Professional Qualification Syllabus

SECTION NAME SYLLABUS KAPLAN (CHAPTERS) BPP (CHAPTERS) A FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT FUNCTIONÂ  The nature and purpose of financial managementFinancial objectives and therelationship with corporate strategyStakeholders and impact oncorporate objectivesFinancial and other objectives in not-for-profit organisationThe financial management functionFinancial management and financial objectivesB FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT ENVIROMENTThe economic environment forbusinessThe nature and role of financial markets and institutionsThe nature and role of moneyMarketsThe economic environment for businessFinancial markets and the treasury functionThe economic environment for businessFinancial markets, money markets and institutionsC WORKING CAPITAL MANAGEMENTThe nature, elements andimportance of working capitalManagement of inventories, accounts receivable, accounts payable and cashDetermining working capital needs and funding strategiesWorking capital management8. WCM (Inventory control)WCM (Accounts receivable and payable)10.WCM (Cash and funding strategies)Workin g capitalManaging working capitalWorking capital financeD INVESTMENT APPRAISALInvestment appraisal techniquesAllowing for inflation and taxation in DCFAdjusting for risk and uncertainty in investment appraisalSpecific investment decisions (Lease or buy; asset replacement; capital rationing)Basic investment appraisal techniquesDiscounted cash flow techniquesFurther aspects of discounted cash flowsInvestment appraisal under uncertaintyAsset investment decisions and capital rationingInvestment decisionsInvestment appraisal using DCF methodsAllowing for inflation and taxation10. Project appraisal and riskSpecific investment decisionsE BUSINESS FINANCESources of and raising business financeEstimating the cost of capitalSources of finance and their relative costsCapital structure theories and practical considerationsFinance for small and medium sized entities (SMEs)Sources of finance16. Dividend policyFinancial ratiosThe cost of capitalCapital structureSources of financeDividend policyGea ring and capital structureThe cost of capitalCapital structure

Marketing strategy of the organisation

In order for us to understand any administration we have to either cognize about or make some research on it. So in this assignment I have chosen an administration. The administration I am making my assignment on is Polyflor South Africa. The administration will be described, including their products/services and their clients. In order to understand the administration we need to carry on a SWOT analysis, besides looking at barriers. If we have all the needed information from above we will understand the administration better and can get down with the selling program.Question 1The administration I am traveling to depict is Polyflor Gross saless Africa otherwise known as Polyflor South Africa. Polyflor S.A is an industrial flooring company. The South African subdivision was established in 2004 by Denver Coleman and Sheila Coleman. The administration really originates from the United Kingdom where the first Branch of was established in Manchester.Polyflor is all over the universe, they have subdivisions all over the universe. There are subdivisions all over Europe, Asia, North America and Australia. So they are fundamentally on every continent. Polyflor Manchester is the chief caput office. Polyflor S.A is a household concern, where they all work together. The administration believes strongly in â€Å" Team Work † . And is all about profiting the consumer.Polyflor S.A has a figure of different merchandises. All their merchandises are heavy responsibility, industrial merchandises. They do chiefly shocking but they got some other merchandises that is non flooring, it ‘s really got to make with plumbing.Their chief merchandise is heavy responsibility, industrial vinyl flooring. Another merchandise of theirs is industrial meshing gum elastic tiles. They besides do wooden block mosaics. The merchandise that is non shocking related that is comparatively new at Polyflor S.A is specialized industrial drains. As you can see all their merchandises are industrial merchandises so they meant to be used in topographic points where the merchandises will be introduced to a batch of wear and tear. You will happen their merchandises in mills, large edifices etc. The vinyl flooring can really be seen chiefly in infirmaries and in many of the luxury coach line drives. The merchandises are non truly used in a private capacity. Polyflor does n't acquire their merchandises from merely one topographic point, their merchandises come all over the universe. Their vinyl shocking comes from the United Kingdom, from Manchester. That ‘s the majority of their merchandises they do. The specialised drains are imported from Germany. They do hold a local manufactured merchandise and that is the meshing gum elastic tiles that they really get from down the route from them. They do n't truly supply a service as they sell shocking and other merchandises, but they do hold support systems where they will the aid at anytime. They ever there for their clients. They besides got a station sale service where they will help refering their merchandises. If a client is necessitating aid or general aid refering their merchandises, the employees of Polyflor S.A will ever be at that place to assist every bit much as they can.For these types of merchandises there is non a immense mark market, as these merchandises are non used in a personal and private capacity. They are used in a industrial capacity, intending mills, infirmaries and so on. Polyflor S.A does non put in the shocking they sell their merchandises to the administrations who install it.So Polyflor ‘s has non got an limitless sum of clients, but they do hold a big client base. Which the bulk of them are regular, on traveling purchasers of their merchandises. Basically, Polyflor merely sells to shockin g contractors. Polyflor is non allowed to put in their flooring. So other shocking companies who do besides sell flooring and put in it. Purchase from Polyflor. Some of the chief flooring contractors that are regular clients are Peter Bates, Turner Piercing, Kevin Bates, Albert Carpets and many others.Question 2Looking at assorted administrations we need to understand them more. We can make this by carry oning a SWOT analysis. Basically a SWOT analysis is structuring of information, which is collected from the internal and external environment. It gives us a theoretical account in order to get down the selling planning procedure. Shows us the strengths, failings, chances and menaces of the administration. Cloete ( 2010,21 ) So the SWOT analysis of Polyflor is:Strengths:They are a recognized administration, good known in the flooring trade.They are known for holding the best quality merchandises.They are an international administration, so they are recognised all over the universe.Polyflor has one of the best proficient backgrounds in the flooring trade.They are a household concern so the squad of employees work truly expeditiously and good together.Keeping up in the new manner tendencies of today with their new designs on the flooring.They are a really environmentally friendly company.Failings:Finding reps that know about shocking who will be able to sell their merchandises.Finding employees who are able to work with the merchandises and know about flooring.Not holding plenty South African manufactured merchandises.Geting bulk merchandises from abroad states, people need to acquire the merchandises and start assorted occupations utilizing Polyflor ‘s merchandises but they cant because Polyflor has non received the merchandises due to detain being imported from abroad.Opportunities:The manner tendencies are altering all the clip, so Polyflor can hold new manner tendencies in the designs of their flooring.Most people and companies are going â€Å" Green † , so they want to utilize more environmentally friendly merchandises. So Polyflor can sell environmentally friendly merchandises and present new â€Å" Green † merchandises.Besides they could sell more locally produced goods, .Polyflor could non merely merely sell to shocking contractors for industrial usage, but besides opening up a new market for people to utilize it in a private capacity.Menaces:Of class their chief menace is competition ; there are other shocking companies besides Polyflor. So they have to invariably maintain happening ways to remain on top and maintaining competitory advantage.Another menace would be that most merchandises come from other international states, which sometimes the merchandis es are n't delivered in clip. So clients could travel looking other topographic points.Besides coming from abroad, the monetary value of the merchandises could alter easy, due to currency, revenue enhancements, import and export responsibilities.All of these facets can hold deductions on the selling scheme of the administration. Therefore it is of import to make this analysis.

