The Art of Decadence Essay -- Literary Analysis

In the late 19th century decadence was a tremendously popular theme in European literature. In addition, the degeneracy of the individual and society at large was represented in numerous contemporary works by Mann. In Death in Venice, the theme of decadence caused by aestheticism appears through Gustav von Achenbach’s eccentric, specifically homoerotic, feelings towards a Polish boy named Tadzio. Although his feelings spring from a sound source, the boy’s aesthetic beauty, Aschenbach becomes decadent in how excessively zealous his feelings are, and his obsession ultimately leads to his literal and existential destruction. This exemplifies how aestheticism is closely related to, and indeed often the cause of decadence. Although the narrative is about more complexities, the author’s use of such vivid descriptions suggest the physical, literal aspect of his writing is just as important to the meaning of the story. The first and most obvious instance of aestheticism and decadence as correlating themes in this story is the title, Death in Venice. By fore-grounding the name of the city in the title, Mann is highlighting the city's key role in the unfolding narrative. Mann aligns the word 'Venice' with the word 'death' in the title. This creates a relationship between these two words - the word 'death' strongly infuses the word 'Venice' with all its connotations. Death and decay are important ideas within the context of decadence. By shear nature the title relates the concepts of death and dying to the city of Venice, which implies that the location is where a death will occur. However, this is paralleled by the opening of the story when Mann drearily tells of Aschenbach’s stroll through Munich. In the reading of this passage it ... ...ut to be the scene of a crowded, stifling city filled with cholera that eventually leads to his demise. Before this can occur however, he becomes internally decadent through his indulgence in Tadzio’s appearance. He then changes his appearance to please his idol which in turn corrupts himself by turning him into the type of decadent man he once despised. These themes of aestheticism and decadence, not in juxtaposition but in duality, are used frequently by Mann throughout the novella. Works Cited Mann, Thomas, and Clayton Koelb. Death in Venice: a new translation, backgrounds and contexts, criticism. New York: W.W. Norton, 1994. Print. Ritters, Naoimi, and .Jeffrey B. Berlin. "the Tradition of European Decadence." Approaches to teaching Mann's Death in Venice and other short fiction. New York: Modern Language Association of America, 1992. 86-92. Print.

History of General Motors

History of General MotorsThe Renaissance Center in Detroit, Michigan, is General Motors' world headquarters. General Motors Corporation, also known as GM or GMC, is the world's second largest car manufacturer based on annual sales. Founded in 1908, in Flint, Michigan, GM employs approximately 284,000 people around the world. With global headquarters at the Renaissance Center in Detroit, Michigan, USA, GM manufactures its cars and trucks in 33 countries. Their European headquarters is based in Zurich, Switzerland. In 2005, 9. 17 million GM cars and trucks were sold globally under the following brands: Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, GMC, Daewoo, Holden, Hummer, Opel, Pontiac, Saab, Saturn and Vauxhall. Early history General Motors was founded on Wednesday, September 16, 1908, in Flint, Michigan, as a holding company for Buick (then controlled by William C. Durant), and acquired Oldsmobile later that year. The next year, Durant brought in Cadillac, Cartercar, Elmore, Ewing, and Oakland (later known as Pontiac). In 1909, General Motors also acquired the Reliance Motor Truck Company of Owosso, Michigan, and the Rapid Motor Vehicle Company of Pontiac, Michigan, the predecessors of GMC Truck. A Rapid became the first truck to conquer Pikes Peak in 1909. In 1910, Welch and Rainier were added to the ever-growing list of companies controlled by GM. Durant lost control of GM in 1910 to a bankers trust, due to the large amount of debt (around $1 million) taken on in its acquisitions. Durant left the firm and helped establish the Chevrolet Motor Company in 1911, with brothers Gaston and Louis Chevrolet. After a brilliant stock buy back campaign, he returned to head GM in 1916, with the backing of Pierre S. du Pont. Chevrolet entered the General Motors fold in 1917; its first GM car was 1918's Chevrolet 490. Du Pont removed Durant from management in 1920, and various Du Pont interests held large or controlling share holdings until about 1950. In 1918 GM purchased the McLaughlin Motor Car Company of Oshawa, Ontario, Canada, manufacturer of the McLaughlin-Buick automobile, and renamed it General Motors of Canada Ltd. , with R. S. â€Å"Colonel Sam† McLaughlin as its first president. In 1925, GM bought Vauxhall Motors of