Thursday, December 26, 2019

Lyndon State College Admissions SAT Scores and More

Lyndon State College is an accessible school--in 2016, it had an acceptance rate of 98%. Prospective students are encouraged to apply using the Common Application. Required materials include high school transcripts, a letter (or two) of recommendation, and scores from the SAT or ACT. Admissions Data (2016) Lyndon State College Acceptance Rate: 98%Test Scores -- 25th / 75th PercentileSAT Critical Reading: 410 / 540SAT Math: 430 / 520SAT Writing: - / -What these SAT numbers meanCompare SAT scores for Vermont collegesACT Composite: 15  / 23ACT English: 13  / 23ACT Math: 15 / 24ACT Writing: - / -What these ACT numbers meanCompare ACT scores for Vermont colleges Lyndon State College Description Located in the Northeast Kingdom in Vermont, Lyndon State College is a public college with a focus on both the liberal arts and professional study. Outdoor lovers will love the campuss close proximity to excellent skiing, hiking, climbing, and kayaking. The hill-top campus has a stunning view of Burke Mountain and the surrounding woodlands and farmland. The college values hands-on learning, and professional programs in fields such as business, human services, and television studies are popular among undergraduates. Academics are supported by a 14 to 1 student/faculty ratio. Student life is active with over 25 clubs and organizations. In athletics, the Lyndon State Hornets compete in the NCAA Division III North Atlantic Conference. The college fields six mens and six womens intercollegiate sports. Enrollment (2016) Total Enrollment: 1,256  (1,171 undergraduates)Gender Breakdown: 59% Male / 41% Female82% Full-time Costs (2016  - 17) Tuition and Fees: $11,290  (in-state); $22,978 (out-of-state)Books: $1,000 (why so much?)Room and Board: $9,988Other Expenses: $1,600Total Cost: $23,878  (in-state); $35,566 (out-of-state) Lyndon State College Financial Aid (2015  - 16) Percentage of New Students Receiving Aid: 98%Percentage of New Students Receiving Types of AidGrants: 92%Loans: 77%Average Amount of AidGrants: $6,340Loans: $8,216 Academic Programs Most Popular Majors:  Business Administration, Graphic Design, Human Services, Meteorology, Social Sciences, Television Studies Graduation and Retention Rates First Year Student Retention (full-time students): 68%Transfer-out Rate: 22%4-Year Graduation Rate: 20%6-Year Graduation Rate: 38% Intercollegiate Athletic Programs Mens Sports:  Soccer, Baseball, Track and Field, Tennis, Cross Country, Basketball, LacrosseWomens Sports:  Basketball, Volleyball, Tennis, Softball, Cross Country, Track and Field, Soccer You May Also Like These Schools Johnson State College: Profile  University of Vermont: Profile | GPA-SAT-ACT GraphBecker College: Profile  Bennington College: Profile | GPA-SAT-ACT GraphUniversity of Rhode Island: Profile | GPA-SAT-ACT GraphUniversity of Massachusetts - Lowell: Profile  Green Mountain College: Profile  University of Southern Maine: Profile  Salem State University: Profile  Champlain College: Profile  New England College: Profile  Lasell College: Profile   Lyndon State College Mission Statement Lyndon State College prepares every student for personal and professional success through experience-based, high-quality programs in the liberal arts and professional studies.

