...opportunistic. With the strong Canadian economy positioned for continued growth, a federal budget surplus, and a low Canadian dollar, there will be numerous Canadian companies looking to PE firms for financing. This economic outlook coupled with $180 million of initial capital, EdgeStone will be able to be extremely selective in terms of potential targets, further increasing potential returns while limiting risk. Structure of Fund Type and Size of Investments It is imperative to identify the proper size and type of investments that EdgeStone will be engaging in. In terms of size, exhibit 1 identifies the average Canadian deal size was $1.8 million in 1996. However, as a first time fund with a substantial capital base, it is my recommendation that the average deal size for the first years of operating be around 3% of AUM. This will allow the fund to focus on generating strong returns on a smaller number of investments rather than being spread too thin. In regards to the type of investment, it is my recommendation that EdgeStone become a passive investor, and focus on sourcing deals with companies that are growing rather than struggling. Industry Focus With an underdeveloped supply of capital in Canada, limiting the fund to a specific industry focus could harm potential returns. Geographic Focus With less than 25 PE firms that could qualify as direct competition to EdgeStone, in addition to increasing demand within the Canadian PE industry, there is no need to...
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...A Comparative Study of Walmart Operations in Canada & Mexico Table of Contents 1. Executive Summary…………………………...………………………………...…...2 2. Introduction………………………………………………………………………….3 3. Walmart and the Canadian Marketplace……………………………..…………3 A. Country Competitiveness B. Cultural Environment C. Political and Legal Environment D. Entry Strategies 4. Walmart and the Mexican Marketplace……………………………..………….10 A. Country Competitiveness B. Cultural Environment C. Political and Legal Environment D. Entry Strategies 5. Summary Comparison of Canadian and Mexican Markets…………………….18 6. Recommendation…………………………………………………………………….19 7. References…………………………………………………………………………...21 1. Executive Summary This report closely examines the operations of the world's largest retailer, Walmart, in Canada and Mexico. Assessments of market conditions in both countries have been conducted in terms of country competitiveness, cultural, political and legal environments and the strategies used by Walmart upon entry. Tying into these international business factors, specific aspects of international economic integration, monetary systems, social responsibility and corruption have also been reviewed. While being part of one continent and a common trade bloc (NAFTA, the North American Free Trade Agreement), considerable differences between Canada and Mexico are apparent. These differences are individually analyzed on the following pages. Inevitably, they...
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...Access to Healthcare in the United States Many would argue that here, in the United States, we have the best healthcare in the world. We benefit from the most up to date medical technologies, medications, and services. People come from every corner of the world to take advantage of our top notch physicians and facilities. One would questin is this reputation warranted, and if so, at what cost? These costs rank us among the highest of industrialized nations (Lundy, 2010). Does this high expenditure equate to better outcomes? According to the National Scorecard on US Health System Performance (2008), the US received a 65 out of 100 possible points. Compared with 19 other industrialized nations, the US came in last place in preventable mortality. Preventable mortality means just that, deaths which could have been prevented if “timely and effective care” could have been provided (The Commonwealth Fund on a High Performance Health System, 2008). In 2000, the World Health Organization performed their first ever comparison of the health systems of the world. They reviewed 191 different countries and ranked them on numerous parameters, the United States ranked 37th for overall health system performance (WHO, 2000). Is it that our healthcare system is truly that poor, or is it that our care is only excellent for those patients who can actually afford it? A universal healthcare system would not only provide healthcare for all, it could also decrease our healthcare spending and potentially...
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...EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Deluxe Foods Ltd. (subsidiary of a large US based consumer packaged-food company with annual global sales of more than $2.8 Million) is currently in a pivotal growth and expansion stage of their business cycle. The company has to decide on whether to create a separate marketing plan for one of their corresponding territories (Quebec) or focus on a global strategy for the entire firm. As Quebec and Ontario account for 69% of the total sales (in the amount of $450 Million) for this Canadian subsidiary, it is imperative to develop and customize a marketing campaign for this market. Currently, the Ontario division is functioning adequately (having a central distribution centre in Toronto helps), yet there is opportunity to grow market share in Quebec. This is due to the following factors: * 80% of the market is French speaking * Quebec’s per capita consumption is above the national average * Previous research projects suggest to separate and differentiate the brand from competition * Revise and customize the advertisement plan in the French language * Collaborate with the independent shops Creating an effective marketing plan includes: 1. Set Objectives- Grow the Quebec market share by 10% annually 2. Select Target Market- Sell products in independent mom and pop shops by conducting market research and analysis (SWOT), pricing strategy, promotional campaign 3. Develop Marketing Mix- Price...
