Bravos Cheddars Case Study - 881 Words

Case Study: Brazos Partners and Cheddar’s Inc. Brazos Partners is a company founded by Randall S. Fojtasek, Jeff Fronterhouse, and Patrick McGee in 1999. It is a Leverage Buyout Firm that targets companies with enterprise values between $50 and $250 million, solid management, a well-defined niche and is often close to the Brazos’ Dallas home. Location is an essential part of Brazos cooperate strategic management; according to Patrick McGee Texas is the 11th largest stand alone economy in the world and has the third largest universe of public and privately held mid-market companies in the US. In addition, it is very underserved with only a dozen LBO groups, most of which were energy specific. In 2002, Brazos was contacted by an†¦show more content†¦The main questions facing Fojtasek and the Brazos partners is whether they should do another deal with Cheddars and if so what price should they sell their ownership shares back at and what concessions they should make. I believe that Brazos should do the deal with Cheddar’s. The company has proven itself to be a winner and is projected to grow even more over the next few years. With restaurants being built at twice the anticipated pace and the success of its spinoff chain Fish Daddy’s, Cheddar’s is projected to out preform all five of its top competitors. Not only is there continued success on the horizon, at the core of Brazos business strategy is relationships and Cheddar’s has proven to be a solid business relationship. Since Cheddar’s is clearly in a growth stage that relationship must continued to be valued in order to achieve the maximum profitability. With regards to the stoc k price, Cheddar’s stocks were valued at $1 dollar per share with a $60.5 million investment, which is Cheddar’s stock value according to Bravos initial investment. Using Cheddar’s 2004 revenue adjusted for EBITDA and the multiplier (7.1) I came up with a new value of $88.75 million then divided that by the initial investment. My calculations gives the company a per share value of $1.47. I would hold Cheddar’s to that price. There was also the issue of the new real estate policy brought forth by the Cheddar’s board. While the concern that the trajectory of that plan

Counter Terrorism Laws And Human Rights - 5263 Words

COUNTER TERRORISM LAWS AND HUMAN RIGHTS The moral rule is not when one is about to kill you, pre-empt him and kill him first, but rather when one is about to kill you, do everything necessary in order to thwart his intention. Accordingly, if there is no alternative to killing him, strike first. If there is an alternative other than killing him, thwart his intention without striking first, without killing him. I Introduction Human rights and national security are at times perceived to be at odds with one another. When government officials speak about national security, their arguments rest primarily upon the premise that protecting human rights and civil liberties is at times subservient to protecting national security. In India, the government has passed stringent laws protecting national security and combating terrorist threats, but these same laws cannot pass the test of human rights scrutiny. The international human rights framework, conventions or treaties to which India was a signatory or ratifying party, also justified the limitations on governmental powers. However, the contemporary reality of Indian executive governance demonstrates the weaknesses and inadequacies of the treaties and conventions. As a result, police, military and para-military forces continue to violate human rights. This problem underscores the need to develop a culture amongst law enforcement officials that respects human rig hts as a sine qua non for the preservation of the rule of law.Show MoreRelatedFighting Terrorism without Infringing on Human Rights Essay826 Words   |  4 Pagesfight terrorism without infringing upon human rights. Prominent advocate for this assumption is obviously Mary Robinson, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, who urged states to â€Å"adhere to their international obligations to uphold human rights and fundamental freedoms when conducting counterterrorism†. 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Comedy in Don Quixote free essay sample

The story Don Quixote is a burlesque, mock epic of the romances of chivalry, in which Cervantes teaches the reader the truth by creating laughter that ridicules. Through the protagonist, he succeeds in satirizing Spain’s obsession with the noble knights as being absurdly old fashioned. The dynamics of the comedy in this story are simple, Don Quixote believes the romances he has read and strives to live them out, and it is his actions and the situations that he finds himself in during his adventures that make the reader laugh. We can define comedy as something that entertains the reader and that makes us want to laugh out loud and Cervantes succeeds in doing this through his use of parody and satire and burlesque, slapstick and simple self-reflexive comedy. To keep the reader entertained, he also uses the shock of the unexpected and creates intervals of lucidity interspersed with insanity in Don Quixote’s