Wednesday, December 18, 2019

Sir Robert Peel Paper - 690 Words

Sir Robert Peel is known in the books as the founder of the first form of an English police department: the London Metropolitan Police. This was after his London Metropolitan Police Act passed in 1829, giving greater power to the English police force and establishing what he is known for today. Peels ideas were very well defined and offered a lot to policing even up to modern day. To understand the impact of this, we must take a look at Peels act, and know how it would change policing. Peel was Home Secretary of England when his act passed in 1929. Sir Peel’s mission in creating his police force was to establish control on crime. He wanted to obtain this through crime prevention. Thus far, policing had been reactive for the most part.†¦show more content†¦Peel stressed the importance of gaining public approval and assistance against fighting crime as the most important aspect to an effective and successful department. He would do this through his idea of community oriented policing, which involved officers getting in touch with the community in hopes of forming good relations. If these relations are formed, the public is more trusting of law enforcement, and much more willing to provide information and report incidents to them. These ideas were revolutionary for the time period, being that these were very different from what was established as policing during earlier time periods (watch systems, unprofessional attitudes, etc). Peel also developed some attributes officers in a department should strive to have in order to maintain a code of ethics. He defined things such as being impartial to enforcing the law and never abusing the powers sworn to them. This, again, is due to the amount of corruption and police abuse that had existed prior to Peels era. To maintain these ethics, Peel said, would further stress his idea that the police are the public and the public are the police. Sir Robert Peel’s London Metropolitan Police Act and his principles of policing have helped modern day policing in many ways. By gaining the public’s trust, enabling them to call local law enforcement when help is needed,Show MoreRelatedSir Robert Peel Paper920 Words   |  4 Pagesevolved overtime; in this paper I will describe the impact of Sir Robert Peel on the evolution of policing and its history. Sir Robert Peel Paper Sir Robert Peel (1788-1850) updated Englands criminal code. He established the first modern police force in London, whose members were nicknamed after him bobbies. Sir Robert Peel wanted a police force that would provide citizens with â€Å"the full and complete protection of the law†andâ€Å"check the increase of crime.† Sir Robert Peel pushed through the legislationRead MoreSir Robert Peel Essay example691 Words   |  3 PagesSir Robert Peel Paper Sir Robert Peel, Britain’s home secretary felt that preventing crimes and reforming criminals would have a more positive effect on society rather than punishing them (Williams) 2003. This research paper will describe how policing was handled in the early centuries as opposed to policing in America today. This research paper will explain the impact that Sir Robert Peel had on American policing. In the early centuries criminals were punished quite differently. Up until the lastRead MoreSir Robert Peel Policing1064 Words   |  5 PagesRunning Head: SIR ROBERT PEEL Sir Robert Peel: Effects on Modern Policing CJA/214 Sir Robert Peel Paper: Effects on Modern Policing Through many years in our history, policing worked without checks and balances, and strictly with trail and error. The structure that was used in those days was not entirely solid in design. There was no procedure to fight crime and law enforcement had no basis. Then, modern policing began in the early nineteenth century. Sir Robert Peek finally allowed for a changeRead MoreEssay on Role of Sir Robert Peel in Starting Community Policing1500 Words   |  6 PagesSir Robert Peel Policing has been a part of America for many decades. In fact, policing was known to exist prior to 1066, the year of the Normandy Invasion of Britain. Throughout the years policing has been a complicated and ongoing progress. The people of England did not have a stabilized policing standard and were often responsible for protecting and serving themselves. As early as the 1600s the Colonial America introduced the English styles of policing; citizens were responsible forRead MoreCultural Consideration1138 Words   |  5 Pageshas on justice and the security administration. In this paper it will first discuss how cultural concerns and influence affect the justice and security administration and its practices. Second, what contemporary methods are used in the societies of mixed cultures? Third, what influences and considerations that relates to and affect nondiscrimination practices within the criminal justice system. Finally, in this paper it will discuss Sir Robert Peelâ₠¬â„¢s nine principles and if it could be used to organizeRead MoreHistory of Police1058 Words   |  5 PagesThe history of Police Paper Samuel G. Gilley CJA/214 – Introduction to Police Theory and Practices June 10, 2012 Judith Brodsky Abstract This paper is about the history of police in America. This paper will describe the impact of Sir Robert