Effective Project Communication Management Essay Example for Free

Effective Project Communication Management Essay Different communication methods are used within the business environment in order to ensure that the business runs as smoothly and effectively as possible. By doing so, this means that no misinterpretations or misunderstandings are made and therefore all information is both passed and received correctly. Different examples of communication used within a business environment can vary from phone calls, emails and face to face meetings. Depending on the situation and case you’re dealing with depends on what form of communication you would use as you want to use the one that is the most effective for what you’re doing. For example, if you want something in which you gain the most information from and get a feel for what you’re dealing with then a face to face meeting will probably be the most effective. Whereas if you just want to send something quick and easy then an email is probably more appropriate to use. When considering requirements for different audiences you have to take into consideration different things that might mean you have to vary how you go about things. For example, age, gender, and any disabilities may all be factors that you have to cater around. If you have a group of people who you’re wanting to do some sort of activity with and someone within the group is in a wheelchair then you have to make sure that they are also able to take part too and that you make any adjustments if needed to do so. Just like if you have someone who is partially/ fully death then getting a translator in so that they can understand too is necessary to make sure all information is collected efficiently by everyone there. Grammar. Grammar is what makes a sentence make sense. It’s the way that sentences are constructed. Without correct grammar, sentences can easily be misunderstood. By using correct grammar in a business environment means that you’re communicating more effectively and therefore acts as a time management skill as it lessens any confusion. Sentence structure. It is key to use sentence structures in the business environment. This ensures your messages are broken down clearly and aren’t all one big message with no punctuation or break down etc. By doing so helps emphasize any points being made and also means that communications are correctly interpreted. Punctuation. Punctuation breaks down texts into sentences, phrases, clauses and so on. It’s important that it’s used in a business environment because it helps stop any confusion arising or misunderstanding of the message that is supposed to be given. This is because lack of or incorrect punctuation can give a sentence a completely different meaning. For example, â€Å"Let’s eat Faye† as opposed to â€Å"let’s eat, Faye†. That’s why, in order to communicate effectively, it is important to ensure you use correct punctuation where needed. Spelling. When it comes to spelling and business communications, again, it is key to make sure everything is spelled correctly. Just like the rest, incorrect spelling leads to a misunderstanding of what is trying to be said as one misspelled word can change the entire meaning of a message. Conventions. Conventions make writing more understandable as its broken down into paragraphs with correct grammar, spelling etc. This makes communications in a business easier as it means that the message can be fluently read rather than having to be broken down in order to be able to understand it properly. Correct grammar is important when being used in business documents, such as emails, as it forms a professional relationship between both colleagues and customers. A massive part of communicating involves face to face meetings and therefore means the way that you put yourself across with, not only your tone of voice, but also body language is extremely important. This meaning that when dealing with sensitive cases, the tone of voice you use and body language you express should be taken into consideration greatly. You should make sure that you’re empathetic and that you consider the words in which you emphasize when trying to draw the listener’s attention. It is important to make sure you make a conscious effort to control your body language and tone of voice when speaking because body language portrays subconscious messages when communicating and can sometimes mislay the wrong impression. Examples of good body language would be making sure you make sufficient amount of eye contact, correct gestures if necessary and making sure facial expressions are appropriate. As for the tone of voice, a lot of the time people don’t remem ber what we say as such but more how we say it and that’s why using the correct tone of voice is important within the business environment to stop any misinterpretations.