England, and then in 1929 went on to acquire an 80% stake in German automobile manufacturer Adam Opel AG. Two years later this was increased to 100% and the company remains the core of GM Europe to this day. In 1931, GM acquired Holden of Australia. GM surpassed Ford Motor Company in sales in the late 1920s thanks to the leadership of Alfred Sloan. While Ford continued to refine the manufacturing process to reduce cost, Sloan was inventing new ways of managing a complex worldwide organization, while paying special attention to consumer demands. Car buyers no longer wanted the cheapest and most basic model; they wanted style, power, and prestige, which GM offered them. Thanks to consumer financing via GMAC (founded 1919), easy monthly payments allowed far more people to buy GM cars, while Ford was moralistically opposed to credit. (Nevertheless, Ford did offer similar credit arrangements with the introduction of the Model A in the late 1920s but Ford Credit did not exist until 1959. ) 1933 – 1958 During the 1920s and 1930s, General Motors assumed control of the Yellow Coach bus company, and helped create Greyhound bus lines. They replaced intercity train transport with buses, and established subsidiary companies to buy out streetcar companies and replace the rail-based services as well with buses. GM formed United Cities Motor Transit in 1932 (see General Motors streetcar conspiracy for additional details). In 1930, GM also began its foray into aircraft design and manufacturing by buying Fokker Aircraft Corp of America (U. S. subsidiary of Fokker) and Berliner-Joyce Aircraft, merging them into General Aviation Manufacturing Corporation. Through a stock exchange GM took controlling interest in North American Aviation and merged it with its General Aviation division in 1933, but retaining the name North American Aviation. In 1948, GM divested NAA as a public company, never to have a major interest in the aircraft manufacturing industry again. General Motors bought the internal combustion engined railcar builder Electro-Motive Corporation and its engine supplier Winton Engine in 1930, renaming both as the General Motors Electro-Motive Division. Over the next twenty years, diesel-powered locomotives — the majority built by GM — argely replaced other forms of traction on American railroads. (During World War II, these engines were also important in American submarines and destroyer escorts. ) Electro-Motive was sold in early 2005. In 1935, the United Auto Workers labor union was formed, and in 1936 the UAW organized the Flint Sit-Down Strike, which initially idled two key plants in Flint, but later spread t o half-a-dozen other plants including Janesville, Wisconsin and Fort Wayne, Indiana. In Flint, police attempted to enter the plant to arrest strikers, leading to violence; in other cities the plants were shuttered peacefully. The strike was resolved February 11, 1937 when GM recognized the UAW as the exclusive bargaining representative for its workers. World War II General Motors produced vast quantities of armaments, vehicles, and aircraft during World War II for both Allied and Axis customers. By the spring of 1939, the German Government had assumed day-to-day control of American owned factories in Germany, but decided against nationalizing them. During the war, the U. S. auto companies continued to be concerned Nazi Germany would nationalize American-owned factories. [citation needed] GM's William P. Knudson served as head of U. S. wartime production for President Franklin Roosevelt, who called Detroit as the Arsenal of Democracy. The General Motors UK division, Vauxhall Motors, manufactured the Churchill tank series for the Allies. The Vauxhall Churchill tanks were instrumental in the UK campaigns in North Africa (ironically often being used to attack German logistics units using Opel trucks). Bedford Vehicles manufactured logistics vehicles for the UK military, all important in the UK's land campaigns. In addition, GM was the top manufacturer of U. S. Army 1? ton 4Ãâ€"4 vehicles. 1] Nevertheless, while General Motors has claimed its German (Opel) operations were outside its control during World War II, this assertion appears to be contradicted by available evidence. General Motors was not just a car company that happened to have factories in Germany; GM management from the top down had extensive connections with the Nazi Party, both on a business and personal level. [2] Americ an GM Vice President (later Colonel) Graeme K. Howard was a committed Nazi, and expressed such views in his book, America and a New World Order. Adolf Hitler awarded GM boss James D. Mooney the Order of Merit of the Golden Eagle for his services to Nazi Germany. General Motors’ internal documents show a clear strategy to profit from their German military contracts even after Germany declared war against America. Defending the German investment strategy as â€Å"highly profitable†, Alfred P. Sloan told