A look at Starbucks’ marketing strategy Essay

We have no patent on anything we do and anything we do can be copied by anyone else. But you can’t copy the heart and the soul and the conscience of the company† – Howard Schultz, CEO of Starbucks Coffee. This quote from Schultz could be the â€Å"magic† that has separated Starbucks from the every other coffee shop; an attitude of marketing which is inspired by the company’s commitment. The successful marketing strategies which Starbucks employs are definitely of interest to anyone interested in business marketing can learn about. Serving coffee is a common part of any restaurant business, but a successful marketing mix will cause a common product to become uncommon and unique to the consumer. A marketing strategy for a company requires commitment from the company with all departments and employees working together towards the same goal. This should be a philosophy which is applied to the entire organization, not simply an idea that is applied to the marketing department. The two main functions of the marketing strategy are to identify the target market, and develop a successful marketing mix for that target market. Within the marketing mix are four essential components: product, place, promotion, and price. Starbucks Coffee Company has developed a marketing mix which has proven to be exceptionally successful for over 40 years. Starbucks opened in 1971 by owners who developed a passion for dark roast coffee, and that was basically the main product that was sold in the stores. After about a decade of selling coffee beans, the owners allowed Howard Schultz to join the company as the firm’s Director of Retail Operations and Marketing. While on a trip to Italy, Schultz came across the Italian â€Å"coffee culture† which intrigued his interest; a cafà © where people would gather, socialize and spend time in leisure. Schultz believed this â€Å"coffee culture† could be replicated in the United States serving the Starbucks brand of dark roasted coffee and adding espresso drinks to the menu. This concept was rejected by the founders of Starbucks, and eventually  Schultz bought the company, and proceeded to build it into the largest retail coffee shop chain in the world. The product line of coffee was expanded to include espresso drinks such as lattes and cappuccinos; and as the company grew, the drink choices also grew to meet the consumer’s needs. Starbucks is known for having store locations everywhere in the world; even to the point of shops across the street from one another. Beginning in neighborhoods or in rural areas, and expanding to high traffic areas such as New York City; a Starbucks Coffee Shop may be found in or very near any city in the United States. Within the â€Å"place† of the marketing mix, one considers the type of stores as important as the location. The majority of Americans have two main â€Å"places† where time is spent, either at work or at home. With Schultz’s vision of the coffee shops that inspire the customers to consider Starbucks his or her â€Å"third place†, all of the shops have the brand of ease and comfort. Designed to be cozy and comfortable, the store decor of every shop is similar, if not identical: big easy chairs and sofas, tables for customers to gather at, high top counters with plenty of electrical outlets for those who take advantage of the free internet, and music playing which adds to the ambiance. Some locations actually have a burning fireplace to warm the atmosphere during the winter months. It is very rare for one to see a promotional advertisement for Starbucks Coffee in a magazine, newspaper, billboard, television commercial, or any other typical advertising campaign. Starbucks used the marketing strategy of â€Å"word-of-mouth† advertising; allowing the high quality of products and the legendary service promote the brand. This tactic has played a huge part in making Starbucks Coffee Company a success. The front line Barista (coffee artist) has been trained not only to prepare specialty coffee drinks, but to include the art of providing â€Å"legendary service† to the customer. This strategy includes promotion of personalized service by learning customer’s names, specific drink preferences, customer’s occupations, and often personal information concerning the customer’s family  and life events. In the beginning, the company’s mission statement was: â€Å"To establish Starbucks as the premier purveyor of the finest coffee in the world while maintaining our uncompromising principles as we grow.† Now, Starbucks has added to the mission statement: â€Å"To inspire and nurture the human spirit – One person, One cup, and One Neighborhood at a time.† With all employees working with the company’s mission in mind, the brand is promoted on a daily basis. In no way, shape, or form has Starbucks offered a competitive pricing for the products sold in the stores. One may consider the â€Å"experience† of the Starbucks brand to be included in the price of the products. As stated above, with all front line Baristas working with the company’s mission statement as a guideline, the consumer is purchasing a cup of coffee with the experience of personalized legendary service. While the descriptions of Starbucks Coffee Company’s marketing mix did not include the target marketing objective, Starbucks’ target market includes anyone who is willing to pay a premium price for the â€Å"Starbucks Experience.† This decision was made with extensive strategic planning, and with the knowledge that using a unique marketing program such as this was a huge risk in being successful. A good summary about the marketing success of Starbucks is this quote by Howard Schultz, CEO of Starbucks: We establish the value of buying a product at Starbucks by our uncompromising quality and by building a personal relationship with each customer. The marketing mix that Starbucks Coffee Company developed is unique, unconventional, somewhat risky, but most importantly, extremely successful for over 40 years.

