Operations Management in Business WH Smith Analysis

Operations Management in Business WH Smith Analysis WH Smith Introduction WH Smith was first created by Smith Family in 1792 as a newsagent, in then became the company with the name â€Å"WH Smith† in 1828 and launched the website WHSmith.co.uk in 1999. This success fully growing company opened many stores in Rails stations, High Streets, Shopping Centers and gradually lost its profit of  £135m. The arrival of Kate Swann made WH Smith to run as the profitable company in a decade. The success of her achievement is based on how she organized and worked towards her goal. Throughout this report there are many explanations related to WH Smith’s success using operation management skills by Kate Swann. Task 1 Operation is the key part of the business which produces goods and services. It involves in planning organizing, controlling an organization operations. Organization without a planning will never be able to success in its business. According to the scenario, the success of profit is based on the Operation Management, which involves a complex set of management activities involved in planning how they wanted to improve their sales organizing leading, by cutting the costs. Kate Swann managed to achieve the target of turning WH Smith into a profitable company by taking into account of the operational management. Following the principles of operation management in an organization will help the company to reduce the cost of products and services and also in the mean time it will help to increase the customer’s satisfaction towards the product quality and the services. As the operations function is responsible in goods and services, it is important to support the input and output to be delivered on time scale. Various input such as capital, labor, and information should be measured in order to obtain desired outputs. The role of operation management is to improve productivity which will help to improve the organizations financial and also to meet customer’s competitive priorities. In the scenario it shows that Swann has targeted the teenagers and as well as young women for stationeries this make the targeted users to be satisfied as well increase the sales in WH Smith. The key elements of Operation managements are known as Business logic, System theory. Kate Swann has understood the business logic in how to increase the profit for WH Smith. She understood how to target the customers and increase the profitable margin. In her success we can see that she has cut the cost persistently which is one of the element in business logic. Applying system theory to a business helps to find out how the environment impacts business process. According to the report of â€Å"Our Quality Commitments to Our Customers† in WH Smith website it clearly says that WH Smith is responsible to fulfill the minimum standards required by the law. If WH Smith reduces the standards and quality towards their customers due the cost effective they might not be able to success in our goal. For example Funky Pigeon greeting card shop which was open online is a best known website because customers get best services. Even though it was introduced to the market 2 years ago it has been famous. The reason behind this is their quality and services that they have been giving to their customers so far. The customers get the opportunity to choose their cards with uploading their own pictures and also the cards ordered by the customers are delivered very next day to their required address. This will impress the customers and make them come back. The online strategy objective of WH Smith is to launch the Funky Pigeon which sells greeting cards, personalized gifts and cards according to the customers need. The products that are sold in this website are very quality as well as cost effective. The services given to the customers are very dependability as funky pigeon is a fastest delivery service. It has the next day delivery services for their customers. More customers may prefer to visit their website as they are not limited by options in cards. The customers got the verity of option in choosing cards. As funky pigeon allows the option of personalizing the gifts or cards the customers may be satisfied in choosing any of the products from them. System is known as the collection of parts which can function independently for the success of the common purpose. For example, System contains the Input – Process- Output in an organization. It is essential that all the collection part in a system work collaborate for a company to be successful. WH Smith should follow each parts as Input and Process and output to make their company to run in organize planning and control and to be on right track Sub-system is known as the complex collections of many Systems in order to achieve the common purpose. In other words it contains many Input many process and many output to achieve the goal of the company. WH Smith may contain many system and sub-system diagram for the organization. Following diagram shows the system function in WH Smith. Task 2 Strategic planning is an organizational management activity which helps to set priorities, strengthen operations, and to ensure that employees work towards the goals to achieve success. An effective strategic planning articulates not only where and what actions needed to make progress, but also how it will know if it successful. In order to implement success strategic planning need to follow the performance of operational management. Operational management is essential for all organizations. The strategic