History as Scourge :: essays research papers

History as Scourge How truly the wisest of men used to assert that the souls of despots, if revealed, would show wounds and mutilations – weals left on the spirit, like lash-marks on a body, by cruelty, lust, and malevolence. Tacitus, The Annals of Imperial Rome. Penguin Group. Translation by Michael Grant, 1996 ed. Pg. 202   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Tacitus wielded his history like a scourge, excoriating the corruption of emperors and populous alike, attempting to revise the fictions of earlier histories and chart the decay of Roman values and virtue in the early Empire. The end of the Republic in 31 BC was, for Tacitus, the end of freedom and equality in the Roman state. Though he idealized the republic as the embodiment of Roman values and virtue, Tacitus had no illusions, fully recognizing that it was irretrievably lost. The histories of Rome’s emperors after Augustus were, according to Tacitus, tainted by flattery. Venerating the old republic, Tacitus sought to strip away the concealment of earlier historians, revealing emperors and aristocrats as transgressors against Roman values. Tacitus’ view of the purpose of the historian was shaped by his determination to truthfully illuminate the moral character of his subjects. While we may be uncertain with regard to some of the specific events of The Annals, we are quite certain of the actors as they cross the stage. Tacitus leaves us with no doubt about who was virtuous and who was corrupt.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Tacitus portrays the emperor Tiberius as a cunning and ambiguous figure, though Tacitus went to great lengths to resolve the emperors’ uncertain qualities as further evidence of corruption and excess. Tiberius suffers in comparison with his adoptive son, Germanicus. Tacitus always casts Germanicus in a positive light, praising his virtues, comparing him favorably to Alexander the Great who Germanicus surpassed, â€Å"in clemency, self-control, and every other good quality.† In elevating Germanicus to such heights, even raising the possibility that he might have restored the old republic, Tacitus denigrates Tiberius who is cast as scarcely able to conceal his delight at the death of his popular heir. In his final assessment of Tiberius, Tacitus maps the trajectory of his decline into corruption in proportion to his growing power.

