Describe the room youre in Essay Example for Free

Describe the room youre in Essay Still, a thick veil of cigarette smoke filtered my view of the dark, dank, desolate sitting room, and made the black walls appear grey. The early hours of the evening had consisted of me repeatedly lighting and leaving cigarettes to burn out between my fingers, not one of the twenty met my lips, as intended. The looming smoke crept slowly out of a miniscule hole in the top left hand corner of the window fame, to my right. I lazily calculated, judging by the time of the humungous clock on the wall opposite me, that Id been slumped on this icy black settee for over 9 hours now. Time moved slower than Id ever known it, it was gradually approaching 2:24am. There still remained a constant murmur of Freddie Mercury telling me he could dim the lights and sing me songs full of sad things- his voice leaked aimlessly from the 2 white headphones lying forgotten on the bitterly cold tiled floor. My dog sat protectively at my feet, staring at me. Awfully tired, but reluctant to leave me to sit alone. I edged forward on the settee, the music seemed louder from there. The distinct scent of the condolence flowers, which lay in a tattered heap on the coffee table in front of me, under my tear-drenched scarf, danced through both of my nostrils. It was surprisingly strong. I glanced down at the dog, who obviously saw this as an invitation to a far more comfortable seat. His black, shiny front legs, one at a time, slowly heaved his heavily muscled shoulders onto the settee beside me. Followed by his short hind legs, which failed to be able to push the remaining torso onto the slippery leather seat. His struggling eyes pleaded for a helping hand. I swung my right arm over his broad back and under his barrel-like rib cage, gripping tightly and pulling toward myself, he appreciatively licked my arm, and then settled next to me. After a few short moments, he sunk down into the settee and lolled his head onto my leg, where he stared back morosely at me, breathing in deeply and almost sighing as he forced breaths out. His brow furrowed into the form of self-pity and grief, now and then throwing the odd whimper at me. Hed always been good at mirroring my feelings. The wind was audibly picking up speed and strength, it angrily punched the windowpane several times, before giving in and sending a fleet of fat, hefty, hard-hitting rain drops to pummel the windowpane some more. The door was trembling from being harassed so fiercely by the wind, it bellowed and whistled, trying the door handle and rattling the lock. My heart felt the enraged booming of the thunder as it rolled through the thick black clouds, calling for the lightning. The room lit up, everything was visible for a few short seconds. Then, when the lightning clocked off, the quiet, lonely darkness carried on the remainder of his shift. A lone screw flew towards me, breezed past my right cheek and pinged off the wall behind me, as the French doors swung open with a sudden, monstrous clash. The aggressive wind had forced its way into the house, it bled through the building. It raced up the stairs, slamming doors in a childish fashion, while it ripped the photographs off the walls and crunched the glass in the frames, it spun around the curtains tearing them from the pole, as if it had a vendetta against the dicor. The hellish gale swirled tauntingly around me, pulling my cardigan and twirling my hair around my throat. The dog lunged onto my lap, and began to warn off the frosty blasts with a series of blood curdling, deep and defensive barks and snarls. Silence fell. I stood. Wrapping my cardigan around me tightly, and following my bodyguard of a dog, I peered out of the double doors and down the bleak corridor. The front door was closed. I returned to resume sitting on the sunken leather settee with my dog. As I sat, my left hand attempted to correct my windswept hair, while the right cradled my proud pet. I felt the beginnings of a snarl rekindling from the pit of his stomach; it rose up into his throat and gushed out between gritted teeth at the rain that spat spitefully at the window. Show preview only The above preview is unformatted text This student written piece of work is one of many that can be found in our  GCSE Miscellaneous  section. Download this essay Print Save Heres what a teacher thought of this essay 5  star(s)

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Soviet gymnasts astounded the world with highly disciplined and difficult performances, setting a precedent that continues. The new medium of television has helped publicize and initiate a modern age of gymnastics. Both men's and women's gymnastics now attract considerable international interest, and excellent gymnasts can be found on every continent. Nadia Comaneci received the first perfect score, at the 1976 Summer Olympics held in Montreal, Canada. She was coached in Romania by coach, (Hungarian ethnicity), Bella Karolyn. Comaneci scored four of her perfect tens on the uneven bars, two on the balance beam and one in the floor exercise. Even with Nadia's perfect scores, the Romanians lost the gold medal to the Soviet Union. Nevertheless, Comaneci became an Olympic icon. In 2006, FIG introduced a new points system for Artistic gymnastics in which scores are no longer limited to 10 points. The system is used in the US for elite level competition. Unlike the old code of points, ther e are two separate scores, an execution score and a difficulty score. In the previous system, the "exe...

