benchmark – part b: literature review
The following is what we know:
– Increasing the amount of long-term debt in a company’s capital structure can lower its weighted average cost of capital (WACC). Because debt financing is generally less expensive than equity financing, this can be explained.
– Strategies to maintain integrity and ethics such as citing sources properly, following instructions given by professors, treating all people equally and fostering an environment conducive for open dialogue amongst students can help MSN students uphold academic standards and ethical conduct.
– Just-in-time (JIT) processes allow companies to receive parts or materials “just in time” for production, reducing the amount of unneeded inventory and freeing up capital that would have otherwise been tied up as stock. Companies can identify waste areas in their operation and reduce them by streamlining. This results in more efficient operations.
It is not known:
– The exact effect taking on additional long-term debt will have on risk associated with repayment or default for a particular company.
– The quality of service offered by Gentiva Health Services compared to local competition when offering Medicare services and the costs associated with doing so.
More study required
– An evaluation of different finance options while trying to reduce WACC including refinancing existing loans at better rates or soliciting new forms of finance such as venture capitalists before relying heavily on issuing additional bonds.
– Further research into other strategies that could be used by MSN students to ensure ethical conduct amongst peers in their program, alongside any policies governing student conduct that should be taken into consideration depending on individual circumstances.