Course Work Test

Course Work Test You are submitted the two excel files and completed word responses in the exam link by the end of class time. Be sure to click add another file so you can add all files before you click submit. (25 pts) Using the completed file named Expenditures.xlsx from Chapter 2 (rename to ExamExpenditures.xlsx. Create another pie graph using the Quarter 1, Quarter 2, Quarter 3, Quarter 4 titles and the Average Expenditures amounts. Move the chart to its own sheet named Quarters Pie. Remove the legend Add data labels that show the Category Names and the Percentages Format the data labels to be legible and neatly inside the pies Add a title to the chart name Quarterly Average Expenditure (25pts) Using the completed file named Parking.xlsx from Chapter 3 (rename to ExamParking.xlsx Add the following functions and formatting to all worksheets. Group the April – June worksheets so they have the same outcome. Insert two blank rows between row 11 12 In cell A11 type Minimum. In cells B11-F11 use the appropriate function for the data in rows 5-8. In cell A12 type Maximum. In cells B12-F12 use the appropriate function for the data in rows 5-8. In cell A13 type Average. In cells B13-F13 use the appropriate function for the data in rows 5-8. Format range A11-F13 any way you want, but make sure it is consistent on all worksheets. (30 pts) Using the Garden.xlsx file you completed in Chapter 4 as a reference. Answer the following questions with at least 25 words: Explain how the If function works (ie. what are the parts to the function and what do they do)? How did it help analyze the data in the Garden.xlsx file? The If function allows displaying a specific value if a particular logical test is correct; and another value if the test is wrong. The first argument of the function is the logical test. It can be any test whose answer is TRUE or FALSE. The second argument of the function will be the value that will be in the cell if the test is true, and the third argument will be the value returned in the cell if the function is false. for instance, =IF(B4C4;Inferior;Not inferior) will test if the value in the cell B4 is inferior to the one in the cell C4. It will return the word â€Å"Inferior† if the condition is respected and â€Å"Not inferior† otherwise. The If function is very useful to determine if a reorder should be placed. What does conditional formatting do? Why is it useful? Conditional formatting allows to format cells according to specific criteria. For instance, in an excel spreadsheet analyzing profits and losses of a company; we could automatically color losses in red and profits in green. Conditional formatting is very useful when working with large sets of data and when the values change often. The color formatting will then change automatically; we do not have to update it manually. How do data bars or spark lines work? Why is it useful? Data bars and spark lines analyze a set of numerical data as input and generate a graphical representation of it in an output cell of choice. Data bars and spark lines are very useful because they help intuitively see how the data is evolving. Moreover, when working with large data sets whose value frequently change, data bars and spark lines are updated automatically. One does not need to generate graphs each time has the spark lines can be dragged down a long table. They are useful for instance for visualizing the change in the profits of a company over time. (20 pts) Using the Payroll.xlsx file you completed in Chapter 6 as a reference. Answer the following questions with at least 25 words: Explain how the Lookup function works (ie. What are the parts to the function and what do they do)? How did it help analyze the data in the Payroll.xlsx file? The VLOOKUP function allows to lookup a value in a table and return a value situated in the same row (but from a column of your choice). The first argument is the lookup value; that is the value we are looking for. The second argument defines the size of the table. The third argument is the column number of the aforementioned table from which the matching value should be taken. A fourth value allows to find an exact match or not and is called Range lookup, but it is not mandatory to use the function. VLOOKUP is very useful when working with big databases of clients and needing to return a specific value. It could be used for example to return the phone number of a client when typing his name in an input cell. VLOOKUP was very useful to process the data from the â€Å"Employees† spreadsheet in Payroll.xlsx. We used Named Ranges in order to efficiently use the advanced functions in Chapter 6. What are Named Ranges and why did named ranges work better than cell references when we copied the functions? Name ranges allow giving a specific name to one or many cells related to each other. For instance, we can name the cells C14:C17 â€Å"Tax_Rates†. Name ranges have 2 main advantages:they allow faster formula typing and faster formula reading. For instance, the formula =AVERAGE(Tax_Rates) is much more readable and intuitive than =AVERAGE(C14:C17). Named ranges worked better than cell references when copying functions because by default named ranges are automatically fixed, equivalent to absolute cell references ($). This makes dragging most formulas very convenient.

