What Is The Social HierarchyHow Is It Being Changed By

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Financial and Ratio Analysis for Vodafone Free Essays

string(36) " increased stakes from 15% to 50 %\." INTRODUCTION (VODAFONE) VODAFONE is one of the largest telecommunication operators throughout the world. Vodafone made the first call in United Kingdom on 1st January 1985. Before that Vodafone was subsidy of Racal Electronics. We will write a custom essay sample on Financial and Ratio Analysis for Vodafone or any similar topic only for you Order Now After Racal electronics got demerged in 1991 the name was changed to VODAFONE GROUP PLC. Vodafone started in 1985 with 50 employees and increased rapidly to 5,000 employees and in 2004 the strength was almost near to 60,000 and by the end of financial year 2009 the number of employees reached to 79,000. I have chosen Vodafone because it is a big brand name in telecommunication industry. Vodafone not only operate in U.K. but throughout the world Vodafone has acquired almost every continent. Within two decades, Vodafone has become the telecommunications leader in Global Systems for Mobile networks (GSM). Vodafone was ranked the second largest multinational in 2004 by the World Investment report. Vodafone Group Plc provides an extensive range of mobile telecommunications services, including voice and data communications, and is the world’s largest mobile telecommunications company. , with a significant presence in Continental Europe, the United Kingdom, the United States and the Far East through the Company’s subsidiary undertakings, associated undertakings and investments. Vodafone’s goal is to integrate data services and telecommunication into a worldwide network. (Vodafone official website) It is operated throughout the world in some countries if the brand name is not a Vodafone but still it is having a joint venture with other local telecommunications operator such as in Japan. In India the Vodafone started as Hutchinson Essar but later on took over that and changed the name to Vodafone Essar. The Vodafone is known for its services throughout the world. The Vodafone story is one of investment, innovation and award-winning customer service. Above all, it’s one of growth and the ability to deliver the tremendous benefits of mobile communications, not just in the UK but worldwide. These are the reason for choosing the Vodafone group PLC for the ratio analysis. (Vodafone official website) BACKGROUND OF VODAFONE Vodafone group PLC is twenty year old multinational company of United Kingdom, one of the leading firms in telecommunication sector throughout the world. Vodafone made the first call in United Kingdom on 1st January 1985. Before that Vodafone was subsidy of Racal Electronics. Then known as Racal Telecom Limited, approximately 20% of the company’s capital was offered to the public in October 1988. It was fully demerged from Racal Electronics Plc and became an independent company in September 1991, at that time it changed its name to Vodafone Group Plc. The Vodafone story is one of investment, innovation and award-winning customer service. Above all, it’s one of growth and the ability to deliver the tremendous benefits of mobile communications, not just in the UK but worldwide. (Vodafone official website) Vodafone group PLC has become the telecommunication leader in Global System of Mobile Networks (GSM) in past two decades. Vodafone has grown rapidly throughout the globe so it is one of the largest telecommunication industries in the world. Vodafone started in 1985 with 50 employees and increased rapidly to 5,000 employees and in 2004 the strength was almost near to 60,000 and by the end of financial year 2009 the number of employees reached to 79,000. (Vodafone official website) In past few years Vodafone has strived for continuous growth and success. The group has spread not only in Europe but also to Africa, Asia, and Australia at a rapid rate. In 1993 Vodafone Group International is formed to acquire licences and supervise overseas interests. In 1994 VO data is the first network operator in the UK to launch data, fax and SMS services over the digital network. In 1996 Vodafone is the first network operator in the UK to launch a Pre-Pay analogue packages. In 1999 on 5 January Vodafone connects with the five million customers in the UK. In 1999 Vodafone Air Touch Plc is created as a result of a successful merger between Vodafone Group Plc and Air Touch