leadership Essays (1287 words) - Computer Security, Security

My first step in preparing to write this essay was to gain a clear understanding of the word leadership and the set of qualities that make a good leader. I found this extremely difficult. I came to the realization that leadership is a term that is freely used but rarely understood. However, leadership is central to the mission of SANS Technology Institute (STI) (1), and the process of applying to STI's Master's program has pushed me to clearly define and concisely state my own understanding of leadership. According to Stephen Northcutt, President of the SANS Technology Institute, ?a leader is a person who guides or inspires others within an organization or community to achieve a goal.?(2) This ties in with my own belief that the qualities of an effective leader vary depending on the personality of the individual and the dynamics of each situation. There are, however, certain qualities that are unchanging in a leader; specifically, a good leader must have a vision, must possess the ab ility to communicate that vision, and must be determined to make that vision a reality. General George Patton and Mahatma Gandhi were both great leaders who exhibited very different leadership qualities. Patton became an effective military leader who can be described with adjectives such as controversial, outspoken, opinionated, flamboyant, and violent. Gandhi, on the other hand, became a great political and spiritual leader who is described as peaceful, thoughtful, insightful, and pensive. At first glance, these two men appeared to be very different. On closer inspection, they shared several key leadership qualities. Both had a vision regarding how to conquer their enemies, they had the ability to communicate their visions to others, and they were determined to make their vision a reality. When I began my career in the field of information security, I had the opportunities to learn and the management skills to ensure that my endeavors were successful. My first security endeavors included managing a physical security and network intrusion detection system. I made use of my management skills to successfully oversee these security controls. Although I demonstrated good management skills, I was not yet demonstrating leadership since I had not yet formulated and communicated a vision, and according to Stephen Northcutt, "you cannot lead without a vision." (2) My vision for security began to develop as I participated in several SANS seminars and studied for my CISSP certification. These training endeavors, in conjunction with my security engineering responsibilities, became the foundation on which to base my vision. In 2008, I made a conscious decision to take a stronger leadership role in security when I decided to accept a new position with a new company. Though the new position did not come with a prestigious title or staff, it did come with the opportunity to implement my vision. My new employer had the desire to protect its information, but not a vision to accomplish the task. Prior to my arrival, the IT department spent large sums of money to purchase intrusion detection systems, encryption software and firewalls in the effort to protect its information. These endeavors were in response to tactical issues spawned by a gap in compliance with the Payment Card Industry's Data Security Standard. Though security was desired, security was only driven by compliance. My initial goal after arriving at the company was to communicate a security vision to the Information Technology Department as well as senior management that matched the dynamics of the IT staff and the requirements of the business. Since my position was the only dedicated security position within the IT department, I needed to communicate up through my management chain my vision for the department. The dynamics of this situation required a decentralized security model in which responsibilities were spread throughout the department. This vision would also use a governance, risk management, and compliance model, to lead the IT department's efforts to protect the company?s sensitive and critical data. To successfully communicate the vision to the department would take determination. In this model, governance is the foundation that supports risk management and compliance. Governance generates the policies that empower other initiatives. The first step was to obtain senior management support through formal and informal communications. I attempted to demonstrate how the department could

The Relevancy of Marxism in Modern Latin America