History Of Brakes And Principles Of Hydraulics Engineering Essay

History Of Brakes And Principles Of Hydraulics Engineering Essay Landing gears are one of the most important parts of the aircraft and play an important role because it can make the aircraft run through runways and lands the aircraft to safety with the aid of the braking system and other systems. The modern brake system has been refined for over 100 years and has become extremely dependable and efficient. The whole draft talks about the hydraulic brake system. Modern braking systems are complicated and understanding the operation of a braking system requires specialized skills and training. Brakes are the most important feature of any modern transportation these days. The principles of brakes in a landing gear of the aircraft gave us the idea that making a simple hydraulic break system would be our main project. The content is designed to show the insight of the principles of operation of the hydraulic break, components and its functions. The advantages and disadvantages against different types of brakes and other terminology. :History oF Brakes: All cars need a brake system; therefore it has been present in the automobile since its invention. However, the technology of the components and the design of the brake system have evolved throughout the years. In the early days of the automobile, drum brakes were the standard. Drum brakes offered several advantages over other types of brakes. One of these was that the drum could keep out water and dust, materials that could damage disc brakes which were out in the open. The other, more important advantage was that drum brakes required drivers to apply less pressure on the pedal as compared to disc brakes. This was especially important in the days before hydraulic and power brake systems, both of which decreased the amount of pedal pressure needed. The next major advancement in brake technology came in 1918 with the invention of four-wheel hydraulic brake systems by Malcolm Loughead. It is interesting to note that Loughead was a member of the Lockheed family, a company known better for producing airplanes. The hydraulic brake system replaced the mechanical brake system that was in use at this time. The mechanical system had numerous disadvantages. It made it difficult to brake all the wheels evenly, often causing a loss of control. In addition, it required drivers to exert tremendous amounts of force on the brake pedal to slow the car. The hydraulic brake system multiplied the force that was applied to the brake, lessening the amount of force needed to be applied to the brake pedal by the driver. This system was first used in the 1918 Duesenberg. Its advantages quickly caught on and by 1929, four wheel hydraulic braking systems were standard equipment on most higher priced cars. It took a few more years for the feature to becom e common on lower price cars. As the speed of automobiles and their weight increased, better braking systems were required. The main problem with drum brakes is that the heat is not efficiently disbursed. The heat that is produced inside the drum does not escape easily since the drum prevents wind from drawing it away. However, disc brakes were open to the passing wind. This allowed the heat to be carried away which increased the efficiency of the brake. It is interesting to note that disc brakes were first used in 1902. However, their use was limited up until the 1950s since their efficiency was not required and they required more pedal pressure to operate. The reason for the higher pedal pressure is that disc brakes have no self-servo effect or no self-energizing capacity that the drum brakes have. The self-servo effect is caused by the forward motion of the car. This forward motion helps pull the brake shoe into contact with the drum. This helped lower the required pedal pressure. Now that their efficiency was needed and the hydraulic brake system multiplied the force applied to the brake pedal, disc brakes seemed to be the better alternative. Chrysler was the first to widely introduce the disc brake in its cars in the early 1950s. The system did not have much success. It seemed that the brake pressure required of the driver was still a little to great for the system to gain widespread consumer acceptance and therefore it was dropped. It finally took the failing automaker Studebaker to reintroduce the system in 1964. This time it saw much more success and in a few years, disc brakes were common on most new cars. One of the reasons that disc brakes were a success with the Studebaker and not the Chrysler was due to the development of the power braking system. Power brakes became common in the 1950s, after Chrysler had developed and dropped its disc brake program. The system assisted the movement of the piston in the master cylinder which meant that the driver needed to apply less peddle pressure to get the same braking effectiveness. Therefore, since ease of braking was no longer an issue, the adoption of the more efficient disc brake became widespread. Another development in braking systems came with anti-lock or anti-skid braking. With conventional braking systems, when the brakes are applied with enough pressure, the wheels will lock up. This results in a loss of steering effectiveness which may cause a loss of control. With anti-lock braking, the wheels do not lock up, allowing the driver to continue steering. Anti-lock brakes are not a new technology. They had been