...don’t get often, but many pioneers caught these nasty diseases on there long, hard trek to California. In 1847, the US defeated Mexico in their fight for California and other territory in the Western US. One year later in 1878, the first nugget of gold was found in California as US territory. This gold nugget sparked millions to take the long trek to California seeking riches in gold. Many people traveled by boat coming from China, Peru, Mexico and many other places along with the settlers of the East in the US. The pioneers during the trek to the California Gold Rush had faced numerous challenges on there way to California including...
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...CASE ANALYSIS: U.S. PIONEER ELECTRONICS CORP. Statement of the Problem Just at the time when Pioneer America has achieved a high level of customer awareness for its products, the company faces an overall erosion of dealer support for Pioneer products. If this problem grows worse, it will place the company’s distribution network in limbo and inevitably result in sharp drops in sales volumes. To combat this problem, U.S. Pioneer must develop both a short-term strategy for coping with dealer-retaliation (as evidenced by the Audio Warehouse’s and other actions), and a long-term strategy for building an effective distribution network. Analysis Approximately 3,600 retailers carry Pioneer products under a franchise agreement with U.S. Pioneer. The majority of these retailers fall into the category of hi-fi specialty stores, which provide their customers with professional sales assistance and after-sales support. As of 1977, specialty hi-fi stores accounted for 75% of all U.S. Pioneer dollar sales. Although U.S. Pioneer provides marketing support to its franchised retailers through both its sales representative offices and its nationally-based advertising campaign (the company allocates 5% of sales to local ads featuring its products), the hi-fi specialty retailers have come to believe that the company has “abandoned” them and through its pricing policies made it difficult for them to make an adequate profit on Pioneer products. The root of the problem can be...
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...of a Pioneer, and Oliver Goldsmith’s The Lonely Settler, the imagery of Canada’s first pioneer and first encounters of Aboriginal people of Canada is shown. The depiction of the pioneer is someone tough, hard working, determined, and passionate; all of which are characteristics people would determine as positive to have. The pioneer is inspired to create a better life for himself and for his family, and to find freedom. They come to Canada with the expectations that the land is empty and free to be conquered. However, once they get to Canada, the reality of the climate and land becomes present, and the pioneer is now faced with the threat of the unknown. The First Nation’s is portrayed as a threat...
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...only affect the structure of the organisation, shareholding but also the human element in the organisations concerned. The shareholders will be affected in that some will lose their shares or stocks whilst the shareholders of the gain new stock or shares and the shareholding structure will also change. At the management level changes also occur with management shifts some losing their jobs and other being offered new opportunities. The aftermath of mergers impact the workers mostly in that they have to accept new superiors, new co-workers, new vision and missions, some lose their jobs and the remaining workforce has to unlearn their former culture so as to embrace the new culture of the new organisation. In the case of Pioneer and Unifreight (Swift), Pioneer Corporation Africa had been in business for over 100 years and is listed on the stock exchange. The company majored in transportation but with subsidiaries in freight and logistics having sub units as Pioneer coaches (Zimbabwe, SA, and Botswana), Pioneer logistics, Skynet worldwide express, and Pioneer Clan Freight. Swift on the other hand had been in business for over 60 years dealing in road freight and distribution...
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...Benefits of Pioneer Generation Package Healthcare cost is expensive for elderly because they are likely to fall sick and require medical care and treatment. Elderly face financial burden on medical care expenses as most of them are retire and with no source of income. On 21 February 2014, Deputy Prime Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam announced Pioneer Generation Package which will benefit around 450,000 elderly to ease the burden of their healthcare expenses. Pioneer Generation Package is good scheme to take care of pioneers’ health. Pioneer Generation Package is for the first generation of Singaporean working and living in Singapore during Singapore independent. The pioneer generation has contributed a lot in building Singapore as a nation. Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said that it is to “sincere expression of our gratitude” (2014, p. 1) to the pioneers. $8 billion funds have been pumped into the package by the government. With this package not only it will reduce pioneers’ medical expense, it would help them to use the money in other needs and bring down the burden on their children. To be fit into this Pioneer Generation Package, they need to be aged 65 years old or above this year which also mean born in 1949 or above and another critical is they became Singapore citizens before 1987. If citizen missed by a day or more to reach the critical to get the Package, citizen can go appeal for it. There will be 3 main components of the package and they are outpatient care...
