Accounting Basics for Managers Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Accounting Basics for Managers - Essay Example In the financial year 2012, Home Depot shows impressive growth both financially and operationally. In the financial year 2011, Home Depot revenue increased by 3.53% to a striking $ 70,395 million which has resulted in the operating profit increased by 14.08%. Following its operational growth strategy, Home Depot has introduced diversity in its business. The company is showing interest in covering all the horizons of the globe by opening more and more stores in various areas of the globe as it planning to serve a diverse range of customers. Gross profit margin is one of the key profitability ratio indicators which indicate how well a company is in the process of utilizing its working capital in earning the desired level of profit. In order to calculate the gross profit margin ratio, the gross profit (i.e., sales less the cost of sales) is divided by the revenue of the company. As apparent, the gross profit of the company has increased slightly from the previous financial year which co uld be due to the fact that the cost of sales of the company increased with a bigger percentage as compared to the percentage of the revenue of the company. This could be due to increased raw materials prices from the supplier which the company could not recover from the customers through increased selling price. The next profitability indicator is the net profit margin. The net profit margin is calculated by dividing the net profit (i.e., gross profit less administrative and selling expenditure) with the total revenue.

The genetic and environmental origins of learning abilities and Essay

The genetic and environmental origins of learning abilities and disabilities in the early school years - Essay Example Examining each of these factors allows educators to approach learning disabilities from different angles. There is a connection between speech difficulties and reading difficulties (DeThorne, et al., 2006; Spinath, et al., 2004; Feagans and Appelbaum, 1986). In early elementary years, students sound out words; if they cannot use verbal language well, reading comprehension suffers. Recognition of letter names is an indicator of future reading ability, along with the child’s ability to write his or her name (Share, 1984). Three levels of language use work in young children: syntactic (the general construction of written or verbal language); semantic (the meanings of words and their relationships which arrive at sense from the written or verbal); and discursive (how syntax and semantics go together to form a narrative) (Feagans and Appelbaum, 1986). Narrative is the transmission of information using words and sentences, and may be the most important (and most difficult) item to measure. Identifying children who are not developing normal speech patterns is the first step to seeing a problem with language. Once the child is identified, it is helpful to know if the problem is genetic or if environmental factors are at work. Researchers look at large populations of similar children and gather information through assessment mechanisms. In the articles examined for this essay, different assessment mechanisms are used by researchers. Share, et al. (1984) point out that assessments are often poorly validated or poorly designed, and the time it takes to administer long questionnaires reduces the size of the population measured. Teacher assessments might seem like a good way to find out about learning disabilities, but teachers possess varying skill levels in recognizing learning problems (Kenny and Chekaluk, 1993). Parent questionnaires must be worded carefully, and can also be highly inaccurate (Share, et al., 1984; DeThorne, et al., 2006). Standardized