Chapter 12 The Patronus

As far as he was concerned, the stripping-down of a brand-new Firebolt was nothing less than criminal damage. Hermione, who remained convinced that she had acted for the best, started avoiding the common room. Harry and Ron supposed she had taken refuge in the library and didn’t try to persuade her to come back. All in all, they were glad when the rest of the school returned shortly after New Year, and Gryffindor Tower became crowded and noisy again. Wood sought Harry out on the night before term started. â€Å"Had a good Christmas?† he said, and then, without waiting for an answer, he sat down, lowered his voice, and said, â€Å"I’ve been, doing some thinking over Christmas, Harry. After last match, you know. If the Dementors come to the next one†¦I mean†¦we can’t afford you to — well –â€Å" Wood broke off, looking awkward. â€Å"I’m working on it,† said Harry quickly. â€Å"Professor Lupin said he’d train me to ward off the Dementors. We should be starting this week. He said he’d have time after Christmas.† â€Å"Ah,† said Wood, his expression clearing. â€Å"Well, in that case — I really didn’t want to lose you as Seeker, Harry. And have you ordered a new broom yet?† â€Å"No,† said Harry. â€Å"What! You’d better get a move on, you know — you can’t ride that Shooting Star against Ravenclaw!† â€Å"He got a Firebolt for Christmas,† said Ron. â€Å"A Firebolt? No! Seriously? A — a real Firebolt?† â€Å"Don’t get excited, Oliver,† said Harry gloomily. â€Å"I haven’t got it anymore. It was confiscated.† And he explained all about how the Firebolt was now being checked for jinxes. â€Å"Jinxed? How could it be jinxed?† â€Å"Sirius Black,† Harry said wearily. â€Å"He’s supposed to be after me. So McGonagall reckons he might have sent it.† Waving aside the information that a famous murderer was after his Seeker, Wood said, â€Å"But Black couldn’t have bought a Firebolt! He’s on the run! The whole country’s on the lookout for him! How could he just walk into Quality Quidditch Supplies and buy a broomstick?† â€Å"I know,† said Harry, â€Å"but McGonagall still wants to strip it down –â€Å" Wood went pale. â€Å"I’ll go and talk to her, Harry,† he promised. â€Å"I’ll make her see reason†¦A Firebolt†¦a real Firebolt, on our team †¦She wants Gryffindor to win as much as we do†¦I’ll make her see sense. A Firebolt†¦.† Classes started again the next day. The last thing anyone felt like doing was spending two hours on the grounds on a raw January morning, but Hagrid had provided a bonfire full of salamanders for their enjoyment, and they spent an unusually good lesson collecting dry wood and leaves to keep the fire blazing while the flame-loving lizards scampered up and down the crumbling, white-hot logs. The first Divination lesson of the new term was much less fun; Professor Trelawney was now teaching them palmistry, and she lost no time in informing Harry that he had the shortest life line she had ever seen. It was Defense Against the Dark Arts that Harry was keen to get to; after his conversation with Wood, he wanted to get started on his anti-Dementor lessons as soon as possible. â€Å"Ah yes,† said Lupin, when Harry reminded him of his promise at the end of class. â€Å"Let me see†¦how about eight o’clock on Thursday evening? The History of Magic classroom should be large enough†¦I’ll have to think carefully about how we’re going to do this†¦We can’t bring a real Dementor into the castle to practice on†¦.† â€Å"Still looks ill, doesn’t he?† said Ron as they walked down the corridor, heading to dinner. â€Å"What d’you reckon’s the matter with him?† There was a loud and impatient â€Å"tuh† from behind them. It was Hermione, who had been sitting at the feet of a suit of armor, repacking her bag, which was so full of books it wouldn’t close. â€Å"And what are you tutting at us for?† said Ron irritably. â€Å"Nothing,† said Hermione in a lofty voice, heaving her bag back over her shoulder. â€Å"Yes, you were,† said Ron. â€Å"I said I wonder what’s wrong with Lupin, and you –â€Å" â€Å"Well, isn’t it obvious?† said Hermione, with a look of maddening superiority. â€Å"If you don’t want to tell us, don’t,† snapped Ron. â€Å"Fine,† said Hermione haughtily, and she marched off. â€Å"She doesn’t know,† said Ron, staring resentfully after Hermione. â€Å"She’s just trying to get us to talk to her again.† At eight o’clock on Thursday evening, Harry left Gryffindor Tower for the History of Magic classroom. It was dark and empty when he arrived, but he lit the lamps with his wand and had waited only five minutes when Professor Lupin turned up, carrying a large packing case, which he heaved onto Professor Binn’s desk. â€Å"What’s that?† said Harry. â€Å"Another Boggart,† said Lupin, stripping off his cloak. â€Å"I’ve been combing the castle ever since Tuesday, and very luckily, I found this one lurking inside Mr. Filch’s filing cabinet. It’s the nearest we’ll get to a real Dementor. The Boggart will turn into a Dementor when he sees you, so we’ll be able to practice on him. I can store him in my office when we’re not using him; there’s a cupboard under my desk he’ll like.† â€Å"Okay,† said Harry, trying to sound as though he wasn’t apprehensive at all and merely glad that Lupin had found such a good substitute for a real Dementor. â€Å"So†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Professor Lupin had taken out his own wand, and indicated that Harry should do the same. â€Å"The spell I am going to try and teach you is highly advanced magic, Harry — well beyond Ordinary Wizarding Level. It is called the Patronus Charm.† â€Å"How does it work?† said Harry nervously. â€Å"Well, when it works correctly, It conjures up a Patronus,† said Lupin, â€Å"which is a kind of anti-Dementor — a guardian that acts as a shield between you and the Dementor.† Harry had a sudden vision of himself crouching behind a Hagrid-sized figure holding a large club. Professor Lupin continued, â€Å"The Patronus is a kind of positive force, a projection of the very things that the Dementor feeds upon — hope, happiness, the desire to survive — but it cannot feel despair, as real humans can, so the Dementors can’t hurt it. But I must warn you, Harry, that the charm might be too advanced for you. Many qualified wizards have difficulty with it.† â€Å"What does a Patronus look like?† said Harry curiously. â€Å"Each one is unique to the wizard who conjures it.† â€Å"And how do you conjure it?† â€Å"With an incantation, which will work only if you are concentrating, with all your might, on a single, very happy memory.† Harry cast his mind about for a happy memory. Certainly, nothing that had happened to him at the Dursleys’ was going to do. Finally, he settled on the moment when he had first ridden a broomstick. â€Å"Right,† he said, trying to recall as exactly as possible the wonderful, soaring sensation of his stomach. â€Å"The incantation is this –† Lupin cleared his throat. â€Å"Expecto patronum!† â€Å"Expecto patronum,† Harry repeated under his breath, â€Å"expecto patronum.† â€Å"Concentrating hard on your happy memory?† â€Å"Oh — yeah –† said Harry, quickly forcing his thoughts back to that first broom ride. â€Å"Expecto patrono — no, patronum — sorry — expecto patronum, expecto patronum† Something whooshed suddenly out of the end of his wand; it looked like a wisp of silvery gas. â€Å"Did you see that?† said Harry excitedly. â€Å"Something happened!† â€Å"Very good,† said Lupin, smiling. â€Å"Right, then — ready to try it on a Dementor?† â€Å"Yes,† Harry said, gripping his wand very tightly, and moving into the middle of the deserted classroom. He tried to keep his mind on flying, but something else kept intruding†¦Any second now, he might hear his mother again†¦but he shouldn’t think that, or he would hear her again, and he didn’t want to†¦or did he? Lupin grasped the lid of the packing case and pulled. A Dementor rose slowly from the box, its hooded face turned toward Harry, one glistening, scabbed hand gripping its cloak. The lamps around the classroom flickered and went out. The Dementor stepped from the box and started to sweep silently toward Harry, drawing a deep, rattling breath. A wave of piercing cold broke over him — â€Å"Expecto patronum!† Harry yelled. â€Å"Expecto patronum! Expecto –â€Å" But the classroom and the Dementor were dissolving†¦Harry was falling again through thick white fog, and his mother’s voice was louder than ever, echoing inside his head — â€Å"Not Harry! Not Harry! Please — I’ll do anything –â€Å" â€Å"Stand aside — stand aside, girl –â€Å" â€Å"Harry!† Harry jerked back to life. He was lying flat on his back on the floor. The classroom lamps were alight again. He didn’t have to ask what had happened. â€Å"Sorry,† he muttered, sitting up and feeling cold sweat trickling down behind his glasses. â€Å"Are you all right?† said Lupin. â€Å"Yes†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Harry pulled himself up on one of the desks and leaned against it. â€Å"Here –† Lupin handed him a Chocolate Frog. â€Å"Eat this before we try again. I didn’t expect you to do it your first time; in fact, I would have been astounded if you had.† â€Å"It’s getting worse,† Harry muttered, biting off the Frog’s head. â€Å"I could hear her louder that time — and him — Voldemort –â€Å" Lupin looked paler than usual. â€Å"Harry, if you don’t want to continue, I will more than understand –â€Å" â€Å"I do!† said Harry fiercely, stuffing the rest of the Chocolate Frog into his mouth. â€Å"I’ve got to! What if the Dementors turn up at our match against Ravenclaw? I can’t afford to fall off again. If we lose this game we’ve lost the Quidditch Cup!† â€Å"All right then†¦Ã¢â‚¬  said Lupin. â€Å"You might want to select another memory, a happy memory, I mean, to concentrate on†¦That one doesn’t seem to have been strong enough†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Harry thought hard and decided his feelings when Gryffindor had won the House Championship last year had definitely qualified as very happy. He gripped his wand tightly again and took up his position in the middle of the classroom. â€Å"Ready?† said Lupin, gripping the box lid. â€Å"Ready,† said Harry; trying hard to fill his head with happy thoughts about Gryffindor winning, and not dark thoughts about what was going to happen when the box opened. â€Å"Go!† said Lupin, pulling off the lid. The room went icily cold and dark once more. The Dementor glided forward, drawing its breath; one rotting hand was extending toward Harry — â€Å"Expecto patronum!† Harry yelled. â€Å"Expecto patronum! Expecto Pat –â€Å" White fog obscured his senses†¦big, blurred shapes were moving around him†¦then came a new voice, a man’s voice, shouting, panicking — â€Å"Lily, take Harry and go! It’s him! Go! Run! I’ll hold him off –â€Å" The sounds of someone stumbling from a room — a door bursting open — a cackle of high- pitched laughter — â€Å"Harry! Harry†¦wake up†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Lupin was tapping Harry hard on the face. This time it was a minute before Harry understood why he was lying on a dusty classroom floor. â€Å"I heard my dad,† Harry mumbled. â€Å"That’s the first time I’ve ever heard him — he tried to take on Voldemort himself, to give my mum time to run for it†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Harry suddenly realized that there were tears on his face mingling with the sweat. He bent his face as low as possible, wiping them off on his robes, pretending to do up his shoelace, so that Lupin wouldn’t see. â€Å"You heard James?† said Lupin in a strange voice. â€Å"Yeah†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Face dry, Harry looked up. â€Å"Why — you didn’t know my dad, did you?† â€Å"I — I did, as a matter of fact,† said Lupin. â€Å"We were friends at Hogwarts. Listen, Harry — perhaps we should leave it here for tonight. This charm is ridiculously advanced†¦I shouldn’t have suggested putting you through this†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"No!† said Harry. He got up again. â€Å"I’ll have one more go! I’m not thinking of happy enough things, that’s what it is†¦hang on†¦Ã¢â‚¬  He racked his brains. A really, really happy memory†¦one that he could turn into a good, strong Patronus†¦. The moment when he’d first found out he was a wizard, and would be leaving the Dursleys for Hogwarts! If that wasn’t a happy memory, he didn’t know what was†¦Concentrating very hard on how he had felt when he’d realized he’d be leaving Privet Drive, Harry got to his feet and faced the packing case once more. â€Å"Ready?† said Lupin, who looked as though he were doing this against his better judgment. â€Å"Concentrating hard? All right — go!† He pulled off the lid of the case for the third time, and the Dementor rose out of it; the room fell cold and dark — â€Å"EXPECTO PATRONUM!† Harry bellowed. â€Å"EXPECTO PATRONUM! EXPECTO PATRONUM!† The screaming inside Harry’s head had started again — except this time, it sounded as though it were coming from a badly tuned radio — softer and louder and softer again†¦and he could still see the Dementor†¦it had halted†¦and then a huge, silver shadow came bursting out of the end of Harry’s wand, to hover between him and the Dementor, and though Harry’s legs felt like water, he was still on his feet — though for how much longer, he wasn’t sure†¦ â€Å"Riddikulus!† roared Lupin, springing forward. There was a loud crack, and Harry’s cloudy Patronus vanished along with the Dementor; he sank into a chair, feeling as exhausted as if he’d just run a mile, and felt his legs shaking. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Professor Lupin forcing the Boggart back into the packing case with his wand; it had turned into a silvery orb again. â€Å"Excellent!† Lupin said, striding over to where Harry sat. â€Å"Excellent, Harry! That was definitely a start!† â€Å"Can we have another go? Just one more go?† â€Å"Not now,† said Lupin firmly. â€Å"You’ve had enough for one night. Here –â€Å" He handed Harry a large bar of Honeydukes’ best chocolate. â€Å"Eat the lot, or Madam Pomfrey will be after my blood. Same time next week?† â€Å"Okay,† said Harry. He took a bite of the chocolate and watched Lupin extinguishing the lamps that had rekindled with the disappearance of the Dementor. A thought had just occurred to him. â€Å"Professor Lupin?