Communications Inc. In 2000 The Global star satellite communications service is launched in the UK. In 2000 Vodafone acquires the largest available 3G license in the UK. In parallel with the development of 3G, Vodafone announces its intention to offer GPRS (General Packet Radio Service) to UK corporate custome rs. In 2000 the acquisition of Mannesmann AG almost doubles the size of the Vodafone Group making it the largest mobile telecommunications company and one of the top ten companies, by market capitalization, in the world. In 2001 Vodafone makes the world’s first 3G roaming call between Spain and Japan. (Vodafone official website) In 2002 Vodafone group contributed ? 20 million to community program and Vodafone trials its global mobile payment system in the UK, Italy and Germany and launched the first commercial European GPRS roaming service. In 2003 Vodafone live attracts 1 million customers in its first six months. In 2004 Vodafone live with 3G is launched in 13 markets worldwide and also launched its first 3G service in Europe with the Vodafone Mobile Connect 3G/GPRS data card. (Vodafone official website) In 2005 Vodafone completes acquisition of control of MobiFon in Romania and Oskar in the Czech Republic. Vodafone reaches 165 million proportionate customers and also announced new four year sponsorship of the England Cricket Team. VODAFONE also acquired 10% of economic interest in Bharti Tele-Ventures in India. Vodafone announces new football sponsorship with the UEFA Champions League in 2005 only. Acquisition of the assets was acquired in Telsim in Turkey. Vodafone signed contract with McLaren and Mercedes for the Title Sponsorship in 2005. Vodafone announces completion of acquisition of 10% economic interest in Bharti Tele-ventures in India. (Vodafone official website) In 2006 completed the sale of Vodafone Sweden and Vodafone Japan to Softbank. Also announced the completion of acquisition of the assets of Telsim in Turkey Vodafone and Softbank agree to form mobile partnership.Sale of 25% stake in Switzerland’s Swisscom and Belgium’s Proximus. South Africa increased stakes from 15% to 50 %. You read "Financial and Ratio Analysis for Vodafone" in category "Essay examples" Also the group share holding in Netherlands increased to 100% and also acquired outstanding shares. In 2006 group also acquired the telecommunication in Italy and Spain for ?537 millions. (Vodafone official website) In 2007 Vodafone agrees to buy a controlling interest in Hutchison Essar Limited, a leading operator in the fast growing Indian mobile market. Also agrees to buy a controlling interest in Hutchison Essar Limited. Vodafone agrees to acquire Tele2 Italia Spa and Tele2 Telecommunication Services SLU from Tele2 AB Group. Indus Towers Limited, an independent tower company in India is formed between Vodafone, Idea and Bharti. (Vodafone official website) In 2008 the Vodafone group increased the share in Arcos for ?366 million and after that owns the 100% Arcos group. Vodafone also acquired Ghana telecommunication for ?486 million. In the last quarter of 2008 the Vodafone group increased the stake in Polkomtel in Poland from 4.8% to 24.4% for ?171 million. (Vodafone official website) In 2009 Hutchinson and Vodafone agree to merge Australian telecom operations to form the 50:50 joint ventures. Telefonica and Vodafone announce milestone Pan European collaboration to share network infrastructure in Germany, Spain, Ireland and the UK. Vodafone completed the full merger between Vodafone Australia Limited and Hutchinson 3G Australia Pty Limited. (Vodafone official website) MAIN BODY COMPARISON OF ABSOLUTES STATISTIC20092008VARIATIONâ€Å"B/W† ?(MILLION)? (MILLION) REVENUE41,01735,47815.61%B COST OF SALES25,84221,89018.05%W OPERATING PROFIT5,85710,047-41.64%W PROFIT AFTER TAX3,0806,756-54.41%W FIXED ASSETS139,670118,54617.81%B COMPARISON OF BALANCE SHEET SOURCES USES 2009200820092008 (MILLION) (MILLION) (MILLION)(MILLION) EQUITY84,77776,471FIXED ASSETS13,96,7011,85,46 DEBT39,97528,826STOCK412417 DEBTORS7,6626,551 OTHER4,9551756 TOTAL C.A13,0298,724 TRADE CREDITORS13,39811,962 BORROWINGS96244532 Others4,9255,479 TOTAL C.L27,94721,973 CAPITAL EMPLOYED12,475210,5297T.A-C.L12,475210,5297 RATIO ANALYSIS RATIO 20092008B/W ROCE =OPERATING PROFIT * 100 / TOTAL ASSETS – C.LIABILITIES5857*100/12,47524.69%10047*100/10,52979.54%W MARGIN(net profit ratio)=OPERATING PROFIT * 100 / SALES5857*100/41,01714.27%10,047*100/35,47828.31%W ASSETS TURN OVER