The Process Of Mandatory Requirement Samples †MyAssignmenthelp.com

Question: Discuss about the Process Of Mandatory Requirement. Answer: Introduction and Thesis Statement The process of mandatory requirement is also called enforced environment. It is a process through which people holding certain officers and jobs at a certain age are asked to resign by thevirtue of law or industrial custom. The process of mandatory requirement can be justified by providing an argument that a few occupations may become too dangerous for a person of a particular age group or the person of a certain age group may not possess the level of mental and physical skill required to do the Job. Another notion on which the employers rely upon is that the capability and productivity of a person declines significantly when the person reaches the age of 70 (Mulders et al., 2014). The process of mandatory requirement is introduced as a way of preventing the decline in productivity for the employer. On the other hand the age at which a person has to retire mandatorily is in most cases arbitrary in nature and is also not in relation to the evolution of person physically. Therefore the process of mandatory retirement is often treated as an act of ageism or age discrimination (Schlachter, 2011). The thesis statement of this essay is that Mandatory Retirement in Canada is not ethical and the Employers should not be able to Force Older Employees to Retire. The paper discusses the summery of the legal issues in relation to mandatory requirement. The paper provides an argument against the concept of mandatory retirement in the light of legal and ethical framework. The paper also provides arguments which have been made in favor of mandatory retirement process. The paper then compares and contrasts the different views to come to a proper conclusion. Legal framework for Mandatory retirement: Ageism In order to understand the legal framework in relation to mandatory retirement the reason why such retirement caused needs to be analyzed based on the theory of Ageism and Discrimination. Weinberg and Scott (2013) has defined ageism as the process of discrimination against and stereotyping of groups and individuals based on their age. The process may be systematic or causal. This term had been coined for the first time by Robert Neil Butler in 1969 in order to describe the discrimination which takes place in relation to seniors. According to Butler Ageism is a combination of three elements which are connected to each other. These elements are the prejudicial attitude which others have towards the people of old age and ageing process, practices of discrimination against old people and institutional policies and practices which perpetuate stereotypes in relation to elder people. Ageism is social evil in the same was as discrimination. Article 718.2, clause (a)(i), of the Criminal Code In Canada provides meaning as those aggravating situations among other conditions "evidence that the offence was motivated by age" (Szinovacz, 2013). Thus the concept of ageism itself is illegal in Canada which it is applied in different situations. Discrimination Age discrimination results out of actions which are take for the purpose of limiting or denying opportunity to a group or individual based on their age. According to Botwinick (2013) age discrimination is the action which has been taken in relation to ageist belief or attitude of a person to provided unfair treatment to a person based on his or her age as compared to others. This form of discrimination takes place in both institutional and personal level. A person who is only may be directed to restrain from certain activities as they are too old to do so such as playing a physical game. On an institutional level a person who is old may be asked to quit a particular job as they are now considered an unfit to carry out the activity which has been doing as a major part of their life. This is where the process of mandatory retirement comes into the context and therefore is directly related to concept of age discrimination (Boisclair, Lusardi Michaud, 2017). In Canada the provisions in relation to age discrimination can be identified in the Charter of Rights and Freedoms which is applicable on all government entities and jurisdictions. According to the equality clause contained in section 15(1) of the Charter all individuals are to be considered as equal under and beforelaw and must be provided the right to equal protection and benefits of the legal system without any discrimination based on national or ethnic origin, race, religion, sex, color, disability or age. All provinces along with the federal government have in place anti-discriminatory measures against age. In addition all jurisdictions consists of human rights legislations which prohibits any form of discrimination including that of age. One of such primary provisions is that which are provided through section 5(1) of the Ontario Human Rights Code. The code specifically provides rules in relation to age discrimination in the field of employment. According to the section all individuals have the right of equal treatment in the field of employment without any form of discrimination including that of place of origin, creed, citizenship, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, disability and marital status. The code defines age as the age which is more than 18 years. In addition the decision was also not applicable on people who are more than the age of 65 prior to 2006. However such provisions have been repealed to address the major issue of age discrimination in the work place (Kim Klassen, 2015). The section which prohibits discrimination in employment is widely applicable on every person. This signifies that the section is applicable on any person who is in an employment relationship. The employment can be of any from like permanent, casual or temporary. In the given situation it is clear those mandatory retirement schemes are not legal as they are a direct from of age discrimination. Thus it can be state that where the employees are forced to retire by the employer as they have reached a certain age it constitutes an unfavorable treatment to them which as a result constitutes age discrimination. Along with the legal context of age discrimination related to mandatory requirements schemes there is a ethical consideration of ageism also associated with the process. Thus the employers should not be allowed to indulge in a process which is both unethical and illegal (Katlic Coleman, 2014). On the other hand it is also important to ensure that businesses are able to operate in an effective manner. A business should not be hampered through the application of law. Allowing people to work at an old age subjects the business to the risk of less productivity and also the individuals to the risk of unwanted injuries. Thus it is also the role of law to protect the individuals and the businesses from unwanted physical and financial injuries (June, 2012). Thus the issues in relation to both aspects of Mandatory retirement have to be analyzed by comparing and contrasting them so that an appropriate conclusion in relation to the thesis may be derived. Comparison and contrasts of different perspective of the legal issue As discussed above there are two aspects of mandatory retirements. One aspect relates to age discrimination and ageism and the other aspect is in relation to the risk of injury to the individuals and financial damages to the businesses. According to Tang, Choi and Goode (2013) the concept of mandatory retirement has been abolished in Canada. This has led the employers to significant challenges along with the risk of legal liabilities while dealing with older workers. As a result of the abolition an employee who has reached the age of 65 cannot be forced by the employer to retire. However this does not signify the fact that an older employee cannot be terminated