Essay --

Edith Corales Med 2049 Acute Renal Failure; PTX Tomie Nishime 11/11/2013 The human anatomy works is amazing in many ways and for the most part it all works together to keep a person alive. Every part of the body is essential, but the most important parts are the vital organs; hence the word â€Å"vital†. In most cases the organs start working when the baby is just in the womb but as person hits a certain milestone the body starts to have complications. Even a healthy person can start to have problems because it is inevitable to avoid harmful toxic that could have a negative effect on the body. In reference to toxic, the organ that eliminates toxics out of the body is the kidney. As stated by the National Kidney Foundation â€Å"Most people know that a major function of the kidneys is to remove waste products and excess fluid from the body. These waste products and excess fluid are removed through the urine. The production of urine involves highly complex steps of excretion and re-absorption. This process is necessary to maintain a stable balance o f body chemicals† (2013). Therefore the kidneys need to be well cared for because any damage to it can cause a malfunction; for instance, acute renal failure (ARF) reduces or completely stops the kidney’s function to filter our waste from the blood and excreting it in a form of urine. There are three different cause of acute renal failure prerenal, intrarenal and post renal. Pre-renal is a case when there is a loss of fluid in the body; for example, hypovolemic shock due to internal bleeding can cause a prerenal ARF. Pre-renal happens outside of the body because of the depletion of vascular fluid. As noted by Needham in his article â€Å"Management of Acute Renal Failure†, â€Å"Pre-renal azot... ...ve a symptom of anorexia, nausea, vomiting and pruritus. The amount of urine being excreted out of the body can be measured and in a person has a urine output of 400ml within one day then it is considered oliguria. A even serious urination complication is anuria which is the complete suppression of urine in the kidney, so no urine is being made. Reference The National Kidney Foundation (2013). Acute Renal Failure. Retrieved from http://www.kidney.org/atoz/atozTopic_KidneyDisease.cfm Needham, E M.D. (2005). Management of Acute Renal Failure. Retrieved from http://www.aafp.org/afp/2005/1101/p1739.html WebMD (2013). Topic overview: Acute Renal Failure. Retrieved from http://www.webmd.com/a-to-z-guides/uremic-syndrome Livestrong (2013). Acute & Chronic Renal Disease. Retrieved from http://www.livestrong.com/article/212266-acute-chronic-renal-disease/

New Hire Communication Essay

†¢Planning ? Define the purpose. To communicate the company culture, process, procedures, and general information for a new hire. ?Define the audience. New Hires. ?Identify the channel(s) of communication and why you selected that channel. The channel of communication that I selected for the new hire communication is email. I chose to send the new hire communication by email because it is instantly sent to the new hire at no cost to the company. †¢Writing ? Create the message. Welcome to Dutch Bros Coffee,Congratulations on your new position with Dutch Bros. We are truly pleased that you have chosen us as your employer. Since being founded in 1992, our goal remains to ensure that our customers are always satisfied with their beverage purchases. Here at Dutch Bros. , we believe in lovin’ life and keeping it positive. We strive to pass the good vibes on to our employees and customers. At Dutch Bros. We serve up a variety of beverages that can be infused with a number of different flavors. This fast paced work environment requires staff to work side by side as a team to successfully keep the line moving and the coffee and drinks flowing. Again, I want to welcome you to the Dutch family. We are truly pleased NEW HIRE COMMUNICATION 3 that you have accepted this opportunity to serve up a cup of sunshine to the wonderful citizens of Phoenix, AZ †¢Completing ? Proofread, revise, and submit. Welcome to Dutch Bros Coffee, Congratulations on your new position with Dutch Bros. We are truly pleased that you have chosen us as your employer. Since being founded in 1992, our goal remains to ensure that our customers are always satisfied with their beverage purchases. At Dutch Bros. We serve up a variety of beverages that can be infused with a number of different flavors. This fast paced work environment requires staff to work side by side as a team to successfully keep the line moving and the coffee and drinks flowing. We strive to pass the good vibes on to our employees and customers. Here at Dutch Bros. , we believe in lovin’ life and keeping it positive. We expect our employees to arrive on time at work in clean casual clothes and a positive work attitude. Again, I want to welcome you to the Dutch family. We are truly pleased that you have accepted this opportunity to serve up a cup of sunshine to the wonderful citizens of Phoenix, AZ Kelli Woodruff NEW HIRE COMMUNICATION 4 References Dutch Bros Coffee. (1992-2014). Retrieved from http://dutchbros. com/AboutUs/.

The Financial And Operational Consequences Of An Acquisition Finance Essay - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 15 Words: 4437 Downloads: 2 Date added: 2017/06/26 Category Finance Essay Type Research paper Did you like this example? I have chosen to write on the topic number 19, an Analysis of the Financial and Operational Consequences of a Merger between the SSB Bank and the Societele General. The pre-merger and post-merger periods between 2002 and 2008 where information was available was also considered. This report examines in detail the performance of the SG-SSB bank as compared to its rival bank, HFC bank. 1.2 REASON FOR THE CHOSEN TOPIC Acquisition has become one of the most common and recent business strategies that most businesses have adopted to sustain and enhance growth in their companies. Recently, it is up-surging in most financial institutions such as the bank. In Ghana, the SSB bank which was one of the top four banks in Ghana acquired by the Societele Generale of France. The financial industry is consolidating at an accelerating pace: the integration of financial markets has blurred distinctions between activities such as lending, investment banking, asset management, and insurance. Firms have reacted to the sharper competition by cutting costs and expanding in size, often by merging with competitors or taking them over. Long isolated by protective regulations, banks are among the most active players. Technological innovations and a thorough-going deregulation have prompted a wave of mergers in the banking industry throughout the world, starting in the United States in the eighties and reaching Eur ope in the nineties Focarelli et al (2002) p1047. So much has been written about the success and failures of mergers and acquisition. Almost every week we hear of both success and failure of companies going into consolidation. The acquisition of the SSB bank by the Societe Generale bank is one of the major Acquisitions in the history of the Ghanaian banking industry. Being among the top performing banks in Ghana since its incorporation, I will like to know the effect the Societe Generale bank has had on the SSB bank after the acquisition and whether it is financially viable for other financial institutions to follow suit. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "The Financial And Operational Consequences Of An Acquisition Finance Essay" essay for you Create order 1.3 OBJECTIVES OF THE RESEARCH The main reason behind this research is to find out whether the acquisition of a company in this case, bank will have any financial or operational effect on the combined institutions. To get the answer to this research, the following research questionnaires have been developed in other to reach a viable conclusion; Has there been any significant change on the market size of SG-SSB bank since acquisition? Has there been any improvement in profitability and efficiency since the acquisition? Has there been any improvement on the assets quality of the bank? In terms of performance, how does the bank compare with other mirror banks? On comparing the pre and post acquisition performance of the bank and its closest rival bank the answers to the research question will be attained. 2.0 INFORMATION GATHERING 2.1 SOURCES USED AND REASONS FOR THEIR USE Ghana Banking Surveys (2007, 2008 and 2009); Much reliance was placed on the Ghana Banking Surveys (2007, 2008 and 2009) as published by the PriceWaterHouseCoopers Ltd. As a secondary source, information relating to the industrial position of SG-SSB bank amongst other benchmarking banks was sourced from here. Here, the rival bank, HFC also has its financial and operational information recorded from the Ghana Banking Survey. This information was relevant for comparison, analysis and discussion. 