Profesional nursing organization Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Profesional nursing organization - Essay Example Nurses can share their success and predicaments in seminars or meetings where peers come up with compliments, solutions or challenges. Networking thus enhances information flow and updates on the current trends in nursing. By sharing information and updates, the general feeling and perspectives of individual nurses is felt and discussed for possible action. Another importance of nursing organizations is that they assist in creation of favorable health-related policies in state assemblies. The power of numbers takes charge to protect the interest of nurses in legislation. Nursing organizations have representatives in state assemblies where they present their views. Thus, professional organizations ensure that the voices of nurses are heard and considered since organizations boost the credibility of nurses to speak in the legislative arena about issues that can transform the entire health care system for the better (Abood 2007). By doing this, the organizations secure better deals for nurses. In a nutshell, nursing organizations enable sharing information and updates among members and also coerce legislators using expert advice to solicit support on favorable terms and conditions for nurses. These actions are possible because of professional and financial capabilities that the organizations

Belonging Related Text Essay Example for Free

Belonging Related Text Essay George Orwell’s essays – related text ‘Marrakech’ explores the notion of ethnocentricity through a Eurocentric perspective, in which one is isolated at the consequence of differing morels. Orwell succeeds in doing so through various anecdotes â€Å"What does Morocco mean to a Frenchman? An orange-grove or a job in government service. † In essence this displays the failure of a migrant to withhold a deeper connection to the land. Orwell emotively describes the crippled elderly women who â€Å"answered with a shrill wail, almost a scream, which was partly gratitude but mainly surprise†, as a response to the charity he provided her with. The dramatic reaction displays her sense of alienation from her own homeland, at fault of those who are foreign, yet awfully powerful. This is furthered through the description of â€Å"the shy, wide-eyed Negro† where through his ignorance, he â€Å"has been taught that the white race are his masters, and still believes it. † A sense of melancholy pervades this essay through the harsh truth â€Å"How much longer can we go on kidding these people? † displaying the indigenous peoples disconnection to a place that was originally theirs. While ‘Marrakech’ explores the notion that one does not belong to their homeland. This is juxtaposed through ‘Shooting an Elephant’ with Orwell’s alternative experience of belonging. Through Orwell’s ambivalence we see the highly controversial understanding of â€Å"the hollowness.. of the white man’s dominion in the East. † It is ironic that a â€Å"sub-divisional police officer† should feel self-conscious with such authority. Controversially he â€Å"was all for the Burmese† juxtaposed to the grotesque imagery of his deepest desire to â€Å"drive a bayonet into a Buddhist priest’s guts.

Woman of the Nineteenth Century Essay Example for Free

Woman of the Nineteenth Century Essay Dear diary, I am a woman by birth, a woman by heart but this country does not recognize it nor understand what it means to be a woman. I have been married for almost twenty years now, maybe twenty two. I am already confused, as my body is tired, to think of the number of years I have been married. I could even barely recall the time I was born or the exact date I was brought to this wretched world. The years seemed to have gone by too fast, yet the pain and the harsh experiences carried in it are still here, in my body and in my heart. Oh how I wish they have all left together with my youth. I am old. My eyes and the skin surrounding it are already too dark and deeply imbedded in their sockets. My lips are too dry to even speak to anyone else. Wrinkles are all over my face, as if representing the countless agonies and hardships I have endured. Marriage is the worst thing that has ever happened in my life. It deprived me of all my individuality and happiness in life. Britain, my country, gives us, women, a hard time by forcing us to marry Britain’s savage men. There are few men compared to women in Britain, yet they are far more savage than us women. They are like wolves hunting for lambs, tearing the flesh out of their victims. Because of marriage, I was not able to enjoy my life as a young adult. I was not able to lavish my self with material things. I was not able to eat exotic foods which I have been dreaming of eating since I was a child. I was not able to wear elegant clothes or build a huge house for myself. I was not able to enjoy the fruits of my labor because I am, or us women, are expected to depend highly on men. The money that I received from the death of my father due to the war was passed on to my husband after marrying him. All the money that I have earned through the countless hours of working was collected by my greedy husband. It’s all thanks to my country’s unwomanly law, the 1882 Married Property Act. It deprived my off all my independence and freedom to live on my own. It imprisoned me in the hands of my no-good husband. I believe that women should be given the equal rights to property and dignity of self-support. I have been dreaming and wanting to divorce him for years, after the first beating I have received from him, months after our wedding. I caught him cheating on me, having sex with an old-hag in our neighborhood. I threw everything that I could lay my hands to him on during that day. The thoughts of killing him also flashed into my mind, but I didn’t, because I feared Britain’s cold prison. I have the right to be