from employer but the fact that now an employer does not have the right to impose arbitrarily a policy or a contractual term which requires an employee to retire at the age of 65. An employer is still provided a right where an old employee can be terminated for a just cause or with notice period. The employers are also allowed to use the same criteria for performance management which is used in relation to other employees. In this situation the employer has the right to terminate the employment of a person where he has legitimate objective evidence that the employee would not be able to perform his duties. According to Koka and Kosempel (2014) mandatory retirement is beneficial for the society. This is because it makes rooms for new ideas and new employees are able to take the place of the old employees. When the employees do not leave their position after they have become old the situation does not create enough job vacancies and new employees and ideas find it difficult to come up. In addition it has been argued by Bloom et al., (2014) that where mandatory retirements through contracts is legalized it would make the employers recruit old and middle age employees which would operate in favor of people having old age and they would be provided an additional benefit in relation to employment opportunity. As stated by Higo and Klassen (2013) mandatory retirement is necessary to ensure the proper functioning of business and it is a proven theory that older employees are less productive. However this argument does not take into consideration the fact that age employees bring in invaluable experience to the organization which is also a major factor for the successful operations of businesses. The health of employees who have achieved an old age is also subjected to significant risk where they are allowed to work in conditions which are no longer appropriate for them because of their age. In the light of all the arguments which are made in favor of mandatory retirement it can be stated that the policy must be legalized as there are various benefits associated with it. However there are several arguments which are provided in relation to the question that why mandatory retirement from a work place has to be abolished. These arguments were the basis on which the practice had been abolished and made illegal in Canada. One of the primary arguments is one which has been provided by Vickers and Manfredi (2013) that there is no medical evidence which can provide that a person who has reached the age of 65 become incapable or infirm. According to Klassen (2013) the population of Canada is aging and people are now living longer on an average due to medical advancements. In this situation economic burden in the state is increasing due to pensions provided to those who are not working. Thus where the age at which a person should stop working is set at 65 then the burden will inc rease more and the ageing population would find it difficult to live a desired kind of lifestyle. As argued by Jacobs et al. (2014) it is not matured to make an assumption that the quality and standards of the profession can be enhanced by appointing young employees in significant positions. Where it is considered that it takes a considerable time to reach such a level it would be unnecessary and unfair to prevent the employees from working at the level. The employees who are old are experts and highly proficient in relation to their Jobs. They are not only respected but also bring a valuable advantage through their experience to the Job. Own opinion in relation to the issue I have gone through the arguments which have been provided both in favor of and against the process of mandatory retirements. After analyzing the arguments provided by both sides I developed an opinion that the arguments which have been provided in support of mandatory retirement scheme is outweighed by the arguments which are provided against the scheme. Thus I have come to an opinion that Mandatory Retirement in Canada is not good for the society and the employers should not be able to force older employees to retire. This is because there have been several provisions provided to the employer where they can still address the business requirements without forcing the old age employees to retire. They can still terminate the employment of such people when they are no longer fit to carry out the job in their role by producing substantive evidence. Business efficiency is the main argument which is provided by the supporters of the scheme however, the argument is rebutted by the provisi ons of terminating the employees when they are not capable by producing valid evidence. In addition the argument that the youth should be provided with more opportunities to get in new ideas is also invalidated by the argument that old employees are much more proficient and reliable for the job roles. Thus in my view employers should not be allowed to terminate employees based on their age. Conclusion Mandatory Retirement in Canada is not ethical and the Employers should not be able to Force Older Employees to Retire. The paper has discussed all arguments which are provided strongly in favor of and against the process of mandatory requirements. Upon weighing both the aspects of the issue it has been identified by the paper that the arguments which have been provided in support of mandatory retirement scheme is outweighed by the arguments which are provided against the scheme. Discrimination of any form is a social evil for the society and it cannot be promoted for the purpose of ensuring the benefits of business community. Allowing the employer to dismiss an employee based on age is also not consistent to ethical theories such as deontology and utilitarianism. Thus the Canadian government is correct in its approach to abolish the practice for the betterment of the society. References Bloom, D. E., Boersch-Supan, A., McGee, P., Seike, A. (2014). Population aging: facts, challenges, and responses.Benefits and compensation International,41(1), 22. Boisclair, D., Lusardi, A., Michaud, P. C. (2017). Financial literacy and retirement planning in Canada.Journal of Pension Economics Finance,16(3), 277-296. Botwinick, J. (2013).Aging and behavior: A comprehensive integration of research findings. Springer. Higo, M., Klassen, T. R. (2013). 10 The future of retirement.Korea's Retirement Predicament: The Ageing Tiger,28, 146. Jacobs, J. C., Laporte, A., Van Houtven, C. H., Coyte, P. C. (2014). Caregiving intensity and retirement status in Canada.Social science medicine,102, 74-82. June, A. W. (2012). Aging professors create a faculty bottleneck.Chronicle of Higher Education. Katlic, M. R., Coleman, J. (2014). The aging surgeon.Annals of surgery,260(2), 199-201. Kim, J., Klassen, T. R. (2015). 5 Mandatory retirement in Korea.Retirement in Japan and South Korea: The past, the present and the future of mandatory retirement, 92. Klassen, T. R. (2013).Retirement in Canada. Oxford University Press. Koka, K., Kosempel, S. (2014). A life-cycle analysis of ending mandatory retirement.Economic Modelling,38, 57-66. Mulders, J. O., van Dalen, H. P., Henkens, K., Schippers, J. (2014). How likely are employers to rehire older workers after mandatory retirement? A vignette study among managers.De Economist,162(4), 415-431. Schlachter, M. (2011). Mandatory retirement and age discrimination under EU law.Int'l J. Comp. Lab. L. Indus. Rel.,27, 287. Szinovacz, M. E. (2013). A multilevel perspective for retirement research.The Oxford handbook of retirement, 152-173. Tang, F., Choi, E., Goode, R. (2013). Older Americans employment and retirement.Ageing International,38(1), 82-94. Vickers, L., Manfredi, S. (2013). Age equality and retirement: squaring the circle.Industrial law journal,42(1), 61-74. Weinberg, S. L., Scott, M. A. (2013). The impact of uncapping of mandatory retirement on postsecondary institutions.Educational Researcher,42(6), 338-348.