The Relevancy of Marxism in Modern Latin America Free Online Research Papers Although capitalism has taken root throughout the world, even in socialist and communist countries like Venezuela and China, Marxism remains today an important ideological force in Latin America more than anywhere else. This paper argues that in Latin America, there exists a strong movement to peacefully reform the economic, political and social structure in the area, consistent with Marx’s â€Å"theory of the state†. The allure of Marxism appears, at least in part, to be a reaction to negative ramifications resulting from capitalist globalization, such as the methods of production in developing countries. The idea of Marxism is not necessarily important for political leaders in communist and socialist countries, but more so for the working classes which make possible the production of goods by multinational corporations; the very people who suffer from low wages and class struggles. Judging by 20th Century Latin American history, Marxism has no doubt established itself as an important ideological force in revolutionary movement. Cuba (1959-1991), Chile (1970-73), Grenada (1979-83), Nicaragua (1979-90), El Salvador (1980-1991) , and Venezuela (1992-Present) are all cases in which revolutionary change occurred with Marxist and Socialist ideals in mind. During most of those events, however, the effects of globalization were not wholly realized by the people of Latin America and the respective end results were not what Marx had in mind when writing the Communist Manifesto. The economic and political climate is much different today than it was for most of the 20th century. Today, socialist states retain the social structure which Marx criticized: there is a class of workers and there is a class of owners. Countries like Sweden and Norway are only considered ‘socialist states’ because those countries utilize vast government-controlled welfare programs. Even though countries like Venezuela and China use almost all revenues from nationalized business to fund social programs , political and business leaders hold all of the power, which creates class struggles. Marxist ideals are most relevant to the developing parts of Latin America because of its populist appeal. Capitalism is indubitably responsible for economic growth in Latin America , just as it has been in the industrialized nations; however, the fundamental unfairness in how the economic growth is distributed in these developing countries contributes to the frustration of working classes. Looking at the Gini Index, a measure of income distribution, most Latin American countries rate around or well above 50 on a scale of 0-100, where 0 represents total equality . Whereas industrialized nations control capital investment, the developing nations rely on this investment for growth, and the governments in Latin America have a record of lax legislation in order to appeal to multinational corporations’ investments. Such a situation contributes to the ‘alienation’ of a worker. Workers in Latin America produce goods which they almost never benefit from and receive compensation for that work which is worth considerably less than the good produced. Data from the Quarterly Journal of Economics in May 2006 states: â€Å"The distribution for Brazil is displayed in Figure IIe. The rightmost part of the distribution shifts a lot more than its lower end, which reflects an increasing level of inequality. This is a phenomenon that we tend to observe in all Latin America. The reduction in poverty rates in Brazil seems to have been small, and to have occurred mostly during the 1970s. In fact, the lower end of the distribution appears to shift to the left between 1980 and 1990, which indicates an increase in poverty during the â€Å"lost decade† of the 1980s. Little progress has been made during the 1990s.† Multinational corporations exploit the workers’ desperate situations by gaining control of their work and work lives, and the workers of Latin America have realized that their situation hasn’t gotten any better. The situation presented is problematic for more reasons, because the conditions in which workers are placed are reminiscent of what Marx saw in Europe in the mid 19th century. Workers are subject to â€Å"that quantum of the means of subsistence which is absolutely requisite to keep the laborer in bare existence as a laborer† (Marx, Engels, 1848). Workers earn just enough to get by, impoverished, and they continue to lack the capital to build their own enterprise. The work itself is also characterized by monotony and alienation; says Marx, â€Å"He becomes an appendage of the machine, and is only the†¦most monotonous†¦that is required of him. Hence, the cost of a workman is restricted†¦to the means of subsistence that he requires for his maintenance.† It is important to realize that Marx admires the successes of capitalism in broadening the horizons of material and cultural opportunity, and that his aim of revolution is not a communist or socialist state. He says in the Manifesto, â€Å"[The Bourgeoisie] must nestle everywhere, settle everywhere, establish connections everywhere. The bourgeoisie has†¦given a cosmopolitan character to production and consumption in every country.† Marx’s objections rather are directed at class divisions, and how history is defined by class struggles; the bourgeoisie have subjugated the working classes in a terrible manner. Marx’s objective is to overthrow the bourgeois supremacy and establish the political power of the proletariat. In the case of Latin America, the goal of the working class is to overthrow multinational corporations, nationalize critical markets, and establish a society in which the government- under the will of the people- rules all and divides the ec onomic spoils as it sees fit. Perhaps the least radical and violent method of reformation is the implementation of a worker cooperative movement. The rise of the worker cooperative in Latin America is the most basic and important example of how and why Marxism is relevant to the people of that region. Branko Horvat, a Marxist scholar, argues that the â€Å"basic form of socialism is self-management† and