Supervalu Company Analysis Essay Example for Free

Supervalu Company Analysis Essay One company that may provide investors such an opportunity is Supervalu, Inc. Supervalu is an Eden Prairie, Minnesota based retail supermarket chain that has experienced sharp drop in the value of their share over the past several years. The company has committed itself to a turn-around by replacing Wayne Sales with Sam Duncan as CEO. Duncan followed his appointment as CEO by shuffling the top management deck and bringing in a new president in charge of Save-A-Lot, the companies most important subsidiary. All this was done with the ultimate aim of speeding up the turnaround. The company is also trimming down with layoffs and selling some of its well known brand to investment group Cerberus Capital (Anderson, 2013). 2. Overview of Supervalu Supervalu is an American retail giant. It has been in business for more than a century. With over 130,000 employees, it is the third largest food retail company in the United States (after Kroger and Safeway), and ranks number seventy five on the 2012 Fortune 500 list of America’s largest companies (Forbes, 2012). On June 2nd 2006, the company announced the purchase of Boise, Idaho based Albertsons, Inc and all of its 1,124 stores. The Supermarket News magazine’s ranking of â€Å"Top Wholesalers for 2008† put Supervalu at the very top of the list (Supermarket News, 2008). The company has been listed on the New York Stock Exchange since 1967. The company’s mission is served by operations consisting principally of grocery and pharmacy operations with a total of 2,432 stores with the firm also offering supply chain services for smaller retailers, serving over 4,300 retailers (Supervalu, 2012). The retail operations are supported by 22 distribution centers, and the wholesale distribution is supported by nine distribution centers, the latter of which also supply company owned stores. The company benefits from a solid level of diversification with a number of different brands targeting different markets, including Acme, Albertsons and Shop ‘n Save brands. The company owns 1,102 traditional food retail stores, as well as 397 hard discount stores trading under the Save-A-Lot brand name (Supervalu, 2012). In addition the company also licenses the Save-A-Lot brand to 935 independent operators. With what seems to be a successful operation, the company however still faces a number of uphill battles with the last three years reporting significant losses and extreme pressure from competitors. In 2012 CEO Craig Hackert in charge since 2009 was replaced by company chairman Wayne Sales. A move that saw a sharp drop in share prices was met eight months later with Sales’ own firing and replacement with newcomer Sam Duncan in January of this year with the aim of accelerating the company’s turnaround. There have been significant problems including massive losses and decline in revenue production. Measures are now being taken to limit losses, slash cost and regain sales, including the sale of non-profitable brands as well as a shakeup in top management as discussed earlier. However, issues such as high levels of debt, a low level of equity and difficult trading conditions may persist for some time. In order to assess the organization as a potential investment, it is necessary to look at the financial analysis. 3. Financial Analysis Companies produce annual reports designed with the shareholder as the primary audience. The annual reports which are published using the standard format present the performance of the organization in the preceding 12 month period. The annual reports the 10-K in the United States – are overseen by an auditor to ensure that they reflect a true and honest picture of the company and are compiled in line with the required account standards. It should however be noted that financial reports may sometimes be rife with misleading information as was the case in recent years with Enron and WorldCom. However, for the purpose of this project, it is assumed that there are no potential misstatements. 4. 1 Summary of Statements All figures presented will be in millions of US dollars when examining the different financial statements – unless otherwise specified with the exception of per-share numbers. All figures for Supervalu, Inc. , have been extracted from the 10-k for the financial year ending February 2011 and 2012. Where industry comparisons are made, these have been taken from relevant ratio pages on MSN Money. 4. 2. 1 Income Statement The income statement, which can be found in appendix 1 is also called the Consolidated Statement of Earnings and shows that the financial year which ended on February 25th 2012 (a 52-week year) saw net sales of $36,100. This represented a deep in revenues on the previous two years as the 2011 net sales was $37,534 and the 2010 net sales was $40,597. Since 2010 the company has seen an 11. 0 percentage point decline in revenues. Some downward movement in revenue was however expected as a result of the divestments that occurred in mid to late 2011. The gross profit for the year 2012 was $8,019 which is a gross profit margin of 22. 1%. However the company saw a loss in operating profit of $519, primarily the result of high cost on intangible assets. 2012’s operating profit was still a lower loss in operating profit compared to 2011 when it was $976 and a gain of $1,201 in 2010. Net earnings are shown on the income statement. For the sake of accounting, net earnings may be presente d before or after taxes. Since Supervalu is experiencing an adverse financial climate and took advantage of a negative tax payment in 2010 and 2011, this paper will utilize the definition of net earnings as being earnings after tax. After provisions for income taxes were factored in, the company showed a loss of $1,040 or -2. 88% in net earnings in 2012. It must however be noted that this number represents an improvement on the previous year when net earnings registered a -4. 02% loss at $1,510. In 2012 there was a loss of $43. 91 per share in net earnings. This number is however an improvement from 2011 when the net loss per share was $7. 13 . It should be noted that these changes are not influences by the weighted average of outstanding share which stood at 212 million (Supervalu, 2012). The income statement highlights a company in some serious difficulties; however the numbers show encouraging signs of a rebound to better times in 2010. 3. 1. 2Balance Sheet The balance sheet referenced in Appendix 2 defines the company’s position in terms of assets and liabilities. The company experienced a drop in the value of its assets in 2012, however there was also a decrease in total liabilities overall. Current assets generally calculated as having an economic shelf life of 12 months or less fell steadily from 2010 ($3,711) to 2011 ($3,420) and 2012 ($3,225). This decline can be seen across all asset categories. Long-term assets also declined to $12,053 representing a 12. 39% drop in value. Measures to cut cost and control debt are starting to take hold as the level of current liabilities has declined year to year since 2010. The long term liabilities of the companies on the other hand have seen an upward tick with total liabilities rising from $11,524 in 2011 to $12,032 in 2012. Important to investors is the decline in the level of equity within the organization. This has gone down from $2,887 in 2010 to $1,340 in 2011 and just $21 in 2012. The balance sheet continues to paint a picture of current gloom face the organization in the near term. 3. 1. 