Business Ethics Essay Example for Free

Business Ethics Essay As we have discussed the ethical issued related to production and distribution of wine, we will now focus on the ethical issues relating to the consumption of wine. The consumption of wine in U. S. has been on the rise since last fifteen years. The U. S. ranks 34th in wine consuming nations with wine consumption of 7. 69 liters per capita per annum. The consumption of wine in 1994 was 404 million gallons which increased to 658 million gallons in the year 2008. These figures show the growing popularity of wine in U. S. Consumption grew 2. 5% per annum. As capita income per person has increased, the wine consumption has also seen a increasing trend. According to U. S. Beverage Marketing Corporation, the organic wine consumption have rise in last few years. As people are getting environmental and health conscious, they are turning towards organic products. In 2003/04, organic wine consumption was about 6. 5% of total beverage market in U. S. , which increased to 9. 5% in the year 2007/08. This signifies the important aspect of change in the human nature that is turning to the products which is beneficial to both humans and environment. The type of wine customer consumes depends on the number of factors namely per capita income, household size, preference of quality over price etc. The nutrition facts of wine are minimal. There is no cholesterol or fat present in the wine. Generally, the alcohol content ranges in between 10-15%. Over consumption of wine can be dangerous to health as it can cause unconsciousness and high blood pressure. Nutrition Facts (Serving Size 6 oz) Amount per serving| Red Wine| White Wine| Calories| 123| 115| Protein| . 28 grams| . 14 grams| Cholesterol | 0| 0| Sodium | 8. 5 milligrams| 8. 5 milligrams| Carbohydrates| 2. 9 grams| 1. 35 grams| Vitamin B1(Thiamin)| . 01 %| . 01 %| Vitamin B2 (Riboflavin)| . 05 %| . 01 %| Vitamin B3 (Niacin)| . 13 %| . 12 %| Organic wine is the wine produced from organically grown grapes without adding any sulfites. Organic wine is the best quality wine obtained without relying on chemical fertilizers. The most important aspect of producing organic wine is the matching of unique characteristics of growing region with the most suitable variety of grapes. Different varieties of grapes need different soil and climate to grow. Usually, warm and dry climates are suitable for growing quality grapes and these climates protect the grapes against moulds and other diseases resulting from humid climate. The smaller sized grapes are suitable and desired for the production of organic wine because we get the distinctive taste for a particular wine from grape’s skin and the smaller grapes has high skin to juice ratio as compared to the large sized grapes. But the yield per field of small sized grapes is considerably low, which increase the cost of production per unit volume. The grapes in the organic vineyard are usually handpicked which allows only the ripest and healthiest grapes to be picked up. This process also minimizes the damage to the soil and the fruit. This accounts for the difference in taste of the wine. But this handpicking of grapes increase the labor costs. Low yield and handpicking of grapes, along with other factors, increase the overall production costs. Thus, organic wine is generally expensive than the regular wine. It is far better in quality and taste than the regular cheap wine. The consumption of organic wine has effect on the environment. As the grapes have been grown naturally, no pesticides or insecticide had been used and re-plantation of oak trees to replace the cut oak trees helps in preserving the nature and benefits the world around us by preserving the soil and help reducing the pollution to both air and soil. It helps maintain the balance of nature. The organic wine production is an ethical business process. Nobody feels cheated in this process, as the customer gets the quality products for the dollars he/she spends and know what he is getting as there is no deception on the labels, and the producer get the return for following the sincere ethical processes. Customers get the value for the money spent as they get high quality wine with distinctive taste. On the other hand, the producer earns enough to cover his costs of production and also makes a profit. The environment is also saved through this ethical business practices which is the biggest gain. On the other hand, the regular wine can be produced with the large sized grapes and the insecticides and pesticides are used on a large scale. As the yield of large grapes is more, the cost of production per unit volume is low. This results in lower prices. The regular wine is pretty cheap and available in abundance qualities. Thus, it is affordable to people with low income. It is cost friendly to both the wine producers and the customers. Wine producers can adopt mass production of the regular wine as the production costs are low and there are no special regulations to be followed, this result in increased profits. Customers are also attracted to the low- priced wine as they have to spend less and get their wine desire satisfied with this low priced regular wine as compared to costly organic wine. But there are consequences of drinking cheap wine. The production of regular wine has an adverse effect on the environment. As the consumption of regular wine is increasing, so does the adverse effects. The use of unlimited pesticides, insecticides and other chemicals not only pollute the soil but also the air we breathe. It even spoils the water bed beneath the soil. The deforestation of the oak trees is rapidly increasing. The effects are adverse than we could even think and they are long termed/ lived. The cheap wine could have health consequences too. The sulfites present in the wine can degrade person’s health. The cheap wine has much higher sulfur content than expensive organic wines. The consumption of this cheap wine could results in allergies, breathing problems, skin rashes, itches and nausea. Overindulgence of wine can raise the blood pressure which could be harmful. In the recent years, the genetically engineering wine production is on the rise. It is the method of wine production using the gene altered grapes. The genetically engineered vineyards are more resistant to the fungal diseases than the traditional vineyards. The main motive behind the genetical engineering is to make vineyards more resistant to diseases and increase the output of grapes. The researched concluded that these disease resistant plants would need very less pesticides, thus lowering the use of pesticide in production process. This is really beneficial for the environment. But it is feared that the genetically altered genes may result in uniformity of taste of different wines. But according to the reports; people have not accepted the genetically engineered wine. They have rejected the concept of genetically engineered wine as the fears of taste uniformity have raised concerns. According to the report by Greenpeace, California wine makers may have to face mass consumer rejection if they accepted the genetically engineered grapes for their wine production process. British retailers have also threatened California wine makers to quit importing their wine if they adopted the genetically engineered wine making process. Fact is that, Britain is the largest importer of California wine as it imports 30% of the state’s wine. Researchers have found out that the gene which is inserted into the wine grapes create a protein similar to that present in the bee venom. This could cause anaphylactic shock in some people and can also create other health issues. This deadly substance could not be put out the production process of the genetically engineered wine.