Peel on American policing. Also, it will discuss the different stages of police in America. In addition, it will analyze the relationship between the government and the policing organizations throughout the United States. Read MoreHow Community Policing Is Developed By Clans, And Tribes Among Other Ethnical Groups1402 Words   |  6 Pagessociety perceives the labor of public servants. This paper will deliberate the initiation of the police structure, the evolution into community policing in the United States. Consequently, the cracks of police accountability due to morality and values. Initiation During the 1800’s Sir Robert Peel chastised the police structure in London. As a consequence, he developed a theory of a more efficient and reliable police force. Sir Robert Peel promoted The Metropolitan Police Act that was endorsedRead MoreRoles and Responsibilities of Public Policing vs. Private Security1652 Words   |  7 PagesRoles and Responsibilities of Public Policing vs. Private Security ASJ-502 February 6, 2012 Abstract This paper explores the similarities and differences of public police and private security throughout history. How the criminal justice system and public police and private security are linked to each other. The essential policies that have been developed and how these police have assisted in the cooperation between police and private security. Finally, the need for a comprehensive securityRead MoreIs Police Misconduct Been A Problem For Decades?896 Words   |  4 Pagesefforts to control or minimize crime (Potter, Gary 2013). In the 1800’s Sir Robert Peel, a highly educated lawyer and son of a wealthy cotton mill owner laid the foundation and is responsible for, â€Å"The Metropolitan Police Act of 1829. Peel laid the foundations of a modern professional police force. This act established the London police force, whose members were called, Peelers or Bobbies(Sir Robert Peel 2004). Shortly after Peel established the London police force the United States also formed aR ead MoreCulture Concerns And Influences On The Justice System1313 Words   |  6 Pagesconcerns and influences, in conjunction with mixed culture, have a great effect on the justice system we see in place today. Throughout this paper, these topics, as well as contemporary methods that are used in societies of mixed culture and their relatedness and effect on nondiscrimination policies will be analyzes and discussed. The nine principles related to Sir Robert Peel’s position on policing and the implications his theory may or may not have on organizing a police department in America in today’s

Tuesday, December 10, 2019

Business Risk Analysis Of Computer Share Limited Industry - Samples

Question: Discuss about the Business Risk Analysis Of Computer Share Limited Industry. Answer: Introduction Business is the term given to an activity in which persons which is carrying on that activity earns his or her livelihood. The activity so carried on will always assumes some kind of uncertainty which can be predicted in imaginary terms not in actual terms. The kind of uncertainty that the company assumes is called the risk. The risk is the inbuilt characteristic of the business. The main aim of this report is to assess all kinds of the business risks associated with the business of the Computer Share Limited which is an Australian based company and listed in that stock exchange only. In the first section, the nature of the business of the company has been discussed. Second section contains the understanding of the industry happenings within which the selected company is working. In the third and the fourth section the internal and external environmental factors has been detailed as to how the same have affected the business of the entity. In the fifth section, the objectives of the company along with the strategies adopted by the firm have been discussed and the related risks has been identified and discussed. In the sixth section, the analytical procedures have been adopted and the performance of the entity has been judged. In the seventh section, the operation of the management of the company has been discussed along with the workings of the people those are charged with the governance. At the end the study has been concluded with the appropriate paragraph. Nature Of The Entity The company selected for the purpose of the business risk analysis project is the Computer Share limited. The company has been incorporated in the year of nineteen hundred and seventy eight in the country of Australia. The company has further listed on the recognized stock exchange of Australia in the year of nineteen hundred and ninety four. In the few year of its incorporation the company is engaged in the business of providing the services relating to the computers. In the starting is provided only to those businesses which require automating the manual process in order to save the time and effort. With the passage of time, the company has been entered into the service of providing the computer based services to the share registrars. With this the market of the computer bases services have been increased and thereby the company has extended his step into the business of the share registry by entering into the various areas which includes the equity plans for the employees, the wor king of