character. We will write a custom essay sample on Comedy in Don Quixote or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Cervantes places particular emphasis on the comedy of appearance, comedy of situation and the comedy of action during Don Quixote’s adventures and it is the use of these devices that makes the story so humorous from beginning to end. The theme of appearance has a very important role from the onset of this story as Cervantes uses it to create a burlesque of chivalry, while also entertaining the reader. The physical appearances of Don Quixote and his horse Rocinante, along with Don Quixote’s outlook on the banal places he encounters during his adventures continuously create grounds for laughter. The description of Don Quixote’s armor makes us laugh he has altered his helmet by using cardboard as a visor â€Å"de cartones hizo un modo de media celada† This makeshift helmet, which is held together by green ribbons, is ridiculed by Cervantes when Don Quixote refuses to take it off all night at the inn in order to keep it intact â€Å"la mas graciosa y estrana figura que se pudiera pensar† The companionship of Don Quixote tells us a great deal about the protagonist. Usually respectful admirers of chivalry accompany a knight-errant, however, Don Quixote has chosen a squire that is garrulous, ignorant, unhappily married and greedy. He rides a horse that is broken down and described not only as old, but also as â€Å"parecia de leno†. Don Quixote is foolish in trying to mirror the heroic figures from the novels he has read. The reader imagines these figures as young, strong and handsome with an air of chivalry about them, however, in contrast, Don Quixote is described as old and physically unattractive in appearance, and at times he appears indecently dressed which all culminates in a very comical persona. He continuously sees black as white, to him, the banal places and objects of the countryside always seem much more interesting and adventurous than they actually are. This is best exemplified when he mistakes the windmills for giants and on his arrival at the inn when he convinces himself that he has arrived at a castle â€Å"que era un Castillo con sus cuatro torres y†¦con todos aquellos adherentes que semejantes castillos se pintan. † The two prostitutes at the door appear to him as beautiful damsels, the innkeeper as a Chatelain, and when offered truchela for dinner by the innkeeper, Don Quixote, thinks he is receiving little trout –food only fit for a knight. The simple, dynamic comedy in this chapter is very entertaining as we realize how far removed the protagonist is from reality. His active self-delusion is directly linked to his desire to dodge any inconvenient evidence; we see this at the beginning when he convinces himself â€Å"sin querer hacer nueva experienca† that the second makeshift helmet he has made will be full and sufficient. It also gives us a split perspective of events, one sane and the other deluded and this serves to highlight his insanity, which in turn intensifies the comicality of his character. Also, in view of the fact that Cervantes aimed this story to a society obsessed with noble knights, the reader is shocked when we recognize Don Quixote’s deluded state of mind and this, along with his hilarious appearance just serves to further reinforce the humor of the situations that he finds himself in. Consequently, most of the situations that Don Quixote is placed in during his ridiculous quest are excellent examples of slapstick comedy. The reader is highly entertained by Don Quixote on his adventures during which he implicitly believes that he is like the knights in the novels he has read and so; he logically believes his own fiction. The reader is embarrassed when Don Quixote decides that by choosing a new name for himself, his horse, his lady and his friends that this will suffice in making him a knight. Just like he shaped his own appearance, he chooses his name as â€Å"Don Quixote de La Mancha† and this becomes one of the most prominent jokes of the book. It is a name that is undignified and pretentious but simultaneously amusing because La Mancha is a dry, sparsely populated region of Spain, which is exactly what a knight should avoid. The suffix –ote was considered derogatory at that time and it is even funny sounding. We are skeptical from the very beginning as to whether or not Don Quixote is worthy of the title â€Å"Don† and our suspicions are confirmed when he fails to assist people in distress like any good knight should. It is highly entertaining when Andres specifically asks Don Quixote not to complicate his life with any more of his help â€Å"No me socorra ni ayude, sino dejeme con mi desgracia, que no sera tanta, que no sea mayor la que me vendra de su ayuda de vuestra merced† Contrastingly, when Don Quixote is actually needed to help to prevent the innkeeper from being attacked by guests, he does nothing, claiming that he requires permission from the princess before he engages in any adventures. In this case, Cervantes is deliberately dramatizing the situation to make it seem more humorous and the dubbing of Don Quixote as a knight is a perfect example of comedy through Cervantes’ use of