Classical Vs. Neoclassical Theory - 1846 Words

Value is a concept that has played a major role in the development of political economy and mainstream economics, however, in today’s context it is not often discussed. This being true, the debate surrounding value and how to define it remains an important one for today’s society. The debate when looked at from the classical and neoclassical perspective centres on whether value is inherent or whether it is an outcome of human desires, comparing Ricardo’s labour theory of value and Smith’s adding up theory with the neoclassical school’s focus on demand and supply, marginal utility and equilibrium price given maximising individuals. The classical model, especially with its focus on scarcity is strong, however, it is the neoclassical argument that is most relevant today as it complements the highly globalised and technological economy of the present day. Classical Political Economic theory can be traced back to the late seventeenth century, when demand for commodity production was rapidly increasing. Following 1670, Sir William Perry came close to defining the â€Å"exchange value of a commodity by the amount of labour needed to produce it.† Richard Cantillon went beyond this by separating the intrinsic value of a commodity, being the labour and land needed to produce it from its market price. This resulted in the foundation for Adam Smith’s Wealth of Nations where he developed three distinct methods for determining a commodity’s true value. The First, reflected Petty’sShow MoreRelatedThe Loving and Caring Manager: A Neoclassical Approach to Management581 Words   |  2 Pagesdrive progress through an internal satisfaction of accomplishment. 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Human Resource Management And Organizational Development

This assignment will briefly discuss the role of human resource in an organisational development, and how it assists the organisations to achieve their ultimate goal. It also looks at the various stages of human resource and how each and every stage of human resource plays vital role of that organisation for achieving its desired destination. Human resource management is important tool that every organisation can’t dispense without using it; it’s a vehicle that transports ideas of the organisation’s top leaders to their employees, in order to perform well in very competitive world. Organisations need to improve their image and their services to reach the maximum customers and satisfy their infinite human needs, to do so human resource management must be a policy and tool to use for organisational development. HRM enable the organizations to predict and analyses their workforce for future strategy. As things keep changing every day and nothing is more reliable than having a good plan in that circumstance. Organisations need a plan to fight off the uncertainty surrounding them. They need a plan for staffing, development and delivering their service without using human resource management, it’s impossible to achieve those goals. What is human resource management? Human resource management is a functional department that concerns recruiting, training and retaining the staff for an organisation. HRM is the process that an organisation undertakes to manage its humanShow MoreRelatedTraining Needs Assessment, Evaluation, Success, And Organizational Strategy And Effectiveness1035 Words   |  5 Pages1. Anderson, J.E. (2000). Training needs assessment, evaluation, success, and organizational strategy and effectiveness: An exploration of the relationships. (Doctoral dissertation, Utah State University. Logan, UT). 2. Appelbaum, S.H., Ayre, H. Shapiro, B.T. (2002). 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HR focuses on whom the organization hires, whom the organization fires and remediation to employees who need discipline and retooling to continue their employment. The functions of the HR department in my organization include: recruiting and retaining talent, performance management

Attitude and Appreciation of the Natural World in Gerard...

Attitude and Appreciation of the Natural World in Gerard Manley Hopkins and Henry Wadsworth Longfellows Poetry The simple beauty of nature is an aspect many of us take for granted in our everyday lives - the endearing sounds of birds welcoming another day and the powerful gush of a waterfall being some examples of these. But there are those individuals who have endeavoured to fully comprehend the marvellous complexity of the world around us. Such findings are present in the work of many poets - namely Gerard Manley Hopkins (1844 - 1889)and Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1808 - 1882). Hopkins and Longfellow were two contemporary poets from the nineteenth century from different cultures, English and†¦show more content†¦The poem Snowflakesby Longfellow is also an expression of the poets attitude to and appreciation of the natural world. In it Longfellow describes in minute detail the subtle beauty of a single snowflake and makes us more aware not only of snow, but of the other small things surrounding us, making us realise their importance. Both poems acknowledge existence and power of a creator. In Pied Beauty a song of praise is presented in the first line of the poems triumphant, alliterative opening stanza, as Glory be to Godà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ immediately places Hopkins appreciation of the beauty of the natural world in a religious context. Also as the poem concludes with the exhortation Praise him it is clear that the piece is deliberately framed as a Christian hymn of thanksgiving for the infinite variety in nature. The opening line also introduces the poems theme: dappled things and this is the first of many adjectives describing parti-coloured natural elements. Snowflakes on the other hand opens with an altogether more maternal aspect of nature although the acknowledgement of a powerful creator is still present: Out of the bosomof the Air Out of the cloud-folds of her garments shaken This personification of the female form creates a Mother Earth type figure that I feel Longfellow used to successfully communicate his love and understanding of all things

Statement of Superannuation and Retirement Advice