shareholders in 1939 GM’s continued industrial production for the Nazi government was merely sound business practice. In a letter to a concerned shareholder, Sloan said that the manner in which the Nazi government ran Germany â€Å"should not be considered the business of the management of General Motors†¦ We must conduct ourselves as a German organization. . . We have no right to shut down the plant. â€Å"[3] After 20 years of researching General Motors, Bradford Snell stated, â€Å"General Motors was far more important to the Nazi war machine than Switzerland †¦ Switzerland was just a repository of looted funds. GM-Opel was an integral part of the German war effort. The Nazis could have invaded Poland and Russia without Switzerland. They could not have done so without GM. †[3] Post-war growth At one point GM had become the largest corporation registered in the United States, in terms of its revenues as a percent of GDP. In 1953, Charles Erwin Wilson, then GM president, was named by Eisenhower as Secretary of Defense. When he was asked during the hearings before the Senate Armed Services Committee if as secretary of defense he could make a decision adverse to the interests of General Motors, Wilson answered affirmatively but added that he could not conceive of such a situation â€Å"because for years I thought what was good for the country was good for General Motors and vice versa†. Later this statement was often misquoted, suggesting that Wilson had said simply, â€Å"What's good for General Motors is good for the country. At the time, GM was one of the largest employers in the world – only Soviet state industries employed more people. In 1955, General Motors became the first American corporation to pay taxes of over $1 billion. [4] 1958 – 1983 While GM maintained its world leadership in revenue and market share throughout the 1960s to 1980s, it was product controversy that pl agued the company in this period. It seemed that, in every decade, a major mass-production product line was launched with defects of one type or another showing up early in their life cycle. And, in each case, improvements were eventually made to mitigate the problems, but the resulting improved product ended up failing in the marketplace as its negative reputation overshadowed its ultimate excellence. The first of these fiascos was the Chevrolet Corvair in the 1960s. Introduced in 1959 as a 1960 model, it was initially very popular. But before long its quirky handling earned it a reputation for being unsafe, inspiring consumer advocate Ralph Nader to lambaste it in his book, Unsafe at any Speed, published in 1965. Ironically, by the same (1965) model year, suspension revisions and other improvements had already transformed the car into a perfectly acceptable vehicle, but its reputation had been sufficiently sullied in the public's perception that its sales sagged for the next few years, and it was discontinued after the 1969 model year. During this period, it was also somewhat overwhelmed by the success of the Ford Mustang. The 1970s was the decade of the Vega. Launched as a 1971 model, it also began life as a very popular car in the marketplace. But within a few years, quality problems, exacerbated by labor unrest at its main production source in Lordstown, Ohio, gave the car a bad name. By 1977 its decline resulted in termination of the model name, while its siblings along with a Monza version and a move of production to Ste-Therese, Quebec, resulted in a thoroughly desirable vehicle and extended its life to the 1980 model year. In the 1980 model year, a full line of automobiles on the X-body platform, anchored by the Chevrolet Citation, was launched. Again, these cars were all quite popular in their respective segments for the first couple of years, but brake problems, and other defects, ended up giving them, known to the public as â€Å"X-Cars,† such a bad reputation that the 1985 model year was their last. The J-body cars, namely the Chevrolet Cavalier and Pontiac Sunfire, took their place, starting with the 1982 model year. Quality was better, but still not exemplary, although good enough to survive through three generations to the 2005 model year. They were produced in a much-improved Lordstown Assembly plant, as are their replacements, the Chevrolet Cobalt nd Pontiac Pursuit/G5. 