3 Cash Flow Statement The cash flow statement in Appendix 3 shows $157 in cash and cash equivalents in hand at the end of 2012. This represented a decline in the previous two years of $211 in 2010 and $172 in 2011. This represents a gradual but consistent drop in cash and cash equivalents of the company. Significant impacts are the losses carried over into cash flow which amounted to $1,040 for 2012 and $1,510 for 2011. The net effect is a reduction in the amount of cash provided for operating activities. It is important to make note of the fact that while the company has engaged in disposing of some assets, there have also been new investment resulting in overall net investing of $484 in 2012 and $227 in 2011. Cash flow from financing activities was also negative with $291 raised from the issuance of long-term debt, but this is counteracted with $798 payment of long-term debt and capital lease obligations. This results in net cash outflow from financing activities of $587. However, this is a decline on the previous year of $975. 3. 1. 4Statement of Owners Equity The consolidated statement of stockholders equity found in Appendix 4shows the balance of equity over a period of four years, 2009-2012. The statement shows that the position of common stock has not changed, with a total of $230. The capital in excess of par has only change very slightly from $2,853 in 2009 to $2,855 in 2012. The major factor of the equity level is a deficit which resulted in a negative balance of -$1,892 at the end of 2012. When added with other accumulated losses results in a total shareholder equity in the firm of $21. This is a notable change compared to 2009 when the total balance of equity was $2,581. . 1 Ratio Analysis Ratio analysis can be used here to explore the financial position of the firm and the way in which it is performing by analyzing internal performance as well as providing a benchmark for comparison with the industry. This section puts forward some ratio analysis calculations and makes comparisons with industry averages where available. 3. 2. 1 L iquidity Liquidity is an important measure companies facing hard times. It measures the firm’s ability to survive in the short term and meet its current financial obligations (Libby et al, 2010). The current ratio and the quick ratio are the two main measure of liquidity also known as the acid test. The current ratio measures the firm’s ability to use current assets to settle current liabilities. In the case of Supervalu, there are insufficient assets available to pay current liabilities. This is however not unusual as like in many industries with rapid cash flow, a relatively low current ratio may be acceptable based on expected cash flow. Supervalu is therefore not necessarily showing any signs of mounting distress with the current ratio at 0. 0 as shown in table 1. The industry average is slightly higher, however this difference may be indicative of better use of capital – although it could also indicate cash flow issues. Table [ 1 ]: Current ratio Current ratio| 2010| 2011| 2012| Industry Avg. | Current assets| 3,711| 3,420| 3,225|   | Current liabilities| 4,167| 3,786| 3,590|   | Current ratio| 0. 89| 0. 90| 0. 90| 1. 1| (Supervalu figures are extracted from Supervalu Inc. 10-K. Industry comparison figure from Microsoft Money, 2012). The quick ratio is another way to evaluate liquidity within a company. The idea behind this is that an organization may not be able to realize the full value of its inventory if they are required to liquidate inventory in order to pay current liabilities. Calculations for the quick ratio are similar to the current ratio minus inventory value which is deducted from the total current assets as can be seen in Table 2. Table 2: Quick ratio Quick ratio| 2010| 2011| 2012| Industry Avg. | Current assets| 3,711| 3,420| 3,225|   | Inventory| 2,342| 2,270| 2,150|   | Net current assets| 1,369| 1,150| 1,075|   | Current liabilities| 4,167| 3,786| 3,590|   | Quick ratio| 0. 3| 0. 30| 0. 30| 0. 7| (Supervalu figures are taken from Supervalu, Inc. 10K. Industry figures are taken from Microsoft Money, 2012) 3. 2. 2Asset Management The company’s ability to manage assets will be a key deciding factor in its return to profitability. Measures of asset management include return on assets and return on equity. For Supervalu, the return on assets shows a sligh t improvement in 2012 at -8. 06% compared to -10. 00% in 2011. Table [ 3 ]: Return on assets Return on Assets| 2010| 2011| 2012| Industry Avg. | Net income| 393| -1510| -1040|   | Total assets| 16436| 13758| 12053|   | Return on assets| 2. 31%| -10. 00%| -8. 06%| 6. 80%| (Supervalu figures taken from Supervalu Inc. 10-K, industry comparison figure from Microsoft Money, 2012) The return on equity is poor. While the actual loss has declined in 2012, the phenomenal change in the return on equity showing large losses is the results of adjustments that followed the steep decline in the level of equity. Table [ 4 ]: Return on equity Return on Equity| 2010| 2011| 2012| Industry Avg. | Net income| 393| -1,510| -1,040|   | Equity| 2,887| 1,340| 21|   | Return on equity| 13. 60%| -112. 69%| -4952. 38%| 15. 5%| (Supervalu figures taken from Supervalu Inc. 10-K, industry comparison figure from Microsoft Money, 2012) The return on equity may not be enough to make an assessment of management’s use of assets. An alternative measure will be asset turnover (Libby et al, 2010). This analyzes the way in which assets are used to generate revenue. It will show how many times assets have been turned over in a given year. Supervalu seems to be improving efficiency in terms of utilization. They turned over assets equivalent to 2. 8 times in 2012 which was an increase from the previous two years (2. 9 times in 2011 and 2. 39 times in 2010). Looking at this in terms of industry context where the average is 2. 4 times, Supervalu appears to be improving efficiency which is positive for recovery. 3. 2. 3Debt Management The company’s debt equity ratio seems to spell doom for the future. This ratio measures the proportion of debt to equity. Compared to the industry average of 1. 03 shown in table 5 Table 5: Return on equity Debt to equity ratio| 2010| 2011| 2012| Industry Avg. | Total debt|   | 11,524| 12,032|   | Total equity|   | 1,340| 21|   | Debt/Equity|   | 8. 6| 572. 95| 1. 03| Supervalu figures taken from Supervalu Inc. 10-K, industry comparison figure from Microsoft Money, 2012) Another measurement of debt management is the debt ratio. Supervalu’s debt ratio show s that it is in a delicate position with the majority of assets being funded by debt. Many companies have gone through similar issues due to losses in equity but have rebounded as was the case with auto maker General Motors. These numbers do not therefore signify an inability for Supervalu to rebound. 3. 2. 4 Profitability An important measure of viability is the profitability of the organization. There are various measures of profit, however in this report I shall focus on net profit margin. This is the level of profit that remains after all cost has been deducted. In this report, I shall utilize the measure after interest and taxes. As can be seen on table 6, the company is slowly digging itself out of a low point in 2011 when the net profit margin was negative 4. 02%. However in an industry where the average is 3. 24%, it is obvious the organization has a long way to go. Table 5: Return on equity Net profit margin| 2010| 2011| 2012| Industry Avg. | Revenue (Net sales)| 40,597| 37,534| 36,100|   | Net profit| 393| -1,510| -1,040|   | Net profit margin| 0. 96%| -4. 02%| -2. 88%| 3. 