Question: Describe about the Statement of Superannuation and Retirement Advice. Answer: Graham and Anna, you did ask for my advice concerning your retirement targets, how achievable they are, and implementable strategies to ensure that the target is achieved. You also seek to know the working of your superannuation funds which offers retirement incomes in the form of account-based pensions and their viability among other important financial aspects. Throughout the document, I am going to provide the financial planning you should take to ensure that by the time you are retiring, you will need enough funds to cater for your personal welfare. The statement discussed below known as the Statement of Advice (SOA) has a full explanation of my advice. Summary of my advice Why my advice is appropriate In the world of investment, the investors are faced with a major challenge of future uncertainty (Agnew at el, 2005, p. 66). Similarly, the business field is a major victim of the unpredictable predicaments. To overcome both predictable and unpredictable risks, businesses settle for the insurance cover (Agnew, 2002, p. 22). Likewise, having an appropriate insurance in place ensures that you and your family are fully covered in serious situations like either of you falling sick or dying of getting fatal injuries (Aguiar and Erik, 2003, p. 39). The above-recommended investments suitably fit your retirement plans as you are also investors ready to make risks to given amounts. You also still have the option to withdraw your money from the investments whenever the need arises. Risks in my advice All the managed funds which include the ones I have recommended to you come along with risks. These are investments which are far much different from having money in the bank (Brown, at el. 2007, p. 45). They have associated fluctuating risks by which their values might rise or fall uncontrollably depending on the market forces. Alternatively, investment risk may be a major concern for your investment (Brigitte at el., 2007, p. 250). Money markets operate in the ever-changing environment and hence and hazardous impact on the nation economic and growth, and development of the nation may have a critical effect on the fluctuating interest rates (Choi at el., 2001, p. 23) What my advice doesnt cover? Trauma insurance where there are lump sum payments on the diagnosis of certain defined illnesses or injuries, the general needs of your insurance requirements (Cogan, 2003, p. 155). For example, insurance covering the car or house, the adequacy of your retirements, all the general issues related to taxation and all the extra money you will have readily at hand. Furthermore, it is also important to introduce the risk of death at this point (Bodie at el. 2007, p. 46). As human beings we are mortal, and thus we can't predict our personal life span. Therefore, engaging in the retirement investment plan may be risky as we may benefit our next of kin instead of benefiting ourselves. Fees and commissions Next and Final Steps Before you decide on whether to follow my advice, you need to consider the following issues. Make sure that you fully understand my advice and ask all the necessary questions. You should also complete the procedural authority found at the end of the document before returning it to me. Again, you should ascertain whether my advice is in line with your retirement investment plan (Ferruz at el. 2009, p. 13). In the case of any deviation from your plans, it will be wise and appropriate to seek for clarification without any further go ahead (Huberman and Paul, 2004, p.420). Note we first met two months ago after a referral by one of my clients. At the meeting we had, you made a request that I prepare for you a statement of advice which specifically addresses your goals and objectives. In addition, you also informed me that I address issues like; If you should establish an SMSF and the advantages and disadvantages of doing so. If it also would assist in accumulating wealth meant for your retirement plan and the benefits that the SMSF posses over your funds. My view concerning your continued investment in residential property, coupled up with the negative gearing to build retirement wealth. Further insight, you wanted to know the viable options which you can consider with your residential property given their current poor performance. Graham also wanted to know about the rules about an incidence he heard that there would be no capital gains tax if he rents his family home for a short period. You also wanted to know about superannuation beneficiary nominations as you had never heard of it and had therefore never made any nominations to benefit from the same. You also asked to be advised on the suitable superannuation fund which can accept Grahams rollover benefits from both employer and voluntary contributions. In addition, you also want to know what you can do with his redundancy package. You want to know how much to contribute in your superannuation after Anna heard from a local radio about the importance of saving for retirement. In line with this development, she also wants to know if she should continue using Care Super as her major superannuation fund. By having insurance policies both within and outside the superannuation, you want to know the issues associated with having both options (DeRoon, at el., 2001, p. 725) Also; you want to know if it is of more advantage to incorporate all the policies you need through your superannuation funds. You also seek advice concerning aged care and Marie's income cash flow as soon as she moves into the nursing home. You seek to get informed about the calculations of the fees, implications on her age pension, and how she can finance the refundable accommodation deposits (Hancock, 2002, p. 46). You also did want to know an approximation of the amount her age pension will receive once she enters the facility (Lusardi, 2008, p. 42) Section 1: Important information about the Suttons Background Information. A couple of Mr. and Mrs. Graham Sutton has been married for the past 26 years blessed with two children, named Sam and Jodie of ages 15 and 13 respectively. During the period, with Mr. Graham as the sole breadwinner, the couple managed to gather an impressive amount of assets comprising of buildings and also includes a joint online bank account at St George which has $150000. In her Colonial First State Index Australian Share Fund, Anna has $31000. On his current job position, Mr. Graham has $370000 at the BlueScope super fund at the balanced profile. At another account with the Care Super Industry Fund of the - conservative balanced option, Anna did manage to save up to $43000. Under Graham's name, the couple owns three industrial properties. One in Brisbane has a current face value of $445000 after having been acquired through a loan