IELTS Essay Sample - Learn How to Write Excellent Essays and Pass Your IELTS Test

IELTS Essay Sample - Learn How to Write Excellent Essays and Pass Your IELTS TestIf you are taking the written portion of your IELTS test, then you need to look into using an IELTS essay sample. In this case, it is not about the format of the essay; it is more about the quality of the essay. This type of essay should be read by the teacher and will really determine whether or not you are passing the test.The teacher will take a look at how you wrote your essay and you will either pass or fail based on your specific test. It is important that you get the question right because the teacher will also be judging how well you know the language and sentence structure.What do you need to know about the IELTS essay? You will want to include the English language and grammar rules in your essay. In addition, it is very important that you write clearly. The rest of the material is less important but should include what you know about the subject.You should talk about any topic in English gramma r. If you do not write clearly and give the correct information, then you could fail and no one will care how good you are at English grammar.If you cannot write about an issue in the essay, you may want to look into getting a sample from a high school class. These classes often have several essays to study in class, so it is not like you have to write it all out.There are so many things to talk about in English grammar, so it is good to see how the teacher responds to your essay. Most times they will just look at the topics and make a comment based on the grammar rules. Even if you do poorly in your first essay, the teacher will not be disappointed because you still have one more chance to do well.You may want to think about a sample, either online or from a book that can help you prepare for the test. Having a good sample will also give you an idea about the subject matter that you will be working with.

The Path to the Future free essay sample

This paper looks at the political, financial and social future of Korea. This paper presents a discussion about the future of Korea . The author looks to the work of Bruce Cummings Koreas Place in the Sun: A Modern History to illustrate several key goals and points for the future of the nation. The essay examines the changes that should occur within the country over the next decade, including the maturation of a democratic government, reforming the financial system, and improving diplomatic relations between the North and South. The world continues to globalize even in the face of terrorist attacks on America . When the focus moves to another nation there are many things that are occurring during the globalization process. One nation, Korea , is making great strides in many things when it comes to the process; however there are other areas in which it is lacking. The structure of the nation is unique in that it has fought within itself for two types of governments, and those two sides still do not see eye to eye on most issues. We will write a custom essay sample on The Path to the Future or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page As we globalize it will be interesting to note how Korea moves to address some of the key issues that she will face. Bruce Cummings, author of Koreas Place in the Sun: A Modern History allows for the possibility that many changes are headed to Korea and he details the way he believes they will happen. While there are some areas that will be addressed as a natural extension of the globalizing process there are several that are going to have to be consciously worked out.

A Bird in The House essays

A Bird in The House essays 1) Meaning of the chapter: -Connects back to Piquette's life -"loons" used as a metaphor to describe the lack of attention and belonging e.g. Piquette did not go to school and stayed home at all times 2) Major Event: - Piquette going forth to the Connors cottage - first time Piquette showed that she can relate 3) Major Conflict: -Piquette does not fit in with the Connor family e.g. Mother thought that Piquette had lice; Grandmother McLeod refused to go to the cottage with her and Vanessa's father orders her to get along with Piquette. Vanessa also only "uses" Piquette as an 4) Explain what we learned about the family: Grandmother McLeod is prejudice against people of lower class. - Beth is the typical mother in response to thinking that Piquette would be a bad influence on her child BUT once Beth got to know stay -Ewen Connor is considerate, kind, and showed compassion to Piquette. - Vanessa tried to be friends with Piquette 5) Functions of the Characters outside of the family: -Piquette shows that some people go through life not really 6) Explain what and how Vanessa learns about life: Vanessa learns that not all people are not as lucky as she is to have a family, home, -Vanessa finds it hard to cope with the change of having one of her fathers patience's as an acquaintance. - Vanessa learns that sharing intimate moments with another will bring them closer together in spirit. - Vanessa learns a great deal about the nature and life. 7) Explain the significance of the last sentence of the chapter: Piquette can relate to the loons better than anyone else because both loons and her have no sense of belonging nor hope ...