planning mostly deals with activities of any business organizations such as operations, sales, finance concerned with different level managers. Operational management is focused with the production / services provider level of organizations. There are three stages of strategic planning. They are known as Economy, Efficiency and Effectiveness. To achieve the profit margin Swann has introduced the stationeries targeting the teenagers and young women. WH Smith started to sell stationer ies and sweets at the checkouts. This is a good example that Swann has used one of the strategic planning elements known as Economy. As it is essential assign that right resources has been used at the right time at the right place and right cost which a management should consider in business objectives. In other hand WH Smith has the big online strategy Funky Pigeon where they work in very cost effective. â€Å"Swann announced she was pulling out of selling music and DVDs†, she has compared the market and in order to increase the profit margins. And the comparison stores such as HMV thinks that it’s brave. As she consider the Efficiency, she has compared the performance target she kept to increase the profit of WH Smith. Even though WH Smith has its high street retail it has target the online retailers by introducing Funky Pigeon card site. Effectiveness is determined by examining the objectives and achievement of a company. WH Smith was been losing by 135m due to Swan n’s strong operational management the company has turn into profit of  £106m. Quality is very important for an organization. An example of good quality product with less cost is when a customer who consumes the product and services has nothing or less to complain about the product. In the scenario it says â€Å"WH Smith now sells roughly  £65 of goods for every  £100 of custom† the success is they have carefully reviews the objectives. WH Smith has to review the existing products carefully in order to compare the function of the product required by the customer, who demands them in lower cost. Kate Swann has carefully reviewed and decided that selling of Music and DVD’s are not profitable and not worth of reducing cost. So she completely stopped selling DVD’s and started introducing new ideas on selling new products in WH Smith. They target certain age group to boost their sales. As we can see in the scenario that it says the teenagers and the young woman have been aimed for stationeries. What Kate Swann has done leads WH Smith for its success. Following the performance objective it helps to add value to the customers in delivering quality products or services. The Quality, speed, dependability, flexibility and the cost may defer as performance objectives. Quality services as known as error-free services. There may be no any complains about the product satisfaction. This can be improved by getting customers feedbacks. For example if we take WH Smith the quality can defer as the store cleanliness, an appropriate and attractive outlet and also very friendly and helpful staff so the customer may like to visit the store often. It also includes the goods conditions. As we see WH Smith has a big online strategy Funky Pigeon card site. If they fail to deliver their customers goods on time, they may have bad viewpoint against their services and none of the customers like to continue doing shopping with them. When we look at the WH Smith store it all depends on a customer asking for a product or services and getting it to them, in a nother word satisfactory of their shopping in WH Smith. As we see in the scenario it says that Swann plans to open more shops which are stuffed with stock and screaming promotional banners. This is a role of operational management to achieve as it’s based on dependability. It increases the product or service in the market. WH Smith has sold stationary targeting the teenagers and young women and they also started to display sweets at the checkout make customers to purchase them. If they have not been flexible in introducing new lines to their sales they will not be able to achieve success in their business. Swann also cuts down the cost in order to boost her profit margins. These are the importance five performance objectives that underpin operation managements. Task 3 For a good operational planning is very important, this will lead the organizations to know what they have to do next, in order to deliver best services to the customer’s demand. Planning and controlling related to each other. It is essential to consider these methods in an organization like WH Smith as they helps for the effective outcome. Planning helps what to do and when to do in other hand controlling involves making sure that the plans are taken place. The planning and controlling involves cost estimation, work measurement, planning, routine concerns. Based on this scenario we can see that WH Smith has planned how to fulfill the needs of their customers. Kate Swann for example knew that young women and teenagers will purchase their stationeries and mean time the sweet has been display near the counter in order to promote it to their clients. If Kate Swann didn’t think of what customers normally demand, WH Smith may not be able to satisfy their customers. Linear program is a mathematical technique designed to help to plan and make decisions. This will help to maximize or minimize some quantities such as profits or cost. Liner program requires action on what to choose, where Kate Swann need to introduce displaying sweets near the checkout. One of the examples of WH Smith success in applying linear