used in large aircraft since the 1950s and the British had used them in race cars in the 1960s. The first automaker to use this technology in its cars was Ford in 1969. It placed anti-lock brakes in the luxury Thunderbird and Continental Mark III. Today, anti-lock brakes are common on many new cars. : Basic Principles of Hydraulics: What is pressure? Pressure can be defined as the force per unit area and is expressed in Newtons per square millimeter (N/mm ²) or in bars and pounds per square inch (lbs/in ²) or p.s.i. in U.S. pressure. Formula: P = F / A Where: P = Pressure; F = Force; A = Area What is hydraulics? Liquids or fluids which are under pressure are usually used to transmit power through pipelines. The fluid power is converted into mechanical power by using rotary or linear actuators. What is Pascals Law? Pascals Law comprises a set of principles formulated in 1648 and states that pressure applied to a confined fluid at any point is transmitted undiminished throughout the fluid in all directions and acts upon every part f the confining vessel at right angles to its interior surfaces and equally upon equal areas. It defines the fundamental principle of power transmission by a hydraulic system. Figure 2: Pascals Law Pressure is created only when: The system is closed There is no air trapped in the system An attempt is made to compress the fluid Another important relationship in hydraulics is the area of the piston, the distance it moves, and the volume of fluid displaced. Formula: Volume =Area * Distance Fluid Compressibility: All liquids have a very high resistance to compression while air has a very low resistance to compression. Liquids used in hydraulic systems are also known as hydraulic fluids. Figure 3: Hydraulic fluid Bramahs Press: States that under a given load, the smaller the area it acts upon the greater the pressure produced and the greater the area under pressure, the greater the force available. Pressure = Load / Area Figure 4: Bramahs Press In an aircraft hydraulic system, Bramahs principle can be applied to the movement of different loads using actuators subject to one pressure. The figure above shows a large load and a small load being pushed by actuators having different piston areas. Bernoullis Principle : The relationship between the velocity and pressure exerted by a moving liquid is described by the Bernoullis principle: as the velocity of a fluid increases, the pressure exerted by that fluid decreases and as fluid decreases, pressure is increased. Figure 5: Bernoullis Principle Figure 6: Bernoullis principle also allows wings to produce lift Hydraulic Fluids: Hydraulic system fluid or liquids are used to transmit and to distribute the fluid to various units to be actuated. They are able to do this because they are almost compressible. If a number of passages exist in a system, pressure can be distributed to all of system by means of the liquid. Manufacturers of hydraulic devices usually specify the type of liquid best suited for use with their equipment, during working conditions, the service required, temperatures expected inside and outside the systems, pressures the liquid may withstand, the possibilities of corrosion, and other conditions. Figure 7: Types of hydraulic fluid Figure 8: Hydraulic Fluid (Aeroshell brand) Properties of Fluid: Fluids are incompressible They have a reasonable density with very little variation changes in temperature. Low rate of change of viscosity with temperature changes Large working range of temperature (-80 °C to +70 °C) Good Lubricating Properties It isnt harmful when in in contact (skin, hands) It doesnt foam Chemically stable with changes in temperature Good storage life Doesnt attack nor damage rubber. Fluid is preferably non-flammable Efficiency: Friction between the fluid and the walls of the pipes depends upon: The velocity of the fluid of the pipelines The bore, length and internal finish of the pipelines The number of bends in the pipelines and the radii of the bends The viscosity of the fluid What is Viscosity? It is one of the properties of hydraulic fluid. Viscosity is internal resistance to flow. Viscosity increases with a decrease in temperature. The knowledge of viscosity is needed for proper design of required temperatures for storage, pumping or injection of fluids. There are two related measures of fluid viscosity known as dynamic (or absolute) and kinematic viscosity. Types of Hydraulic Fluid: 1 Vegetable Based: (MIL-H-7644) is composed of a caster oil and alcohol. It is dyed blue. They are mostly used in older type aircraft. Natural rubber seal are used with vegetable base hydraulic fluid. This type is flammable. And the system may be cleaned with the use of alcohol. Figure 9: Vegetable based fluid 2 Mineral Base: (MIL-H-5606) it is processed from petroleum. It has an odour similar to penetrating oil and is dyed red. Synthetic rubber seals are used with petroleum base fluids. This type of fluid is flammable. They are used in common aircrafts and the precaution is damaging to rubber tyres. Figure 10: Mineral base fluid 3 Synthetic Base: (MIL-H-8446) This is one of the most commonly used fluid of this type. This fluid is of a clear purple colour or either dyed green. They are fire resistant. The seal material used is synthetic butyl Teflon and the precaution is of damaging to surface finishes. Figure 11: Synthetic base fluid These three types of fluids cannot be mixed nor any of them are compatible with each other.