1983 – 2008 Under the controversial leadership of Roger B. Smith throughout the 1980s, a multitude of well-intentioned initiatives seemed to go awry at every turn. GM was losing money for the first time since the early 1920s as the legacy of poor management of the previous decade was taking its inevitable toll. Poor product quality, lab our unrest and lawsuits over unsafe vehicle designs were affecting sales volumes, which meant that GM was losing market share at an alarming rate, mostly to foreign automakers. Recognizing the superiority of the Japanese quality and production procedures and practices, Smith set out to infuse their methods into the GM culture. He formed joint ventures with two Japanese companies (NUMMI in California with Toyota, and CAMI with Suzuki in Canada). Each of these agreements provided opportunities for GM managers to work alongside Japanese managers, thus learning their approaches, and taking this knowledge back to GM. Unfortunately the GM bureaucracy that opposed change influenced from outside was too strong and â€Å"inbred,† so the efforts of these managers as they returned to GM were essentially ineffective. Apparently anticipating this reaction, Smith also launched the Saturn Corporation, in which these managers could institute the Japanese system in a fresh non-GM environment. While all three of these facilities were, and still are, moderately successful, the net result for GM was failure to accomplish Smith's ambitious goals. GM's profits remained inconsistent and its share of the U. S. market continued to fall. Ironically it was another Smith, not related to Roger, who took the reins of GM in the early 1990s, and succeeded where Roger had failed. Like Roger, his tenure began when GM was in dire straits, having just endured a very close brush with bankruptcy. Its losses were much deeper than they had been a decade earlier and â€Å"Jack† Smith was burdened with the task of overseeing a radical restructuring of General Motors. Sharing Roger's understanding of the need for serious change, Jack undertook many major revisions, of which the most visible to the public in general was the demise of the Oldsmobile division, an effort that took in total a full decade. Reorganizing the management structure to dismantle the legacy of Alfred P. Sloan, instituting deep cost-cutting and introducing significantly improved vehicles were the key approaches. These moves were met with much less resistance within GM than had Roger's similar initiatives as GM management ranks were stinging from their recent near-bankruptcy experience and were much more willing to accept the prospect of radical change. By the late 1990s, many archaic remnants of GM's history were falling away, such as the Oldsmobile complex in Lansing, Michigan and Buick City in Flint. This also meant a large reduction in the work force. After GM's massive lay-offs hit Flint, Michigan, a strike began at the General Motors parts factory in Flint on June 5, 1998, which quickly spread to five other assembly plants and lasted seven weeks. Because of the significant role GM plays in the United States, the strikes and temporary idling of many plants noticeably showed in national economic observations. In the late 1990s, GM had regained market share; its stock had soared to over $80 a share by 2000. However, in 2001, the stock market drop following the September 11, 2001 attacks, combined with historic pension underfunding, caused a severe pension and benefit fund crisis at GM and many other American companies and the value of their pension funds plummeted. A weak U. S. dollar and private health care (as opposed to nationalized health care in other countries) costs also put GM at a disadvantage to its Japanese, Korean, and European counterparts In successive moves, GM responded to the crisis by fully funding its pension fund; however, its Other Post Employment Benefits Fund (OPEB) became a serious issue resulting in downgrades to its bond rating in 2005. The company expressed its disagreement with these bond rating downgrades. In 2006, GM responded by offering buyouts to hourly workers to reduce future liability; over 35,000 workers responded to the offer, well exceeding the company's goal. GM has gained higher rates of return on its benefit funds as a part of the solution. Stock value has begun to rebound – as of October 30, 2006 GM's market capitalization was about $19. 19 billion. GM stock began the year 2006 at $19 a share, near its lowest level since 1982, as many on Wall Street figured the ailing automaker was bound for bankruptcy court. But GM remained afloat and the company's stock in the Dow Jones industrial average posted the biggest percentage gain in 2006. [5] In early 2007, GM fell to be the world's second largest auto company, behind Japan's Toyota, but regained the lead during the summer. Also, in June 2007, GM sold its military and commercial subsidiary, Allison Transmission, for $5. 6 billion. Having sold off the majority, it will, however, keep its heavy-duty transmissions for its trucks marketed as the Allison 1000 series. During negotiations for the renewal of its industry labor contracts in 2007, the United Auto Workers (UAW) union selected General Motors as the â€Å"lead company† or â€Å"strike target† for pattern bargaining. Late in September, sensing an impending impasse in the talks, the union called a strike, the first nation-wide walkout since 1970 (individual plants had experienced local labor disruptions in the interim). Within two days, however, a tentative agreement was achieved and the strike ended.