program in operational management is when Kate Swann stops selling music and DVDs to increase the profit margin. For renovating WH Smith shops there are certain tasks need to be planned. The following table is the tasks listed down for the shop renovation. D must follow A G must follow A and F H must follow A, C, D and F I must follow A, C and E J must follow A and D The above network diagram is an for an WH Smith renovation. WH Smith was running with lose until Swann take over to make it a profit. When we look into the operational outcomes we can see clearly that the WH Smith lose of  £135m turned into profit of  £106m. Another example of operational outcome is targeting of displaying sweets at the checkout and also selling stationery aiming teenagers and young women. Quality can defined by the process through which a business seeks to make sure that the product quality is maintained or improved meantime reduces the errors. It requires both management and employees make every effort for perfection. And according to the Scenario it sets an example Kate Swann stops selling music and DVDs and also the checkout assistants attempt to force-feed the chocolates displayed at the checkout areas. Without planning and controlling an organization will be hard to monitor. It is essential to follow the concepts of Operational management in order to achieve success in an organization. Kate Swann’s success is based on how she followed the operation management skills in order to bring the profit to a company which was running in loss. As Kate Swann follows these skill it states in the scenario that she has the ability to make a unpleasant shops to have profit business. Referencing Six Sigma, [Online], Available: http://www.isixsigma.com/implementation/financial-analysis/cost-quality-not-only-failure-costs/ Operations Management, fourth edition,[ Online], Available: http://wps.pearsoned.co.uk/ema_uk_he_slack_opsman_4/17/4472/1144836.cw/ The Guardian,[online], Available: http://www.theguardian.com/business/blog/2013/jan/23/wh-smith-kate-swann-profit Introduction of Operation Management, [Online], Available: http://highered.mcgraw-hill.com/sites/dl/free/0070951675/436573/samplech01.pdf Muhammed Akram Khan, Performance Auditing – The Three ‘E’s, [Online], Available: http://www.asosai.org/journal1988/performance_auditing.htm Operational Planning, Wikipedia, [Online], Available: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operational_planning Linear Programming, [Online], Available: http://wps.prenhall.com/wps/media/objects/2234/2288589/ModB.pdf Sree Rama Rao, (2009) Operational Planning and control decisions,[Online], Available: http://www.citeman.com/5031-operational-planning-and-control-decisions.html Quality management, Wikipedia, [Online], Available: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quality_management WH Smith, About WH Smith, [Online], http://www.whsmith.co.uk/fcp/content/Help-AboutUs-AboutWHSmith/content

Essay --

Coltan Downey Ms. Littlefield AIDS Research Paper 16 December, 2013 Haitian Success HIV/AIDS has become so prevalent throughout the world that it is now rated as the second deadliest infectious killer behind tuberculosis. Over 35 million people in the world are currently living with HIV/AIDS and approximately 262 new infections occur every hour. On the small island nation of Haiti, in 2005, about 190,000 citizens lived with HIV/AIDS, which was approximately 3.8% of the entire population. Since then, there has been a dramatic decline in the percentage of the infected population. It has recently been recorded that the disease currently infects about 120,000 citizens, which is only just over 1% of the entire countries population. Since 2005, there has been more than a 47% decline in HIV/AIDS related deaths, showing that a country, suffocated by poverty, and disease, as well as overcoming the overwhelming earthquake, can do something to lower the infection rate of HIV/AIDS and raise awareness with little to no medical technology or healthcare. Haiti also has a very uns table political center, which begs the question†¦ Why can’t any other countries do the same thing? HIV/AIDS emerged in Haiti in the late 1970’s, which was just about the same time that the disease started to break out in the United States. At about this time, in the United States, the disease was discovered in Haitians who immigrated to the United States in search for a better life. When this was discovered, the CDC (Center for Disease Control) did not want to believe that the disease that infected homosexual men and drug users in the United States was the same disease that had infected Haitian immigrants. In 1982 however, the CDC named four risk factors for the disease... ... news about AIDS all the time, but we can give you some good news about AIDS in Haiti.† Yes the rates in Haiti have declined but not all of the news in Haiti surrounding HIV/AIDS is positive. The rates have decreased but only mostly in rural areas and, children in Haiti are becoming sexually active at a younger age and only about 28 females and 15 males ages 15 to 24 are educated about HIV prevention. This lack of knowledge as well as the younger population becoming sexually active may cause the rates in Haiti to spike if the situation is not controlled or, if education is not a primary concern in the fight against HIV/AIDS in Haiti. Haiti has been a â€Å"Top Prospect† when it comes to countries fighting HIV/AIDS and has shown promise but the declining rates of infection may not last long if Haiti does not keep up with educating the population on HIV/AIDS prevention.