RATIO= SALES / TOTAL ASSETS – C. LIABILITIES41,017/12,47520.32Times35,478/10,52970.33timesW COST OF SALES RATIO= COST OF SALES*100/SALES25,842*100/41,01763.00%21,890*100/35,47861.70%B STOCK TURN OVER RATIO IN DAYS = STOCK * 365 / COST OF SALES412*365/25,8425.81 DAYS417*365/21,8906.95 DAYSB FIXED ASSET RATIO TURN OVER IN DAYS=SALES/ FIXED ASSTES 41,017/13,96700.2935,478/11,85460.29B TRADE CREDITORS TURN OVER RATIO = CREDITORS * 365 / COST OF SALES13,398*365/25,842189.2DAYS11,962*365/21,890199.4DAYSW TRADE DEBTORS TURN OVER RATIO= DEBTORS * 365 / SALES7662*365/41,01768.18DAYS6551*365/35,47867.39DAYSW CURRENT RATIO= CURRENT ASSETS / C. LIABILITIES13,029/27,9470.468724/21,9730.39B QUICK RATIO= C. ASSETS / C. LIABILITIES – STOCK13,029 – 412/27,9470.458,724 – 417/21,9730.37B GEARING RATIO= DEBT * 100 / EQUITY + DEBT39,975*100/12,475232.04%28,826*100/10,529727.37%W DEBT TO EQUITY= DEBT * 100 / EQUITY39,975*100/84,77747.15%28,826*100/76,47137.69%W RETURN ON EQUITY= PROFIT AFTER TAX * 100/ EQUITY3,080*100/84,7773.63%6,756*100/76,4718.83%W SALES PER EMPLOYEE= RVENUE/NO. OF EMPLOYEES41017/79,097*?5185635,478/72,375?49016B MARK UP RATIO=GROSS PROFIT*100/COST OF SALES15,175*100/25,84258.72%13,588*100/21,89062.07%W GROSS PROFIT RATIO= GROSS PROFIT*100/ REVENUE 15,175*100/41,01736.99%13,588*100/35,47838.29%W RATIO ANALYSIS Ratio analysis is a method which can be used to evaluate the account of business. Ratio analysis is an important aspect of the analysis because the ratio analysis provides quick and easy result to the organisation. Ratio analysis is easy to go through as compared to balance sheet and income statement. This analysis also helps company to determine whether the organisation is achieving its desired goals and also helps to evaluate how its competitors are going on. (Jones, Ed 2006; Dyson, 2007) The ratios are divided into 4 categories: Liquidity ratio: 1.Current asset ratio 2. Acid test ratio Profitability ratio: 1. Return on capital employed (ROCE) 2. Gross profit ratio 3. Mark up ratio 4. Net profit ratio Efficiency ratio: 1. Stock turnover ratio 2. Fixed asset turnover ratio 3. Trade debtor collection period 4. Trade creditor payment period Investment ratio: 1. Dividend yield ratio 2. Dividend cover ratio 3. Earnings per share ratio 4. Price ratio 5. Capital gearing ratio INTERPETATION OF RATIOS Profitability ratio: These ratios helps organisation to analyse how profitable is business operating. This is the key ratio o it is watched by the internal management and external share holders. This ratio includes following ratios: 1. Return on capital employed: This ratio tells how efficient company is using its capital employed. This also helps organisation to know whether the organisation is generating the adequate profit in relation to the investment. As in the case of VODAFONE the ROCE in 2008 was 9.54% and then this fall down in 2009 to 4.69%. As the figures shows the operating profit in 2008 was 10,047 and in 2009 operating profit was 5,857 as it dropped almost to half and capital employed increased to almost 1/4th so return on capital employed is going down and is not good for the organisation. So the VODAFONE need to invest their capital in right manner for the future growth. (Jones, Ed 2006; www. findoutinfo.com) 2. Gross profit ratio: This ratio plays the vital role in business. This ratio tells about the profit earned through selling the product or service after buying from wholesaler. In 2008 gross profit ratio for VODAFONE was 38.29% where as in 2009 the ratio dropped to 36.99% there is decrease of almost 1.2% which indicates that net profit is going down. The reason for the deprecation might be the rise in goodwill cost and equipments which company might have bought in this time span. But even though due to world economic recession the company did not have the huge difference between the gross profit between year 2008 and 2009. (Jones, Ed 2006; www.zimbio.com) 3. Mark up ratio: This is gross profit divided by the cost of sales*100. In 2008 the ratio was 62.07% and in 2009 the ratio again came down to 58.71% this might be because as it was the period of world recession so in order to survive in the market VODAFONE might have reduced their mark up price so in order to retain more customers during the global slowdown. (Dyson,1991) 4. Net profit ratio and Margin ratio: This is another financial indicator and one of the most important ratios. This ratio is calculated after all the expenses are paid by the