the corporate governance, administration of the suits filed by the stakeholders and administering the action suits if any filed by the stakeholders of the company and so on. The major investment activity of the company is the purchase or acquisition of the companies and entities including the goodwill amounting to $167848 thousand and the purchase of the Property plant and equipment amounting to $25317 thousand. The main deviation in the finance activities has been encountered due to the high amount involved in the purchase of the entities which are under the direct control of the company and the other like businesses. The cash flows from the financing activities have been greatly hampered. It means that for the last financial year ending tow thousand and fifteen has encountered the decrease in the net cash flows from the financial as $19691 thousands and for the year two thousand and sixteen the decrease in the net cash inflows due to the financing activities has gone up to $125581 thousands. The company has been following the generally accepted accounting principles along with the Australian accounting standards which has be issued by the Australian Accounting Standard board in the true spirit. Neither any wrong remark has been made by the auditors of the company in their independent auditors report rather any deviation in the terms and the provisions of the accounting standards and related concepts has been mentioned and observed nor thus, is the reporting practice okay. Therefore, the reporting practice that the company has adopting and is pursuing is true and correct in accordance with the nature and size of the business and also in accordance with the prevailing market condition. Understanding The Industry The industry is the term which denotes the detail about the major head within which the company is operating. The industry to which the company belongs is Information Technology. The term information technology denotes the area related to the computer and in which the new and innovative technologies are used and developed on the timely basis. Following are the recent facts and figures of each of the criteria for assessing the industry of information technology of Australia: Industry Size The industry of the information technology of Australia is regarded as the fourteenth largest market the information technology in Australia. It is also regarded as the fifth largest company in the information technology market across the region of the Asia Pacific which means after the countries of India, Korea, Japan and China. The net worth of the information technology industry sector amounts to Australian dollar one hundred and twenty. Industry Growth The country of Australia has developed itself in the very decent breaking the World records over the period of time. Since its incorporation the company has been striving to have the world and the country records. With the passage of time, the companys worth has been increased and thus have thereby increased the worth of the company and have been able to increase the growth rate of the industry in Australia rating to approximately to 11.56% and has left five major countries from Korea, Taiwan, Singapore, Hong Kong and Japan. Industry Supply Chain In the country of Australia, manufacturing has not been promoted for years after years rather the trading has been promoted. But in the information technology sector, many innovative processes have been done, research and development centre have been made and similar other scenarios are there. The supply chain has been from the country where the companies are making the purchase and the supply chain is very progressive in this sector. Major Players The major players are regarded as the companies who are having the key position in the business line of the Information Technology are Acer Computers Australia, APCS Information Technology, Cannon, Data com, Hewlett Packard, IBM, Infosys, West Net, Alcatel Australia, APCS Information technology, CSC, EDS, EMC and Techex Communications, Market shares of the Industry Players represents that how much market has been captured by these players. The major player is the Canon which approximately holds the 30percent market share of Australia in the Information technology industry. All other players hold 10percent to 20percent frame. Critical Success factors The critical success factor that has observed in the industry is that the proper and adequate investment shall be done in the sector of the information technology because Australia has been recognized as the best platform for undertaking the testing work. The innovative environment with new software and technologies has led many companies to develop their own software like IBM, Google, Canon, etc. Major threats - The first and foremost threat is that due to new updates every day and as and when the update cones then the company is required to perform the same. And thus major threat is the up dation of new facility in time which will reduce the time, effort and recovery of cost. Understanding The Legal Environment The legal environment plays the very importance role in the success of the business. The legal environment is defined as the environment which contains only the law matters which are required to be complied by the companies operating within