Capital Budgeting Mini Case Essay

There are many different methods business owners use to efficiently analyze business investment. One of these effective methods is the calculation of the net present value or NPV. The second most effective method would be the calculations of the internal rate of return or IRR. There are also other useful methods as well, for example, the payback rule and the profitability index. Many business owners use the above procedures to help them in their decision making of acquiring other businesses. â€Å"NVP is important to a project because if the cost of the investment is going to be, or is more than the revenue from that project, then it may be more cost effective to shut down the project all together rather than lose more money. If multiple projects are available, then it is wise to first calculate the NPV for each project, choose those that have a positive NPV, and reject the ones that have zero or negative NPVs. Moreover, the IRR method can be used, and generally, they should provide the same ranking of the projects because the projects with high NPV also tend to have high IRR (Hestwood, Lial, Hornsby, & McGinnis 2010)†. â€Å"There are many reasons the IRR is imperative to a company. If the rate of return is insufficient, it means additional cash is out flowing from the company than is inflowing into the company. This could lead to negative working capital. The IRR is imperative for a company to understand, so if necessary, they can afford to finance more activity or if necessary, they then can invest additional money (Hestwood, Lial, Hornsby, & McGinnis 2010)†. The formula used to calculate the PV is future value times (1/((1+i^n)) = present value. This calculation is useful in investment analysis to assess if an investment with a promised set amount of return in the future will give a net gain in the present value or will only appear to be increasing but containing the same or even less amount when time value of money is considered. For example, FV=$100, with an interest of 7.7% compounded annually and a period of 38 years. Using the formula and substituting the values into it, the equation is obtained: PV = 100 * [1/ (1+0.077)38] = 5.97 dollars The formula indicates the present value of $100 in 38 years from now given that the interest rate is 7.7% compounded annually is 5.97 dollars. Thus, it also means if an investment promises a return of 100 dollars after 38 years,  the interest rate is assumed to be fixed at 7.7%. Considering the effects of time and the value of money, the investor will have a net gain if the required initial investment is lower than 5.97 dollars, a breakeven point when the investment is 5.97 dollars and a loss if the required investment is higher than 5.97 dollars. In our capital budgeting case scenario, we will recommend acquiring Corporation B because it has higher NPV of $40,251.47 as compared to the Corporation A’s NPV of $20,979.20. In addition, Corporation B has higher IRR of 17% as compared to the Corporation A of 13%. There are many factors business owners should consider when acquiring other businesses. We believe financial forecasting should be used before the final acquisition decision is made. Financial forecasting is a very useful and an objective decision-making tool regarding the funding requirements of the organization in the future. By using forecasting, this helps the managers or owners plan properly and prioritize between multiple objectives of the firm such as growth, international expansion, cost cutting, research and development, and so on. It also helps to decrease potential failure by knowing and understanding the financial risks. Financial forecasting is therefore used for predicting realistically how the firm will perform financially in the future. A company uses three basic steps to forecast and project their financial needs correctly. Projecting a specific planning period’s revenue of sale and a company’s expenses are the first steps. During the first step it is important to use a method such as percent of sales, because this method will forecast financial variable of the company. Then we need to evaluate the stages of investment in both current assets and fixed assets to support the estimated sales. Throughout this stage, it is important to calculate the approximate sustainable growth rate. This rate will be the maximum rate in which sales may grow if the present financial ratio maintained without issuing new equity. The financial manager also needs to establish how the funds will be used in buying inventory, equipment, building, etc. that is capital expenditures. The step after investing in the current and fixed assets is to discover the financing  needs of a company during a specific period. Cash budget will play a significant role in this step because it provides and lays out a detailed plan of cash disbursements, cash receipts, and net changes. Moreover, it will identify new needs for any financing. In this capital budgeting case scenario, one must look at Corporation A’s data, Corporation with a discounted payback period of 4.6 months. This would recover its entire cash outflow by the end of the 5th year. Its cumulative cash inflow of up to the 4th year is -31,688 which is in negative. At the end of the 5th year it is at +20,979 thus, 31688/52668 = .6. Hence, discounted payback period will be 4.6 months. Corporation B has a discounted payback period of 4.24 months. Its cumulative cash inflow of up to the 4th year is -12964, which is in the negative. At the end if the 5th year it is +40251 thus, 12964/53215 = 24 hence, discounted payback period will be 4.24 months. With that being said, the best choice would be acquiring Corporation B because the payback period is shorter than of Corporation A. Not to mention Corporation B has a higher IRR of 17% compared to Corporation A which has an IRR of 13%. In addition, Corporation B has a higher profitability index of 1.16 compared to that of Corporation A, at 1.08. References Hestwood, D., Lial, M., Hornsby, J., & McGinnis, T. (2010). Quantitative reasoning for business. (custom e-text) Boston, MA: Pearson/Addison-Wesley. Sevilla, A., & Somers, K. (2007). Quantitative reasoning: Tools for today’s informed citizen (1st ed). Emeryville, CA: Key College Publishing.