Advertising Bias Essay

Marketing and advertising companies are constantly playing on gender roles and stereotypes. Both men and women are portrayed in certain ways to help make products seem more attractive to the same or opposite sex. Men are pictured as lazy, dumb slobs while women are pictured as gentle, beautiful, sexual, and submissive. In children’s ads, boys are shown as rough and interested in action games while girls are more quiet and interested in dolls. Though these stereotypes are not always true, they are what Americans have come to accept about gender and society. Advertisements depend upon painting evocative pictures about these stereotypes in order to entice the consumer to buy the product. Many ads use a sloppy, idiotic, couch potato to appeal to women in products that are commonly used by women such as cooking items and cleaning products. By using the male stereotype, women tend to feel empowered or that they have the upper hand when the usually â€Å"dominant† male is depicted as inferior. While downplaying the male role has become more accepted as a show of politically correct sexism, it is still politically incorrect to do such to women. See more: My Writing Process Essay Some view this as an unfair double standard. Role reversal is often utilized in advertising with women as the focus of the ad. The most common use of stereotyping with women is ads is using them to promote or sell a product through sexual appeal. Whether to a male or female audience, women are portrayed as extremely beautiful and sexy and often in suggestive poses. It attracts men for the obvious reasons, and attracts other women because they aspire to be a certain way or have a certain beautiful quality or feature. Women are also advertised as gentle and submissive in contrast to males. Feminists are against these types of stereotyping because they believe it itemizes women. In society males and females are picked on for their underlying qualities. These qualities have become so widespread and commonplace, today they are considered stereotypes. Companies use these to attract buyers with the idea that they are somewhat better than the opposite sex in some way. The underlying nature in ads points out flaws of men and women and uses them to exploit certain behaviours or mannerisms that will help sell a product with its image.

Grammar Exercise on Denotation and Connotation

This exercise will help you distinguish between the denotative and connotative meanings of words. The denotative meaning of a word is the definition youll find in the dictionary. Theres not a lot of wiggle room when it comes to the interpretation of denotative words—which is why theyre commonly used when its important to ensure what youre writing or saying cannot either be misinterpreted or interpreted in more than one way, and the reason youll often find denotative words in the language of things such as the legal documents, medical papers, scientific studies, and technical manuals (at least, the well-written ones). A connotative word, on the other hand, may have several meanings or nuances—some positive and some negative. Connotative words are the stuff of poetry, fiction, and even advertising. Rather than bringing to mind a concise image, connotative words are used to evoke a certain atmosphere or inspire feelings. Instructions In each of the following sentences, the italicized word has a fairly neutral connotation. For each word in italics, list two synonyms (words with similar denotations): one with a negative connotation and the other with a positive connotation. In addition to reviewing the glossary entries for denotation and connotation, you may find it helpful to read the introduction to Choosing the Best Words: Denotations and Connotations. Example: Sometimes my thin friend annoys me. Negative connotation: scrawnyPositive connotation: slim When you have completed the exercise, compare your answers with the sample responses that follow below. I recognized the familiar smell of my roommates cooking.Scrapple is an inexpensive meal.Kevins interest in model cars has turned into a hobby.Uncle Henry lives in a hut deep in the woods.Phileas Fogg was an adventurous traveler.We stopped for lunch at a diner in West Virginia.My parents are committed, conservationists.My old laptop has finally died.In a quiet and stealthy way, Bartleby moved into the lawyers chambers.The teacher was mildly intimidated by Rolands assertive behavior. Sample Connotative Responses I recognized the familiar  smell  of my roommates cooking. Negative connotation:  stenchPositive connotation:  aroma Scrapple is an  inexpensive  meal. Negative connotation:  cheapPositive connotation:  thrifty Kevins interest in model cars has turned into a  hobby. Negative connotation:  obsessionPositive connotation:  avocation Uncle Henry lives in a  hut  deep in the woods. Negative connotation:  shackPositive connotation:  cabin Phileas Fogg was an  adventurous  traveler. Negative connotation:  foolhardyPositive connotation:  courageous We stopped for lunch at a  diner  in West Virginia. Negative connotation:  greasy spoonPositive connotation:  cafà © or bistro My parents are committed  conservationists. Negative connotation:  tree huggersPositive connotation:  environmentalists My  old  laptop has finally died. Negative connotation:  decrepitPositive connotation:  venerable In a quiet and  stealthy  way, Bartleby moved into the lawyers chambers. Negative connotation:  sneakyPositive connotation:  cunning The teacher was mildly intimated by  Rolands  assertive  behavior. Negative connotation:  bossyPositive connotation:  confident