Business Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 23

Business - Essay Example Means offunding the care cost was another factors and the following graph shows distribution of responses over private funding, social services funding, and an integration of the two. More than 52 of the respondents reported an all private funding while 30.4 percent reported an intergration of both public and private funding. Only 17.4 percent reported application of all social funding for the home care services. Annuity and insurance are unpopular methods for private funding of home care services, having been reported by a total of eight percent. Seventy five percent of the respondents who used private funding reported use of savings while 22 percent sold houses. In case the priimary resources run out, the the â€Å"means are tested† and â€Å"social service† identify secondary liability as the following graph shows. The results show that only 27 percent of relatives are willing to top up care cost if social service assumes the primary responsibility of funding the care. The remaining 72 percent of the relatives did not take the top up

Conclusion- Marketing research Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Conclusion- Marketing research - Essay Example The company’s experience has gained it a competitive advantage, for instance Google is available in 88 languages unlike its competitors. The user-interface is easy-to –use and simple for the users thus preferable over others. Google’s advanced search engines are fast and accurate because they are in order of relevancy to the search topic (â€Å"Google inc., swot,† 2008). It will take the competitors a while to build advanced search engines that can challenge Google search. The company has a chance to better as there more opportunities; the number of people willing to spend on online presence and the internet is rapidly increasing. The company can develop a mass-market portal to compete with MSN/Yahoo, it also has a browser: Google chrome (â€Å"Google inc., swot,† 2008) .All of these increases business opportunities. The company should solve its internal weaknesses such as political issues, address the threats such as competitors companies, look for solutions to content piracy issues and move on. So far so good but the company has potential to bridge the gap between the current position and the desired

An evaluation of impact on financial and operations consequence

An evaluation of impact on financial and operations consequence INTRODUCTION Choosing the Topic After completion of all my fundamental papers in August 2010, I waited till the next session to decide to submit a research and analysis project for the Oxford Brooke University. The reason for such delay was the pressure to complete three professional papers in December session. This report is also important to me because I believe by having combination of both Profession qualification and a degree will uplift my career. To base my project on ACCA provided me with a list of 20 recommended topics to choose from. After reading through the list, the topic that immediately attracted my attention was topic 19 which was â€Å"The financial and operational consequences of a merger between two organisations or of the acquisition of one organisation by another†. What attracted me the most about this topic was that, it was all very relevant to my studies as I am thinking to pursue financial management after ACCA. I knew this topic will allow me to try out and learn the all important, analytical skills. Other reason to choose this topic was the much talked about acquisition of KRAFT and Cadbury therefore it encouraged me to choose this topic. Another reason was availability of the vast amount of information through the internet and press release because of recent release of Krafts recent fourth quarter in the month on February 2011. Choosing the organisation Once I chose my topic, I had to choose an organisation to base my research on.   I chose Kraft and Cadbury for my analysis; it was an obvious choice as this was the acquisition that impelled me to select this topic. This was one of the most controversial and largest takeovers in the year of 2010. I believed the takeover by the 2nd Largest Food Giants in its industry would accomplish the objective I had in mind for the project. Aims Objectives The main objective of this report is to evaluate the consequences of the acquisition on the finance and operations aspect of KRAFT FOODS. The financial statements by themselves only provide the quantitative data which need to be analysed by drawn graphs. The main focus of this report, therefore, is as follows: * To analyse the reasons for Kraft to make a strategic choice of acquiring Cadbury and whether it satisfy the strategic fit as claimed by the CEO of KRAFT FOODS in terms of financial and business operations. * The second part of the research aims to analyse whether Kraft is on the track to achieve its targets it promised its stakeholders at the time of acquisition. * Since financial information wasnt sufficient for my research, I need to review the strategic decisions made by Kraft for its subsidiary Cadbury after the acquisition along with the friction identified while integrating both business. The anticipated future of Cadbury under Kraft Group. In order to achieve the aims mentioned above, I have done qualitative analysis using SFE (Suitability, Feasibility Acceptability) and Ashridge model along with quantitative analysis using financial ratios and linking both to get an overall picture. THE ORGANISTAION Company Profile Kraft Kraft Foods is the worlds second largest food company headquartered in North Field, Illinois manufactures and market packaged food products, including biscuits, confectionery, beverages, cheese, convenient meals and various packaged and grocery products.( KRAFT FOODS INC, 2009)The business was formed by James L. Kraft and his four brothers who began by wholesaling door to door cheese business in Chicago. Kraft then achieved growth by merging with other companies and increases the size of the business by expanding more product lines.