organisation. This can also help the organisation to compare its net profit for the previous years. The net profit ratio for VODAFONE in 2008 was 28.31% whereas in 209 it was 14.27%. The reason behind the downfall of the net profit ratio is might be VODAFONE has increased their administrative cost and exceptional operating items due to which net profit ratio may decrease. As the operating profit has decreased so that could be the other reason for the downfall of net profit ratio. Margin ratio: This ratio helps the organisation to analyse the profit on the goods and services sold in the year. In the case of VODAFONE there is no variation in the profit margin for the year 2008 is 14.27% and 2009 is 28.31%. The reason behind this must be that there is competition in the telecommunication sector so they might have increased their margin to get more revenue. (Pizzy, 2001; www.findtheinfo.com; Jones, Ed 2006; www.zimbio.com) Efficiency ratio: These ratios help in analysing the effectiveness of business. This also helps to tell how long it will take for the organisation to pay its debtors and creditors. This includes following ratio: 5. Trade debtor’s turnover ratio: this ratio helps to calculate how long and how many days will customer take to pay his debt to the company. This can be worked on the daily, weekly and monthly basis. In the case of VODAFONE debtors take 67.39 days in 2008 and in 2009 the days rose to 68.18 days. So it is almost the same in both the years without any major increase in the days. So the reason might be that VODAFONE is using its current assets efficiently. In order to improve more in this sector VODAFONE cut their debtors day to 1 month which will help them to run more efficiently so that would be good for the organisation. (Jones, Ed 2006; www.zimbio.com) 6. Trade creditor’s turnover ratio: This is opposite to trade debtors and shows how long organisation takes to pay its creditors. The more the creditors days the good it is for the organisation. In case of VODAFONE the creditor’s day in 2008 was 199.4 days and in 2009 the number of days fall down to 189.2 days. As the number of days decreased to 10 days in a period of 1 year this might be because the capital must have been used to pay the acquisition and this might have risk for the company and other reason might be that VODAFONE has lot of contracts going on so this might not be good for the organisation. (Jones, Ed 2006; www.zimbio.com) 7. Stock turnover ratio in day: This ratio measures the speed with which stock moves out of business. This ratio varies from business to business and product to product. The stock turnover ratio for VODAFONE in 2008 was 6.95 days and in 2009 it was 5.81 days. So this has stock turnover ratio has improved in 2009 as compared to 2008 so it is good for the company because the sell their stock faster in 2009 as compared to 2008. Since the VODAFONE is the telecommunication company so they will have lower stock turnover compared to other organisation. (Jones, Ed 2006; Dyson, 2007) 8. The fixed asset turnover ratio: This ratio compares sales to total assets employed. Business with large infrastructure will have lower ratios and vice versa. The fixed asst turnover ratio is same in 2008 and 2009 as 0.29. As the VODAFONE is Telecommunication Company so they don’t have big machinery or such big infrastructure like multinationals so it doesn’t make a big difference in this ratio. (Jones, Ed 2006; www.zimbio.com) Liquidity ratio: These ratios are obtained from balance sheet and tell how easily organisation can pay its debt, loan creditor such as bank and financers are particularly interested in these ratios. These ratios are divided into 2 parts: 9. Current ratio: This shows whether short term assets cover short term liabilities. In the case of VODAFONE in 2008 the ratio was 0.39 where as in 2009 this increased to 0.46. the ratio in 2009 is good as compared to 2008 so the VODAFONE has improved in this aspect but overall this ratio should be 1.0 or more so this shows even though VODAFONE has made improvement in this ratio compared to 2008 but still the organisation might be in trouble so they should be careful when dealing with the liabilities and this could also because of the expansion plans which might be helpful for the organisation in near future. (www.zimbo .com) 10. Quick ratio: This is also called acid test ratio. This measure short term liquidity. In 2008 VODAFONE has the result as 0.37 where as in 2009 this figure