outlines the basic characteristics of self-managed groups: 1. Participation in decision making is direct on all matters affecting the work unit 2. The decision making process itself and the decisions reached are transparent 3. Because of the continuous face-to-face nature of the group, the unjustified and permanent imposition of the will of the majority is unlikely 4. Because of (1) and (3), the possibilities for the manipulation of opinion are limited. Worker Cooperatives meet all of these criteria, since they are based on common ownership of a company and democratic decision making. Since the standard of living, infrastructure, education and advanced skill sets in Latin America are much lower than in developed countries, the working classes must still rely on manufacturing and exports in order to maintain a healthy lifestyle. This means that capitalism, or the free trade of goods and services, is still the best option since it is beyond reason to think that any country could achieve self-sustainability the way Stalinist Russia tried to achieve. The worker cooperative achieves the productive goals of the free market while still avoiding the negative implications of worker vs. owner capitalism. Trent Craddock and Sarah Kennedy, Canadian researchers of worker cooperatives, state that â€Å"since December of 2001, the government of Argentina has been very supportive of worker co-operatives and has recognized that worker co-ops are able to sustain employment and production.† The instance here is an example of workers peacefully moving to gain control of industries in which they collectively make decisions and have part ownership in their company. Grassroots Economic Organizing (GEO) is an organization started in the United States which promotes and helps organize worker cooperatives in the Latin American region. Worker cooperatives also avoid the negative implications of Marx’s â€Å"alienation† and â€Å"globalization†. The workers in this case will own a part of their company and thus benefit from the sale of the relative product, rather than being paid a wage not consistent with their product’s value, in the case of private ownership. The workers democratically make decisions, which ensure that their labor is not subject to the dominant bourgeoisie and that since their method of work is decided by them, it is most likely not going to be monotonous and degrading. As explained above, â€Å"alienation† exists when all of these factors are present in a person’s work life. Worker cooperatives do not fit into the idea of â€Å"globalization† since foreign companies are not providing and controlling investment to run these companies. There are multiple instances of Latin Americans overthrowing private interests, but almost none are consistent with Marx’s vision, insofar that every time a government has attempted a Marxist state, factors still exist which destroy the ultimate goal of Marxism, which is to empower the working class. A more specific example provides insight into the problems of collectivization. In Cochambaba, Bolivia, the people managed to drive out a corporation which attempted to privatize the water supply . Rather than achieving a society in which everyone enjoyed access to water, the system returned to a poorly government-run system where sixty percent of households are connected to a water supply and pay as much ten times what they would have to a private company . The net effect of nationalizing the water supply is critical in considering the legitimacy of Marxism as it used and exploited in today’s social struggles. When a country nationalizes markets, it cuts itself off from the benefits of privatization, and for a society trying to sustain for the long term, for the immediate benefit of nationalization and social programs could result in that country one day finding itself without the accumulated capital it needs to grow. In Venezuela, Hugo Chavez nationalized the oil industry- much like populist leaders in Ecuador and Bolivia- because he thought that too much of the revenue generated from the industry went to private, foreign interests . As the Tina Rosenberg states in The New York Times, â€Å"When Venezuela’s oil was in private hands, the government collected 80 cents of every dollar of oil exported. With nationalization the figure dropped, and by the early 1990s, the government was collecting roughly half that amount.† This troubling figure is due to the fact that Chavez ignores the need for more oil exploration and diverts almost all of the funds to social programs and his own secret funds and agendas. These examples of failures in national interests don’t lie on the same premises as worker cooperatives. The executions of these industrial reformations were made by an oligarchy, and either society hardly reflects true Marxism. Yet these failures must remain an important lesson to worker cooperatives, and how growth and expansion is necessary to sustain a company. There are factors working against the Marxist movements in Latin America as well. In Nicaragua, during the revolutionary movement against the Somoza regime, the hierarchy in the Catholic Church acted in the counterrevolutionary interests and supported the bourgeois cause . Catholicism is an important cultural aspect in almost all of Latin Americans’ lives, and it is likely that business and authoritative interests will work against common