Ethical Framework

What does it mean to be ethical? What does it mean to be ethical? Ethics is derived from the Greek word ethos. Ethics to me can be defined as always doing the right thing all the time. Everyone has their own moral principles that decide his/her behavior. Everyone is completely different in how they were raised and taught in what was right and wrong. As stated by Santa Clara University, â€Å"ethics refers to standards of behavior that tell us how human beings ought to act in the many situations in which they find themselves-as friends, parents, children, citizens, businesspeople, teachers, professionals, and so on† (Santa Clara University, 2010).A lot of people will get ethics confused with it being the same as their feelings. In fact, it is totally opposite. It is that way because when people generally get angry with something or someone and then they will typically follow that up with doing something bad. There are certain ethics people should follow in their everyday lives. Whether you know it or not but if you drive every day and you choose to drive the speed limit, not to commit murder or even not to rob a bank you are following the rules and regulations that were implemented by our government.I know from a personal level about doing the right thing and being ethical when one of my friends was working a bakery. My friend left that job and took the recipe and started making her own cookies and went out on the street and sold them cookies to the bakery’s current customers and future customers. Not to mention this was the bakery’s best cookie that was voted on by its customers. Pretty soon the owner realized his sales were going down and quickly realized that it was his former employee selling his product without the benefit.He eventually filed a lawsuit against my friend. Now what my friend did was not only fair and right but was also considered unethical. My friend had pay a fee back to her former boss and had to give up the recipe and not do that again. In my everyday life I choose to be ethical in everything I do. I choose to do the right things when it comes to doing something that I know I shouldn’t be doing. One thing that comes to mind of me not being ethical was when I was not of the legal age to drink alcohol. I know that I would drink every now and then when I was in high school.I thought it was the cool thing to do and hang out with my friends while I did it. Then when I came to Brevard it got worse being around a lot of my friends that would peer pressure me. Growing up I had two great parents that taught me to always do the right thing. While doing it I knew it would be ethical to not pick a beer up and drink it seeing how the law stated that you had to be at least twenty one years of age to consume it. My parents have always told me, â€Å"Would you still do what you’re doing if I was sitting right behind you? But also on the other hand I do not consider it being unethical if I were to do something that didn’t really have that much harm, like for example lying to a friend. According to Cornell University, â€Å"Many acts that would be widely condemned as unethical are not prohibited by law† (Legal Information Institute, 1992). When deciding on what would be considered ethical and non-ethical, you would have to use your judgment of how you were raised to determine the certain actions. I know for a fact that when and if I have kids I will definitely raise them the way my grandparents and my parents have raised me.If I can do that then I will know for a fact that I will be proud of my kids and they will be properly raised. REFERENCES Legal Information Institute. (1992). Retrieved September 9, 2012, from Cornell University Law School: http://www. law. cornell. edu/wex/ethics Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. (2005, December 20). Retrieved September 9, 2012, from Personal Identity and Ethics: http://plato. stanford. edu/entries/identity-ethics/ Santa C lara University. (2010). A Framework for Thinking Critically. Retrieved September 8, 2012, from http://www. scu. edu/ethics/practicing/decision/framework. html

Media fandom in American movies Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Media fandom in American movies - Essay Example They also discuss their affection about the movies and build interpretive communities around a particular media. With reference to the numerous moneymaking takeoffs of Star Wars as a recap that such imaginative adaptation of science fiction motion picture and television are not, and maybe never were, limited to fan art, music, and literature. However, they have turn out to be a more and more central feature of how modern popular culture functions. In most cases, fan adoption and revolution of media content becomes relegated or mysterious, and it is regarded as a leisure activity. The hypothesis appears to be made that any person who would capitalize so much artistic and expressive energy into the mass culture products must certainly have a defect (Abercrombie and Longhurst 62). This paper takes its standpoint with an anterior motive and in support of the media fans who have revolutionize the media, as their cultural ways have proved as important factors in the digital cinema drive. If many supporters of digital cinema partake to democratize cultural inventions, to adopt mass resourcefulness by creating avenues for the implementation of media production and dissemination to an extensive segment of the public, then the fast explosion of fan-created Star Wars films possibly will embody a noteworthy early success story with regard to that association. Force Flicks, which is one of the databases for fan film creation, lists nearly 300 amateur-made Star Wars films presently in transmission on the web, and recognizes an even bigger number of similar works. There is an incredible assortment of theme, tactic, and quality embodied in this example of the existing state of unprofessional digital cinematography (Brooker 110). Some of the flicks have established massive trendy followings. For instance, the online book vendor, Amazon.com, announces that transactions â€Å"George Lucas in Love† were overtaking â€Å"The

