Case #22 Victoria Chemicals Synopsis and Objectives go/no-go decision 1. The identification of relevant cash flows; in particular, the treatment of: a. sunk costs b. cash flows obtained by cannibalizing another activity within the firm c. exploitation of excess transportation capacity d. corporate overhead allocations e. cash flows of unrelated projects f. inflation. 2. The critical assessment of a capital-investment evaluation system. 3. The treatment of conflicts of interest and other ethical dilemmas that may arise in investment decisions. Suggested Questions 1. What changes, if any, should Lucy Morris ask Frank Greystock to make …show more content…
The investment requested is £12 million. Strategic and operating benefits were summarized in our previous memo to you. We have made, however, some changes to our investment analyses, which appear below. Two discounted cash flow analyses accompany this memo. Part A contains an adjustment for possible business erosion at Rotterdam, while part B does not make that adjustment. * The results are: Erosion No Erosion NPV £8.8 m £17.1 m IRR 22.3% 31.0% * The costs of the engineering study and corporate overhead allocation have been excluded from the analysis, per discussions with John Camperdown. * Tank-car expenditure occurs earlier in time, and changes in depreciation tax shields are reflected herein. * The discount rate used is 10%, and the cash flows used are nominal, rather than real cash flows. We would be happy to respond to any remaining questions you or the board may have. Executive Summary Being a major competitor in the worldwide chemicals industry Victoria Chemicals is trying to keep up with modern productions. Top managers of Victoria Chemicals are indecisive in
Management is often faced with ethical dilemmas that have no clear cut correct answer. In our case study, (1)Desperate Air, George Nash, Vice President of Real Estate faces a conflict of values similar to the CEO in Seglin’s article, “How to Make Tough Ethical Calls”. They both want to tell the truth and they want to protect their companies, their investors, their employees, and their own livelihood. Neither Mr. Nash nor the CEO conducted a through examination of the problem they faced. I believe the decision to remain silent made by both Nash and the CEO to be short sighted, based solely on short term profit, and would not have been the route I would have taken.
At Andrews Company we have set our goals very high within the industry and ensure that every step is taken to ensure that we provide our customers with high quality products. In order to fulfill our vision and strategy we feel that it is necessary for our company to gain competitive advantage within the industry by using the following competencies; product redesign, awareness, and plant utilization. Our main goal at Andrews Company is to be different than our competitors and we realize that there are many different ways in which we could reach this goal but ultimately have decided that these competencies best fit the needs of our vision. Through the help of face-to-face meetings with our top executives we have taken the steps to ensure the
A conflict of interest often arises when an individual’s personal interests conflict with those of the Company.
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NewGrade’s current free cash flows may be determined by obtaining information about the firm’s earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) minus the change in net working capital minus capital expenditures (Keen, n.d.). This information is provided in Exhibit 5 for the years 2008 through 2025. For example, in 2008, the EBITDA is $180.9 million. Deducting the capital expenditures of $6 million and an arbitrary change in net working capital, which we will use as $18.84 million, the company’s free cash flow for 2008 is $156.06 ($180.9 million - $6 million - $18.84 million).
It is a relevant ethical dilemma because it is a situation in which an ethical decision needs to be made by a businessman (CFO of Gabriel Resources) where viable options to this case are available which will be judged further in this essay by applying ethical theory and concepts.
1.) What does the Institute of Supply Management code of ethics say about financial conflicts of interest?
Ethical theory fails to provide a solution when there is a conflict of interest. A moral theory
Making consistently ethical decisions is difficult. Most decisions have to be made in the context of economic, professional and social pressures, which can sometimes challenge our ethical goals and conceal or confuse the moral issues. In addition, making ethical choices is complex because in many situations there are a multitude of competing interests and values. Other times, crucial facts are unknown or ambiguous. Since many actions are likely to benefit some people at the expense of others, the decision maker must prioritize competing moral claims and must be proficient at predicting the likely consequences of various choices. An ethical person often chooses to do more than the law requires and less than the law allows.
Given our recommendation to accept the new investment opportunity, this project will impact the forecasted financial statements from 2010 onwards. Please refer to Exhibits 6 and 7 for the revised projections.
Victoria Chemicals, a major player in the global chemical industry that supplies polypropylene, polymer that used to manufacture carpet fibers, packaging, automobile parts to the customers in Europe and the Middle East. Apart from numerous small producers, the company also receives the threats from the other seven major competitors.
* Eastman must align itself in its strategies based on differentiation. With the vastness of the chemical industry market, Eastman must stick with their specialized products and continue to innovate their processes to insure their competitive advantage. In their industry, it is too difficult for a company of their size to try and compete on a lower cost level.
• Will Need a New Tank Car to anticipated growth of the firm in other
Recently it has become multinational with production units all over the Americas (North and South) and offices in China and Europe. It has start operations producing a basic petrochemical (commodity). Since prices of this commodity has diminished due to Medium Orient concurrence, the company decided to shift to surfactants. That is, a shift from focus on operational excellence to a core competence on development and innovation. Actually, the beginning of the strategy was classic, since the company started by copying
ASIC v Citigroup case was one of the biggest investment banking case of the year where the federal court dismissed ASIC’s allegation of breach of insider trading and the takeover of an advising party. Citi group received applause from commentators for their current practices, and the case fiduciary duties were affirmed upon the legal bases the investment banks and the effectiveness of the Chinese walls as a mean of dealing with potential conflicts (Ritchie 2008, p.1). Chinese walls are barriers which were formed mainly to avoid conflicts which results in ethical practices rather than separation within an organization, in this case of investment banking the Chinese walls may separate a person who possess information to make investment decision to those who make investment decisions which could influence those decisions (Tesarsch 2007, p.632).