Saturday, March 21, 2020

The At&T Restructuring Of 1995 Essays - ATT, Bell System

The At&T Restructuring Of 1995 Wednesday, September 20, 1995, AT&T Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Robert E. Allen announced plans for a strategic restructuring that would separate AT&T into three publicly traded global companies. Robert E. Allen said, The company was taking this bold step to capitalize on the opportunities in each business' segment of the global information industry -- communications services, communications equipment, and transaction-intensive computing. Under the plan, a fourth business -- AT&T Capital Corporation -- would be sold, and AT&T shareowners would hold shares in each of the three remaining companies. Changes in customer needs, technology and public policy are radically transforming our industry, said Robert E. Allen. We now see this restructuring as the next logical turn in AT&T's journey since divestiture. It will make AT&T's businesses more valuable to our shareowners, even more responsively to their customers, and better able to focus on the growth opportunities in their indi vidual markets. A focus of one of the new companies will be to provide the best communications and information services worldwide. The services company, operating under the familiar AT&T brand name, would consist of AT&T's current Communications Services Group, the AT&T Universal card Services Corporation, the newly established AT&T Solutions consulting and systems-integration organization, and AT&T Wireless Services. The services company plans to create an AT&T Laboratories unit around the core of the Bell Laboratories. AT&T's products and systems businesses, along with the world-renowned Bell Laboratories, would constitute a communications systems and technology company that would immediately be the global leader in its industry, said Robert E. Allen. The communications equipment company would include AT&T's Network Systems Group, Global Business Communications Systems, Consumer Products, AT&T Paradyne and Microelectronics. The new company named Lucent Technologies, would be a powerful competitor in the fast-growing communications systems market. Henry B. Schacht was designated Lucent Technologies Chief Executive Officer. The company's computer unit AT&T Global Information Solutions (GIS), would be established as an independent company by spinning it off to AT&T Shareowners. Our services and systems businesses are at the intersection of tremendous change and opportunity, said Allen. This restructuring ensures that each can follow the path of greatest opportunity without worrying about bumping into each other along the way. Lars Nyberg was announced Chief Executive Officer for NCR, formerly known as GIS, the new computer company. Allen believes Nyberg to be the right leader to get the computer business back on track. Nyberg is taking action to create a smaller, more focused and more rapid business. NCR will continue to develop, manufacture, and market computer platforms for any industry, however, it will focus on the three key industry segments where it has a leading position -- financial, retail, and communications. As a major part of its turnaround, NCR will halt the manufacturing of personal computers. It will continue to support and service all its current hardware and software installations and will market its service capabilities to all industries. NCR, which currently employs 43,000 people in more than 120 countries, announced a major cost-cutting initiative that will lead to the termination of approximately 8,500 jobs. AT&T will incur a pre-tax charge of approximately 1.5 billion dollars against third quarter earnings to cover the costs of the NCR restructuring. This reduces the 1995 earnings by 1 billion dollars, or 66 cents per share. AT&T plans to sell its remaining shares of AT&T Capital Corporation to the general public or another company. It holds 80 percent of Capital Corporation's shares, having only sold a minority of the shares to the general public in 1993. AT&T Capital Corporation is one of the largest equipment leasing and financing companies in the United States. It had revenues of approximately 1.4 billion dollars in 1994. Proceeds from the sale of AT&T Capital Corporation and from the Initial public offering of the new equipment company will be used to repay current AT&T debt and giving excess to each of the new businesses. The company plans to adjust each business' capital structure to ensure that it has the flexibility to raise resources, as it needs them. AT&T said that each of the businesses it is establishing will have everything it needs to meet its customers' needs. Each of the new companies already