angry and should have the right to divorce him, but my country doesn’t give me that right, they simply won’t let me leave him. It is the fault of the Matrimonial Causes Act of 1857 which gives men more power over us women. Because of this law, they can divorce or discard of us anytime they want as long as they provide evidences of adultery committed by their wives. However, even if we caught our men cheating, we cannot divorce them. Even if I was divorced by him (Oh I’d really love to be separated from this beast) this law won’t let me see my angelic children. Giving birth was the most painful for me. I have a slight curvature on my spine. I think this increases the risk of paralysis when giving birth. I assume such thing would happen based on the twenty-ninth woman’s story in the book which I read called â€Å"Motherhood Bondage† by Margaret Sanger. She has three boys, and worked really hard just as I do. If I remember what I read right, her right arm was paralyzed when she gave birth to his second baby and was totally paralyzed (her whole right side) when she gave birth to the third (Sanger 86). I sympathize with her and hope that it does not happen to me. I already have thirteen children, five weak boys and eight sickly girls, at my age of 40. Luckily, I have not experienced any paralysis. But it was definitely painful. Having these lovely angels give me hope and uplifts my spirit. However, having so many children can also be a burden especially if a husband doesn’t provide financial support to his wife, just like what my husband does to me. My husband doesn’t support us that much. I am only able to raise my beautiful angels because I hide some money from work. My fool husband can beat me to death but I will never give him all my money, especially the little savings I have for my children. Truthfully, I love all of my children, but I do not want any more of them. On the contrary, my husband seems to want more. Well, not particularly children, but specifically sex. He comes home late at night in his elegant pants and fine coat, hiding the beast within him. He’s always drunk and is fond of beating me. My sadist husband rapes me every night, pushing my face to the hard headboard of our meager bed. He enjoys every scream I utter in our small room that echoing the pain on the soiled walls. He thinks that I am his property, an object which he can toss around and dispense anytime he wanted. He arouses me by playing with my clitoris, stimulating my body to lubricate the part which he wants more than his wife; my vagina. If he accidentally hurts his private organ by pushing too hard, he strangles me and yells that I am sexually frigid. He questions my capability to have a vaginal orgasm and argues that I am sexually incompetent. But to tell you the truth, he is simply ignorant. My stupid husband who only finished his secondary education thinks he is superior and very intelligent, but he does not know much and does not actually understand women. Vaginal orgasm is purely men’s idea about women and neglects the fact that the â€Å"vagina is not a highly sensitive area and is not constructed to achieve orgasm,† it is the clitoris, which is the women’s â€Å"center of sexual sensitivity and which is the female equivalent of the penis† (Koedt 133). Is it still my fault for being sexually aroused yet sexually unsatisfied? I did not want to have sex with him on the first place (and I would like to emphasize that right now, I really regret marrying him) but he keeps using me, treating me as a sex slave. His sexual appetite seems unquenchable like a wolf who returns every night, wanting to devour another lamb. I am already old and my husband as well, but his yearning for sex is as vigorous as ever. Remembering our honeymoon or our first night together was really exciting. My heart was beating really fast as he unfolds every clothing that hides my smooth and tender skin. With every touch, my heart skips a beat. With every kiss, my cheeks turn red and my bosoms rise as if they were touching heaven. When he first entered me, it was painful, yet pleasurable in a way. It was like dream, only that time it was real. However, having sex with him few weeks after that was like nightmare; it was a living hell. As a woman, my right for voluntary womanhood is violated. I simply cannot stop him from having sex with me. Everytime I disagree with his yearning or push him away, he comes back with a forceful punch or a hard kick on my stomach, on my face or on my chest. I can no longer refuse to submit to my husband’s sexual demands. Something which I believe is a right which should be given to me, as a woman, as a mother and as an individual. I believe that there should be â€Å"right on the part of a woman to decide when she shall become a mother, how often and under what circumstances† (Grimke 942). I am a woman by birth, a woman by heart but my husband, the men in this country, my country, do not recognize it nor understand what it means to be a woman. I know that writing this on a piece of paper won’t do much. But I am hoping that someday, somebody who has power or understands women sees this and liberates me or at least women from the shackles of this patriarchal society. I am old, but my heart as a woman will forever be young; young in the sense that it had never been given the right to grow. When I die, I hope that this woman in me is cherished, nurtured and developed by others. Diary, can you help me find that person? Please? I hope you can, and I hope it’s soon. Works Cited Grimke, Sarah. On Voluntary Motherhood. For Women Only! Your Guide to Health Empowerment. Eds. Gary Null and Barbara Seaman. Canada: Seven Stories Press, 1999. Koedt, Ann. The Myth of the Vaginal Orgasm. Public Women, Public Words: A Documentary History of American Feminism. Ed. Dawn Keetley. UK: Rowman and Littlefield Publishers, Inc. , 1970. Sanger, Margaret. Motherhood in Bondage. New York: Brentanos, Inc. , 2000.