Vector Theorems Math Problem Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Vector Theorems - Math Problem Example Since we have a medial triangle DEF as shown above, for convenience we draw the same triangle separately as shown below. Here D (a, 0, 0), E (0, b, 0), and F (0, 0, c) be the vertices of medial triangle while N is the centroid of the triangle. By distance formula, N has the coordinates as (a/3, b/3, c/3). Let D†² be the mid-point of EF, therefore its coordinates will be (0, b/2, c/2). Now we find the distance between N and D†². Similarly 2 E†²N = EN, and 2 F†²N = FN. Thus, it means that the centroid is located two thirds of the way from the original vertex to the midpoint of the opposite side of the triangle. Now, since we have a triangle ABC and E is the middle point of BC, and P is the centroid of ABC. Therefore, by using above theorem we have OP = OA + 2/3 AE. Now we will find the centroid of ABC. Now we will find the centroid of DEF. Let Q = centroid of DEF = OQ = OD + 2/3 DM/ From above equation no.2 and equation no.3 it is evident that P=Q. Thus it has been proved that the centroid of the triangle ABC is equal to the centroid of medial triangle DEF

English Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 8

English - Essay Example Its arguments were sound and that, in a way, a semblance of connection could be found still when the writer assumed a combative mood towards a perceived error in reporting. Given the same circumstance – wherein a report is published in a subject that I am well versed of – and that I find it offensive or erroneous, I would probably do the same. Here, one can see that the author is passionate and not a passive and somehow I identify with that kind of attitude. Rockwood writes from a personal perspective, using his own voice. He was unapologetic as he dispenses his judgment without any reservations. He criticized the editorial â€Å"Get Bullish on Wind Power† according to his own terms. He outlined his ideas connecting them with the subject of his critique. In the process, the persuasion in the tone of the entire piece does not seem to prioritize the objective to persuade. The style employed followed those statements of facts and that arguments against it would constitute either fallacy or the lack of credibility. Indeed, Rockwood cited several arguments that are supported by evidence and his own technical knowledge on the subject. In how the piece was written, there was no hope to sway the mind of the reader so that the reader comes to believe what the writer believes. The objective was to enlighten. He was merely stating what the truth was and reality and that those arguments that digress are most probably fallacious. Rockwood’s essay was meant to refute the claims, positions and suggestions put forward by an earlier article. It is a critical essay and argumentative in the sense that it advances its own perspectives. However, I found the style lacking in this context. It is supposed to address the points made by the earlier editorial but it did not do that. Instead, it cited new arguments that someone could have claimed that the essay was written as original - without any previous connections to early work - and the reader

To what extent can it be argued that a doctor, who explains the Essay

To what extent can it be argued that a doctor, who explains the procedures and all the risks and then obtains the patients consent, is free from the potential t - Essay Example derately undisruptive, however, others bring substantial damage not just to the patient and families but also to the entire medical profession and the health care industry. When medical mistakes arise, health care professionals are inclined not to report these incidents for fear of litigation which makes the identification and prevention of these errors tough to deal with and hard to correct (Joshi, Anderson & Marwaha, 2002, pp. 40-45; Localio, Lawthers, Brennan et al., 1991, pp. 245-251). In the United Kingdom, there have been no apparent clues regarding its prevalence although an investigation was conducted representing an initial attempt to quantify the extent and magnitude of the dilemma (Vincent, Neale & Woloshynowych, 2001, pp. 517-519). In the United States, field professionals assert that the tort system is not adequate in preventing medical mistakes because the average time to resolve cases purportedly takes 44 months (Palter, 2003). Based on a study, annual deaths caused by medical mistakes have reached 98,000 in United States hospitals (Kohn, Corrigan & Donaldson, 2000). While the statistics reaped so much attention, it was not the very first investigation conducted by the medical community of its errors. Since 1990, numerous studies have dissected and analysed medical mistakes. Interestingly, the publication of these researches denoted an enlightening departure from the conventional secrecy surrounding errors made by physicians (Brennan, Leape, Laird, et al, 1991, pp. 370-376; Wu, Folkman, McPhee & Lo, 1991, pp. 2089-2094). Apparently, practitioners in the field of medicine have moved towards a path that encourages the methodology of admitting mistakes, both to themselves and to others. Duty of Care/Patient-Doctor Relationship Admitting to a mistake is a physician’s moral duty to his/her patient. The American Medical Association Principles of Medical Ethics states that â€Å"A physician shall . . . be honest in all professional