† he said. â€Å"If you knew my dad, you must’ve known Sirius Black as well.† Lupin turned very quickly. â€Å"What gives you that idea?† he said sharply. â€Å"Nothing — I mean, I just knew they were friends at Hogwarts too†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Lupin’s face relaxed. â€Å"Yes, I knew him,† he said shortly. â€Å"Or I thought I did. You’d better be off, Harry, it’s getting late.† Harry left the classroom, walking along the corridor and around a corner, then took a detour behind a suit of armor and sank down on its plinth to finish his chocolate, wishing he hadn’t mentioned Black, as Lupin was obviously not keen on the subject. Then Harry’s thoughts wandered back to his mother and father †¦ He felt drained and strangely empty, even though he was so full of chocolate. Terrible though it was to hear his parents’ last moments replayed inside his head, these were the only times Harry had heard their voices since he was a very small child. But he’d never be able to produce a proper Patronus if he half wanted to hear his parents again †¦ â€Å"They’re dead,† he told himself sternly. â€Å"They’re dead and listening to echoes of them won’t bring them back. You’d better get a grip on yourself if you want that Quidditch Cup.† He stood up, crammed the last bit of chocolate into his mouth, and headed back to Gryffindor Tower. Ravenclaw played Slytherin a week after the start of term. Slytherin won, though narrowly. According to Wood, this was good news for Gryffindor, who would take second place if they beat Ravenclaw too. He therefore increased the number of team practices to five a week. This meant that with Lupin’s anti-Dementor classes, which in themselves were more draining than six Quidditch practices, Harry had just one night a week to do all his homework. Even so, he was not showing the strain nearly as much as Hermione, whose immense workload finally seemed to be getting to her. Every night, without fail, Hermione was to be seen in a corner of the common room, several tables spread with books, Arithmancy charts, rune dictionaries, diagrams of Muggles lifting heavy objects, and file upon file of extensive notes; she barely spoke to anybody and snapped when she was interrupted. â€Å"How’s she doing it?† Ron muttered to Harry one evening as Harry sat finishing a nasty essay on Undetectable Poisons for Snape. Harry looked up. Hermione was barely visible behind a tottering pile of books. â€Å"Doing what?† â€Å"Getting to all her classes!† Ron said. â€Å"I heard her talking to Professor Vector, that Arithmancy witch, this morning. They were going on about yesterday’s lesson, but Hermione can’t’ve been there, because she was with us in Care of Magical Creatures! And Ernie McMillan told me she’s never missed a Muggle Studies class, but half of them are at the same time as Divination, and she’s never missed one of them either!† Harry didn’t have time to fathom the mystery of Hermione’s impossible schedule at the moment; he really needed to get on with Snape’s essay. Two seconds later, however, he was interrupted again, this time by Wood. â€Å"Bad news, Harry. I’ve just been to see Professor McGonagall about the Firebolt. She — er — got a bit shirty with me. Told me I’d got my priorities wrong. Seemed to think I cared more about winning the Cup than I do about you staying alive. Just because I told her I didn’t care if it threw you off, as long as you caught the Snitch first.† Wood shook his head in disbelief. â€Å"Honestly, the way she was yelling at me†¦you’d think I’d said something terrible. Then I asked her how much longer she was going to keep it†¦Ã¢â‚¬  He screwed up his face and imitated Professor McGonagall’s severe voice. â€Å"As long as necessary, Wood†Ã¢â‚¬ ¦I reckon it’s time you ordered a new broom, Harry. There’s an order form at the back of Which Broomstick†¦you could get a Nimbus Two Thousand and One, like Malfoy’s got.† â€Å"I’m not buying anything Malfoy thinks is good,† said Harry flatly. January faded imperceptibly into February, with no change in the bitterly cold weather. The match against Ravenclaw was drawing nearer and nearer, but Harry still hadn’t ordered a new broom. He was now asking Professor McGonagall for news of the Firebolt after every Transfiguration lesson, Ron standing hopefully at his shoulder, Hermione rushing past with her face averted. â€Å"No, Potter, you can’t have it back yet,† Professor McGonagall told him the twelfth time this happened, before he’d even opened his mouth. â€Å"We’ve checked for most of the usual curses, but Professor Flitwick believes the broom might be carrying a Hurling Hex. I shall tell you once we’ve finished checking it. Now, please stop badgering me.† To make matters even worse, Harry’s anti-Dementor lessons were not going nearly as well as he had hoped. Several sessions on, he was able to produce an indistinct, silvery shadow every time the Boggart-Dementor approached him, but his Patronus was too feeble to drive the Dementor away. All it did was hover, like a semitransparent cloud, draining Harry of energy as he fought to keep it there. Harry felt angry with himself, guilty about his secret desire to hear his parents’ voices again. â€Å"You’re expecting too much of yourself,† said Professor Lupin, sternly in their fourth week of practice. â€Å"For a thirteen-year-old wizard, even an indistinct Patronus is a huge achievement. You aren’t passing out anymore, are you?† â€Å"I thought a Patronus would — charge the Dementors down or something,† said Harry dispiritedly. â€Å"Make them disappear –â€Å" â€Å"The true Patronus does do that,† said Lupin. â€Å"But you’ve achieved a great deal in a very short space of time. If the Dementors put in an appearance at your next Quidditch match, You will be able to keep them at bay long enough to get back to the ground.† â€Å"You said it’s harder if there are loads of them,† said Harry. â€Å"I have complete confidence in you,† said Lupin, smiling. â€Å"Here — you’ve earned a drink. Something from the Three Broomsticks. You won’t have tried it before –â€Å" He pulled two bottles out of his briefcase. â€Å"Butterbeer!† said Harry, without thinking. â€Å"Yeah, I like that stuff!† Lupin raised an eyebrow. â€Å"Oh — Ron and Hermione brought me some back from Hogsmeade,† Harry lied quickly. â€Å"I see,† said Lupin, though he still looked slightly suspicious. â€Å"Well — let’s drink to a Gryffindor victory against Ravenclaw! Not that I’m supposed to take sides, as a teacher†¦Ã¢â‚¬  he added hastily. They drank the butterbeer in silence, until Harry voiced something he’d been wondering for a while. â€Å"What’s under a Dementor’s hood?† Professor Lupin lowered his bottle thoughtfully. â€Å"Hmmm †¦ well, the only people who really know are in no condition to tell us. You see, the Dementor lowers its hood only to use its last and worst weapon.† â€Å"What’s that?† â€Å"They call it the Dementor’s Kiss,† said Lupin, with a slightly twisted smile. â€Å"It’s what Dementors do to those they wish to destroy utterly. I suppose there must be some kind of mouth under there, because they clamp their jaws upon the mouth of the victim and — and suck out his soul.† Harry accidentally spat out a bit of butterbeer. â€Å"What — they kill –?† â€Å"Oh no,† said Lupin. â€Å"Much worse than that. You can exist without your soul, you know, as long as your brain and heart are still working. But you’ll have no sense of self anymore, no memory, no†¦anything. There’s no chance at all of recovery. You’ll just exist. As an empty shell. And your soul is gone forever†¦lost.† Lupin drank a little more butterbeer, then said, â€Å"It’s the fate that awaits Sirius Black. It was in the Daily Prophet this morning. The Ministry have given the Dementors permission to perform it if they find him.† Harry sat stunned for a moment at the idea of someone having their soul sucked out through their mouth. But then he thought of Black. â€Å"He deserves it,† he said suddenly. â€Å"You think so?† said Lupin lightly. â€Å"Do you really think anyone deserves that?† â€Å"Yes,† said Harry defiantly. â€Å"For†¦for some things†¦Ã¢â‚¬  He would have liked to have told Lupin about the conversation he’d overheard about Black in the Three Broomsticks, about Black betraying his mother and father, but it would have involved revealing that he’d gone to Hogsmeade without permission, and he knew Lupin wouldn’t be very impressed by that. So he finished his butterbeer, thanked Lupin, and left the History of Magic classroom. Harry half wished that he hadn’t asked what was under a Dementor’s hood, the answer had been so horrible, and he was so lost in unpleasant thoughts of what it would feel like to have your soul sucked out of you that he walked headlong into Professor McGonagall halfway up the stairs. â€Å"Do watch where you’re going, Potter!† â€Å"Sorry, Professor –â€Å" â€Å"I’ve just been looking for you in the Gryffindor common room, Well, here it is, we’ve done everything we could think of, and there doesn’t seem to be anything wrong with it at all — you’ve got a very good friend somewhere, Potter†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Harry’s jaw dropped. She was holding out his Firebolt, and it looked as magnificent as ever. â€Å"I can have it back?† Harry said weakly. â€Å"Seriously?† â€Å"Seriously,† said Professor McGonagall, and she was actually smiling. â€Å"I daresay you’ll need to get the feel of it before Saturday’s match, won’t you? And Potter — do try and win, won’t you? Or we’ll be out of the running for the eighth year in a row, as Professor Snape was kind enough to remind me only last night†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Speechless, Harry carried the Firebolt back upstairs toward Gryffindor Tower. As he turned a corner, he saw Ron dashing toward him, grinning from ear to ear. â€Å"She gave it to you? Excellent! Listen, can I still have a go on it? Tomorrow?† â€Å"Yeah†¦anything†¦Ã¢â‚¬  said Harry, his heart lighter than it had been in a month. â€Å"You know what — we should make up with Hermione†¦She was only trying to help†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"Yeah, all right,† said Ron. â€Å"She’s in the common room now working — for a change.† They turned into the corridor to Gryffindor Tower and saw Neville Longbottom, pleading with Sir Cadogan, who seemed to be refusing him entrance. â€Å"I wrote them down!† Neville was saying tearfully. â€Å"But I must’ve dropped them somewhere!† â€Å"A likely tale!† roared Sir Cadogan. Then, spotting Harry and Ron: â€Å"Good even, my fine young yeomen! Come clap this loon in irons. He is trying to force entry to the chambers within!† â€Å"Oh, shut up,† said Ron as he and Harry drew level with Neville. â€Å"I’ve lost the passwords!† Neville told them miserably. â€Å"I made him tell me what passwords he was going to use this week, because he keeps changing them, and now I don’t know what I’ve done with them!† â€Å"Oddsbodkins,† said Harry to Sir Cadogan, who looked extremely disappointed and reluctantly swung forward to let them into the common room. There was a sudden, excited murmur as every head turned and the next moment, Harry was surrounded by people exclaiming over his Firebolt. â€Å"Where’d you get it, Harry?† â€Å"Will you let me have a go?† â€Å"Have you ridden it yet, Harry?† â€Å"Ravenclaw’ll have no chance, they’re all on Cleansweep Sevens!† â€Å"Can I just hold it, Harry?† After ten minutes or so, during which the Firebolt was Passed around and admired from every angle, the crowd dispersed and Harry and Ron had a clear view of Hermione, the only person who hadn’t rushed over to them, bent over her work and carefully avoiding their eyes. Harry and Ron approached her table and at last, she looked up. â€Å"I got it back,† said Harry, grinning at her and holding up the Firebolt. â€Å"See, Hermione? There wasn’t anything wrong with it!† said Ron. â€Å"Well — there might have been!† said Hermione. â€Å"I mean, at least you know now that it’s safe!† â€Å"Yeah, I suppose so,† said Harry. â€Å"I’d better put it upstairs.† â€Å"I’ll take it!† said Ron eagerly. â€Å"I’ve got to give Scabbers his rat tonic.† He took the Firebolt and, holding it as if it were made of glass, carried it away up the boys’ staircase. â€Å"Can I sit down, then?† Harry asked Hermione. â€Å"I suppose so,† said Hermione, moving a great stack of parchment off a chair. Harry looked around at the cluttered table, at the long Arithmancy essay on which the ink was still glistening, at the even longer Muggle Studies essay (‘Explain Why Muggles Need Electricity’) and at the rune translation Hermione was now poring over. â€Å"How are you getting through all this stuff?† Harry asked her. â€Å"Oh, well — you know — working hard,† said Hermione. Close-up, Harry saw that she looked almost as tired as Lupin. â€Å"Why don’t you just drop a couple of subjects?† Harry asked, watching her lifting books as she searched for her rune dictionary. â€Å"I couldn’t do that!† said Hermione, looking scandalized. â€Å"Arithmancy looks terrible,† said Harry, picking up a very complicated-looking number chart. â€Å"Oh no, it’s wonderful!† said Hermione earnestly. â€Å"It’s my favorite subject! It’s –â€Å" But exactly what was wonderful about Arithmancy, Harry never found out. At that precise moment, a strangled yell echoed down the boys’ staircase. The whole common room fell silent, staring, petrified, at the entrance. Then came hurried footsteps, growing louder and louder — and then Ron came leaping into view, dragging with him a bedsheet. â€Å"LOOK!† he bellowed, striding over to Hermione’s table. â€Å"LOOK!† he yelled, shaking the sheets in her face. â€Å"Ron, what –?† â€Å"SCABBERS! LOOK! SCABBERS!† Hermione was leaning away from Ron, looking utterly bewildered. Harry looked down at the sheet Ron was holding. There was something red on it. Something that looked horribly like — â€Å"BLOOD!† Ron yelled into the stunned silence. â€Å"HE’S GONE! AND YOU KNOW WHAT WAS ON THE FLOOR?