Whole Foods Ratio Essay Example for Free

Whole Foods Ratio Essay Kroger and Whole Foods are the two giants in the grocery industry; however, their capital structure and financial measures paint vastly different pictures. The liquidity ratios, which measure short term solvency of the company, were calculated for both companies. The current ratio for Kroger was calculated to be .76 compared to a current ratio for Whole Foods of 1.60. At a glance, Whole Foods is more able to pay their short term debt obligations compared to Kroger. In the same vein, Whole Foods has a much higher quick ratio at 1. 20 compared to .25 for Kroger. The capital structure of the two companies is the main reason for the distinct differences in the liquidity ratios. Kroger has financed the company’s expansions with debt; whereas, Whole Foods has financed their expansions with equity. One of the reasons why Whole Foods’ quick ratio is higher than Kroger’s quick ratio is due to inventory management. Whole Foods is an industry leader at inventory management. Whole Foods inventory consists of two-thirds perishable foods, which requires management to have outstanding inventory management to be profitable. Due to the outstanding inventory management of Whole Foods, the quick ratio for the company is higher compared to the much larger Kroger. Activity ratios are a measure of a company’s asset management. When comparing Kroger to Whole Foods, Kroger has a higher total asset turnover and fixed asset turnover compared to Whole Foods. In fact, Kroger is the industry leader in asset turnover consistently having the highest asset turnover ratios in the industry. The reason for Kroger’s high asset management ratios for total asset turnover and fixed asset turnover is due to sales. Sales are calculated into each ratio. By generating massive sales, Kroger is able to complete with slim profit margins due to exploiting economies of scale. Whole Foods dominates Kroger with two of the activity ratios: inventory turnover and days sales in inventory. Inventory turnover for Whole Foods is 19.84 times per year compared to 14.45 times per year for Kroger. Days sales in inventory for Whole Foods is 18.39 compared to 25.24 for Kroger. The catalyst for Whole Foods superior performance in inventory turnover and days sales in inventory is due to three reasons: efficient inventory management, high traffic in stores, and the nature of the organic market. Due to the nature of the organic market, Whole Foods has had to become extremely efficient as inventory management. The organic market is characterized by: fresh fruits and vegetables, inventory mix that is more perishable than traditional grocery stores, and shorter shelf life of products. Because the organic market is dominated by fresh foods as opposed to pre-packaged foods, Whole Foods customers are more likely to visit the grocery store multiple times per week compared to Kroger customers. Due to this, Whole Foods is more able to control inventory and generate higher inventory turnover compared to Kroger. An analysis of the leverage ratios of Whole Foods and Kroger illustrates the impact of a company’s capital structure on leverage ratios. Whole Foods had a lower Debt Ratio (.282), Long Term Debt Ratio (.0147) and Long-term Debt to Equity Ratio (.01) compared to Kroger, which had a Debt Ratio of .83, Long Term Debt Ratio of .41, and Long-term Deb to Equity Ratio of .01. The reason for Whole Foods having substantially lower leverage ratios is due to the capital structure of Whole Foods. Whole Foods capital structure consists of little to no debt. At the present time, Whole Foods’ capital structure is made up of 99.3% equity and .7% debt. In contrast, Kroger’s capital structure consists of 57.3% debt and 42.7% equity. By having little to no debt, Whole Foods is able to maintain lower leverage ratio numbers compared to Kroger, which is more dependent on debt to fund expansion. The corporate strategies of Whole Foods and Kroger make a tremendous impact on the profitability ratios. Whole Foods strategy involves opening high-end grocery stores in upscale locations, offering organics foods and specialty items, providing a more enjoyable shopping experience for shoppers, and selling more expensive grocery items than traditional grocery stores. By comparison, Kroger’s strategy is to offer price reduction on grocery items, compete based on price which reduces profit margins, and offer a high-end shopping experience with low prices on staples. Due to the strategies of both companies, the profitability ratios are affected. By competing on price, Kroger has lower net income and higher sales. Lower net income and higher sales shrinks profit margins and gross margins. On the other hand, Whole Foods specialty food items are priced at a premium; therefore, net income is larger compared to sales. A larger net income results in a higher profit margin and higher gross margin. The corporate capital structure factors into two of the profitability ratios for Whole Foods and Kroger. Due to having a capital structure that is essentially all equity, Whole Foods has much lower return on equity than Kroger, which has a capital structure that is a mixture of debt and equity. The diversified capital structure of Kroger accounts for the higher Return on Equity compared to Whole Foods. The Return on Invested Capital is the same for Whole Foods and Kroger at 13% for each company. The Return on Invested Capital takes into consideration both debt and equity, which allows for a more accurate comparison of the two companies. Many of the ratios for Whole Foods and Kroger have been affected by the capital structure of the two companies. By taking into consideration by side of the capital structure, debt and equity, the two companies have a return on invested capital that is essentially the same.

