RJR Nabisco Case Study Essay Example for Free

RJR Nabisco Case Study Essay Executive Summary The RJR Nabisco case study was used to implement concepts that I have learned in class during the semester and apply it to the real world. The Nabisco case allowed me to develop my skills by using an Excel Worksheet, understanding how to calculate the fair value price per share, and determining the fair value price per share by changing the tax rate and growth rate. First, I was expected to construct an Excel Worksheet. Using the given data and analyzing the case, I was able to find all of the fixed variables needed in the Excel Worksheet. Using these fixed variables, I was able to use my prior skills in Excel to construct equations to find the dependent variables, such as the fair value price per share. This case also helped me develop my skills in calculating the fair value price per share. Using the different variables given in this case, I was able to use equations to find the best estimate for the fair value price per share of RJR Nabisco. The third benefit I gained from this assignment was how the tax rate and growth rate affected the fair value price per share. Using the previous data and the reusable Excel Sheet, I was able to find the changes in the fair value price per share due to changes in the tax and growth rate. Overall, the RJR Nabisco case helped me develop my skills in using Excel Worksheets. It also let me apply what I have learned in class about calculating the fair value price per share, and allowed me to experience it in a more realistic setting. I was also able to see how changes in the tax rate and growth rate affect the fair value price per share. 1. Construct a reusable Excel sheet that computes the fair value per share using the information given in the case. Please make sure that your Excel sheet can closely approximate the value per share given in the case (~$108). I was able to construct an Excel Worksheet (see page 5) that was able to use the information given in the RJR Nabisco Case Study. I was able to make it using different variables that would allow me to change the tax rate and  growth rate to get the next two answers. 2. In your Excel sheet, change the input cell for tax rate to 15%. What is the new fair value per share? By changing the tax rate to 15%, it causes the price per share to increase to $123.19 3. Change the tax rate back to 34% and this time change the perpetual growth rate to 5%. What is the new fair value per share? By changing the tax rate back to 34% and moving the growth rate up to 5%, it causes the price per share to increase to $125.14.

Collective Goods Essay -- International Community, The Kyoto Protocol

The international community is made up of many state actors that contribute in some form or other to establish a world that can establish key public goods. When more than one nation is trying to come together to achieve their collective goods, the nation may be confronted with a number of issues. There are times when the countries may need to come together to make decisions in specific topics like global warming, ozone depletion, space exploration amongst many other issues that require group attention (Stiles p269). A collective good does not belong to one specific player, cannot be withheld from a player and can be used by all players. When referring to collective goods there must be an investment or expenses may be accrued in the good by the player(s). The decision that must be made is which player will be making the investment and this is agreed to by negotiation. One of the many influences of the creation of collective goods is the Kyoto Protocol. The Kyoto Protocol focuses on many issues that cross national boundaries and require the attention of more than one country at a time. This leads to an international affairs situation where various countries have to solve problems of a trans-boundary nature (Stiles p.268). In order for this to occur the countries must first acknowledge that there is a need for a collective good. The problem arises however when countries use their judgment to determine how and if they should contribute to the collective good. Some countries may suggest that the country that has caused the most damage should be responsible party and should contribute more money (Stiles p269). It is rarely the case when all the countries involved offer to contribute their share without any hesitation. It ... ...re fearful of the other powerful countries (United States and Russia). This changed during the end of the Cold War giving a new era of promise and an evolving international order (Grant p572). In 1994, the Global Conference on Sustainable Development of Small Island Developing States made it clear that national, regional and international levels need to work together for better outcomes (Grant p581). In this conference, Third World Countries that the United Nations should also place more focus on hard economic issues as well. The agenda for development was created to deal with sensitivity to development concerns and the influence of global development policy decisions that were aborted 15 years ago in the Cancun Summit (Grant p582). The global transformation will focus on advancing the interest of groups that have universal membership of the United Nations.