valued at $340000. The second property is the Unit 1 located on the Gold Coast with a net value of $155000 after having been acquired at a loan of $135000. The last property is the Unit 2 still at the Gold Coast valued at $245000 got from a loan of $205000. The joint family's home at Wollongong has a face value of $685000 got at a loan of $217000. Graham also owns a personal car valued at $25000. The total value of the contents in the home has a value of $65000 owned jointly by the couple. Through estimation, Graham will make an annual income of up to $195000 whereas Annes income will add up to $52000. Through the income garnered by renting out the industrial property, Graham will have a compounded annual income of $69000. As from the interest income, both the Suttons will have an equal income of $25000. Annas managed fund income will bring in a total of $15000 annually. Coming in at par with the incomes, the couple will also make expenses in various situations including an expected annual rent of $33800 at their new residence in Perth before purchasing a home of their own. Secondly, the annual living expenses will add up to a total of $42000 while their planned holiday expenses will cost $1000. A combination of the four industrial properties inclusive of the family home will have deductible outgoings in the form of interests adding up to a total of $44000. Their childrens education will cost them #20000 while motor vehicle costs and life insurance costs will be $3000 and $5200 respectively. Below is a graph showing the details clearly. Details of the estimated annual gross income Graham Anna Gross salary income $195000 $52000 Gross rental income $6900 Interest income $2500 $2500 Managed fund income. $1550 Total $266500 $56050 Goals and Objectives When it comes to finances it always suitable and secure to set financial goals and objectives (Lusardi and Beeler, 2008, p. 276). Similarly, retirement planning involves the planning for objectives and goals the available funds and how they can be invested to generate future cash inflows (Lusardi and Mitchell, 2007, p. 156). The Suttons have valid considerations for their goals and objectives which mostly feature on the retirement plan. For instance, Mr. Graham Sutton has already agreed to take up a new employment opportunity as a site manager at Pilbara Port Corporation, WA. This new opportunity comes barely two weeks after the end of the previous position he held at the BlueScope Steel in Wollongong, NSW where he currently is the senior mining engineer. At the new position, he has plans to offer his services for an extra nine more years before fully effecting the retirement. On retrenchment at his current working station, he will earn up to a total of $175000 as retirement benefits after deduction of all tax requirements. Secondly, the new position as the site manager at the new working station will see him earn up to $195000 which includes superannuation of 9.5%. On the other hand, his wife Mrs. Ann Sutton initially had a secretarial job but left it willingly so as to fully devote herself to taking care of the children and the whole family at home, but now is back to the workforce after managing to secure herself a part-time job in Perth. Her new role as a personal assistant will play an important part to the All Brains Inc. She will report directly to the training and development manager at the firm. In a period of three months time, she will be trading her expertise at the entity earning a net salary of $52000 per year which includes the superannuation of 9.50%. According to research by an analyst at the Investment Trends in 2012, whenever there is prolonged decrease in the proceeds garnered by markets, the SMSF shows instantaneous spike or increase in the number of the self-managed super funds (Xiao, 2014, p. 165). In respect to the retirement plan which you are working on, I would advise that you don't switch from the already set plan. Income you will earn from your respective jobs, and the rent gained from the industrial apartments is more reliable, and you are certain of it as compared to the SMSF which is dependent on the market forces. The only advantage the SMSF has over your funds is the fact that you can buy or sell assets much quickly (Weber, 2012, p. 14). This ability is because the SMSF members can quickly and easily exchange assets among themselves (Villamil at el. 2006, p. 1002). Funds can sometimes turn out frustrating due to the lag between the availability of the investments and the actual implementation (Rooij at el. 2007, p. 87). The second concern was about your continued investment in the industrial property. Such assets are beneficial in the long run because of their continuous appreciation over time (Seligman and Csikszentmihalyi, 2000, p. 10). Long term investments match with your retirement plans whereby it is more of an investment whose gains are felt much later (Olivia at el. 2007, p. 82). Based on the analysis of the poor property performance currently, I advise that you make the necessary developments and improvements on the buildings. You can build additional recreational features like building swimming pools or building a play center like a tennis court or external bar. These features are some of the major factors that attract clients increasing the demand and eventually the overall market value. In response to Grahams query about what he heard that there are no capital gain tax if he rents out the family home for a short of time is true, but there are conditions to be adhered to for effective application of the same. The Australian rules concerning homes state that you are exempted from the Capital Gains Tax (CGT) if the property was your main residence since when you acquired it. On moving out, you can only claim exemption from the CGT for only up to six years after leaving (Potocnik at el. 2013, p. 173). So for your case, with your estimated plan of working for an extra nine years before retirement, you will have to pay the tax for the last three years as you will only avoid it for the first six years. Every individual needs to choose a beneficiary to gain from the superannuation; it is an example of a will. Apart from making one another the beneficiary after one of you passes on, you still need to appoint the next beneficiary after you both die. In matters related to the superannuation funds, Graham's rollover benefits which he did earn from his personal and employer contributions at his current employment position are resources you can use for any financial requirements. Therefore, I