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Notes On The Literacy Narrative Essay - 1290 Words

outline Paragraph 1 Introductory Background Sources of Learning When I started phrasing My parent’s contribution/devotion I first started playing my favorite game Paragraph 2 I started using dictionary Started completing words puzzles Got lengthier Assignments Paragraph 3 High school Improved writing skills Journalism Class Mississippi State University Paragraph 4 Recap/Summary The LIteracy Narrative Since I was very young, I have had a strong passion and fascination with words, an interest that was especially encouraged by family and developed through a variety of mediums. Like most babies, my first word was rather simple: â€Å"Da-dee† (â€Å"Daddy†). When learning my alphabet and numbers, my mom would play popular kid shows of the time, including â€Å"Sesame Street† and â€Å"Arthur,† on television and on audio tapes in the car. In addition, I enjoyed singing along with various Disney tapes and childhood favorites, such as Barney, Raffi, and Peter, Paul, and Mary. â€Å"I suppose you could say I was the ‘gatekeeper of my children,’† Mom recollects. â€Å"Without a doubt, I preferred for them to listen to musical tapes that were both educational and fun and believe it or not, if we listened to a tape plenty of times, I would actually start to sing along, too!† she laughs. When I was able to start formulating short phrases and sentences, my parents always made it a point to correct my word usage immediately.Show MoreRelatedPrinting Press and Its Effects839 Words   |  3 Pageseffects .Through the chapter I found some interesting points connected to literacy. First,the idea of persons in a primary oral culture can entertain some sense of proprietary rights to a poem but with writing resentment at plagiarism begins to develop . 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Is There Love in Her Heart - 1399 Words

What is love? There are many opinions and definitions of love. One meaning of love is, â€Å"an intense feeling of deep affection† and another is â€Å"a feeling of warm personal attachment or deep affection.†(Dictionary.com) Love is an emotion and feeling that can only truly be experienced. It is not something that you can just pull from a hat, you must want it and even work for it. Kurt Vonnegut said, â€Å"A purpose of human life, no matter who is controlling it, is to love whoever is around to be loved† (The Sirens of Titans). This shows that one purpose of life is love. Is love ever present in Madame Bovary? Does Emma Bovary ever experience true love throughout the novel? Emma has her husband Charles, daughter Berthe, and two lovers, Leon and Rodolphe, but does she ever feel actual love for any of them? Ever since she lived in a convent as a young girl, Emma has dreamed of love and marriage. She had every chance to but instead blew it. 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Compare and Contrast The Theology Of Judaism And Christianity Free Essays

By   theology   we   mean   a   rational   and   systematic   study   of   a   religion. It   is   an analysis   to   understand   a   religious   matter. This   analysis   helps   us   to   understand   more   truly   our   religion, and   also   in   the propagation   of   our   religion. We will write a custom essay sample on Compare and Contrast The Theology Of Judaism And Christianity or any similar topic only for you Order Now As   we   know, Judaism   is   the   religion   of   Jewish   people. Judaism   theology follow   monotheism   i.e.   belief   in one   single   God. Moreover   Judaism   theology   says that   God   knows   every   thing, has   unlimited   power, has created   the   universe   and   is kind   to   everyone. The   essence   of   believes   of   Jewish   people is   the   written and   oral Torah. Torah   is   a   Hebrew   word   meaning   teaching, instruction   or   law. It   is   basically a   set   of   five books   of   Moses   also   known   as   five   laws   of   Moses. Moses   is the Father   and   chief   of   all   prophets. Torah   says   that   all   living   and   non   living   things   in   this   world   are   creation of   God. It   is   the   God, who   has wrought   things, workout   and   shall   work   for   ever. It says   that   creator   is   one   and   is   incorporeal   i.e.   having