( Wikimedia Foundation,2011) Being listed on NYSE, Kraft now has approximately 127,000 employees worldwide. Kraft sells products to consumer in approximately 170 countries. At 31 December 2010, Kraft had operations in more than 75 countries and made products at 223 manufacturing and processing facilities worldwide. Kraft portfolio included eleven brands with annual revenues exceeding $1 billion each: Oreo, Nabisco and LU biscuits; Milka and Cadbury chocolates; Trident gum; Jacobs and Maxwell House coffees; Philadelphia cream cheeses; Kraft cheeses, dinners and dressings; and Oscar Mayer meats. Kraft portfolio included approximately 70 brands which each generate annual revenues of more than $100 million. (KRAFT FOODS INC, 2010) Cadbury Cadbury was a leading global independent business in the exciting world of confectionery, a large, growing, brand-led industry. With an outstanding portfolio of chocolate, gum and candy brands, the largest emerging markets business and a focused and experienced team, Cadbury is committed to its long-term vision to be the worlds biggest and best confectionery company. Cadbury operated in more than 60 countries with a workforce of 46000. (Cadbury, 2008) Cadbury made its beginning by opening one single shop by John Cadbury. As time progressed John Cadbury moved into the manufacturing of drinking chocolate and cocoa. Cadbury grew bigger through some organic growth and some mergers. During the first world war Cadbury started to achieve great success, its products were regarded as necessities and Cadbury were at their peak. Cadbury kept investing in technology, new factories and in new products to remain ahead of competition. With factories all over the world and a host of well known brand names it has become a household name in many countries. (Birminghamuk, (n.d.)) INFORMATION GATHERING Sources of Data Data can be collected for any research by the following ways: * Primary Research: Under primary research new information is collected via interviews, survey or questionnaire etc; hence information is collected first hand. * Secondary Research: Also known as Desk Research is gathered from information which has already been provided but may not be for the same purpose. Such information are easy to access and are my cheaper than carrying out primary research. Such information gathered should be analysed and screened properly so that it fits for the purpose. Kraft and Cadbury both being listed companies although listed in different countries were required to issue annual accounts for its stakeholders by Sarbanes Oxley and Companies House respective. These companies especially Kraft issued Interim Reports as per the stock list requirement. Therefore much of the quantitative and qualitative date was readily available for analysis. Hence I chose to use secondary data over primary. The only complication I faced apart from time pressure was obtaining latest financial information for Cadbury (2009 accounts). Fortunately Kraft public relation team co-operated and emailed me 2008 and 2009 Cadbury annual accounts on my request. The following are the sources of secondary information I used for my project: Annual and Interim Financial Accounts and Reports This is the main source I used for financial aspect of my business and to draw graphs. I had to use interim reports even to demonstrate impact of Cadbury acquisition on Kraft at each and every quarter due to complexity of the business. Krafts annual accounts were available to view and download on Krafts Investors Website. However Cadbury financial statement isnt easily available. Internet This is the source of limitless information; hence it took me a lot of time to extract information which was relative to the point. Firstly it provided me the qualitative information which was missing or less in the financial statement of both entities. Secondly it also provided me information from a third party or neutral point of view. Letters and Reports Under this source, I analyzed the documents sent by Kraft to Cadbury management or reports addressed to Kraft shareholder explaining them the strategic fit of Cadbury acquisition. These documents were available over the internet. Library I used study text published by Kaplan for ACCA to brush my skills and be of aid when I got confused during an analysis phase. Apart from my course books I visited local library for reference books. As I mentioned earlier I didnt had an opportunity to visit British Library for the access of database such as Datamonitor and Mintel. However I was able to get access to Euromonitor through internet and used it as a tool to aid understanding of the application of analytical tools regarding acquisition and both the entities. Data Collection Methods Its easy to collect data, but skills are required to make sense of data and using it for the purpose. It was a fiddly job to collect reliable authentic information to base my reports on. Any negligence on my behalf may cause me a failure in achieving the report objectives. I was cautious and took my time to read through all the information once before starting with my project. As this acquisition was of the biggest acquisition in the year 2010, too much was written by the newspapers and media about it. Reading about the merger in 2011 gave me this idea to do a project on Kraft and Cadbury, as Kraft were about to issue its fourth quarter results. I started my data collection by reading articles from local newspapers as well as papers or journal published in other counties. I viewed them retrospectively. The most prominent newspaper I viewed was Financial Times, Guardian, Reuters, Wall Street Journal and Economists. After I got a general idea behind the acquisition and critics claiming the acquisition as a failure. I downloaded the fourth quarter as well as annual report. I need to know what did CEO responded on the acquisition as it had been a year. Then I looked at financial data provided to support any statement by the CEO. Internet provided me great deal of help in my project. I type in the keywords such as Cadbury Kraft in etc at www.google.com . Find the relevant articles and making notes as well as bookmarks of the WebPages if I needed to read it again for qualitative part of my research. I even visited many libraries in my local areas; the librarian helped me by giving me advice on referencing as I had no idea on references. Unfortunately I couldnt make a trip to British Library to access database which could help me in my project. But I was pretty content with the amount of information I already collected to carry out my analysis. Referencing I have used the HARVARD REFERENCING SYSTEM for the referencing in my research and to aid readability, I have cited the source below the paragraph if the whole paragraphs were written based on the same single source. Acquisition for Kraft PreAcquisition To systematic analyse the strategic choice by Kraft to acquire Cadbury, I will be using Johnson and Scholes framework (Suitability, Feasibility and Acceptability Model). (Wu, 2010) Suitability Kraft Foods Inc. being the second largest food company still looks for opportunities to grow and try to remain one of the market leaders in the industry and and to spread risk by a diversified portfolio. Kraft believes in rapid expansion by acquiring other businesses. Kraft adopted new strategy implemented by new CEO who believed low growth segment should be disposed of and adopt those strategies that will achieve rapid growth even by means of acquisition .Kraft will look for businesses that will build on its strengths and guide against its threats. Kraft has a successful track record of acquiring iconic brands and businesses and effectively using it for its expansion.   