Gay Marriage Right or Wrong - 3385 Words

Gay Marriage: Right or Wrong? Kristina Waltmire SOC 120 Introduction to Ethics Social Responsibility June 13, 2011 Dr. Eva M. Ananiewicz Ashford University Abstract This paper will give a look into the religious, social ethics, and rights of a gay couple wanting to get married. Gay marriage debates are very emotional and important to many people and there are many sides to every argument. Religious leaders want to state what the bible is saying and saying that same-sex marriage is wrong based on the bible’s teachings. Gay people are fighting for their right to marry and live what they feel as a â€Å"normal life†. This paper will look in to the ethics and possible solutions to this important issue. Introduction In today’s†¦show more content†¦Religious leaders are giving only a few examples to explain their view that it is wrong for gay couples to marry. One argument of religious leaders is that in the Christian Bible marrying the same sex is a sin. They are saying this is not the choice God would want someone to choose. Religious leaders are also stating that the Bible states that God intended marriage to be one man and one woman until death (Sullivan, 2004). Leaders are also stating that God created marriage to let people have children and two individuals of the same sex cannot naturally conceive a child (Sullivan, 2004). Christian followers believe that children should only be born to the â€Å"traditional† married couples (Mohr, 2005). Religious leaders fear that untraditional couples having children will threaten the traditional marriage and values of the Christian faith (Mohr, 2005). The gay community does not see it that way. They feel as th ough they are able to provide for the child and give the child love and morals then they should be able to have children. Some people believe that the ability to have children is a civil and human right in this country. Therefore, the next common issue brought up by the gay marriage debates is civil and human rights. These issues are some of the most complicated because some people will look at these and say if they cannot get married then they should not be able to have the same benefits as a traditional married couple. Equality in many areas areShow MoreRelatedGay Marriage Right or Wrong2460 Words   |  10 PagesGay Marriage Right or Wrong There are so many ethical issues that are continuously debated and still there has been no resolution. Gay Marriage is an ethical issue that has been debated for years. This is an issue that I think that will continue to be debated as a clear answer as to why it is morally wrong has yet to be determined. For so long a deontological view has been applied to the subject. Those who are opposed to same sex marriage take on this view. I do not thinkRead MoreWhy Same Sex Marriage Should Be Legal1478 Words   |  6 PagesWhy Same Sex Marriage Shouldn’t be Allowed Why shouldn’t Same Sex Marriage legalized? Number one why would you want more gay couples walking around and getting married? It flat out is just not right at all. No matter if same sex marriage is legal or illegal it will never be okay on any circumstance. Marriage has always been between A Man and Woman not two guys and two girls. Marriage should stay the same, it should not be legalized, they’re just too many wrongs to it and it is not acceptable. TheRead MoreGay Marriage and Its Issues1260 Words   |  6 PagesGay Marriage and its Issues Gay marriage has been an issue for a very long time and since some states are legalizing it, many worry that it would soon be added as an amendment. The topic of gay marriage brings up religious, legal, and many other issues. In Whats wrong with Gay Marriage? by Katha Pollitt, the author supports gay marriage and wants it legalized. She states that there is no problem with gay marriage and its all a matter of separating the church and state. But in â€Å"Gay ‘Marriage’:Read MoreGay Marriage Should Not Be Denied Service1457 Words   |  6 Pagesand refuse to cater to gay marriages. They do this based on their belief that gay marriage is wrong, and against their faith, and because of this they can’t provide their services or they would be supporting it. In Indiana, a small town pizzeria was asked what their position was on the Religious Restoration Freedom act, and stated that they were a Christian establishment and could not cater to gay marriages. However they w ould serve gay people and couples in their store. The gay community and supportersRead MorePro Gay Marriage Essay807 Words   |  4 Pagesand religiously wrong. For millions of people all around the world that’s the harsh reality. Times are changing in the world that we live in today however discrimination against gay and lesbian couples is still a frequent issue with only 13 countries that fully legalise and recognise gay marriage with full equality. The most common argument for people being against gay marriage is that it’s â€Å"not natural† for two people of the same sex to have a marriage. Opponents of gay marriage make out thatRead MoreThe Issue Of Gay Marriage1191 Words   |  5 PagesProfessor Peter Lamar Introduction to Classics in Philosophy 6 November 2014 Gay Marriage Thomas Jefferson wrote about â€Å"unalienable rights† in The Declaration of Independence. What he meant was there are rights that are given