Exploring whether are Criminals Born or Made

Exploring whether are Criminals Born or Made A criminal can be defined as a person who has committed a crime. It does not matter whether one has committed a crime once or numerous times. Offences that may make one qualify to be called a criminal may include, robbery with violence, murder and so on. One may wonder why is it that some people have the habit of continually committing such crimes while others dont? Is it a matter of inheriting some genes from the family or is it ones on desire to do so? These questions and many more are some reasons that have brought about a fiery argument from the subject of criminology in the expedition to find the source of criminal behaviour in our society today and also ways of dealing with such kind of behaviour in our society. This essay will bring out factors that may lead to answering some of these questions looking at both approaches whether one is born a criminal or is forced to become a criminal because of some other factors like environment. Nevertheless, the essay will take a position and argue that these criminals are made and that no one is born a criminal. This is a behaviour some people obtain due to either by their own choice or factors from their environment. Psychologists have come up with many assumptions and intentions as to why individuals commit crimes. The two main clarifications lie in genetic and environmental factors, which conveys to the nature and nurture debate. Some argue that criminals are born, these are philosophers and scientists who believe that the genetics play a role in a persons behaviour and thus criminals are as a result of the same; these are twin and adoption studies. On the other hand there are also studies that have been conducted to prove that criminals are made by society, these are scientist and philosophers who consider that it is the environment, such as a persons interaction with the society that models behaviour of the individual. Some psychologists and medical researchers have come to the theory that criminal behaviour is hereditary just as other medical conditions, such as heart disease and high cholesterol. This gives a conclusion that criminals have a tendency to commit crime and are indeed born (Wasserman D (2004). On the other hand, an individual who is not genetically inclined to criminal behaviour can be forced by the environment to get involved in to the same. Peer pressure is one of best illustration in such cases. Most of the criminals today are from big cities where living conditions are somehow hostile. One of the major factors that drive such individuals to criminal behaviour is poverty, which in this case lies in the nature side of the debate. That is to say, poverty, which is an environmental factor, also plays a huge role in producing criminal behaviour (Baatz, Darrow, 2009).. A study on identical twins in a University in Florida carried out in 2007 shows that the relationship of criminal behaviour of identical and fraternal twins were evaluated with each other in these studies; it was concluded that rates of participation in criminal acts to be more alike for pairs of identical twins compared to fraternal. However, critics dispute that reasons other than that of hereditary could be the cause for the result. Contrasting to other family members identical twins normally spend more time collectively, frequently having the similar instructors and associates, thus sharing allot of experiences. Identical twins are more often than not closely emotionally involved to each other because of the aforesaid factors, making them similar in approach and behaviour including, involvement in criminal activity. A question may be raised in relation to genetic factors leading to criminal behaviour, that why should one be penalized if it is genetically inherited? The answer to such a question rely in part on whether one believes that factors reducing but not getting rid of ones ability for willpower ought to reduce moral accountability for ones behaviour. Moral philosophers differ on this subject, with some requiring an impairment of normal deliberative processes or at least a denial of the desires that the person finds so hard to manage before they would accept an argument for improvement. However, poverty is not the only environmental factor that may lead an individual to crime. One may notice that though poverty is a factor in criminal behavior, not all people leaving in poverty indulge in crime (Raine, 1993). This is to say that criminal behavior can be controlled by the environmental factors like what lessons one is taught. Still, not all criminals come from modest background or from big cities, some also come from well-off families living in outer