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...Canada Homes Corporation Report prepared for: CHC Board of Director Prepared by: Erdell & Co., Management Consultant July 2, 2006 Executive Summary Canadian Home Corporation (CHC), a residential developer in Eastern Canada, was incorporated in 1978 and is well-known in the residential construction industry for quality and innovative design. Currently CHC is experiencing challenges in generating profitable income and meeting shareholder’s objective of annual dividends. It remains unprofitable due to rising material and labor costs, and the cyclical nature of the real estate industry. In addition, quality issues have created negative publicity that threatens the reputation of CHC. The purpose of this report is to analyze strategic and operational issues with CHC and to provide recommendations to improve the performance of the company. CHC’s external opportunities and threats that affect the company’s decision on its strategic alternatives include: increasing popularity of prefabricated housing, high demand of renovation, labor shortage, and a shortage of land available for development. In light of its internal analysis and external environment, CHC must: 1. Pursue renovation services 2. Manufacture prefabricated homes 3. Reject GH’s joint venture proposal 4. Reject rental property development proposal 5. Divest Maritimes Division To mitigate the various operational issues: 1. Declare bankruptcy for its European subsidiary ...
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...Historically speaking, the notion of homosexuality has been the cause of major conflicts for the last two millennia. For centuries, people considered different based solely on their sexual orientation have been shunned, alienated, imprisoned, and, in extreme cases, even murdered all around the world. More specifically, the issue of homosexuality reached its apex in Canada in the post-Confederation era from the 1900s to the 1960s. Throughout those decades, the federal government of Canada placed a huge emphasis on the then entrenched “typical family structure,” consisting of the male breadwinner, the stay-at-home wife, and around two or three children (even more during the post-WWII decades). That being said, homosexuals were viewed as a threat to the heterosexual family structure, which was the fundamental social fabric at the time. It can be argued that the major factor leading to the quest for the decriminalization of homosexuality in Canada was the case of Everett George Klippert in the 1960s. For many federal government politicians at the time, such as Justice Minister Pierre Trudeau (Prime Minister from 1968-1979), Klippert’s case brought to light the imprecision of the laws and legal concepts concerning homosexuals and, by extension, homosexuality as a whole. In the following paragraphs, this essay will first provide a general context of how homosexuals were treated and/or perceived in the first half of the 20th century. Subsequently, an in depth examination of the Wolfenden...
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...Strategic Business Analysis - Tim Hortons 1 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 3 2 TIM HORTONS MISSION AND VISION STATEMENTS 3 2.1 Mission Statement 3 2.2 Vision 3 3 HISTORY 3 3.1 Tim Hortons Brand 4 4 PAST STRATEGY 4 4.1 Merger with Wendy’s International lnc. 4 5 CURRENT STRATEGY 5 5.1 Brand Recognition 5 5.2 Unique Business Model 5 5.3 Market Expansion into the U.S. 6 5.4 Co-Branding – Cold Stone Creamery 7 5.5 Community Involvement (Children’s Foundation) 7 5.6 Coffee Partnership - Working within the Industry Value Chain 8 5.7 Measures Of Performance 9 6 FUTURE STRATEGY 9 6.1 Five Key Points for 2010-2013 Strategic Plans 9 6.2 U.S. Market expansion 10 6.3 Market Leader in Canada 10 6.4 International Strategy 11 7 CONCLUSION 11 8 APPENDIX 12 9 REFERENCES 12 1 Executive Summary A strategic business analysis of Tim Hortons’ restaurant chain was conducted and action plan is recommended. We are the Vice President of Marketing and Chief Financial Officer and presenting this report to the shareholders of Tim Hortons. This report includes a review of Tim Hortons’ past strategies by focusing on its origins from the beginning to the establishment of their valuable “Brand” reputation in Canada. We will perform an analysis of the past, present, and future strategies of the business. 2 Tim Hortons Mission and Vision Statements 2.1 Mission Statement: Our guiding mission is to deliver superior quality products...