Samla’s Personal Statement

â€Å"The vision that you glorify in your mind, the ideal that you enthrone in your heart – this you will build your life by, and this you will become. † These very powerful words, written by James Allen, are a perfect description of how I have accomplished many of my goals. My main objective is to obtain a full time position with a public accounting firm to render professional services in the field of auditing. Some years ago, a former student of University of California, Irvin brought my attention to the field of auditing. I took the initiative to find out more about this career. After extensive research on the nature of the work, training and advancements, I felt this is something I could really enjoy doing for the rest of my life. I began exploring the different fields that are related to auditing programs offered and making campus visits. After several visits and consults I was attracted to the CSUF because the school allows new students to involve themselves in independent research, requiring initiative, self-motivation and a wide range of skills within the first few months and also allow students to go out for industrial practical exposure at one point or the other on a yearly basis throughout the duration of the degree. Since many of us, at one point or the other in our life, we need a professional care and assessment as regards our finance management be it an organization or the money we save or trade with or in any other capacity . So, I see this as an opportunity and it brings me great pleasure thinking about the effect I could have on the populace at large. Therefore, I have always been aware of equipping myself with solid foundations in IT and supporting knowledge in Business aspect in order to fulfill the challenging requirements of future working environment. Besides professional regular education, I have attended several trainings and extra courses instantly when I had chances and time. These include Software development, Networking, and Business development (Please refer to my resume). Academic Background and skills I attended Orange Coast College, Costa Mesa with Honors List and I major in Accounting where I got a befitting Orange Coast scholarship. I also attended Government Commercial college,Karachi,Pakistan where I had Bachelor of Commerce and I major in Accounting too. (Jan 2003-Dec 2004). Working experience My working experience dated back to early January 2004 when I was offered the post of an accountant at the Zaitoon M. A. Shakoor Brokerage Firm Karachi Stock Exchange, Karachi, and Pakistan. I was exposed to the various dynamics of stock market. My passion for this profession wax stronger after the opportunity I had in Providing professional customer service to existing customers by advising them on stock transactions, stock market trends, and providing them with up-to-date account information. I assisted with business development by providing information on the trading process to potential customers. I also learned the ability to survive under stress as I had lot of customers to attend to. I was able to exceed managements’ expectations by handling hundreds of customer accounts and supervising the office workers in the absence of a manager. I also worked as a Cashier at the Ralphs Grocery Store, Costa Mesa between Sep. 2005 – Aug. 2007 where I attended to an average of 5o customers personally on a daily basis and joined Dr Patrick the company’s marketing consultant in registering sales and issuing cash receipts. Some of the opportunities I had was as a result of my working experiences in the following areas; I was able to closely observe experts and fellow technicians to further my knowledge about accounting auditing and business management, and with this close observation, I was able to gather experiences which was to help me later in life when I finally explore and delve into some profession where these skills will be required. Besides professional regular education, I have attended several trainings and extra courses instantly when I had chances and time. These include Software development, Networking, and Business development (Please refer to my resume). I also have participated enormously so far in my undergraduate training and I have involved myself in various activities of UCI’s Accounting Association. Currently I am enhancing my knowledge by working at the Trait and associates, Inc as an accounting clerk from June 2008 till date. In the course, I also have had the opportunities of working directly under controller and CFO to organize and maintain all customer accounts and my IT knowledge has also been of immense value. My experience at Traits and associates has helped me acquire the