to us as human beings and cannot be taken away by the government. â€Å"Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness† are among those rights that are being suppressed against same sex couples. Their right to pursue happiness with their significant other is taken from them by the stateRead MoreShould Gay Marriage Be Legal? Essay911 Words   |  4 PagesShould gay marriage be legal? Gay marriage should be legal because as woman and man, all individuals have the same right in society; because same-sex couples can constitute a good based family; because it is just a way to make official a common union nowadays, even with the religious issue; because it is not related to polygamy; and because love matters and it does not differ in nature according to the sex of its object or the person who experiences it. The first reason why same sex marriageRead MoreGay Marriage Should Be Legal1434 Words   |  6 PagesGay marriage has slowly become a significant factor amongst individuals of today’s society. On June 26, 2015, it was ruled out by the U.S. Supreme Court that gay marriage was now legal. The first thing that I thought was that â€Å"Wasn’t it already legal in the United States?† Well, apparently no it has not been legalized in the United States! (Dumb me.) The U.S. is known to be a nation of equality and gives everyone the freedom of the speech, but it is actually a nation full of racism, sexism, and homophobiasRead MoreEssay Gay Marriage Should Be Legal889 Words   |  4 PagesOn June 26, 2015, the US Supreme Court ruled that the US Constitution guarantees the right for same-sex couples to marry. Should gay marriages really be allowed? Has the Supreme Court ruled in error? Gay marriage should be legal because all individuals have the same right in society; because same-sex couples can constitute a good based family; because it is just a way to make official a common union nowadays, even with the religious issue; because it is not related to polygamy; and because loveRead MoreEssay about Gay Marriage Should be Legal Despite Being Immoral910 Words   |  4 Pages2015, the US Supreme Court ruled that the US Constitution guarantees the right for same-sex couples to marry. Many conservatives are completely against gay marriage and they have stated that they will fight to have the Supreme Court ruling overturned. There are a number of reasons opponents to gay marriage argue that the Supreme Court has made a huge mistake . First, certain religious interpretations maintain that gay marriage is sinful. Fortunately, our country is not a theocracy and public policy

Analysis Of Homer s The Odyssey - 1455 Words

An An Chang (24437312) Marissa Henry (Section 106) Classics 10 March 4th, 2016 Odysseus’s Voyage from Pride to Modesty In the Odyssey, Homer portrays Odysseus as a strong, courageous leader who not only uses his physical strength, but also, his wit to problem solve and defeat his opponents. While Odysseus possesses many valuable traits that help him become the great leader he is, he also has one major character flaw--his hubris. Through his long trek back home to his wife and estate in the Odyssey, we see Odysseus slowly grow as a person and become slightly more humbled and less stubborn. Odysseus does not lose his hubris by the end of his journey, however, there is definitely a change in his decision makings. Odysseus’s journey begins on†¦show more content†¦By relinquishing his anonymous identity, Odysseus allows Polyphemos to take revenge by asking Poseidon, Polyphemos’s father, to curse Odysseus to never reach home. This very curse, which could have been easily avoided if Odysseus’s hubris did not interfere, causes Odysseus to take years to travel before finally returning home to his wife. In this scenario, Odysseus did not think twice about the consequences of announcing his name to Polyphemos. Odysseus, at this point of his journey, cares more about his pride and name than anything else. Later on in his journey, after leaving Calypso’s island, Odysseus almost gets dragged into the ocean by Poseidon’s storm. Luckily for Odysseus, goddess Ino steps in and offers him aid by giving him a veil that would keep him from drowning as he abandons ship and swims to shore. At first, Odysseus refuses to abandon ship, â€Å"Ah me, which of the immortals is weaving deception/ against me, and tells me to put off from the raft? But no,/ I will not do it yet, since I have seen with my own eyes that shore where she said I could escape, is still far from me† (5.356-360). Even Though goddess Ino is an immortal who has far more knowledge than Odysseus, a mere mortal, Odysseus still refuses to take her advice. Here, Odysseus is too stubborn to accept help until the very end when his ship falls apart due to Poseidon’s storm and had no choice but to follow goddess Ino’s

Libertarianism and Redistribution of Wealth Free Essays