2009 Annual Reports of the SG-SSB bank; I read through the 2009 annual report of the SG-SSB bank plc and here the most recent information about the operating result for 2009 which was not recorded in the Ghana banking surveys was gathered and utilised. They were the basis upon which the analysis was built. Books and Journals: Books provided information and idea on what other writers have written about the topic. Some of the books being; Understanding  return  on investment and Business Finance for Managers: An Essential Guide to Planning, control and decision-making plus other books and journals relating to mergers and acquisitions. These books and journals provided me with in-depth understanding of the chosen topic. Ghana Stock Exchange; The SG-SSB bank, being a public company has been listed on the Ghana stock exchange and that I was able to read about the banks portfolio and other relevant information about the performance of the bank from its website. Director / Chairmans Statement; This was helpful in establishing the significant development of the bank since the acquisition compared to the pre-acquisition years. Internet Websites; It was much easier and quicker using the internet websites to research information. Most companies use the internet through their company websites to upload their profile and other relevant information relating to the company. In this case it becomes easier to get loads of information at one go. In this resea rch for instance, industry specific information relating to the SG-SSB bank was sourced from its website and same applies as the HFC bank. Other websites such as the PWC.com was helpful in getting the Ghana banking surveys for my analysis. Limitation; Could not get access to the pre-acquisition and some of the post- acquisition annual reports as most of them were archived in hard copy format only except for the 2009 annual report which is in the softcopy format as well. 2.2 METHOD OF DATA COLLECTION USED Library Research; General reading; Internet Websites; Primary Data Collection The only primary research conducted was the interview with one of the SG-SSB banks branch managers. This was aimed at gathering not only the past information relating to the acquisition but also the current and future prospects of the bank. Despite the limitation of the information gathered, the few provided was enough to support the objective of this research. Secondary Data Collection Limitation Ethical Issues 2.3 ACCOUNTING AND BUSINESS TECHNIQUES USED; Key performance measurement tools information relating to the pre-acquisition period was compared to the post acquisition period to achieve result and to examine whether the combined entities are better together or better apart. The following techniques were relevant for the purpose of this research and that they were relied on to reach a conclusion; Profitability and efficiency Under profitability and efficiency, return on assets net interest margin and profit after tax margin were relevant. The return on Assets (ROA); The profit after tax margin; The net interest margin Market Share Share of the industry deposit, Share of the industry total asset Industry advances. Return to shareholders Return on Equity(ROE). Assets Quality Loan portfolio profitability; Liquidity Liquid funds/ total deposits; Capital Structure and Financial Risk Net loans and advances/Equity 3.0 ANALYSIS AND PRESENTATION 3.1 OVERVIEW OF THE SG-SSB BANK LIMITED As one of the major leading banks in Ghana, SG-SSB bank since its incorporation in February 7, 1975, has been very active in the Ghana Banking industry. It started as a private limited liability company using the name Security Guarantee Trust Limited. It was then solely owned by the Social Security And National Insurance Trust (SSNIT). A year after the incorporation, the name of the bank was changed to Social Security Bank Limited and granted a licence by the Bank Of Ghana to officially operate as a bank. In May 1994, the bank merged for the first time with National Savings and Credit Bank but maintained its name as Social Security Bank Ltd. The then Social Security bank limited was listed on the Ghana Stock Exchange in October 1995. In 1997, a group of strategic investors, made up of Blakeney Management Corporation UK, Morgan Stanley, Quantum (Soros) Emerging Market Investment Corporation and others bought 52% of the banks issued shares. The Social Security bank changed its nam e to the SSB bank www.sg-ssb.com.gh. In March 2004, the Socià ©tà © Gà ©nà ©rale of France acquired 51% of the SSB banks share thus controlling the interest in the company and making the SSB bank one of its subsidiaries. The bank now can boast of thirty-eight branches across Ghana. It services extends to corporate customers, Individuals and Small and Medium Enterprises www.sg-ssb.com.gh. The Societe Generale of France is one of the leading banks across Europe and aims to be the top Brass in the banking industry in France. It operates in global investment management, retail banking and investment banking. It also extends its operations in the USA and in Africa in the francophone countries. Societe Generale has about 3000 branches in France and 5300 locations globally (www.hoovers.com)(www.societegenerale.com). 3.2 SG-SSB POST-ACQUISITION OWNERSHIP STRUCTURE The ownership structure of the bank changed as soon as the Societele Generale finished the transaction. According to information published on the SG-SSB company website, the Societele Generale holds 51% of the overall company shares whereas the Social Security National Trust Fund (SSNIT) also holds 21.61%. The remaining 27.39% is owned by Retail Shareholders. This makes Societele Generale have controlling interest in the combined entity. www.sg-ssb.com.gh 3.3 OPERATIONAL ANALYSIS Table 1 Total operating assets 2002. Gh.cedis 2003. Gh.cedis 2006. Gh.cedis 2007. Gh.cedis 2008. Gh.cedis Pre Acquisition industry ranking Post Acquisition industry ranking SG-SSB 1,602,515 194,572 3,424,257 390,220 410,692 5 8 HFC 321,027 47,125 1,024,364 155,036 364,677 12 10 Source; Ghana Banking Surveys 2007, 2008, 2009 FIGURE 1 The post-acquisition performance compared to the pre-acquisition performance of the total operating assets of the combined entity has been very unstable. This is because, as at the year before the acquisition took place, the operating performance of the assets was at 1,602,515 Ghana cedis. The next year being the year of acquisition, 2003, the operating assets were at its very low at 194,572. Despite all of these, the bank managed to surge in year 2006 at a 3424,257 cedis, but then later lowered again in year 2008. As at the pre-acquisition year that is the year 2002, the SG-SSB bank was ranked number 5 among the rest of the banks in the banking industry in Ghana. It later dropped to 8th position in the year 2008 which is after the acquisition. Comparatively, the HFC bank was at best as well in year 2006 but in year 2002, it had 321,027 whereas in 2008 it re-surged to 364,677cedis. Even though SG-SSB bank was higher in industry ranking than the HFC Bank, the HFC Bank got a positive change of ranking moving from the its 12th position in year 2002 to the 10th position in year 2008. The SG-SSB bank achieved better results as compared to the HFC bank in the pre-acquisition years than the post acquisition years. 3.4 MARKET SHARE TABLE 2 Share of industry deposits bank 2002 % 2003 % 2004 % 2005 % 2006 % 2007 % 2008 % Pre-Acquisition industry ranking Post-Acquisition industry ranking SG-SSB 8.62 7.68 7.44 6.95 6.52 5.1 3.9 4 10 HFC 0.29 0.66 0.81 1.09 1.53 1.5 1.4 18 19 Source; Ghana Banking Surveys 2007, 2008, 2009 FIGURE 2 The difference in the share of industry deposits for the two banks, SG-SSB and the HFC Banks is large. In that, the SG-SSB bank being in the 4th position in the pre-acquisition period, 2002, it had a rate of 8.62% whereas in year 2008 at a decreased rank of 10, it had dropped to a 3.9%. From the table, it can be seen that, this began to decrease just on the year of acquisition, 2003. Relatively, the HFC Bank had a 0.29% share in the industry deposit in year 2002 increasing gradually to 1.4% in 2008. Despite the up-surge, the HFC Bank could not better its rank position from the 18th position, but rather dropped one to reach the 19th position. This shows that the SG-SSB bank did not do any better in the share of industry deposits after the acquisition as it dropped in ranking. TABLE 3 Share of industry net advances Bank 2002 % 2003 % 2004 % 2005 % 2006 % 2007 % 2008 % PreAcquisition industry ranking PostAcquisition industry ranking SG-SSB 9.83 8.39 6.61 7.84 6.16 5.7 5.3 5 7 HFC 3.82 2.40 2.05 1.88 2.87 2.8 2.6 8 14 Source: Adapted from Ghana Banking Surveys 2007, 2008 and 2009 FIGURE 3 Here also, the share of industry net advances for the SG-SSB Bank has fallen to a 5.3% in year 2008 from 9.83% and 8.39% in 2002(pre-acquisition) and 2003(year of acquisition) respectively. This caused a reduction in the industry ranking from 5th position in the pre-acquisition period to 7th position in the post-acquisition period. It can also be seen that between the years 2004 and 2007, the share began to rise bit by bit but could not hold on to it in 2007 and 2008. The HFC Bank did not do very well either, as it also dropped from its 3.82% in 2002 to 2.6% in 2008 eventually falling from the 8th position in year 2002 to 14th position in 2008. This indicates that the pre-acquisition pe riod of the SG-SSB Bank was better compared to the post-acquisition period. TABLE 4 Share of industry total assets Bank 2002 % 2003 % 2004 % 2005 % 2006 % 2007 % 2008 % industry ranking-2002 industry ranking 2008 SG-SSB 9.01 8.23 7.84 8.07 7.11 5.7 5.3 5 7 HFC 1.81 2.02 1.91 1.95 2.08 2.8 2.6 7 14 Source: Adapted from Ghana Banking Surveys (2007, 2008 and 2009) FIGURE 4 The share of industry total assets for the SG-SSB Bank has not been any better than the share of industry net advances. This also had a good share of the industry total assets in the pre-acquisition year 2002, but started to drop slowly from the year of acquisition, 2003, down to the post-acquisition years. This reflects the meaning of the downward fall in the industry ranking of the SG-SSB Bank from the 5th position to the 7th position in 2002 and 2008 respectively. Similarly, the HFC bank has also fallen from the 1.81% share it used to have in year 2002 to 2.6% in year 2008. Causing a fall in the industry rank by seven (7). In the light of the above information, it can be said that the SG-SSB bank ha s not improved since the acquisition in terms of its share in the industrys total assets. The pre-acquisition achievement was better than the post-acquisition achievement. 