The Science Of Science Education - 1728 Words

Most children are born with an innate curiosity about the world around them. However, most of these children lose this curiosity somewhere within their education. Specifically when looking at modern science education. The science education of today has various problems such as killing the curiosity of students, which leads to science becoming this rigid field of study that does not allow for excitement, understanding, or the ability to question the science authorities. These problems in science education lead to long term problems of not creating forward thinkers who are committed to driving science for the sake of scientific curiosity as opposed to being driven by personal gain such as money or publication, and an alarming portion of the†¦show more content†¦Then those students who do not care or hold interest in it grow up to be adults who do not care about science as a whole or its impact on the world. Students losing their excitement about science, also could be linked t o the teachers not being as excited about the subject of science they are teaching. So, these students who are have lost their curiosity no longer have excitement about learning science, which leads the teachers to lose their excitement because in learning there must be some kind of rewarding interaction for both the learner and instructor to gain something. This also has a hand in the problem of students and people in general understanding science topics. If students are forced to learn science through methods that lead them to a place where they do not care about science, then the majority of them will not actively participate in learning and retaining the science education they have been provided with. This leads to the a loss of understanding as those students grow up. This is actively seen in the different way science topics come up in our society today. One of the biggest examples is climate change, because it is estimated that a large number of people believe it is a hoax, e ven our own president believes this. Various scientist have put forth evidence to prove that climateShow MoreRelatedThe Science Of Science Education1076 Words   |  5 PagesAs I look back at my science education, I cannot recall a lot of details about my science classes or my science teachers. I tend to have a love/hate relationship when it comes to science. Science is a subject that did not come easily to me. I had to spend a lot of hours each week studying in order to be able to pass the test for that week. Although I spent many hours studying every week for a test, I found myself not being able to recall the information I had studied once the test was over with.Read MoreScience Education And Knowledge Of Science921 Words   |  4 PagesScience Education and Knowledge Despite the distinction being made between the arts and the sciences in the curriculum appearing definite, there are a number of aspects of Science education in primary education which make it more similar than different to music education. The first aspect which provides a link between science and music is the idea of exploration and discovery through science. Contrary to the beliefs of many, science is not only about discovering â€Å"truths† as there are no scientificRead MoreThe Science Of Engineering And Science Education2394 Words   |  10 Pagesengineering and sciences courses due to its important to understand the science of engineering and scientific phenomena. 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Several states have passed regulations that allo w schools to teach both evolution and creationism. The Louisiana Science Education Act, in particularRead MoreScience in Early Childhood Education3184 Words   |  13 Pages(Upgrade NZTC) Course Code: B411a Science in Early Childhood Education This research focuses on science in early childhood education, because as an educator I have always had an interest in science and I often wonder whether I am teaching this topic effectively and correctly for the children. I will define ‘What is science? And I will use a minimum of six articles relating to my topic. What is Science? Duschl, Schweingruber, Shouse, defines science, Science is both a body of knowledge that represents

Data Analysis / Progress Monitoring Results - 2192 Words