The libertarian claim that any money gained though employment or business is none that they are fully entitled to is false, therefore the claim that the redistribution of that wealth through taxation Is a form of theft Is also false based on the grounds that no one fully owns all of their wealth. The reason that no one fully owns all of their wealth is that we live in a society where many aspects of our economy that contribute to the generation of wealth are paid for by society as a whole. An example of this is a child who goes to school. We will write a custom essay sample on Libertarianism and Redistribution of Wealth or any similar topic only for you Order Now This child will graduate knowing how to read, write, do math, use computers, etcetera. These are all skills required both for them to have Income and for future employers o profit from. These skills allow employers to hire them knowing that they can have a basic level of expectation of this child, and even If they are not employed, business owners can also assume a basic level of expectation in the ability to use the products being sold. To clarify, let’s look at an example using Bill Gates, one of the richest men in the world. Bill Gates would never have become wealthy if he did not have the basic expectation that the majority of people in America had the education and knowledge to use computers. He did not pay for this knowledge, society as a whole did. The fact that society Is responsible for educating our people to the basic level required for the use of Bill Gates’ products Is the reason why Bill Gates does not fully own all of his wealth. Again, to own something is to assume that you are fully Bill Gates owes part of his wealth to society for the education it provided which allows us to use computers. Another reason why people do not completely own all of their wealth Is that we all owe something to the government who protects our wealth and our ability to gain wealth. The government provides security from outside influence in the world, laws which govern our business practices to protect us from each other, and allows the environment in which we are able to perform business. Because of these reasons we all owe the government because we are able to take advantage of the system that our government has provided. Since the wealthy are able to take a much greater advantage of this system, It Is natural to assume that the wealthy also owe more to the government than do the poorer and middle class citizens. The fact Is that we live in a society in which we are not paid for the labor we do or for the product in which we provide to society as a whole. Instead we are paid based on how well we are able to take advantage of the systems in place. This system allows for unfair advantages for some and the only way to balance out those unfair advantages is through taxation. As I nave calmer Deter, ten wangle purpose AT taxation In ten TLS place Is as a Tort of redistribution of wealth. Services need to be paid for and the government must have money in order to run. Taxation allows the government to redistribute wealth in a fashion which should be fair (though many times is far from fair) in order to provide the necessary services for our country to prosper. If our country has too large of a gap between the wealthy and the poor it also looses the ability create new wealth. What I mean is this. The wealthy are able to create wealth by taking advantage of the poor and middle classes. This is not always a bad thing however. Since the poor and middle class make up the vast majority of the countries’ population, it is also them who purchase, manufacture, and provide the majority of the products and services offered by the wealthy. The wealthy are able to make money because the rest of the countries’ citizens spend money. If these citizens have o money to spend there is no money for the wealthy to make and they must begin to look outside of our country for that wealth. Again, this comes down to the advantages provided by our government which allow for overseas trade and the import and export of goods and services. If the wealthy are to take advantage of foreign trade, they again owe extra to the government, and society as a whole, for the advantage which is provided to them. In the end however, it is simply a good idea to redistribute wealth back to the poorer in our country in order to provide all citizens at the very least an opportunity to get some of that wealth back from them. Our economy is a never ending circle of exchanges in which the most affluent are able to take the greatest advantage, thus owing the most back to their government and society. I do agree that people have a right to their own property (as long as it was obtained honestly), however, how much property does one really need and to what extent do they really own it. There must be a point at which a certain amount of wealth is too much. How many of the richest people in the world will ever be able to spend all of their money? It is basically for this reason that I am against the views hat it should not be the government’s responsibility to use taxation as a way to redistribute income. This is in fact the sole reason for taxation in the first place and the reason why the rich pay a higher amount of tax than the poor. This higher taxation is especially necessary in a society such as ours where the average CEO make something along the lines of 400-500 times as much as the average worker (much higher than any other country in the world). I see no reason why we can’t increase taxes on the richest in order to fulfill our obligation to the poor, not only at home but across the world. How to cite Libertarianism and Redistribution of Wealth, Papers

Accounting & Finance Telstra Corporation Limited Case Study