† â€Å"N — no,† said Hermione in a trembling voice. Ron threw something down onto Hermione’s rune translation. Hermione and Harry leaned forward. Lying on top of the weird, spiky shapes were several long, ginger cat hairs. Chapter 12 The Patronus As far as he was concerned, the stripping-down of a brand-new Firebolt was nothing less than criminal damage. Hermione, who remained convinced that she had acted for the best, started avoiding the common room. Harry and Ron supposed she had taken refuge in the library and didn’t try to persuade her to come back. All in all, they were glad when the rest of the school returned shortly after New Year, and Gryffindor Tower became crowded and noisy again. Wood sought Harry out on the night before term started. â€Å"Had a good Christmas?† he said, and then, without waiting for an answer, he sat down, lowered his voice, and said, â€Å"I’ve been, doing some thinking over Christmas, Harry. After last match, you know. If the Dementors come to the next one†¦I mean†¦we can’t afford you to — well –â€Å" Wood broke off, looking awkward. â€Å"I’m working on it,† said Harry quickly. â€Å"Professor Lupin said he’d train me to ward off the Dementors. We should be starting this week. He said he’d have time after Christmas.† â€Å"Ah,† said Wood, his expression clearing. â€Å"Well, in that case — I really didn’t want to lose you as Seeker, Harry. And have you ordered a new broom yet?† â€Å"No,† said Harry. â€Å"What! You’d better get a move on, you know — you can’t ride that Shooting Star against Ravenclaw!† â€Å"He got a Firebolt for Christmas,† said Ron. â€Å"A Firebolt? No! Seriously? A — a real Firebolt?† â€Å"Don’t get excited, Oliver,† said Harry gloomily. â€Å"I haven’t got it anymore. It was confiscated.† And he explained all about how the Firebolt was now being checked for jinxes. â€Å"Jinxed? How could it be jinxed?† â€Å"Sirius Black,† Harry said wearily. â€Å"He’s supposed to be after me. So McGonagall reckons he might have sent it.† Waving aside the information that a famous murderer was after his Seeker, Wood said, â€Å"But Black couldn’t have bought a Firebolt! He’s on the run! The whole country’s on the lookout for him! How could he just walk into Quality Quidditch Supplies and buy a broomstick?† â€Å"I know,† said Harry, â€Å"but McGonagall still wants to strip it down –â€Å" Wood went pale. â€Å"I’ll go and talk to her, Harry,† he promised. â€Å"I’ll make her see reason†¦A Firebolt†¦a real Firebolt, on our team †¦She wants Gryffindor to win as much as we do†¦I’ll make her see sense. A Firebolt†¦.† Classes started again the next day. The last thing anyone felt like doing was spending two hours on the grounds on a raw January morning, but Hagrid had provided a bonfire full of salamanders for their enjoyment, and they spent an unusually good lesson collecting dry wood and leaves to keep the fire blazing while the flame-loving lizards scampered up and down the crumbling, white-hot logs. The first Divination lesson of the new term was much less fun; Professor Trelawney was now teaching them palmistry, and she lost no time in informing Harry that he had the shortest life line she had ever seen. It was Defense Against the Dark Arts that Harry was keen to get to; after his conversation with Wood, he wanted to get started on his anti-Dementor lessons as soon as possible. â€Å"Ah yes,† said Lupin, when Harry reminded him of his promise at the end of class. â€Å"Let me see†¦how about eight o’clock on Thursday evening? The History of Magic classroom should be large enough†¦I’ll have to think carefully about how we’re going to do this†¦We can’t bring a real Dementor into the castle to practice on†¦.† â€Å"Still looks ill, doesn’t he?† said Ron as they walked down the corridor, heading to dinner. â€Å"What d’you reckon’s the matter with him?† There was a loud and impatient â€Å"tuh† from behind them. It was Hermione, who had been sitting at the feet of a suit of armor, repacking her bag, which was so full of books it wouldn’t close. â€Å"And what are you tutting at us for?† said Ron irritably. â€Å"Nothing,† said Hermione in a lofty voice, heaving her bag back over her shoulder. â€Å"Yes, you were,† said Ron. â€Å"I said I wonder what’s wrong with Lupin, and you –â€Å" â€Å"Well, isn’t it obvious?† said Hermione, with a look of maddening superiority. â€Å"If you don’t want to tell us, don’t,† snapped Ron. â€Å"Fine,† said Hermione haughtily, and she marched off. â€Å"She doesn’t know,† said Ron, staring resentfully after Hermione. â€Å"She’s just trying to get us to talk to her again.† At eight o’clock on Thursday evening, Harry left Gryffindor Tower for the History of Magic classroom. It was dark and empty when he arrived, but he lit the lamps with his wand and had waited only five minutes when Professor Lupin turned up, carrying a large packing case, which he heaved onto Professor Binn’s desk. â€Å"What’s that?† said Harry. â€Å"Another Boggart,† said Lupin, stripping off his cloak. â€Å"I’ve been combing the castle ever since Tuesday, and very luckily, I found this one lurking inside Mr. Filch’s filing cabinet. It’s the nearest we’ll get to a real Dementor. The Boggart will turn into a Dementor when he sees you, so we’ll be able to practice on him. I can store him in my office when we’re not using him; there’s a cupboard under my desk he’ll like.† â€Å"Okay,† said Harry, trying to sound as though he wasn’t apprehensive at all and merely glad that Lupin had found such a good substitute for a real Dementor. â€Å"So†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Professor Lupin had taken out his own wand, and indicated that Harry should do the same. â€Å"The spell I am going to try and teach you is highly advanced magic, Harry — well beyond Ordinary Wizarding Level. It is called the Patronus Charm.† â€Å"How does it work?† said Harry nervously. â€Å"Well, when it works correctly, It conjures up a Patronus,† said Lupin, â€Å"which is a kind of anti-Dementor — a guardian that acts as a shield between you and the Dementor.† Harry had a sudden vision of himself crouching behind a Hagrid-sized figure holding a large club. Professor Lupin continued, â€Å"The Patronus is a kind of positive force, a projection of the very things that the Dementor feeds upon — hope, happiness, the desire to survive — but it cannot feel despair, as real humans can, so the Dementors can’t hurt it. But I must warn you, Harry, that the charm might be too advanced for you. Many qualified wizards have difficulty with it.† â€Å"What does a Patronus look like?† said Harry curiously. â€Å"Each one is unique to the wizard who conjures it.† â€Å"And how do you conjure it?† â€Å"With an incantation, which will work only if you are concentrating, with all your might, on a single, very happy memory.† Harry cast his mind about for a happy memory. Certainly, nothing that had happened to him at the Dursleys’ was going to do. Finally, he settled on the moment when he had first ridden a broomstick. â€Å"Right,† he said, trying to recall as exactly as possible the wonderful, soaring sensation of his stomach. â€Å"The incantation is this –† Lupin cleared his throat. â€Å"Expecto patronum!† â€Å"Expecto patronum,† Harry repeated under his breath, â€Å"expecto patronum.† â€Å"Concentrating hard on your happy memory?† â€Å"Oh — yeah –† said Harry, quickly forcing his thoughts back to that first broom ride. â€Å"Expecto patrono — no, patronum — sorry — expecto patronum, expecto patronum† Something whooshed suddenly out of the end of his wand; it looked like a wisp of silvery gas. â€Å"Did you see that?† said Harry excitedly. â€Å"Something happened!† â€Å"Very good,† said Lupin, smiling. â€Å"Right, then — ready to try it on a Dementor?† â€Å"Yes,† Harry said, gripping his wand very tightly, and moving into the middle of the deserted classroom. He tried to keep his mind on flying, but something else kept intruding†¦Any second now, he might hear his mother again†¦but he shouldn’t think that, or he would hear her again, and he didn’t want to†¦or did he? Lupin grasped the lid of the packing case and pulled. A Dementor rose slowly from the box, its hooded face turned toward Harry, one glistening, scabbed hand gripping its cloak. The lamps around the classroom flickered and went out. The Dementor stepped from the box and started to sweep silently toward Harry, drawing a deep, rattling breath. A wave of piercing cold broke over him — â€Å"Expecto patronum!† Harry yelled. â€Å"Expecto patronum! Expecto –â€Å" But the classroom and the Dementor were dissolving†¦Harry was falling again through thick white fog, and his mother’s voice was louder than ever, echoing inside his head — â€Å"Not Harry! Not Harry! Please — I’ll do anything –â€Å" â€Å"Stand aside — stand aside, girl –â€Å" â€Å"Harry!† Harry jerked back to life. He was lying flat on his back on the floor. The classroom lamps were alight again. He didn’t have to ask what had happened. â€Å"Sorry,† he muttered, sitting up and feeling cold sweat trickling down behind his glasses. â€Å"Are you all right?† said Lupin. â€Å"Yes†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Harry pulled himself up on one of the desks and leaned against it. â€Å"Here –† Lupin handed him a Chocolate Frog. â€Å"Eat this before we try again. I didn’t expect you to do it your first time; in fact, I would have been astounded if you had.† â€Å"It’s getting worse,† Harry muttered, biting off the Frog’s head. â€Å"I could hear her louder that time — and him — Voldemort –â€Å" Lupin looked paler than usual. â€Å"Harry, if you don’t want to continue, I will more than understand –â€Å" â€Å"I do!† said Harry fiercely, stuffing the rest of the Chocolate Frog into his mouth. â€Å"I’ve got to! What if the Dementors turn up at our match against Ravenclaw? I can’t afford to fall off again. If we lose this game we’ve lost the Quidditch Cup!† â€Å"All right then†¦Ã¢â‚¬  said Lupin. â€Å"You might want to select another memory, a happy memory, I mean, to concentrate on†¦That one doesn’t seem to have been strong enough†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Harry thought hard and decided his feelings when Gryffindor had won the House Championship last year had definitely qualified as very happy. He gripped his wand tightly again and took up his position in the middle of the classroom. â€Å"Ready?† said Lupin, gripping the box lid. â€Å"Ready,† said Harry; trying hard to fill his head with happy thoughts about Gryffindor winning, and not dark thoughts about what was going to happen when the box opened. â€Å"Go!† said Lupin, pulling off the lid. The room went icily cold and dark once more. The Dementor glided forward, drawing its breath; one rotting hand was extending toward Harry — â€Å"Expecto patronum!† Harry yelled. â€Å"Expecto patronum! Expecto Pat –â€Å" White fog obscured his senses†¦big, blurred shapes were moving around him†¦then came a new voice, a man’s voice, shouting, panicking — â€Å"Lily, take Harry and go! It’s him! Go! Run! I’ll hold him off –â€Å" The sounds of someone stumbling from a room — a door bursting open — a cackle of high- pitched laughter — â€Å"Harry! Harry†¦wake up†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Lupin was tapping Harry hard on the face. This time it was a minute before Harry understood why he was lying on a dusty classroom floor. â€Å"I heard my dad,† Harry mumbled. â€Å"That’s the first time I’ve ever heard him — he tried to take on Voldemort himself, to give my mum time to run for it†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Harry suddenly realized that there were tears on his face mingling with the sweat. He bent his face as low as possible, wiping them off on his robes, pretending to do up his shoelace, so that Lupin wouldn’t see. â€Å"You heard James?† said Lupin in a strange voice. â€Å"Yeah†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Face dry, Harry looked up. â€Å"Why — you didn’t know my dad, did you?† â€Å"I — I did, as a matter of fact,† said Lupin. â€Å"We were friends at Hogwarts. Listen, Harry — perhaps we should leave it here for tonight. This charm is ridiculously advanced†¦I shouldn’t have suggested putting you through this†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"No!† said Harry. He got up again. â€Å"I’ll have one more go! I’m not thinking of happy enough things, that’s what it is†¦hang on†¦Ã¢â‚¬  He racked his brains. A really, really happy memory†¦one that he could turn into a good, strong Patronus†¦. The moment when he’d first found out he was a wizard, and would be leaving the Dursleys for Hogwarts! If that wasn’t a happy memory, he didn’t know what was†¦Concentrating very hard on how he had felt when he’d realized he’d be leaving Privet Drive, Harry got to his feet and faced the packing case once more. â€Å"Ready?† said Lupin, who looked as though he were doing this against his better judgment. â€Å"Concentrating hard? All right — go!† He pulled off the lid of the case for the third time, and the Dementor rose out of it; the room fell cold and dark — â€Å"EXPECTO PATRONUM!† Harry bellowed. â€Å"EXPECTO PATRONUM! EXPECTO PATRONUM!† The screaming inside Harry’s head had started again — except this time, it sounded as though it were coming from a badly tuned radio — softer and louder and softer again†¦and he could still see the Dementor†¦it had halted†¦and then a huge, silver shadow came bursting out of the end of Harry’s wand, to hover between him and the Dementor, and though Harry’s legs felt like water, he was still on his feet — though for how much longer, he wasn’t sure†¦ â€Å"Riddikulus!† roared Lupin, springing forward. There was a loud crack, and Harry’s cloudy Patronus vanished along with the Dementor; he sank into a chair, feeling as exhausted as if he’d just run a mile, and felt his legs shaking. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Professor Lupin forcing the Boggart back into the packing case with his wand; it had turned into a silvery orb again. â€Å"Excellent!† Lupin said, striding over to where Harry sat. â€Å"Excellent, Harry! That was definitely a start!† â€Å"Can we have another go? Just one more go?† â€Å"Not now,† said Lupin firmly. â€Å"You’ve had enough for one night. Here –â€Å" He handed Harry a large bar of Honeydukes’ best chocolate. â€Å"Eat the lot, or Madam Pomfrey will be after my blood. Same time next week?† â€Å"Okay,† said Harry. He took a bite of the chocolate and watched Lupin extinguishing the lamps that had rekindled with the disappearance of the Dementor. A thought had just occurred to him. â€Å"Professor Lupin?