3.5 PROFITABILTY AND EFFICIENCY TABLE 5 Return on assets (ROA) BANK 2002 % 2003 % 2004 % 2005 % 2006 % 2007 % industry rank 2002 industry rank 2007 SG-SSB 4.64 4.62 4.7 3.5 3.0 3.0 6 7 HFC 5 4.20 3.0 1.1 1.4 2.4 3 10 Source: Adapted from Ghana Banking Surveys (2007, 2008 and 2009) FIGURE 5 The Return on Assets which can be measured as the ratio of net income to total assets was also used to access the performance of the banks which participated in the survey. The Return on Assets indicates how profitable a company is in terms of its available assets. Friedlob and Pewab(1996) p225 referred to return on assets  (ROA) as a ratio measures the operating efficiency of a company and it is mostly used for investment centers. It provides evidence as to how well firm directors are using the assets they manage to generate profits. From the above, it can be seen that as at the year 2002, the return on assets of SG-SSB bank was better than two years after the two banks came together. Year 2004 was very good year as the SG-SS B bank was much more profitable than the years afterwards. On comparison with the HFC banks, it can be seen that as at the year 2002, the return on assets was 5%, this also kept decreasing until it hit its low of 1.1% in 2005 and 1.4% in 2006. In terms of industry ranking, the SG-SSB bank hit below their 2002 ranking from their 6th position to the 7th position. The HFC was at its high in industry ranking in year 2002 at the 3rd position but could not stay there for long until it reached 10th position in year 2007 TABLE 6 Net interest margin 2003 % 2004 % 2005 % 2006 % 2007 % 2008 % industry ranking-2003 industry ranking 2008 SG-SSB 13.09 11.62 11.24 10.18 8.8 9.5 2 5 HFC 10.17 9.79 8.63 7.80 9.1 6.1 6 15 Source: Adapted from Ghana Banking Surveys (2007, 2008 and 2009) FIGURE 6 According to Bitner and Goddard (1992) p265 net interest margin can be referred to as the difference between the average interest rate received on the assets and the average interest rate paid on the liabilities. This can be expressed as: Net Interest Margin= (Total Interest Income-Total Interest Expense) / Average Total Assets From the above table, it can be seen that the net interest margin for SG-SSB bank as at the year of acquisition was better than the post acquisition years. At 13.09%, the bank was ranking second in the year 2003. At time went by, it began to decline slowly to 8.8% in 2007 and 9.5% in 2008. Compared to HFC bank, they were doing well as well by having 10.17% net interest margin in 2003 bu t had a sharp decline in 2008 at 6.1% moving them from the sixth position it was enjoying in year 2003 to a lower industrial ranking in 2008 at fifteen. Here it can be said that the average total interest income for SG-SSB bank significantly outweighed the average total interest expense as at the year of acquisition which contributed to the high performance on the year of acquisition. TABLE 7 Profit after Tax Margin 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 industry rank 2002 industry rank 2006 SG-SSB 24.3% 25.3% 27.9% 21.3% 19.9% 9 11 HFC 32.8% 42.3% 28.7% 12.2% 15.0% 2 13 Source; Ghana banking survey 2007 FIGURE 7 Profit after tax margin measures the effectiveness of a company in generating profit through its efficient monitoring of expenses. Here, it can be seen that, the SG-SSB bank performance was not very good. This could be as a result of inefficient control of their expenses. This is evidenced by their industrial ranking from the 9th position in 2002 to the 11th position. Despite this downfall in profit after tax margin, the SG-SSB bank was better efficient in year 2004 than both the pre-acquisition year 2002 and post-acquisition year 2006. In the case of HFC bank, it also went down from a good yielding percentage of 32.8% in 2002 to a 19.9% in 2006 despite its best performance in 2003 at 42.3%. Here, even though SG-SSB bank achieved better compared to HFC bank in 2006, SG-SSB bank still could have performed better looking at its merging and the injection of capital from the Societele Generale. 3.6 RETURN TO SHAREHOLDERS TABLE 8 Return on equity (ROE) Bank 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 industry rank 2002 industry rank 2006 SG-SSB 29.8% 30.0% 30.6% 24.3% 20.4% 20.0% 22.3% 9 11 HFC 30.1% 24.5% 17.5% 7.1% 11.4% 26.9% 20.8% 2 13 Source: Adapted from Ghana Banking Surveys (2007, 2008 and 2009) FIGURE 8 According to the Ghana banking survey 2007, the banking Return on Equity decides on the return to be generated from the shareholders equity. The higher the ratio, the better the bank looks to be performing. Tracy J (2008) p286 explained it further by adding that the return on equity shows the amount of profit a business earned in comparison to the book value of the shareholders equity. This can be expressed as; Return on Equity= Net Income/shareholders equity. 3.7 ASSET QUALITY TABLE 9 Loan portfolio profitability 2002 % 2003 % 2004 % 2005 % 2006 % 2007 % 2008 % industry rank 2002 industry rank 2008 SG-SSB 15.28 12.11 17.33 12.60 12.98 9.11 9.9 12 18 HFC 1.35 0.02 3.19 3.70 6.14 12.33 17.8 17 4 Source: Adapted from Ghana Banking Surveys (2007, 2008 and 2009) FIGURE 9 According to Bitner and Goddard (1992) in asset quality management, much of the value of the banking process is created by able to manage credit risk and that the funds obtained from depositors are used to advance loans. The Ghana banking survey, 2007 indicates that, Loan Portfolio profitability is a measure of the performance of the classes of the loans from the bank. If the ratio is high then the performance is better for the relevant bank, in this case the SG-SSB. From the above, it can be seen that the management of the asset quality in terms of the loan portfolio has not been very good for SG-SSB but has grown to be better for the HFC bank. The SG-SSB bank had moved from a lower rank of tw elfth position in 2002 to a much lower rank of eighteenth position in 2008. This could be that the management of the different classes of the assets in the bank is not very efficient in terms of yielding profitability. Comparatively, the HFC bank continued to improve its performance in the asset quality moving from a lower industrial position of seventeenth to fourth position. 3.8 LIQUIDITY TABLE 10 Liquid funds/ total deposits 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 industry rank 2002 industry ranking 2008 SG-SSB 1.00 0.95 0.97 0.85 0.85 0.63 0.41 6 19 HFC 2.78 2.24 1.84 1.21 0.64 0.61 2.01 1 2 Source: Adapted from Ghana Banking Surveys (2007, 2008 and 2009) FIGURE 10 The Ghana banking survey 2007 indicates that, the Liquid funds/ Total deposits decides the cover of the liquidity provided by the SG-SSB bank to meet with its maturity and withdrawal of the bank deposits. Here the higher the ratio the better, as at year 2002 the SG-SSB had a good liquidity funds to total equity at 1 but then began to decrease. The year 2008 it declined to 0.41 with an industrial ranking of 19th position, which indicates that SG-SSB bank was not performing well after the merger. On comparing this with the mirror bank, HFC, the HFC bank performed outstandingly better than the SG-SSB bank in both years 2002 and 2008 having a 2.78 a nd 2.01 liquid funds to total equity respectively. This outstanding performance positioned the bank in the industrial ranking at first position in 2002 and second position in 2008. 3.9 CAPITAL STRUCTURE AND FINANCIAL RISK TABLE 11 Total assets/ equity 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 industry ranking-2002 industry ranking 2007 SG-SSB 6.61 6.40 5.53 5.54 6.38 7.15 5 18 HFC 6.08 5.75 6.11 6.69 9.91 12.37 4 9 Source: Adapted from Ghana Banking Surveys (2007, 2008 and 2009) FIGURE 11 This measures the financial leverage and the long-term solvency and can be expressed as; Asset to Equity = Asset/Equity In other words this represents the overall assets of a company divided by the value of its owners equity. From the above, it can be seen that as at the pre-acquisition year 2002, the SG-SSB bank had a good leverage and that its total assets to equity was better than the current in year 2007 despite the great performance of the HFC bank in both the pre and post acquisitions periods. In this ratio, the lower the ratio the better the performance of the company in question, the HFC was able to maintain its lead over the SG-SSB bank even though it h ad fallen from the fourth position in year 2002 to the ninth position in year 2007. Comparing this with the post-merger performance on 2007, the SG-SSB bank drastically fell to its eighteenth position in terms of the industry ranking in 2007 3.10 INTERVIEW WITH BRANCH MANAGER In an interview with one of the branch managers of he explained that the main reason why the bank went into merger with the French bank Societe General was because as at that year of acquisition, 2003, the Government of Ghana wanted to withdraw its shareholdings from the former SSB bank and so the bank needed some financial funding