edge. These are mostly peer influence, naturally human beings are sensible, and they freely make decisions even though they understand the outcome of their own choices. Thus criminals are not born but made. The old proverb says that wicked group damage decent principles. Relating with criminals can make an individual to end up as a criminal. This may be the major motive why children from well-off families obtain criminal behaviour. Petty crimes committed by children may appear to be a tale to friends who may also be involved the same for pleasurable. Over duration of time, this behaviour may prove to become a permanent thing. Peer pressure is mainly clear in the slums where houses close to one another. Among other factors, this explains why crime rate is on the higher on average in poor vicinity. According to study, families in inner cities are facing many challenges. There is extremely huge number of single parent families where mostly the father is missing. A family where father is missing lacks that unity that a father brings in a family. Boys need a father figure in the family to help them grow and learn how to control their manhood. In Addition to this domestic hostility that is ra mpant in families and the circumstances that become apparent is an rising number of youth brought up in such homes. Another good example is the high rate of criminal activity associated with African Americans as compared to the whites. This can only be explained by the peer influence acquired from one another in these neighbourhoods. A family mingles an individual to the exterior world. It introduces the prospects of society on each individual. When the individual is brought up in a family set upwhere there is respect for authority and personal possessions, there is affection, and hard work is appreciated; this individual assumes the similar principles. A father figure in the family symbolizes authority. Children brought up in single parented families where they were battered may utter their antagonism on the public and become criminals (Ferri, 2008). The importance of rearing children in normal families cannot be contradicted. Thus most single parented families play a major role to crime in that they do not instil the best of the children they bring up by bringing out the mandatory morals. This evidently illustrates why a family is the heart of every society, and everything that takes place in it will eventually resound transversely in the whole society (Miller, Gaines, 2008). The same relates to schools. A sch ool not only implant helpful morals, but also authorize children to lead straightforward lives. Failure to this, its graduates may be prone to crime. From the above-mentioned situations, the environment also plays are the crucial task in initialling criminals. Therefore, criminals are made. This is to say, criminals realize this behaviour from their neighbourhood or they are forced by living conditions. Similarly psychologists frequently say things like Families with inadequate communication and poor family attachment have been shown to have a connection with a childs development of hostile/criminal behavior.   Or children are at a bigger risk of involving in crimes, if they were abandoned or neglected (Caspi A. (2002). There is sharp turn of events in out societal principles concerning earning a living currently. We are instructed that in order to be wealthy, you dont need to work hard, but rather work smart.. The meaning of the term work smart is vague. In the real sense, an individual a little less hard but earning significantly extra than generally individuals would be termed to be working smart. Reasonably speaking, there are careers where people receive plenty of money for working fewer hours; compared to r the majority plenty of cash is a result of tolerance and hard work. Since chances for working smart are scarce or rather imaginary, some people end up devious and other deceitful activities that border on crime to get money (Baatz, Darrow, 2009). In societies where people like this obtain and hold on to their corrupted wealth, who would be willing to stick to usual ways of earning a living. Everyone will be on the look for a shortcut to develop living standards. This habitually means turni ng to corruption. When such circumstances exist in any society it will eventually crumple, particularly if the leaders are implicated. To conclude therefore, it can be argued that, though studies have found that both genes and environment play a role in the criminality of the individual, the environment plays a key role in stemming or spreading such behaviors. Criminals are therefore made and not necessarily born

Environmental Ethics Essay -- shallow ecological thinking, deep ecolog