Question: Case Study on "Telstra Corporation Limited". Answer: 1. Introduction Telstra Corporation Limited was founded in 1901 that is located in Melbourne, Australia. It offers the telecommunications and information services to corporations, governments, society, and people in Australia and worldwide. There are different operating channels of Telstra such as Telstra Retail, Global Enterprise and Services, Telstra Operations, and Telstra Wholesale segments. It also provides various telecommunication products, services, and solutions related to the mobiles, fixed and mobile broadband, television, data and Internet protocol networks, and network applications and services. The Telstra provides around 16.7 million retail mobile customers, 6 million fixed voice customers, and 3.1 million retail fixed data customers. It offers their services via 371 retail stores, 84 business centers, and 137 business and enterprise partners, as well as through 18,700 retail points (Bloomberg, 2015). This report explains about the financial status and risk of Telstra by analysis of companys historical financial statement from 2011 to 2016. Beside this, it assesses the companys corporate governance structure, risk profile, and costs of capital and equity. It also evaluates the earnings, cash flows, competitive strengths, and analysis of its competitors. This report also focuses on the financing sources, the trade-offs between debt and equity for the company. Further, this report determines the Telstra ability to decrease the cost of debt, and its dividend policy related to the returns of the shareholders. 2. Corporate Governance 2.1 The Chief Executive Officer Andrew "Andy" Penn was appointed as the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and Managing Director of Telstra Corporation Limited in May 2015. Prior to this from 1990 to 2011, Andy worked for National Mutual which later merged with AXA Asia Pacific, and in the end as its CEO. He is passionate about the visual arts and supports Telstras programs with the National Gallery of Victoria, Museum of Contemporary Art and the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders Art Award (Telstra, 2015). 2.2 Board of directors: The Telstra board currently comprises of 10 directors in which 9 directors are independent Non-Executive Direction. They are selected by shareholders together with the Executive Director (Andy Penn). They are the responsble for setting and reviewing the strategic direction of Telstra and monitoring the implementation of that. Besides this, the Telstra board is supported by 3 further committees: an audit committee, a nominations committee, a compensation committee. In this way, each committee helps the board for accomplishing the particular tasks that set out in the committee contract, as assigned and approved by the board (Annual Report, 2015). Executive and Board Remuneration Framework The Board Remuneration Framework is designed to attract, motivate, and retain the executive team, board members and meeting shareholder requirements. Telstra grants the reward to executive directors who support management in long-term decision making. Non-Executive Director does not get the performance-based remuneration, but they receive travel benefits, allowance to 2 long hauls and 6 short haul tour each year (Telstra Corporation Limited, 2015). 2.3 Financial Market Considerations Telstra financial market interactions are represented as the Error! Reference source not found. and Error! Reference source not found. from October 2011 to 2016. This chart depicts its share price, trade volumes and trends with regards to the Dow Jones Index. At the end of 2016, Telstras shares have been more variable due to falling its share price. For instance; share price is recorded as $3.00 in October 2011 that increases in October 2015. In opposition to this, it can be seen in chart that share price of Telstra has declined in the end of October 2015. Thus, it can be explained that Telstra shares are broadly traded in the market, with average daily stock movements in the order of 3 million (Error! Reference source not found.). As Compared to the movements of the Dow Jones Index, it can be illustrated that fluctuations in Telstra share prices are relatively parallel to the movement in Dow Jones market. It means when Telstra shares price has declined with decline in Dow Jones index. In a similar way, when Telstra shares prices have increased with increase in Dow Jones index (Error! Reference source not found.). Therefore, it would suggest that the performance of Telstra is closely tied to the performance of the Dow Jones market (Telstra, 2015). Following charts are explored in greater detail: 2.4 Corporate Social Responsibilities of Telstra Corporate social responsibility of Telstra is designed to offer good jobs at good remuneration to people. For example; Telstra is investing on the activities of their workforce and cultural training programs. Hence, employees will be more productive due to the most rewarding place of work. Telstra has invested $200 million over 5 years on the workforce to provide the training. It also serves as equitable respectful and diverse working environment for people. For Instance; Telstras Gender team has recently established the Virtual Womens Network (VWN) to serve the network of Telstra women in order to meet their