to be injected into the bank as the Government withdraws its shareholdings. It was also revealed that apart from the injection of cash into the bank by the Socià ©tà © Generale, the bank also undertook to lay-off about one-hundred and twenty staff and three senior management staffs but the effectively trained the retained staffs and improved the staff welfare. He also said that unfortunately despite the huge injection of cash to fuel the going concern of the combined entity, the size of the customers was very much affected adversely after the merger and this is due to high competition and better facilities being offered by other immerging mirror banks. In general, he described the overall performance of the bank compared to the pre-merger years as weakening and that if there should be any improvement in the bank again the market size and the profitability should be improved. He however refused to comment on whether the bank was enjoying any reliefs from the inland revenues services in terms of taxation. He also said that on comparing the SG-SSB bank with its rival banks like the HFC bank (the mirror bank in this research), the Barclays Bank of Ghana and the Standard Chartered bank, the SG-SSB bank will need to back up to improve its market shares. He considers the pre-merger years as much more effective than the post merger years. OPERATING RESULT FOR 2009 Despite the growing concern of the world economic downturn and the extensive loss of consumer confidence in year 2009, the 2009 annual report recorded that the SG-SSB bank exhibited a good financial performance in that year against the challenging banking industry in Ghana. It recorded a net profit before taxation of 26,909,570GHcedis and a net profit after tax of 19,293,069GHcedis. As at that same year of the recession, SG-SSB bank was able to record an increase in the net banking income by 18.75%. Sadly, the current operating expenses grew by 23.8%. The shareholders funds also experienced an increase from 69,671,327GHcedis to 110,193,426GHcedis representing a surged of 58.16%. The share price of the bank as at the beginning of 2009 was better at 1.15GHcedis per share nonetheless in the second half of the year it fell to 0.58GHcedis. Here the chairman indicated that this was because the bank had a recapitalisation in that period. Unfortunately, as at December 2009 the sha re price had further fallen from its unwelcomed 0.58GHcedis to 0.46GHcedis. SIGNIFICANT POSITIVE CHANGE- CURRENT YEAR (2009) COMPARED TO THE PRE-ACQUISITION YEARS The Managing Director of the SG-SSB bank also indicated in his statement that the bank has initiated some development plans to achieve a good competitive ground and to attract new customers while improving credits and deposits. These development plans had already started in the year 2009 some of which are; Significant Milestones for the year 2009; Compared to the post-acquisition years, one of the positive impact the Societele Generale brought in the bank was able to increase the banks equity base from 7,000,000GHcedis to above 60,000,000GHcedis, a figure high and above the required threshold of the Bank of Ghana. Effective risk supervision continues to be active in the bank since the and that the bank has added some new functions to ensure the permanent supervision and compliance with the anti-money laundering and Business continuity plans. There was the full integration of all the functions in the year 2009. Further to this, the Managing director also affirmed that the q uality of the banks credit risk assessment is continually being maintained at a good level compared to the pre-acquisition days. There has also been developments in organisation and project management, here unlike the pre-acquisition years, the bank took part in a projects initiated by the Central Bank called the Cheque Codeline Clearing and Automated Clearing House. As confirmed by the branch manager in his interview, the managing director affirmed that since the acquisition of the bank by the Societele Generale, there has been a positive drive in the human resource management where the HR department has effectively encouraged management trainee programmes to attract and hire graduates for leadership positions in the bank. This training will in the end impact significantly and positively in the market share of the bank. 4.0 CONCLUSION The main reason behind this research is to identify the financial and operational consequences of a merger between the SSB and the Societele Generale banks. From the available information as published by the PriceWaterHouseCoopers ltd, it can be seen that, the Market share performance in terms of the share of industry deposits and share of net advances had declined and that shows that the combined entities are not enjoying the benefit of synergy in terms of the size of their market share and power as discussed by Khan and Jain (2006) p17.3, where they said that Synergy should add value to the business by the enlargement of the market share rather than decreasing it. More so, the return on assets, net interest margin and the profit after tax margin all started to decline just after the merger. This is because, when the level of market share of the combined entity has decreased, and consequently it will adversely affect the level of profitability as well. The amount of profi t the SG-SSB bank has been enjoying declined as it is not able to get enough out of the owners equity, hence the decrease in the return on equity. Furthermore, the interview revealed that there was also the issue of downsizing after the merger. The Societe Generale decided to decrease the amount of workforce to avoid duplication of duties and above all to reduce the labour cost. 4.1 Recommendation Kaplans balanced score card will be appropriate for the management of the bank to adopt to monitor the performance of the combined entity. Kaplan explained it as a strategic planning and management system which can be used extensively in businesses and industries, government, and not-for-profit organizations globally to support business activities to the vision and strategies of the business entity, improve communication, and monitor the performance of businesses against corporate goal. www.balancedscorecard.org

Minnesota Colleges and Universities Pursuing Online and Campus Based Education in Minnesota 2019

The North Star State of Minnesota houses one of the busiest inland harbors in the U.S. as well as the Saint Lawrence Seaway, a significant port for overseas trade. Over half of Minnesotans reside in the Twin Cities metropolitan area. However, education and career opportunities abound throughout the state thanks to Minnesota colleges and universities. Graduates of Minnesota Colleges and Universities Find Employment in Prestigious Occupations Minnesota has some of the nations most highly educated people, making it home to many successful companies. Printing and publishing, outdoor tourism, and high technology manufacturing are some of the most prominent employers of Minnesota college graduates. Well-known companies in Minnesota include: Target Corporation headquartered in Twin Cities, MN. Best Buy headquartered in Twin Cities, MN. Mall of America in Bloomington, MN. IBM with a large plant in Rochester, MN. Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN. Seagate Technology headquartered in Shakopee, MN. .u7206098637f4492db15b83a01d350530 { padding:0px; margin: 0; padding-top:1em!important; padding-bottom:1em!important; width:100%; display: block; font-weight:bold; background-color:#eaeaea; border:0!important; border-left:4px solid #34495E!important; box-shadow: 0 1px 2px rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.17); -moz-box-shadow: 0 1px 2px rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.17); -o-box-shadow: 0 1px 2px rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.17); -webkit-box-shadow: 0 1px 2px rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.17); text-decoration:none; } .u7206098637f4492db15b83a01d350530:active, .u7206098637f4492db15b83a01d350530:hover { opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; text-decoration:none; } .u7206098637f4492db15b83a01d350530 { transition: background-color 250ms; webkit-transition: background-color 250ms; opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; } .u7206098637f4492db15b83a01d350530 .ctaText { font-weight:bold; color:inherit; text-decoration:none; font-size: 16px; } .u7206098637f4492db15b83a01d350530 .post Title { color:#000000; text-decoration: underline!important; font-size: 16px; } .u7206098637f4492db15b83a01d350530:hover .postTitle { text-decoration: underline!important; } READ Solving Environmental Problems with Science and TechnologyLow Unemployment Rates and High Salaries Encourage Minnesota College Graduates to Build Local Careers Minnesota boasts an unemployment rate below the national average along with a median household income well above the national average. Consequently, Minnesota college graduates have little reason to leave the states thriving economy. The Department of Labor and U.S. Census Bureau reveal: The 2016 2017 Minnesota median household income was $56,098, approximately $10,000 above the national average. The September, 2017 Minnesota unemployment rate was 3%, compared to the national average of 4%. 