† he said. â€Å"If you knew my dad, you must’ve known Sirius Black as well.† Lupin turned very quickly. â€Å"What gives you that idea?† he said sharply. â€Å"Nothing — I mean, I just knew they were friends at Hogwarts too†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Lupin’s face relaxed. â€Å"Yes, I knew him,† he said shortly. â€Å"Or I thought I did. You’d better be off, Harry, it’s getting late.† Harry left the classroom, walking along the corridor and around a corner, then took a detour behind a suit of armor and sank down on its plinth to finish his chocolate, wishing he hadn’t mentioned Black, as Lupin was obviously not keen on the subject. Then Harry’s thoughts wandered back to his mother and father †¦ He felt drained and strangely empty, even though he was so full of chocolate. Terrible though it was to hear his parents’ last moments replayed inside his head, these were the only times Harry had heard their voices since he was a very small child. But he’d never be able to produce a proper Patronus if he half wanted to hear his parents again †¦ â€Å"They’re dead,† he told himself sternly. â€Å"They’re dead and listening to echoes of them won’t bring them back. You’d better get a grip on yourself if you want that Quidditch Cup.† He stood up, crammed the last bit of chocolate into his mouth, and headed back to Gryffindor Tower. Ravenclaw played Slytherin a week after the start of term. Slytherin won, though narrowly. According to Wood, this was good news for Gryffindor, who would take second place if they beat Ravenclaw too. He therefore increased the number of team practices to five a week. This meant that with Lupin’s anti-Dementor classes, which in themselves were more draining than six Quidditch practices, Harry had just one night a week to do all his homework. Even so, he was not showing the strain nearly as much as Hermione, whose immense workload finally seemed to be getting to her. Every night, without fail, Hermione was to be seen in a corner of the common room, several tables spread with books, Arithmancy charts, rune dictionaries, diagrams of Muggles lifting heavy objects, and file upon file of extensive notes; she barely spoke to anybody and snapped when she was interrupted. â€Å"How’s she doing it?† Ron muttered to Harry one evening as Harry sat finishing a nasty essay on Undetectable Poisons for Snape. Harry looked up. Hermione was barely visible behind a tottering pile of books. â€Å"Doing what?† â€Å"Getting to all her classes!† Ron said. â€Å"I heard her talking to Professor Vector, that Arithmancy witch, this morning. They were going on about yesterday’s lesson, but Hermione can’t’ve been there, because she was with us in Care of Magical Creatures! And Ernie McMillan told me she’s never missed a Muggle Studies class, but half of them are at the same time as Divination, and she’s never missed one of them either!† Harry didn’t have time to fathom the mystery of Hermione’s impossible schedule at the moment; he really needed to get on with Snape’s essay. Two seconds later, however, he was interrupted again, this time by Wood. â€Å"Bad news, Harry. I’ve just been to see Professor McGonagall about the Firebolt. She — er — got a bit shirty with me. Told me I’d got my priorities wrong. Seemed to think I cared more about winning the Cup than I do about you staying alive. Just because I told her I didn’t care if it threw you off, as long as you caught the Snitch first.† Wood shook his head in disbelief. â€Å"Honestly, the way she was yelling at me†¦you’d think I’d said something terrible. Then I asked her how much longer she was going to keep it†¦Ã¢â‚¬  He screwed up his face and imitated Professor McGonagall’s severe voice. â€Å"As long as necessary, Wood†Ã¢â‚¬ ¦I reckon it’s time you ordered a new broom, Harry. There’s an order form at the back of Which Broomstick†¦you could get a Nimbus Two Thousand and One, like Malfoy’s got.† â€Å"I’m not buying anything Malfoy thinks is good,† said Harry flatly. January faded imperceptibly into February, with no change in the bitterly cold weather. The match against Ravenclaw was drawing nearer and nearer, but Harry still hadn’t ordered a new broom. He was now asking Professor McGonagall for news of the Firebolt after every Transfiguration lesson, Ron standing hopefully at his shoulder, Hermione rushing past with her face averted. â€Å"No, Potter, you can’t have it back yet,† Professor McGonagall told him the twelfth time this happened, before he’d even opened his mouth. â€Å"We’ve checked for most of the usual curses, but Professor Flitwick believes the broom might be carrying a Hurling Hex. I shall tell you once we’ve finished checking it. Now, please stop badgering me.† To make matters even worse, Harry’s anti-Dementor lessons were not going nearly as well as he had hoped. Several sessions on, he was able to produce an indistinct, silvery shadow every time the Boggart-Dementor approached him, but his Patronus was too feeble to drive the Dementor away. All it did was hover, like a semitransparent cloud, draining Harry of energy as he fought to keep it there. Harry felt angry with himself, guilty about his secret desire to hear his parents’ voices again. â€Å"You’re expecting too much of yourself,† said Professor Lupin, sternly in their fourth week of practice. â€Å"For a thirteen-year-old wizard, even an indistinct Patronus is a huge achievement. You aren’t passing out anymore, are you?† â€Å"I thought a Patronus would — charge the Dementors down or something,† said Harry dispiritedly. â€Å"Make them disappear –â€Å" â€Å"The true Patronus does do that,† said Lupin. â€Å"But you’ve achieved a great deal in a very short space of time. If the Dementors put in an appearance at your next Quidditch match, You will be able to keep them at bay long enough to get back to the ground.† â€Å"You said it’s harder if there are loads of them,† said Harry. â€Å"I have complete confidence in you,† said Lupin, smiling. â€Å"Here — you’ve earned a drink. Something from the Three Broomsticks. You won’t have tried it before –â€Å" He pulled two bottles out of his briefcase. â€Å"Butterbeer!† said Harry, without thinking. â€Å"Yeah, I like that stuff!† Lupin raised an eyebrow. â€Å"Oh — Ron and Hermione brought me some back from Hogsmeade,† Harry lied quickly. â€Å"I see,† said Lupin, though he still looked slightly suspicious. â€Å"Well — let’s drink to a Gryffindor victory against Ravenclaw! Not that I’m supposed to take sides, as a teacher†¦Ã¢â‚¬  he added hastily. They drank the butterbeer in silence, until Harry voiced something he’d been wondering for a while. â€Å"What’s under a Dementor’s hood?† Professor Lupin lowered his bottle thoughtfully. â€Å"Hmmm †¦ well, the only people who really know are in no condition to tell us. You see, the Dementor lowers its hood only to use its last and worst weapon.† â€Å"What’s that?† â€Å"They call it the Dementor’s Kiss,† said Lupin, with a slightly twisted smile. â€Å"It’s what Dementors do to those they wish to destroy utterly. I suppose there must be some kind of mouth under there, because they clamp their jaws upon the mouth of the victim and — and suck out his soul.† Harry accidentally spat out a bit of butterbeer. â€Å"What — they kill –?† â€Å"Oh no,† said Lupin. â€Å"Much worse than that. You can exist without your soul, you know, as long as your brain and heart are still working. But you’ll have no sense of self anymore, no memory, no†¦anything. There’s no chance at all of recovery. You’ll just exist. As an empty shell. And your soul is gone forever†¦lost.† Lupin drank a little more butterbeer, then said, â€Å"It’s the fate that awaits Sirius Black. It was in the Daily Prophet this morning. The Ministry have given the Dementors permission to perform it if they find him.† Harry sat stunned for a moment at the idea of someone having their soul sucked out through their mouth. But then he thought of Black. â€Å"He deserves it,† he said suddenly. â€Å"You think so?† said Lupin lightly. â€Å"Do you really think anyone deserves that?† â€Å"Yes,† said Harry defiantly. â€Å"For†¦for some things†¦Ã¢â‚¬  He would have liked to have told Lupin about the conversation he’d overheard about Black in the Three Broomsticks, about Black betraying his mother and father, but it would have involved revealing that he’d gone to Hogsmeade without permission, and he knew Lupin wouldn’t be very impressed by that. So he finished his butterbeer, thanked Lupin, and left the History of Magic classroom. Harry half wished that he hadn’t asked what was under a Dementor’s hood, the answer had been so horrible, and he was so lost in unpleasant thoughts of what it would feel like to have your soul sucked out of you that he walked headlong into Professor McGonagall halfway up the stairs. â€Å"Do watch where you’re going, Potter!† â€Å"Sorry, Professor –â€Å" â€Å"I’ve just been looking for you in the Gryffindor common room, Well, here it is, we’ve done everything we could think of, and there doesn’t seem to be anything wrong with it at all — you’ve got a very good friend somewhere, Potter†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Harry’s jaw dropped. She was holding out his Firebolt, and it looked as magnificent as ever. â€Å"I can have it back?† Harry said weakly. â€Å"Seriously?† â€Å"Seriously,† said Professor McGonagall, and she was actually smiling. â€Å"I daresay you’ll need to get the feel of it before Saturday’s match, won’t you? And Potter — do try and win, won’t you? Or we’ll be out of the running for the eighth year in a row, as Professor Snape was kind enough to remind me only last night†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Speechless, Harry carried the Firebolt back upstairs toward Gryffindor Tower. As he turned a corner, he saw Ron dashing toward him, grinning from ear to ear. â€Å"She gave it to you? Excellent! Listen, can I still have a go on it? Tomorrow?† â€Å"Yeah†¦anything†¦Ã¢â‚¬  said Harry, his heart lighter than it had been in a month. â€Å"You know what — we should make up with Hermione†¦She was only trying to help†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"Yeah, all right,† said Ron. â€Å"She’s in the common room now working — for a change.† They turned into the corridor to Gryffindor Tower and saw Neville Longbottom, pleading with Sir Cadogan, who seemed to be refusing him entrance. â€Å"I wrote them down!† Neville was saying tearfully. â€Å"But I must’ve dropped them somewhere!† â€Å"A likely tale!† roared Sir Cadogan. Then, spotting Harry and Ron: â€Å"Good even, my fine young yeomen! Come clap this loon in irons. He is trying to force entry to the chambers within!† â€Å"Oh, shut up,† said Ron as he and Harry drew level with Neville. â€Å"I’ve lost the passwords!† Neville told them miserably. â€Å"I made him tell me what passwords he was going to use this week, because he keeps changing them, and now I don’t know what I’ve done with them!† â€Å"Oddsbodkins,† said Harry to Sir Cadogan, who looked extremely disappointed and reluctantly swung forward to let them into the common room. There was a sudden, excited murmur as every head turned and the next moment, Harry was surrounded by people exclaiming over his Firebolt. â€Å"Where’d you get it, Harry?† â€Å"Will you let me have a go?† â€Å"Have you ridden it yet, Harry?† â€Å"Ravenclaw’ll have no chance, they’re all on Cleansweep Sevens!† â€Å"Can I just hold it, Harry?† After ten minutes or so, during which the Firebolt was Passed around and admired from every angle, the crowd dispersed and Harry and Ron had a clear view of Hermione, the only person who hadn’t rushed over to them, bent over her work and carefully avoiding their eyes. Harry and Ron approached her table and at last, she looked up. â€Å"I got it back,† said Harry, grinning at her and holding up the Firebolt. â€Å"See, Hermione? There wasn’t anything wrong with it!† said Ron. â€Å"Well — there might have been!† said Hermione. â€Å"I mean, at least you know now that it’s safe!† â€Å"Yeah, I suppose so,† said Harry. â€Å"I’d better put it upstairs.† â€Å"I’ll take it!† said Ron eagerly. â€Å"I’ve got to give Scabbers his rat tonic.† He took the Firebolt and, holding it as if it were made of glass, carried it away up the boys’ staircase. â€Å"Can I sit down, then?† Harry asked Hermione. â€Å"I suppose so,† said Hermione, moving a great stack of parchment off a chair. Harry looked around at the cluttered table, at the long Arithmancy essay on which the ink was still glistening, at the even longer Muggle Studies essay (‘Explain Why Muggles Need Electricity’) and at the rune translation Hermione was now poring over. â€Å"How are you getting through all this stuff?† Harry asked her. â€Å"Oh, well — you know — working hard,† said Hermione. Close-up, Harry saw that she looked almost as tired as Lupin. â€Å"Why don’t you just drop a couple of subjects?† Harry asked, watching her lifting books as she searched for her rune dictionary. â€Å"I couldn’t do that!† said Hermione, looking scandalized. â€Å"Arithmancy looks terrible,† said Harry, picking up a very complicated-looking number chart. â€Å"Oh no, it’s wonderful!† said Hermione earnestly. â€Å"It’s my favorite subject! It’s –â€Å" But exactly what was wonderful about Arithmancy, Harry never found out. At that precise moment, a strangled yell echoed down the boys’ staircase. The whole common room fell silent, staring, petrified, at the entrance. Then came hurried footsteps, growing louder and louder — and then Ron came leaping into view, dragging with him a bedsheet. â€Å"LOOK!† he bellowed, striding over to Hermione’s table. â€Å"LOOK!† he yelled, shaking the sheets in her face. â€Å"Ron, what –?† â€Å"SCABBERS! LOOK! SCABBERS!† Hermione was leaning away from Ron, looking utterly bewildered. Harry looked down at the sheet Ron was holding. There was something red on it. Something that looked horribly like — â€Å"BLOOD!† Ron yelled into the stunned silence. â€Å"HE’S GONE! AND YOU KNOW WHAT WAS ON THE FLOOR?† â€Å"N — no,† said Hermione in a trembling voice. Ron threw something down onto Hermione’s rune translation. Hermione and Harry leaned forward. Lying on top of the weird, spiky shapes were several long, ginger cat hairs.