The Economic Globalization

The Economic Globalization The economic globalization in terms of international trade, foreign direct investment (FDI) and outsourcing has gained more significance these days due to market liberalization and technological improvement. In this essay, we reveal on the possible effect of economic globalization on Nestle. The emphasis is on whether Nestls internationalization strategy fit in to the observation that we are living in a globalize world in which differences and distances across countries no longer matter. Introduction: The company that we chose for our assignment is Nestle which is one of the worlds biggest global food and nutrition corporations; it has more than five hundred factories in more than eighty countries, and vends its products in more than hundred and ninety nations. Nestle is one of the oldest multinational corporation which was originated in 1866 in Switzerland by Heinrich Nestle. The Nestle firm from its very initial days, looked to different countries for development opportunities and Nestle started its global business by setting up its foremost foreign offices in London in 1868. The Nestle got merged in 1905 with Anglo Swiss Milk Corporation to extend the companys product line and by the late 1990s the Nestle Company had more than five hundred factories in different countries almost operating its business in each country of the globe. There are certain corporate business principles that Nestle follow in all the countries in which it operates its business activities, taking into account local legislations, cultural and religious practices of each country. These principles are: 1. Nestls basic intend is to enhance the quality of consumers everyday lives by offering tastier, healthier and hygienic food and beverage choices that encourages a healthy lifestyle. 2. Secondly Nestle gives quality assurance and product safety all over in the world as well as the company name Nestle basically symbolizes a guarantee to the consumer that the product is harmless and high of standards. 3. Nestle also make sure that they are committed to accountable and trustworthy consumer communication that gives power to consumers to use their rights and give any kind of feedback about their products. 4. Nestle also feels that they are highly committed to do their business practices in such a way that are environmentally sustainable like at all phases of the product life cycle they make sure that they use natural resources efficiently. 5. Last but not the least Nestle is highly committed to the sustainable use of water and tries to improve constantly in water management as the whole world facing a mounting challenges of water and for this Nestle convey messages to all people to use water as a complete necessity. The word globalization usually refers to the opening of international borders to trade, information and technology and the foreign direct investment (FDI). Globalization has caused remarkable changes to the business practices around the world. Nestle outsource professionals from different parts of the globe, causing job shifts and changes in company structures. Nestle believes that expanding business internationally guides to voluntary exchange of capital and employees as well as goods and services, which in turn provides overall universal growth. On the other hand the detractors of globalization argue that more might be done to help out people in poor countries attain the living standards of those in richer countries. Nestle follows a decentralization and all the responsibilities of operating decisions is pressed down to local units, which typically enjoy a high extent of independence with regard to decisions relating to pricing, distribution, marketing, human resource etc. Nestle can be called as a regional organization because the company divides the globe into five major geographical zones Europe, North America and Asia that are responsible to develop regional strategies, as Nestle operates in more than eighty countries it is a wise decision of dividing a globe into geographical zones so every zone would easily look after that every country follows developed regional strategies and maintain same quality standards throughout the world. There are certain effects of foreign direct investment (FDI) on the home country of the company. Within the host countries multinational firms like Nestle almost always pay higher salaries than the locally owned firms the main reason behind this is their presence usually increase the pay level in the host countries. These multinationals usually have higher productivity than local firms. The major role of FDI is to support the growth of host country exports and associations to outside the world and also the conversion of host economies from being exporters of food to relative high technology manufacturers. Nestls impact of FDI is the great knowledge of world markets and of different ways of fitting into international production networks. Technology: A multinational company like Nestle can attain technology infrastructure investments, along with improved business aptitude and good