ownership and democratic thought. This does not, however, discount the legitimacy or importance of a Marxist movement. The situation of the majority of the Latin American working class currently fits into the extreme of what Marx criticized in his writings: alienation of the worker from his or her product; that worker’s life being dominated by monotonous and dismal work; and also the forcing of the worker into a vicious cycle of subsistence and survival. This picture is also characterized by foreign investment controlling these unwanted factors. It is important to realize that because of these factors, Marxism will play a role in peaceful worker movements, consistent with his â€Å"theory of the state†, in order to gain common ownership and decision making rights in a broad range of industries in Latin America. Bailey, Ronald. Water is a Human Right. Reason Magazine. 17 Aug. 2005. 4 Nov. 2007 . Berman, Marshall. Unchained Melody. The Nation (1998). 8 Nov. 2007 . Berman, Marshall. Unchained Melody. The Nation (1998). 8 Nov. 2007 . Craddock, Trent, and Sarah Kennedy, comps. Analysis of International Trends in Worker Co-Operatives. 2003. Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada. 10 Nov. 2007 . Harris, Richard L. Marxism, Socialism, and Democracy in Latin America. 8th ed. Boulder: Westview P, 1992. 140-145. Knopf, Alfred A. Marxism in Latin America. Toronto: Georgetown University, 1968. Kozloff, Nikolas. Hugo Chavez. New York City: Palgrave MacMillan, 2006. Kozloff, Nikolas. Hugo Chavez. New York City: Palgrave MacMillan, 2006. Love, Nancy, ed. Dogmas and Dreams. 3rd ed. Washington, D.C.: Congressional Quarterly P, 2006. 236-275. Mandle, Jay R. Marxist Analyses and Capitalist Development in the Third World. Theory and Society os 9 (1980): 1-12. SpringerLink. Vancouver. 6 Nov. 2007. Keyword: Marxism. Petras, James, and Chronis Polychroniou. Marxism Today: Essays on Capitalism, Socialism and Strategies for Social Change. Capitalist Transformation: the Relevance of and Challenges to Marxism. 5 Nov. 2007 . Rosenberg, Tina. Perils of Petrocracy. The New York Times. 3 Nov. 2007. 12 Nov. 2007 . Sala-I-Martin, Xavier, comp. The Quarterly Journal of Economics. May 2006. Columbia University. 12 Nov. 2007 . Schultz, Jim. Water Fallout. In These Times. 15 May 2000. 12 Nov. 2007 . The World Factbook. Distribution of Family Income-the Gini Index. 1 Nov. 2007. Central Intelligence Agency. 12 Nov. 2007 . Research Papers on The Relevancy of Marxism in Modern Latin AmericaAssess the importance of Nationalism 1815-1850 EuropeNever Been Kicked Out of a Place This NiceInfluences of Socio-Economic Status of Married MalesTwilight of the UAWDefinition of Export QuotasPETSTEL analysis of IndiaBringing Democracy to AfricaQuebec and Canada19 Century Society: A Deeply Divided EraRelationship between Media Coverage and Social and

Behavior of students Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Behavior of students - Essay Example Parents cause stress by demanding only the best grades. Students are often in relationships with people of the opposite sex. Sometimes these relationships end badly. This is a stressful situation. Teachers are also under stress. They need to prepare lectures, grade essays and conduct research in order to keep their jobs. They are always writing and reading so they know what is best to teach their students. Many teachers participate in committees that keep them late after work. Teaching students is a stressful job. The problem with putting stressed-out students and Stressed-out teachers together in the classroom is obvious. Students will want to get class over with as soon as possible to be with their friends and to start on their assignments. Teachers work hard to make their lessons, so they want to get the best information tot her students. Sometimes this situation can create conflict, resulting in student behavior problems. One behavior problem that many students have is ignoring the teacher. They will sit in class and pretend to listen to the teacher but they are actually sending secret text messages or playing games on their laptops. The students do this as an act of silent rebellion. They are trying to control the situation by participating in activities they would rather do, all while they are fooling the teacher. Students in these classes are bound to get lower grades if they participate in this behavior. They seem to think that simply sitting class gives them a right to good grades. Ignoring the teacher is a bad student behavior that leads to bad grades. Another behavior problem students have is actually caused by poor teaching. Sleeping in class is a student behavior that is disruptive to the learning in the class. Many students may say that they are not hurting anyone if they sleep. This is not true. Sleeping actually distracts other students, especially if you snore. This behavior is

The Credit Crunch of 2007-2008 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