Paramedics assessment with Problems in Pregnancy and Complicated Research Paper

Paramedics assessment with Problems in Pregnancy and Complicated Childbirth - Research Paper Example By estimating her EDC or EDD through ultrasonography or manual calculations by measuring the fundic height or getting the LMP, a rough correlation with her uterine contractions can be deduced to know if the patient is undergoing false or true labor. Rupture of membranes or excretion of a mucus plug may indicate an active labor process. General health must also be assessed if the mother has had allergies, is smoker or alcoholic, or takes any drugs or medications (Complicated childbirth). In ancient times, the mode of delivery for subsequent pregnancies after a history of cesarean section (CS) will always be CS. Currently, there are now options to undergo a trial of labor after a cesarean birth but patients must be aided in their decision making with sufficient understanding about the risks and benefits of a vaginal delivery. With TOLAC, there is a risk of uterine rupture. The following characteristics, increases the success of vaginal delivery: previous vaginal delivery, history of VB AC, spontaneous labor, competent cervix, nonrecurring indications i.e. breech, previa, herpes, preterm delivery, an interpregnancy interval of more than 18 months. Similarly, the risks associated and factors that may contribute to failure of the process are morbid obesity, Hispanic and African American race, increasing birth weight, previous history of cephalopelvic disproportion, diabetes mellitus, failure to progress labor, no history of vaginal deliveries, or a previous cesarean section. In the clinical case given, her risks of undergoing a trial of labor may be high; therefore a cesarean delivery may be recommended (Caughey, n.d.). Condition Clinical presentation Problems/Risks/Complications Management Ectopic pregnancy Signs of pregnancy i.e. amenorrhea, positive pregnancy test Abdominal pain accompanied by shoulder pain as the embryo grows distending the involved structure and compressing adjacent organs If abdominal implantation, signs of shock i.e. hypotension If cervical or fallopian tube implantation, vaginal blood loss Problem: implantation of the embryo in structures other than the uterus Risk: previous ectopic pregnancy, history of tubal surgery, history of tubal infection, progestin-only contraception, intrauterine contraceptive devices Complication: rupture of structure with the growing fetus, hemorrhage causing hypovolemic shock Early diagnosis via ?-hCG level determination Transport to a medical facility for possible surgical procedure Correct signs of shock Pain alleviation Pre-term labour Uterine contractions Small amount of cervical effacement or dilatation Problem: premature onset of labor before 38 weeks of gestation Risk: multi-gravid, intrauterine infections, premature rupture of the membranes, uterine or cervical anatomical anomalies, smoker, Complication: preterm birth, low birth weight neonate, fetal distress, infection Prehospital setting: supportive care, decrease level of stress, bed rest Hospital setting: IV salbutamol Pre-eclamp sia Hypertension; BP >140/90 mmHg Edema Proteinuria Headaches Visual disturbances Pulmonary edema Hepatic dysfunction Oliguria Thrombocytopenia or haemolysis Problem: biochemical and physiological alteration resulting to widespread vasoconstriction, organ ischemia and edema Risk: obesity, diabetes mellitus, race Complication: progression to eclampsia; brain ischemia, seizure, heart failure, decreased

Wk 2 discussion questions Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Wk 2 discussion questions - Essay Example This will help him feel successful. I remember that in grade school I was a not a good math student. Everything was fine in math class until 4th grade. That is when multiplication and division was introduced. I understood addition and subtraction and working with decimals, but multiplication was very hard for me to grasp. I was weak in my math skills going into 5th grade. My teacher worked with me until Christmas break to help me learn my multiplication tables. She was emotionally supportive through this entire process by rewarding and recognizing all of my successes. She never made me feel as though I was wasting her time or that I was a burden. She made it clear that everyone learns how to do math in his or her own way and in his or her own time. When I returned from Christmas break, I thought I was finished with my tutoring sessions with the teacher, but to my surprise they were just beginning. I was still having trouble memorizing the multiplication tables, so my teacher began to keep me inside from recess. I hated this, but I never remember feeling as though I was being punished. The kindness my teacher used, and her unwavering firmness in insisting I learn these math facts, was a great support to me as I progressed through the year. Her emotional support helped to make me a