demand on a regular basis (Telstra Corporation Limited, 2015). It also tried to meet the needs and wants of their customers. For example, Telstra launches the Next G network to offer the better and more responsive services for people. This scheme is also offering in rural and remote schools in Australia to implement the appropriate and interactive program (Annual Report, 2015). In addition to this, company focused on increases the shareholder value and worked for protection of shareholders interests through attractive dividend payments. Beside this, it focuses on safe environment practices. Furthermore, it voluntarily contributes in their resources, people, technology, goods and services to sustain the community. For Instance; Telstra established the water-saving pilot program and implement into the commercial buildings and associations in the region of Australia by the installation of modern new water-saving technologies. This technology saves 83 million liters of water annually that the equivalent of approximately 33 Olympic sized swimming pools (Telstra, 2015). Interest and Benefit of Telstra Directors Telstra provides numerous benefits to its employees and its directors. Except newly joined Timothy Chen (the year 2013) all the directors of Telstra has ownership of equity. The CEO of the Telstra Mr. David Thodey has the maximum stakes in company which is around 1,009,652 shares in the financial year 2013-2014. At the time when he was CEO he received $3.4 million as a short-term cash bonus from Telstra. Even after he resigned from the post of CEO he was provided a number of benefits. For instance, later on, he received $913,577 worth of shares from the Telstra under short-term bonus plans also. Thus, Telstra not only provides various benefits to its directors when they are with the company but also provides bonus benefits even after leaving for a limited time span (Whyte, 2015). Figure 1 : Table showing equity holdings of the directors of Telstra (Image source: Telstra annual report, 2013) Following is the table representing the benefits of Telstra to its directors. Figure 2 : Benefits to directors of Telstra in the financial year 2014-2015 Ethical and responsible decision-making shareholders interest and communication In Telstra, the decision making and ethical responsibility are underpinned by the corporate governance framework which comprises of various group policies and principles. Telstra laid these principles and policies of the way in which it conducts its business and ensures accountability. These policies and principles provide direction to Telstra and enable accountability to the shareholders. The code of conduct of Telstra supports the Values of the company which sets outs standard behavior of their people. This represents the commitment of Telstra for good corporate governance, their personnel, corporate environment, etc (ethical boardroom, 2014). This governance framework allows the Telstra to keep a check on elements like health safety, bullying, sustainability, issues related to the privacy, corruption, social media and whistleblowing. In terms of communication, Telstra is open, clear and accurate for their shareholders. The purpose of communication is conveying the relevant information as soon as possible also to understand the view of shareholders also. This enables smooth two-way communications (Telstra, 2016). 3. Risk and Return 3.1 Sources of Risk for Telstra The risk is associated with Telstra is high for the stakeholders as it is related to technology and technology is dynamic in nature. It also faces risk of a change in the customer expectations, variation in market demand; changes in the strategies of the competitor etc. There is also the presence of natural risk for the company like extreme weather conditions, natural disasters etc they can create problems for the Telstra. For Telstra, another important thing to manage is the data information of their customers and corporate. Thus, data management also poses a risk to the company. Sometimes there are unfavorable regulations by the government which can easily become the reason of underperformance resulting in the negative effect on the market share price. Thus, there is a presence of political risk also for Telstra (Telstra, 2016). 3.2 Historic Risk Parameters Below table shows the return on equity of Telstra for five years: Below graph shows the trend line of return on equity of Telstra from 2011 to 2015: Capital Assets Pricing Model (CAPM) is an appropriate model for calculation of return on equity investment over stocks of Telstra. According to this, expected return on equity of an investor depends on value beta (), the market risk premium (rm) and the risk-free rate (rf) (Levy, 2011). On basis of above of data related to return on equity of Telstra for five years, following tables presents the findings of regression analysis: On basis of findings of regression analysis in above tables, the value of R Square for return over company stocks is obtained as 0.57, which means the data related to return on equity of company are closely linked with each other. Value of standard error is obtained as 1.202, which shows standard risk involved in decision related to investing company stocks. At the same time, slope of regression data can be presented by equation of Y = 1.18X 2345 (Levy, 2011). 