We will be using one of the criteria of Ashridge model under suitability. Under Ashridge model we will be examining two criteria; whether Kraft has sufficient skills, resources and understanding of the Cadbury business and whether there are opportunities for helping to achieve critical success factors. (Steiner, 20 09) * One key reason for Kraft to acquire Cadbury was to penetrate in those growing markets where Cadbury has good base such as China, India and Mexico. Brands such as Cadbury Dairy Milk dominated such markets by a vast length compared to its rivals. Cadbury did receive 40% of its revenue from fast growing emerging market.   Cadburys acquisition of Adams played a vital role to increase their market share in Latin America.   Cadbury has experienced 12% growth in revenue in emerging market over five years (EUROMONITOR, 2008) this can be beneficial for Kraft as it intends to use Cadbury s distribution network to sell its brands. (Cadbury, 2008) (Cadbury, 2009a) Kraft being aware of Cadbury s heritage and its strong confectionery business ranking and its iconic brands makes Cadbury globally number one in chocolate, gum and candy. By attaining all these eponymous brands Kraft will become a global powerhouse in snacks, confectionery and quick meals with exceptional portfolio of leading brands in the world. Hence will be one step closer in achieving organic growth objective. Feasibility Under feasibility we would evaluate Krafts position before acquisition in terms of internal resources of the organization this can even be connected to Ashridge s model criteria of possessing sufficient resource by Predator Company. Kraft being second largest business in its industry has huge cash reserve which reflects in its Cash flow Statements of 2008 and 2009 ($1.24 billion and 2.10 billion respectively). Buts its worth mentioning   the disposal of Krafts North American Pizza to Nestle for total consideration of $3.7 billion contributed majorly to its high cash reserve. High cash reserve helps them to with acquisition cost and integration cost and any other abnormal cost. Apart from cash reserve Kraft does have reasonable current ratio of 1.04 reflecting its above average liquidity position then its peers. Although Cadbury has a strong hold on overall emerging markets Kraft have a greater position in some markets such as Brazil and Russia. As Kraft being a huge conglomerate bu siness it has vast amount of resources in terms of specialist staff, a highly invested research and development teams and finance etc to back up Cadbury to face competition from other rivals such as Hershey and Mars. Kraft can eve use its power over major supermarket chains such Wal-Mart to increase shelf value of Cadbury as majority of its sales come from small convenient store. Kraft is even able to promote Cadbury heritage brand more rigorously due to available of immense resources. It would be worth mentioning the fact that billion dollar Kraft empire has been experiencing an average growth of impressive 5 % over period of four years to 2008 (where it achieved 13% growth than previous year).(Daltorio, 2009) Acceptability To carry on with a strategic choice it also need to be acceptable by the stake holders. As shareholders are key stakeholders their consent is highly important. Although Kraft assured them the acquisition would result in increase in shareholders wealth as it fits in into its business culture, some shareholders have different opinion. One of the reasons for such conflict of interests is the fear of increase in companys gearing. By 2008 Kraft had a high gearing of 1.34 (ratio) compare to its rival Nestle of (0.36). They fear by acquiring Cadbury, Kraft would issue more long-term debt that may adversely affect the gearing ratio and hence increasing the financial risk of the business and affecting the capability of paying out dividends, hence damaging shareholders interest. The other reason for conflict of interest was the reaction from one of the biggest shareholders Warren Buffett of Berkshire Hathaway who regarded the acquisition as â€Å"bad deal â€Å".He believed Kraft has overval ued Cadbury for purchase consideration and the disposal of pizza business to Nestle for $3.7 billion   was a mistake. He firmly believed Kraft is paying high premium for the acquisition. One shareholders view didnt affected Krafts strategic choice and Kraft went ahead with the acquisition despite got rejected first time. (Barr, 2010) Ballast Businesses *CADBURY* Heartland Businesses Alien Business Value trap Business According to my analysis I think Kraft values Cadbury as Heartland Business as Kraft has the skills to exploit opportunities from Cadbury. (UNDER ASHRIDGE MODEL) ACQUISITION for Kraft The long clashing 5 month battle between Cadbury and Kraft was finally over on 2nd February 2010 as Kraft clinches control over Cadbury by 72% holding. Kraft then took total control of Cadbury on June 2010. Cadbury shareholders had a deadline of 2nd February to accept Kraft offer of 500 pence in cash for each Cadbury share and 0.1874 new Kraft shares for each Cadbury share which altogether values each Cadbury share at 840 pence including a special 10 pence dividend. This sums up the total valuation of Cadbury business to approximate of  £11.9 Billion ($19.4 Billion). Kraft offered this purchase price on 19th of January after a long negotiation with Cadbury management. Kraft tried to make hostile takeover on 7th September by a bid worth 300 pence in cash and 0.2589 new Kraft shares for each Cadbury share (valuing it 745 pence a share). However Cadbury rejected the bid immediately and regarded it â€Å"derisory†. Kraft sweetened the bid by raising the original offer and increa sing the cash component from 40% to 60% to make it more appealing for Cadbury shareholders. (Cimlluca et al, 2010) I have extracted this graph from Thomson Reuters to illustrate the impact on the share price for