24%| (Supervalu figures taken from Supervalu Inc. 10-K, industry comparison figure from Microsoft Money, 2012) 3. 2. 5Market Value There are a number of different measures of market value, the most common of which is the price earnings ratio. This is a measure that assesses Harold company will take to earn is total capitalization. However, as Supervalu is making a loss this ratio is not relevant and cannot be calculated. To assess market value a measure which may be utilized are the earnings per share. The earnings per share are shown in table 10, and are a measure of the profit, or loss, the company makes attributed to each share outstanding. As expected, this is in line with the net profit margin in table 5, with the earnings per share being -$4. 91 in 2012 falling from -$7. 12 in 2011. Table 6: Return on equity Earnings per share| 2010| 2011| 2012| Net profit| 393| -1,510| -1,040| Average share out| 213| 212| 212| Net profit margin| 1. 84%| -7. 12%| -4. 91%| (Supervalu figures taken from Supervalu Inc. 10-K 3. Competitors Supervalu is widely considered the third largest supermarket chain in the country. Its main industry peers are  Safeway, Kroger, and  Whole Food Market. Supervalu generated a steady gross margin of 22. 21% in 2012 and 22. 41% in 2011. However, the company is a loss-maker and it produced negative earnings in the previous year. Safeway, Kroger and Whole Food Market generated operating margins of 2. 37%, 1. 61%, and 6. 36%, respectively. It is clear from these gross margin numbers that the grocery industry has very slim operating margins on sales. Table 7: Competitor Analysis Figure in Million| Net Income| Long term D/E| Operating Margin %| Supervalu| -1244| Very High| -2. 1| Kroger| 728| 1. 8| 1. 61| Whole Food Market| 465| 0. 001| 6. 36| Safeway| 523| 2. 3| 2. 37| (Competitor results taken from Finviz. com) It also seems that Supervalu continued to struggle with insufficient growth in its operating activities in the last quarter of 2012. The corporations operating income fell for fiscal 2012. Furthermore, Supervalu is susceptible to financial leverage as it took on a new $2. 5 billion of debt in the third quarter of 2012 (Boehme, 2012). Supervalu needs to continue to reduce its operational cost in order to record positive results. 4. Conclusion The shedding of 877 grocery stores in a $3. 3 billion dollar deal with Cerberus Management LP in the first quarter of this year seems to have been a sign of a new and positive beginning (Dezember, 2013). The company’s stock has been one of the top performers this year; contradictory for a company still drowning in debt and declining sales. However the market has a positive outlook on the company. Since January 1st this year, shared of the company have gained a solid 133%. Supervalu closed the first day of trading this year at $2. 60 and ended the last week trading at $5. 26. Thanks to these positive numbers, both Fitch and Moody’s have upgraded their ratings on the company from negative to stable which has been a boost to investor confidence. The reduction in non-performing assets is expected to continue to improve the stability of the company. With less exposure to market volatility, the company should be able to rebound and even thrive. Decreasing the debt level will boost the balance sheet and future net revenues. 5. Recommendation Although the bullish run of Supervalu which started early this year continues, the company still has a long way to go in its quest to recover. Therefore the subjective recommendation of this report will be to hold. Based on the company’s current trend, it is very likely that within the next year the company will show even more positive signs of improvement and therefore warrant a change to a buy recommendation. If the organization is able to make a recovery it will be in a very strong position in the market as the number three grocer that also benefits from a large wholesaler and supply chain management operation. References Anderson, Jake, (January 10th 2013), Supervalu to Sell 5 Chains in $3. 3B Deal, Replace CEO. Retrieved April 13th 2013 from http://tcbmag. om/News/Recent-News/2013/January/Supervalu-to-Sell-5-Chains-in-$3-3B-Deal,-Replace Patton, Leslie, (July 30th 2012), Supervalu Names Wayne Sales CEO Amid Strategic Review. Retrieved April 13th 2013 from http://www. bloomberg. com/news/2012-07-30/supervalu-names-sales-chief-executive-officer-to-replace-herkert. html Forbes Inc. (2012), Fortune 500 List of Best Companies (2012). Retrieved April 13th 2013 from http://money. cnn. com/magazines/fortune/fortune500/2012/full_list/ Supermarket News (2008, SN Top Wholesalers for 2008. Retrieved April 17th 2013 from http://supermarketnews. om/top-75-retailers-amp-wholesalers/sn-top-wholesalers-2008 Supervalu, (2012). About Supervalu. retrieved April 13th 2013 from http://www. supervalu. com/sv-webapp/about/about. jsp Boehme, Kate, (September 16th 2012), Can Supervalu Survive Its Debt? Retrieved April 18th 2013 from http://seekingalpha. com/article/869491-can-supervalu-survive-its-debt Dezember, Ryan and Hudson, Kris (January 10th 2012), Property Is Plum in Supervalu Deal. Retrieved April 18th 2013 from http://online. wsj. com/article/SB10001424127887324581504578233411904827872. html

Milos secret Essay Example for Free

Milos secret Essay I have chosen two very similar and intriguing cartoons to perform this examination based on information and knowledge I have gained from this study. The first newspaper cartoon is titled â€Å"Milos secret† involving a mischievous cat who gets into a bit of trouble by sneaking into his owners refrigerator while he is sleeping and gradually stealing food every day. All the while, the owner is, of course unaware of the feline perpetrator is is foraging for snacks. Eventually, the frisky feline steals and consumes so much food that he becomes fat and can no longer walk to even reach his own food bowl. Thus, it is not exactly a happy ending for our furry friend. The second cartoon titled â€Å" Dingy Dog† is about pesky little dog who just cannot stay out of trouble. He is constantly stealing food off of the table and always knocking things over. It is not until he is put outside in the rain that he learns his lesson that it is always better to be humble and wise than greedy and silly. The message in both of these stories is quite simple, speaking of discipline and humbleness. For every foolish act there is a punishment. For example, in the first story, the first cat became fat after stealing all of the food. This was his punishment. In the second cartoon, the dog who just cannot behave himself no matter how many times he is scolded is punished by being put out into the rain. The difference between the two stories is that the cat had no owner there to scold him so he continued to sneak around, whereas the dog was repeatedly scolded and still persisted to disobey. The author of the cartoons used strong symbols to show emotions such as sweat marks to show how frustrated the owner of the dog was while he was scolding his dog. He also used exclamation points and numerical symbols to show this. It would not have served him justice to simply put periods next to the owner of the dog to display his discontent and emotion with his pet. If I were to create a place card regarding the topic, it would say â€Å"Be careful what you do, because it will always come back to you. † It was quite easy for me to establish my grounds for interpretation the authors meaning for the cartoons. It is merely a matter of reviewing the stories and depicting the emotions displayed and trying to put myself in the very same situation.

