College Admissions Essay: Dilemma of the Deserted Island :: College Admissions Essays

Dilemma of the Deserted Island    The following question has been asked: What three things I would take with me if I were forced to live on a deserted island? Here are my thoughts:-    1. A YOUNG JACK RUSSELL TERRIER - Training him might keep me occupied for a while and he could guard the camp at night (Hey, there might be large animals prowling the night. Which reminds me of my neighbor, Colin.) My main reason though, is to provide companionship.    My first thought was to bring a human companion, (me Jane, you Tarzan), but I don't know anyone who would want to be stranded with me and I wouldn't want to live alone with someone I had brought against their will. Catch 22.    2. A MACHETE - It can act as a knife, ax, sword and if desperate, it could be used as a hot plate over a fire.    No one told me what sort of island it would be, so I've tried to think of the most versatile tool to bring. With a machete I should be able to make a shelter, fashion other tools and spend many hours learning to whittle. But I really think I would feel more secure with one in my hand if I was attacked by say, a hungry lion. You might be surprised what a sharp machete is capable of and I hope the lion would be too.    3. A MEDIUM SIZED COOKING POT - I've done enough camping to know how difficult things can get without an easy way of cooking.    It would also come in handy for rendering animal fat for my home made lanterns, distilling salt water if there is no running water, (Most Australian islands are dry), it would catch the drips from the mandatory leak in my man-made shelter and finally I could use it to make monotonous music to amuse the dog.