Construction Management Techniques Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Construction Management Techniques - Essay Example Unlike bureaucratic structures, those administrative systems offer every individual to work as a unit of a hierarchy to concentrate only over a segment of work to enhance his capabilities of production as a human resource. Consequently, it becomes the main responsibility of an individual to cope with the other parallel and serial units of hierarchy in a way that provides a smooth workflow throughout the structure and enhances the overall capability regarding quality and quantity of outcomes. This synchronization of individuals depends chiefly on the communication and information modules that individual fulfills. And, resultantly, communication and information framework becomes the utmost important area to be attended by the individuals as well as the administrative authorities. Task 1.b Depending chiefly to the basic framework and applied strategies, measure of company’s performance is rooted in the fact for how much it can comply with its mission statement that manifests the chief goals set by company. When a company spreads its dimension and transforms from medium to large company, it necessarily requires a metamorphosis of its applied strategies while still being firm to its ground framework which assures that company’s dealings will serve the continued purposes that had brought the company to a stage offering such transformation. Thus, a transformation from a medium to a large company requires a long term plan that initiates with the formula strategies of the company to the new offering that company achieves with expansions. Mostly, new demands also require building new strategies for specific cases. It is must to be farsighted and preplanned for such expansion which is only possible if a full plan is preset with the possible options and alternatives for tasks upcoming with forwarding and transforming. Task 2 Pre-construction requirements As the construction at Santiago way requires a small portion with two flats and a pair of semi detached ho use, the whole construction will require some earlier steps that will serve as the base strategy of the constructions. First of all, the documentation and authorization will be required to be locked before the site survey and construction planning. It will include a construction certification and council approving. Once the documentation and legal procedures are over, company may lead to site survey that will include an analysis of current and earlier weather, soil and ground condition. Overall pre-construction will finish up with the following steps: Legal documentation and authorization Earlier to site survey, a construction agreement and council permission will be required. Construction may lead to involve in various steps that involves excavation, refilling, noises and temporary hurdling of pathway that will be clearly mentioned in the documentations. Construction environment Survey History of the construction will be analyzed over the standard patterns. Estimated climate condit ions, quality of soil, underground scab, domestic colony development plans, electric and water supply inlets and outlets will be examined and included in the survey. Site survey Regular visit to the site will involve a number of examinations over the elevation of the site and its foundational depth resting of underground layer. Various elevations and earth crust deformations will be mapped to find out how much space, equipments and labor