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...Secur.ite Business Plan Josh Allen Quincy James Fiifi Woode Yuchen Sun Ahkeem Sealy William McKiggan Table of Contents 1.0 Executive Summary Company Profile Summary ……………………………………………………………………3 Market Research Summary ……………………………………………………………………3 Marketing Summary……….…………………………………………………………………….4 Finance Summary………………………………………………………………………………...4 2.0 Company Profile Goals and Objectives……………………………………………………………………………..5 Business Overview………………………………………………………………………………..5 Company History…………………………………………………………………………………5 Management………………………………………………………………………………………6 Location…………………………………………………………………………………………...6 Legal Structure…………………………………………………………………………………...6 Vision & Mission………………………………………………………………………………….6 3.0 Market Research Industry Profile & Outlook………………………………………………………………………7 Local Market……………………………………………………………………………………...8 Target Market…………………………………………………………………………………….8 Keys to Success……………………………………………………………………………………8 SWOT Analysis…………………………………………………………………………………...9 4.0 Sales & Marketing Pricing Strategy………………………………………………………………………………….10 Marketing Strategy……………………………………………………………………………...10 Positioning Statement …………………………………………………………………………..11 The Sales Process………………………………………………………………………………...11 Strategic Alliances……………………………………………………………………………….11 5.0 Operations Locations…………………………………………………………………………………………12 Legal Issues………………………………………………………………………………………12 Insurance Issues…………………………………………………………………………………13 ...
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...report ....................................................... 4 2.1 Covering letter/memorandum.............................................................. 4 2.2 Title Page............................................................................................. 5 2.3 Executive Summary ............................................................................ 5 2.4 Table of Contents................................................................................. 5 2.5 Introduction ......................................................................................... 6 2.6 Conclusions/recommendations ............................................................ 6 2.7 Findings and discussion........................................................................ 8 2.8 References............................................................................................. 8 2.9 Appendices ........................................................................................... 8 3 Writing your business report ..............................................................10 3.1 Use effective headings and subheadings............................................. 10 3.2 Structure your paragraphs well...
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...RESEARCH - ANALYSIS - SOLUTIONS CCPA R e v i e w E c o n o m i c & S o c i a l Tr e n d s September 2012 Income Inequality in Canada: How does Manitoba compare? Can we do better? The Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives has been documenting the rise in inequality in Canada since 2006. More recently, the Conference Board of Canada and the OECD have confirmed this trend. These organizations also report that inequality in Canada is now increasing faster than is the case in many other countries. In their highly acclaimed 2009 book The Spirit Level: Why More Equal Societies Almost Always Do Better, Wilkinson and Pickett showed the impact of inequality on a variety of measures such as levels of crime, teenage pregnancies, life expectancy and educational achievement (to name a few). The study concluded that countries that are most equal do best. If Canada wants to measure up to more equal countries, the growing gap between rich and poor will need to be addressed. The federal government has the most important role to play in redressing the imbalance. CCPA and others have suggested how poverty and inequality can be tackled through improved policies and programs, and better redistribution of wealth through taxes and transfers at the federal level. But provincial governments also have a responsibility. A recent study in Ontario shows that province to be the most unequal. Our analysis looks at the trend in inequality across Canada with a focus on measuring progress in Manitoba...
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...CHAPTER PART 2 2 Forecasting Demand and Supply FORECASTING DEMAND AND SUPPLY LEARNING OBJECTIVES • • • • • • Understand and select information required to forecast HRP Identify members of the HR planning team Understand the four steps in the HRP process Apply techniques to forecast HR demand and supply Describe various methods for assessing labour planning (quantitative and qualitative) Discuss key challenges in forecasting HR demand and supply 26 Part 2 | Forecasting Demand and Supply ■ PROFILE The Great Pyramid of Giza The Great Pyramid of Giza has fascinated the world for centuries and is revered as one of the greatest mysteries of time. When it was first built it was 145 metres tall, making it the tallest structure on the earth for over 4,300 years. Egyptologists argue that even with all of the human and computer advancements achieved to date, it would be near impossible to replicate the production of these pyramids. The HR planning scale of the project would be among the biggest challenges to face. Archaeologists have their own methods for determining how many workers (mostly slaves) were employed at Giza, but a majority agree that the Great Pyramid was built by approximately 4,000 primary labourers—quarry workers, haulers, and masons. These primary labourers would have been supported by 16,000 to 20,000 secondary workers—ramp builders, tool-makers, mortar mixers, and those providing back-up services such as supplying food, clothing, and fuel. These estimates suggest...
