The financial performance of Marks and Spencer Assignment - 1

The financial performance of Marks and Spencer - Assignment Example etail outlets also sell mid to high priced apparel, food, and household items under the companys private label brands, including Autograph, Classic, per una, and Portfolio. The British retail icon operates in about 330 M&S department stores and some 340 Simply Food shops throughout the UK. Beyond Britain, it spreads across over 325 locations, mostly franchises, in about 40 countries, including China, India, Indonesia, and South Korea (Google Finance n.d.). The company recorded revenues of  £9,536.6 million ($15,272.9 million) during the financial year ended April 2010 (FY2010), an increase of 5.2% over 2009 (JP Morgan 2011). Past financial performance of the firm or an organization is an important indicator for predict or estimate the future of the company. Investors and shareholders measure and value this financial performance (amongst other factors) as a means to assess the expected returns on their investments (Alvarado 2011). Calculation of a number of financial ratios for the firm’s financial statements is considered a fairly safe way to evaluate the firm’s past performance, its evolution and key financial issues. The analyses are very valuable for firm’s management as well in order to identify opportunities to improve performance at the department, unit, division or organizational level. In some cases, ratio analyses can predict future bankruptcy (Loth 2011). Reading and understanding financial ratios is also the quickest method to assess the company’s operating performance. In order to understand the company well from financial statements, we need to conduct analyses at three levels: (1) Profitability analyses to see if the company is profitable or not, whether the company is a growing company or a stagnant one. (2) Financial Health analyses from ratios that indicate whether the company is sound or not and what is its presence state of solvency. (3) Finally, company specificities will be explored in terms of key growth drivers and competitive

Can School Vouchers and School Choice Successfully Coexist Research Paper

Can School Vouchers and School Choice Successfully Coexist - Research Paper Example Charter schools are different from school vouchers. Charter schools are subsidized by the government. The government can revoke the charter and halt funding at any time. Voucher programs date back to the early 1900s in Vermont and Maine. The two states wanted to ensure that every child had access to schools, at a time when some children were not located in a school district (CNN). It is only in the 1990s that other localities and states adopted voucher programs and sparked debate (Brown, B. 2002, 287-300). The issues presented by school vouchers have polarized Americans. Many are for vouchers, and many are against vouchers. Few are left in the middle. Proponents of school vouchers make their main case the condition of failing, inner-city schools. Varying in different programs, vouchers are offered to failing students in urban schools. The students have a choice to enrol in another public school or private school. Supporters argue that a majority of voucher recipients are poor minorities. Therefore, these poor, neglected students have a new chance in a school outside the district. In addition to providing better education to these failing students, the push for school integration is renewed (Coulson). Since school integration became the law of the land in 1954, white families have flocked to the suburbs, resulting in separation of the upper classes and lower classes (Epple, D., and Romano, R. 2003). Opponents dispute that this totally undermines public education. Learning by People for the American Way (PFAW) cites that the voucher costs drain money from public schools. This has unenthusiastic effects in its place of keeping the money inside the school budget.