Financial Questions And Ethics In Finance Essay.

Question 1

Part A

Imagine you would like to retire in 50 years, and you expect to live for 25 years in retirement.

When you retire, your annual expenses are expected to be $30,000 annually.

Required

How much do you need to save annually from now until you retire?

Assume your savings can earn 8% p.a.   The payments are made at year-end.

Part B

On Jan 1, 20x1, you borrow $1,000 from Bank ABC at 8% p.a. for four years.

The loan would be repaid by four equal year-end payments.

Required

1. What would be your annual payment?
2. Complete the following schedule.

Consider two 30-year maturity, semi-annual coupon bonds.

Bond A has a coupon rate of 4%; Bond B has a coupon rate of 12%.    

Required

1. Complete the following schedule.

You might like to perform the calculations with an Excel spreadsheet.

Plot a graph with YTMs in column A on the X axis, and the %s of the two bonds in Columns D and E on the Y axis.  Which bond has greater interest rate risk, based on (i) the graphs; and (ii) the coupon rate?  Please explain, respectively.

Mobile phone company ABC has released a new model on Dec 31, 20x1, and paid a dividend of $1 per share.

Revenue and hence dividend are expected to grow at 20% in 20x2, 20x3, 20x4, and 20x5 from 20x1.

By Jan 1, 20x6, competitors would have caught up; sustainable growth rate and dividend growth rate would fall to 5% thereon.

Assume required return is 10%.

Required

1. What are the expected dividends for 20x2, 20x3, 20x4 and 20x5?
2. What is the expected stock price on Jan 1, 20x6?  
3. What is the stock price on Jan 1, 20x2?
4. What would be the dividend yield for 20x2?
5. What would be the stock price on Jan 1, 20x3?
6. What would be the expected return to an investor who buys the stock on Jan 1, 20x2, and sells it on Jan 1, 20x3?
7. What conclusion can you draw between your answer in f) and the required return?

Imagine you are the Chief Finance Office of a multinational company.

Required

a)Define a real-life scenario with sufficient realities when you have to face an ethical dilemma in financial decision making.  You may select one of the following settings or select a setting of your own choice:

  i)Fee gouging;

  ii)Employment of child labour in developing economies;

  iii)Misleading or deceptive marketing;

  iv)Off-balance sheet activities or special purpose vehicle to hide real financial positions;

  v)Fraud.

b)Explain the decision that you make would constitute (i) an ethical decision; and (ii) an unethical decision, respectively.

c)For the (i) the ethical decision; and (ii) the unethical decision, respectively, explain (i) the associated financial and social costs and benefits; and (ii) the parties who pay the cost and the parties that receive the benefits, respectively.

d)Justify the decision you would select from your two answers in b), and explain the possible consequences: (i) personally; (ii) financially and legally from the company’s perspective; and (iii) social-economically.

e)Please explain the features that would make a financial decision unethical generally, from your answers in d).

Part A

Rate of interest will be 8%.

Amount to be saved for the retirement will be $ 30,000 * 25 = $ 750,000.

Now calculation amount to be saved every year so that end the end of 50 year total amount saved will be $ 750,000.

A = P (1 + r /100) n

Where,

P = annual deposit to be made.

A = amount received at the end of period.

$ 750,000 = P (1 + 8/ 100)⁴

 P = $ 750,000 * .021321

P = $ 15,990.75

Therefore $ 15,990.75 should be saved annually so that at the end of 50 year there will be $ 750,000 which will be enough for the next 25 years.

Part B

1. Annual payment amount will be $ 293
2. Schedule given in question is as follows :

1. The calculation are as follows :

Note: in all the calculation the face value as well as the redemption value of the bond is taken as $ 100.

Calculation of calculating bond is given the table below.

1. Expected dividend in the future year

1. Stock price on January 1, 2006

Formula for calculation of value of equity

Value of equity = Dividend of next year / (Cost of equity – Growth rate)

= 1.96992 / (.10 – (-.05))

= 1.96992 / .15

= $ 13.133

1. Stock price on January 1, 2002

Formula for calculation of value of equity

Value of equity = Dividend of next year / (Cost of equity – Growth rate)

= 1.44 / (.10 - .20)

= $ 14.4

1. Dividend yield for year 2002

Dividend yield = dividend of the year / price of the dividend

= (1.2 / 14.4) * 100

= 8.33%

1. Stock price on January 1, 2003

Formula for calculation of value of equity

Value of equity = Dividend of next year / (Cost of equity – Growth rate)

= 1.728 / (.10 - .20)

= $ 17.28

1. Expected return of investor who buy stock on Jan 1, 2002 and sell it on Jan 1, 2003

Calculation of return

Total return received =

Return in form of interest = $ 1.2

Return from purchase an sell = $ 17.28 - $ 14.4

= $ 2.88

Total return = $ 1.2 + $ 2.88

= $ 4.08

Return in percentage = (4.08 / 14.4) * 100

= 28.33%

1. The stock is giving more return than the required rate of return. This is a good sign and this stock should be purchased.