control over worldwide operations with a single global instance of its activity resource planning system, but the essential combination of databases and application servers can be technically and managerially difficult. Nestle uses web based technology to administer worldwide transportation. The Nestle Research Center is the focus of global research area, internally, with best scientists from all over the world and outwardly, in collaborations with key international research universities. The basic role of Nestle Research Center is essential in helping the company to fulfill its vision of GOOD FOOD FOR GOOD LIFE. The entire network of Research and Development and the Nestle Research Center carry out timely research on nutrition, health and wellness issues, and therefore using research findings to produce new product ideas keeping in mind consumer health and wellness needs. The research ideas from Nestle Research Center are transformed into product applications and processes through Nestls international network of Product Technology Centers and Research and Development. The Product and Technology Center exist for each specific product category that includes Dairy, Beverages, Chocolate and Coffee, Biscuits, Ice cream, Pet care and food services. The Product Technology Centers also gives plan for product innovation and packaging. The global network of Product Technology Centers and Research and Development works closely with Nestle Research Center as well as with nestle Strategic Business Units to provide scientific support for the entire nestle product range and the outcome is the Nestle products are tasty, healthy, conveniently available. Nestle believes that the Nestle Research center is a basis of Nestls international success in promising safe and high quality products. With the advance technologies and scientific expertise Nestle carefully analyze their raw materials and finished products and assure that they provide safe and healthy product to all consumers in every part of the world and also believes that it is their responsibility to protect consumers and maintain their trust in Nestls products and brand. It is important for any company to upgrade its technology time to time to maintain a competitive within in the industry. Nestle just in five years from nineteen ninety four to nineteen ninety nine spent approximately five hundred and seventy five million dollars to seven hundred and fifty million dollars a year on its information system. These costs were mounting when the company was facing a loss. Geography and Distance: As a multinational company Nestle operates in more than eighty countries with more than two hundred and sixty five thousand employees. Although Nestle is a Swiss company but generates only two percent or even less than two percent of their sales in Switzerland which is a home country of Nestle. Nestle always believes in decentralization and also believes that it is beneficial for any company to think globally and act locally. The people of Nestle believe that in spite of globalization the food business remains a local business which is based on local cultures, tastes and habits. This thinking of Nestle helped a lot in making a Nestle so renowned and successful all over the world. Therefore well get a different taste of Nestle products in each of the countries where Nestle sell its products. Nestle may be recognized for its chocolates, coffee, pure water, milk and infant formula, but it is a lot more multifaceted and large than that, it is the worlds biggest food company with almost seventy billion dollars in annual sales. Nestle operates five hundred factories in some two hundred nations including those places as well that are not part of the United Nations yet. Nestle earn more sales by selling small items like Kit Kat chocolate which is the largest selling chocolate bar internationally. As we have just described above that every country has its own tastes and habits so for Nestle nothing is simple as it operates in more than eighty countries. The coffee Nescafe which is a global brand and more than hundred billion cups of it consumed each year in different countries and for just one product Nescafe the Nestle Company has two hundred formulations, to go with local tastes. In all the Nestle corporation produces almost hundred and twenty seven thousand different varieties and ranges of products. Brabeck , a chief executive officer (CEO) of Nestle since nineteen ninety seven, wanted to maintain some discipline in terms of how the company is operating the businesses throughout the world that sustain marketing of its enormous range of brands, products and factories. For Nestle operating business maintain same quality standards in so many different countries with enormous range of products is very difficult and also to keep control of its thousand of supply chains with respect to each country and each product variety, along with that predicting demand for different products in different countries and the uncountable different of ways of charging customers and collecting payments is more difficult. Home and Foreign Government Policies: Administration control is a serious issue for multinational corporations that operate in international markets (Geringer and Hebert, 1989; Groot and Merchant, 2000). On hand indication suggest that multinational firms like Nestle transfers their managerial practices from their country of origin which is also called home country to the country of operations which can be called a host country (Child et al, 2000). Firms operating in more than one country like Nestle go through pressures to incorporate their international business. Nestle incorporate their business internationally through methods of standardization that could attain either on the basis of home practices or any best global practices. The degree to which the host country affects multinationals like Nestle depends on two factors the first one is the institutional distance between the home country and the host country. The more the institutional difference among the host and the home country the easier it is to identify the host country effect. Secondly the power of national institutional law is important. Nestle or any other multinational corporations are under more pressure to meet the terms in more strongly regulated business systems than in weaker institutional system environments. There are certain government incentives as well like economic, financing and other incentives that play an important role in attracting multinational investments. These government incentive policies are usually joint with performance necessities, for instance increase in exports, technology advancement, innovation enhancement and environmental friendliness. If multinational corporations investments meet all these government necessities they would be able to get special treatment. Conclusion: As Nestle is a principle based company it believes that by creating shared value is how they do business, which states that in order to create long term value and maintain a good relationship with consumers they have to create value for society. All the strategies that Nestle follows from product development to the delivery of products to their consumers clarifies that we are living in a globalize word in which differences across the countries no longer matter. If we talk about the products that Nestle offers like chocolate, coffee, biscuits, drinking water, and milk etc, everybody in the whole world consume all of these products. So if everybody is consuming same kind of products with just little differences in terms of taste verifies that we are living in a globalize world where the distances and differences no longer matter. Nestle is one the most successful company who caters more than 192 nations of the world and maintains the same quality standards of its brands and products th roughout the world.

Krakatau :: essays research papers

Krakatau Krakatau (Krakatoa), is said to have created the worst volcanic eruptions in history, in 1883. Ancient Krakatoa formed in 416 A.D. and still exists today in Indonesia. That same explosion, in 1883, created 130 feet tsunamis, which destroyed 130 coastal homes, two docks (India and Australia), and killed about 36,000 people. It created very loud sounds and was heard as far away as Madasagascar, about 3,000 miles away from Java, where Krakatau was. Some people even believe that it may have been the reason for the drop in temperature and the spectacular sunsets for the next three years.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Krakatoa has erupted many times in its â€Å"lifetime†, but this paper will only share about 3 eruptions: 1883, 1988, and 1992. In 1883, Krakatoa had its most dangerous explosion on August 27th. It blew itself to bits, literally! It destroyed 75% of itself along with many other people living near the coastlines of Australia and India. In 1988, Krakatoa erupted in February, then continued on March 16th on which was reported caused two small lava flows from its new crater, then continued into April, causing frequent explosions to eject small plumes of fire. The last eruption we'll talk about was in 1992. This explosion’s strongest activity point occurred on November 12, when Krakatoa started â€Å"shooting† lava-bombs out of its crater onto the north coast and some lava flowed into the sea.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  While we know volcanoes erupt, how do they erupt? After some research, I found that they are caused by gas pressuring the molten magma, forcing the magma to push upward into the weak zones in the Earth’s crust. Thus, this allows the magma to push its way out through the volcano’s vents to be erupted from its crater to become lava. In the 1883 eruption, the eruption lasted from August 23-27. In 1988, the explosions lasted from February to April, erupting continuously. And in 1992, it lasted from November 7, 1992 to August 14, 1993, one of Krakatoa’s longest eruptions. In 1992, the lava flowed one kilometer to the north, moving the shore 100 meters more northern than the former shore   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Krakatoa has caused much damage to the world, but what specifically has it done?