Networking Design And Development

Networking Design And Development Every system developed or task that had been carried out needs a framework or method to follow as guideline in order to make sure of success implementation. Guideline of structured framework can help to manage and plan projects, to reduce the difficulties like failure to meet requirements, low quality, high operation cost, not meeting the estimated time, inefficient work, and expensive maintenance. In networking, the entire concept of designing a network is simplified through the use of planned or structured design methodologies. Structured design methodology is a set of distinct steps that help to guarantee that all of the essential tasks in the network design process are accomplished. In this presentation report, we were concentrating on three major topics on development and implementation framework; System development Life cycle (SDLC), PDIOO (acronym of Planning, Design, Implementation, Operation and Optimization) and PPDIOO (enhanced version of PDIOO). System Development Life Cycle (SDLC) The Systems Development Life Cycle (SDLC) is framework that describes the activities executed at each stage of a software development project. It is also a theoretical model used in project administration that describes the phases involved in an information system development project from an initial possibility study through maintenance of the completed application. System life cycle models describe phases of the system cycle, Figure 1 and the order in which those phases are executed. There are different phases for SDLC and the following are the main phases of it. Figure SDLC Cycle Phases of SDLC model Project planning phase During this phase, resources will be acknowledged and cost will be estimated in order to succeed project objectives. Project planning is process of defining methods, scope, length and work for completion of a project. Requirements Definition phase Under this phase, the projects goal is determined and the functions are brought to focus. Gathering of information and analysis of the users requirement is also done in this phase. Design phase A sample structure of the entire project is created in this phase and all necessary data are gathered. This is where everything is put together and the actual design of the system is done. This is also where documentation such as the Maintenance Manual, Operations Manual, and Training Manual begin. This is also where some of the flaws in the original planning may appear and require some adjustment. Again, there is documentation and approval. Development phase The system is built. The software, hardware, and testing occur during the Development Stage. This is also the phase where the bugs are worked out of the system. Integration and Test phase This is the formal integration and testing of the system. Testing has been done on the development phase, but in the Integration and Testing Phase it is a formal, documented testing procedure, not only to assure that the system performs as designed, but testing the roll-out of the system. Installation and Acceptance phase After completing the testing phase, the completed system should be installed at the end user sites. Users will accept the system after all errors and bugs captured during the previous phases have been modified and repaired. SDLC Models There are various SDLC methodologies, Figure 2, have been developed to guide the processes involved including the waterfall model (the original SDLC method), rapid application development (RAD), prototype model, spiral model and many other models. Some models work better for specific types of projects, but in the final analysis, the most important factor for the success of a project may be how closely particular plan was followed. The image down shows some of SDLC models: Figure SDLC discussed in this report Waterfall Model Waterfall Model is the most common and classic of life cycle models, also referred to as a linear-sequential life cycle model. It is very simple to understand and use. In a waterfall model, Figure 3, each phase must be completed in its entirety before the next phase can begin. At the end of each phase, a review takes place to determine if the project is on the right path and whether or not to continue or discard the project. (Priya, 2008) Figure SDLC, Waterfall Model Phases of Process Requirements defines needed information, function, behaviour, performance and interfaces. Design data structures, software architecture, interface representations, algorithmic details. Implementation source code, database, user documentation, testing. Verification (testing): Brings all the pieces together into a special testing environment, then checks for errors and bugs. Maintenance System changed to reflect changing conditions. Advantages This model is very simple and easy to use and easy to manage due to the rigidity of the model each phase has specific deliverables and a review process. Phases are processed and completed one at a time. It works well for smaller projects where requirements are very well understood. (Priya, 2008) Disadvantages If there any adjustment scope during the life cycle can kill a project progress. No working software/product is produced until late during the life cycle. It has high amounts of risk and uncertainty. As far as the development concern, it is a poor model for complex and object-oriented projects. It is not suitable for long and on-going projects where requirements are at a moderate to high risk of changing. When to use the Waterfall Model It is going to be used when project requests are very well known and understandable. The product definition is stable and the technology is understood Figure SDLC, Prototype Model Prototype Figure 4 shows a Prototype Model. In this model, once the requirement analysis is done and the design for a prototype is made, the development process gets started. Once the prototype is created, it is given to the user for evaluation. The customer tests the package and gives his feed back to the developer who refines the product according to the customers exact expectation. Advantages Customers can see the system requirements as they are being gathered. The developers can learn from the customers. It proper to a more accurate end product and there will no unexpected requirements accommodated where it allows for flexible design and development. Disadvantages It has bad status for quick-and-dirty methods. The customer may want the prototype delivered. At the end of it, the process may continue forever. When to use the prototype Model When requirements are unstable or have to be clarified. And other thing, where project has to deal with development of user interfaces when it needs a short-lived demonstrations with information for the analysis and design portions of object-oriented development required to be presented. Spiral Cycle Model In the spiral cycle model, Figure 5, the concept is more on risk analysis. The spiral model has four phases which are Planning, Risk Analysis, Engineering and Evaluation. Requirements are gathered during the planning phase. In the risk analysis phase, a process is undertaken to identify risk and alternate solutions. A prototype is produced at the end of the risk analysis phase. Figure SDLC, Spiral Cycle Model Advantages It has a high amount of risk analysis which that kind of information is very useful to the project. Good for huge and mission-critical projects. Lastly, in software development, the product will be created early in the software life cycle. Disadvantages It can be an overpriced model to use and risk analysis requires highly specific expertise. The Projects success is highly hooked on on the risk analysis phase and it doesnt work well for smaller projects. When to use the Spiral Model When costs and risk evaluation is important and it is good for medium to high-risk projects. Spiral model is the best when users are unsure of their needs and requirements are complex. If dealing with a new product line, it significant changes are expected and the model ready to deal with it. Incremental Model The incremental model is a natural approach to the waterfall model. Figure 6 shows multiple development cycles take place, making the life cycle a multi-waterfall cycle. Cycles are divided up into smaller, more easily managed iterations. Each iteration passes through the requirements, design, implementation and testing phases. Figure SDLC, Incremental Model Advantages It generates working software quickly and early during the software life cycle. It provides more flexible less costly to change scope and requirements. And it is easier to test and debug during a smaller iteration. Furthermore, it is easier to manage risk because risky pieces are identified and handled during its iteration. Customer can respond to each build with lowers initial delivery cost. Initial product delivery is faster but the customers will get important functionality early. At last the risk of changing requirements is reduced. Disadvantages It requires a good planning and design and