character and those traits necessary to be a successful Auditor: commitment, confidence, compassion and strength. I believe that CSUF considers an outstanding student as one who possesses these qualities. Voluntary services Activism at any level is necessary for an individual to establish their own goals and evaluate their own career paths. Many of my interpersonal and leadership skills developed after becoming an active member of UCI’s accounting Association Future plans and goals After my Graduation from the CSUF, I would like to pursue a Master degree in the same school. I think my exposure to different accounting budgeting and auditing settings and utilization of excel to create and manage budgets for ten different departments within the company I at present work with, forces and informs this decision of mine. Not only do I want to pursue a professional carrier in Auditing, I want the opportunity to affect pre-accounting students the way the Siringos and Dr. Lee affected me. I believe I possess a talent for teaching others in manner that helps them grasp difficult concepts easily. As a part of my Auditing and accounting career, I will aim (approx. 5 years down the road) to educate Pre-auditing students as a professor at CSUF. Since many of us are confused and need someone at one point or the other to advise us on the best way and place to invest our money, I want to be part of those that will direct, lead and show others the way to financial exploit. Now is the time in which I want to pursue my true goal of becoming a professional auditor. I believe that I am mentally prepared and persistent enough to excel at any endeavor, and I have developed the compassion and commitment to the auditing profession that will drive me for years to come.

Foreign Policies Big And Small Affect Our Lives - 1413 Words

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Feminism in Medea by Euripides Essay - 1000 Words

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The Hopelessness Theory of Depression - 1798 Words

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Hi-Fi Financial Analysis free essay sample

The question asks us to compare and evaluate JB Hi-Fi’s calculated ratio report, with that of the retail industry ratio report (Potter, Libby, Libby, Short p. 1133). The retail ratio report is comprised of a basket of listed companies which operate under the retail banner, which makes it relevant to use as a comparison to JB Hi-Fi. 1. Liquidity ratios are a class of financial metrics that is used to determine a companys ability to pay off its short-terms debts obligations. Generally, the higher the value of the ratio, the larger the margin of safety that the company possesses to cover short-term debts. Table 1: Current Ratio Current ratio: This ratio measures whether or not a firm has enough resources to pay its debts over a twelve month period, comparing its current assets, with its current liabilities. | 2010: 1. 25| 2011: 1. 45| Industry: 2. 67| Comparison: The industry average of 2. 67 indicates that for every dollar owed, companies, on average will have . 67 available in assets to convert into cash in the short term. From the JB Hi-Fi data calculated, it is interesting to note that current ratios of 1. 45 in 2011 and 1. 5 in 2010 are significantly below the industry average. However, this is not too concerning because JB Hi-Fi still have a ratio above 1, and therefore would still be able to meet their current obligations. The lower figure may be explained by the fact that JB Hi-Fi may have a high turnover of current assets, such as stock, which if sold before accounts payable become due, would decrease the current ratio. Table 2: Quick Ratio Quick ratio: This ratio examines a firm’s ability to use its quick assets to extinguish its current liabilities immediately. Inventory or stock is generally excluded from this equation in order to produce a more accurate account of the firm’s ability to meet its short term obligations| 2010: 0. 33| 2011: 0. 27| Industry: 1. 92| Comparison: The quick ratio measure’s an organisations ability to meet its current obligations with its most liquid assets. As inventory might not be turned into cash as promptly as other current assets, the quick ratio follows a more conservative approach than the current ratio and excludes inventory from current assets. JB Hi-Fi’s quick ratio declined from 0. 33 to 0. 27 in 2010 to 2011 which are both alarmingly low from that of the industry’s quick ratio of 1. 92. The organisation is clearly lacking in meeting its prompt liquidity requirements. 