The Credit Crunch of 2007-2008 - Essay Example As shown in the diagram underneath, this led to rising housing prices since decades. In 2000, the rate of increase of house prices was rising at unsustainable levels, much faster than they had in the last decade. Sub-prime mortgages (mortgages to high risk customers) began to rise due to availability of cheap credit (Mizen). The low interest rate environment stimulated upsurges in mortgage backed financing and hence considerable increases in house prices. It encouraged investors (financial institutions, such as pension funds, hedge funds, investment banks) to design instruments that offer yield enhancement such as subprime mortgages. The bullish attitude of Wall Street led to creation of complex structured products such as collateralized debt obligations (CDOs) and a lot of repackaging of high-risk mortgage backed securities. The credit and house price bubble led to a real-estate boom and eventually to a surplus of unsold homes, which triggered U.S. housing prices to peak and before declining and bursting in mid-2006. Subprime borrowers began to default on their loans as real estate prices decreased further. The default on a significant ratio of subprime toxic assets produced cascade effects in financial markets via the securitized mortgage derivatives into which these mortgages were bundled, to the balance sheets of investment banks and hedge funds. The vagueness about the value of the securities collateralized by these mortgages spread chaos and concern over the soundness of loans for leveraged buyouts. That led to the freezing of the interbank lending market in August 2007, collapse of key financial institutions such as Lehman Brothers and triggered the credit crunch crisis. 2. Economists classify macro-economic indicators as leading, lagging, or coincident. Define each classification and give two examples of each, relating them to the recession that began in 2007 and the recovery that is now under way. ? Economic indicators are periodical statements by the government and private institutions that describe the health of a country's economy. Economist classify these indicators into lea ding, lagging or coincident kind that are described below in detail: Leading Indicators: Leading indicators are economic indicators that predict future events. They are foreign exchange indicators that change beforehand the change in the market or economy has occurred. Examples of leading indicators may include bong yields, inventory variations, stock prices and insurance claims. Economic establishments and central banks study leading indicators in expectation to fluctuations in expected interest rates. A forex-leading indicator is a pointer that advises the trader to buy or sell before a new trend in the market commences. Leading indicators, however, are difficult to recognize and could lead to misleading results or interpretations if not analyzed by an experience trader. Two examples leading indicators for the financial crisis of 2007 are stock prices (500 common stocks) that reduced by 8% in 2007 (The Conference Board) and Building permits that reduced by 16% leading to a 40% dec line in US Home Construction Index. Lagging Indicators: Lagging indicators are indicators that follow an economic event. These indicators usually exist three to twelve months after the economy. Lagging economic indicators are the confirmation to outline the peaks and troughs that

Three Days to See Essay Example for Free

Three Days to See Essay Helen Keller was a very intelligent woman who was afflicted at an early age in life. Her disabilities set in on her at eighteen months. As she grew older she didn’t let her incapacity defeat her. In 1933, Keller wrote an essay entitled, â€Å"Three Days To See†. In this article Keller gives a response about what she would like to see if she were given her sight back for three days. She also speaks about what it would be like if others were to lose their sight for three days as well. The opening statement of Keller’s article reads, â€Å"I have often thought it would be a blessing if each human being were stricken blind and deaf for a few days at some time during his early adult life. Darkness would make him more appreciative of sight, silence would teach him the joys of sound.† Does not this statement alone make you take the time to sit back and wonder what that type of journey would be like. Then suddenly you close your eyes and embrace all that is going on around you just to bathe in its glory for you know you have taken so much for granted Keller uses a lot of her emotions to catch your attention. It is very hard to argue with her about the situation because she makes a very relevant point. One reason is that she lives by experience. Keller lives in darkness on a day to day basis. Looking at my like, I know that I definitely take so much for granted and do not appreciate a lot of the simpler things in life. Things like the way my son son turns his head to the side and pokes his lip out and up tight to the corner on the right, giving me those puppy dog eyes with a hint of an attitude hidden behind then as he says, â€Å" uh huh!† as he agrees with me when we are joking around and I ask him a question. I now think about not being able to see my mom’s face, her smile, the laughter in her eyes. Being able to just look at her and know when she is feeling upset or in pain and not wanting to say anything. If I couldn’t see I wouldn’t be able cook or do hair, my whole life would be none existent. Keller has taken her personal experience and caused me to put a whole new outlook on life. I never thought about looking at my life in that aspect before. The way that she broke it down in such detail is amazing. She teaches you to look at life with your glass half full in a rose colored glass.