no   corporeal   qualities   or   in other   words   He   has   no   material   or   physical   form   of   substance. It   says   that creator was   the   first   and   will   be   the   last, and   is   the   only one   to   be   worshipped   and   none else. Torah   also says   that   all   words   of   prophets   are   true. It   says   that   all   our   deeds and our   thoughts   are   known   by   God. As   there   is   a   saying   in   Judaism, â€Å"He   who   had   formed   their   hearts altogether, He   knows   all   their   deeds†. According   to   Torah God   rewards   those   who   keep   His   commandments   and   punishes those   who   go beyond   the   limits   of   what   is   morally   acceptable. One   of   the   most   ardent   faiths   of Jewish   people   is   that   there   will   be   a   resurrection   or   rebirth   of   God, but   on   the time   decided   by   Him. It   is   believed   that   every   man   and   woman   on   earth   is   like God, with   a   spiritual   and   always   existing soul. Everyone   is   made   to   be   the I mage and   likeness   of   God. For   most   Jewish   people, earth   is the   place   where   they   are   supposed   to   enjoy   their   life, not   in   the   heaven. According   to   them, hard   work   and   education   are the   paths   directed   by   God   to   live   a   good   life. They   do   not   find   accumulation   of wealth   to   be   an   evil   act   as   long   as   it is   used   in   good   deeds   and   charity. One   can live   a   comfortable   and   cozy   life   following   moral   rules. They   also   promote   honest sex   and   marital   life, but   oppose   adultery, premarital   sex, homosexuality, abortion   and   these as   sins. They   say   that   pleasures   life   like   drinking   and   dancing   are   good   if   not   Ã‚  done   in   excess. One   should   not   be   habitat   of   such   things. Judaism   theology   says   that   after   death   a   person   is   sent   to   heaven   or   hell. Heaven   is   considered   to   be   dwelling   of   God   and   angels. And   hell   as   home   of devils   and   place   where   wicked   people   are   punished. Now,   if   we   Ã‚  talk   about   Christian   theology, then   there   is   a   very   clear   doctrine or   set   of   believes   related   to   the   Holy   Trinity. It   says   that   there   is   only   one   God, with   three   persons, the   Father, the   Son   and   the   Holy   Spirit. Each   person   is   fully God, but   there   are   not   three   Gods   but   only   one   God. Christians   consider   God   himself   Ã‚  as   a   community   of   love. The   father   loves   Son, and   the   Son   loves   the Father   and   this love   of   the   Father   to   the   Son   and   of   the   Son   to   the   Father   is   the Holy   Spirit. Three   persons   but   only   one   true   God. This   is   the   most   glorious   mystery   of   the   Holy   Trinity   in   the   whole   Bible. It   is   said   that   God   is   repeatedly the   God   of   Abraham, the   God   of   Issac   and   the   God   of   Jacob, symbolizing   the   Holy   Trinity. Abraham   is   God   the   father, Issac   is   God   the   Son   and   Jacob   is   God the   Holy   Spirit. In   Christianity   faith   is   the   basis   of   a   Christian’s   life, the   foundation   of   the Christian building. One   of   the   faiths   is   that   the   person, who   believes   in   the   Son, has   eternal   life, whoever   disobeys   Him   will   not   see   life, but   God’s   wrath   resets upon   him. Christians   take   baptism   a   way   by   which   the   original   sin is   forgiven. Baptism   is   a sacrament   instituted   and ordered   by   Jesus   Christ. By baptism   we emerge   as   a new   creature, a child   of God   and   receive the   gift   of Holy   Spirit. It   is believed   that   after   baptism   our   old   man   dies   and   is   buried   Ã‚  with Christ. Moreover It   Ã‚  is   Ã‚  hat   before     baptism you   are   a   child   of   the   devil   and   after   baptism   you   are child   of   God. A   man who   believes   in   Jesus, but   do   not   receive   baptism   in   his church   is   not   a   Christian. For   a   Christian   it   is   not   only   important   to   believe   in   God   but   also   to receive   what   God   gives   us. It means   to   give   thanks   to   God   for   everything. This   is the   secret   of   how   to   keep   ourselves   always   happy and   satisfied   in our   life. To   give   thanks   to   God   for   every thing   is   the   first   step   to   calm   ourselves   and face   any storm   in   our   life. REFRENCES:- http://biblia.com/theology/maimonides.htm http://religion-cults.com/Christianity/be-pra.htm    How to cite Compare and Contrast The Theology Of Judaism And Christianity, Essay examples