3.3 Valuation of Telstra In order to determine whether the Telstra share price is over or under valued a financial comparable multiples analysis was undertaken. In this analysis the comparison of price to earnings (P/E) between Telstra and its main competitors like, Optus, Vodafone etc. Telstra is the market leader in the industry. The P/E ratio is better than in than the competitors of Telstra. In the current scenario, the earning score for Telstra is 7.35. thus, Telstra Corporation is undervalued (capital Cuba, 2016). Figure 3: Table representing Telstra Financials (Morningstar, 2016). Figure 4: Table representing Telstra Profitability (Morningstar, 2016). Above figures (3, 4) represents that market strength of the Telstra showing a consistent growth in growth and profitability. Liquidity of Telstra Figure 5: In the above table T= Telstra O=Optus V=Vodafone (Wei Xin, 2013). With the help of above table, it can be interpreted that the liquidity ratio of Telstra is lower than the ideal ratios. That means there can be a liquidity crisis in the general situation but as Telstra is a telecommunication company ratio lower than 1 can be accepted and on the other side, when the liquidity of Telstra is compared with the other competitors in the industry the liquidity of Telstra is better. This shows better liquidity of Telstra in the industry. 3.5 Capital Structure: Particulars 2015 ($m) 2014 ($m) Closing net debt 13,566 10,521 Total equity 14,510 13,960 Total capital 28,076 24,481 Gearing ratio (%) 48.3 43.0 Telstra involves both equity and debt in the capital structure. From the above, it can be depicted that closing net debt is $13,566m that is greater than the previous years value. Additionally, total equity is $14,510m that is higher than 2014. Besides this, total capital has risen from $24,481m to $28,076m in the period of 2014 and 2015. Along with this, the gearing ratio has risen from 43.0% to 48.3% in 2014 to 2015. Liquidity ratio: Ratios Formula FY15 ($m) FY14 ($m) Current ratio = 0.85 =1.20 Current assets 6,970 10,438 Current liabilities 8,129 8,684 Quick ratio = 0.79 = 1.16 Current assets 6,970 10,438 Inventory 491 362 Current liabilities 8,129 8,684 Liquidity ratio: Liquidity ratio represented the Telstras ability to meet its short-term financial obligations. As per the above analysis, it can be explained that Telstras current ratio is 0.85 and quick ratio is 0.79 in the year 2015 that are declined from the year 2014. It depicts the decreasing organizational short-term financial position. Therefore, it can be suggested that firm should focus on enhancing their liquidity ratios by reallocating their capital in current asset and current liabilities. Marginal Tax Rate Tax Rate/Year 2015 2014 Tax Rate 0.29 or 29% 0.26 or 26% Marginal Tax Rate (0.29-0.26) = 0.03 or 3% Analysis: Marginal tax rate is the difference between the current year tax rate and previous year tax rate. As per the above calculation, it can be said that the Telstras marginal tax rate is 0.03 or 3%. Recent Borrowing and Interest Rate: Particulars /Years 2015 ($m) 2014($m) Borrowings 1,496 2,277 Interest Rate 846 1,113 Interpretation: Above table depicts the Telstras borrowing and the interest rate that are paid by the company on its borrowings. In this way, it can be explained that company pays a $846m interest rate on its borrowing (i.e. $1496m) in 2015. It is also determined that its borrowings and interest rate has declined as compared to the previous years. Thus, it states that companys performance has improved than the last years performance. Cost of capital to Telstra Weighted Average Cost of Capital (WACC): Market Value of Equity 49954.030 Market Value of Debt 13439.8755028 Cost of Debt 4.857% Cost of Equity 5.75% Weight of Debt 0.212 Weight of Equity 0.788 Corporate Tax Rate 30% WACC 5.27% Working Note: WACC = E / (E + D)*Cost of Equity + D / (E + D)*Cost of Debt*(1 - Tax Rate) 0.788*5.75%+0.212*4.857 %*( 1 - 28.195%) = 5.27% Analysis: As per the above table, it can be said that Telstras WACC is 5.27% that represented the average cost of capital to company. It is because; Telstras cost of debt is low as compared to its cost of equity that means the company has sufficient equity to meet its obligations. 4. Earnings and Cash Flows 4.1 Analysis of Existing Investments Accounting Return of Telstra: Accounting return of Telstra for 2015 is $4.3b, which is presented as net income after tax of the company in Income statement. In addition to this, the accounting return is also measured in terms of gross profit, EBIT etc. The return of company can be compared with cost of equity and cost of capital of the company. The overall cost of capital is presented in terms of WACC of the company. The value of WACC of Telstra is identified as 5.27% in 2015. At the same time, earning per share is also a good measure for efficiency of utilization of company resources for generating profits. It tells about companys ability to offer dividend to shareholders (Telstra, 2016). 4.2 Marketplace Performance The value of accounting return provides information about proficiency of company in terms of cost control and investment of capital in profitable investment projects. For example, value of gross profit margin is helpful to measure profitability (marketplace performance) of firm as well as the cost efficiency of company. Hike in gross profit margin is also an indication of improvement in cost efficiency of company (i.e. reduction in cost of production) (Gibson, 2012). 