bell hooks and gangsta rap Essay examples -- Snoop Dogg sexism misogy

In reading bell hooks’ opinion about sexism and misogyny I had to admit to myself that I had no idea what she meant by sexism and misogyny. So, to accurately know what she was referring to, I looked them up on the Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary. For the word sexism, I found there were two meanings that support hooks’ ideas: 1: prejudice or discrimination based on sex; especially: discrimination against women and 2: behavior, conditions, or attitudes that foster stereotypes of social roles based on sex. The word misogyny, according to Merriam-Webster, is: a hatred of women. With these definitions, I feel that both words with their meanings truly expose what bell hooks is telling us what Americans, and it seems she talks about the black male Americans, think of the black female culture.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In ‘Gangsta Culture†¦Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ bell hooks tells us that the ‘patriarchal ways of thinking†¦are glorified in gangsta rap’ (116) and I think she’s right. Although I do not think she is right in all that she says in this narrative. She also says that ‘young black males are forced to take the heat for encouraging via their music the hatred of and violence against women†¦Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ (116), and this I do not believe it completely true. She believes that the black men of America have taken themselves to a new degree in order to make themselves ‘higher’ than black women – she believes that the black men should be equal to the black women and that the men should believe that as well. She talks about Calvin Broadus a.k.a. Snoop Doggy Dog (which he later changed to the current title ‘Snoop Dogg’) and his album Doggystyle. She tells us that the cover is degrading toward black women, which it is, but n ot just to black women, to all women. bell hooks shows us that black male sexism is real and it is in America’s music. She is correct, but it is not just against the white people of America. Snoop Dogg’s album is degrading toward the girl whose butt’s out of the doghouse, but it was her choice for one; and for two, it’s not just black women he’s degrading on the cover. hooks is just placing blame on Snoop’s cover, but she doesn’t say much about his music, this is where the music of the gangsta culture comes to play. In 1993, Snoop ‘Doggy’ Dogg put out an album entitled Doggystyle, and its front portrait is describing a form of male dominance toward the woman society and one of the dog’s is say... ... doesn’t? Dr. Dre, Eminem, Fifty Cent†¦all at some point have referred to women as objects instead of WOMEN, but why single out just Snoop Dogg? Has he done something even worse than Eminem calling his own mother a whore? It’s just the music, they are just notes on a page and words from mouths. I feel bell hooks needs to do more digging because Eminem speaks worse of women than Snoop Dogg does, even though Snoop has the pictures and Eminem just has words. bell hooks closes her essay by saying, â€Å"If black men are betraying us through acts of male violence, we save ourselves and the race by resisting.† (123) I believe in what she is saying, but she is one sided. Maybe she is just saying that we, as women, would rather be called just ‘girls’, ‘women’ or even ‘chicka’, but that is every woman, not just the black women. But, did she even think about the girls (black and white) that like to be paraded around like giraffes at a circus? Did she realize that she is just one person, as am I, and she can’t change the world she lived in? The world is cruel and evil and some of the men in it are just as nasty and immoral, but it’s our choice whether to live in the world†¦or in the circus.