advise the usage of the available funds for further development of industrial apartments. This will raise their standards and market value. In addition to those earnings, you can also add the redundancy package to increase the funds available for a more large scale program. How appropriate of my advice is to you Personal insurance is of great importance to you because it ensures financial protection over your current lifestyle and situation in case anything happens to you. Additionally, saving with the investment schemes is a noble idea as it will ensure you have an alternative source of income in the event your investment fails to generate the expected returns. Disadvantages associated with my advice Consequences due to the replacement of one financial product with another. This brings the aspect of opportunity cost whereby you have to undertake a certain investment at the expense of the other. The forgone viable product may be more income generating than the undertaken one. About the indication of desiring to have limited risks on your money but increasing it, I would propose that you venture in managed funds as they can yield higher returns in the long though this perception is not fully guaranteed. Despite the fact that managed funds have associated risks due to the genetic diversification of the funds, the risks are not as high. Increasing the number of investments also further helps in reducing the risks because in case one investment performs poorly, there are others to get back to. The value you hold at the managed funds is subject to change at any time of the day or night and can fall. Certain accounts like your joint savings account are more stable on the daily basis activities. Most of the managed accounts provided by many institutions require that you pay product fees before you can invest in them. What my advice does not deal with? Being financial analysts is not a guarantee that all the advice I give will be inclusive of all your preferences market. Additionally, it is not an assurance that all the financial information I offer to you is what is required for investment in the money market. After clearing all your outstanding debts, and also sooner as you will get to settle, you will realize that you have much free money. You can make use of such free funds to pay for some of the recommended insurance products, or you can opt to save more with the managed funds to give you higher returns on your investments. I can provide you with more advice on how you can invest this funds but, this services will cost you more. In line with tax issues, my profession does not entail tax. Therefore, my advice concerning the same is limited. In specific situations, you are entitled to a deduction in tax due to premiums which you pay for income protection insurance. Instead, I would only refer you to a tax expert to assist you in matters related to this and any other tax issues. Concerning superannuation, my advice does not put into consideration whether you have sufficient superannuation to cater for your retirement. I can provide further advice concerning this but only at an extra charge. What are my fees? I will charge a fee of $1500 which includes (GST) as a cost for the advice I am offering and the preparation of the SOA. From these, I am gaining $900 while rest goes to the firm I work at. Please make sure that you make these payments in two weeks time after receiving the SOA. What commissions do I get? There are no commissions that I receive from the referrals I make to you on the management funds. In case you follow my advice, the issuers of the products for personal insurance pay commissions to the Plan for it. I only get a share from these commissions. Of great importance is the quality of the products that I have recommended for you. They fit your situation quite effectively and will be of great importance if you implement them to the letter. The payments by the different products differ from to another, and it all depends on with the quality of services received and the level of client satisfaction registered. However, you should take note that there are some other more suitable products that pay lower commissions. Other questions that you might have. Who is restricted to an approved product list? Experts and other advisers like me are who are under the direct jurisdiction by the Plan for it, are only allowed to recommend products on the Playford's product list. We have no freedom recommend other products not included on the list. This statement implies that, whenever I am preparing an SOA or offering advice at my authorized level of expertise, I only get to use the products present on the Playford's list. I get to ignore without giving credit to any of the other products present in the market. If you are interested, I can provide you with a list of products available at the Plan for it. This list of products is regularly checked and reviewed by a team of experts from the Plan for it research commission. Should I guarantee the managed funds that I recommend? Actually no. In respect to the law, my recommendations for you to invest in these managed funds should work appropriately for you. However, you should take keen note that I do not guarantee the performance of any of the managed funds. I have no effect on the outcome because managed funds are dependent on the market forces just as highlighted before. Can you make changes to your decisions? Interestingly yes, you can make changes even after you have made payments on the products I recommend for you. You are eligible to get your full money refund back if you are not happy with the products. This refund is effected two weeks after purchase in a program called (cooling off). The PDS provided alongside the products contain further information about the different products. Are there restrictive time limits on my advice? Yes. As a matter of fact, my advice follows regulations whereby it has expiry dates controlling it. By saying so, in case the expiry date is long overdue, you are not supposed to rely on it if you had not taken decisions to act on it. Is there security to your personal information? Undoubtedly yes. You get the assurance that all the personal information you had given to us remains top secret not unless you permit us to reveal it by writing or it is a requirement by law. Ongoing Service and Review Like any other project which has been invested in, it becomes crucial to review the progress of this retirement planning investment to determine whether it is on the right course. Reviewing enables the investors