2. Activity ratios assess a firm’s ability to convert different sectors of the balance sheet into cash or sales. Table 3: Inventory turnover Ratio Inventory turnover: This ratio measures the flow of stock within a certain time period. It assesses how long it takes for stock to be sold within a business. In this case, the industry report indicates an average of 50 days inventory turnover throughout the retail industry. This is in comparison to 58. 67 (2011) and 56. 30 (2010) days it took JB Hi-Fi to move on stock within the business. These numbers hold up quite well to the industry average when taking into consideration the number of 45 firms used in the calculations. JB Hi-Fi takes approximately 7 days longer than average to move on their inventory, which in the scheme of things is a relatively insignificant difference. Table 4: Accounts Receivable Ratio Accounts receivable: This ratio measures a firm’s effectiveness in extending credit as well as being able to collect debts| 2010: 1. 45| 2011: 1. 34| Industry: 25. 78| Comparison: In this situation, the retail sector average is 25. 78 days taken to receive cash from customers, compared to 1. 34 (2011) and 1. 45 (2010) days for JB Hi-Fi to collect its money from its debtors. This is positive for JB Hi-Fi as it indicates that it performs extremely well when it comes to collecting from debtors. The company’s figures are well below that of the industry average which is a positive achievement for JB Hi-Fi, as they are able to receive money quickly for credit sales. Table 5: Fixed Asset turnover Ratio The fixed-asset turnover: This ratio measures a companys ability to generate net sales from fixed-asset investments| 2010: 11. 03| 2011: 11. 25| Industry: 5. 26| Comparison: Here the industry average is 5. 26 times, compared to JB Hi-Fi’s figures of 11. 25 (2011) and 11. 03 (2010) times. This indicates that JB Hi-Fi is able to generate greater sales from its fixed assets, when compared to the market average. Generally, firms with a higher fixed asset turnover are successful in getting the most out of their assets, and in turn are able to generate higher revenues. Here JB Hi-Fi outperforms its sector, and this indicates that it is in a strong position to generate sales from the assets it has available. Table 6: Total Asset Turnover Ratio Total asset turnover : This ratio measures the efficiency of a company’s use of its assets| 2010: 3. 97| 2011: 4| Industry: 3. 17| Comparison: This ratio calculates the amount of sales generated for every dollar worth of assets. The retail average is 3. 17 times whilst JB Hi-Fi is slightly higher at 4. 00 (2011) and 3. 97 (2010) times. This indicates that JB Hi-Fi may have lower profit margins, when compared to the rest of the industry. This may be explained by the fact that JB Hi-Fi is more cutthroat and competitive when it comes to pricing, trying to gain as many sales as possible. Table 7: Days Payables Ratio Days payables: This is a ratio which examines the swiftness of a company in paying their creditors or suppliers. | 2010: 48. 09| 2011: 46. 73| Industry: 58. 83| Comparison: Days payables are a ratio which examines the swiftness of a company in paying their creditors or suppliers. The industry average for this ratio is 58. 83 days, indicating it takes this long on average for the retail industry to pay for its supplies. In comparison, JB Hi-Fi took 46. 73 (2011) and 48. 09 (2010) days on average to pay its creditors, in the given years. This represents a different of almost two weeks, which, when considering companies want their money as quick as possible, leave JB Hi-Fi with a positive reputation amongst its suppliers. The benefits of having a lower ratio in this situation may be that JB Hi-Fi receives a discount on credit deals for having paid in a shorter period. However, companies must be careful to avoid letting cash flow out of the business too quickly, if there is no reasonable gains to be made. This can be viewed as an advantage and a disadvantage as the company can hold off paying the creditors’ this quickly and invest the funds in generation of more revenue. 3. Profitability ratios are important when assessing the profitability of a business. They give management useful insight into where and how they can improve the operations of a business. Table 8: Net Profit Margin Ratio The net profit margin: This ratio show the proportion of every dollar of sales that is left after all expenses has been paid, and remains as net profit. | 2010: 4. 34| 2011: 3. 71| Industry: 2. 45| Comparison: Although it is difficult to accurately compare profit ratios for different entities, as financial arrangements and expenditure vary greatly from business to business, it is valuable to compare how JB Hi-Fi stands up to the rest of the retail sector, in terms of profitability. The net profit margin is 2. 