Macadams Case Study

This Increase was necessitated by the fact that Macadam's had embarked on an solution spree Ana required tons Tuning to secular Lavas Brothers In I-array 1996, as well as to fund the investment in new factories, land and distribution warehouses across the country. The short term debt had increased by 229%. This increase would have been necessary to fund their working capital obligations, as short term debt is significantly more expensive to service than long term debt. Despite the massive increase in debt, the interest cover ratio is still healthy.This however, is not a cash based ratio and gives us no indication as to whether the many is able to make its cash payments to service the increased quantities of debt. The current ratio and quick ratio gives us an indication of the company's ability to repay its short term debt. Macadam's have a very high current ratio, which shows that on the accrual basis the company's short term assets are readily available to pay off its short term lia bilities. The inventory on hand days have increased, together with the debtor's collection period.This further exacerbates the cash flow problems as their cash is tied up in working capital. The longer collection period is probably indicative of more relaxed reedit terms – while this may boost sales and may well be a contributing factor to the increased turnover, it also presents a problem to the businesses scofflaws as well as an increased bad debt risk. Both the fixed asset turnover and total asset turnover have declined, due to an increased asset base resultant from large acquisitions in the current year, as well as the inability to use these assets as efficiently as possible.This is supported by the increased profit margin discussed below. Profitability The business displayed healthy turnover, which increased by 58. 5% from the prior ear. The group is obviously doing well in terms of growth, but perhaps they were trying to grow too fast. A 58. 5% increase in turnover cann ot be sustainable without a strong balance sheet to support it. The turnover growth in the current year (1996) was largely attributable to surging demand for their products, a favorable exchange rate for their exports and acquisitions of businesses which complement their existing operations.Their operating margin was up from 10. 8% to 14. 9% showing that the company was operating more efficiently. Net profit margin increased from 7. 4% to 8. 5%. Not only were they boosting turnover, they were also managing to increase their margins. Total net profit attributable to shareholders was up 81% from the prior year. Cash flow From the ratio analysis above as well inspection of the face of the income statement, Macadam's appear to be making higher sales and larger profits off of these sales. Upon inspection of the cash flow statement, a different picture is seen.The large increase in working capital of 595% from R 2, 7 million to R 19 million, resulted in Macadam's Delve unmade to Tuna tene t operating Ana Investing satellites. I Nils introduction between the two statements highlights the increased profitability, but negative (and worsening) cash flows. A further draw-down of increased working capital cost is explained in the balance sheet with an increase in inventory of 66% (R 12 million) to meet consumer demand which was funded out of cash resources as well as increased debtors of 129% (R 15 million) due to increased credit sales.Furthermore, creditors increased by 87% (R 8 million), which only partially offset the increase in current assets. Conclusion Macadam's is earning high sales and profits, but has serious cash flow problems I. . The business is too successful, as they are trying to grow too quickly. Cash is seen to be the lifeblood of a business and the accrual of accounting profits are meaningless unless they are converted into cash flow.There are certain options available to overcome this problem, being: ; Cutting back on growth (which is never popular) ; Increasing borrowings (which wouldn't be a wise choice, as the movement in the cash-flow statement shows an inability to service current interest payments) ; Improving working capital management (which would necessitate a cut back in Roth) ; Arrange alternative financing (a reasonable solution by means of sale and leasebacks), or ; Issue more shares (which is what was chosen) Macadam's nearly failed as a business despite the fact that they had a successful idea and product that was in high demand.They resolved this by issuing more shares to institutions for cash, as well to fund the acquisition of Livings Pros and other fixed property acquired. They also recommended a capitalization issue in lieu of cash dividends to retain as much cash reserves as possible. If I owned shares in this company at this point I would (buy/sell)