Preparation for Value Management Study designed for TechWatt Essay

Preparation for Value Management Study designed for TechWatt Corporation - Essay Example In preparation for the Value Management Study, TMK Services has determined the need for this preliminary report that will address the specific issues that should be evaluated during the first meeting of the project briefing stage. This report will include details of what should be contributed to the Value Management Study, and who will be involved in the process. In addition, TechWatt will need to provide certain information for the Study, which will be addressed. Finally, a proposed agenda will be submitted for approval. Top managers of TechWatt must be involved in every aspect of this process and, since the company is not large, they will be directly monitoring each feature of the process without exception. At the early stages of decision making, there is no need for any delegation of responsibility. As the process proceeds to the construction phase, At the outset, TMK Services has been informed that the funds allocated by TechWatt for the proposed HQ total approximately five million pounds. With that in mind, the first logical step in this process must be to determine a suitable location for building and determine what the cost of the land will be. While some locations may seem more desirable from a strictly logistical or geographical standpoint, consideration must be given to the relative cost of land in any given area being considered. We would suggest that TechWatt management not limit themselves to only one possible location at this stage. Going into the Value Management Study meeting, it would be beneficial to have at least two, if not three possible locations on the table. Considering what has been occurring with the price of land in recent years, it becomes imperative to make the proper decision on location. For example: From 1983 to 2002 the cost of one hectare of land in London went from 0.76m to 5.5m. However, in the South West, the price went from 0.18m to 1.7m. Finally, the lowest prices for land are found in Yorkshire with prices raising from 0.1m to only 0.87m per hectare. (UK Land Prices Rocket, 2003) Prices for land vary throughout additional areas of the country, and specific numbers can be provided upon request, however the purpose of providing these statistics is simply to provide the basis for TechWatt management to understand the importance of this part of the decision making process. Obviously, the cost of the land on which the HQ will be constructed will play a major roll in determining the amount of finances remaining for the building process. 3 Although a full hectare of land may not be necessary for this project - that is a determination that will be made at a later date - understanding the cost of land in various locations must be a vital part of the process for TechWatt management. Other factors will need to be considered regarding location, as well. These include: accessibility of location (is it close to majors thoroughfares and easily accessible from airport); quality of surrounding area

Collapse of Lehman Brothers Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Collapse of Lehman Brothers - Term Paper Example The company was experiencing a mass exit by clients, dramatic fall in stock value and asset devaluation. Their bid for bankruptcy protection was the largest in the world history. Corporate Malfeasance Corporate malfeasance is a legal concept that denotes the art of falsely manipulating accounts such that the financial position of a company appears stable and progressive. Following their collapse, top executives of former corporate giants, such as WorldCom, Enron and AIG, faced civil suits and criminal charges with allegations of corporate malfeasance. Corporate malfeasance was one of the leading causes for the collapse of Lehman in light of the financial crisis of the late 2000. James Cramer calls the Lehman’s malfeasance case ‘financial engineering’ (Cramer 2). He believes that with the knowledge of top officials, CFOs and CEO Dick Fuld, the accounting department manipulated the financial records in a bid to make the company appear more venerable to attract inves tors and retain clients. Lehman’s financial engineering had gone on for a few years amid growing worries among top officials that the company was over-leveraged. The advice of chief financial officers and other top officials spearheaded the ‘financial engineering’ gimmick through counterfeit records to hide Lehman’s vulnerability to collapse (Taibbi 98). Sources retrieved from the Wall Street Journal indicate that CEO Fuld was aware of the imminent collapse. He was manipulated by a clique of shadowy bankers and top investors who wanted to be overnight billionaires by urging him to make money-losing decisions. Corporate malfeasance did not go far. The truth eventually emerged and Lehman’s estimated $619 billion debt was exposed. This was after the audit report of a court-appointed financial examiner was released. Fuld had admitted in writing that he had commissioned the financial engineering gimmick as a systematic ploy of buying the company more tim e. This was by creating â€Å"a materially misleading picture of the firm’s financial condition in late 2007 to 2008† (Cramer 2). Lehman’s accounting gimmick dubbed ‘repo 105’ allowed the sale of company securities through a signed obligation to re-purchase them after a while so that they can do so at a lower price. This would temporarily remove such asset securities from the balance sheet. Likewise, the untimely sale of securities allowed the influx of liquid cash into the bank thus effectively lowering financial coverage ratios. These subtle and corrupt financial gimmicks were done behind closed doors keeping investors and other stakeholders in the oblivion (Sorkin 8). The US Housing/ Subprime Mortgage Crisis Economic experts link Lehman’s predicament to the bursting the housing or real estate market bubble in the U.S in the summer of 2008. The untimely subprime mortgage crisis was another leading cause for the collapse of Lehman Brothers I nc. In 2007, the real estate market in the U.S had registered a remarkable progress amid the housing bubble. Housing prices soared, reached the elastic limit and Wall Street began to experience a huge increase in home foreclosure rates and equally high subprime mortgage delinquencies. Subsequently, securities backed by mortgages declined significantly. The steep decline made re-financing very difficult.