Tooth transplantation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Tooth transplantation - Essay Example Patients must be carefully selected for this procedure. The patient must be healthy, available for follow-up visits, and able to follow post-operative instructions. Patients must also demonstrate that oral hygiene is a part of their regular lifestyle. Furthermore, suitable candidates must have a recipient tooth and a donor tooth to undergo the procedure. Patients’ cooperation and understanding are of utmost importance for predictable results (Clokie et al, 2001). Autogenous tooth transplantation is usually done because of tooth loss due to dental caries, mainly in the first molar of the lower jaws. â€Å"Transplantation can also be opted in cases like tooth agenesis (premolars and lateral incisors), traumatic tooth loss, canine atopic eruption, root resorption (body of the cells attack and destroy a part of a tooth), large endodontic lesions, cervical root fractures, and localized juvenile periodontitis† (dentalcareadvice, 2010). The above pictures (by kunni dental office) demonstrate the removal of the third molar (the wisdom tooth) that is transplanted to the site of the first molar which is beyond repair. The site must be prepared well to receive the donor tooth. There must be sufficient space and alveolar bone structure to accommodate and support the donor tooth. Teeth with poor shape and root morphology are not used in transplants (dental care advice, 2010). The success of the procedure depends on how well healing takes place after the transplantation. Normally, the tooth with a healthy periodontal ligament provides a higher degree of success. Tooth length and development stage are also important factors in determining the success of the procedure. There is less chance of necrosis (cell death) and higher chance of pulp survival when the premolar has already completed half to two third root development. Placement of implant supported prosthesis or other type

Globalization and Indian Industries Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Globalization and Indian Industries - Essay Example Closeness to the technological frontier to fight the entry of the external competitors is considered to be very significant in this connection. The industries that have capability to improve their technological strength for investing in the updation of the production systems would be able to withstand the competition (Mishra, 2006). Thus the industries in this group tend to flourish and perform well under liberalized regime. While the companies that were very weak didn't have the enough strength to enhance their capacity and elevate them in towards the technological frontier. Thus most of these units have shorter business life span and ultimately get eliminated from the race. Thus the industries having very low technological frontiers would be losers under the globalised business environment (Mishra, 2006). Indian experiment on globalization started in the year 1991 with the major sectors involved being steel, pharmaceutical, petroleum, chemical, textile, cement, retail and BPO (Business maps of India.com, n.d.). The government had expected that high rate of growth could be achieved by inviting large volumes of foreign direct investments. A comparison on the number of companies that operated in India across pre and post-liberalized era clearly show the impact of the policy change. Earlier to 1991, the number of factories in India stood at 1,10,179 while their number reported in the year 2004 was 1,29,074. The first observable signs in this direction after the implementation of the polices were setting up of different companies with foreign investments for enhancing its operation in the above-mentioned sectors. This is said to have helped to address the local unemployment problems to a significant level and thus reducing the poverty levels in a few of the locations (Mishra, 2006). Also indirect benefits were obtained as a result of considerable improvements in the technology and management that the domestic companies had to attain to face the competition from their foreign counterparts having highly efficient production systems. On the other hand, the consumer preferences in buying also had a sporadic shift. The Indian consumer who were mostly dependent on the domestic products had the opportunity to purchase quality products at affordable prices. This had resulted in the lowering of business volumes of the pharmaceutical, chemical, manufacturing, and cement manufacturing industries (Business maps of India.com, n.d.). Also, the companies resorted to various structural adjustments like lowering of profits, which threatened the viability of long-term operations. Another striking feature was the reduction in the labour strength across the sectors. The labour statistics available for the year 1990 was 81,62,504 and those for the year 2004 was lowered to 78,70,081. Thu s the influence of globalization policies on the poverty reduction in India as a whole is very ambiguous (Mishra, 2006). Hence a The sector specific assessment on the impact of the globalization is as given below (i) Petroleum Industry: Globalization of the petroleum Industry had begun much before the

