, creating positive equity (Jarsulic, 2010). These subprime loans were packaged into mortgage-backed securities and sold on Wall Street generating robust earnings and diversification of portfolios. Similar to any economic bubble, rapid growth is not a realistic constant. Eventually house price appreciation dropped from 13 percent in 2006 to 3 percent by mid-2007 (Ovanhouser, 2009). As a result, borrowers endured negative equity and defaulting on mortgages became more probable because their loan to value ratio exceeded 100 percent. Refinancing loans and selling homes became very difficult. Firms and financial intermediaries alike began to report losses from their subprime mortgage securities. Those with large concentration of these assets relative to their capital became insolvent during this time and bankruptcy declaration by Mortgage giants such as Bear Sterns, New Century Financial and Leh man Brothers caused widespread panic (Jarusic, 2010). Foreclosure on homes was very common at this time. Not only were mortgage companies affected by the burst of the housing bubble, but hedge funds that invested in mortgage backed securities suffered major losses as well. The burst of the housing bubble was the cause of the financial recession. 2The auditing profession has been accused of playing a role in the financial crisis. In a Wall Street Journal article, Reilly reports that Ernst Young was investigated by a bankruptcy examiner assigned to Lehman Brothers. The examiner alleges balance sheet manipulations and earnings management though Ernst Young maintains that financial statements were within the boundaries of generally accepted accounting principles (2010). KPMG was also invested by an examiner when New Century Financial, their client and one the largest subprime mortgage companies at the time, declared bankruptcy in 2007. The examiner mentions negligence on KPMGs part but states it would be hard to prove. Whether theres a need for proof or not, the examiners report is catching the attention of analysts. The accounting profession is likely to see more accusations in their role of the current financial crisis, but the bankers, regulators and rating agencies are truly the key players in the financial recession. The recession is sure to cause changes in the auditing profession. Mortgage-backed securities, a part of level three in the hierarchy for fair value estimation, will need to examined thoroughly because they are very risky and prone to under or over-valuation; which may lead to material misstatement. In addition to the risk posed by fair value estimations of mortgage-backed securities the recession has created economy-wide budget cuts. These cuts can lead to the desegregation of duties or reduce their internal controls which are typically very costly but are necessary in reducing audit risk. Also, during economic hardship, people may be mo re desperate and the motivation to commit fraud, whether theyre social or economic factors, will become great. Auditors will need to adjust to these changes by reevaluating their audits, substantive and analytical procedures. 3 Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "Financial Recession And The Auditors Role Essay Example Pdf" essay for you Create order