Cloning Essay -- essays research papers fc

Cloning our society It is hard to say if cloning is an answer to a problem or just another problem for the human race. There have been books, movies, and even stories about mankind creating their own species of humans. A good example of what could happen if mankind learns to clone itself is Mary Shelly's' Frankenstein, a classic novel demonstrating what could happen when mankind takes the power of "God" in our own hands. Cloning is physically a new science but ethically is a century old debate. A clone is a group of genetically identical cells that are borrowed from a single cell by asexual methods and used to create a new cell identical to the first ones. Cloning happens everyday in the human body, muscle creates more muscle, the cells in the mouth, and the walls of the large intestines are constantly dividing. Besides the human body, plants also are able to procreate by asexual means also create plants that are identical to them. "The body cells of adult animals and humans can be routinely cloned in the laboratory. Adult cells of various tissues, such as muscle cells, that are removed from the donor animal and maintained on a culture medium while receiving nutrients manage not only to survive but to go on dividing, producing colonies of identical descendants. By the 1950's scientists were able to clone frogs, producing identical individuals that carry the genetic characteristics of only a single parent. The technique used in the cloning of frogs consists of transplan ting frog DNA, contained in the nucleus of a body cell, into an egg cell whose own genetic material has been removed. The fused cells then begin to grow and divide, just like a normal fertilized egg, to form an embryo." (Britannica) The process, which was previously described, is the same way that human beings can be cloned. The major misunderstanding is that all someone needs is a sample of DNA to put in this magical machine and a couple days later a fully-grown identical twin is born. The cloning of a human being would be a very difficult, time consuming, and risky venture. It took 277 attempts to clone "Dolly", the sheep born as the first success in cloning an adult mammal. This was achieved in 1996 at the Roslin Institute in Edinburgh, Scotland by a team of British researchers led by Ian Wilmut. However, there is a group of people who have the intent to... ...eplace an extinct animal but the animal won't even be pure guar. The newly born animal will have some cow DNA as well and now there will be a new species not the replacement of an old one. Humans may think that we've found the answer to so many problems, when actually we have just opened the door to cloning, but that's not the only door. Scientists seem to be the only ones who want to use this new technology with caution and reason. But yet the private sector just seems to be out there for its own interests: to be the first, be the best, or to go down in history. They don't seem to care of what a large responsibility this puts on the world as an entire population, it weighs down on us with moral problems, mental problems, and cloning problems. Works Cited "Clone". Britannica. 1999-2000 ed. "Private Group Set to Launch Human Cloning Scheme" National Geographic Society. http://www.ngnews.com/news/2000/10/10132000/clone_3142287101384834.asp "Raising the Dead". New Scientist. http://www.newscienist.com/nsplus/insight/clone/raisingthedead "Cult of the Clone". New Scientist. http://www.newscientist.com/nsplus/insight/clone/cultoftheclone Cloning Essay -- essays research papers fc Cloning our society It is hard to say if cloning is an answer to a problem or just another problem for the human race. There have been books, movies, and even stories about mankind creating their own species of humans. A good example of what could happen if mankind learns to clone itself is Mary Shelly's' Frankenstein, a classic novel demonstrating what could happen when mankind takes the power of "God" in our own hands. Cloning is physically a new science but ethically is a century old debate. A clone is a group of genetically identical cells that are borrowed from a single cell by asexual methods and used to create a new cell identical to the first ones. Cloning happens everyday in the human body, muscle creates more muscle, the cells in the mouth, and the walls of the large intestines are constantly dividing. Besides the human body, plants also are able to procreate by asexual means also create plants that are identical to them. "The body cells of adult animals and humans can be routinely cloned in the laboratory. Adult cells of various tissues, such as muscle cells, that are removed from the donor animal and maintained on a culture medium while receiving nutrients manage not only to survive but to go on dividing, producing colonies of identical descendants. By the 1950's scientists were able to clone frogs, producing identical individuals that carry the genetic characteristics of only a single parent. The technique used in the cloning of frogs consists of transplan ting frog DNA, contained in the nucleus of a body cell, into an egg cell whose own genetic material has been removed. The fused cells then begin to grow and divide, just like a normal fertilized egg, to form an embryo." (Britannica) The process, which was previously described, is the same way that human beings can be cloned. The major misunderstanding is that all someone needs is a sample of DNA to put in this magical machine and a couple days later a fully-grown identical twin is born. The cloning of a human being would be a very difficult, time consuming, and risky venture. It took 277 attempts to clone "Dolly", the sheep born as the first success in cloning an adult mammal. This was achieved in 1996 at the Roslin Institute in Edinburgh, Scotland by a team of British researchers led by Ian Wilmut. However, there is a group of people who have the intent to... ...eplace an extinct animal but the animal won't even be pure guar. The newly born animal will have some cow DNA as well and now there will be a new species not the replacement of an old one. Humans may think that we've found the answer to so many problems, when actually we have just opened the door to cloning, but that's not the only door. Scientists seem to be the only ones who want to use this new technology with caution and reason. But yet the private sector just seems to be out there for its own interests: to be the first, be the best, or to go down in history. They don't seem to care of what a large responsibility this puts on the world as an entire population, it weighs down on us with moral problems, mental problems, and cloning problems. Works Cited "Clone". Britannica. 1999-2000 ed. "Private Group Set to Launch Human Cloning Scheme" National Geographic Society. http://www.ngnews.com/news/2000/10/10132000/clone_3142287101384834.asp "Raising the Dead". New Scientist. http://www.newscienist.com/nsplus/insight/clone/raisingthedead "Cult of the Clone". New Scientist. http://www.newscientist.com/nsplus/insight/clone/cultoftheclone