early definition of a complete and fully functional system to allow for the definition of increments. Sometimes, well-defined module interfaces are required (some will be developed long before others). Not forgotten, total cost of the complete system is not lower. When to use the Incremental Model Risk, funding, schedule, program complexity, or need for early realization of benefits. Most of the requirements are known up-front but are expected to evolve over time. This model needs to get basic functionality to the market early. It suitable on projects which have lengthy development schedules or a project with a new technology PDIOO Network Life Cycle Cisco uses a methodology known as PDIOO as part of designing networks ( Lamml Barkl, 2003). PDIOO is an acronym that describes some of the major elements in a network design process, namely: Planning Design Implementation Operation Optimization Figure PDIOO (Oppenheimer, 2004) But then cisco come out with a new enhanced concept called PPDIOO where the first P refers to PREPARE. In this paper, part of the phases in PDIOO is going to be explained in PPDIOO phases. PPDIOO Network Life Cycle PPDIOO is the improved PDIOO methodology composed by six (6) phases closely related to PDIOO rather than has one additional phase that is required by real life business of a company. Prepare Planning Design Implementation Operation Optimization Figure PDIOO (Oppenheimer, 2004) PPDIOO service lifecycle allows network design engineers and network planners to better manage large network installations. Cisco created this methodology to allow network engineers to better plan and meet business objectives. Why PPDIOO Model? The methodology created to reduce the total cost of network ownership while the company or organization adds some new technologies or upgrade the existing network (Semperboni, 2009). Increasing availability, Downtime can badly affect income and can reduce profitability through costs associated with the network staff having to troubleshoot and function in a reactive mode (Semperboni, 2009). To surge availability request to carefully planned redundancy, sound security, and scalability and also requires carefulness throughout the network lifecycle. To Improving business agility can be described as an organizations ability to respond rapidly to changing business or market conditions and adapt to the changing demands of its customers and the business environment Access speed: Speeding access to applications and services helps enable business agility. Availability targets are influenced by business goals. Targets are established early in the network lifecycle and achieved throughout it: a smooth, well-planned deployment helps minimize risk of downtime, and sound planning for day-to-day operations helps speed problem resolution. (Semperboni, 2009) Life Cycle Phases: The network design methodology composed by six phases (Cisco, 2008), Figure 9, closely related: prepare, plan, design, implement, operate, optimize. In this section we give you more details of each of the phases. Figure PPDIOO phases Prepare Business agility starts with preparation. The preparation phase is the discovery process to understand the business requirements gathering to build a business case and financial motivation to support the implementation of new technology (CiscoSystem, 2004). By expecting future needs and developing both a technology strategy and a high-level architecture to meet those needs (Cisco, 2008). In this phase we should know about: Business requirement development Consider and document the business requirements for end-user service delivery that support the technology investment. Business requirements development can help to: Make sound financial decisions by developing a business case that establishes the financial justification for making a technology change Establish a basis for developing a technology strategy Technology strategy development Analyse your business and service requirements and identify the Cisco advanced technologies that support them. Document a technology strategy. Technology strategy development can help to: Improve efficiency throughout the solution lifecycle by aligning your technology strategy to your business goals Meet end-user service-delivery requirements by identifying which advanced technologies can create a solution that can support them Operation Technology strategy development Create an operational strategy that defines the people, processes, and tools required to support the operations and management of the technology solution. Operations technology development can help to: Achieve business goals by aligning your operations strategy with your business and technical requirements Reduce on-going network operations costs by identifying the operational requirements for supporting the operation and management of the technology solution High Level Design Development Create a high-level conceptual architecture of your proposed system that addresses business and technical requirements and creates the foundation for system deployment. Include specifications for availability, capacity, and security to meet service requirements. High-level design development can help you to reduce rework during the design phase by identifying and validating required technologies and features early in the solution lifecycle. Business Case Development Prepare and present an executive-level business case that details the business and financial justification for migrating to the new technology solution. Include a detailed financial analysis, including capital and operational expenses, cost-to-benefit analysis, and projected return on investment. Business case development can help in make sound financial decisions by demonstrating: That the technology investment supports your business goals and high-level design The cost-to-benefit ratios of both adopting and not adopting the proposed solution Return on investment based on multiple investment criteria such as net payback period and internal rate of return Proof Concept Develop and conduct a proof-of-concept test to validate the high-level design. Identify design enhancements necessary to meet business and technical requirements. Proof of concept testing can help you reduce costly rework and project delays by identifying design enhancements necessary to meet your business and technical requirements before proceeding to detailed design Plan The network requirements are what you need to identify in the planning phase. (CiscoSystem, 2004). Important considerations for this phase include determining exactly where you plan to install the network, its objectives, and the types of services it will provide and to whom, etc. in this phase the existing network tests its network for security implementation or security vulnerability to ensure it will be able to assist with intruders and outside networks . In this phase the most important things is to ensure that the existing environment is carefully analysed before going to design phase. Development Project Management Provide for one or more project managers or program managers to manage the planning, design, and implementation of your deployment project. Develop and implement a project management plan, manage information and resources, and control change. Deployment project management can help to: Reduce risks by using proven project management methodologies and risk mitigation strategies Resolve problems quickly by managing information, facilitating collaboration, and escalating issues promptly and effectively Keep the project on track by managing and controlling change throughout the project lifecycle. System Readiness Assessment Prepare for your technology solution deployment by assessing the readiness of your existing system infrastructure to support a new technology. Analyse the physical and logical configuration of the network, systems availability, and systems capacity, quality of service, systems resiliency, security, and integration with existing platforms. Identify network and application modifications that should be made prior to implementation. Systems readiness assessment can help to: Improve the return on investment and speed migration by identifying and planning for necessary infrastructure changes as well as resources Reduce deployment costs by analysing gaps early in the planning process to determine what is needed to support the system Improve productivity by identifying and resolving gaps in service-level requirements associated with availability, capacity, and security specifications. Site Readiness Assessment Prepare for your technology solution deployment with a comprehensive site assessment that evaluates the readiness of your current facilities infrastructure to support the new technology. Identify any physical, environmental, and electrical modifications that should be made prior to implementation. Site readiness assessment can help to: Reduce deployment costs and delays by identifying facilities preparation requirements early in the planning process Reduce the risk of downtime caused by facilities-related