Floods of 1998 in Bangladesh and Shrewsbury :: Papers

Floods of 1998 in Bangladesh and Shrewsbury Causes, Effects and responses to flooding In Shrewsbury The Severn Valley floods, Shrewsbury, UK 1998: Causes ====== The human causes of the floods were summed up by the then Shadow Countryside Minister Tim Yeo MP, he said 'the flooding had increased because of the housing developments on Greenfield sites.' By this he means that by covering the land with tarmac in urban areas humans have increased the rate of surface runoff and decreased the saturation levels of the ground. When surface runoff is high rainwater reaches the river faster. It would appear that the speed in which the water reached the river was too fast for the river to handle. The river filled up reaching bank-full discharge and then overflowing its banks onto the flood plain. The flood plain of the River Severn is built on, therefore, when the river floods it floods onto residential areas. With the building of these urban areas the amount of vegetation in the area surrounding the river was reduced, this affects the river two ways. It reduces the amount of interception, which in turn increases the speed of runoff into the river. The lack of vegetation also leads to the saturation of the ground. During the months of October and November the rainfall in the Severn Valley was high, as the water soaked into the ground it became saturated. More vegetation in the area would have meant the vegetation using the water would have decreased the amount of water in ground storage. Physical factors of the flood in 1998 are many; however, the most important one was the amount of rainfall. In October 1998 many areas received record amounts of rainfall caused by a 'hurricane'. This 'hurricane' brought very heavy rain and strong winds. The fact the rain was heavy means that the river did not have time to dissipate the water quick enough and the runoff was too fast, making the river rise t such an extent that it flooded.