rose 0.45 which is good for the organisation but still this should be VODAFONE might need some extra funds or should opt to sanction some long term loans to improve the liquidity position and this should be helpful in the future. (Dyson, 2007; www.zimbo .com) Other ratios: 11. Gearing ratio: This ratio is a part of investment ratio. This represents the relationship between the ordinary shareholder funds and debt capital of company. In the case of VODAFONE the gearing ratio in 2008 long term ownership capital was 27.37% and in 2009 the figure rose to 32.04% which is not good for the organisation. The reason behind this might be that organisation has some long term loans and even not making the enough profit to pay the interest as well as give the share of profit to ordinary share holders. (Jones, Ed 2006) 12. Cost of sales ratio: This is one of the important ratio as it helps the organisation to diagnose the sales for the year and shows whether is investing properly in cost of sales or not. In the case of VODAFONE the cost of sale ratio in 2008 was 61.70% and in 2009 it rose to 63.00% which is not good at all for the organisation. The reason might be that VODAFONE is investing lot in advertising and marketing which might be increasing their cost of sales so in order to run smoothly and earn more profit and revenue the group should cut down their cost of sales. (Jones, Ed 2006, Dyson, 2007) 13. Return on equity: This measures corporate profitability by revealing how much profit a company generates with the money which share holders have invested. In the case of Vodafone return on equity in 2008 was 8.83% but by the end of 2009 this decreased to 3.63%. This shows that this is not good for the organisation. The reason might be as the borrowings have increased in 2009 comparatively to 2008 to almost more than half so company might be paying high interest so that’s why they were not able to have good return on equity. (Dyson, 2007) 14. Sale per employee ratio: This is measured to know how much sales has been made by single employee in a year. The sale per employee in case of Vodafone has increased in 2009 to ?58185 as it was ?49016 in 2008. The reason might be as Vodafone has gone global and acquired many parts of the world so there sales have increased comparatively to 2008 so the sale per employee ratio is high in 2009. The other reason could be as in recession the Vodafone has kept their margin constant to 14.27% but their competitors might have increased the margin so they might have got more customers which increased the sale per employee ratio. IMPACT OF CURRENT EVENTS ON VODAFONE Vodafone is operating and dealing in telecommunication sector from past two decades. But however if we have look onto the financial situation of the organisation it was not good at all in the financial year 2009. The foremost reason behind the downfall of the financial situation might be the span of global recession which hit the world badly and all the big multinationals as well. As we compare the revenue for 2009 with 2008 the revenue has increased but if we have a look on to the operating profit and profit after tax they significantly have come down almost the half which is not good indication for the organisation. The operating profit might have gone down because the cost of sales have increased that mean the Vodafone is spending a lot on the marketing and advertisement from their own budget so they need to cut down on the cost of sales. Even though Vodafone kept their margin constant as 14.27% but still got more revenue so the other reason for the downfall of profit might be that the group have invested the money in equipments and expansion plans which will be helpful in the near future. The reason behind the downfall of the profit after tax is that the company have increased the borrowings in 2009 comparatively to 2008 so they might have to pay the higher interest in 2009. But if we have a look on to the fixed assets which have increased in 2009 so that is good for the organisation because if they are investing they will be going to get profit out of that in the near future. These are the impact of the current events on the VODAFONE. CONCLUSION As we know the Vodafone is one of the largest telecommunication industries in the world. We have already analysed in this report the financial situation of Vodafone in 2008 and 2009 and according to the analysis it proved that the year 2009 was not good for the organisation in terms of