problems. Operation Readiness Assessment Prepare for your technology solution deployment with a comprehensive operations assessment that evaluates the readiness of your current operations and network management infrastructure to support the new technology. Identify any changes to people, processes, and tools that should be made prior to implementation. Operations readiness assessment can help in: Effectively plan and budget for technology expenditures by gauging operational preparedness and ability to support current and planned network technologies and services Avoid downtime by enhancing readiness to operate and manage technologies and services Reduce network operations costs by identifying the operational changes required to support the operation and management of the technology solution Improve IT staff productivity by identifying high-demand repeatable tasks that can be automated. Security Vulnerability Protect your network from inside and outside intruders by assessing system, application, and network device vulnerabilities. Safely simulate activities typical of attacks on your network, without affecting your network. Recommend changes that should be made to the network to help prevent security breaches and reduce risk of attack. Security vulnerability assessment can help to: Mitigate network security threats by limiting their ability to do damage Reduce the downtime, business disruption, and costs associated with viruses and worms, information theft, application abuse, and denial-of-service attacks Improve the overall security state of the corporate trusted network and the systems and information within it by identifying changes to address vulnerabilities Prevent attacks from external sources and mistakes made by trusted insiders from resulting in security breaches Support regulatory compliance by demonstrating that adequate security measures are in place to protect sensitive information assets. Design In this phase, the network designers should make a design aligned with business goals and technical requirements can improve network performance while supporting high availability, reliability, security, and scalability, according to requirements gathered during the Plan phase (CiscoSystem, 2004). Also by developing detailed design is important to reduce the risk, delay and the total cost of network operation. The design phase can also guide and accelerate successful implementation with a plan to stage, configure, test, and validate network operations. Application Development: Prepare for a new technology deployment by planning and developing custom applications for the technology to support feature and functionality requirements, and to enable the applications to integrate with your existing network infrastructure. Applications development can help to: Reduce risk when integrating a new technology system into your existing infrastructure by using a proven applications development methodology Speed migration by providing a detailed development, integration, and test plan that addresses such elements as customized scripts, reporting, and database design Detailed design development Develop an in-depth, implementation-ready detailed design for your new system. Derive the design from availability, capacity, reliability, security, scalability, and performance specifications that align with your business and technical requirements. Detailed design development can help to: Reduce expensive, time-consuming network redesign by creating a well-engineered design early in the network lifecycle Increase system or solution performance, resiliency, and availability by specifying the correct set of hardware, software releases, and hardware and software features and functionality Improve deployment team and operations staff proficiency by providing continuous knowledge exchange throughout design development Accelerate adoption of new technologies and improve return on investment by integrating your technical requirements and business goals into a detailed design. Staging plan development Develop a step-by-step plan for staging the configuration, implementation, and connectivity testing of the technology system or solution in a controlled environment that emulates, but does not affect, your production network. Staging plan development can help to: Reduce delays and other problems during staging with a detailed plan that addresses staging requirements including physical, electrical, and environmental conditions on the site; network hardware and software; and third-party devices Accelerate staging plan creation by using industry leading practices and staging expertise Operation Implement Plan Development Develop an operations implementation plan detailing the tasks needed to deploy and commission the operations and network management system for the technology to be deployed. Include scheduling of priorities, resources, and responsibilities. Operations implementation plan development can help to: Reduce delays, disruption, and other problems by accurately estimating the time and resources required to implement new operations and network management systems Improve efficiency during the operations implementation phase by creating a plan that covers staging, tools, processes, task owners, configuration, testing, documentation, system user acceptance, and success criteria Staff Plan development Prepare your staff for a new technology deployment by using conventional instructional design methodologies to create a staff plan. Determine the technical activities and tasks required to support the system, measure the ability of functional groups to perform those tasks, and develop a curriculum plan to address skill and knowledge gaps. Staff plan development can help to: Reduce on-going operating costs by identifying proficiency issues that could affect staff productivity and performance Improve training effectiveness by comparing staff performance to industry leading practices and your standard operating procedures and defining a role-based curriculum to close any gaps in skill or knowledge Implement This phase begins, after the Design phase has been approved. In this phase activities are performed to ensure that the network is designed according to the design specifications without any difficulties or weakness. This phase the network will be implemented to ensure that the new infrastructure meet all the business requirements by installing, configuring, integrating, testing, and commissioning all systems Staging In this staging process, it will stage and test your new technology system in a controlled environment that does not affect your live network, as outlined in your predefined staging plan. Staging can help to improve efficiency and reduce costly delays and rework during implementation by identifying and resolving issues. Implementation Install, configure, and integrate the new technology system as specified in your implementation plan. Complete predefined test cases. And need to document all the components, devices, and applications used. Implementation can help to: Successfully deploy the new technology system by following an in-depth, detailed implementation process based on leading practices Realize business and technical goals of the new system by implementing it in accordance with recommendations made in the earlier phases of the lifecycle. Operation Implementation Install, configure, test, and commission the operations and network management system for the technology and deploying in accordance with operations implementation plan. Operations implementation can help to reduce network operating expenses by improving the efficiency of operations processes and tools. Migration Migration can help you to reduce risks such as downtime, delays, and the need for rework by following a thorough, detailed implementation process based on leading practices. System Acceptance testing Perform systems-level acceptance testing: objectively measure operability and functionality of the system you are deploying to verify that it meets your business and technical requirements and is ready for production. Document the test results. Systems acceptance testing can help you to speed migration; accelerate return on investment; and reduce unnecessary risk, including disruption, delays, rework, and other problems. These benefits are achieved by demonstrating that your newly deployed system or solution meets the operational, functional, and interface requirements defined in the system acceptance test plan. Business Readiness testing Test the readiness of existing network to support end-to-end business processes, including operations, management, and security processes, as outlined in business readiness test plan. Business readiness testing can help to reduce risk of downtime by testing your production networks operations and management business processes. Staff Training Staff training concerning managing or implementing development plan for workers skill and competency in the organisation. It is includes scheduling classes, creating the enrolment process, providing course materials, and managing