California Pizza Kitchen case Essay Example For Students

California Pizza Kitchen case Essay California Pizza Kitchen case essay BY Krysta143 Executive Summary California Pizza Kitchen (CPK) was founded in 1985 by Larry Flax and Rick Rosenfleld with a vision of offering customers designer pizza at reasonable prices. CPKs target market is geared towards affluent customers making $75,000 annually, and over the span of 2 decades the business was able to grow from a single location into 213 locations across 28 states and 6 foreign countries. CPK generates revenue from 3 main sources: company restaurants, franchises, and royalties. CPK stands out from its peers because it offers a compelling menu at low prices, does virtually no arketing, and currently generates profits using zero debt. Despite CPKs positive growth projections, the food industry at the end of 2007 is experiencing increased pressure from higher commodity prices, increasing wages and lower consumer discretionary income. Over the last 2 years we were able to grow sales by 16% while decreasing labor by . 03% in the same period. Despite our strong performance we are currently being pressured by institutional investors to take on additional leverage and re-buy outstanding shares in response to a 10% decrease in our stock price. To etermine if levering the firm would be beneficial I decided to evaluate the benefits of leverage by doing different scenario analysis based on different debt structures 10% 100% leverage. What I found in my analysis was that as we leverage the firm there are many benefits that we are missing out on such as a larger tax shield, increased ROE and disciplined growth effect. On the negative side; there is also the chance that we run into trouble and it may put a squeeze on project spending and in the most unlikely case land us in bankruptcy if we are not careful. It is my ecommendation that we should lever the firm by 30% of debt which should yield us a tax savings to us of roughly $1. 35mm per year and boost our ROE to 11. 05%. Case Analysis California Pizza Kitchen (CPK) is a homemade style pizza company located predominantly in the western region of the United States. It was founded in 1985 by Larry Flax and Rick Rosenfleld with a concept aimed at delivering designer pizza at reasonable prices in family friendly environment. This included an innovative menu that featured items like; Singapore shrimp roll, Shanghai Garlic Noodles, and Chicken Tequila Fettuccine that distinguished it from competitors. Their target market was geared towards affluent consumers making at least $75k annually. Its attractive menu and word-of-mouth marketing concept enabled CPK to expand from a single location to 213 locations across 28 states and 6 foreign countries. CPKs main sources of revenue include: company owned restaurants, franchise, and royalties generated from starting up new franchises. The company also generates royalties through a licensing agreement with Kraft Foods for the manufacture of frozen pizzas that accounts for roughly 5% of annual revenue. Other new sources of revenue include the new brand extension of ASAP stores at various airports. This concept has not been entirely successful and we plan on divesting the remaining 16 new and taking a $770k write down. From a marketing perspective; the company spends minimal amounts on advertising compared to industry standards, as CPK relies heavily on word 0T moutn to attract new customers. I nls allows us to spend only around 1 their overall revenue on advertising. The food industry was divided into two sections; full service and the limited segment. Full service is further divided into asual dining and fine dining while the limited segment is subdivided into fast food and fast casual. CPK is predominantly focused on the limited segment with a sub segment in full service. The CAGR for the limited service segment is projected to grow 5. 