Wednesday, March 11, 2020

UFOs essays

UFOs essays We once believed that Earth is the only planet in the Universe that supports life. Today there is overwhelming evidence that not only suggests, but supports the very real possibility that we may share the Universe with other intelligent beings. I. Things in the Sky A. The First Documented Sighting B. The Fever Spreads 1. Pilot Encounters 2. The Lights in the Sky II. Dents in the Earth III. Unexplained Phenomenon A. The Writing on the Wall B. Geodes IV. What About Religion? A. The Christian Bible B. The Ancient Greeks C. The American Indian V. Conclusion We are not Alone. On June 24th, 1947 while searching for the remains of a downed Marine C-46 transport, lost somewhere in the Mount Ranier area, a young Idahoan businessman named Kenneth Arnold spotted something that would change his life forever. Just north of his position flying at an altitude of 9,500 feet and an unprecedented airspeed of 1,700 mph he spotted nine circular aircraft flying in formation. According to his estimate the aircraft were approximately the size of a DC-4 airliner ( Jackson 4). This account was the first sighting to ever receive a great deal of media attention. This sighting gave birth to the phrase "flying Saucer" coined by a reporter named Bill Begrette. Although not the first UFO sighting in history, Kenneth Arnolds account is considered to be the first documented UFO sighting. The following day Mr. Arnold discovered that in addition to his sighting there were several others in the Mount Ranier area that same day (Jackson 6). When most of think of UFO sightings we picture an unemployed, half- crazed, alcoholic hick living in a trailer park in the middle small town USA. Often times this description, although a little exaggerated, seems to fit fairly well. In the past when the average person spotted a UFO they were quickly discounted as a kook or con-artist in search of either attention or monetary reward. It wasn't until more reputable figures in our socie...

Thursday, March 5, 2020

Do-gooder Is Not a Positive Term

Do-gooder Is Not a Positive Term Do-gooder Is Not a Positive Term Do-gooder Is Not a Positive Term By Maeve Maddox A reader questions the positive use of the epithet do-gooder: One use of the language that disturbs me is the use by my local paper of the term â€Å"Do-gooder† [to refer] to people who are indeed doing good deeds by helping or contributing.  However the only definitions I have seen for the term appear to refer to those who are trying to do good, but do so in unrealistic or wrong means. I feel the current use is not considering the older, perhaps archaic, usage. The OED does list one example of the noun Do-Good to mean â€Å"a person who does good,† but the only citation given is dated 1654 and the usage is labeled obsolete. In subsequent usage, the nouns do-good and do-gooder have not been intended as compliments. These OED examples from the 1920s reflect the pejorative usage: 1923 There is nothing the matter with the United States exceptthe parlor socialists, up-lifters, and do-goods. 1925   He could not stand them- no decently constituted American can- nor the uplifters and do-gooders who rule us to-day. The Web offers numerous examples of do-gooder in headlines that introduce stories that make it clear that the term is meant in a positive sense: Ebola-stricken doc described as driven do-gooder Africa [has become] the hottest continent for A-list do-gooders like Bono and Brangelina. Salvation Army honors Mon Valley do-gooders Brooklyn Do Gooder Awards to honor community service The misuse of do-gooder to mean â€Å"one who does genuine good† may have gone too far to reverse. If that’s the case, it’s unfortunate. We need a word that describes a person who acts according to his own idea of what doing good is without considering the consequences that might affect the recipients of the supposed good. For example, a corporation or celebrity might think that giving free shoes and free shirts to every person in a poor village is an excellent way to do good, whereas in reality the act would create worse poverty for the village cobblers, weavers, tailors, and seamstresses. English has other words to describe a person who tries to improve the lives of others. Philanthropist is an obvious choice, but many speakers might share the difficulty of the Wizard of Oz when he tries to use the word: Back where I come from there are men who do nothing all day but good deeds. They are called philaer, philaer, yes, er, Good Deed Doers. Ruling out philanthropist as too difficult to pronounce, we still have benefactor, humanitarian, altruist, and social reformer. And, perhaps, â€Å"Good Deed Doer.† Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Vocabulary category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:70 Idioms with Heart7 Tips for Writing a Film ReviewHow Verbs Become Adjectives