Valuation Project Report

Valuation project report Valuation of the Incentive Stock Options for Procter & Gamble Co. Name: Haining Jiang Company background: In this valuation project, I will analyze a company which is mature and I am interested in. The name of the company is Procter & Gamble Co. the Procter & Gamble Company, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the manufacture and sale of a range of branded consumer packaged goods. The company operates in five segments: Beauty, Grooming, Health Care, Fabric Care and Home Care, and Baby Care and Family Care.In the year of 1837, William Procter and James Gamble settled in the Queen City of the West, Cincinnati, and established themselves in business. As a result, a new company was born: Procter & Gamble. Procter & Gamble became into a listed company at a stock price and dividend which are $ 1. 7 and $ 0. 01 per month respectively in 19 Jan. 1970. For many years, P & G keep following their purpose and social responsibility at every and every corner in the world: â€Å"We will provide branded products and services of superior quality and value that improve the lives of the world’s consumers, now and for generations to come.As a result, consumers will reward us with leadership sales, profit and value creation, allowing our people, our shareholders and the communities in which we live and work to prosper. † Until now, P & G has become the largest consumer packaged goods company in the world at $ 67. 17 of the share price and $ 0. 562 of dividend per month. Main contents: 1. Discounted dividend valuation The most basic model is the Gordon Growth Model, which prices the stock by the dividend and future growth of dividends. The formula would be like this: V0=D0 (1+g)(r-g)=D1r-gWhere D0 is today’s dividend, which would be $ 2. 21 in our case. r is the cost of capital, r will be calculated like: Assume : The market premium = 6%* The risk-free rate = 3%* Given number in the case: ? = 0. 27 So, r = 0. 03 + 0. 27 x 0. 06 = 4. 62% The best way to estimate g is: The term g can be viewed as the return on owner’s equity times the earnings retention rate b. b = (1 – dividend payout ratio) = 1 – 58% = 42% return on equity = 14. 05% So, Sustainable growth rate = gs = 42% x 14. 05% = 5. 901% r< g, so we may meet a big problem when using the V0 formula above.But, as far as we all know, it is not possible that the firm can grow faster than r forever. The high return will attract other investors into the market to compete and the firm’s rate will eventually fall. And, I determine the long-run growth rate of dividends, gL = 3%*. g < r. Even if this data is not real in the true P&G case, I think it’s will be fine to continue our model. V0=D0 (1+g)(r-g)= $ 2. 21x(1+0. 03)(0. 0462-0. 03)=$ 140. 51 1) Two-stage dividend growth When the P & G is growing faster than r, one can use a multistage model, where the growth stages are broken into two parts.The first is the supernormal growth phase call gs , which is the rate that is higher than r. So we can assume: at the first period ( r < g ): gS = 5. 901% (as we calculated above) n = 3*; At the second period ( r > g ): r = 4. 62% (as we calculated above) gL = 3% (as we calculated above) D0 = $ 2. 21 (real data from P&G) ; As we all know the formula is: V0 = t=1n[ Dt1+rt+ Vn(1+r)n] Vn= D01+ gsn(1+ gL)(r- gL) So, V3= 2. 21Ãâ€"1+ 0. 0593(1+ 0. 03)(0. 0462- 0. 03) = $ 166. 88 V0 = 2. 21x(1+0. 059)1(1+0. 0462)1+ 2. 21x(1+0. 059)2(1+0. 0462)2+ 2. 21x(1+0. 059)3(1+0. 0462)3+ 166. 88(1+0. 0462)3 = $ 152. 27 2) Three-stage dividend growth We assume the P & G company experienced a life-cycle with a three stages that are: an early, development stage with high growth, a maturing phase with moderate growth, and a declining phase with little, no, or negative growth. The current dividend of $ 2. 21 per share will not change. Dividends are expected to grow at a rate of 10%* for 2 years. Following that, the dividends are expected t o grow at a rate of 8%* for 2 years. After the total 4 years, the dividends are expected to grow at a rate of 4%* per year, forever. The rate of return unchanged: 4. 2% (as calculated in 1. 1). We can break the calculation in to six steps: (1) Calculate the dividends for years 1 through 5: year| Dividend growth rate| Dividend| 1| 10%| 2. 431| 2| 10%| 2. 674| 3| 8%| 2. 888| 4| 8%| 3. 119| 5| 5%| 3. 275| (2) Calculate the present value of each of these dividends for years 1 through 5: Year| Dividend| Present value| 1| 2. 431| 2. 3236| 2| 2. 674| 2. 4430| 3| 2. 888| 2. 5220| 4| 3. 119| 2. 6035| 5| 3. 275| 2. 6130| (3) Calculate the present value of the dividends beyond year 4: P4= $ 3. 275(0. 0462-0. 04) = $ 528. 23 (4) Calculate the present value of the price at year 4:PVP4 = $ 528. 23(1+0. 0462)4 = $ 440. 92 (5) Calculate the sum of the present value of the dividends: PVdividends in year 1-4= t=110Dt(1+0. 0462)t = $ 12. 51 (6) Calculate the price today as the sum of the present value of dividends in years 1-4 and the price at the end of year 4: P0=$ 440. 92+$ 12. 51 = $ 453. 43 3) The uses of the dividend valuation models (1) The price-earnings ratio also known as the price-to-earnings ratio or PE ratio, is the ratio of the price per share to the earnings per share of a stock. Let us observe these data from P&G firstly: ?| 2012| 2011| 2010| stock price| $66. 6| $64. 50| $60. 44| current earings per share| $3. 82| $4. 12| $4. 32| P/E ratio| 17. 37173| 15. 65534| 13. 99074| dividend payout ratio| 58%| 50%| 42%| If we take the DVM and divide both sides by earnings per share, we arrive at an equation for the price earnings ratio in terms of dividend payout, required rate of return, and growth: P0E0= Dividend payout ratio x (1+g)r-g We can conclude the information below according to the above formula: Increase in dividend payout rate will cause increase in P/E ratio, this point is also obviously in the table above, the data comes from the real P&G case.Increase in r will cause decrease in P/E ratio Increase in growth rate will cause increase in P/E ratio. (2) we can also use the DVM to relate the price-book value ratio to factors such as the dividend payout ratio and the ROE. We assume the B0 indicate the current book value per share and ROE0 indicate the current return on book equity. As we all know: ROE0 = E0B0 , and P0=D0 (1+g)(r-g)=D1r-g ; So, we can get the formula easily below: P0=B0x ROE0 x D0E0x (1+g)(r-g) So we could get the conclusion through analyzing the above formula: increase in B0 will increase in P0; ncrease in ROE0 will increase in P0; increase in D0E0 will increase in P0; increase in g will increase in P0; increase in r will increase in P0; I believe there are plenty of other conclusions we can get from those formulas, I just mention some of them in my valuation report here. But in other words, we can fully use the DVM to find all the related fundamental factors to have further understanding through DVM. 4) What if there no d ividends? I think it’s acceptable and expectable if the P&G isn’t paying dividends now, but chooses to reinvest its money.It is a sign that the dividends in the future will be even larger. Of course, I won’t stick around with the company long enough to receive any of those dividends. But because of the growth of the company, I will realize that the eventual dividends will be even larger with the increasingly share price. After that, I can sell me shares to someone else to get my profit from it. Summary: â€Å"Valuation is the process of determining what something is worth at a point in time. When we value investments, we want to estimate the future cash flows from these investments and then discount these to the present.This process is based on the reasoning that no one will pay more today for an investment than what they could expect to get from that investment on a time and risk adjusted basis. †1 I think the paragraph I cited above not only give us the best conclusion of by valuation project report, but also tell us a definitely reason we study finance. Please Note: If the number followed a * behind it, it means this number is assumed and the others without * are all real data from P&G company finance report. 1: cited from the â€Å"Dividend Valuation Models†, by Pamela Peterson Drake, Ph. D. , CFA.