both involved parties after the announcement of take-over. We notice an increase of almost 40% in the market value of Cadbury. The increase in Cadburys share price was triggered by the initial announcement by Kraft of its intention to take over Cadbury in early September of 2009. The announcement was received well by Cadbury Shareholders causing an increase in demand and thereby price of the stock. However we see a fall in the share price of Kraft food at the time announcement (graph below), some analysts believe this was due to Warren Buffet dissatisfaction of Kraft Acquisition. He regarded the acquisition as ‘bad deal, which caused chaos amongst other shareholder hence a price falls. This price fall deteriorated the purchase price offered by Kraft which was immediately rejected by Roger Carr, Chairmen of Cadbury. KEY POINTS FOR FINANCIAL ANALYSIS Kraft foods acquired Cadbury plc in February2 2010. Hence Cadbury results are restricted to 10 months rather than full 12 years and its subject to fluctuate with moving exchange rates. Cadbury data was adjusted from IFRS (previously applied by Independent Cadbury) to U.S GAAP followed by its new Parent Kraft Foods Inc. Cadbury previous years figures couldnt be compared with unless comparison is made in percentile due to the size difference of both businesses. Kraft even revised its Net Revenue retrospectively 2009 onwards. Post Acquisition Financial Perspective The above graph represents s the growth and decline in sales over a period of 4 years by means of percentage. The 2010 information contains data post acquisition, specifically contribution from Cadbury of $9143 that has been converted using the exchange rate of $1.595 per  £1.00 for the aid of analysis. It can clearly be noted the reason why Cadbury was so desirable by Kraft. Cadbury attained significant growth from 2007. In June 2007 Cadbury introduced their Vision into Action plan which insisted in strengthening their position in emerging market. This strategy was immediately effective and can be reflected in the graph. As stated earlier in this research report one of the key reasons for Kraft to acquire Cadbury was their better position in emerging market as compared to Kraft. Although Cadbury has just been acquired for 11 months under Kraft we see a marginal fall of 4% in Cadbury sales than its preceding years. This maybe because Kraft maybe getting acquainted to Cadburys opera tion and network hence not utilizing Cadburys full potential. (Cadbury, 2009a) This graph explains what did Krafts CEO meant by â€Å"GLOBAL POWER HOUSE†. If we examine the two graphs we see a change in the revenue from developing and North American markets. The main reason for Kraft to takeover Cadbury was to derive maximum benefit of Cadburys strong hold in emerging market. Although Kraft is one of the largest companies in food industry it drives more than 57% of its revenue from its Home Market US. As US market is experiencing economic recession Kraft needed to adopt an effective strategy to broaden its operations globally. Hence Cadbury looked more attractive from Krafts perspective. Its worth mentioning that Cadbury earns more than 40% from the fast emerging markets portraying its position being better than Kraft.. It should be taken into consideration that fact that Kraft hasnt launched any new aggressive marketing scheme or any strategic step via Cadbury in emerging markets. In 2010 Kraft has continued to run Cadbury operation without making any m ajor changes. Talking quantitatively Cadbury boosted Krafts net revenue in emerging markets by $3382 million which can be seen clearly in the graph at the bottom. Krafts strengths in Russia, Brazil and China along with Cadbury great position in United Kingdom, India and Mexico has spread its revenue source which has reduce the risk of a recession affecting Krafts sales .By acquiring Cadbury Kraft enhanced its distribution channel which became effective in the first year of acquisition and clearly be seen in the 2010 net revenue segments. In 2010 revenue from US market contributed less than 50% to Total Net Revenue minimizing the business risk driven by recession. (Farrell et al, 2010) The above illustrated graphs represent the change in Krafts revenue source after the acquisition of Cadbury. Krafts adopt a rational approach and pursue the strategy of selling off less profitable brands and achieving quick growth by acquisition. Kraft faced fierce competition from private label companies in the cheese and packaged meat market. Therefore Kraft acquired Cadbury to diverse its revenue source as there were dangers of fall in revenue from its main segments. There is an increase of 16% in the contribution made by confectionery segment. This segment is a high potential growth segment and Kraft would like diverse its business risk by investing more in promotion of this segment. (Trefis, 2011) The Gross margin shows the amount of gross profit generated by the company as a percentage of the sales revenue. Kraft Gross Profit Margin has been plotted against each quarter from 2009. It can be analyzed by the graph that Kraft tried to maintain its Gross Profit Margin in mid 30s percentile despite economic downturn in US market and increase in raw materials Kraft is able to maintain its objective, the main grounds for such level gross profit margin was the acquisition. By acquiring Cadbury Kraft has widen its distribution network as Cadburys main selling networks are convenient stores open on High Street therefore reach of every individual. Talking in respect on cost of sales (100 Gross Profit Margin) Kraft will benefit from economies of scale especially regarding purchases as Kraft will be bulk buying and using Cadbury suppliers rationally to minimise cost of sales as possible. (Szalai, 2011) Net Profit Margin is an indicator of profitability, calculated as net income or net profit divided by net revenue. As shown by the graph, we see a downward trend in the net profit margin against each quarter in 2010.Despite the fact that there has been a 27% increase in Net Revenue in 2010 as compared to its preceding year, we notice a fall of 23% in net profit especially in the fourth quarters of 2009 and 2010 ($711m and $547 respectively. However in aggregate there has been an increase in the net profit from 2009. The major reason for such deteriorates result for the fourth quarter was the cost associated with integration between Kraft and Cadbury. The pizza business of Kraft did contributed to the net profit in 2009 , by the sale of its pizza business to Nestle ,Kraft has deprived itself from the positive contribution of its disposal component.