Part A

It is illegal for any organization to deceive or mislead or produce false information about the product or its own financial position. A real life scenario is that a company engaged in production of computer hardware claims that its products are compatible with all the computers and operating system. In the real situation this turns out to be false as it does not work properly with some computer’s operating system. It is the duty of the organization’s management committee to avoid such disinvestment on their part even if such disinvestment is unintentional. The management should check the truthfulness of any information before advertising it. Unethical marketing planning will lead to dissatisfaction among the customers which will, in turn, make the overall operations of the business enterprise complicated. Analytical approach to false marketing will disrupt the coordination among various activities running out in different departments of the business firm.

Question 2

Part B

In the overall business sense, the importance and need of ethics and moral values is highly required. The general ethical attitude of the management and other key person associated with the business help them to take more accurate and better decision. Decisions here in the case are not only just in the benefits of the company but also the overall interest of the public at large, employees associated with the business group and other stakeholders are taken into account (Crane & Matten, 2016). Management viewpoint of giving due importance and respect to the ethical culture in the organisation will create a force in which various aspects of social, economic and moral behavior do exist. Ethical decision making is very good for the growth and survival of the company, ethical decision making is not an easy process, sometimes it involve some complications. For Example if a company is planning to plan to shut down a manufacturing unity of the organization because of excess pollution and environment protection is ethical from environment point of view. But at the same time such closing of manufacturing unit will cost the jobs of many employees and will be unethical from their point of view. Providing employment to such a large workforce is practically impossible by the company in short period. Such employees need to find new jobs for running their family.

Part C

In the above given case the closing of manufacturing unit is ethical from the environment point of view, as the environment will regain it organic component and the organic life of that environment will be free from pollution. This will not only improves the health of the employees as the working environment and safety is improved on the higher part but will also removes the loopholes that will leads to compliance and legal conflicts. The overall objectives and the ethical behavior of both organsiation and its employees influence the values of the enterprise as a whole. Implanting the ethical culture at workplace is not only beneficial for the group from the social point of view but also economic considerations are also achieved (Ferrell & Fraedrich, 2015).

On the other hand the employees who have lost their job because of company’s decision of closing such manufacturing unit will have to pay their price. The economic structure of the family of these employees will get disturbed. Company also incurs large loss of closing the manufacturing unit. The ultimate sufferers are the employees and laborers associated with the group, no compensation can meet out their requirements of their livelihood of their families of the long span of time. Law cannot protect the society at a large, as a general saying it is been observed that where the system of law and compliance fails the ethics can succeed. An ethical oriented management of a business organsiation can take care of issues associated with the employee’s health and livelihood and protect them even if it is not compulsorily mandated by the law.

Question 3

Part D

Personally the unemployment rate in that area will get increased as large workforce gets unemployed. Secondly the living standard of the employees and their families is greatly affected if they do not found any other income generating source.

Consequence of the above decision on the on the company is making huge loss as the manufacturing unit get closed. Even, if company decided to shift the unit than also it will cost huge capital expenditure. The company might be able to face out certain legal hurdles of not meeting out the compliances of the relevant law of the land. Additionally the judiciary of the region may ask to pay a heavy compensation to the employees for retrenching them from their jobs.

Socio economically the manufacturing unit is playing an important role in improving the lifestyle of the general public around that social group. Their personality gets developed by acting in professional environment (De George, 2011). Any business organsiation not only generates the employment to the area but also delivers a products or services to the external environment which is something productive in nature and contributes at some part to the GDP of the nation. On the subsequent shut-down of the industry the business as well as the complete financial & non-financial environment is greatly impacted.

Part E

The main feature that makes the above decision unethical generally is as follows:

Economic disturbance in the life of the general public which is working as workforce in the manufacturing unit that was shut down by the company is the main feature that would make the decision unethical. The organization should attain sustainable growth which means that it should grow along with the social group present surrounding the company. The sustainable growth cannot be achieved if these workforce are unemployed by the organization and it will be impossible to shift the whole workforce from one place to other place where the new plan is being set up by the company.

References

Charts, Market capitalization of Telstra corporation, Viewed on 25^th Aug 2017, Retrieved from https://ycharts.com/companies/TLSYY/market_cap

Crane, A., & Matten, D. (2016). Business ethics: Managing corporate citizenship and sustainability in the age of globalization. Oxford University Press.

De George, R. T. (2011). Business ethics. Pearson Education India.

Ferrell, O. C., & Fraedrich, J. (2015). Business ethics: Ethical decision making & cases. Nelson Education.

Morning Star, Financial ratios of Telstra, Viewed on 25^th Aug 2017, Retrieved from https://financials.morningstar.com/ratios/r.html?t=TTRAF

Morning Star, Financial ratios of Wools worth, Viewed on 25^th Aug 2017, retrieved from https://financials.morningstar.com/ratios/r.html?t=WOLWF&region=usa&culture=en-US