Organizational structures Essay

Organizations have distinct structures for organizing business entities. An organization can be of different structures depending upon size of the business organization. The complexity in organizing demands segregating the responsibilities. The important organizations structures are pre-bureaucratic, bureaucratic, Functional, Divisional and post bureaucratic structures. Pre-bureaucratic organization has typically small management team, typically one man show format, low on profits and easy to organize. Bureaucratic organizations has a complex organization structure, large business entity with varied functions to take of, the decision making process needs to run in hierarchical phase and it may delay the decision making process. Functional organization is concerned with large organizations with different entities. A FMCG company may have toilet soaps, detergents, cosmetics etc is a perfect example of functional structure. The organizational structure will have more freedom to product enhancement. Cross functional organizing will be difficult to organize. Matrix organization segregates distinct functional profiles and organizational operational aspects. Different departments will separately work on a specific project like the engineering, marketing, operations and administration. Post organizational structure deals with the unique features of an organizational which are having virtual importance than the conventional organizational responsibilities. The functions like the quality management, employee benefits and cross cultural management are taken into account. Not many organizations can bear the non revenue profiles like the above as these facilities are expensive and complex to implement.

Ludwig Van Beethoven A Traumatic Childhood - 2468 Words

Beethoven had a traumatic childhood, even if he grew up surrounded by music. Ludwig van Beethoven was born around December 16, 1770 and baptized on December 17 in Bonn, located in the now-nonexistent Electorate of Cologne (â€Å"Ludwig van Beethoven†). His parents, Johann van Beethoven and Maria Magdalena van Beethoven, had to bury two children before Ludwig and celebrated his successful birth. Maria bore Johann two more sons after Ludwig: Caspar Carl, born in 1774 and Nickolaus Johann, born in 1776 (â€Å"Ludwig van Beethoven†). Johann van Beethoven worked as a court singer on the staff of the Elector of Cologne. Johann’s father, Ludwig van Beethoven, worked as Kappelmeister of the Elector of Cologne and became known as the best musician in Bonn.†¦show more content†¦He played well for his recital yet did not obtain any press for it. Around this same time, he attended a Latin school named Tirocinium (â€Å"Ludwig van Beethoven†). The students at Tirocinium thought that he did not have a mother on account of his messy clothing and attitude. Many years later, one classmate stated that: â€Å"Not a sign was to be discovered†¦of that spark of genius which glowed so brilliantly in him afterwards.† Around 1780, Christian Gottlob Neefe, a Court Organist for the Elector of Cologne, began giving lessons to Beethoven. He later wrote, anonymous in Cramer’s Magazin de Musik: â€Å"He plays the clavier very skillfully and with power and reads at sight very well†¦This youthful genius is deserving of help to enable him to travel. He would surely become a second Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart were he to continue as he has begun† (Morris, 19-22 Suchet, â€Å"1770†). Around the year 1784, Beethoven’s struggles began when his father became an extreme alcoholic, which lost Johann his job with the Court (â€Å"Ludwig van Beethoven†). Beethoven stepped into his place as the Assistant Court Organist and became the leader of his household. By June of 1784, he began a payment from the court. Neefe, his old instructor, played alongside him as organist. With the job he held, he took a leave of absence from making his own music, or so it seemed. Between 1785 and 1789, Beethoven wrote and publishedShow MoreRelatedLudwig Van Beethoven Left Behind A Legacy Of Musical Pieces2581 Words   |  11 Pagesmusic, Ludwig van Beethoven left behind a legacy of musical pieces. Though Beethoven’s works spread throughout the globe, not many truly know what happened in his private life. Not only was he raised by an alcoholic father, but he also did not have a successful romantic life and even became deaf later in life. Beethoven, a musical prodigy, wr ote hundreds of pieces of music and astounded the ears of mankind, yet lived a sorrowful life behind the scenes. Beethoven lived a traumatic childhood, evenRead MoreA Child Is Having A Problem Reading Even After Lots Of1617 Words   |  7 Pagesâ€Å"Dyslexia does not only mean difficulties with reading and spelling. Now, it is understood that dyslexia covers a broad range of things, including visual and auditory processing and memory capacity. It can be very hard to identify these difficulties in childhood, as children naturally develop coping strategies to circumvent problems†. Olds S. (2016) The two kinds of dyslexia are developmental dyslexia and acquired dyslexia. Developmental dyslexia means the child has a neurological condition that causes the