Theme Of Power Corrupts In Animal Farm - 1232 Words

It was a beautiful sunny day and I was walking down Maple Street until I got a phone call from my friend. Once I picked it up, I heard her crying, and she told me her father had passed away. Consequently, her father had died to his sins. It started off like this; he was the president of a very important community organization, and obviously, he had an abundant amount of power, so he decided to use it negatively for others, but positively for himself. Meanwhile, he realized he shouldn’t do these corrupt acts, but it was too late! He got a call from his doctor who told him he’d been diagnosed with cancer. A theme that would fit this scenario and the book, â€Å"Animal Farm,† by George Orwell would be: Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts†¦show more content†¦Second of all, according to the book, â€Å"Animal Farm,† by George Orwell, another piece of evidence that would support the theme: Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely i s, †And when, some days afterward, it was announced that from now on the pigs would get up an hour later in the mornings than the other animals; no complaint was made about that either.† This shows that the power of the pigs led them to think of themselves as much more superior than the other animals, which then leads them to have the freedom the pigs wished for, while having restrictions on the others, such as having to work more and not get an abundant amount of rest like the pigs do. This evidence also shows that due to their act of waking up an hour later, the power they had to help the others was now corrupted, because the pigs don’t care about what will happen to the others; they care about themselves, which is a very corrupt characteristic. Third of all, according to the book, â€Å"Animal Farm,† by George Orwell, a third piece of evidence that would support this claim: Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely would be, â€Å"They had just finished singing it for the third time when Squealer, attended by two dogs, approached them with the air of having something important to say. He announced, that by a special decree of Comrade Napoleon, Beasts of England had been abolished.† This shows that the power of the pigs leads the other animals having toShow MoreRelatedCorruption Of Power Essay1142 Words   |  5 Pagesof an individual are capable of becoming corrupted by power. 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Orwell uses the imagery of aRead MoreAnimal Farm by George Orwell1100 Words   |  4 PagesIntroduction: Widely acknowledged as a powerful allegory, the 1945 novella Animal Farm, conceived from the satirical mind of acclaimed author George Orwell, is a harrowing fable of a fictional dystopia that critiques the socialist philosophy of Stalin in terms of his leadership of the Soviet Union. Tired of their servitude to man, a group of farm animals revolt and establish their own society, only to be betrayed into worse servitude by their leaders, the pigs, whose initial virtuous intentionsRead MoreEssay about Notions of Power: Animal Farm and Macbeth1257 Words   |  6 Pagesâ€Å"Political Power grows out of the barrel of a gun† -Chairman Mao- QUESTION: To what extent does this quote connect to the message regarding power in each of your texts? Write a synthesis essay that deals with the quote above and Shakespeare’s Macbeth and Orwell’s Animal Farm. 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When old Major shares his speech of rebellion, the animals urge to start a revolution of ‘Animal Farm’ under the guidance of the two pigs Napoleon and Snowball, against the humans and take over the farm. As Napoleon abuses the power he gained, Old Major’s dream gradually shifts away from the consciousness of the animals, until there is no differentiation between the pigs andRead More Leadership and Ideology in Animal Farm Essay1161 Words   |  5 PagesThe Theme of Leadership in Animal Farm Sub-theme: Power Corrupts The sub theme of power corrupting people is very eminent in animal farm. The leaders on the farm - the pigs, were the brains of the farm. The animals let the pigs lead the farm, thereby placing them into a position of power. This power corrupted them as they became more and more greedy and their ideology became more and more corrupted. Also, the pig’s transgressions of the rules of animalism worsen as they grow in power. In chapterRead MoreAnimal Farm Literary Analysis710 Words   |  3 PagesGeorge Orwell, a writer of many novels and other literature, one of his most known is Animal Farm.This book is where Orwell’s political style as well as other techniques he used in his writing were used most. Animal Farm is about farm animals who are being neglected by their owner, and they decides to overthrow him and take control of their farm. However, that is only the the outer layer of the story, looking under the surface, this is an allegory detailing the Russian Revolution. The author wroteRead MoreAnimal Farm Corruption Essay930 Words   |  4 PagesWhen given a certain amount of power, even the most humble of people can fall subject to corruption. Likewise, one who is already an unjust figure is more than capable of becoming a tyrant. Such is the case in Animal Farm, a novel by George Orwell. Animal Farm focuses on the rebellion of the animals on Manor Farm, and their attempt at a socialism-es que society. The leaders of the farm, two pigs named Napoleon and Squealer, gradually change from fair authority figures to unethical dictators. Orwell’sRead MoreAnimal Farm Answers1075 Words   |  5 Pages Discussion 4 Animal Farm The lives of the animals on the farm are significant to the story-why? Consider Snowball and his roll throughout the story. Explain Snowballs role. The lives of the animals are significant to the story because they are the basis to which Orwell wrote the story to attack the idea of totalitarian communism. The many animals are based of different classes in Russian society and some off of leaders in Russia, like Snowball. Snowball, who is based on Leon Trotsky, is a dedicated