Financial Highlights of John Lewis Performance Essay Example for Free

Financial Highlights of John Lewis Performance Essay Sales Sales are the activity within a business for the purchases of products and service. This is also the operating revenues that is earned by the company  by selling their products or services. Last year, the business was involved in an accounting scandal, and saw the departure of some senior executives. However the retail giant, which has more than 3,300 stores in the UK, had a better Christmas than expected. The sales over the holiday period were down just 0.3 percent on the year before and up 0. 1% if fuel sales are included. Overall, comparable sales for the three months to the beginning of January were down by 2.9%.Tescos chief executive, Dave Lewis, said the firm was facing the reality of the situation and was seeing the benefits of listening to our customers. Revenue Revenue are the amount of money that the business receives during a specific period which includes the discounts and deductions that are for returned merchandise Revenue is calculated by multiplying the price at which goods or services are sold by the number of units or amount sold. Tesco’s revenue increased from the years 2010 to 2011 from  £57,502m to  £61,174m. This infers to us that there would be an increase in the corporations stockholders equity and its assets. The revenues will increase the retained earnings section of stockholders equity. The assets that usually increase are cash or accounts receivable. Conversely within the years of 2012 to 2013 the business revenue decreased from  £64,541m to  £63,967. This indicates to us that the business reduced their pricing. However within 2013 and 2014 there was an increase within the revenue figures from  £63,967 to  £64,149. Profit Profit is the money that the business makes after accounting for all the expenses. This is a financial benefit that is realized when the amount of revenue gained from the business activity exceeds the expenses, costs and taxes needed to sustain the activity. Any profit that is gained goes to the businesss owners, who may or may not decide to spend it on the business. Tescos Britain’s biggest retailer Shares fell as much as 17 per cent to their lowest in around 14 years as it said trading profits for the year ending February 2015 would not exceed  £1.4bn. This is  £500m below current market forecasts of  £1.9bn. Debt Debt is the amount of money borrowed by one person from another. Many  corporations and individuals use debt as a method for making large purchases that they could not afford under normal circumstances. A debt arrangement gives the borrowing individual permission to borrow money under the condition that it is to be paid back at a later date, usually with interest. Within Tesco the debt decreased within the years of 2010 to 2013 from  £14.0b to  £13.5b because the business is paying off debts owed regularly which results in a positive cash flow. On the other hand the business debt increased within the years 2013 to 2014 from  £13.5b to  £14.5b. This is for the reason that the business are not paying off the liabilities that are owed. Pension A pension is a type of retirement plan, usually tax exempt, where an employer makes contributions toward a pool of funds set aside for an employees future benefit. The funds is then invested on the employees behalf, allowing the employee to receive benefits upon retirement. Philip Clarke and Laurie Mcllwee are members of the Tesco PLC pension scheme, which provides a pension up to two-thirds of base salary on retirement, normally at the age 60, dependent on service. Within the organisation each year’s pension earned before 1 June 2012 will be increased up to a maximum 5%. Turnover Turnover is the number of times an asset is replaced during a financial period. This would be the number of shares traded for a period as a percentage of the total shares in a portfolio or of an exchange. As we can see above, on Tesco profit and loss sheet there was an increase in the turnover from the years 2010 to 2011 from  £56910.0m to  £60455.0m. This indicates to us that Tesco has strong sales within this year as the business is re-stocking cash quickly and has a lower risk of becoming stuck with obsolete inventory. On the other hand within the years 2012 and 2013 there was a decrease in figures from  £63916.0m to  £63406.0m. This tells that the business is carrying too much inventory which suggest poor inventory  management and low sales.

The Cask of Amontillado by Edgar Allan Poe Essay --

Typically, a carnival masquerade is celebrated as a joyous and social liberation from the masses of mundane daily activities, but in â€Å"The Cask of Amontillado,† by Edgar Allan Poe, the protagonist Montresor creates a different meaning to the festival for his so-called friend Fortunato. Edgar Allen Poe uses an inventive writing style which sets up a situation in the beginning of the story. He intrigues the reader in the first line of the story, â€Å"...but when he ventured upon insult I vowed revenge† (Poe Page 1). Poe uses this stylistic writing by providing subtle pieces of information and imagery to draw the reader in, anticipating the rest of what is to come of Montresor's plan for revenge. In a seemingly harmless exchange of words between men, time begins to draw to an end for Fortunato whose naivety and trust in Montressor earns grim fate as some would believe to be his destiny. Montresor, through his pride, became an angry individual and had felt that Fortun ato had caused him â€Å"a thousand injuries† (Poe 1). Overshadowed by his delirious thoughts, Montresor’s deep hatred for Fortunato can be perceived as no more than envy or jealousy. Fortunato, a very wealthy man, dabbled into hobbies, such as being an avid wine connoisseur. Along with that Fortunato is part of a high society by being a member of masons. By that, Montresor felt Fortunato’s status and ability to purchase anything he desired, specifically wine, degraded his own status , ultimately causing Montresor to become displeased, disrespected, and unloved. Therefore, forcing Montresor to believe that Fortunato needs to be repressed to protect himself from these insults. In this story, I will argue that through the usage of different types of irony, Montresor did not think of... ...akes Montresor the one preforming masonry while Fortunato is actually the one belonging to the Masons. Overall, the story â€Å"The Cask of Amontillado,† displays a cleverly set usage of ironies to depict Fortunato’s death. As verbal, dramatic, and situational ironies were used, it can be said that not everyone may be who you think they are. Fortunato who thought Montresor was a dear friend, later betrayed his trust and soon after killed him. Poe makes the story more interesting and comprehensive as it sets certain emotions within the audience to sympathize with Fortunato for desire of the Amontillado, and the complete trust in his friend. Works Cited Delaney, Bill. "Poe's THE CASK OF AMONTILLADO." The Explicator 64.1 (2005): 33- 5. ProQuest. Web. 21 Oct. 2013. Poe, Edgar Allan. â€Å"The Cask of Amontillado.† Literature: A Portable Anthology. 14-18. Book. 21 Oct. 2013.