to make an investment decision on the kind of investment they should undertake (Gourville and Dilip, 2005, p. 388). Alternatively, it helps the investor to review the services already offered by the investment schemes and whether they are worth investing in. This involves analyzing the strengths, improvement and the collaborations undertaken by those schemes in the effort of improving their services in future (Lusardi and Mitchell, 2007). If the schemes have good future financial plans, then it will be a true indication of high returns in future. This builds high confidence among the investors who will in turn out a large number and avail their savings for investment. From the analysis of the likely financial investment, I encourage the investor to adhere to my advice and undertake this investment opportunity. Future personal financial planning is very fundamental as it helps the employees to cater for their welfare at the old age. The investor will have an enjoyable lifestyle and may also end up donating some of his investment income to the charitable organizations. However, these exorbitant incomes will only be realizable if the investor does the right review of the services being offered various retirement benefit schemes. Therefore, I advise Graham that upon reviewing the various services being offered by the different schemes in the money market he should follow my advice and advice as my opinions. This will enable to realize the costs of his investment. Overall Structure and Presentation of Superannuation and Retirement Advice A financial analyst and adviser have to come up with the overall structure on retirement planning advice (Agnus at. el, 2007, p. 114). This structure helps the investor to have clear focus which will help him or her in enjoying his or her future lifestyle. Again, the structure includes each aspect of the investor financial life. Additionally, it puts emphasis on risk prevention as well as assets and estate planning so that the advice seeker can have confidence that his or her financial future secure (Elton at el. 2006, p. 1300). Therefore, I provide the overall structure of the retirement advice as illustrated below: Scope Definition: In my advice, I have clearly indicted the scope of the retirement financial planning of Graham and his family. This has been achieved through providing the process that the investor needs to undertake to be able to identify his needs and meet them. Goals Identification: The goals and objectives of the investor are quite clear. The investor wants to engage in retirement planning investment to have a future which is financially secure. To develop this plan, Mr. Graham should determine his short and long-term financial goals. These goals should be analyzed to come into conclusion the amount funds which will be needed to accomplish each target. Financial Situation Assessment: Upon the analysis of the financial goals it important to assess the financial position. Here, I have considered various aspects such as tax requirements, investment in insurance cover, liabilities and assets. This helps in determining the net worth of the investor. Financial Plan Preparation: Provided that I have obtained the clear understanding of the Mr. Graham financial position as well as his financial objectives, I have provided in my advice the products and the services that he should go for. Implementation of the Recommendations: This is a critical area in the retirement planning investment (Ameriks, 2004, p. 103). This is because it is the point where the actualization of the suggested strategies and recommendations are one. Given that, I have offered my advice the investor go ahead and start his journey of investment for future benefits. Plan Review: Economy fluctuations are one of the most impactful factors of the interests in the money market (Lusardi, 2008, p. 45). Alternatively, it also affects the level of employment, income as the good spooning behavior of the consumers (Huberman and Jiang, 2006, p. 780). Therefore, it crucial to note the financial objectives, as well as the individual lifestyle, may change as the time elapses. Therefore, this calls for a continuous review of the financial plan to ensure that the investor is always on the right path. References Agnew, Julie R. and Lisa R. Szykman. 2005. Asset Allocation and Information Overload: The Influence of Information Display, Asset Choice, and Investor Experience. Journal of Behavioral Finance, 6 (2): 57-70. Agnew, Julie, 2002, Inefficient Choices in 401(k) Plans: Evidence from Individual Level Data, Presented at the 4th Annual Joint Conference for the Retirement Research Consortium Directions for Social Security Reform. May 2002, Washington, D.C. Agnew, Julie, Pierluigi Balduzzi, and Annika Sunden. 2003. Portfolio Choice and Trading in a Large 401(k) Plan, American Economic Review, 93(1): 193-215. Aguiar, Mark and Erik Hurst (2003), Consumption vs. Expenditure. Mimeo, Chicago Business School. Ameriks, John and Stephen P. Zeldes. 2004. How Do Household Portfolio Shares Vary with Age? TIAA-CREF working paper. Ameriks, John, Andrew Caplin and John Leahy. 2002. Retirement Consumption: Insights from a Survey. NBER Working Paper n. 8735. Ameriks, John, Andrew Caplin and John Leahy. 2003. Wealth Accumulation and the Propensity to Plan. Quarterly Journal of Economics 68: 1007-1047. Angus, John, William O. Brown, Janet Kiholm Smith, and Richard L. Smith. 2007. What's in Your 403(b)? Academic Retirement Plans and the Costs of under diversification. forthcoming, Financial Management. Benartzi, Shlomo and Richard H. Thaler. 2001. Nave Diversification Strategies in Defined Contribution Savings Plans. American Economic Review, 91(1): 79-98. Blake, Christopher R., Edwin J. Elton, and Martin J. Gruber. 1993. "The Performance of Bond Mutual Funds." Journal of Business, 66: 371-403. Bodie, Zvi and Jonathan Treussard. 2007. Making Investment Choices as Simple as Possible, but Not Simpler. Financial Analysts Journal, 63 (3): 42-47. Brigitte Madrian, Olivia S. Mitchell, and Beth J. Soldo, eds. Oxford: Oxford University Press: 248-270 Brown, Jeffrey R., Nellie Liang and Scott Weisbenner. 2007. Individual Account Investment Options and Portfolio Choice: Behavioral Lessons from 401(k) Plans. NBER Working Paper No. 13169. Calvet, Laurent E., John Y. Campbell and Paolo Sodini. 2006. Down or Out: Assessing the Welfare Costs of Household Investment Mistakes. NBER Working Paper No. 12030. Choi, James J., David Laibson, Brigitte Madrian and Andrew Metrick. 