the same industry. In the case of the companies, various legal factors will occur and it will includes the laws relating to the accounting for the transactions of the company in accordance with the accounting standards of the company, how the accounting data shall be presented on the defined format and what matters are required to be reported while preparing the financial statements of the company and for whos interest the financial statements of the company is prepared and presented, etc. In the given case study of Computers Shares Limited, the financial reporting framework is required to be discussed under the legal environment and whether the same is being followed by the company or not. This framework is commonly known as the Conceptual framework of accounting. The conceptual framework of accounting means the structure that has been developed from the accounting concepts and accounting data has been placed accordingly. Conceptual framework of accounting consists of three features namely faithful representation, relevancy and consistency. The term faithful representation has been further explained that the financial statements shall be error free or neutral. The term relevancy means that the financial statements shall be relevant for the users of the financial statements so as to make them able to take the effective and efficient decision. The term consistency is that the financial statements of the company so shared has been prepared and presented in the manner tha t has been followed in the earlier years like the accounting method for calculation of the depreciation, valuation of the assets, etc. The annual report of the company for the year ending 2016 does not have any indication that the financial statements does not contain any information which has not been presented with the faithful facts and has presented the financial statements in the untrue and unfair manner (Ullah, 2010). Therefore, in this way the company has foll0wed the legal framework as defined by the conceptual framework of accounting. Understanding Of External Environmental Factors After having the legal environment informing about the various laws that the company is required to complied with and how the same have been applied, it is now very necessary to get the information about the environmental factors which can hamper the financial position and the financial performance of the company. The external environmental factors have been discussed in the following manner: PEST Analysis As in the case of the financial accounting and reporting, conceptual framework of accounting provides the platform for preparation and the presentation of the financial statements, likewise, pest analysis provides the framework which is used in the scanning of the environmental factors belonging to the operation of the company. Following diagram presents the PEST analysis with headings of the main concern areas. Political factor will consider the legislation that is operating previously and now currently, the policies of the government that might come during the course of time change in the government and funding of the government subsidies, etc. Economic factor considers the trend analysis and the growth of economy (Ha Coghill, 2008). Social factor consists of the change in the trends of the consumer pattern, differences in the gender and many more. Last technological factor consists of the new innovative technologies, incurring of the expenditure on research and dev elopment, etc SWOT Analysis - There are many observations which are considered as necessary to be reported to the management of the company. The analysis describes as to what are the strengths that is being possessed by the company, what are the weaknesses that the company is facing, what are the opportunities that is available for the company but the company is not interested in materializing it and the threat analysis describes as to how the company have threat of doing something or not doing something (Ullah, 2014; Helms and Nixon, 2010). Porters five forces analysis This tool help the company to analyze how much competition the company is facing. According to this force, five factors are Threat of having the new entrants in the business. This has been overcome as the company has secured the highest position in the market. The company can have the great threat of having the substitutes but again the company has overcome as the company has inbuilt software and other capacities. There might be chances of having the threat of bargaining from the side of creditors. There might be chances of having the threat of bargaining from the side of buyers. And last one the rivalry that has been started or prevailing with industry. Other External Factors Other factors includes the environment and occupational hazardous. Assessing Business Risks The one of the major risk that has been observed and will soon affects the financial terms is the expansion of business that the company is doing continuously year on year basis. This is being done by the company irrespective of the disclosure of the said statements in the annual report of the company. The company has been in the phase of worst expansion which has led to decrease in the sales revenue from the year of 2015 to the year of 2016. The basic reason is the loss of control