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...7.2% per year in 70s and declined in 80s to 6.8% per year • In 90s demand increased to 7.49 millions per ton which gave hope of its future growth but due to economic crises and bad management of economy it only touched 9.91 millions by 2000. SLIDE 5 • Lower demand statistics depressed cement industry • In past there was less difference between new and old manufacturers but now in modern times and due to modern techniques new players and old players differ drastically which will effect future performance. SLIDE 6 • In our analysis we are focusing on two main players of cement industry • Maple leaf cement Ltd and Pioneer Cement Ltd SLIDE 7 • Maple leaf is subsidiary of Kohinoor Maple Leaf Group (KMLG) which is ranked in the top companies. • Maple leaf Cement is one of the pioneers of Cement industry in Pakistan, • It was established in 1956 by West Pakistan dev. Corp. with plant of capacity of about 300,000 tons clinker per year • It exports cement in both local and foreign markets. SLIDE 9 • It deals with Sulphate resistant cement (This type of cement is used in concrete for flues and underwater work.) • Low alkali cement (A portland cement containing a relatively small amount of sodium or potassium or both.) • Oil well cement (Oil-well cements are used for cementing work in the drilling of oil wells where they are subject to high temperatures and pressures) • ONLY MAPLE LEAF IS LOCAL...
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...Life on the Oregon Trail was difficult to all pioneers. It took day’s maybe weeks to get ready for the journey. A family of four would have to have over a thousand of pounds of food to survive the very long journey. To travel this long journey pioneers needed a wagon to travel. They needed a wagon because they would need to carry all of that food. Before starting the trip most pioneers had cholera. A lot of pioneers died having it and some were lucky to get better. When it was time to travel there would be huge traffic jams. Some pioneers were not trained. This means that they couldn’t control their ox’s. So most of the time the wagon will run into a tree or the ox will take the wagon in the wrong direction. Only a couple of miles into the journey pioneers noticed that they packed to much stuff into their wagon. So they decided to throw stuff along the way. Settlers from the jump off towns picked up the stuff. Most of the stuff was baconflour & iron stoves. Crossing rivers was one of the most stressful things in the journey. Hundreds died trying to cross some rivers. Those rivers are called the Kansas, North Platte, and Colombia Rivers. Many pioneers walked the 2,000 mile journey. That’s because they overloaded their wagons. In 1850 37 settlers drowned crossing the Green River. The wagons weren’t 100% safe. It didn’t have no safe features. Therefore if someone fell out the wagon death was instant. A diary quoted “A little boy fell over the front end of the wagon during our...
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...Be that as it may, even as well as can be expected take in a thing or two about how to move their group. Thankfully, some of our best and brightest pioneers all through history deserted some extraordinary sound bites to help lead the way. Here are a portion of the best quotes on the most proficient method to be a superior pioneer, sorted by the top authority characteristics they portray. This awesome guidance from some of our most uplifting pioneers very well might make you reconsider your present initiative procedure, recharge your enthusiasm to lead, or point...
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...PIONEER NATURAL RESOURCES versus LAREDO PETROLEUM INC. Financial Statement Analysis and Decision Making Activity Background: PIONEER NATURAL RESOURCES Pioneer Natural Resources (PXD) is a large independent company that focuses primarily on drilling oil and gas exploration, with executive offices located in Irving, Texas. The company was formed in Delaware in 1997, with executive offices located in Irving, Texas. One of the company’s main focuses is to be competitive and to be profitable, so as to develop and produce oil and gas reserves. One way they gain competitive advantage is by employing well-trained and experienced personnel who enable efficient decision-making. The company has a sound development and production strategy. The company focuses efforts towards maximizing its average oil production, NGL’S (Natural, gas, and liquids), gas production through development drilling, production enhancement activities, and acquisition of producing properties. The Company is always looking for ways to improve on oil and gas reserves, and its production through development drilling and conducting other production activities. (Well Recompletions) Pioneer Natural also engages in other activities such as: Exploratory, Integrated, and Acquisition activities. The way the company penetrates its integrated services is to control drilling, operating costs, and to support the execution of its drilling program and operating services. One of the last...
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...he made the Louisiana Purchase and sent Meriwether Lewis and William Clark to explore. After eighteen months in the wilderness, Lewis and Clark believed a practical path across the United States had been found. Unfortunately, the path was too rough for wagons. Although the explorers did not find an easy route to Oregon, Lewis and Clark discovered a lot about the previously unknown land. Other explorers found a route for wagons to follow, and travel on the Oregon Trail began. Life on the trail consisted of pre-travel preparation, numerous hardships, and several interesting actions that reflect the realities of life for Oregon Trail pioneers. After deciding to follow others...