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...NGI is currently undervalued. In connection with this, the management of NGI is considering several means of increasing the shareholders value. Due to difficult economic conditions resulting from the Global Economic Crisis, there are both many opportunities as well as many risks to the alternatives that NGI’s management is considering. This paper will provide both the opportunity to use different valuation methods that will determine the value of the assets of NGI, as well as a discussion of different possible alternatives to increase shareholder value. Furthermore alternative solutions for NGI’s problem will be provided. NGI needs to elaborate by starting an active acquisition strategy or re-organizing its corporate structure with either an updated capital structure or converting to a real estate income trust. The last part of this paper will conclude with several remarks and recommendations for the Chief Financial Officer of Northampton Group Inc., Mr. Patel. These final analyses will undertake in maximizing NGI’s shareholder value. Corporate Mission Northampton’s goal is to be recognized as the best mid-market hotel owner and operator in Canada by delivering professional and personalized service, maintain an engaged staff employing effective operating systems, build, acquire, and continually improve an exceptional portfolio of hotel assets and provide...
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...Essays on Productivity Analysis in the Canadian Tourism and Hospitality Industries by Xiaofeng Li A Thesis presented to The University of Guelph In partial fulfilment of requirements for the degree of |Doctor of Philosophy in Economics Guelph, Ontario, Canada © Xiaofeng Li, December, 2011 ABSTRACT ESSAYS ON PRODUCTIVITY ANALYSIS IN THE CANADIAN TOURISM AND HOSPITALITY INDUSTRIES Xiaofeng Li University of Guelph, 2011 Advisor: Professor David M Prescott This thesis is to investigate the relationship between the productivity in the Canadian tourism and hospitality industries and workforce characteristics, human resources management practice, technology change. The productivity analysis is conducted with different measures of productivity, such as labour productivity and total factor productivity. The first chapter is to calculate labour productivity using the Canadian National Tourism Indicator (NTI) and the Canadian Human Resource Module of Tourism Satellite Account (HRM) for six tourism industries during the period 1997-2008 and to estimate an econometric model of labour productivity. Labour productivity is found to increase with the capital labour ratio, the proportion of part-time hours, the share of immigrant workers and by the proportion of the most experienced workers. The second chapter decomposes the total factor productivity growth for the Canadian tourism/hospitality industries with dynamic factor demand models which is estimated with nonlinear Full Information...
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...Kingston, ON K7L 3N6 www.queensu.ca/sps Peter Hicksi Social Policy in Canada – Looking Back, Looking Ahead This paper discusses recent policy trends, the changing role of the various actors in the system, international comparisons and a range of other social policy topics. The immediate purpose of the paper is to examine the reasons why social policy analysts need to look into the future, and to explore ways of managing the inevitably large risks associated with such future-looking exercises. The underlying purpose, however, is simply to introduce a range of important Canadian social policy topic to students and others who are interested in social policy, but without much previous background in the areaii. The first part of the paper was taken directly from a 1994 presentationi that was intended to provide outside social policy experts (from Latin America in this case) with an overview of the Canadian social policy landscape, particularly of recent trends and possible future directions, mainly from a federal government perspective. At that time, major reform of social security policies was being discussed and I tried to give our visitors some flavour of the background to that reform, with particular emphasis on the i Peter Hicks was with the department of Human Resources Development Canada at the time of the 1994 paper which forms the basis of Part I of the present paper. The following year he left the Government of Canada to join the OECD in Paris. ii Indeed, this...
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...Table of Contents Executive Summary………………………………………………………….…………………….....4 Concept and Objectives…………...…………………………………………………..………………5 2.1 Original Services/goals and objectives………………………………………………….………5 2.2 Diversification concept……….……………………………………………………….………..5 2.4 The Management Team……………….………………………………………………………..5 Industry and Market Analysis……………………….………………………………………………...6 3.1 Industry Overview…………………………………….………………………………………..6 3.2 Industry Key Success Factors………………………………….……………………………….6 3.3 Forces, technological, government…………………………………….………………………..6 3.4 Research on your Target Market……………………………………………….……………….7 3.5 Market potential, competition..…………………………………………………………………7 3.6 Summary - The Opportunity………….………..……………………………………………….8 Marketing Plan………...…………………………….…………………………………………….…9 4.1 Marketing Strategy…………………………………….…………………………………...…..9 4.1.1 Social Media Marketing.……….…….…………………….………………………….…..9 4.1.2 Business Listings Online……….…….…………………………….…………………….10 4.1.3 Promotional……...…………….……..…………………………………….…………….10 4.2 Marketing Segment…...…………….…………………………………………………….…...11 4.3 Unique Selling Point…………….…………………………………………………………….11 4.4 Marketing Mix………………………….……………………………………………………..11 4.4.1 Product……...…………….………………......………………………………………….11 4.4.2 Price……...…………………………..…………….…………………………………….12 4.4.3 Place……...…………………………..…………………….…………………………….12 ...
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