China and WTO Essay Example for Free

China and WTO Essay Since 2001 the world has witnessed a rapid growth of China in terms of its economy. With the goods having a â€Å"Made in China† label becoming a frequent part of our lives, China paves its way ever on the road to success. The credit to such a boom in the country’s trade (peculiarly exports) goes to one key factor: Globalization. Cognizant of the World Trade Organization’s potential to let China fully practice Globalization, right after its membership of WTO China marked an instance of global significance. Today with the steps of China gradually turning the uni-polar world into a bi-polar one, the analysts of global trade and economy predict China to soon supplant the United States, wholly on the basis of its tenacious economic stand. Initially, this paper attempts to develop a comprehension of rudimentary concepts pertaining to the World Trade Organization, Globalization and China. The paper further elucidates the major argument by a conscientious analysis of China’s practice of Globalization, accession to WTO, different attitudes about a Globalized China and impacts of its WTO membership not only on the country itself but also on the whole world. Introduction: It is a datum of experience that in the scene of modern existence globalization has emerged as an inevitable process. With its instruments like the World Trade Organization, Globalization has profoundly penetrated into the roots of the modern economic system thereby affecting different nations differently. With WTO and economic globalization being in vogue in the business world, what remains the topic of a controversial debate is the entrance of China into WTO. Previously a member with average participation in the international trade, China has established itself as one of the top most economies of the contemporary world immediately after signing the agreement with WTO in the year 2001. As the concerned year marked a celebration for China, it also proved as a sinister for many other nations that had been dominating the international trade before China’s formal stepping into it. With a multifaceted nature of China’s WTO membership, there remain a number of ambiguities in terms of its corollaries on the world and the country itself. Globalization: Before laying the foundation of the paper’s major argument, it is mandatory to comprehend the concept of globalization. â€Å"Globalization is what happens when the movement of people, goods, or ideas among countries and regions accelerates. † In the contemporary world, all the aspects of life are touched by the ravishing presence of globalization. Once comprehended as a mere economic phenomenon involving the flow of goods and services across borders, the term has transcended to reach the exchange of language, culture and relationships among nations† . According to Suarez in ‘Globalization: Culture and Education in the New Millennium’, the commencement and proliferation of globalization coalesces a series of cycles. Of them, the first cycle began in 1492 ending in the early seventeenth century whereas the second cycle embarked in the late seventeenth century. Globalization is often reckoned as an elusive concept keeping under consideration its dual prospects. This multi faceted view is clear in every aspect of globalization. For instance, international organizations like WHO, UNESCO and UNDP are trying to ameliorate the standard of life across the globe by attempts for eliminating poverty, improving health conditions and providing job opportunities etc. Such steps on the part of globalization provide its positive picture attempting to elevate the nations. On the other hand, the instruments of globalization like multinational companies are exploiting the world labour and have become a major source of collapse of many domestic businesses. Wal-Mart is one of the many examples in this concern. Not only feared by the smaller businesses of Non American countries, the domestic investors suffer the same threat. According to an interview (documented in the article ‘Rediscovering Uncle Sam’ of the book ‘Ambassadors of Peace) with the Mayor of Chestertown, Margo G. Bailey told how she has been fighting the Wal-Mart from entering into the small city of Chestertown for almost a decade because the invasion of Wal-Mart would mean a fiasco for the owners of the small businesses in the locality. This means that if globalization is elevating humans, it is equally abusing them. With the ascending power of globalization in the contemporary world, what becomes the reason of its achievement is three facts. First is the globalization’s role in the amelioration of technology. Twenty first century is considered as the hey day of science, technology and telecommunication. The second reason is the provision of integration of people across borders to get acquainted with the foreign cultures. This has specially marked a boom in tourism industry. Thirdly, the concept of free trade as advocated by globalization has increased the capital flow between nations who are now more interested in global trade without being interfered by the state government. Of many forces of globalization, World Trade Organization is considered its key instrument. World Trade Organization: Formed in 1995, World Trade Organization stands as the only hegemonic power ruling the trade in the international business market. WTO started to informally supplant General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) that had been carrying on the same function in the global market since 1947. The working of WTO is based key principles which are available in the form of its written documentation covering almost every kind of activity happening in the international trade. One of these principles is to equally treat all the participating nations in the business market. This means that any policy framed by WTO would be implemented on all the nations alike irrespective of their status in the global market. Another principle of WTO advocates Free Trade which means the elimination of trade barriers like tariffs, regulation or other such measures of protectionism imposed by the government thereby impeding the process of liberal trade or smooth flow of goods and services among the nations. WTO also makes sure the transparency of trade policies by making all the nations cognizant of them through their 2300 paged of agreements providing every term in black and white. In the similar way, the negotiations regarding the policy matters are not made surreptitious thereby making the adjustments open to all the other members too. With a seemingly stringent frame of law, WTO also believes in providing flexibility to the developing countries in order to make their positive contribution possible in the competitive market. According to Article III of ‘Agreement establishing the World Trade Organization’ WTO is responsible for five major functions. These responsibilities involve, 1. Implementation, administration and operation of Multilateral, Plurilateral and its own trade agreements. 2. Providing a platform of negotiations between different member nations regarding their trade policies and agreements. It also assists them in implementing the decided policies. 3. Settling the disputes among the member nations. The nature of such disputes is generally trade-policy based where the WTO serves as an arbiter between the conflicting nations. 4. Facilitating and training the weaker members in order to create a balance in the global economy. For achieving the desired goal, WTO co-operates with World Bank and International Monitory Fund. 5. Monitoring the trade policies that have been implemented and to make possible the aspect of transparency in these policies. China in the contemporary world: It was about two hundred years ago that China was he ruling power of global economy. After years of a sleeping giant, China has rapidly raised its status in the global community in the wake of the last decade. This aggrandizing significance is specially marked in the growing performance of the country in terms of its annual economic performance. This is clear by analyzing the performance of China’s ship building industry. Considered as a poor quality manufacturer around 1980s, it has grown into a ‘bona fide’ world industry today. As a result of this boom in the economy, millions of Chinese previously living at the bottom line of poverty enjoy better standards of life today. For the very reason World Bank believes that â€Å"China achieved the fastest doubling of economic output ever from 1978 to 1987, far outpacing both early industrializers (e. g. , United Kingdom, United States, and Japan) and late industrializers (e. g. , Brazil, South Korea, and Taiwan) alike. It then repeated the feat from 1987–1996† and looks like continuing the same pace in the future to come. To restate, as a result of globalizing process China has doubled the per capita income for three times after 1978. Of the over all augmenting profits, China’s major gains also lie in its textile industry. Reviewing China’s consistent rise for the past many years, many analysts proscribe China most likely to supplant the position of the U. S. by becoming the most powerful economy of the world around 2050 as the former has already caught the high brow of the world. While talking to China Daily, Long Yongtu, Chinas former WTO chief negotiator said, â€Å"Because Chinas economy is more open, and Chinas economic size is much bigger, the world is more sensitive to whats happening in China. I think in that way China is really changing the world.