2,843,900 people are employed in Minnesota. The 2017 Minnesota gross state product was $233 billion. Online and Campus Based Minnesota Colleges and Universities Provide Access to Higher Education throughout the State Whether living in the Twin Cities metropolitan area or Greater Minnesota, individuals have access to flexible education options through Minnesota colleges and universities. Minnesota offers both campus-based and online education through schools, such as: University Of Phoenix: Minneapolis/St Louis Park College Campus and Online Programs. ITT Technical Institute: Eden Prairie College Campus, Woodbury College Campus, and Online Programs. Kaplan University: Minnesota Online Programs. Ashford University: Minnesota Online Programs. .uf325cc049cb63610cb69347a7ad7db15 { padding:0px; margin: 0; padding-top:1em!important; padding-bottom:1em!important; width:100%; display: block; font-weight:bold; background-color:#eaeaea; border:0!important; border-left:4px solid #34495E!important; box-shadow: 0 1px 2px rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.17); -moz-box-shadow: 0 1px 2px rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.17); -o-box-shadow: 0 1px 2px rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.17); -webkit-box-shadow: 0 1px 2px rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.17); text-decoration:none; } .uf325cc049cb63610cb69347a7ad7db15:active, .uf325cc049cb63610cb69347a7ad7db15:hover { opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; text-decoration:none; } .uf325cc049cb63610cb69347a7ad7db15 { transition: background-color 250ms; webkit-transition: background-color 250ms; opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; } .uf325cc049cb63610cb69347a7ad7db15 .ctaText { font-weight:bold; color:inherit; text-decoration:none; font-size: 16px; } .uf325cc049cb63610cb69347a7ad7db15 .post Title { color:#000000; text-decoration: underline!important; font-size: 16px; } .uf325cc049cb63610cb69347a7ad7db15:hover .postTitle { text-decoration: underline!important; } READ Preparing a Healthier Financial Future Through Healthcare Management EducationFor more links to Minnesota colleges and universities, students are encouraged to visit College-Pages.com, the leading education and career resource website. Prospective students will also find access to informative articles about making education and career decisions in Minnesota. Related ArticlesNorth Dakota Colleges and Universities Pursuing Online and Campus Based Education in North DakotaNew York Colleges and Universities Pursuing Online and Campus Based Education in New York, the Empire StateKentucky Colleges and Universities Pursuing Online and Campus-based Education in Kentucky, the Bluegrass StateColleges and Universities in Guam Pursuing Online Education in GuamVirginia Colleges and Universities Pursuing Online and Campus Based Education in Virginia, the Old Dominion StateArizona Colleges and Universities Pursing Advanced Education in The Grand Canyon State

Windmill Energy is not an Acceptable Energy Source...

Windmill Energy is not an Acceptable Energy Source Replacement for California Abstract Windmill energy is an old form of energy that is now being modernized to generate electricity in our society today. The big question is whether or not it is a feasible replacement of energy for California. Through research it has been concluded that energy for California cannot be produced only by windmill energy. It can produce about 50% of California’s energy. All aspects including, location, cost, and environment are important to how much energy is produced. Introduction From past to current situations, the United States has had to rely more and more on foreign countries to retrieve an efficient amount of fossil fuel. During these times, the†¦show more content†¦Pamela Podger says that windmills can keep electricity and power going without referring to any other California resources (2001). Podger reported the words of Craig Bartosch, while referring to wind power, when he said: â€Å"Its a windfall that we have a system in place while everything is going completely nuts in the energy scene† (2001). Also reported by Podger, California has had an increase of customers for buying small wind turbines in the year 2001 (2001). Much evidence has been shown to prove that wind power is a proficient alternative energy source. Windmills provide many benefits if used to generate electricity. Location is one of the key elements in building windmills in California because without wind, there would be no energy. There are both off shore and on shore windmills. Since a lot of California is along the coast of the Pacific Ocean, it is much easier to produce windmill energy there than in the Mid-West states. According to Miller, wind in California is determined by the area of pressure that is around the eastern part of the Pacific Ocean throughout the year (1980). The wind pressure reaches the northern position in the summer and it reaches the southern position in the winter. There is a higher wind speed wherever the pressure is located. The California coast is a major advantage to produce wind energy using windmills. The ocean gives off a lot of wind, and this wind is used to accelerate the job of the

Managing Mental Health Adults

Question: Identify a wide range of self-help options that can be facilitated for sufferers of mental health problems? Answer: Depression is a very common thing for people in their young age and is often temporary. They feel blue or low in their mood, tearful and sad. People often cannot cope up with pressure in their professional life and personal life, which often cause such distress (Rcpsych.ac.uk, 2015). Marta is a twenty year old girl. She is a jolly girl and vey cheerful, with an outgoing nature. She is physically fit but of late, she has been suffering from depression. Holistic approach involves considering the person as an integrated system. The focus is on treating mind and body for feeling better (Aguirre, 2008). Marta is depressed and taking medicines will not help her out. Holistic measures must be taken by her. The following is a list of twenty ideas that she can refer to for coping up with her depression. Marta should be taking food that has high content of folic acids, omega 3 fatty acids, selenium and tryptophan. She must include fish in her diet which helps to combat depression. Boosting the level of Vitamin B1, B2, C, and zinc in her food will help. Often, eating food like milk products, develop problems that induce the symptoms of depression. If Marta is having such products, she must stop taking them. Eating a balanced diet is necessary. Processed food and refined food must be avoided. Fluid intake is important, along with avoidance of caffeine. Maintain activities help in feeling better. Thus some form of physical activities is important. Marta can take a walk in her garden and take a stroll in the park. Playing with children is what she can do to feel better. Cooking and cleaning the house will keep her occupied. Having a hobby, like drawing or dancing can be done. Going for swimming is good option. Cycling promotes good health and gives a good feeling. Going out with friends and family helps to fight depression. Spending time with loved ones will make her happy. Negative thinking must be avoided. Regular and restful sleep is very necessary for her in order to feel better. She must go out in the bright sunshine and breathe fresh air. She must have some spiritual believes in order to feel positive. Self help groups are groups that provide help to people suffering from depression. They are the groups that are formed by persons suffering a certain condition or relatives of people who have suffered from those conditions. They try to uplift the quality of life of the people. Support and ideas are shared. Self confidence is boosted up. People find a lifeline in being with people who understand how it feels when someone is in depression. But there is a disadvantage. Often people get to know about the reasons of others worry and become more depressed thinking about the consequences if such things happen in their life (Nhs.uk, 2015). Several self help groups are there that specialises in giving such support. People suffering from such conditions can seek help. Some are national level network. Online and offline help is both provided. Such groups are open to people who are affected by depression. A welcoming and safe space is provided where people can share their ideas and make friends. Volunteers are there who have personal experience and they directly help out the people. Taking help form self help groups are not like a therapy but being with people and sharing thoughts help to end loneliness and isolation (Depressionuk.org, 2015). References Aguirre, B. (2008).Depression. Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press. Depressionuk.org, (2015).Depression UK - Joining a self help depression group. [online] Available at: https://www.depressionuk.org/groups.shtml [Accessed 15 Jul. 2015]. Nhs.uk, (2015).Depression support groups - Stress, anxiety and depression - NHS Choices. [online] Available at: https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/stress-anxiety-depression/pages/depression-help-groups.aspx [Accessed 15 Jul. 2015]. Rcpsych.ac.uk, (2015).Depression in children and young people. [online] Available at: https://www.rcpsych.ac.uk/healthadvice/parentsandyouthinfo/youngpeople/depressioninyoungpeople.aspx [Accessed 15 Jul. 2015]

The Economic Impact of the Icelandic Volcano Eruptions on the International Economy