Pepsi Total Reward

Business Ethics Business ethics is a topic that is often on the forefront of media and journalism reports in the United States of America today. To someone that doesn’t have a background in business, or a general understanding of the business world, these reports can be cumbersome and hard to follow. One must first understand what business ethics actually are. Dictionary. com defines business ethics as the study and examination of moral and social responsibility in relation to business practices and decision-making in business (dictionary. com). Once one understands the meaning of business ethics, they often wonder what major companies do to stay ahead of the curve, and excel in the area of business ethics. Sadly, it seems as if the general media is only interested in companies with poor business ethics and practices. Media outfits are able to sell more papers, and gain more viewers, and honest companies such as PepsiCo never get the positive publicity that they deserve. Ethics and compliance are present in PepsiCo’s day to day operations. PepsiCo also has procedures in place to ensure ethical behavior for both their employees, and the company as a whole. Next, one must take a look at processes within the organization PepsiCo employs to comply with SEC regulations. Finally, the financial statements of PepsiCo will be analyzed with the intent of looking into the trend for different ratios and what it tells investors, and the public alike about the organization’s financial health. In a world that is filled with unethical companies that are lying to their investors, employees, and the public, it is encouraging to still have companies like PepsiCo that are both ethical and compliant. PepsiCo goes to great lengths to attain economic success while still complying to the unwritten laws of business ethics. PepsiCo does this based on three main elements of influence: environmental, talent, and human sustainability. PepsiCo offers consumers a wide array of products from health conscious foods, to comfort foods, to athletic drinks. PepsiCo’s financial stability is greatly influenced by the decision to offer so many products. By doing so, PepsiCo gets to appeal to a variety of consumers, as opposed to just one type. When PepsiCo speaks of environmental sustainability, they are talking about their efforts to â€Å"go green† or lessen their environmental footprint. PepsiCo is planning on taking the necessary steps toward reducing their electrical consumption by 20% and reducing fuel consumption by 25% by the year 2015. In 2007, PepsiCo saved nearly five billion liters of water, and nearly five-hundred million kilowatt hours of energy worldwide in 2007 when compared to their use in years past (PepsiCo, 2009). PepsiCo is looking out for the best interests of the environment, an ethical and admirable decision made by the company. PepsiCo is also an equal opportunity employer and they are often praised for the diverse workforce that they develop. When PepsiCo speaks of talent, they are talking about their diverse workforce. PepsiCo also believes in equality, they show this by offering employment to individuals without worrying about gender, race, ethnicity, or sexual orientation. PepsiCo was named one of Business Ethics Magazine’s â€Å"100 best corporate citizens†. PepsiCo shows loyalty to their employees by trying to promote from within. They also participate in various surveys to prevent any issues, and to address any problem areas. The current CEO of PepsiCo is a woman by the name of Indra Nooyi; since she took over in 2006 she has promoted workplace diversity. PepsiCo’s workplace policies are available in thirty different languages to accommodate many ethnic groups. PepsiCo also does their best to try to spend as much as they could with minority owned businesses, while still looking out for the company’s best interests. (PepsiCo, 2009). PepsiCo is extremely ethical and compliant when looking at their hiring practices. Human sustainability at PepsiCo is their vow to offer more healthy choices for consumers. PepsiCo is dedicated to their consumers, and is focused on creating and innovating new products that will offer less sugar and staying away from â€Å"empty calories†. PepsiCo has been partnering with the World Health Organization to find new ways to improve the diets of consumers while promoting physical activities. When looking at PepsiCo’s promotion of human sustainability, it is evident that PepsiCo values their consumers, which is valued and ethical. PepsiCo much like any other well respected company, complies with the regulations that are determined by the SEC (Securities and Exchange Commission). PepsiCo demonstrates their SEC compliance through their hiring of an independent registered public accounting firm. PepsiCo utilizes the well-known and respected accounting firm Klynveld Peat Marwick Goerdeler which is more commonly referred to as KPMG. KPMG is one of the largest professional services firms in the world and one of the Big Four auditors. The Big Four auditors are KPMG along with PricewaterhouseCoopers, Deloitte, and finally Ernst and Young. KPMG’s global headquarters are located in the Netherlands . By employing an outside source, PepsiCo allows the auditing firm KPMG to clearly analyze their numbers, ultimately making independent judgments for the soft drink company. KPMG complies with the laws and guidelines that are set up by the Securities and Exchange Commission through a published report to the SEC that is created quarterly and annually for PepsiCo. The reports that are then created by KPMG offer the Securities and Exchange Commission as well as shareholders, and anyone else interested detailed information on what and where the company is spending money as well as on what and where the company is receiving money. Near the end of PepsiCo’s annual report, there is a statement that speaks of the honesty and integrity of the report. This statement reads: â€Å"Under the supervision and with the participation of our management, including our Chief Executive Officer and our Chief Financial Officer, we conducted and evaluation of the effectiveness of our control over financial reporting based upon the framework in Internal Control – Integrated Framework issued by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission. Based on that evaluation our management concluded that our internal control over financial reporting is effective as of December 26, 2009 (PepsiCo, 2009). † Based on that quote, one must believe that PepsiCo is both ethical and compliant with respect to the Securities and Exchange Commission. Despite the worldwide economic turmoil that companies have been forced to deal with, PepsiCo has done their best to rise above the state of the economy, and still post good numbers. PepsiCo’s current ratio for 2008 came out to 1. 23 and the current ratio for 2009 was 1. 35. This means that PepsiCo can pay back its short-term liabilities (debt and payables) with its short-term assets (cash, inventory, receivables) 1. 299 times in 2008 and 1. 435 times in 2009. To properly compute the current ratio for each year an individual would divide the current assets by the current liabilities. The 2008 current ratio for PepsiCo can be calculated by dividing 10,806 by 8,787. This comes out to 1 . 23. The 2009 current ratio for Pepsi is calculated the same way dividing 12,571 by 8,756. This equates to 1. 435. PepsiCo improved their current ratio year over year. A debt ratio is a ratio that indicates what proportion of debt a company has relative to its assets. Thus having a lower percentage would be ideal. PepsiCo’s debt ratio for 2008 was 23%. This can be computed by taking the total debt, which was $ 8,227 and dividing that by the total assets which were $ 35,994. In 2009 the total debt was $7,864 and the total assets were $ 39,848, giving PepsiCo a debt ratio of 19. 7%. Return on equity is known as the amount of net income returned as a percentage of shareholders equity. It can be calculated as the net income divided by common equity, and a higher percentage is favorable. In 2008 the net income was $ 5,166, which is divided by the common equity $ 12,203, this comes out to 12%. In 2009 the net income was $ 5,979 and the common equity was $ 16,908, meaning that the return on equity was 35%. Again, PepsiCo shows improvement year over year. Finally, comes the days receivable. The days receivable are a measure of the average time a company's customers take to pay for purchases. The days receivable are equal to accounts receivable divided by annual sales on credit times 365. In 2008 PepsiCo’s accounts receivable came out to $ 4,683, annual sales on credit were $ 20,351, meaning that the days receivable in 2008 equated to 83. 99, or simply 84 days. In 2009 PepsiCo’s accounts receivable came out to $ 4,624, annual sales on credit were $ 20,099, meaning that the days receivable in 2008 equated to 83. 97 or 84 days as well. Year over year, it seems as if PepsiCo remained constant in the area of days receivable. In closing, PepsiCo establishes itself on the forefront of ethics and compliance. PepsiCo also has procedures in place to ensure ethical behavior of employees and shareholders. Finally, PepsiCo has processes that they utilize to comply with SEC regulations. PepsiCo seems to have improved financially year over year between 2008 and 2009. In a world that is filled with unethical companies that are lying to their investors, employees, and the public, it is encouraging to still have companies like PepsiCo that are both ethical and compliant. References Business ethics. (n. d. ). Dictionary. com's 21st Century Lexicon. Retrieved September 27, 2010, from Dictionary. com website: http://dictionary. reference. com/browse/Business ethics PepsiCo. 2008 Annual Report. Purchase, NY: PepsiCo, 2008. Annual reports. September 27, 2010. http://www. pepsico. com/Investors/Annual-Reports. html PepsiCo. 2009 Annual Report. Purchase, NY: PepsiCo, 2009. Annual reports. September 27, 2010. http://www. pepsico. com/Investors/Annual-Reports