training vendors. Staff training can help to: Increase overall productivity and reduce on-going operating costs through training designed to close the skill gaps that were identified in developing your staff plan Reduce downtime through expedited case handling and reduced mean time to resolution through training targeted to improve operational knowledge Improve training efficiency and effectiveness by applying the ideal combination of training methods and tools as needed to close skill gaps. Operate This phase is the last test of the effectiveness of the design before going to last phase. During this phase the operation team monitors the health of the network to improve service quality; reduce disruptions; mitigate outages; and maintain high availability, reliability, and security. This phase could be the longest phase in the network development life cycle to ensure that the infrastructure is well designed during all previous phases. System monitoring In this task, it will monitor, manage, and report on service-level metrics and abnormal events or trends that might adversely affect the availability, capacity, performance, and security of your system. Systems monitoring can help to: Improve service quality and reduce disruptions and outages by proactively monitoring system health Remediate system availability issues by tracking and assessing capacity, performance, utilization, and other service-level metrics. Incident management Manage and resolve real-time incidents with system components using an incident management process that creates and maintains a report of the status of an incident from isolation to closure. Incident management can help to: Restore normal service operation quickly by providing an in-depth incident management process that includes case management, investigation, and diagnosis; hardware and software replacement or updates; and service restoration, testing, and verification Reduce incident rates and increase network and/or application availability, reliability, and stability by providing software updates and upgrades as an on-going part of your network operations Problem management Manage and resolve recurring incidents using an in-depth problem management process that analyses incident trends to identify patterns and systemic conditions. Problem management can help you to reduce the risk of downtime and increase network and/or application availability, reliability, and stability. It delivers these benefits by analysing the root cause of recurring incidents and

Jurassic Park :: essays research papers

Jurassic Park Michael Crichton, in his outstandingly exciting science fiction novel, Jurassic Park, has put together a suspenseful, compelling, riveting, frightening, realistic, thrilling, and scientifically informative world, combining sophisticated biotechnology with prehistoric legend, blending the past, present, and the future, and a terrifying nightmares of science run wild, packed with humans and genetically engineered dinosaurs, including mesmerizing, fast paced action. It is a world where the reader where the reader decides what is happening in the book. If the reader enjoys fast-paced science fiction, the reader will certainly enjoy the fascinating world of Jurassic Park. All of the different characters in this world, share different feelings of action, reactions, thrill, nervousness, and their beliefs. Ian Malcolm, a very knowledgeable mathematician, decides to go to the island of Isla Nublar to observe the biological preserve that a company named In-Gen has created for the world to see at a price. Malcolm always had doubts about this world of total chaos. Everyone thought that the world of Jurassic Park, is a world of new state of the art technology and entertainment. Until everything goes wrong. The electric fences stopped working, and the dinosaurs escaped. Ian Malcolm's opinion of this world is that it won't survive, or the humans won't survive. The world has survived everything until now, it will surely survive the dinosaurs once more. But us, the humans are the ones that may not survive. "Our planet is four and a half billion years old. There has been life on this planet for nearly that long. Three point eight billion. The first bacteria. And later, the first multi-cellular animals, and the first complex creatures, in the sea, on the land†¦. Great dynasties of creatures arising, flourishing, dying away†¦, mountain ranges thrust up and eroded away, cometary impacts, volcanic eruptions, oceans rising and falling, whole continents moving†¦.

Abortion: A Complex Issue Essay -- Informative Essays

Abortion is defined as: "the termination of pregnancy and expulsion of an embryo or of a fetus that is incapable of survival." However, if only the debate over the abortion issue was as simple as the definition provided above. Much like every aspect of human life, a statement is neither right nor wrong, but simply left open for interpretation. There is no black and white in life, only gray areas. Some issues tend to provide us more gray areas than others. Abortion is a prime example of that. Those who refute abortion claim that it is the murder of a helpless baby who has not yet had the chance to live and function as a human being. However, the debate opposite it is just as fervent: it is a woman's right to choose what happens to her body, and if she decides that she is not capable of bringing a child into this world, than she shouldn't be forced to out of nature. Where do we draw the line between humane and inhumane, necessitated death and murder? When does a woman's right over her internal reproductive organs become that of the government's? Is abortion wrong or is it right? Are rape, incest,and potential fatality to the mother exceptions when abortion is "okay"? Are there truly any at all? So many questions are raised by such a fervent debate, that we must look at both sides of the issue to better understand it in a general, but yet thorough approach. As expected, there are many people that are opposed to abortion. These people are better referred to as "pro-life advocates", or essentially, they advocate the life of the baby over the woman's right to choose. Groups such as Human Life International (HLI), The Christian Coalition, ... ...d Parenthood (Online) Facts on File (Online) World News Digest "Key Issue: Abortion" United States Conservative Party (Online) Works Cited Human Life International (Online) Encarta Encyclopedia (Online) "Social and Ethical Issues" Planned Parenthood (Online) Facts on File (Online) World News Digest "Key Issue: Abortion" United States Conservative Party (Online)

Storytelling :: essays research papers fc

Storytelling Storytelling has helped humankind evolve into a wiser species by allowing those with enough attentiveness and intelligence to learn from the mistakes of their predecessors. The Chinese culture, like many others world wide, base their beliefs largely on stories passed down from generation to generation. Because stories are told and retold, alterations and even new versions appear. Such is the case in " Fa Mu Lan," for more than one version is known to exist to this day. Many times the changes in a story are to put its message on a certain level for an individual to understand. If the change is to keep the message updated with society, the version would be a modernized one. These stories affect the stories with a flavor of their own personal character. In The Woman Warrior Maxine Hong Kingston utilizes stories told to her by her mother as a device to introduce readers to some aspect of her life. Kingston's mother pass down to her the wisdom she has acquired from her mistakes throughout her life along with best hopes and wishes. The Woman Warrior is a story about the life of Maxine Hong Kingston. It is easy to see her identity from those memorable occurrences that she mentions throughout her book, especially the stories her mother told her. The story of "Fa Mu Lan", for example, teaches women to strive to be the best they can be. It is a story about a woman warrior who takes place of her father in battle and returns in victory as a heroine. It evidently shows that her mother tells this story with her sincerest hopes and passions for her. Her mother wishes her to become more than what it was hope for . Even though woman in old China only grow up to be wives and slaves, she hopes and even dilutions of grandeurs for her daughters thrive in their hearts. Story-telling has been an essential part of their childhood. Maxine Hong Kingston was told that her aunt who committed adultery and brought shame, bad luck along with destruction to her family. She committed suicide because she could not face their families not tell who the father of the children is. The shame brought about by the incident was too much for her to bare. The story was told to warn the girls from having a child before getting married, as can be arrived at from this statement in The Woman Warrior: " Whenever she [her mother] had to warn us about life, my mother told stories that ran like this one, a story to grow up on.