Airborne infectious disease

Airborne infectious disease Tuberculosis (TB) is an airborne infectious disease which is caused by bacteria belonging to Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex1. There are approximately one third of the worlds population are infected with tuberculosis where nine millions of new cases reported annually2. Although tuberculosis is essentially curable and preventable, it continues to cause millions of deaths every year2. When infected individual coughs, sneezes or spits, M. tuberculosis is propelled into the air and infected those who breathed in the bacteria that existed in droplets of saliva3. Primarily, tuberculosis will affect the lungs, known as pulmonary tuberculosis3. It will also affect other parts of body, for instance lymph nodes, bones, brain and kidneys3. Once a person is infected with tuberculosis, there are basically three possible ways may occur. Firstly, the immune system plays a vital role and strong enough to kill the bacteria3. Secondly, immune system is not strong enough to fight off the bacteria bu t is able to build a defensive barrier against the bacteria3. Individuals who are latently infected with M. tuberculosis show asymptomatic where these bacteria lie dormant in the lungs and able to reactivate after years1. The disease is often reactivated in those who are immunocompromised or generally weakened. Lastly, the immune system fails to kill bacteria causing the bacteria to grow and spread towards other parts of body which is called active tuberculosis3. In the fight of tuberculosis, World Health Organisation (WHO) recommends universal Bacille Calmette-Guà ©rin (BCG) vaccination in the countries with high TB burdens4. BCG vaccine contains weakened form of M. tuberculosiswhich will induce antibodies to fight against this type of bacteria. The efficacy of BCG vaccination can be ranging from 0% to 84%5. This may be due to the frequency of TB exposure and quality of vaccine used, leading to arguments on BCG vaccination efficacies4. One of the greatest arguments is that BCG vaccination causing positive reactions to tuberculin skin testing and hence interfere with the diagnosis of latent TB4. Existence of evidences showing the rates of efficacy also depends on geographical location, age at vaccination and form of TB further complicate the situation. Currently, TB chemotherapy is made up of a cocktail of first-line drugs isoniazid (INH), rifampicin (RIF), pyrazinamide (PZA) and ethambutol (EMB) 6. If the treatment fails due to bacterial dr ug resistance, or patient unable to tolerate, second-line drugs for instance para-aminosalicylate (PAS), fluoroquinolones, ethionamide and cycloserine are introduced6. These are considered as second line drugs generally either less potent with larger doses or more toxic with serious side effects6. Tuberculosis is presently treated in two phases, namely initial phase and continuous phase7. In initial phase, the patient will be treated with concurrent use of four first line drugs, with the aim to eradicate or control bacteria population to replicate in rapid motion and also avoid the emergence of bacteria resistance7. The treatment choices available for initial treatment include isoniazid, rifampicin, pyrazinamide and ethambutol7. Streptomycin is used rarely but can be used in patients who infected with bacteria that are resistant to isoniazid before the therapy is commenced7. The duration for initial phase is 2 months whereas the continuous phase takes 4 months7. During the four months of continuous phase, patients are treated with isoniazid and rifampicin at same doses7. Most of the TB treatment is supervised where drug administration needs to be fully supervised by healthcare professions since lengthy duration of treatment causing incompliance in patients7. These patients who are unlikely to be compliance will be given the drugs three times a week until the course is completed while patients who able to comply with the treatment will not be supervised7. Despite the chemotherapy treatment and BCG vaccine, TB remains as a significant infectious disease due to increasing emergence of drug resistant TB and co-infection with Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) 6. Since the host defense in HIV patients is suppressed, they are more susceptible to TB infections. Moreover, drug- drug interactions between antiviral therapy and anti-TB also