Jack Daniel's Tennessee Whiskey Brand Project Research Paper

Jack Daniel's Tennessee Whiskey Brand Project - Research Paper Example Taking account of the possible challenges that may befall an entrant company in a new market, this paper will propose plan that will enable Brown Forman Corporation to make stylistic entrance into the Brazilian market using their Jack Daniel’s Whiskey. The paper will also propose and rationalize practical staffing policy that will be used to ensure appropriate staffing methods for grading the top-level managers. Introduction It is never an easy move for foreign alcohol manufacturing company to make successful entrance into Brazilian economy. In order to make successful venture in the Brazilian economy by alcohol manufacturing company requires critical and thoughtful scrutiny and steps. This is because most Brazilian civilians start consuming alcohol at very tender ages. Another reason insightful scrutiny before venturing into Brazilian alcohol industry is due to the fact Brazilian legislation to prohibit sales of alcohol to young members of the society. In addition, Brazilian legislation forbids sales of alcohol to already drunk members of the society. From the above three observation on the Brazilian legislation with regard to alcohol, it is clearly evident that great challenges couple with decision making on the appropriate plans to be adopted by Brown Forman Corporation in introducing Jack Daniel’s Whiskey in Brazil. Brown Forman Corporation should employ export technique in introducing Jack Daniel’s alcohol brand into the Brazilian market. In its first attempt to sell the alcohol brand into the Brazilian market, Brown Forman Corporation should adopt the indirect exporting strategies that involve dealing with independent intermediaries. Adopting indirect export method will relieve Brown Forman Corporation the cost that could be incurred constructing or establishing export base in Brazil. The method of indirect export will be a contemporary strategy employed familiarizes Jack Daniel’s Whiskey of the Brown Forman Corporation with th e alcohol consumers in the Brazilian economy (Caragin & Balu, 2008). Export method of entering into a market will enable Brown Forman Corporation to perform market test on Jack Daniel’s Whisky before resorting to establishing stable market. Furthermore, employing export method by Brown Forman Corporation in selling Jack Daniel’s Whiskey in Brazil, will enable the company enjoy economies of scale due to the use of existing facilities in the Brazilian economy. Export system of entering Brazilian alcohol market will facilitate the speed at which Brown Forman Corporation get public recognition of the of its Jack Daniel’s Whisky brand. Bearing in mind the stringent alcoholic laws operated in Brazilian economy, export technique of entering Brazilian economy will ensure direct sale of the Jack Daniel’s Whiskey to the respective consumers without breaching the laws by selling to the underage consumers of alcohol. This method of sales will raise the trust of gover nment on the loyalty of Brown Forman Corporation thereby allowing easy entrance of the company into the Brazilian market. Furthermore, entering into the Brazilian market by export method will enable Brown Forman Corporation an opportunity to exercise total control of prices and profits by vexing participation of intermediaries. Adoption of export entrant method into the Brazilian economy by the Brown Forman Corporation will enable the company exercise maximum utilization of the domestic production plant and resources

The Positive and Negative Ideas of the Culture Research Paper

The Positive and Negative Ideas of the Culture - Research Paper Example The behaviour, reverence and respect which Bahrain youth tends to give the older/elder people lack in Britain youth. The culture and religion form the basis of this difference. Bahrain’s culture is abundant with values which encourage good attitude, respect and care for older people. Whereas, the UK culture is more independent and the youth does not want any restrictions imposed on them from older people. They lack an understanding of the value of older people and their advice in their lives. Bahrain youth is abundant with information on how to treat older people and trained to follow their advice most of the times. The cultural difference, as well as the difference in the social structure, allows such a difference between youth perceptions about older people and behaviours towards them. The fashion differs greatly from one state to the other. The fashion and clothing of every society differ as per the liking, priority and beliefs of the people residing in the social boundarie s of a region. Since Bahrain is a country with a Muslim population in the majority, youth clothing and fashion is affected by Islamic foundations. However, there are certain youth groups who are modern and like to stay up to date. The girls in Bahrain’s normal culture wear abaya with scarves to cover their heads and boys wear long sleeved shirts with jeans/trousers (World cultures 2004, p. 21-25). On the other hand, the UK adopts a more independent approach when it comes to outfits. They wear almost everything that suits them. Most popular outfits, however, include jeans and T-shirts for both genders, skirts for the female population and so on.

Introduction to Finance - coursework Research Paper

Introduction to Finance - coursework - Research Paper Example ary if the interest rate in the market goes down to 5 % the investor will try more n more to get a hold on organization's bond since your bond is paying higher interest rates than that prevailing in the market. Therefore the bond prices will go up. Bondprices = (60000 / 2 ) x {1 - (1+ .05 / 2 )-2x15 } / ( .05 / 2) + 1,000,000 / ( 1 + .05 / 2 )2 x 15 = 1104651.463 > 1000,000 (par value) if the bond's prices for a company are going higher It will add value to the name of the company and the stock prices will also go up for such a company f) The Expected rate of reurn = dividend yield + capital gain (Bearly & Myers, 2001) Dividend yield = next dividend payment / current price of the stock = Do x (1 + g) / price of the stock Here, Do = last dividend payment = 3.21 g = 7% price of stock = 75.529 Dividend yield = Do x (1 + g) / price of the stock = 3.21 x (1+ .07) / 75.529 = .04547 Capital gain yield = (P1 - Po) / Po = (73 - 75.529 ) / 75.529 = -0.0334 rate of reurn = 0.04547 - 0.0334 = 0.1199 = 11.99% f) the current valuue of stock: Po = Do (1+g)/(Ks-g) Po = 3.21(1+.07)/(0.1199-.07) Po = 68.83. Recommendations Currently the bonds of the company are being traded at $874,420. this price is very much below the par value of the stock . the bond has a coupon rate of 6% attached to it while the current interest rate prevailing in the market is 7.4152%. the company is offering an interest that is below the prevailing interest rate and hence the investors find a low interest in company's bond which is resulting in the decline of price. "If overall interest rates in the market later fall, prices of existing, higher interest-rate bonds generally will rise. That's because the existing bonds are more attractive to buyers than new, lower interest-rate...Therefore the bond prices will go up. Currently the bonds of the company are being traded at $874,420. this price is very much below the par value of the stock . the bond has a coupon rate of 6% attached to it while the current interest rate prevailing in the market is 7.4152%. the company is offering an interest that is below the prevailing interest rate and hence the investors find a low interest in company's bond which is resulting in the decline of price. "If overall interest rates in the market later fall, prices of existing, higher interest-rate bonds generally will rise. That's because the existing bonds are more attractive to buyers than new, lower interest-rate bonds and, as a result, are typically offered at higher prices (seligman, 2007)". This debt through bonds make the firm risky since it is covering 50% of the total rrquirement by APEX. APEX requires a total financing of $2,000,000 and the bond are issued for $1,000,000. Covering half of your financing requirement through debt exposes the organization to greater risk and reduces the credibility of investors towards organization. Mr. Thinkard should wait for time when the interest rates in the market falls below the coupon rate on bonds. this will cause increase in bond price and Mr.

Space Age Furniture Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

Space Age Furniture - Term Paper Example 3079) which needs machining on a particular lathe equipment applied for the making of that special part only. Ed Szewczak, an able and experienced machinist is in charge of this special lathe machine. Once the lathe gets started it can run on its won without being attended by someone. However it is necessary for the machinist to be present during the operations of any machine, including the lathe. Recently it has become essential for Ed to opt for overtime in order to finish producing the part 3079 on time. Due to the increased overload, Ed has become unhappy and this news has been communicated to the operations manager, Coral Snodgrass. Coral has been finding solutions to solve the overtime issue. Recently the company started using an MRP system which has helped it in reducing the inventories and improving the timing of the deliveries. There are two different sub-assemblies where the part 3079 is used and the lathe machines are used for producing both the sub-assemblies of Saturn an d Gemini. Ed Szewczak is supposed to get a 50% additional payment for the overtime work. Thus the whole scenario has got certain advantages and certain disadvantages which when studied carefully provide a framework for the better functioning of the organization. Questions & Answers 1. ... Overtime is expensive and the variation between a profitable week and a losing week is represented by overtime. If the demand is constantly surpassing the facility, then Coral can consider either adding more employees or adding more facilities. While taking this step, he should attempt to improve the efficiency of the plant by eliminating waste and dropping bottlenecks. Whenever measures are taken to remove overtime, either by increasing capacity or improving efficiency, it is necessary to understand the consequence of such a step on the employees. As in this case the overtime is not consistent, therefore extreme measures are not required; however Coral should be conscious of when the overtime is taking place which will help him to recognize the grounds for overtime. There is an alternative way-out that can be applied instead of adding more people to the organization which is outsourcing the jobs and getting things done away from the workplace. This would of course incur more expense s but it would reduce the costs of material consumption, overhead costs, labor costs, electricity consumption and other related expenditures. Therefore in simple terms it can be concluded that Coral can either add more people to the company or add more machinery to the organization or a third option is there where he can include an additional shift between the regular shifts. These steps would be helpful in reducing the workload on Ed. 2. How would reducing the minimum quantity of subassemblies help? The Saturn and Gemini tables are made up of part 3079 which is exclusively manufactured by the lathe machine and the lathe machine is not used for any other purpose. Also the part

Academic writing for accounting Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Academic writing for accounting - Essay Example ty of Accounting discourse, where Chambers is of the view that accounting had not made enough stride and that there were still defects in the various theories that existed at the time (Chambers 1999, p. 241). This paper will examine the main arguments brought out in the 1999 paper by Chambers, and some of the responses by opposing academicians that will be discussed later on in the paper. Accountability was probably one of the biggest concepts that Chambers may have brought to light with the writing of the article that received both praise and criticism in equal measure. In the article, Chambers describes the legal issues that most financial institutions had to face due to their unprofessional nature that resulted in the loss of capital to the tune of millions of dollars. This he describes as professional inadequacy, whereby the people tasked with the right to carry out certain duties, lack the responsibility to do so. This is especially true for Richard Mattessich, who was a strong opponent of the theories brought on by Chambers, especially in Chambers’ 1999 ‘Poverty’. Mattessich describes Chambers as an individual who lacks or fails to find comfort, solace, or even joy in the achievements or strides made by accounting over the last half century (Mattessich 2005, p. 30). Mattessich does not appreciate the fact that the richness of the accounting practice is not identified in Chambers’ article, which is seen to portray the science that is accounting in bad light. He, however, agrees that accountability may have been lacking especially with the scandals that came about that led to the bankruptcy of some of the biggest financial institutions at the time. What he does not agree with is the fact that Chambers claims that the field of accounting is to solely blame for the insolvencies that most institutions face. Another opponent of the theories brought forth by Chambers is Tony Tinker. Tinker believes that the faith placed on economics by Chambers is