2001. For Better or For Worse: Default Effects and 401(k) Savings Behavior, NBER Working Paper No. 8651. Cogan, John F., and Mitchell Olivia S. 2003. "Perspectives from the President's Commission on Social Security Reform." Journal of Economic Perspectives, 17(2): 149-172. 29 DeRoon, Frans A., Theo E. Nijman and Bas J.M. Werker. 2001. Testing for Mean-variance Spanning with Short Sales Constraints and Transaction Costs: The Case of Emerging Markets. Journal of Finance, 56(2): 721-742. Elton, Edwin J., Martin J. Gruber, and Christopher R. Blake. 2006. "The Adequacy of Investment Choices Offered by 401K Plans." Journal of Public Economics, 90(6-7): 1299-1314. Ferruz, Luis, Luis Vincente, and Laura Andreu. 2007. The Importance of Asset Allocation in Spanish Equity Pension Plans. Journal of Pension Economics and Finance. Forthcoming. Gourville, John and Dilip Soman. 2005. Overchoice and Assortment Type: When and Why Variety Backfires. Marketing Science, 24 (summer): 382395. Hancock, John, 2002, Eighth Defined Contribution Plan Survey. John Hancock Financial Services, Boston: John Hancock. Huberman, Gur and Paul Sengmueller. 2004. Performance and Employer Stock in 401(k) Plans, Review of Finance, 8: 403-443. Huberman, Gur and Wei Jiang. 2006. Offering vs. Choices in 401(k) Plans: Equity Exposure and Number of Funds, Journal of Finance, XLI (2): 763-801. Huberman, Gur, Sheena Iyengar, and Wei Jiang. 2003. Defined Contribution Pension Plans: Determinants of Participation and Contribution Rates. Working paper, September 2003 draft. Columbia University. Iyengar, Sheena S., Gur Huberman, and Wei Jiang. 2004. "How Much Choice is Too Much? Contributions to 401(k) Retirement Plans. In Pension Design and Structure: New Lessons from Behavioral Finance, Lusardi, A. (2003). Planning and saving for retirement (Working Paper). Hanover, NH: Dartmouth College. Retrieved September 15, 2009, from https://www.dartmouth.edu/~alusardi/Papers/ Lusardi_pdf.pdf Lusardi, A. (Ed.). (2008). Overcoming the saving slump: How to increase the effectiveness of financial education and saving programs. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press. Lusardi, A., Beeler, J. (2007). Saving between cohorts: The role of planning. In B. Madrian, O. Mitchell, B. Soldo (Eds.), Redefining retirement. How will boomers fare? (pp. 271295). Oxford, England: Oxford University Press. Lusardi, A., Mitchell, O. (2007b). Financial literacy and retirement planning: New Evidence from the Rand American Life Panel. Hanover, NH: Dartmouth College. Lusardi, A., Mitchell, O. (2007c). Financial literacy and retirement preparedness. Evidence and implications for financial education. Business Economics, January, 3544. Lusardi, A., Mitchell, O. S. (2007a). Baby boomer retirement security: The role of planning, financial literacy, and housing wealth. Journal of Monetary Economics, 54, 205224. Lusardi, A., Keller, P., Keller, A. (2008). New ways to make people save: A social marketing approach. In A. Lusardi (Ed.), Overcoming the saving slump: How to increase the effectiveness of financial education and saving programs (pp. 209-236). Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press. Olivia S. Mitchell and Stephen P. Utkus, eds. Oxford University Press, Oxford: 83-96. Karlsson, Anders, Massimo Massa, and Andrei Simonov. 2007. "Pension Portfolio Choice and Menu Exposure." In Redefining Retirement: How Will Boomers Fare? Potocnik, K., Tordera, N., Peir, J. M. (2013). Truly satisfied with your retirement or just resigned? Pathways toward different patterns of retirement satisfaction. Journal of Applied Gerontology, 32(2), 164-187. Puri, M., Robinson, D. (2007). Optimism and economic choice. Journal of Financial Economics, 86(1), 71-99. The pursuit of Happiness, Inc. (2013, November 28). Positive psychology and the science of happiness. Retrieved from https://www.pursuit-of-happiness.org/science-ofhappiness/ The pursuit of Happiness, Inc. (2013, November 28). Positive psychology and the science of happiness. Retrieved from https://www.pursuit-of-happiness.org/science-ofhappiness/ Salisbury, D., Turyn, T., Helman, R. (2001). Retirement Confidence Survey (RCS), Minority RCS, and Small Employer Retirement Survey (SERS) (EBRI Issue Brief No. 234). 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Discuss the Significance of Binary Oppositions free essay sample

A Discussion of the Significance of Binary Oppositions in Hemingways Cat in the Rain Introduction Cat in the Rain is a short story by American author Ernest Hemingway, which was first published in 1925 as a part of the short story collection In Our Time. The story is about an American man and wife on vacation in Italy. In the biography Hemingways Cats, the author writes: [Cat in the Rain] was a tribute to Hadley (Hemingways wife), who was dealing with the first year of marriage, the loneliness it entailed, and her deep desire for motherhood. According to biographer Gioia Diliberto Hemingway based the story on an incident that happened in Rapallo in 1923. Hadley was two months pregnant when she found a kitten that had been hiding under a table in the rain. l want a cat, she [told Hemingway], l want a cat. I want a cat now. If I cant have hair or any fun I can have a cat. David Lodges analysis of Hemingways short story Cat in the Rain shows that this is a symmetrical story consisting of several binary oppositions such as husband and wife, manager and wife, maid and wife, husband and maid, etc. According to Cuddon Dictionary of Literary Terms and Literary Theory, the term binary denotes composed of two, twofold; as in a binary star, one of a pair of stars held together by gravitation. Language, too, has countless binary oppositions: up/down; slow/fast; sense/nonsense; truth/falsehood; black/white; man/woman and so on. Binary opposition originated in Saussurean structuralist theory. According to Ferdinand de Saussure, the binary opposition is the means by which the units of language have value or meaning; each unit is defined in reciprocal determination with another term, as in binary code. It is not a contradictory relation but, a structural, complementary one. l In this essay, binary oppositions are discussed and analyzed under five categories: gender, symbol, characterization, action, and local color. (1 . Fogarty, S, 2005, The Literary Encyclopedia) Gender In this story, we can consider men and women as binary oppositions, especially by differentiating between George and his wife who are an American couple. As we can see in the story, in comparison to George, the wife is a weaker person; shes always new