Symbols and Symbolism in F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby :: Great Gatsby Essays

Symbolism in The Great Gatsby F. Scott Fitzgerald tried to accent the point that money does not breed happiness. Money causes people to become envious, greedy, and jealous. It compels people to show a persona of arrogance and creates a haze of fog in the air of the world around them. They begin to become oblivious of the outside world and think of themselves as a higher being. This causes lack of acceptance for their responsibilities. I thing the author was also trying to show us that sometimes one can hold on to a dream for so long, and try so hard to achieve it that it can leave you in misery instead of happiness. Creating the reverse of it's intent. F. Scott uses a color scheme to show many emotions of characters in this story. The ultimate factor for almost every action within the story is money, the color green. This color shows the envy, greed, and jealousy that make up this story. Green is not only the color of money and the color most notably associated with greed, but it is also the color of the light on Daisy's dock. The same dock light that Gatsby spent so many nights gazing at. This is no coincidence, F.S.F. wanted to express to his readers the symbolism behind the color. Gatsby envied Tom because he knew that Daisy needed a wealthy man to take care of her. And as he was building his wealth, Gatsby would look over the lake toward that green light with envy and await the day he would be good enough for Daisy. The use of white, in reference to Daisy's wardrobe, symbolizes her laziness and uselessness within the story. She is completely devoid of any knowledge of the outside world, always lost in pointless thought. Something that I found quite apparent was her obviously shallow, money grubbing motives. For example, when she is taken into Gatsby's home for a tour, she is shown Gatsby's beautiful imported shirts. Daisy begins to cry, saying that these shirts are so beautiful. But what she is really expressing is her envy and jealousy of Gatsby's new riches and all of his elaborate material possessions. One form of symbolism that I found very interesting was Scott's use of the billboard ad containing the huge eyes of one Dr.