Litigation and Alternatives Essay Example for Free

Litigation and Alternatives Essay America has come a long way since the American colonies settled from where humanity was to where humanity is now. We did not have the law system that we have now and issues were unresolved that turned into chaos. From law courts, chancery courts, to merchant courts, there are several categories of courts. Those that we separate are Federal and State Courts. Federal Courts take over foreign and interstate commerce that entail of U. S. District Courts, U. S. Court of Appeals, and U. S. Supreme Courts. State courts take over state legislatures that include State Supreme Courts, Appellate Courts, Trial Courts, and Lower Courts. Living in society today, we will have different views and different perceptions. We will either at one time come to face litigation or some type of ADR matter. With this being said, litigation, and alternatives will fall into place at least one point in ones life. This is part of what both parties, as mentioned in the video will face. A company called â€Å"Quick Takes† tried out a program to help build their business to grow. Incidentally, the program Non Linear Pro did not quite work out for Quick Takes. Thankfully Quick Takes had been under the impression that Non Linear Pro was a trial. Under any circumstances had Quick Takes been under the assumption that Non Pro Linear had been a permanent program that had been purchased. Soon to discover a bill of 5,000. 00 was sent to Quick Takes. Quick Takes immediately contacted Non Linear Pro and advised that the bill had been invalid. Both parties had a verbal agreement of trying out the product as a trial. Although there may had been a verbal agreement, Quick Takes unknowingly signed a contract thought to be a delivery slip signed by Janet Mason. Non Linear Pro stated that the lease had been signed and if Quick Takes did not cooperate, then Non Linear Pro would create a lawsuit. So to name some of the legal issues that the two parties could face are arbitration, meditation, litigation, cross complaint, and mini-trials. Arbitration is an arbitrator that helps settle disputes between the two parties by researching the information provided by both parties. The arbitrator is a member of the American Arbitration Association who makes the ultimate decision of the outcome between the two parties by helping the two come to an agreement. The two parties will use arbitration when there is no need for a further relationship. Mediation is primarily used when there may be a future relationship between the two parties. The two parties come to an agreement and make the ultimate decision. A neutral party helps both parties come to an agreement; however, it does not make the ultimate decision. Mediation is primarily used when they can or may continue to maintain a relationship. Litigation also known as a judicial dispute resolution takes place in courts. The courts ultimately will make the decision of the outcome between the parties. Mini-Trials are a compromise between mediation and arbitration. Lawyers represent both parties and a neutral party is involved to help settle by advising of strengths and weaknesses. If the two parties do not come to an agreement in a timely matter then the neutral party will make the decision. Cross-complaint occurs when the defendant sues the plaintiff due to other damages caused by the plaintiff. The legal issues presented in the video are dealing with litigation. The plaintiff served the defendant and the defendant needs to respond or a default judgment will be entered. In this case, arbitration wil be the best method. I do not see a future in either party’s relationship. Most individuals will choose arbitration and mediation over litigation because it is cheaper, no lawyers are involved, and there is a lack of publicity. Reach out to as many sources to prevent any type of legal action. Having many options, the ultimate decision will impact heavily on the outcome.

A critical analysis of Liquidity, Profitability and Efficiency

A critical analysis of Liquidity, Profitability and Efficiency the industry average of current ratio is 2.2:1.company A is showing better current ratio of 2.63 as compared to industry average of 2.2 which mean that the company A bears a greater ability to paid its bills . Company B and C have less current ratio as compared to the industry average which means that the performance of these companies are not up to standard however company Cs current ratio is slightly greater than the industry average which shows that the performance of company C is satisfactory. The industry average of quick ratio is 1.5 whiles the average quick ratios of companies A B and C are 1.99, 1.54 and 1.71 respectively which shows that the said companies posses a greater ability to pay their bills however only the company D quick ratio is slightly less than the industry average ratio which is 1.48 which mean the company needs to review its liquidity plans . PROFITABILITY The industrys average of ROCE is 15% and the average ROCE of companies A Is 19.3%, company B is 21.26%, company C is 28.24% and company D is 31.13 which means that the companies are earning a good return on their capital employed. Company C and D gross profit ratios are 53.14% and 56% which are comparatively better than the industrys average of 48% however company B gross profit ratio is 48% which equals the industrys average but company A GP ratio is 43.75% which is less than the industrys average. It is suggested that the company A should reduce its cost of sale or increase its sales revenue. The industrys average of operating profit ratio is 40% unfortunately company A and B both have low operating profit ratio which are 33.75% and 38.28% respectively which indicates that both companies A and B has low control in their operating expenses on the other hand companies C and D have better operating profit ratios which are 46.63% and 48.73 showing that the management of both companies bears a good control on their expenses. EFFICIENCY Companies A B and C have high stock turn over which are 63.88, 75.43 and 71.22 all three companies exceeds the industrys average of 35 days which means that there could be a problem in their demand and supply due to which companies inventory is not easily converted into finish goods hence there are not able to effectively sale their products. Note: Company D stock turn over ratio cannot be calculated because of unavailability of required data. The industrys average of total turnover ratio is 0.9 time and in this regard all the four companies have good total turnover ratio which are 0.95, 0.93, 1.01 and 1.06 showing the good return on their assets. INVESTMENT There is no such parameter by which one can compare the earning per share with the industrys standards. However we can compare EPS among the four companies that EPS of companies C and D are 0.98 and 0.88 is comparatively good than the companies A and B of 0.54 and 0.56 respectively. As far as the position of best company is concerned company D is said to be the best company because of better ROCE 31.13 which means the company is earning highest profitability, EPS 0.88 indicated earning per share is very good and dividend cover 3.68 the shareholders of the company receiving handsome dividend. ANSWER 1 (B) Company D shows a good charm for the shareholders because its earning per share is higher is 0.88 as compare to other companies like A and B but slightly less to company C which EPS is 0.98 however company D also have better dividend cover of 3.68 which depicts that it is paying its shareholder more than any other said company pay however company C once again a big rival in payment of dividend has a dividend cover of 3.38. On the other hand management of company D plays a remarkable role in utilising the shareholders funds hence reducing the long-term liabilities option because of less long term liabilities company D also has to pay less amount of interest on these loans as compare to other companies. Therefore it is suggested to invest in company D from shareholder perspective. ANSWER 2(a) ANSWER 2 (A) CRITICAL ANALYSIS The net present value is a discounted cash flow approach to capital budgeting. The net present value (NPV) of an investment proposal is the present value of the proposals net cash flow less the proposals initial cash outflow. If an investment projects net present value is zero or more, the project is accepted, if not, it is rejected. In this case of Tridad ltd the NPV is -6384.24 which means the value is less than zero therefore the project is not viable for the company. ANSWER 2(B) The internal rate of return is 13% ANSWER 2(C) If a refinancing option (overseas loan) were to be taken then there are many risks that the company might face like FINANCIAL RISKS: forex risk hedges overseas government policies WAYS TO DEAL : There are couple of ways which can be use to deal with the said financial risks Loan with fixed interest rate Buy futures which will give the company assurity of the expected future cash outflow- Reduces uncertainty and any cash problems that could be used due to this. ANSWER 3(A) Proposed profit 91,552 Proposed profit 78,832 Break-even hours 1,393 Break-even hours 1,574 Break-even Sales 208,955 Break-even Sales 340,000 ANSWER 3 (B) Boris Plc has an operating profit of 91552 in scenario 1 and 78832 in scenario 2 at the sale turnover of 345600 and 497664 in scenario 1 and 2 respectively. For achieving the break-even at least 1393 hours in scenario 1 and 1574 hours in scenario 2 have to be sold out so that variable cost can be observed. Break-even techniques are based on marginal costing therefore fixed cost plays a significant role companys operating results and performance. In the long haul fixed cost needs to be fully observed hence absorption costing approach is critical to be planned in the long term decision making plan.

transport management :: essays research papers

Transport management is now far more sophisticated than it was a decade ago. Transport activities generate a wide range of economic benefits. Between 2% and 4% of total OECD employment, for example, is derived from transport services, and an estimated 4-9% of GDP in the OECD area is attributable to spending by the users of transport (including expenditure on infrastructure). More than 10% of total household expenditure now goes to purchase transport services (OECD Publications/ECMT). The balance of international payments is also strongly influenced by trade in transport equipment. Enormous changes have taken place in the transport sector in recent years. The most marked is its unprecedented growth. Both stock variables (fleet size, kilometres of road and rail infrastructure, and so on) and flow variables (number of trips taken, volume of goods transported, and the like) have expanded rapidly. The world's automobile fleet, for example, doubled between 1970 and 1990, to stand today at approximately 500 million vehicles. These numbers are expected to double over the next 20-40 years, although at a slower rate in OECD countries than in the past. Substantial structural, changes have also taken place. For one thing, there has been a major shift in where transport growth is occurring. In 1950, 75% of all automobiles were located in the United States. Since then, the number outside the United States has grown by about 8% per year (Mackenzie Walsh 1990) with even more remarkable increases in some locations. In Athens, for example, car ownership burgeoned from 35,000 in 1964 to 650,000 in 1984, and is expected to be about 900,000 by this year (Glaoutzi Damianidias 1990). Most future growth in global vehicle stocks is projected to occur in the developing world, as the industrialized countries become increasingly saturated with vehicles, as the developing countries undergo urbanization and industrialization processes of their own, and as people there begin to realize their longstanding aspirations for more mobility. There has also been a significant shift in the shares of different modes of transport. In the past twenty years, the v olume of road freight traffic has doubled, while rail and waterway volumes have remained stable. In view of the rapidity of these changes, it is not surprising that transport problems are generating considerable political debate in most countries. The traditional approach used to be to step up the supply of services; increasingly, calls are being heard for policies that curtail demand. Whichever approach is preferred, much of the discussion centres on the so-called 'social costs' of transport.