Managing Customer Perceptions of the Business Environment

Per Bendapudi and Berry, the environmental influences consumer behavior but does not influence consumers’ trust. Organizations have to research extent of how their marketing environment creates customers’ perceived behavior and also how individual factors of given environment add to that perception. While many other researchers and authors suggest that functional behavior requires perception of trust, authors of this article are suggesting that this may not be obsolete condition. Some organizational environments are more likely to result in dysfunctional or functional behaviors as a result of larger customer perception of dependency. If customer is perceiving dependence in continuity, competitive advantage is than probably gained through managing customer perceptions of the organizational environment to reduce perceptions of high dependency. This may then reduce the negative impact arising from dependence based dysfunctional behaviors. If customers exhibit functional behaviors when they perceive themselves to have a low dependency upon a service organization then the findings suggest practical steps that those organizations can take to influence customer perceptions of the business environment (Hilton&Jones, 2010). Analysis Hilton and Jones wrote this article because of the fact that customer perceptions of the organizational environment and its influence on customer behavior is an area that is not researched enough. Customer behavior is a concept of a response to perceptions of organizational environment and they are categorized as functional or dysfunctional behavior based on potential impact on the firm. Authors are arguing that some organizational environments are more likely to result in functional or dysfunctional customer behavior. Per Hilton and Jones, that is result of greater perceived dependency, irrespective of whether customers trust their service providers, or business partners. There are numerous findings that consumer imagery extends beyond perceived price and company image to the business environment. Businesses that enjoy favorable image generally find that their products are accepted more readily than those from businesses that have less favorable or even neutral image in customers’ perception. This study focuses on the environmental antecedents of dependence. If a characteristic of the business environment is that it generates customer dependence upon a business partner then it is important for organizations to understand which aspects of their business environment contribute towards the perception of dependence (Hilton&Jones, 2010). Consumers’ selections of stimuli from the environment are based on interactions of their expectations and motives with the stimulus itself. People usually perceive things they need or want, and block the perception of unnecessary, unfavorable, or painful stimuli. This study was designed to identify, compare and contrast the experiences of commercial and private clients to determine whether the environmental variables identified by Bendapudi and Berry were applicable to the legal service context and, if so, were they also relevant to individual consumers as well as business customers. It is more difficult for consumers to evaluate the quality of services than the quality of products because of certain distinctive characteristics of services (in this case legal service provided by a law firm). Legal services are intangible, variable and perishable. Customers are usually not capable of comparing services side-by-side. Therefore other significant factors play role in shaping perception and dependence such as quality of office, room furnishing, number of framed degrees and rewards on the wall, pleasantness of the receptionist, all contribute to the evaluation of the organization that provides legal services. Result of the study finds that commercial clients think that their organizations live in turbulent times where outcomes are uncertain but also where decisions, actions and opportunities are time-dependent. In contrast, private clients do not appear to perceive the legal services environment as dynamic. They suggest that legal matters take a long time, often longer than they expect. These findings cannot be taken for granted. Actual quantity of services can vary from day to day, from service employee to service employee and from customer to customer or case to case. When marketers try to standardize their services in order to provide consistency of quality, downside is the loss of customized services, which many consumers value. Major issue with legal services is that they are first sold and then produced and consumed simultaneously. An inferior legal service is consumed as it is being produced. There is little opportunity to correct it, negative impression caused by legal services representative is difficult to correct. Consumer evaluation of service quality is usually reflection of magnitude and direction of the gap between the customer’s expectations and customer’s assessment (perception) of service quality. That perception of service quality includes segments of the business environment and built up dependence. We can see completely different research results between commercial and private customers. This is happening because the expectations of a given service vary widely among different consumers of that same legal service. These expectations stem from word-of-mouth, their past experiences, the promises made about the service in ads and by legal services representatives, available alternatives, and other behavioral factors. In individual customers respond I see significantly increased likelihood of lower perceived service quality due to raised customer’s expectations. Legal services environment serves to influence perceived quality of services and decisions of consumers. Conclusion Consumer motivation is a highly dynamic construct that is constantly changing in reaction to life experiences. Needs and goals change and grow in response to individual physical condition, environment, interaction with others, and experiences. As individuals attain their goals, they develop new ones. Many needs are never fully satisfied, they continually impel actions designed to attain or maintain satisfaction. And also, people who achieve their goals set new and higher goals for themselves. Expectations of success or failure in reaching certain goals often influence the nature and persistence of individual's behavior. Expectations are often based on past experience. Effects of success and failure on goal selection have influence on the marketer. Goal should be reasonable. Advertisement should not promise more than product will deliver. Even solid product will not be approached if it fails to live up to expectations. Law firms’ aggressive advertising is in fact creating dependency. Some of the consumers are attracted by word-of-mouth legal services’ positive (or negative) image created in media and based on their results in previous cases.

White Privilege in America Essay - 710 Words

What is privilege? What does it mean? Is privilege inherited or is it earned? As an American resident of color I’ve learned that privilege in this country is something that is innate and inherited. The privilege that I speak of is that of White privilege. There are two prominent writer/scholars who have taken the issue of white privilege to heart and have shared their expert analysis on the subject; these authors/writer-scholars are Peggy McIntosh, a white feminist, and Beverly Tatum, an African American Psychologist. McIntosh, in her article Coming to See Correspondences, makes excellent observations about the privilege that she has experienced just by being a white female in America. The two most significant points made by McIntosh†¦show more content†¦The concept of white privilege helps to highlight the hypocritical nature of the American ideologies of democracy and meritocracy. Ask yourself: Do we live truly in a democratic system if the voices of our nation’s disenfranchised people are not heard? Or are we truly a nation that functions on a meritocratic system if every person-- regardless of socioeconomic background or race-- is not given the same opportunities for development? The concepts of white privilege and male privilege, as used by McIntosh, are meant to unveil the hidden schemes of American ideology. Beverly Tatum incorporates the concept of White privilege into her writing to address the fundamental issues surrounding racism. In Defining Racism, a chapter in Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria, Tatum defines racism as â€Å"a system of advantage based on race† (P.6) In an accurate and inoffensive way she illustrates racism and extends it beyond the individual, placing blame on the greater American social structure. Throughout the development of her definition she places great emphasis on the fact that racism, like sexism, is something exhibited by the dominant group (whites/men) upon the subordinate group (people of color/women). She does this to demonstrate the structured aspect of racism as an institutional norm and not necessarily something that is actively practiced by individuals. This approach is less offensive to whites and creates a context for self awarenessShow MoreRelatedWhite Privilege : A Crime America Pays For1635 Words   |  7 Pa gesWhite Privilege: A Crime America Pays for Being Privilege is something many of us do not realize we have on an everyday basis. Privilege is something you can get over time, but others are born with the natural ability to be privileged. Anybody who is â€Å"white† descent is born with what is known as white privilege. Many of us do not recognize this the privilege that comes with being white in society. 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