Business ratios and formulas a comprehensive guide Essay

Net profit margin of the company shows how much the profit after-tax profit made by a business for every $1 generated in revenue or sales (Bragg, 2008). A higher net profit margin is better in comparison to that of its competitors. In 2011 and 2012, Tesco was more profitable followed by Morrison’s Supermarkets PLC. However, in 2013, Morrison’s Supermarkets PLC was more profitable followed by Sainsbury.Roce This financial ratio measures the profitability and efficiency of a company with which its capital is employed (Bragg, 2008). In 2011, Tesco was more profitable than Morrison’s Supermarkets PLC and Sainsbury. The following year, it was overtaken by Morrison’s Supermarkets PLC while Sainsbury remained the least profitable. In year 2013, Morrison’s Supermarkets PLC was the most profitable company followed by Sainsbury. Return on Equity – ROE             Return on equity shows how much profit a firm earned compared to the total amount of shareholder equity as contained in the balance sheet (Horrigan, 2010). In 2011, Tesco made a higher profit than Morrison’s Supermarkets PLC and Sainsbury. It was Morrison’s Supermarkets PLC . in year 2012 Morrison’s Supermarkets PLC and Sainsbury reported a higher profit compared to the previous year while Tesco reduced it profitability. However, the three companies reported lower profit in 2013 than in 2011 and 2012. Morrison’s Supermarkets PLC was more profitable followed by Sainsbury in 2013. Gross Profit Margin             It is used to assess company’s financial health by showing the proportion of money that is left over from sales revenue after deducting the cost of goods sold. It shows the financial health of a company (Jenkinson, 2011). In 2011, Tesco had the highest financial health followed by Morrison’s Supermarkets PLC. In year 2012, all the three companies reported lower gross profit margin. Morrison’s Supermarkets PLC and Sainsbury have had a stable gross profit margin.Net asset turnover This is a financial measurement intended to measure how a company turns its assets into revenue (Horrigan, 2010). In 2011, Sainsbury was the most efficient company in turning assets into revenue compared to Morrison’s Supermarkets PLC and Tesco. Tesco was performed the least in turning assets into revenue. In 2012, all the three companies had a lower net asset turnover with Sainsbury having the higher ratio followed by Morrison’s Supermarkets PLC. In 2013, Tesco and Sainsbury increased their ratio while Morrison’s Supermarkets PLC’s ratio decreased. Sainsbury still had the highest ratio followed by Morrison’s Supermarkets PLC.Efficiency and effectiveness Ratios Asset turnover ratio             This is a ratio of a firm’s sales to its assets. It is an efficiency ratio that shows how successfully a company uses its assets to generate revenue. A comparison of asset turnover ratio for the three companies shows that in 2011 Sainsbury was the most efficient company followed by Tesco in turning assets into revenue. In 2012, Tesco showed a decrease in efficiency which the other two companies increased they’re efficient. All the three companies increased their efficiency in using assets to generate sales with Morrison’s Supermarkets PLC having the highest ratio followed by Sainsbury (Jenkinson, 2011). The debtor’s day’s ratio             It is a measure of how quickly cash is collected from debtors. Different periods are compared for the same company since it is less meaningful since results largely depend on the nature of the business. Tesco is the most efficient company in collecting cash. Morrison’s Supermarkets PLC and Sainsbury have also been decreasing the number of days with Tesco having a lower collection period (Novak, 2009). Supplier credit days This shows the number of days that a company takes to pay its suppliers (Novack, 2009). In 2011 and 2012, the numbers of days for Morrison’s Supermarkets PLC and Sainsbury has been increasing which can be a sign of financial hardship or increase confidence of suppliers on the company. Tesco has a high ratio which could be a sign of a financial crisis. Stock holding period             It refers to the period between the purchase of a product and its sale. There is a general decrease in the stock holding period for the three companies indicating an improvement in investment performance. Sainsbury have the highest holding period followed by Morrison’s Supermarkets PLC (Palmer, 2013). Liquidity and capital ratiosQuick Ratio             This determines if the company has resources to pay its short term liabilities with its liquid assets. The analysis shows that Morrison’s Supermarkets PLC has the highest ability to pay its short-term debt followed by Sainsbury (Peles, 2008). Quick ratio             It measures how a company can use its near cash or quick assets to retire its current liabilities immediately. Analysis shows that Morrison’s Supermarkets PLC has the highest ability to convert its near cash items into cash in order to pay the debt followed by Sainsbury.Gearing ratiosDebt/equity ratio It shows how a company finances its growth. Sainsbury has the highest debt in its capital structure compared to Tesco and Morrison. Tesco has the least debt ratio (Peles, 2008). Times interest covered             This ratio is a measure of number of times a business can make the interest payments with its earnings on its debt before interest and taxes. Morrison has the lowest possibility of bankruptcy followed by Sainsbury. Capital gearing ratio             It measures financial strength of a company. Tesco is a high risky investment to investors. In 2013, Morrison was second after Tesco in terms of riskiness. Investors expect a high return in the future in Sainsbury compared to Morrison and in Tesco. Dividend yield             It shows how much a company pays out the shareholders in divided relative to share price. Sainsbury have the highest dividend yield showing that investors get a lot of funds for investing in Sainsbury. When share price increases, shares with high dividend yield earn more cash. Investors who need cash prefer investing in shares that have high dividend yield. Dividend cover             This shows the number of times dividends of a company paid to shareholders can be paid out of annual profits after tax. It is an indication of the probability which shows that dividends can be maintained in the future. In 2013, Morrison had the highest divide cover followed by Sainsbury (Shimerda, 2011).Corporate strategy Morrison’s Supermarkets PLC can increase its profitability by using Tesco as a benchmark for its operations. This is because Tesco has a higher net profit margin and Return on capital employed. Morrison’s Supermarkets PLC has not been effectively in efficiently utilizing their assets in generating more revenue. It should ensure that acquisitions are attractive and that they help the company increase its return. It should also ensure that they produce better products and services in order to combat competition. Some assets should also be sold. Morrisons Supermarkets PLC should also reduce the amount of debt from their capital structure. This is because it ranks second after Tesco in terms of capital gearing ratio. Debtor’s collection period should be reduced to a minimum. References Bragg, S. M. (2008). Business ratios and formulas a comprehensive guide. Hoboken, N.J.: Wiley. Horrigan, J. O. (2010). Financial ratio analysis: an historical perspective. New York: Arno Press. Jenkinson, N. H. (2011). Investment, profitability and the valuation ratio. London: Economics Division, Bank of England. Novack, D. E. (2009). Liquidity Ratios And Recent British Monetary Experience. The Journal of Finance, 13(4), 510-526. Palmer, J. E. (2013). Financial ratio analysis. New York, N.Y.: American Institute of Certified Public Accountants. Peles, Y. C., & Schneller, M. I. (2008). Liquidity Ratios and Industry Averages-New Evidence. Abacus, 15(1), 13-22. Schmidgall, R. S., & Defranco, A. L. (2009). Ratio Analysis: Financial Benchmarks for the Club Industry. The Journal of Hospitality Financial Management , 12(1), 1-14. Shimerda, T. A. (2011). Financial ratios as predictors of profitability. Ann Arbor, Mich.: University Microfilms International. Source document