Data Analysis/Progress Monitoring Results. After the implementation of the behavior intervention plan strategies over a six-month period, the results of Juan’s academic progress are as follows; the middle of the year assessments that the teacher reported from the beginning of the year in reading, writing and math were positive for Juan’s progress. However, the results at the end of the year this writer was able to conduct in reading, writing, math and running records were outstanding in growth showing significant progress in the academic area as a result of the behavior intervention plan and strategies applied to shape Juan’s behavior during the period of approximately six months. Nevertheless, Juan’s behavior seemed to be anxious at times during these assessments. He was fidgeting and had difficulty waiting for instructions so he sucked his thumb while listening. The student was eager to show how well he was doing academically. Once he knew what was expected of him, he performed confidently. Interpretation of Intervention Results. This researcher was able to conduct, score and report the results of assessments administered to Juan as part of this action research project at the end of the school year. Although, this writer was not able to produce the assessments conducted by Juan’s teacher, she reported that he made significant progress academically from the middle of the year (MOY) assessments in comparison with the assessments at the end of the year (EOY). TheShow MoreRelatedImplementation Of Progress Monitoring On Construction Projects1302 Words   |  6 PagesIntroduction Progress monitoring in construction projects is used in order to monitor the state of a project at a given time. Various methods have been developed throughout the years and employed in order to make the process more efficient and accurate. 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Consistent Performer in the Market

Question: Explain about the Next plc is a consistent performer in the market but the Debenhams is gradually losing their position? Answer: Criterion 1 Tesco plc is one of the largest plc among the retail sectors in UK. The company incorporated in the year 1919 in a small town of London. It has a large collection of women wear and accessories. The company is now operating almost 12 countries in the world. The following income statement is extracted from the annual report of TESCO for the year 2013 and 2014. The table shows that there is some change in the figures for both the years. Consolidated income statement of TESCO plc Particulars 2014( m) 2013 ( m) Change Continuing operations Revenue 63,557 63,406 151 Cost of sales -59,547 -59,252 295 Gross profit 4,010 4,154 -144 Profit and losses arising on property-related items 278 -290 568 Administrative expenses -1,657 -1,482 175 Operating profit 2,631 2,382 249 Finance income 132 120 12 share of post tax profit of joint venture and associate 60 72 -12 Finance cost -564 -517 47 Profit before tax 2,259 2,057 202 Taxation -347 -529 -182 profit for the year from continuing operation 1,912 1,528 384 Discontinued operation Loss from the discontinued operations -942 -1,504 -562 Profit of the year 970 24 946 Attributed to Owners of the parent 974 28 946 Non controlling interest -4 -4 970 24 946 Note: here the change of the figures includes both increase and decline. The positive change includes the increase in the figure from the previous year, and the negative change includes the decrease in the figure from the previous year. Probable reasons for changes Change in revenue The revenue has increased by 151 m. The reason should be either increase in the selling price of the product or increase in the number of units to be sold. Revenue includes some other incomes apart from the sales. It may increase due to some realization of cash from debtors or any other income that may drive in the particular year (Annual report, 2014). Change in cost of goods sold The cost of sales of in the year 2014 has also increased. It indicates that the total cost of producing and selling the product is increased. The reason may be inflation due to which the price increases adoption of new technology in the production process or due to the need of making a quality product in order to compete in the market (Anon, 2013). Change in gross profit The gross profit in the year 2014 has declined by 144 m. The reason that is visible from the annual report is the increase in the cost of goods sold. Though the revenue has also increased but from the above table it is shown that the increases in the revenue is less than the cost increases, so there is a decline in the gross profit. Change in profit and loss of property In the income statement, this change is a positive one, and the change is mainly due to the change in the market price of the assets. If the asset that is sold in the market is very old then its written down value is also very low, and the disposal value create a loss on the sale. Change in administrative expenses It is also a positive change. It means the expenses relating to the salary, office maintenance, etc. increases compared to the previous year. Change in operating profit The company shows a good sign by increasing the operating profit in spite of declining gross profit. The main reason for increasing the operating profit is that in the year 2014 the company has a profit on the sale of property that offset the reduction in gross profit due to more cost