of the management of the company over the operations of the company including the finance department function. The second major business is the oversight over the cash flows of the company leading to the liquidity risk. The company had during the year spent an amount on the expansion of the business irrespective of the fact that whether the assets so acquired will be able to generate the equivalent profits or not (AASB, 2013). The above two major business risks are the exhaustive one. Analytical Procedures The analytical procedures are conducted by calculating the accounting ratios for the last three years keeping the last year as base (Company Official Website, 2017; Company Official Website,2016;, Company Official Website2015; Delen, 2013, PCAOB, 2017). These are as follows: STATEMENT SHOWING THE RATIO ANALYSIS S. No. PARTICULARS 2017 2016 2015 1 Liquidity Ratios A Current Assets 1315186 1227837 1117541 Less Current Liabilities 796337 723695 834582 Working Capital 518849 504142 282959 b Current Ratio 1.65 1.70 1.34 c Debtors 425343 361185 374445 Revenue 1957860 1966192 2011416 Debtors Turnover Ratio 4.60 5.44 5.37 2 Profitability Ratios a EBIT 245009 243171 325628 Revenue 1957860 1966192 2011416 Net Profit Magin 12.51 12.37 16.19 3 Long Term Solvency Ratios a Debt 178611 2623814 2540988 Equity 1108733 1177641 1267212 Debt to Equity 16.11 222.80 200.52 4 Market Strength Ratios a Earnings Per Share 28.51 27.61 45.2 The above ratios are deteriorating as compared to the figures over the last three years. In comparison to the industry the ratios of the company is deteriorating against GDP of 4.6% and the same is happening with the main competitor Canon (Drake, 2010, Delen, 2013). Understanding Of Management And Governance In this section, seven things will be discussed as to whether the management of the company and the governance of the company working effectively or not. First is the presence of the integrity of the information and the ethical value. It suggests that the company shall have the system where these two things can be built. Second section is that whenever any new appointment of the employee is required to be made then the company shall enquire the requisite skills and experience which is required for the particular job. In the third section the importance of the role of the people charged with governance and the same will be followed. In the fourth section, managements approach towards the risks, financial reporting and processing of the information pertaining to accounting and reporting. In the fifth section, the structure of the company shall be formed and communicated so as to avoid any type of confusion in the future among the employees. In the sixth section, the authorities and the responsibility shall be delegated and assigned and the reporting shall be obtained in the form of management information system. In the last section, the company shall maintain the policies for recruiting any person. All the seven sections are present in the annual report and thus the companys management and the corporate governance is beneficial and best for the organization. Conclusion The analysis of the business risk has been evolved throughout the study with the different spheres at each point of time whether it is at the time of understanding the nature of the business of the entity or at the time of conducting the analytical procedures to determine the changes in the figures reported in the earlier financial year. At each stage risk have been analysed and interpreted in different forms. The study has majorly conducted the understanding of the working of the operations of the company and the management of the company especially of those who were charged with the governance of the company. In order to conclude, the report has been able to define the various risk and its factors that describes the current working and operations of the company. Thus it is advised that every company shall assess the risk on the periodical basis and shall report to the management of the company for early and suitable action. References AASB, (2013), ASA 315 Identifying and Assessing the Material Misstatements through understanding the entity and its Environment available at https://www.auasb.gov.au/admin/file/content102/c3/Nov13_Compiled_Auditing_Standar d_ASA_315.pdfaccessed on 18/09/2017. Company Official Website, (2015), Annual Report 2015, available at https://www.computershare.com/au accessed on 18/09/2017. Company Official Website, (2016), Annual Report 2016, available at https://www.computershare.com/au accessed on 14/09/2017. Company Official Website, (2017), Annual Report 2017, available at https://www.computershare.com/au accessed on 14/09/2017. Delen, D., (2013), Measuring firm performance using financial ratios: A decision tree approach.Expert Systems with Applications,40(10), pp.3970-3983. Ha, H., Coghill, K. (2008). E-Government in Singapore-A Swot and Pest Analysis.Asia -Pacific Social Science Review,6(2), 103-130. Helms, M. M., Nixon, J. (2010). Exploring SWOT analysiswhere are we now? A review of academic research from the last decade.Journal of strategy and management,3(3), 215 -251. PCAOB, (2017), Analytical Procedures available at https://pcaobus.org/Standards/Archived/Pages/AU329A.aspx accessed on 17/09/2017. Technavio, (2015), Top companies in the Australian IT Market available athttps://www.technavio.com/blog/top-companies-australian-it-market accessed on 18/09/2017. Ullah A, (2014), Planning and Audit of Financial Statements available on https://leaccountant.com/2014/12/08/asa-300-summary-planning-an-audit-of-financial -statements/ accessed on 18/09/2017