Argumentative Gun Control Essay - 1422 Words

Argumentative Gun Control Paper The issue of Gun Control has been on the minds of humans for hundreds of years. How do we protect ourselves and our loved ones? How do we keep such a dangerous weapon out of the hands of the wrong person? Inside the Second Amendment we are granted the right to Bear Arms. Having that amendment gives each person the ability to carry a weapon if they choose, so how can we control who should or shouldn’t carry? According to an article evaluated from Kovandizic and Marvell, each year in America we can see the most violent crimes have been committed using firearms. â€Å"In 2000 firearms were involved in 66% of homicides, 26% of robberies, 6% of aggravated assaults, and 8% of all violent crime victims faced†¦show more content†¦This group has very strong ties with many members of legislation; it also has many lobbyists and supporters in our government. Among the many members of congress, former presidents George Bush and Ronald Reagan were and are members of the NRA. One of the NRA’s most noticeable acts happened a few years ago, they tried to repeal the ban on assault weapons. The second group mentioned was the Gun Owners of America. The Gun Owners of America is another group that is against gun control. The GOA preserves and defends the rights of gun owners through legislation. They publish books, articles, and videos on gun issues and how those issues affect people. They also conduct seminars for the press and Congress about issues on the Second Amendment, and gun issues. The GOA opposes bans on semiautomatic weapons, armor piercing ammunition, and handguns. You know a little about two major groups for gun control, now let’s take a look at a couple groups that are pro-gun control. The major group for gun control is Handgun Control, Inc. (HCI), which is headed by Sarah Brady. Mrs. Brady is the wife of James Brady, who was shot during an attempt on President Reagans life in 1981. Another major group is the Coalition to Stop Gun Violence (CSGV), which was formerly known as the National Coalition to Ban Handguns. The CSGV believes that handgunsShow MoreRelatedArgumentative Essay Gun Control1410 Words   |  6 Pages English 101 Argumentative/Persuasive Essay 4/12/2013 Word Count 1,255 Readability 12.3 There are new proposed gun control laws in the aftermath of the massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newton, Connecticut that occurred on December 14th, 2012. 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