Introduction It is impossible to imagine a natural catastrophe which does not influence the international economy. Paying attention to the Icelandic volcano eruptions and especially the most recent one which took place on April 14, 2010, it is possible to say that Eyjafjallajokull volcano has affected the international economy greatly.Advertising We will write a custom term paper sample on The Economic Impact of the Icelandic Volcano Eruptions on the International Economy specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Therefore, it is impossible to say that the impact was positive. The whole international economy suffered greatly. The ash plume rose over several kilometers into the sky which could not be left invisible for the national and international economies. It is obvious that the first problem which seems to be crucial is the environmental one. So much ash in the air and other consequences of the eruption harm the nature greatly. Still, the economic impact may not be compared with the environmental one as the environment of one country was affected and the changes the eruption caused are reversible. But, the whole world suffered from the disaster which has happened on one island. Dwelling upon the international influence of the Icelandic volcano eruptions, it is necessary to state that not only the nearest countries like UK, France, Germany, and other northern European countries suffered from the disaster, but such remote ones like Japan and some other countries in Africa appeared under the influence. Thus, it may be easily stated the economic impact of the Icelandic volcano eruptions on the international economy was great, especially in the airline sector and other types of transportation, tourism, import and export, and business. At the same time, referencing to the problems which have appeared, it may be predicted that there are some specific facilities for solving those. The Influence of Icelandic Volcano Erupt ions on the Airlines It is natural that the appearance of much amount of ash in the air prevents airplanes from flying. This problem seems to be not so urgent if to consider it from the side of some tourists who had to stay on the island for several days more, but, being the international problem it is necessary to consider the far-reaching impact which is negative. Now, it is possible to calculate the costs and state that the global gross domestic product reduced on about US$4.7 billion for the first week. The global aviation has lost about US$2.6 billion along with the net aviation sector which was impacted by US$2.2 billion lost. Due to the flight restrictions, the international trade loses even impossible to calculate. Because of the airspace shutdown, about 5,000 flights were cancelled, which led to US$5.0 billion total cost of the GDP through May 2010 (The Economic Impacts of Air Travel Restrictions Due to Volcanic Ash, 2010). All this information is taken for the first week a fter the disaster.Advertising Looking for term paper on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Considering the operating daily flights while the disaster, it may be easily stated that 27,000 flights were recorded on 14 April and on 17 April this number reduced up to 5,000 in the European space. The cancellation of flights impacted not only 7 million passengers, but also disrupted supply routes in the whole world. Passengers had to spend additional money on hotel rooms, taxis, food, as well as shopping and entertainment. According to the Oxford economics report, â€Å"Nearly all inter-regional travel involving Europe was affected by the crisis and, as a result, every region of the world felt the impact of lost visitors with a potential loss (over and above aviation sector losses) of US$4.2 billion in visitor spending† (The Economic Impacts of Air Travel Restrictions Due to Volcanic Ash, 2010, p. 5). Conside ring the far-reaching effects of the disaster, it is impossible to omit the following information. Those people who were far from their homes and wanted to go there had to use other options for traveling (sea, train, cars) or had to stay in the foreign country till the services start working again. The would-be travelers had either to cancel the trip or to delay it. The airlines suffered from great costs due to the fact that the customers declined their booking. The European costs were about US$2.8 billion because of the loss of the predicted arrivals (The Economic Impacts of Air Travel Restrictions Due to Volcanic Ash, 2010). The counties outside the Europe suffered as well. The USA is the country which was impacted greatly. Its aviation has lost about US$336 million in revenue. Middle East and Africa managed to lose US$253 million in the air transportation sector. In spite of the fact that Asia was considered to be the region where the impact on travelers in numerical form was few est, the aviation lost US$216 million. Moreover, â€Å"global effects of the disruption on GDP were the smallest in Asia at US$517 million, equivalent to around 0.16% of the region’s GDP for the week† (The Economic Impacts of Air Travel Restrictions Due to Volcanic Ash, 2010, p. 8). The impact on passengers was great. Many people could not get home when they planned, that is why many people were left in stranded position not only for the time when the air space was closed but for much longer period. Even though there were so many problems the airline sector had to suffer from because of the Icelandic volcano eruptions and its negative impact on GDP, there were some ways which might reduce that harmful effect.Advertising We will write a custom term paper sample on The Economic Impact of the Icelandic Volcano Eruptions on the International Economy specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Therefore, those employees who used to work at home could continue performing their responsibilities from another country, some workers could be substituted for some period of time, others could catch-up the work later, and there could be people who could use the time stranded as the holiday (The Economic Impacts of Air Travel Restrictions Due to Volcanic Ash, 2010). So, it may be completed that even though the shutdown of the European airspace negatively affected the economics of the whole world and GDP level of the countries, there were the ways for solving the problem or at least to reduce the harmful effect caused by the Icelandic volcano eruptions. The Influence of Icelandic Volcano Eruptions on Other Means of Transport The types of transport different from airplanes benefited from the situation. The main reason for such situation is that people tried to look for alternative types of transportation to reach their homes. Trains, ferry, rented cars, sea are the main types of transport people used to reach the place w here they could reach their homes with. It may be said that train and ferry services increased at least twice while the period of time when airspace was closed. It is obvious that airline services are considered to be the fastest and the most convenient means of transport in the relation to others. Still, when the problem appeared and ash resulted from eruption of the Eyjafjallajokull volcano and European airspace was shutdown, people remembered about alternative means of transportation and used those to reach their homes or other places of destination. The most beneficial industries in the situation were railways and car rentals. It is obvious that if people could use other means for reaching their homes, they did all possible to do that. Thus, Eurostar reported that it managed to carry 50,000 extra passengers the next day after the volcano eruption. The increase of the passengers who used the services of the company increased on 33% on 17 April. PO Ferries of France stated that al l places were booked and that they had to employ additional staff temporary to cope with the telephone calls and booking services (Mazzocchi, Hansstein Ragona, 2010, p. 92). At the same time, it is possible to conclude that the alternative means of transport were considered as effective only when small distances and products of long expire date were meant. Otherwise, when the freight should be delivered within a short period of time due to some specific terms and conditions of storage, it is obvious that sea and railway were not the appropriate means of transport that should be considered.Advertising Looking for term paper on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Even though many sources state that alternative types of transport benefited from the whole situation and helped people reach the places of their destination as well as the export and import deliveries, it is impossible to state that this substitution was efficient. According to the Swedish Transport Agency report, Swedish State Railways (SJ) and bus companies managed to help some stranded passengers and deliver them to the places they needed. Still, it was impossible for them to replace the airline freights. All the countries reported that even the slightest help from alternative means of transport was visible, it was â€Å"hard to replace international air traffic with buses and even harder to substitute trains, because they are not coordinated internationally† (Skoglund, 2010, p. 47). In conclusion, the means of transport different from airlines were considered as the rescue ones when Eyjafjallajokull volcano erupted. The types of alternative transportation services got ad ditional revenue and only benefited from the situation. At the same time, surface transportation services also suffered great expenses in case when they depended on the air transportation. Thus, the situation in the sphere of surface transportation