"If we each take responsibility in shifting our own behavior, we can trigger the type of change that is necessary to achieve sustainability for our race or this planet. We change our planet, our environment, our humanity every day, every year, every decade, and every millennia." -- Yehuda Berg The state of our environment has been deteriorating for centuries. Every part of the planet has been negatively impacted by man. Environmental degradation was greatly accelerated by the industrial revolution that took place in the 19th century. The industrial revolution mechanized the production of goods and introduced the use of machinery and other heavy equipment which were fueled by dirty sources of energy. At first, wood and coal powered the engines of industry, later they were replaced by natural gas and petroleum(Alters 51-63). At this point, it simply is not enough to just "do no harm" to the environment. We must immediately begin to act on behalf of the environment, instead of just not against it. My ethics concerning the environment have always run along the lines of "shallow ecological thinking,(Naess)" as Arne Naess called it. I choose to avoid pollution and to reduce, reuse, and recycle because these actions seem beneficial to humans in one way or another. This reasoning is shared by many people in regards to the environment and animal rights considering anything as a means to human ends, rather than as ends in themselves. Even the above passage from the Bible seems to allocate all the goods of the earth to humans and puts all the natural resources under their direct supervision. I understand the above passage to mean that man is obliged to look after the environment and to protect it, much like a mother looks after her chi... ...ered by a world of people. We need to keep in mind, however, that ethics do not develop spontaneously, so we must allow a bit of leeway, some room to move, grow, and evolve. With this mindset, the environmental damage can first be slowed, then stopped, and eventually reversed and mended. It may seem drastic, but this plan of action may be more necessary than the people of our needy planet realize. Works Cited Alters, Sandra, ed., â€Å"Coal.† Energy: Supplies, Sustainability and Costs. Detroit: Thomson Gale, 2007. 51-63. EBC. OhioLINK Scholarly and Reference E-Books. Web. 17 Apr. 2015 Naess, Arne. "THE SHALLOW AND THE DEEP, LONG RANGE ECOLOGY MOVEMENTS" Inquiry (Oslo), 16 (1973). Web. 5 May 2015 http://www.alamut.com/subj/ideologies/pessimism/Naess_deepEcology.html Singer, Peter. Practical Ethics. Second ed. New York: Cambridge University Press, 1998.

Connie’s Choice in Where are you Going, Where have you Been? :: Where Are You Going Where Have You Been

Where are you Going, Where have you Been? – Connie’s Choice I think Connie opened the screen door because she wanted to escape from her life with her family into some kind of fantasy. I think there were other reasons also, but the story points to this one in many places. First of all, Connie was not happy at home. The story says that her father "was away at work most of the time," and "didn't bother talking much to them," so Connie didn't have love from him and had to find male attention somewhere else. Connie found her happiness in escaping with her friend to the drive-in restaurant and daydreaming about boys. But the happiness she found in both of these things had nothing to do with actual events; it is based on a fantasy. When she was out at the drive-in with a boy, her face gleamed "with the joy that had nothing to do with Eddie or even this place; it might have been the music." When she daydreamed about boys, they all "fell back and dissolved into a single face that was not even a face, but an idea, a feeling mixed up with the urgent pounding of the music..." A theme that runs through this story is that music seems to be the bridge from the real world into Connie's fantasy world. She doesn't know what she wants, but it's got something to do with "the music that made everything so good." When Arnold Friend drove up the driveway, Connie was listening to music, "bathed in a glow of slow-pulsed joy." She soon discovered that he was playing the same music in his car. This is not a coincidence; I think it makes a connection in the back of Connie's mind. And, the story says that it seemed to Connie like Arnold "had come from nowhere," and "belonged nowhere," and that everything about him "was only half real." I think in some strange way Arnold becomes to Connie the way to escape into her fantasy. When she learns his true intentions she is scared to death at first but eventually that fear gives way to "an emptiness." Connie thinks, "I'm not going to see my mother again... I'm not going to sleep in my bed again.