(BBC, 2011) The Prime objective of making investment in any business is to obtain satisfactory return on capital invested. Hence, the return on capital employed is used as a measure of success of a business in realizing this objective. Return on capital employed establishes the relationship between the profit and the capital employed. It is used to show the overall profitability and efficiency of the business. By analysing we see a fall in return on capital employed although the sales and net profit overall has increased however it hasnt increased by the proportion of investment made by KRAFT FOOD. As Mr. Warren Buffet feared that Kraft did overpay for the acquisition this can be reflected in diminish of return on capital employed. I have also included a graph showing fall in earning per share that illustrate the point of less return for the investors this maybe due to issue of new share to Cadbury shareholders. (Wilson , 2010) I have included this graph in my research report especially to breakdown the positive and negative contribution made by Cadbury to Kraft operating income in 2010 as compared to Kraft in 2009. As announced by CEO of Kraft Foods, Kraft is highly likely to expect $1 billion in incremental revenue synergies apart from $750 million in cost saving by 2013. In order to achieve the synergies Kraft has budgeted to spend $1.5 billion in the first three years following the acquisition to combine and integrate the two businesses and already incurred $657 million in 2010. As stated in Kraft Annual Account 2010, Kraft incurred and expensed transaction related fees of $218 millions in 2010 and $40 million in 2009.Kraft has recorded the mentioned costs under selling, general and administrative expenses in Profit and Loss Statement (Statement of Comprehensive income). However in the above graphs include figures which has been given in the Kraft 2010 annual accounts analysis of operating profit rather than actual incurred cost as some cost have been taken under finance cost which hasnt been included in arriving at operating profit for 2010. This seems a draw back in the acquisition object ive and maybe criticizes by its stakeholders as integration cost has reduced Krafts earning by 33%. (BBC, 2011) Liquidity ratio expresses a companys ability to repay short-term creditors out of its total cash. The liquidity ratio is the result of dividing the total cash by short-term borrowings. This Graph represents the two liquidity ratio one normal current ratio and another quick test ratio. Unlike Current ratio, quick ratio focus on the most liquid assets hence it exempt inventory from current asset while calculating ratio. Some of the key points that need to be addressed before analysis of the graph are the disposal of the pizza business and all the working capital relating to it. We should also account for the current assets and current liabilities acquired by Kraft such as Net Receivable of $ 1333 m and Accounts Payable of $ 1605 m etc. Another point to be mentioned is that while calculating Quick ratio I havent excluded the deferred tax asset, while some analyst exclude deferred tax asset as they dont regard it liquid. We see a significant difference between both ratios as inventory has occupied much of the working capital. Comparing it to the last year it is almost consistent with the growing sales. We notice a slight deterioration in both the ratio of 2010. The $3.7 billion cash raised by disposal of the pizza business was used to pay cash component of the acquisition. The rise in the actually figure is in line with the growing and diverse sales (Kraft Foods Inc, 2010) Gearing Ratio is a measure of financial leverage, demonstrating the degree to which a firms activities are funded by owners funds versus creditors funds (investopedia).The above   graph represents   how much company has borrowed compare to equity raised by KRAFT FOODS. Kraft had issued a long term debt of $9.379 billion (net proceeds) to support the cash component of Cadbury of acquisition along with proceeds from Pizza Business. Kraft even made a repayment $2.1 billion of long term debt during the year. This has increased the total debt of the business from $18990 million to $28724 Million. Kraft has also issued 262 million shares to existing Cadbury shareholder as part of purchase consideration. This has enlarged Krafts share capital affecting the gearing ratio. By taking into consideration the above mentioned circumstances, we see an increase in the gearing ratio of 7%. This may cause some concerns amongst shareholders and lenders of Kraft as the financial risk of the business has increased as more interest will be paid from the profits available to pay dividends to shareholders. (Tradition Financial Concept.). This may even damage the creditability of KRAFT FOOD in lenders market as it has borrowed 80% to Equity, hence it may be charged high interest rate by the lenders in future. (Kraft Foods Inc, 2010) (Hoskins, 2010) Interest cover is a measure of the adequacy of a companys profits relative to interest payments on its debt. This ratio will help to explain the previously mentioned financial due to increase in gearing. Due to the increase in leverage we see a fall of 0.94 in interest cover which means there would be less profit available for dividends.   This maybe is one of the reasons why Warren Buffet (one of the major shareholder in Kraft) reduced its stake from 9% to 6%. The ratio is over 2 which is considered strong by analyst and reflects Krafts strong position in borrowers market. However Fitch, one of reputed credit rating agency, has downgraded the default rating on both companies to BBB-. However its rivals havent downgraded the rating as yet but our reviewing if they should follow their peers. Flitch has downgraded the rating due to anticipated increase in financial leverage of the combined Kraft/Cadbury. (Peters   et al, 2010) Operational Changes Post Acquisition The significant changes in operations along with their impact on KRAFT FOOD GROUP as a whole: Closure of Somerdale factory Days after acquisition Kraft announced the closure of Cadbury factory in Bristol. During the acquisition struggle, Kraft pledged to retain Somerdale Factory. The announcements created a chaos amongst Cadbury workforce and British Unite trade union as 400 employees were being made redundant. It would be worth mentioning; Cadbury prior to its acquisition (in year 2007) had already announced the closure of its Somerdale factory as they had invested more than  £100million in the production plant