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...Background: The Pioneer Petroleum Corporation is a hydrocarbons-based company, concentrating on oil, gas, coal, and petrochemicals. One of the critical problems confronting management and the board of Pioneer was the determination of a minimum acceptable rate of return on new capital investments. The company's basic capital budgeting approach was to accept all proposed investments with a positive net present value when discounted at the appropriate cost of capital. Further, the company is contemplating using either multiple cutoff rates instead of a single companywide rate to determine the cost of capital for each division. The suggestion was that these multiple cutoff rates would determine the minimum acceptable rate of return on proposed capital investments in each of the main operating areas of the company and would represent the rate charged to each of the various profit centers for capital employed. Issues: Did Pioneer compute WACC correctly and if not what did they do wrong? Compute your own. How should the company determine a minimum rate of return: by (1) a single cutoff rate based on the company's overall WACC or (2) a system of multiple cutoff rates that reflect the risk-profit characteristics of the several businesses? Analysis: Pioneer Petroleum Corporation did not calculate the WACC correctly. Starting with the cost of debt, the formula is Kd = I(1 T) where I is the interest rate and T is the tax rate. The company's tax rate is 34%, however...
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...My group and I chose to do the planet Venus and the missions that were done to get information about the planet. The mission that I chose to do was Pioneer Venus. It was part of the Pioneer program, which consisted of two spacecraft’s, the Pioneer Venus Orbiter and the Pioneer Venus Multi-probe. The program was managed by NASA’s Ames Research Center. Before explaining the mission and what I learned about it, lets focus on Venus for a bit and learn about the background of the planet. Next to the sun and moon Venus is the third brightest in the sky. By the size and mass it can be said to be the sister planet to Earth because they are so similar to each other. Also it is the closest planet to Earth. Clouds formed from sulfuric acid...
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...Total Quality Pioneers Total Quality Pioneers Quality is something people always look in particular products and services. The quality of the service is what cause businesses to have repeat customers. On the other hand, if the quality is poor then most people will not return. The paper will define what quality, the elements, is and how the elements made the total quality pioneers successful. Most people define quality in different ways, views and aspects. People measure quality based on results and service they made receive. Quality is defined as “a dynamic state associated with products, services, people, processes, and environments that meets or exceeds expectations and helps produce superior value” (Goetsch & Davis 2010). What people looks for in quality changes over time as products and services become more advance. The elements of quality are: vision, objectives, mission, education, and training. The quality pioneers became successful due to using various views and concepts to utilize the elements of total quality. The pioneers developed fundamental strategies which they used to have them to achieve in their fields. Today, some of the same strategies they created are used to help train individuals. W. Edwards Deming, one of the quality pioneers believed to be the founder of the quality improvement movement. The cycle Deming developed consist of: plan, do, act, check, and analyze. The pioneers was successful because of their vision to improve...
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...CASE: Pioneer Petroleum I. Does Pioneer estimate its overall weighted average cost of capital correctly One could argue that their assumption of debt policy staying same (12%) isn't very good since all estimates predict on growing investments worth billions during the next year. In addition, a closer analysis of the sources of the infromation shows that the return on equity (10%) is just an assumption made based on current earnings yield. Their first alternative would have been using divident and growth information, but the most accurate way is using the CAPM. CAPM = | rf+B(rr-rf) | 14,56 | | | | New WACC | (1-TC)*(rD*D)+(rE*E)= | 11,24 | rf | 7,8 | B | 0,8 | rm | 16,25 | This new CAPM based cost of capital is much higher than Pioneers estimation of 9%, so their calculations are incorrect. II. Should Pioneer use a single or multiple divisional costs of capital in evaluating projects? If multiple rates are used, how they should be determined? Because Pioneer Petroleum has divisions in many different economical sectors each having different kind of risk structure and investment strategies, I would recommend using multiple rates of capital costs. The idea of discounting in general is to divide the cash flow of a project with its riskiness and a company-wide discount rate definately wouldn’t tell anything about the risk involved in a specific investment in one of the different divisions. Instead, these multiple discount rates should be determined...
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...Pioneer Petroleum is a multinational corporation that is in position to capitalize on investments all around the World. Within the industry Pioneer’s gasoline are among the cleanest burning fuels. They are better position than most to meet strict environmental guidelines as they currently have clean efficient running plants positioned to capitalize on less polluted products. Also Pioneer Petroleum is heavily involved in exploration and devilment. From 1924 to the present, pioneer has been able to expand both vertically and diversify horizontally. With such resources and capital, the company has to oversee so many opportunities and ventures. Presently the company is at odds over whether they should use a company wide cut off rate based on the overall weighted average cost of capital or if Pioneer should use multiple rates that reflect risk-profit characteristics of the several businesses or economic sectors. At first we must decide if the methodology used in computing the company’s overall weighted average cost of capital is just. Second, we should decide in which terms Pioneer adheres to future investments. Should they adjust discount rates for different divisions and projects and stay away from a universal cutoff rate? Third, the capital budgeting criteria must be set for different projects across Pioneer’s divisions. What distinctions among projects need to be noted and how the standards should be determined are all questions that arise from judging how to proceed forward...
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