Essay on Responding to Pain in Jane Eyre and Wide Sargasso Sea

Responding to Pain in Jane Eyre and Wide Sargasso Sea    In both Jane Eyre and Wide Sargasso Sea, the main characters Jane and Antoinette are faced with hardships that affect each of them in different ways. In the passages below, the authors Charlotte Bronte and Jean Rhys illustrate that Jane and Antoinette grew fond of inanimate objects in response to the hurt that they had suffered in life. Although Jane and Antoinette appear to have come from painful backgrounds, each deals with her pain in a different manner, and therefore each leads a very different life into adulthood. Because of their varying attitudes towards life and hardships, Jane and Antoinette lived very different life styles despite similarities early in life.    "... I then sat with my doll on my knee till the fire got low, glancing round occasionally to make sure that nothing worse than myself haunted the shadowy room; and when the ember sank to a dull red, I undressed hastily, tugging at knots and strings as I might best, and sought for shelter from cold and darkness in my crib. To this crib I always took my doll; human beings must love something, and in the dearth of worthier objects of affection, I contrived to find a pleasure in loving and cherishing a faded graven image, shabby as a miniature scarecrow. It puzzles me now to remember with what absurd sincerity I doated on this little toy, half fancying it alive and capable of sensation. I could not sleep unless it was folded in my night-gown; and when it lay there safe and warm, I was comparatively happy, believing it to be happy likewise...." --from Jane Eyre, chapter 4    "...I left a light on the chair by my bed and waited for Christophine, for I liked to see her last thing. But she di... ..., and Jane Eyre may have had a tragic ending if she had married St. John. However, their approaches to life in response to pain determined the outcomes of their lives. Possibly, if Antoinette had searched for love, be it in a doll or a human being, she may have found it.    Works Cited and Consulted Bronte, Charlotte. Jane Eyre. New York: Dodd, Mead & Company, 1991 Ciolkowski, Laura E.. "Navigating the Wide Sargasso Sea ¨ Twentieth Century Literature. Vol 43. 3. 1997:125-140. Gates, Barbara Timm, ed. Critical Essays on Charlotte Bronte. Boston: G. K. Hall, 1990. Howells, Coral Ann. Jean Rhys. New York: Harvester Wheatsheaf. 1991. Macpherson, Pat. Reflecting on Jane Eyre. London: Routledge, 1989. Rhys, Jean. Wide Sargasso Sea. London: Penguin, 1968. Wyndham, F. Introduction. Wide Sargasso Sea. By Jean Rhys. London: Penguin, 1996. 1-15. Essay on Responding to Pain in Jane Eyre and Wide Sargasso Sea Responding to Pain in Jane Eyre and Wide Sargasso Sea    In both Jane Eyre and Wide Sargasso Sea, the main characters Jane and Antoinette are faced with hardships that affect each of them in different ways. In the passages below, the authors Charlotte Bronte and Jean Rhys illustrate that Jane and Antoinette grew fond of inanimate objects in response to the hurt that they had suffered in life. Although Jane and Antoinette appear to have come from painful backgrounds, each deals with her pain in a different manner, and therefore each leads a very different life into adulthood. Because of their varying attitudes towards life and hardships, Jane and Antoinette lived very different life styles despite similarities early in life.    "... I then sat with my doll on my knee till the fire got low, glancing round occasionally to make sure that nothing worse than myself haunted the shadowy room; and when the ember sank to a dull red, I undressed hastily, tugging at knots and strings as I might best, and sought for shelter from cold and darkness in my crib. To this crib I always took my doll; human beings must love something, and in the dearth of worthier objects of affection, I contrived to find a pleasure in loving and cherishing a faded graven image, shabby as a miniature scarecrow. It puzzles me now to remember with what absurd sincerity I doated on this little toy, half fancying it alive and capable of sensation. I could not sleep unless it was folded in my night-gown; and when it lay there safe and warm, I was comparatively happy, believing it to be happy likewise...." --from Jane Eyre, chapter 4    "...I left a light on the chair by my bed and waited for Christophine, for I liked to see her last thing. But she di... ..., and Jane Eyre may have had a tragic ending if she had married St. John. However, their approaches to life in response to pain determined the outcomes of their lives. Possibly, if Antoinette had searched for love, be it in a doll or a human being, she may have found it.    Works Cited and Consulted Bronte, Charlotte. Jane Eyre. New York: Dodd, Mead & Company, 1991 Ciolkowski, Laura E.. "Navigating the Wide Sargasso Sea ¨ Twentieth Century Literature. Vol 43. 3. 1997:125-140. Gates, Barbara Timm, ed. Critical Essays on Charlotte Bronte. Boston: G. K. Hall, 1990. Howells, Coral Ann. Jean Rhys. New York: Harvester Wheatsheaf. 1991. Macpherson, Pat. Reflecting on Jane Eyre. London: Routledge, 1989. Rhys, Jean. Wide Sargasso Sea. London: Penguin, 1968. Wyndham, F. Introduction. Wide Sargasso Sea. By Jean Rhys. London: Penguin, 1996. 1-15.