Tuesday, December 3, 2019

Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats free essay sample

When you are making an equity investment decision, the first place you often turn to is the numbers: how successful has this company been financially? How many shares of  stock  does it have outstanding? What is the company spending its money on and how much cash does it have on hand? â€Å"Having that SWOT analysis is pretty essential in some cases to make sure you don’t miss something about a company. Sometimes that data doesn’t exist, especially if you want to invest in a private company or astartup. In those cases, you can complete a SWOT analysis to examine the opportunities and challenges that a company faces. A SWOT analysis can also supplement what you learn from the numbers. ‘Numbers Give the Illusion of Security’ SWOT stands for strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats, says Ray Baker, a professor of economics, business and accounting at Rockford College in Rockford, Ill. We will write a custom essay sample on Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page By identifying factors under each of those four groupings, a person can more clearly analyze virtually any business problem. â€Å"There is lots of data around, but how do you combine these pieces of information in such a way that you can use it to get a group of people thinking together? † notes Baker. â€Å"It’s a way of setting up thinking about internal and external forces so you can formulate a clearer path to an outcome, whether it’s the right one or not. For investors, using a SWOT analysis can give insight into a company’s worth beyond what the data shows, says James Early, a former  hedge fund  manager who is now an advisor to the investor newsletter  service  run by the Motley Fool, a financial services company. â€Å"The great lie of investing is that models are precise. Numbers give the illusion of security,† Early notes. â€Å"Having that SWOT analysis is pretty essential in some cases to make sure you don’t miss something about a company. Having some system you go through, having a process you can standardize and apply to all companies, is useful to most investors. Take the example of Apple. Although gigabytes of data exist analyzing the tech giant’s financial performance, a quick SWOT analysis can give anyone with even a basic understanding of the computer industry a sense of what Apple has going for it and where its weaknesses lie. For example: Strengths  include the well-designed products that the company puts out, such as the iPhone, iPad and Macintosh computers. Apple has loyal customers and the strength of its products allows it to charge more than its competitors. Weaknesses  include Apple’s relative softness in the business market. Most of its products are bought by everyday consumers and aren’t widely used by businesses – PCs are more common computers to find in an office, and Research In Motion, which makes Blackberry phones, has long produced preferred tools for those in the working world. That market gap is an  opportunity  for Apple, too. For example, businesses have been using iPhones more frequently for their employees as the device has grown and expanded its features. Threats  include the growing use of the Android platform for smartphones from companies like HTC and Motorola, and the growing tablet computer market — although the iPad reigns supreme for now. For years, a SWOT analysis was the primary way to analyze how a company was doing financially, says Paul Escobar, an investment consultant and founder of Somerset Financial Partners in Boston. More recently, however, the federal government has changed the rules of how much data a company trading on the stock market must release to the public, giving rise to more sophisticated analytical tools. ‘Touch-feely Stuff’ Not Enough Plus, Escobar adds, a SWOT analysis is a long, qualitative process, meaning it’s based on a person’s observations and opinions and not as much on data and research. â€Å"In the long run, for (people who buy a lot of stocks), that touchy-feely stuff doesn’t work as an investment analysis. No one has time to do it,† he says. â€Å"You can argue about whether the accounting is bad or not, but in the modern world, that’s what we need. † Even so, the SWOT analysis does have value in areas where data isn’t available, Escobar says, and can be used to determine what kinds of new companies and industry sectors are worthy of investment. If an investor wants to put some money into a start-up energy company that is environmentally friendly, for example, a SWOT analysis can help him or her look at all segments of the emerging alternative energy industry — including wind, solar or geothermal — and offer direction on the prospects for each and on specific companies. â€Å"If you’re trying to say which of these small companies have an advantage, you may have nothing more to go on than what you would see in a SWOT analysis,† he says.