of sales. Change in financial income The financial income of the company has increased due to the increase in the interest receivable and the income from cash and cash equivalents. Change in finance cost The finance cost for the current year has increased because the company has to pay more amounts of bank interest and net pension financial cost. Moreover, the interest payment on USD bond is also high in the present year (Shim and Siegel, 2008). Change in PBT The above table represents a positive trend of profit before tax. The probable reason of increasing PBT is due to the increase in operating profits and increase in finance income. Change in tax expense The tax expense is reduced in this year whereas the profit before tax is more. The reason should be a change in the tax rate, or the company may get some rebate or subsidy in this year (Shim, 2009). Change in net profit From the income statement, it is found that there is a drastic change in the net profit of the company. In the year 2013 the net profit was only 24 m, and it has changed to 970 m in the year 2014. The revenue from operation in 2013 is lower than 2014, but the gross profit was high. The main reason for low profit in 2013 is due to heavy loss from its discontinued business. This loss also existed in 2014, but the amount was very high in 2013. Moreover, the taxation expenses were also very high in 2013. These two reasons probably be the main reason for increasing the net profit in 2014 (Zimmerman and Yahya-Zadeh, 2011). Criterion 2 The breakeven point is the point of the output level of a business concern during a certain period at which total sales revenue is exactly equal to the total cost. In other words, it is that point that breaks the total cost and the sales value evenly to show the level of output or sales at which there arises neither profit nor loss (Hoque, 2005). The breakeven point can be better understandable by the following example: Suppose ABC Limited has manufactured a certain product "M" and the information related to that particular product is as follows Selling price $ 20 Variable cost $ 12 Total fixed cost $ 80000 Present output and sales 20000 units Therefore the breakeven point of the product is = (Fixed cost / PV ratio) = (80000/40%) = $ 200000 (BEP in value) = BEP in value / selling price per unit = 200000/20 = 10000 units Following is a chart which represents the detail analysis of the BEP Outputs (units) Variable cost per unit($) Total variable cost($) Total fixed cost($) Total cost ($) Selling price per unit($) Total sales ($) Total profit($) 0 12 0 80000 80000 20 0 -80000 2000 12 24000 80000 104000 20 40000 -64000 4000 12 48000 80000 128000 20 80000 -48000 6000 12 72000 80000 152000 20 120000 -32000 8000 12 96000 80000 176000 20 160000 -16000 10000 12 120000 80000 200000 20 200000 0 12000 12 144000 80000 224000 20 240000 16000 14000 12 168000 80000 248000 20 280000 32000 16000 12 192000 80000 272000 20 320000 48000 18000 12 216000 80000 296000 20 360000 64000 20000 12 240000 80000 320000 20 400000 80000 Explanation From the above table, it is clear that at 10000 units of output the company is having a no profit and no loss situation. At 10000 units, the contribution is just sufficient to meet the total fixed cost. Again, then both the fixed and variable cost can be recovered exactly from the sales revenue without leaving any surplus or deficit (Shapiro and Sarin, 2009). Fixed cost is that type of cost which is remaining same at every level of activity even if there is no production. So it is the part of cost that is fixed in total (Hansen and Mowen, 2006). Now at this point of time if the company can produce more output then per unit fixed cost will be reduced and the company will start to generate more profit. On the other hand, the variable part of the cost varies with the change in the production outputs, and if there is no production, there will not be any variable cost. Now if any company cannot be able to earn that much of revenue to recover its cost, then it will face a loss and ultimate ly tends to the shutdown point. So it is very necessary to produce at least that much of product which can recover its total cost. In the above table, it is observed that before reaching to the breakeven point the company is facing a loss as its total cost cannot be recovered at that much of production and sales. At the breakeven point, the profit and loss are equal to zero because the sales revenue is exactly offset by the total cost of the company (Groot and Selto, 2013). After the breakeven level i.e. after 10000 units the company started to earn a profit and as the number of the unit increases the amount of profit is also increases. The main reason is at 10000 units the company recovers whole of its fixed cost and after that level it has to incur only the variable cost as the variable cost is proportionate to the selling unit, so the profit is also growing. So the breakeven point helps a company to understand the number of the unit that they must produce in order to continue the business. It gives a bird eye view of the profitability and the other affairs of the