profit as we compare this with the previous years. The reason behind this could be the world economic recession and other factor might be that the company might have borrowed lots of funds from the bank and other agencies so need to pay higher interest as compared to 2008 so that’s why the profit of the organisation has decreased to almost half. As we know Vodafone has spread throughout the world so in 2010 company would definitely going to achieve lot of revenue and profit as they have invested through their borrowings in 2009. As the organisation has already paid and invested a lot for the globalisation and marketing so they will be able to generate more sales and profit by the end of financial year 2010. The main revenue which Vodafone will be targeting is from the Asian and Middle East countries. Vodafone will also be planning to adopt some new strategies in 2010 to attract the more customers. As the organisation has captured some new shares in India so as it is a big market so they need to work out on their current strategies to acquire more customers in this sector of the world as they do have many rivals. So finally the revenue for Vodafone will improve in 2010 by the growth of mobile data and fixed broadband. Cost reduction targets will be delivered ahead of schedule enabling commercial reinvestment to improve market share which will further strengthen technology platforms. Vodafone, which is positioned to return to revenue growth during the 2010 financial year, as economic recovery should benefit our key markets. On the other hand, the Vodafone group may be going to be profitable in the near future. Their acquisitions and goodwill will still reap the benefits probably in the future and so the ability to be profitable has increased and the main reason is the total group increase of operations. So according to the reasons mentioned above the group will be adopting the different strategies and planning and even the world economic conditions are getting better so the year 2010 will be asset for the Vodafone. REFERENCE LIST: Vodafone official website. Available at www.vodafone.com, accessed on 1st May2010 Zimbo business. ww.zimbio.com/†¦/Vodafone+Insight+2009+Comparison+Relative, accessed on 26th may 2010 Business dictionary. Available at www.businessdictionary.com, accessed 30th may 2010. Financial dictionary. Available at www.financialdictionary.thefreedictionary.com, accessed 30th may 2009. Jones Michael. (2006) Accounting, Chichester: Atrium. Atrill Peter Mclaney Eddie. (2004) Accounting and Finance for Non-Specialists, Harlow: Prentice Hall Dyson John R. (2007) Accounting for Non-Accounting Students, Harlow: Prentice Hall Pizzy Alan. (2001) Accounting and Finance, London: Cornwall APPENDIX 1 (BALANCE SHEET) For the years ended 31 MarchNote 2009 ?m 2008 ?m Non-current asset Goodwill9 53,958 51,336 Other intangible assets9 20,980 18,995 Property, plant and equipment11 19,250 16,735 Investments in associated undertakings14 34,715 22,545 Other investments15 7,060 7,367 Deferred tax assets6 630 436 Post employment benefits26 8 65 Trade and other receivables17 3,069 1,067 FIXED ASSETS139,670 118,546 Current assets Inventory16 412 417 Taxation recoverable77 57 Trade and other receivables(DEBETS )17 7,662 6,551 Cash and cash equivalents18 4,878 1,699 TOTAL CURRENT ASSETS13,029 8,724 Total assets152,699 127,270 Equity Called up share capital19 4,153 4,182 Share premium account21 43,008 42,934 Own shares held21 (8,036) (7,856) Additional paid-in capital21 100,239 100,151 Capital redemption reserve21 10,101 10,054 Accumulated other recognised income and expense22 20,517 10,558 Retained losses23 (83,820) (81,980) Total equity shareholders’ funds86,162 78,043 Minority interests1,787 1,168 Written put options over minority interests(3,172) (2,740) Total minority interests(1,385) (1,572) Total equity84,777 76,471 Non-current liabilities Long term borrowings25 31,749 22,662 Deferred tax liabilities6 6,642 5,109 Post employment benefits26 240 104 Provisions27 533 306 Trade and other payables28 811 645 DEBT39,975 28,826 Current liabilities Short term borrowings25, 35 9,624 4,532 Current taxation liabilities4,552 5,123 Provisions27 373 356 Trade and other payables(CREDITORS)28 13,398 11,962 27,947 21,973 Total equity and liabilities152,699 127,270 APPENDIX 2 (INCOME STATEMENT) For the years ended 31 March Note2009 ?m 2008 ?m Revenue3 41,017 35,478 Cost of sales(25,842) (21,890) Gross profit15,175 13,588 Selling and distribution