I’m Nobody Essay

â€Å"I’m Nobody! Who are You? † is a poem written by Emily Dickinson. The poem conveys the main idea of being alone, isolated from the society – or being â€Å"nobody†. This is partly influenced by the social gender status of Dickinson’s time – 19th century featured the inequality of sexes, where females were expected to stay at home and serve their husbands, thus disconnected from the society. As a result Dickinson had adapted and perhaps taken pleasure into being an outsider, whilst she found it boring to be part of the society – or to be a â€Å"somebody†. These are all various ideas reflected through Emily Dickinson’s poem. The poem has 2 stanzas – very typical of Emily Dickinson’s style. Her choice of language in this poem is also very simple and succinct – but at the same time meaningful and pithy. The first line, â€Å"I’m nobody! †, shows how Dickinson admits to be a â€Å"nobody† willingly. Being a â€Å"nobody† can mean an outsider – a person who is isolated, alienated from the rest of the world and society. The second phrase of the line – â€Å"Who are you? † shows that the poem is directly written to a target. This person – shown on the second line of the first stanza, is a â€Å"nobody† too – perhaps even a friend of Dickinson. The poet also realizes the fact that being a â€Å"nobody† is to be loathed by the society. This is shown in line 3, when she advises the other â€Å"nobody† not to tell, as she states in line 4 â€Å"They’d banish us†. The word â€Å"They† in the beginning of lines 3 and 4 suggests the rest of the society – people who are â€Å"somebody†, as opposed to Dickinson’s â€Å"nobody’. The use of dash in line 3 shows the furtiveness of the phrase â€Å"don’t tell! †, emphasizing the hatred or dislike they face from the society. The same effect is achieved by the use of exclamation mark in line 3. Lines 3 and 4 can also be interpreted as that after she finds another â€Å"nobody†, they are a pair – not longer belong to a group of â€Å"nobodies†. She does not want to be banished from the status of being â€Å"nobodies†. A conclusion can be drawn that she feels more secure to be a â€Å"nobody†; she feels comfortable to be treated as a â€Å"nobody† by the rest of the society. The second stanza sees a noticeable change in Dickinson’s tone. The repetitions of â€Å"How† and â€Å"To† in the beginning of each line give a more secure and commanding tone. This can be explained by the â€Å"discovery† of another â€Å"nobody† stated by the poet in the first stanza – she feels more assured that to be a â€Å"nobody† is not too unacceptable as she is not the only one. Also perhaps because she feels more secure to be with a person who feels the same as she does and understands her, she is more willing and daring to express her more inner feelings. The poet states that it is â€Å"dreary to be somebody† in line 5 of the second stanza. â€Å"Dreary† refers to being boring or dull; and â€Å"to be somebody† suggests to be recognized by the society and belong to it. Hence Dickinson is suggesting that to be part of a society is tedious and meaningless to her, which can also implies being a â€Å"nobody† is the contrary – interesting and meaningful. A further implication may be that being â€Å"nobody† allows her to write poetry – as it is not part of the â€Å"traditional role† of women at her time to write poetry, and instead women were expected to serve only their husbands. However, being a â€Å"nobody† in the society helps her to escape her role of being a â€Å"women†, granting her freedom instead. Hence we can see that poetry is meaningful to her. She also compares that to be â€Å"somebody† is like to be â€Å"public†, another indication that Dickinson likes isolation – which is proven correctly as one would learn that she locked herself in her house for the majority of her life. Dickinson uses a simile to compare â€Å"somebody† to a â€Å"frog† in line 6. This can be explained by the fact that â€Å"frogs† are considered noisy with the sound they generate. Combining with line 8, â€Å"To an admiring bog! †, it suggests the idea that frogs create noise to be noticed – but only by â€Å"an admiring bog†. A bog is the environment in which a frog dwells – this creates an irony. Emily Dickinson is suggesting that although being a â€Å"somebody† means being noticed by the public, but the public to â€Å"somebody† is like a bog to a frog – it is not really a relationship, or friendship, as no one would say that a bog is the friend of a frog. Also the word â€Å"admiring† creates a whole sense of sarcasm to the idea – and the technique of personification is used to describe the â€Å"bog† as well, perhaps to emphasize the sarcasm of the simile. Overall the poet suggests that to be â€Å"somebody† might mean to be well-known, accepted by the society; however the relationships are often shallow, distanced or impersonal. The rhyming of the words â€Å"frog† and â€Å"bog† also suggests a congenial relationship between â€Å"Somebody† and her targeted audience – conveying the idea that the poem is a direct criticism against the â€Å"somebody† – the general public. Through the use of contrast and irony between â€Å"Nobody† and â€Å"Somebody†, her strong will to be a â€Å"nobody† is shown, as well as her despise towards â€Å"somebody†. This poem reflects Emily Dickinson’s life and perhaps her more inner and cryptic feelings – it was probably written from the heart. She imprisoned herself for the most of her life, completely isolated from the rest of the world. This may contribute to the reason why she thinks being an â€Å"outsider† is better than being â€Å"somebody†, and that she does not value â€Å"friendship† in the same way as normal people do. However at the same time it was also proven in the poem – for instance she found another â€Å"nobody† in the first stanza – that she is not totally a recluse, and that she treasures the very few friendships she had.