product (Drs. Sugijanto, 2013). Workings Note 1 Statement showing the contribution and PV ratio Particulars Amount ($) Sales 400000 Less : variable cost 240000 Contribution 160000 Less : fixed cost 80000 Profit 80000 Note 2 PV ratio = (contribution / sales) Contribution 160000 Sales 400000 PV ratio 40% Section 3 criterion 3 Investment appraisal techniques Investment appraisal technique is nothing but the capital investment decision. The techniques are used to evaluate the investment proposals in fixed assets or any other expansion activities. There are several appraisal techniques which either incorporate the time value of money or does not consider that factor. With the help of those techniques it is possible for the company to judge the feasibility of the investment make (Eun and Resnick, 2007). Following Illustration can help to understand how different investment techniques can help in decision making: IC Company has $ 200000 to invest. The following proposals are under consideration. The cost of capital for the company is estimated to be 15%. Project Initial outlay($) Annual cash flow($) Life of the project(Years) A 100000 25000 10 B 70000 20000 8 C 30000 6000 20 D 50000 15000 10 E 50000 12000 20 Present Value of annuity received is as follows: 8 years 4.6586 10 years 5.179 20 Years 6.3345 Now the above investment proposals can be analyzed by the following techniques Net Present value PI Projects life of the project( years) PV factor (15%) Annual cash inflow (constant)($) PV cash inflow ($) Initial outlay ($) NPV ($) PI A 10 5.179 25000 129475 100000 29475 1.29475 B 8 4.6586 20000 93172 70000 23172 1.331029 C 20 6.3345 6000 38007 30000 8007 1.2669 D 10 5.179 15000 77685 50000 27685 1.5537 E 20 6.3345 12000 76014 50000 26014 1.52028 Here Net present value of proposals= PV of cash inflow- Initial investment Profitability index (PI) = PV of cash inflow/ Initial investment Post payback profitability Project Initial outlay ($) Annual cash inflow (constant)($) Payback period (years) life of the project (years) post payback period (years) post pay back profitability ( $) A 100000 25000 4 10 6 150000 B 70000 20000 3.5 8 4.5 90000 C 30000 6000 5 20 15 90000 D 50000 15000 3.33 10 6.67 100000 E 50000 12000 4.17 20 15.83 190000 Here payback period = (Initial investment / Constant annual cash flow) Post payback period = life of the project PB period Post payback profitability = Constant annual cash inflow * post payback period Decision making In investment appraisal process each and every techniques has its own decision making criteria. It may be happened the most viable project under one technique gets second or third rank under another technique. For example in case of above proposals the ranking of the projects are Rank NPV PI Post payback Profitability 1 A D E 2 D E A 3 E B D 4 B A B C 5 C C - Under the NPV method the total cash flow from the project is discounted at its present value and then the initial investment of the project is deducted from that present value. If the result is positive then the project will be accepted and if it is negative then the project will be rejected. In the above example all the projects are having positive value so they are ranked according to the highest NPV as it will give highest surplus. As the company is having $ 200000 to invest so it can select project A, D and E (Granlund, Mouritsen and Vaassen, 2013). The profitability index technique is actually the benefit cost ratio derived from a project. If the PI is more than 1 then the project is accepted. If the proposals are mutually exclusive then the highest positive PI will be given highest rank. In the above example with $ 200000 in hand the company can invest in project D, E, B and a part of project A if the project is divisible (Peterson, Fabozzi and Habegger, 2004). The post payback profitability is the measurement through which it can be known that what would be the amount of profit earned from a project after recovering its initial outlay. The payback period indicate the time within which the initial investment will be recovered. The more post payback period the more will be the profit. So as per the post payback profitability the company should invest in project E, A and D (RIEDL and SRINIVASAN, 2010). There are other techniques also which can be used for the measurement, but here the commonly used techniques are considered. As the decision criteria may differ under different techniques a company should fixed one or two standard technique as per the industry standard in order to get a proper result and to avoid confusion (Danthine and Donaldson, 2005). Criterion 3 Accounting ratios are the mathematical measurement through which the financial stability, profitability and the solvency position of the company is ascertained. The ratios are calculated from the information available in the annual report (Hubbard, 2008). Here two companies from the retail sector of UK is taken into consideration and some useful ratios are calculated for three consecutive years from the data collected from their annual reports. Ratio analysis Next Plc Debenhams Plc 2014 2013 2012 2014 2013 