Look Before You Leap Essay

Tapiwa had served his employer faithfully for fifteen years. He had joined the company at the age of twenty and thrived to excel in every task that was given to him. The company rewarded him handsomely. He managed to get married to Tafadzwa after working for five years, and they had two beautiful children. The family enjoyed life since they could afford the very basics. Tapiwa drove to work while Tafadzwa stayed at home and took care of the household chores. The economy of the beautiful country of Zimbabwe began to nosedive and inflation reached its peak. Everyone felt the pinch of the inflation and Tapiwa was no exception. He switched to using public transport as driving was now a preserve of the rich. He would wake up as early as 4AM and get his kids to school. This routine became unbearable because he had to collect them from school into town and assist them to get home. He would get back to work after lunch . He started having problems with his superior’s . Although they understood his predicament they could not justify his lateness to work. Frustration began to creep into his mind and he began to lose weight. He felt he could not continue and decided to resign from his job. He sought for his father’s advice who advised him to wait a bit longer as he had hope that the economy would soon recover . After a long argument, his father gave in and asked him to go ahead with his plans. He asked for a second opinion from his immediate superior at work. He was advised not to quit but wait a little longer. But, Tapiwa had already made up his mind . He tendered in his resignation notice which was accepted with reservations. He was told his termination benefits would be processed within three months as this was company policy. Tapiwa left for South Africa where he hoped to get employed as a chemist. When he got there he discoved that life not as easy as he had expected. Getting a job in his area of training was proving to be a big challenge. He hopped from company to company and from pillar to post seeking for employment as a chemist, but the result was the same, negative. He eventually decided to get employment as a general hand. Working as a general laborer was not easy for Tapiwa. Frustration continued to grow within him. Many times he would curse the leaders of his country saying they were responsible for his problems. In many instances Tapiwa would go to sleep on an empty stomach. When he phoned his wife back home she would be complaining of hunger and how bad things were . It pained him more because the company he was now working for did not honor its part of the contract. After working for six months, he was paid the equivalent of three months’salary. The reason that his employer gave was company was reeling under the effects of the global economic meltdown. Tapiwa began to lose weight and his face could be mistaken for a patient. One day he decided to call his former employer back home. He was trying to negotiate for re-engagement. He was told it was told no longer possible because his position had already been filled . It pained him more to learn that people at the company were now earning foreign currency. After the call, Tapiwa took a walk and could be seen talking by himself. Tears rolled down his cheeks and he wept bitterly. He regretted why he ever made a decision of leaving his job for greener pastures which he discovered they were not green after all. He blamed no one but himself for putting his family into deep problems. He thought he should have taken a few days’ leave for a feasibility study. Memories of how he had enjoyed life before the hyperinflationary economy hurt him. Comparing his present style of living in South Africa to the life back home haunted his mind even worse. Given a choice between the two he would choose to stay at home with his family. Every time he would sit to meditate, he could not help but recall his father telling him not to quit his job, but to wait for a while. The discussion he had a year ago with his immediate superior at his former employment, vividly played before him. He regretted he should have taken their advice . He had learnt that in life you do not make rash decisions when it comes to important matters. His tummy made a noise indicating to him it was time for refueling. It had been a while since he had a decent meal. He had learned it the harder way.

Essay about Analysis of quot;The Birthmarkquot; - 963 Words

Some say that beauty is only skin deep and believe that inner beauty, is a whole lot more important. They are a small minority. Most of us strive for perfection in appearances--it may be our own personal appearance defined by the perfect clothes and the perfect look, the perfect home we live in, or the perfect car we absolutely must have. People today are no different today than they were in the 19th century, and we get an in depth understanding of the obsession with being perfect in Nathaniel Hawthornes The Birthmark. This short story is about a devoted scientist who marries a beautiful woman with a single physical flaw; a birthmark on her face. Aylmer becomes obsessed with the imperfection and needs to remove it, to be†¦show more content†¦As he said, nature, in one shape or another, stamps ineffaceably on all her productions. Georgiana was a pretty lady; Nature has to bear a birthmark on her face in order to keep the balance, any attempt to remove it should and would res ult in disaster - that lead us to another conclusion - Nature can not be changed or altered, without significant consequences. Hawthornes sentiments are very relevant in todays world where the obsession with perfection often back fires with unfortunate results. To get the perfect house, the perfect car, or even the perfect look we go to extraordinary lengths. Do we ever stop to think if it is all worth it? Just for a little while longer, we think, and then well have enough money to get that nose job, or be able to pay for liposuction, or that implant that will remove Natures imperfection and make life perfect. Just as Aylmer said of his wife, you came so nearly perfect from the hand of Nature that this slightest possible defect, which we hesitate whether to term a defect or a beauty, shock me, as being visible mark of earthly imperfection, we harp on our imperfection in the same way, blame our parents for not getting us braces at the right time, or contacts when