was rather doubtful, on the one hand, people were given an opportunity to use alternative means of transport and reach the places of their final destination having increased the revenues in the sphere, but on the other hand, some surface transportation companies suffered costs if they depended on the airline delivery. Icelandic Volcano Eruptions Impact on Tourism Industry Iceland is one of the places which is considered to be the center of the international tourism. It is impossible to imagine the better place which combines cold temperature of the air and hot geysers. The country does not have the facilities for heavy industry, but has some specific conditions which increase the possibilities of tourism development. At the same time, it is impossible to state firmly whether the tourism industry was affected positively or negatively by the volcano eruptions. There are a number of reasons for this. The factors which positively influenced the tourism industry on the island due to Eyjafjallajokull volcano eruption were as follows. Firstly, the demand for hotel rooms increased. This was connected with the stranded passengers who had to stay on island. Secondly, people spent more days in Iceland that could not prevent them from attending different entertaining facilities and eating in different restaurants. Thirdly, the use of the surface transport in the country was inevitable that brought more profit to the national economy. The airspace was shut down for several days. This time was not enough to harm the industry greatly. Still, some negative effect was observed as well. The negative impact on the tourism industry in the country was reflected via the following factors. The tour operators, according to the terms of the ATOL regulations, had to provide the tourists with the alternative means of transport free of charge and to offer the would-be tourists other types of transportation suitable for them. This brought some additional costs which should be covered by the tour operators (Oakley-Smith, Rifkind, Cartwright, 2010). Apps (2010) in the report devoted to the economic impact of the volcano eruption in Iceland states that approximately 5% of gross global product accounts for tourism industry. This is about $3 trillion. It is obvious that not all this sum was lost, still, the industry expenses were about $5-10 billion dollars a week. Moreover, the environment problems which have appeared as the result of the eruptions cannot be eliminated too fast, so people would not like to go to the place where nothing is seen because of ash. Moreover, some vulcanologists warn that â€Å"the same thing could happen again for as long as the eruption under the glacier lasts, further threatening struggling fir ms† (Apps, 2010, par. 9). So, it may be concluded that tourism sector is the one which suffered less from the volcano eruptions in Iceland. It may be predicted that the next time people would like to visit his place for a number of reasons. Still, one of those reasons is going to be the desire to visit the place which managed to shake the whole international economy and stop the air flies for several days. Moreover, the Eyjafjallajokull volcano is going to become one more place of interest which is going to attract more people on the island. Influence of Iceland Volcano Eruptions on Export and Import International trade largely depends on rail, road, and sea freight rather than on air transportation. However, the Iceland volcanic disruption has caused serious adversities for international including flowers and foods transportation that heavily relies on air freights. In particular, export operations in Africa and the United Kingdom encounter serious problems due to air cancell ations. Japanese leading car manufacturer Nissan has to postpone the production because it has failed to ship car parts from the Irish Republic and other countries. Clouds of ash caused by the Iceland volcano eruptions have forced thousands of farmers near Equator strike and causing Kenya’s vegetable and flower industry a $ 3 million loss daily (Pflanz, 2010, p. 2). In general, more than $ 12 million has been lost due to incapability to deliver the products to the European market. Such losses provide significant damages to Kenyan economy because horticulture industry is one of the main sources of the country’s revenues. As a result, the bankruptcy of this production line can lead to the increase of unemployment rates and decrease of the country’s gross domestic product. Pflanz (2010) reports, â€Å"5000 farm workers across the industry were told to stat home on Monday as efforts were made to keep flowers and vegetable in the ground rather harvest them† (p . 2). While considering the transportation of fresh vegetables and fruits, the largest category involves leguminous vegetables, such as green pees and beans, and exotic fruits such as mangoes and melons (The Economic Impact of Air Travel Restrictions, 2010). The disruption of airline freights has a negative impact on just-in-time manufacturing. The problems of economical character have touched upon even developed countries such as Japan and the United Kingdom. In particular, Nissan, the leading car manufacturer in Japan, plans to cease the production due to the shortage of key engine controllers that are supplied by Hitachi. The production process and supply chain network was considerably disrupted by volcano eruptions in Iceland providing tangible reasons for economic problems in future (Wakabayashi and Takahashi, 2010). The problems with air freights have always been the main stumble blocks for supply chain management, but volcanism has aggravated the situation to a great extent. In addition, care manufacturing at BMW has also undergone temporary suspensions due to the shortage of pressure sensors that are supplied via air-freights (The Economic Impact of Air Travel Restrictions, 2010). Despite the fact that the production of the leading car industries has not been considerably disrupted by the ecological factors, the consequences of the volcanic eruptions still demonstrate the vital role airline in the international trade for global supply chain management. The ecological disaster has greatly affected the economy of the United Kingdom. In particular, the country will suffer from import shortages of exotic fresh food due to air flight cancellations. Due to the fact that Britain is one of the most developed economies in the world, the ash clouds caused by volcano eruptions in Iceland can considerably worsen the UK economic relationships not only with the Irish Republic, but also with other leading economies (Warner, 2010). Specifically, the disruption and air -flight cancellations threaten Britain’s successful economic activities. Their retail business encounters great losses as well because suppliers of fresh products could be affected and lead to more serious problems. A significant impact will be experienced by pharmaceutical companies because their transactions and transportations heavily rely on the airline sector (Apps, 2010). The least unaffected zone in this term is Asia and the United States whose relationships has not been worsened. The financial recessions can also spread over the economies of South America and Africa whose agricultural manufacturing can be suspended due to the transportation problems. According the report carried out by the Economic Impact of Air Travel Restrictions (2010), â€Å"†¦under $ 300 million of flowers were exported to the EU from Latin America by air in 2009, $ 21 million in April 2009 Alone, with most of this coming from Ecuador and Argentina†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (p. 9). Like Kenya, these ec onomies also heavily rely on horticulture development, which greatly contributes to the economic growth because it affects all economic fields. Impact of Volcanic Eruption on Other Business Costs As it has mentioned previously, the international trade has been greatly affected by the environmental problems in Iceland. The shortages in import and export operations have provided additional expenditures for the elimination of the outcomes of air flight cancellations. In particular, the major attention is focused on the analysis of such areas as airmail, road and rail transportation systems, supply chain management reorganization, telecommunications, and environmental programs. Due to transport and freight limitations, the greatest businesses and economies are also under the threat of financial crisis. In particular, leading industries can lose money due to stranded staff, cancelled meetings, and air mail delays (The Economic Impact of Air Travel Restrictions, 2010). The closure and can cellation of major European air space leaves passengers stranded around the worlds and provides with not possibility for returning home. This is especially problematic when air flights are necessary for arranging business meetings and concluding important agreements. According to the Oxford Economics report (2010), â€Å"Europeans passenger â€Å"stranded days† totaled just less than 2.8 million days and that does not allow for the difficulties passengers are encountering getting home even one the majority of the airspace has reopened† (The Economic Impact of Air Travel Restrictions, 2010). Similar problem occurs of North American, US, Canadian, and Asian passengers. The aviation section has also encountered great financial losses. The estimation of the European commission has revealed that more than 1 million schedules passengers were daily affected during the