Carl Robins- Case Study

Introduction The case study of Carl Robbins reveals a company and an employee who is unprepared to welcome properly, new employees into the company environment in an effective and meaningful way. Chris Traynor, a board-certified SPHR (Senior professional of human resources) relates it this way, â€Å"A botched orientation is almost always a top-down problem, regardless of who might have the everyday responsibility of training the new hire. It is a mystery when you consider what is already known about the true value of good employees and just how difficult and costly it can be to attract them to your business (2008). The orientation of new employees is critical to their early performance and the retention of the new employees over the long term. Orientation should involve HR, training, and the supervisors of the new employees in an organized manner in order that the transition into the new role or department will be graceful, but impactful (Giacalone, 2009). Preparation was missing b efore Carl Robbin became a recruiter for ABC, Inc. Background Key Problems Find new location for orientation Complete all missing transcripts and incomplete applications Mandatory drug screen must be scheduled Complete orientation manual with only 17 days left Table 1. Details of orientation to be prepared (University of Phoenix, 2009) New location New employee’s missing documents Mandatory Drug Screen Orientation Manual Alternative and proposed solutions New Location Call a local hotel where he can meeting to conduct his new employee orientation. Reserve the room that Joe booked either in the am or pm after the computer training class. Find a new facility where they can conduct a meeting. Call a local restaurant where he can reserve a room to continue the new class orientation. Complete missing transcripts and incomplete applications Carl should begin by contacting each individual as necessary and work on each one to make sure that the mandatory drug test is completed by June 15th. Consolidate a list of the individuals that are still missing information and submit the information to Mrs. Carrol to assure her that this is going to be completed as promised. Schedule a time where they can come in and fill out the missing paperwork. Start sending out an email to every student who needs to have this completed by June 15th. Make sure that the new employees submit the missing transcripts before June 10th Drug screen appointments Contact the Human Resource department where they can begin scheduling appointments for the new employees to get have this resolved. Schedule a conference call where he can explain the importance of the matter. Inform all new employees that if this is not resolve before June 15th, then they cannot attend the class and it will delay their start date with the company. Incomplete orientation manuals Over the past years, this is not something new that Carl is facing and he needs to take action immediately and address it to the right personnel. A company as big as ABC, Inc. might have old manuals that he can use, but he will need to contact the main office to request these materials. Below are some of the solutions to this problem. Call the office to have this ordered or reprinted Begin by getting a copy of it and make enough copies for everyone. Once he gets a hold of a legit copy he needs to save if to his file for future reference. Review all material and make any necessary changes if needed. Conclusion The concern that Carl Robbin has implied in the scenario needs to be replaced by action and planning. The facts remain that the time is short. Promises have been made to facilitate the orientation in a certain time frame. Completion of the project is necessary to fulfill the goals set by the supervisor and as personally set by Robbins. This project can be completed on time and with an acceptable level of quality. Whereas some additional expense may be incurred if a conference room must be rented, it is likely a minor expense when the cost of recruiting is considered. The additional stress and poor pre-planning will be a learning experience. ABC, Inc. and Robbin will be better prepared in the case of another recruiting drive after the experience considered in this scenario. References: _http://www. criticalthinking. org_ http://find. galegroup. com/itx/start. do? prodId=ITOF. University of Phoenix. (2009). Case study for student analysis . Retrieved from University of Phoenix, COM215 Essentials of College Writing website.