The Characters in Troilus and Criseyde

Characters Achilles, warrior who kills Troilus and Hector in battle Antenor, a soldier held captive by the Greeks, led to the fall of Troy, traded for Criseyde's safety Calchas, a Trojan prophet who joins the Greeks Criseyde, Calchas' daughter Helen, wife to Menelaus, lover of Paris Pandarus, Criseyde's uncle, advises Troilus in the wooing of Criseyde Priam, King of Troy Cassandra, Daughter of Priam, a prophetess at the temple of Apollo Hector, Prince of Troy, fierce warrior and leader of the Trojan armies Troilus, Youngest son of Priam, and wooer of Criseyde Paris, Prince of Troy, lover of HelenDeiphobus, Prince of Troy, aids Troilus in the wooing of Criseyde Synopsis Criseyde, the daughter of the seer Calchas, lives alone in Troy after her father abandons the Trojans to help the Greeks. Eventually she catches the eye of Troilus, a man who had previously scoffed at love, and becomes the object of his overwhelming desire. With the help of Criseyde’s uncle Pandarus he wins her love but soon loses it when the Greeks and the Trojans conduct an exchange of prisoners. Calchas, who knows of Troy’s imminent destruction, persuades the Greeks to exchange Antenor for his daughter and thus saves her from the doomed city.Criseyde promises Troilus that she’ll return to him after ten days but once she’s back in the care of her father she realizes the impossibility of her promise. Resigned to her fate, Criseyde yields to the flirtations of Diomedes, and her love for Troilus fades. When Deiphobus wins the armor of Diomedes, Troilus discovers a brooch he gave Criseyde upon her departure pinned to it. Heartbroken, he tries to find Diomedes and take his revenge during battle but after slaying many is in his turn killed by Achilles. As his spirit goes to heaven he reflects on the absurdity of all life itself. work cited Wikipedia online encyclopaedia

Congoleum Corporation Essay

In valuing the target company Congoleum after an LBO by First Boston found the expected free cash flows generated by this firm from 1980 to 1984. These numbers were based on values provided in the case. From there, we employed the Adjusted Present Value method to discount these cash flows because we assumed that Congoleum was varying its Debt to Equity ratio during those years. We discounted these cash flows by the required return on assets that was in turn calculated through use of the Modigliani-Miller unlevering formula (to derive the Asset Beta) and the Capital Asset Pricing Model. The required return on Congoleum debt was calculated by the expected return of the average CCC-company’s debt and the expected return of debt under default. Then, the present value of financial side effects was taken into account by discounting the interest tax shield by the required return on debt. Finally, we calculated the terminal value of cash flows by assuming a constant 4.14% growth rate in perpetuity and a constant D/E ratio for the years after 1984. Thus, these cash flows were initially discounted under WACC-ME. From there, we factored in prior debt and cash that Congoleum had generated to calculate the total equity value of the firm after the LBO had taken place. Background Congoleum is a firm active in three product market segments: home furnishings, shipbuilding, automotive, and industrial distribution. In the summer of 1979, First Boston Corporation with the help of Prudential Insurance Company proposed a purchase of Congoleum by private and institutional investors. The day before the issuance of the tender offer, Congoleum closed at $25.375 per share with 12.2 million shares outstanding. Assumptions: During the preparation of this case, multiple assumptions have been made in order to facilitate the analysis requested. Below is a list of the assumptions made and our reasoning for their validity. * Tax rate of 48% * The D/V ratio from 1979 to 1984 and was best estimated through the mean of the expected D/V ratios of Congoleum’s separate divisions by the metric of percentage of total identifiable assets provided in this case * The D/V ratio from 1984+ was assumed to be constant and could be estimated via one of two methods: * It could be estimated by looking at the D/V ratio of comparable, BB rated companies * It could be estimated by looking at the D/V ratio of firms that are comparable to the various â€Å"subsets† of Congoleum (home furnishing, ship building, and automotive) and taking the average of those companys’ D/V ratio * The return on debt from 1984+ can be assumed through two methods: * The arithmetic average of comparable BB rated companies’ returns on debt * The weighted average of the returns on debt * The market risk premium was expected to be 8.6% and the risk free rate was assumed to be 9.5% as provided in the case * The risk of default for Congoleum is expected to be 15.25% and the expected return to debt holders in case of default is 6% (we assume that at least some payments to debt holders have occurred prior to default) * The growth rate of cash flows after 1984 is expected to be 22.50% over 5 years as provided in exhibit 9 of this case and that growth rate is expected to continue in