Merseyside and Rotterdam projects Essay

I would choose Merseyside project rather than Rotterdam’s not only for its superior prospect based on the quantitative criteria, but also for a more rational strategy consideration. For the four investment criteria, here’s the elaboration. NPV. Since the two plants are of identical scale, age, design and similar project size, it makes sense to use NPV to compare the two projects. Not taken into account the erosion at Merseyside, the projected NPV of Rotterdam project is GBP4.49 million (GBP15.06 million- GBP10.57 million) higher than that of Merseyside project. IRR. The IRR of the Merseyside project (24.3%) is 5 percentage points higher than that of Rotterdam project (17.3%). Payback. Based on the cumulative free cash flow calculated, the payback period of Merseyside (3.8 years) is four years less than that of the Rotterdam projects (7.9 years), which is a big difference for a 15-year project. Growth in EPS. Calculated as the average annual EPS contribution of the project over its entire economic life (15 years), the average annual addition to EPS of Merseyside and Rotterdam projects are GBP0.022 and GBP0.030 respectively, with a difference of GBP0.008. A quick look at the four quantitative criteria might suggest that the two projects are of similar value to Victoria Chemicals; NPV and Growth in EPS are in favor of Rotterdam while IRR and Payback are in favor of Merseyside. However, taken into consideration the current status of the industry, the four criteria should not be of the same weight. As suggested by the director of sales, the industry is in a downturn with a possible oversupply issue around the corner. A price competition can be foreseen among the top suppliers of polypropylene in Europe, which would require a more liquid financial status of the company. A 7.9-year payback suggested by Rotterdam project might put the company into a dangerous financial situation among fierce competition and the company might even have no chance to enjoy the proposed benefits (higher NPV and Growth in EPS). With this being said, the Merseyside project is a better choice based on the quantitative analyses. From the strategy point of view, Merseyside project is still the project that is easier to  receive a green light from the senior management of the company for the following reasons. 1) The new Japanese process-control technology is still too young to ensure the stable efficiency gains across each of the production facilities. Even time will help reduce the variability of the efficiency gains generated by the system itself, none of the machinery at Victoria Chemicals’ two plants has been tested for the compatibility for this Japanese technology. Admittedly, the potential success of the Rotterdam project will benefit the company significantly in terms of both market position and financial status, it was based on too many assumptions and thus less persuasive. 2) Although the Rotterdam project is a phased program, it is irreversible due to the complexity of the technology and the extent to which it would permeate the plant. That is to say, once the senior management choose the Rotterdam project and the new technology turns out to be less than satisfactory, all the investments are wasted. Moreover, it would be hard to sell the purchase option of a pipeline and its right-of-way if the plan didn’t work out due to the strong objection from some senior executives. 3) It would be harder for Victoria Chemicals to justify to investors its investment in Rotterdam project than in Merseyside project. Rotterdam project is dependent on a technology with unforeseeable future and propylene supply that are subject to vary over time. These factors are difficult to quantify and for investors, who have already cast doubt on the company’s financial performance due to the corporate raider Sir David Benjamin, these can exacerbate their unsecure feeling towards the company and thus worsen the projected EPS. 4) Assume the Rotterdam project can achieve all the predicted financial goals and benefit both plants, there’s no reason that the new control technology has to be installed now. O the contrary, Merseyside project is comparatively simpler for execution and the effects of it can be seen sooner (only a 1.5 months downtime for construction is needed versus 12 months downtime required by Rotterdam project). Given the facts mentioned, why not choose Merseyside project now and wait for two years to see how the market develops and decide whether to install the new control technology that might be more mature and stable at that time? Some may argue that the Merseyside project is too conservative and might jeopardize Victoria Chemicals’ chance to become the pioneer in using advanced process control technology, however, based on aforementioned  analysis, I believe the Merseyside project will be the right choice at this timing but the flexibility of adding the technology in the future should be retained.