expenses(2,738) (2,511) Administrative expenses(4,771) (3,878) Share of result in associated undertakings14 4,091 2,876 Impairment losses10 (5,900) – Other income and expense30 – (28) Operating profit/(loss)4 5,857 10,047 Non-operating income and expense30 (44) 254 Investment income5 795 714 Financing costs5 (2,419) (2,014) Profit/(loss) before taxation4,189 9,001 Income tax expense6 (1,109) (2,245) Profit/(loss) for the financial year from continuing operations3,080 6,756 Loss for the financial year from discontinued operations30 – – Profit/(loss) for the financial year3,080 6,756 Attributable to: – Equity shareholders23 3,078 6,660 – Minority interests2 96 3,080 6,756 Basic earnings/(loss) per share Profit/(loss) from continuing operations8 5.84p 12.56p Loss from discontinued operations8, 30 – – Profit/(loss) for the financial year8 5.84p 12.56p Diluted earnings/(loss) per share Profit/(loss) from continuing operations8 5.81p 12.50p Loss from discontinued operations8, 30 – – Profit/(loss) for the financial year8 5.81p 12.50p How to cite Financial and Ratio Analysis for Vodafone, Essay examples

Does Technology Change Culture or Culture Change Technology free essay sample

| Does technology change culture or culture change technology?  « Diane Rehm radio show on Social Networks on the WebWhat ever happened to KQML?  »Does technology change culture or culture change technology? Tim Finin, 1:00pm 10 July 2006 TweetI attended the CRA’s Snowbird Conference last month. The most interesting talk was a keynote from Genevieve Bell (also see here) who is an anthropologist who works at Intel Research. One of her messages was that while we tend to think that technology changes culture, it’s more often the other way around. Cultures are very robust and change slowly. It’s typical for a new technology to be adapted within a culture and used to support existing patterns of behavior. For example, she said that mobile phone manufacturers have developed popular phones for Muslim users that support their religious practices by (1) reminding them when it is time to pray, (2) orienting them towards Mecca and (3) disabling incoming calls for 20 minutes. She gave many other examples from Africa and Asia that showed how new technology is being used in ways that fit into the existing cultures. I found the message reassuring. Itaâ‚ ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s easy to get worked up into a state of anxiety about what our modern world is doing to our societies. Human cultures are apparently more resilient than we naively assume. Related posts: 1. Computer Science publication culture 2. Interest in Computer Science and Engineering for college freshmen declines 3. On Larrabee and how multi-core computers will change CS education 4. Top technology brands 5. An introduction to Geospatial Semantic Web technologyCategories: Uncategorized Comments: 1010 Responses to â€Å"Does technology change culture or culture change technology? 1. brad mccaul Says: December 21st, 2007 at 3:22 pm I would take exception the notion that technology is not changing culture. Simply put it changes it by controlling. Technology is the predominate medium by which we are increasingly getting things done. It is in this way that technology, quit ubiquitously, shapes culture. It is naive to think otherwise. Let me explain, if your medium/tool to build a house is only a hammer, then that will radically determine how you approach building that house. Contrastingly, if you have a hammer, a saw, and a drill your approach will again be informed, and radically so, by these mediums. If you look at technology as a content, like a cell phone, a cell phone which reminds owners of prayer time and holds calls for 20 minutes then yes culture shapes technology. But, if you look at technology as a process, a process that defines and nurtures the way people make contact, then technology not only changes culture but it changes it in a very particular direction–a de-humanizing direction i might add. It is certainly in our interest that culture does take time to change. However reassuring on the surface, the fact that culture moves slowly means that it moves without us noticing it, without our attentional focus, and consequently is actually cause for even greater anxiety. So, don’t let go of that anxiety, an anxiety that i share with you, just yet. Let me give you another example, the technology of interactive voice recognition, which enables a computer to