period of volcanic eruptions. The total number of stranded passengers counted about 10 million, which conside rably influenced the economies and businesses of such leading countries as Great Britain, France, and Germany (Sokglund, 2010). The disruption caused by volcano ash clouds has led to the delay of airmail. Many airmail operations have been suspended or delayed for an uncertain period. In particular, the United Parcel Service and FedEx have also stopped their activities for an indefinite time. The problem is that the largest couriers companies such as DHL, and FedEx, and UPS use air hubs in Germany and France, which are closed now due to recent threat of volcanic eruptions (Apps, 2010). In this regard, the restrictions to air flights can influence the rearrangements of the routs. What is more problematic is that it can lead to the increase of gas prices and demand in crude and oil products (Norrington, 2010). The economic outcomes of the volcanic eruption in Iceland infuse the implementation of various environmental programs that are also followed by significant business costs (Sokglu nd, 2010). Additionally, substantial financial support is necessary for future actions and operations on the prediction and elimination of environmental problems. Impact of Volcanic Eruptions Economic Growth The general economic impact of the volcanic disruption is planned to the relatively minimal. Nevertheless, the suspension period of air transportation might have a detrimental influence on European countries and their economic development. The overall estimation of the consequences of volcanic eruptions for Icelandic economies and the global economy assumes that air transport and services has undergone the greatest losses. The ecological problem has also defined that this economic area is quite significant because it is closely intertwined with production, international trade, and business relations. What is more important is that air transportation system has become an inherent component of the modern economy. The volcano eruptions in Iceland have contributed to financial crisi s of a 2008-2010 period. In particular, this environmental problem has negatively affected the stability of supply chain operations being the basis for business transactions. According to Levinson (2010), â€Å"[d]elays are much more frequent. Even with reduced demand in the current situation, we’ve got missed schedules, missed deliveries, and that has a cost for shippers† (p. 14). In addition, there is a decrease in economies of scale that are dependent on the efficient of air transportation system. The emerging restrictions to air freights and transportation have led to the necessity to increase expenses on fuel energy. However, this problem is less serious in comparison with the costs related with environmental programs at ports that have acquired great significance. Insufficient flexibility of port shipping operations can negatively influence the supply chain systems established in Europe and the United Stated. In addition, the problem of railroad transportation ha s also become urgent because this sphere lacks flexibility and efficiency in comparison with freights carried out via airlines (Levinson, 2010, p. 14). Such contingencies and inconveniences can lead to considerable changes for geographic location of manufacturing. The leading international producers are now developing alternative ways for delivering their products in a timely manner and preventing the economic recession of their businesses. In particular, they are searching for more innovative approaches to lessen their supply chains by moving their production back to their countries. Levinson (2010) emphasizes that â€Å"manufacturers whose supply chains were disrupted will have to decide whether Eyjafioell caused one-time losses or is the harbinger of things to come† (p. 14). Interpreting this, the problem of time-sensitive good would be at issue due to the problems with air transportation. Despite the negative outcomes of Icelandic volcano eruptions, some business areas of the countries have undergone considerable economic growth. This specifically concerns hotel industries and land transportation due to high demand in hotel rooms. Considering future perspective in economics, environmental issues require the deepest consideration. In this respect, International Volcanic Ahs Task Force and ICAO has put forward steps that should be taken at the international level. The agreement stipulates the necessity to take measures and procedures for coping with volcanic ash and this initiative will become the basic framework for implementing those measures at regional level as well. The main scope of agreement consists in introducing consistent and fundamental improvements to predicting the foci of volcanic ash. Other objectives involve alterations in fly and flight conducts where responsibility is to be shifted to the airline operators (The Keilir Aviation Academy Conference, 2010, p. 4). This procedure will be accomplished in a rigidly regulated environment whe re the risk management and assessment of all operations will be carefully carried out and approved by the pertinent aviation authority. All measures and procedures will be approved and testified by the European Commission that plans to conduct researchers and collect necessary information, including satellite images, and other appropriate date connected with volcanic ash contamination (The Keilir Aviation Academy Conference, 2010, p. 5). Conclusion The volcanic eruptions have radically changed the image of international economy. The Icelandic volcano eruptions have specifically altered the airline transportation sector and redirect the focus on other types of transportation. Such areas as tourism, business, export and import have also undergone significant changes. However, the current ecological situation has provided the necessity to introduce solutions which will be closely connected with the above-enumerated fields. The greatest shifts have appeared in the airline sector whose i ndustries have been considerably aggravated due to the shortage of air flights. Numerous businesses and economies blame airline in their financial losses. Specifically, significant losses were encountered by African importers for whom this is the main source of country’s revenues. Other developing countries from South American have also experienced the outcomes of volcano eruptions in Iceland. Apart from this, the leading economies of the world have also faced significant challenges. Particularly, Japan and the United Kingdom has been forced to changes their economic and financial strategies to eliminate serious financial losses. A matter of timing and delivery, therefore, has acquired a great importance for the international trade. The tourism sector is not considerably affected by the volcanic eruptions in Iceland. Despite the fact the tourism industries has suffered some financial losses, still the stranded passengers being unable to return home will have to spend money an d this can compensate those losses. If the disruption suspends for a longer period of time, it could have much serious outcomes for this economic sector. A significant change has occurred to the international trade trends, specifically to supply chain management. The leading just-in-time producers will have to alter their orientation and move their operations back to their countries. A specific focus will now be made on rail and road transportation that greatly benefits from recent volcano eruptions in Iceland. With regard to the presented problem, serious measures and programs should be introduced to minimize the negative outcomes of this ecological problem. It should be stressed that researchers in this field should be dedicated to the analysis of environmental issues. In addition, little research has been done on tourism, business costs, and economic perspectives. Therefore, these areas should also be regarded more carefully. Reference List Apps,  P.  (2010).  Economy  im pact  to  rise  sharply  if  ash  lingers.  Reuters.  Retrieved from  http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE63I0Q120100419?pageNumber=1 Levinson,  M.  (2010).  Of  volcanoes  and  supply  chains.  Industrial  Engineer.  42(6), 14. Mazzocchi, M., Hansstein, F., Ragona, M. (2010). The 2010 Volcanic Ash Cloud and Its Financial Impact on The European Airline Industry. CESifo Forum, 2, 92-100. 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Retrieved from: http://www.oef.com/free/pdfs/volcanicupdate.pdf The  Keilir  Aviation  Academy  Conference  (2010).  Ã‚  Atlantic  Conference  on Eyjafjallajokull  and  Aviation  15-16  September,  Keflavik  Airport,  Iceland. Retrieved  from  http://en.keilir.net/static/files/Aviation/PDF/Summary_Keilir_Aviaition%20Conference.pdf Wakabayashi,  D.  Ã‚  Takahashi,  Y.  (2010).  Nissan  Hitch  Has  Swiss  Roots.  The  Wall Street  J ournal.  Retrieved  from:  http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704518904575365992734684322.html Warner,  J.  (2010).  Iceland’s  Eyjafjallajà ¶kull  visits  volcanic  revenge  on  Britain.  The Telegraph.  Retrieved  from  http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/finance/jeremywarner/100004934/icelands-eyjafjallajokull-visits-volcanic-revenge-on-britain/ This term paper on The Economic Impact of the Icelandic Volcano Eruptions on the International Economy was written and submitted by user Adrien Mcmahon to help you with your own studies. 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