45% for the retail sector, whilst JB Hi-Fi operates at 3. 1% (2011) and 4. 34% (2010), which indicates a reasonably higher net profit margin. This may indicate that JB Hi-Fi carries a higher margin of safety and less risk, compared to the average retail sector net profit, as a decline in profits would leave less of a strain on JB Hi-Fi. Having a higher net profit margin than the sector average leaves JB Hi-Fi in a good position to be a strong performer within the industry. Table 9: Return on equity Ratio Return on equity: This ratio indicates the amount of net income returned as a percentage of shareholders’ equity| 2010: 45. 1| 2011: 49. 23| Industry: 16. 8| Comparison: Return on equity measures a corporations profitability by revealing how much profit a company generates with the money shareholders have invested. The sector average for return on equity is 16. 8%. Return on equity ratio measures the corporations profitability by revealing how much profit a company generates with the money shareholders have invested. In the case of JB Hi-Fi this ratio is very high compared to that of the industry. With 45. 41 in 201 0 the ratio increased to 49. 23 in 2011. Table 10: Return on assets Ratio Return on assets: This ratio shows how profitable a companys assets are in generating revenue. | 2010: 25. 45| 2011: 21. 95| Industry: 7. 77| Comparison: Here the retail average is 7. 77% whilst JB Hi-Fi is almost triple at 21. 95% (2011) and 25. 45% (2010). This shows that JB Hi-Fi is superior to its industry average and its assets are highly successful in generating revenue. It shows that JB Hi-Fi management is successful in utilising assets correctly and gives them an advantage over the competition within the retail industry. Return on Assets ratio gives an idea as to how efficient management is at using its assets to generate earnings. This ratio declined from 25. 45 to 21. 95 in the case of JB Hi-Fi but was still high in comparison to that of the industry’s ratio of 7. 77. The higher the ROA number, the better, because the company is earning more money on less investment. Table 11: Quality of income Ratio Quality of Income: This Ratio is computed by dividing Cash Flow from Operating Activities by net income. | 2010: 128. 19| 2011: 100. 23| Industry: 7. 03| Comparison: As the ratio indicates the proportion of income that has been ealized in, high levels for this ratio are desirable. In the case of JB Hi-Fi these ratio showed a decrease but they still remained well above the industry ratio. 4. Leverage ratios are ratios used to calculate the  financial leverage of a company to get an idea of the companys methods of financing  or to measure its ability to meet financial obligations. Table 12: Times interest earned Ratio Times Interest earned: This ratio indicates the number of times a company can cover its interest charges on a pre-tax basis| 2010: 25. 17| 2011: 25. 94| Industry: 64. 2| Times interest earned or interest coverage ratio is a measure of a companys ability to honour its debt payments. It may be calculated as either EBIT or EBITDA divided by the total interest payable. In this case, the sector average is 64. 72 times whereas JB Hi-Fi had the figures of 25. 94 (2011) and 25. 17 (2010) times. Clearly, JB Hi-Fi differs significantly from the sector averages, however both figures are significantly greater than 1 and therefore there does not seem to be a problem for JB Hi-Fi to meet its obligations. Table 13: Asset/equity Ratio The asset/equity ratio shows the relationship of the total assets of the firm to the portion owned by shareholders, also known as owner’s equity. | 2010: 2. 63| 2011: 3. 32| Industry: 2. 16| Comparison: Assets/Equity leverage ratio measures the company’s capacity to generate assets from its shareholders equity. Both in 2010 and 2011, the Asset/Equity ratio was higher than the industry ratio. However the difference between these ratios is only minimal. 5. Dividends identify the percentage of earnings (net income) per common share allocated to paying cash dividends to shareholders. Table 14: Dividend Yield Ratio Dividend yield Ratio: This is the companys total annual dividend payments divided by its market capitalization, or the dividend per share, divided by the price per share. | 2010: 3. 29| 2011: 4. 75| Industry: 4. 75| Comparison: The dividend yield or the dividend-price ratio on a company stock is the companys total annual dividend payments divided by its market capitalization, or the dividend per share, divided by the price per share. This ratio reflects how much a company pays out in dividends each year relative to its share price. The dividend yield ratio was relatively the same for JB Hi-Fi in comparison to that of the industry. Table 15: Price Earnings Ratio Price Earnings Ratio: This ratio is a valuation ratio of a companys current share price compared to its per-share earnings. | 2010: 17. 