4.3 Assessing Competitive Strengths Sustainability of Competitive Strength: It is a competitive strength of Telstra that it has access the multiple markets with the high-quality network that provides long-term competitive advantages to the company. There are some other companies in telecommunication sectors but they are nor capable of accessing the multiple markets. In addition to this, key market players like Vodafone and Optus have not capabilities to imitate this competitive strength of Telstra. Besides this, new market players have a lack of funds to compete with the competitive strength of the Telstras. 4.4 Competitors Analysis: There are main three competitors of Telstra includes Vodafone, virgin, and Optus. Comparison between the Telstra and its main key competitors: The following table represented the comparison among the Telstra and their key market players: Company Name Telstra Vodafone Optus Quantitative Measures (Size, Profitability, and Risk) Telstra market size is large because it provides a 4G network in most of the areas. Its net profit is $4.3b in 2015. Additionally, Telstras WACC is 5.75% that represents low the risk. Vodafone cover medium market size as compared to the Telstra. Its net profit is S$3,782m in 2015. Besides this, Vodafones WACC is 7.4% that represents the medium risk (Vodafone, 2014). Optus market size is small as compared to the Telstra and Vodafone. Its net profit is $5,970m in FY15. Its WACC is 8.5% that represents the higher risk (Optus, 2016). Qualitative Measures (quality of management, and service) It provides the best network quality to their customer. It also offers the high-quality customer services to attract and retain the more customers. It provides less network quality as compared to the Telstra. It also facilitates the medium quality customer services. It provides low-quality network than the Telstra and Vodafone. It also offers the low-quality customer services. 5. Financing Sources 5.1 Assessing Current Financing Methods of raising equity: Telstra uses two methods for raising funds through equity such as initial public offering (IPO) and private placement. Telstra sells their share through IPO because it is cost effective methods. Additionally, there is no fixed burden to pay a dividend to the shareholders. Furthermore, Telstra uses private placement methods in which company offers their share to particular group of investors and institute. This is less time-consuming methods because the company sells their share in less time and utilizes funds in business at right time. Sources of Borrowing Money: Telstra has high portion of equity in capital as compared to the debt hence; they can use different sources for borrowing money in order to expand their business. They use two different financial sources in terms of borrowing money that are bank loan and corporate bonds. Maturity structure for Debts: Telstra has used a nine-year high-quality corporate bond rate on 30 June 2015. In addition to this, it takes a bank loan for a long period. Besides this, Telstra pays floating rate on the corporate bond while fixed rate pays on the bank loan. Marginal Tax Rate: Company Name/Year FY15 FY14 Marginal Tax Rate Telstra 29% 26% 3% Vodafone 22% 31% 9% Optus 15.20% 15.89% 0.69% 5.2 Debt-equity Trade-offs and Free Cash Flows: Debt Servicing and Debt Level: Formula: Debt Servicing = Operating Income/ Debt servicing obligation of the company Debt Level: Particulars/FY FY15 ($m) FY14 ($m) Total Debt 13,566 10,521 Total Equity 14,510 13,960 Debt to Equity ratio 0.93 0.75 Working Note: Debt to Equity Ratio = Total Debt/ Total Equity Interpretation: Above table shows that companys debt servicing is in 2015 that is equal to its targeted value. Hence, it can be explained that companys ability is effective to meet the expenses of debt such as payment of principle amount of debt, and payment of interest expenses of debt. On the other side, debt to equity ratio is less than the 1 in both FY. Therefore, it can be described that companys credit worthiness is good. In this way, it can be stated that company can use bank loan as a source of finance. Free Cash Flows: Particulars FY15 ($m) FY14 ($m) Growth (%) Free Cash flow 2,619 7,483 (65.0) EBITDA 10,745 11,135 (3.5) Fair value of Cash flow 1396 5527 As per the above table, it can be interpreted that free cash flow, EBITDA, and fair value of cash flow has declined in 2015 as compared to the previous year. Therefore, on the basis of given analysis, it can be said that Telstra is not making good investments recently. Responsibilities of managers towards the stockholders: Managers are responsible for assessing the net profit after tax. Therefore, they make the policies and guidelines to increase the net profit. In addition to this, managers mainly work for the interest of shareholders. It is because; if net profit will be increased then the company will be able to pay a higher dividend to the shareholders. 