perpetuity Discussion of Figures Figure 1 Figure is the actual income statement for Congoleum in 1978 and estimates of its income statement from 1980 to 1983. The free cash flows used in the calculation of the NPV of this company was the Free Cash Flow to All Capital because the cash flows employed by APV/WACC assume no interest. Thus, our interest expenses had to be added back to the cash flows to shareholders to make them free cash flows. From purchasing Congoleum, investors receive outstanding cash from the company, a term not from a bank, strip-securities, and equity from First Boston and Congoleum Management. Its outflows include its purchase of Bath Iron works, Congoleum’s other assets and executive stock. It also includes general LBO expenses. Additionally, attached is our sensitivity analysis that looks at how our assumptions regarding the growth rate and D/V ratio of our firm in years post 1984 impacts our calculations of the firm’s value Post-LBO. Figure 2 Figure 2 shows the value of the long-term debt and equity for the firm from 1974 to 1978. The total value of the firm in at any time is equal to the sum of the debt and equity for a given year. The D/E and D/V ratios for the firm over those 5 years were then averaged in this figure. Figure 3 This table displays the D/V ratio of firms that are representative one of the three â€Å"subsets† of Congoleum (Furnishings, Ship Building, or Automotive). Each of these ratios was then averaged to get the weighted average debt to value ratio of comparable companies; this was performed by using the ratio of Identifiable Assets per division to Total Identifiable Assets. Finally, the average D/V ratio of the firms representing each subset was also listed. Alternatively, the Debt to Value ratio of the provided BB firms is listed and those ratios were then averaged to get the mean Debt to Value ratio that could be used for the target Debt to Value ratio for Congoleum post-1984. Figure 4 The equity beta for the firm was provided in the case. We also are making the assumption that the Debt Beta is 0 (i.e. risk free). The Debt to Equity ratio was also calculated in Figure 2. Through the Modigliani-Miller unlevering formula, we then were able to derive our Asset Beta. Then, using our calculated Asset Beta and the provided market risk premium and risk free rate, we were able to calculate the required return on assets with the Capital Asset Pricing Model. From there, we employed the Miles-Ezzell cost of capital formula with the Debt to Equity ratio derived by looking at comparable â€Å"BB-rated firms† to derive our WACC. Additionally, the expected cash flow growth is forecasted to be 22.50% over the 5 years following 1984. Hence, we expect an annual growth rate of 4.14%. Figure 5 The free cash flows (calculated in figure 1) are listed from between 1980 and 1984. They are each discounted at the required return on assets calculated in figure 4 because are calculating the APV of cash flows from between 1980 and 1984. The required return on debt was then calculated by looking at the returns of comparable debt of other CCC firms. The average return on the debt of those firms was 15.19%. We then had to factor in the 15.25% probability of default by Congoleum and its expected return of 6% on debt in the case of default. The expected return on weight weights these two potential returns on debt by their probability of occurring. The side effects of financial distress were then calculated from between 1980 and 1984 by multiplying the annual interest expense by the tax rate and then discounting the interest tax shield by the required return on debt calculated above. Figure 6 Next, we had to calculate the present value of terminal value. We did this by first calculating the expected 1985 cash flow by multiplying the 1984 cash flow by the expected 4.1% growth rate (calculated in figure 4). Given, we expect the generate cash flows that grow at 4.1% in perpetuity, we calculated the present value of those cash flows by taking our 1985 cash flow and discounting by the WACC-ME (calculated in figure 4). This was performed by using the Gordon Dividend Growth Model because the firm would now be a publicly traded equity and the free cash flows are representative of the firm’s dividends. This gave us the value of the TV at 1984, so we then discounted by the return on assets to receive the present value of the TV. Figure 7 The value of the firm post LBO is thus equal to the sum of its discounted terminal value, tax shields, and free cash flows from 1980 to 1984. However, to calculate the total equity value of the firm, we must also factor in the cash and debt that Congoleum held prior to the LBO. That includes adding in 95.10 million in cash and subtracting out 15.6 million in debt and 34.5 million in previous pension liabilities. If you divide the equity value pre and post LBO by the number of shares outstanding, you then receive the companies’ price per share pre and post LBO. Figure 8 Shareholders thus gain the difference between the initial share price and the post-LBO share price multiplied by the number of shares outstanding. Debt holders are paid off entirely with no gain or loss.