overblown style. Instead of a king or an emperor, it is the innkeeper who arms Don Quixote as a knight and it is not a virgin, but a prostitute, who places the sword on him in the inn. In Spanish lore, inns were renowned as places of ludicrous mishap and thus Cervantes has again created a complete parody of Spanish chivalry considering that all of the circumstances under which he has been dubbed utterly disqualify him as a knight. The situation is so ridiculous that it is inevitably comic, not only for the reader but also for the women who are in attendance â€Å"no fue menester poco para no reventar de risa a cada punto de las ceremonias† These women act similarly to those who are left behind after Andres leaves, who also â€Å"tuviesen mucha cuenta con no reirse†. Therefore, in describing the reactions of those who interact with Don Quixote, Cervantes manages to even further enhance the comedy of the situation being described. In addition to the comedy of appearance and situation in Don Quixote, comedy of the action is also paramount in considering what makes the reader laugh out loud while reading this text. The misadventures of Don Quixote as a burlesque knight-errant provide the reader with several sources of battering-ram comedy throughout the story. When Don Quixote encounters the windmills, his imagination is so vivid that they all appear as evil giants to him. Even though Sancho tries to dissuade him that they are in fact windmills, it is to no avail and, hilariously, he charges at them in an attempt to kill them â€Å"Bien parece que no estas cursado en esto de las aventuras:ellos son gigantes†¦y voy a entrar con ellos en fiera y desigual batalla† Similarly, in the inn when Don Quixote slays the wineskins while asleep and dressed in a scanty nightshirt, he convinces himself that he has just killed a giant. Dorotea – Velazquez who takes one look before averting her gaze, enhances the scene’s comicality for us â€Å"Dorotea†¦. no quiso entrar a ver la batalla de su ayudador y de su contrario† The reader finds it funny as we watch Don Quixote trying to live out the chivalric romances that he has read about and it is this simple, dynamic comedy that gives his actions such comic value. However, just like his appearance, his actions are never truly reflective of a knights’ behavior as they endeavor to perform useful deeds such as helping kings repel invaders and restoring queens to their thrones. In fact, the burlas which form the backbone of the story lead the reader to believe that Don Quixote is in no way deserving of his title as a â€Å"Don† because all he does is set prisoners free, attack armies of sheep and bother merchants who are peacefully going out their business with the latter resulting in him getting beaten and left face down in the road. This burlesque mock epic is dominant in the parody of chivalry and in conveying Don Quixote as an idiotic fool. His foolish nature is also depicted through his relationships with women, which are utterly amusing. He has chosen to love Dulcinea, a peasant girl from Toboso, to whom he has never spoken to but yet he idolizes her as one of the noblest princesses on earth. Sancho’s view of her is completely contrasting to that of Don Quixote’s and the burlesque comedy is evident in this scene as he praises her for having traits that are not usually associated with Princesses â€Å"Se decir que tira tan bien una barra como el mas forzudo zagal de todo el pueblo† This excerpt is quite entertaining because Don Quixote switches from acting like a madman to having lucid intervals and this is mirrored in the word â€Å"loco† which seems to change meaning throughout his conversation with Sancho. He wants to use insanity to impress Dulcinea, however, his logic interrupts his ctions and he realizes that he is just pretending to be mad â€Å"que volverse loco un caballero†¦.. si en seco hago esto, ? que hiciera en mojado? † This is not the first time we have seen Don Quixote speak in a pure, correct and lucid language. When the goatherds can make no sense of his nonsense, Don Quixote’s educated monologue on the charms of the Golden Age fascinate them and. These lucid intervals certainly add a further aspect of comedy to the story as his alternating perspectives on life make the reader laugh. When we come to the end of the story, we cannot help but feel that Don Quixote has accomplished nothing from his adventures. On the other hand, however, Cervantes has achieved his aim in portraying the foolishness of chivalric traditions in the Middle Ages through his use of several different forms of comedy. Most incidences of comedy in this story are unmistakable in the descriptions of Don Quixote’s appearance, the situations he finds himself in and his actions in his attempt to revive the glory of knighthood. It is particularly amusing to consider that in this quest, his actions are never actually reflective of a true knight and it is primarily his mishaps, which are sometimes interspersed with moments of lucidity, that enrich Cervantes’ parody on the romances of chivalry. It is the employment of so many different forms of comedy, using simple dynamics, and the way in which this comedy is portrayed that makes this story so humorous.