Women Of The Civil War - 1739 Words

Women without a doubt have dealt with a large portion of the inequality that rules this nation. But the military has always been accepting of others. This is a way for women to make great livable wages and maintain a steady occupation. Women being in the military dates all the way back to the civil war. During the times of the civil war many women pretended to be men so they could join and fight for a variety of different reasons. Some went to war to be with their loved ones, they had this thrill for adventure, and the biggest one which is money. (Smith) The reason why it was so easy for women to join the army without a second look is because of the desperation during the civil war. Majority of the soldiers were â€Å"citizen soldiers† with no†¦show more content†¦The reason this topic of Women in the military is so important is because there are still women in the military as of now that have to deal with and overcome a variety of adversaries. The main one is the fig ht for their life and self-control. Women in the military of any form have to deal with prejudices, sexual harassment, and several other injustices. Even though America decided Women are equal enough to fight in wars they are still disrespect and potentially in danger because of their peers. Sexual assault happens to almost every single female militant and their aggressor usually gets away with it. These stories are similar to female students that have been sexually assaulted on a college campus. The issue is taken too lightly and swept under the rug so the organization doesn’t look bad. How is it that this country cares more about reputation than the well-being of another human being? To many instances occur year after year when does maltreatment end? I recently saw the documentary, The Invisible War (Kirby Dick, Amy Ziering). The Invisible War exposes the epidemic of rape and sexual assault in the U.S. military, and by using personal stories and the government’s own figures and statistics from Department of Defense reports over the years, the film demonstrates what it means to serve in the military if you’re a woman. I had no idea what I was about to witness while watching this documentary about rape in the military, but I was not prepared forShow MoreRelatedWomen In The Civil War1674 Words   |  7 Pagesï » ¿ Women Who Fought In the Civil War Submitted By: Tierahnee Balfour History 2010 Enhanced Mrs. Teresa Prober 19 October 2012 It is an accepted convention that the Civil War was a man’s fight, but to the women in that time period, it was not. Many women sacrificed their lives to fight for their family and for their country. The Civil War is symbolic in American history because it shaped society, as we know it today, â€Å"Free of slavery†. During the Civil War, women were mostlyRead MoreWomen Of The Civil War885 Words   |  4 Pages For women in the 1860s it was predictable wisdom that a â€Å"woman’s place is in the home,† but the Civil War challenged this view (Civil War Academy, 2015). There were many women who played an important role in the Civil War. It is normal to think the Civil War was a man’s fight. However during the war, many women challenged the role of the women and took on different roles. While the men marched off to war, the women had to work hard and try to provide for their families. Women became doctors, spiesRead MoreWomen Of The Civil War1553 Words   |  7 PagesWomen of the Civil War The Civil War is a very important part of American history – simply put, it determined what kind of nation the United States would be. The Civil War resolved whether the United States is what determined the survival of the Union or whether the Confederacy would gain independence. 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Women became doctors, spies, nurses, couriersRead MoreWomen During The Civil War1523 Words   |  7 Pagesthe Civil War, some of the more notable names were: Ulysses S. Grant, Thomas â€Å"Stonewall† Jackson, and George Custer. These names are synonymous with great generals who fought great battles during the war, but what about Sarah Emma Edmonds, Clara Burton, Dorthea Dix, Rose O’Neal Greenhow, and Loreta Janeta Velazquez? These names are not as known as their male counterparts, but these ladies of the Civil War Era did their part to aide their respective sides in the war. What these and other women didRead MoreWomen During The Civil War1388 Words   |  6 PagesThe Civil War altered the lives of women, in both the North and South, just as it altered the nation as a whole. Although it is irrefutable that both the North and the South felt the wrath of the war, the South encountered a unique set of troubles that caused the weight of the war to fall predominantly on Southern women. Attempting to understand the experiences of all Southern women during the Civil War does not come without its challenges. It is impossible to connect the stories and experiencesRead MoreWomen Of The American Civil War1499 Words   |  6 Pageswonderful hi story of the â€Å"Women of the Slaveholding South in the American Civil War†. This informative study allows the reader to get a look into the life of privileged white women of the south. Faust uses diaries, political documents, newspapers and personal letters, to give the reader to experience things through the eyes and in the words of the women themselves. Faust presents a number of southern women whose lives were changed by the societal upheavals caused by the civil war. The book, proficiently