clothes) and shes not satisfied with the things she has. But in contrast, we see George lying down on the bed all the time, making himself busy with reading. George is indifferent to her wifes being sad, and instead of consoling her, understanding her or trying to find a solution for her problems, he Just continues lying down on the bed indifferently and going on reading and even when shes talking more about what makes her sad and what she wants, George insults her by telling her Oh, shut up and get something to read. The wife is a disturbed lonely woman that even her husband cant understand and help her. As a result when she receives respect, polite ehavior and understanding from the hotel keeper, its strange for her (and maybe new!!! Because her husband has never treated her like this) and she starts to like the hotel keeper. But as we all know, respecting the guests, understanding them and treating them politely is an inseparable part of being a hotel keeper if one wants to be a successful one. Symbol There are two kinds of symbols in the story; natural ones and artistic or cultural ones. The most important natural symbol is the cat. As we can see in the story, the wife is not satisfied with her life and with her appearance. Shes sad about having short hair and looking like a boy. She doesnt have anything in her life which can make her happy and give her an identity. So she tries to find something else on which she can hang. So we can imply that by helping the cat, she wants to think shes important and shes done something useful, so in this way she can feel good about herself. In another way, we can say that the cat is the symbol of fertility which is in contrast with the short hair that is the symbol of infertility. Maybe the wife is sterile, so by looking after a cat, she wants to satisfy her maternal emotions. Another natural symbol can be good weather which is in contrast with bad/rainy weather. Good weather is the symbol of serenity and shows that theres nothing wrong, but bad weather is the symbol of a bad situation when something is wrong. Rainy weather shows that the couples marital life is not in a good condition; they have a cold relationship with each other. The war monument is a cultural symbol in this story. The tourists, including the American couple, traveled a long way there to see the war monument, but we see here, the American couple doesnt care about the monument at all; George is always ying down on bed reading, and the wife is always thinking about what she doesnt have in life. Its ironical that they came this long way to see the war monument, but it is the only thing they dont care about. Inside/outside can be a binary opposition. George always wants to stay inside and never wants to leave the room. Inside can be a symbol of passivity. George is a passive character. But instead, the wife wants to go outside all the time; she wants to discover the unknown; shes curious about the world outside, so we can say shes an Characterization We can differentiate between the maid and the wife. The wife is apparently a caring person who even cares about lonely cats, but the maid, as we can see in the part in which shes surprised by the fact that the wife is actually looking for a cat and she even laughs about it, is not so caring; she doesnt think that a cat can be so important that a person goes after it in the rain. She may not even really care about the wife, because in the part she goes after the wife to take her an umbrella, it is mentioned in the story that Of course the hotel keeper had sent her. Or at the end, when the aid brings the wife a cat, she says, the padrone asked me to bring this for the Signora. So we can conclude that shes doing all this Just because of her Job tells her to do them. We can also differentiate between George and the hotel keeper. The hotel keeper is a responsible and active person. Hes so alert about his guests and their needs and wishes. Whenever he sees the wife, he stands up and bows to her as a sign of respect. He sends the maid to take an umbrella for the wife, although its not his Job to do that. At the end of the story, he sends the maid to take a cat for the wife; e could not do that, because it is not his responsibility to find a cat for her, but he did, because he cares about the wife. But in contrast, we see that the wifes own husband doesnt care about her; hes a passive and negligent person. Hes not doing anything more than reading and he doesnt do anything for her wife to relieve her. Action George is lying down reading all the time, but the wife is always moving from one place to the other (from the hotel room to the street and from there back to the hotel room, and even in the room, she goes to the dresser to see herself in the hand irror) and talking all the time (she talks to her husband, to the maid, to the hotel keeper). George is a passive character who doesnt do anything special in the story, but in contrast the wife is so active; shes always talking and going from somewhere to the other. She wants to do something all the time; (sometimes it is talking to other people, sometimes it is going out to find a cat) because shes not satisfied with her life, with her appearance and with the things she has. She wants to be different, to have different things; she wants to own something so she could feel important, atisfied and useful. Maybe shes fghting in a patriarchal society to prove her femininity. Local Color Theres a binary opposition here between Italian and English language and between Italian and American culture. The couple is American and they speak English, but the maid and the hotel keeper are Italians and they speak Italian most of the time; they can speak English, too. The American couple can speak a little Italian and sometimes respect each others language by speaking Italian sometime and speaking English at the other time. George is an American man whos negligent of his wife and the hotel eeper is an Italian man who respects women and cares about them to a great extent. As we can see in the story, many Italians came there to see the war monument, but the American couple doesnt care about it at all. Conclusion All the categories of binary oppositions which discussed here are deeply interrelated and directly or indirectly are aimed to magnify the man/woman binary opposition. So it can be concluded that the thematic core of the story is the opposition between man and woman and what Hemingway is trying to do is showing a couples problems in their married life by making use of some binary oppositions.