5.3 Financing Cost of Debt There are different sources that are available to bondholders to assess the equity shareholders. These sources can be an annual report, the decision of general meeting, share movement in the market, and market information. Investment Forecasting: Telstra uses several modes such as board meeting and assesses future plan in order to forecast the investment opportunities, future investment, and needs. In this way, it can be said that company organizes the board meeting where all board member gives their opinion to grab the future investment opportunities. Assets of Telstra: Telstra uses various intangible assets such as goodwill, software assets, mastheads, patents and trademarks, licenses, customer bases, brand names, and deferred expenditure. The total value of intangible of Telstra has increased from 12659 to 15764 in 2015. Besides this, the cost of these assets has also increased from 6277 to 6432 from 2014 to 2015. 6. Dividend Policy 6.1 Historical Dividend Policy Analysis Historical Dividend of Telstra Analysis: As per the historical performance, it can be explained that total dividend has increased in 2014 and 2015 that was constant in last three years. In this way, it can be expressed that dividend paid per share is $28.0m in FY11, FY12, FY13 that has risen $28.5m in FY14 and 30.0 in the FY15. Therefore, it can be said that dividend has continuously increased in last 2 years. Payout Ratio and Dividend Yield Ratio: It is calculated as follow: Particulars 2014 ($m) 2013($m) Dividend Payout Ratio 86 93 Dividend Yield Ratio 6.0% 7.0% Interpretation: Above dividend payout ratio defines the portion of profit that is distributed as the dividend to the shareholders. On the basis of above dividend payout ratio, it can be explained that dividend has declined as compared to the last years that means companys performance is not good. On the other side, dividend yield ratio defines the amount of cash dividend which is distributed to the common shareholders and it is also relative to the market value per share. In this way, it can be said that it has declined as compared to 2014. Therefore, Telstra needs to improvement in the dividend policy. Relation of the dividend with the earnings and cash flows: Particulars FY15 ($m) FY14 ($m) FY13 ($m) FY12 ($m) Dividend 30.0 28.5 28.0 28.0 Earnings 26607 26296 24776 25503 Cash Flows 1396 5527 (1502) 1291 Interpretation: From the above table, it can be determined that there is a positive relationship between the earnings and dividend. It is because; earnings and dividend both are reciprocally increased. On the other side; there is no relationship among the cash flows and dividends. It is because; the company uses dividend policy according to their own decisions. Modes of Convey Information to the financial market There are different sources of conveying information to the financial market includes the annual report, media communication, and general meetings. Importance of dividend policy: A dividend policy is set the rules and guidelines that are used by the company to decide the amount of profit which will pay out to their shareholders. This policy is important for the company in order to retain and attract the more investors. Besides this, the company can invest in more sectors by using dividend policy of the company. 6.2 Firm Characteristics Marginal Stakeholders of Telstra: There are several stakeholders are available in the company such as directors, managers, employees, customers, and suppliers. These stakeholders take some parts of the profit according to their needs and benefits. In this way, it can be explained that some stakeholders are interested in taking dividend as a profit but, at the same time, some are interested in buying back shares. From the analysis of the annual report, it can be interpreted that Telstra buyback share is $1b whereas its total dividend per share is 30.5 cents. Compare the firm dividend policy in telecommunication sectors Vodafone and Optus are the main competitors of the Telstra in the telecommunication sectors. Company Name FY15 ($m) FY14($m) FY13($m) FY12($m) Telstra 3545 3699 3475 3480 Vodafone 1975 3365 3193 3102 Optus (1593.8) (1594.2) (1434.0) (1434.3) Evaluation: As per the above table, it can be evaluated that Telstras dividend is high as compared to its competitors such as Vodafone and Optus. In addition to this, it can be said that Telstras dividend policy is best to attract and retain the more investors whereas, its key competitors do not use appropriate dividend policy. Hence, Telstras dividend is higher than the market players. Conclusion On basis of above, it can be concluded that CEO of Telstra is Andy Penn. CEO and board of directors of the company works positively for the interest of stockholders of company and company as a whole. It can also be concluded that capital structure of company is composed of debt financing and equity financing. It can also be summarized that debt equity ratio of company is approx 1 that means companys creditworthiness is good. It means, company may easily obtain long term loans from banks and other financial institutions. References Gibson, C.H. (2012) Financial Reporting and Analysis. USA: Cengage Learning. Levy, H. (2011) The Capital Asset Pricing Model in the 21st Century: Analytical, Empirical, and Behavioral Perspectives. UK: Cambridge University Press. Morningstar (2016) Telstra Corp Ltd TTRAF. Optus (2014) Annual Report. Optus (2016) Annual Report. Telstra (2014) Annual Report. Telstra Corporation Limited (2015) Corporate Social Responsibility.