5%, while CPKs full service is projected to grow 6. 5%. To hit our 6. 5% growth rate in 2008, we have scheduled between 16 18 new store openings in the coming year. This will require an additional investment of 85 million dollars. A study by the National Association of Restaurants estimates that consumer discretionary spend for ining will increase from 45% to 53% over the next 3 years. Even though spending is on the uptick, the industry is experiencing pressure from rising commodity and labor prices with the new increases in minimum wage instituted by the Bush Administration. Despite the financial pressure, CPK still continues to growth under challenging market conditions. Sales grew by 16% from 2005 to 2006 and royalties increased by 36%. Labor as a percentage of sales decreased from 36. 6% to 36. 3% in the same period. Even with all of these positive metrics CPKs share price saw a decline in the last month by 10% to $22. 0. Agenda Setting EssayAt 35% leverage we assume each additional dollar of debt would force us to pay about 9. 5% per year in interest (Exhibit 3). At this higher interest rate we run the risk of not being able to invest in all of our positive NPV projects, and could even force ourselves into bankruptcy in an extreme situation. We have always remained a stable growth company and I see no need to go above the 30% threshold and subject ourselves to higher rates of interest. If I were to go back the past 3 years we have proven that we can grow comp store sales diligently with zero debt (Exhibit 4). By taking on 30% wortn 0T aeot we snoul a nave enougn extra casn to Duy DacK enougn snares to Doost ROE and still have money left over for our store expansion plans next year. I should also mention that if we benchmark ourselves compared to other restaurant chains, at 30% leverage we would be structured like many of our key competitors such as Darden Restaurants, Brinker International and Red Robin (Exhibit 4). In the past we have outperformed these 3 competitors, but for this to continue it would help to protect our earnings from tax as the market becomes more challenging. Final Recommendation: As the CFO of California Pizza Kitchen I can say with assurance that the decision to lever up the business has less to do with appeasing influential shareholders, and more to do with the tax savings and the disciplining effects of taking on debt. We have already proven to the market that this business has a disciplined approach to rowth, and I see no reason that levering up the company wont have this same sobering effect when we go to pay on our obligations. Based on (exhibit 3) I am safe with taking on an additional 30% of debt which should yield us a tax savings to us of roughly $1. 35mm per year and boost our ROE to 11. 05%. We would turn around and use 100% of the initial proceeds to buy back shares and re-evaluate how to fund the remaining $85mm in capital we need for the remainder of 2007 using secondary financing. If some of our new stores plans are riskier investments perhaps we scale this back in the near term to focus on our existing store footprint. By levering up we are essentially going to pay less income tax to the government in the foreseeable future, allowing us to shield the income that we earn in the difficult period ahead. Already this year our core business has been challenged by higher commodity prices, rising minimum wage, higher energy prices, and eroding consumer discretionary income, but the long term prospects of our business look much better. To make sure that we still maintain flexibility in the interim I will be reviewing our debt structure on a quarterly basis once we make the decision to lever up. This will allow us to control he business and make sure that we avoid a situation where we cant invest in positive NPV projects, or get ourselves into a situation where we are at risk of bankruptcy. From an external standpoint by taking on debt and buying back shares we will be able to boost our ROE to be more competitive with other restaurant chains, and send a positive message to analysts that we have faith in our underlying business. If we are to act on this idea I believe we must act now; access to low interest rates are not going to last much longer and we must lock rates in now before the market deteriorates further.