2012 Liquidity Ratios Current assets 1468.1 1207.8 1139.9 486.3 470.5 459.5 Current liabilities 834.5 816 742.4 758 741.9 727 Current Ratio 1.75925704 1.480147 1.5354256 0.6416 0.6342 0.63205 Quick assets 1082.5 876 768 140.6 112.6 127.2 Quick Liabilities 831.9 810.6 734.8 534.2 506 563.6 Quick Ratio 1.30123813 1.080681 1.0451824 0.2632 0.2225 0.225692 Efficiency ratio Total asset 2144.6 1893.6 1854.2 2148.4 2132.8 2091.2 Revenue 3740 3562 3441.1 2312.7 2282.2 2229.8 Asset Turnover Ratio 1.74391495 1.881073 1.8558408 1.0765 1.07 1.066278 Receivables 808 718.1 699.1 74.7 78.3 75.4 Revenue 3740 3562 3441.1 2312.7 2282.2 2229.8 Receivable turnover 4.62871287 4.960312 4.9221857 30.96 29.147 29.57294 Receivable collection period 78.855615 73.58408 74.15405 11.789 12.523 12.34236 payables 594 537.2 545 529.3 545.8 525.4 Cost of goods sold 2499.9 2437 2395.8 2033.4 1982.6 1927.5 Payable payment turnover 4.20858586 4.536485 4.3959633 3.8417 3.6325 3.668633 Payable payment period 86.7274691 80.45876 83.03072 95.011 100.48 99.49209 Inventories 385.6 331.8 371.9 345.7 357.9 332.3 Cost of goods sold 2499.9 2437 2395.8 2033.4 1982.6 1927.5 Inventory turnover 6.48314315 7.344786 6.4420543 5.882 5.5395 5.800481 Inventory Turnover period 56.299852 49.69512 56.658945 62.054 65.89 62.92581 EBIT 720.5 690.9 604.7 118.8 149.9 170.1 Interest 25.3 24.4 25.2 13 10.9 11.8 Interest Coverage Ratio 28.4782609 28.31557 23.996032 9.1385 13.752 14.41525 Debt 1023.9 792 889.1 623 646.5 703.2 Equity 286.2 285.6 16623 767.4 744.4 661 Financial Gearing ratio 3.57756813 2.773109 0.0534861 0.8118 0.8685 1.063843 Equity 286.2 285.6 222.7 764.4 744.4 661 Total asset 2144.6 1893.6 1854.2 2148.4 2132.8 2091.2 Equity Gearing ratio 0.13345146 0.150824 0.1201057 0.3558 0.349 0.316086 Profitability Ratios Gross Profit 1240 1125 1045.3 279.3 299.6 302.3 Revenue 3740 3562.8 3441.1 2312.7 2282.2 2229.8 Gross profit ratio 33.2% 31.6% 30.4% 12.1% 13.1% 13.6% Operating profit 722.8 695.1 601.8 128.6 155.4 175 Revenue 3740 3562.8 3441.1 2312.7 2282.2 2229.8 Operating Profit Ratio 19.3% 19.5% 17.5% 5.6% 6.8% 7.8% Net Profit 553.2 508.6 474.8 87.2 115.9 125.3 Revenue 3740 3562.8 3441.1 2312.7 2282.2 2229.8 Net Profit Ratio 14.79% 14.28% 13.80% 3.8% 5.1% 5.6% (Nextplc.co.uk, 2014) From the above ratio analysis following points can be discussed Liquidity ratio indicates the liquidity position of a firm. Liquidity means the ability to pay cash and cash equivalents when it is required. Liquidity is necessary for smooth running of a business. Poor liquidity position hampers the credit policy of the firm as they may not be able to pay their creditors due in time. On the other side the firm may able to capture new market opportunities if its liquidity position is high. Current ratio and quick ratio are the two important ratios measure the liquidity position (Magiera, 2010). In next plc the current asset ratio is more than 1 but not as much as it should be. It is also in the increasing trend from which it may be predicted that very soon they may reach to the ideal form. In case of current ratio also the Debenhams Company produces a negative image as the current ratio fall below 1. It means the company has more current liabilities to pay than its available current assets (CHEN, MITTENDORF and ZHANG, 2010). Quick ratio as the name indicates is the proportion between the quick assets and quick liabilities. Next plc has moderate quick ratio which is also more than 1. In Debenhams the quick ratio is too low almost 0.22. This clearly indicates that the company is suffering by liquidity crunch (Nextplc.co.uk, 2012). Debenhams Company has a good receivable and payable management policy (Annualreports.com, 2014). The overall condition of the Debenhams is deteriorating as all the ratios are below the standard (Annualreports.com, 2012). The quick ratio of both companies are very low because they have blocked a large amount in inventories they have bank overdraft balances which is also a financial burden (Annualreports.com, 2013). The liquidity, solvency and profitability position of the Next Plc is better than the other one (Nextplc.co.uk, 2013). So from the total discussion made it can be concluded that Next plc is a consistent performer in the market but the Debenhams is gradually losing their position, So they need to focus more on their activities. Lastly it should be remembered that ratio is one of the tools of performance analysis but it is not the only tool, so the other factors should also be considered before giving any final decision. References Annual report. (2014). [online] Available at: https://www.tescoplc.com/files/pdf/reports/ar14/download_annual_repor [Accessed 18 Aug. 2015]. Annualreports.com, (2012).Debenhams plc - AnnualReports.com. [online] Available at: https://www.annualreports.com/Company/debenhams-plc [Accessed 18 Aug. 2015]. Annualreports.com, (2013).Debenhams plc - AnnualReports.com. [online] Available at: https://www.annualreports.com/Company/debenhams-plc [Accessed 18 Aug. 2015]. Annualreports.com, (2014).Debenhams plc - AnnualReports.com. 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