process voice into text and text into voice, has to come to shape the way many companies do business. The idea is, as a company, we can provide all kinds of services to our clients without ever having to employ a real person and therefor save tons of money and provide good service at the same time. Well, you have used these systems, what is your experience like with them? If it is at all like mine, it is extremely frustrating. Does it save me time from having to wait on hold for a live person? yes. Does it provide some information that may be useful to me? yes. Does it respond in a satisfying way to 90% of my calls? no. It actually builds frustration because it means i will have to spend an extra 15-20 minutes before i can get to someone who might be able to help me. Lets not stop there. We have to realize that companies started asking themselves what kind questions do people call us with and can we write a program that will respond to those kind questions–that is to say can we write a program that provides people with the â€Å"INFORMATION† they need. You see technology has us thinking that what we need is information, that life can be programed, scripted, and controlled with the right set of tools or techniques. Technology does not distinguish between information and knowledge, much less information and wisdom. Lets continue on with our example, I am now about to finish an unsatisfying conversation with a live customer service representative, who often has a limited facility with the English language, and despite the fact that they were clearly unable to give me what I needed, will read their script, with the noted appropriate positive affect, by sayingThank you so much for calling MCI, it has been my pleasure to help you today, is their anything else I may assist you with today, Mr. McCaul ? (Because as you know they are instructed to get your name). Well, thank you for calling MCI and have a nice day. You get off the phone on one of these experiences and wonder what just happened and why I donaâ‚ ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t feel as rosy and wonderful as the customer service rep I just spoke to. They think, because they used the right wordsaâ‚ ¬Ã¢â‚¬ and we start to think that we should alsoaâ‚ ¬Ã¢â‚¬ that we just had an experience and a positive one at that. We do not get it, using the right words, having the right language, following the script, does not substitute for an actual discussion or real experience between two response-able persons. Did they give me the information to all my questions, yes. Did they help me, no. Did they do there job, yes, because their job was simply to give me information. No, or that is not something i can help you with, is information to my questions. It is information, but it is not knowledge that i can use to solve my problem, answer my question, or resolve my issue. apologize for the length of this example but it points out how a very common and prevalent technology not only shapes how we go about conducting our business, but even more important how we frame the questions of our business and their solutions, how we come to think about what is important and what is not, and worst of all, how we come to think about ourselves in the process–Dehumanized, lowered to the level of a brain only worth the information it holds. . tim hardaway Says: May 12th, 2009 at 12:02 am well said Brad—- exactly correct—frankly tech is often misapplied in organizations being a cheap easy substitute for real community— which tech aint! 3. Technology Culture  « Jacquelyn’s Blog Says: June 6th, 2009 at 12:48 pm [ ] http://ebiquity. umbc. edu/blogger/2006/07/10/does-technology-change-culture-or-culture-change-technol ] 4. messias mateus Matsinhe Says: September 17th, 2009 at 11:15 am For me I thing that the question can be regarded in both sides, in the sense that through the application of new technology, we are building a new way of looking at things and by doing that we are at the same time bringing up a new culture. 5. wa haha Says: August 5th, 2010 at 6:46 pm i think technology is changing culturewith all the cellphone and laptops and ipod and xboxes and everything else things have become easier to do and easier to communicate but they dont do the same thing you d o when people didnt have google or facebook or have an app for everything people put aside an hour or two just to go on the internet when people that dont have it put aside that time going outside and exploring or