18| 2011: 16. 77| Industry: 12. 16| Comparison: Price/earnings ratio is the valuation ratio of a companys current share price compared to its per-share earnings. This ratio was high in 2010 which decreased in 2011. Both of these ratios, however were high than the industry ratio. In general, a high P/E suggests that investors are expecting higher earnings growth in the future compared to companies with a lower P/E. Investor recommendations Looking at both the liquidity and activity of JB Hi-Fi, we can make a determination of the stability of the business through their ability to pay debtors and their earnings through everyday operations. JB Hi-Fi’s liquidity to repay short-term debts is positive; however, looking at the quick ratio, they are unable to meet their obligations in the short-term. Because they operate with high levels of stock, up to $400 Million at the end of the financial period, this may paint JB Hi-Fi in a negative light. When looking at collection of debts, JB Hi-Fi’s business model ensures that debts from customers are collected within a staggering 2 days. This is perhaps reliant on the financing institutions JB Hi-Fi has partnered with that enable a quick turn around in collecting sales on credit. This is an extremely positive aspect of the business and management of JB Hi-Fi to remain liquid. The generation of sales from assets shows that JB Hi-Fi is able to move vast quantities of stock, resulting in net sales of $3 billion. Such a figure enhances the fixed asst turnover, yet remains steady in comparison to the industry total asset turnover. The total asset turnover ratio suggests that JB Hi-Fi is generating huge sales, yet their profit margins remain low. JB Hi-Fi’s net profit has remained higher than industry averages, and indicates management’s ability to generate sales from the assets it has at their disposal. JB Hi-Fi’s profitability, although waning in 2011, shows that they are a strong performer in the current climate. Quality of income shows that the proportion if income that has been realised as cash. As for JB Hi-Fi, they have a very high cash turnover, and their ability to generate cash flows is extremely strong as compared to the industry average. The ability to repay debtors is relatively on par with the industry average. Yet, it shows JB Hi-Fi still have substantial cash flow in paying creditors, as there is a substantial difference in COGS and accounts payable, to the order of $2 Billion paid to suppliers and other creditors throughout the period. JB Hi-fi’s ROE and ROA ration is almost triple the industry average. It shows that JB Hi-Fi management is highly successful in generating revenue and utilising assets correctly. However, in terms of leverage, times interest earned was only 40% of the industry average and its financial leverage is almost 50% higher than the industry average. It is suggested that JB Hi-Fi should not extend its finance liabilities from the creditors to finance its further investment as the currently level is already high. But, according to Bell (2012), management is persisting with the store rollout 16 will open in 2012, while the meantime the margin has been squeezed due to industry changes. There is no more serious threat, that the company will become a high-volume, low-margin retailer. Investing capital in to a declining business such like this will only things worse. However, if they stop rolling out more stores, the leverage will not become a major concern at this point of time as their earnings can cover 25 times of its interest. Evidence can be seen from positive financial leverage percentage (ROE-ROA0). JB Hi-Fi’s price earnings ratio is higher when compared with the industry average. However, this ration decreased in 2011. Which suggest that investors are expecting lower earnings growth in 2011 than 2010. The dividend yield for JB Hi-fi is the same as the industry average in 2011 which increased from 2010’s 3. 29% to 4. 75% and annual dividend increase from 2010’s 62c to 81c in 2011. Its shows, that the JB Hi-Fi has adopted the policy to increase its dividend for shareholders, as the lower growth expectation from investors. This made the company more attractive for investors who looking for regular cash flow. Based on the financial analysis, we believe that JB Hi-Fi will keep performing in the areas of business activity, profitability and paying an attractive dividend. However, investors have to pay attention to its financial leverage and liquidity to pay its creditors to avoid the risk that the company may become insolvent.