causing complications in treating co-infected patients6. Drug resistant TB has evolved mainly because of improper treatment or incompliance in patients who stop taking their medications before the bacteria is being fully eradicated since the duration of treatment is lengthy which takes 6-9 months8, 9. The mechanism involved includes chromosomal mutations in genes that responsible for drug targets encoding9. When there is a sequential accumulation of mutations, multi-drug resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) emerges where the M. tuberculosis strains will resistant to two of the most commonly used drugs, Isoniazid and Rifampicin9. Patients with MDR-TB are then relying on the second-line drug classes, fluoroquinolones and the three injectable agents namely amikacin, capreomycin, and kanamycin10, 11. The chances to cure would dramatically be reduced for patients who infected with extensively drug-resistant tuberculosis (XDR-TB), a situation where the isolated strains are resistant against any one of fluoroquinolones and at least one of three injectable drugs12. In order to combat with the MDR-TB or XDR-TB and optimize the tuberculosis drug regimen, it is crucial to understand the mechanism of action of current using first-line drugs and how resistance is developed against these drugs. Isoniazid (INH) or isonicotinic acid hydrazide is discovered in 1952, a bactericidal agent which active against organism of the genus Mycobacterium, especially M. tuberculosis, M. bovis and M. kansassi6, 13. In vivo, INH has shown to be bactericidal in culture over the first 48 hours which become bacteriostatic after this particular time frame13. This indicates that INH is bacteriostatic for slow growing or resting bacilli but is bactericidal for rapidly dividing mycobacterium. The minimal tuberculostatic concentration is 0.025 to 0.05ug/ml14. INH is a prodrug that needs to be activated by catalaseperoxide hemoporotein, KatG before acts by inhibiting mycolic acid synthesis and cell wall disruption in susceptible mycobacterium14, 15. This inhibitory action is very specific since mycolic acids are unique to mycobacteria14. INH acts by inhibit enoyl acyl carrier protein (ACP) reductase, InhA, and a beta-ketoacyl-ACP synthase, KasA that are crucial in fatty acid synthesis system for myco lic acid16. Resistance to INH is believed due to mutations in gene encoding catalaseperoxidase katG or InhA or lacking KatG9, 15. Isoniazid is metabolised in the liver, mainly by acetylation and dehydrazination where slow acetylator may experience higher concentration leads to potential toxicity before excreted in the urine within 24 hours14. Rifampicin (RIF), discovered in 1963, is a lipophilic semisynthetic derivative of rifamycin antibiotic which is produced by the fermentation of a strain of Amycolatopsismediterranei6, 9, 17. RIF has bactericidal activities against a broad spectrum of microorganisms including gram-positive and gram-negative. RIF will inhibit the action of DNA-dependent RNA polymerase of mycobacteria that is encoded by rpoB through formation of a stable drug-enzyme complex9. This will suppress the initiation chain formation in RNA synthesis and hence prohibit protein synthesis in M. tuberculosis9. Development of resistance to RIF is mostly due to mutation in 81 base pair region of rpoB gene thus facilitate a straightforward approach to detect MDR-TB since 85-90% RIF-resistant strains are also resistant to INH9. RIF produces peak plasma concentration of 7ug/mL in 2 to 4 hours after ingestion of 600mg18. It also distributed well to most of the body tissues and fluids, including cerebrospinal fluid since it is lipophilic18. Following absorption from the gastrointestinal tract, RIF is eliminated rapidly in the bile with fewer amounts excreted through urine18. Pyrazinamde (PZA) is discovered in 1954 and it produces excellent sterility effects against semidormant tubercle bacilli at slightly acidic pH6, 9. The antimicrobial activity of PZA is through interference with mycolic acid synthesis in M. tuberculosis by pyrazinoic acid, an active moiety of PZA9. Conversion of PZA to pyrazinoic acid is mediated by pyrazinamidase enzyme that is encoded by pncA gene in M. tuberculosis, thus indicating that these bacilli are sensitive to PZA9. Resistance against PZA evolved when mutation occur at pncA gene that is responsible for pyrazinamidase, hence affecting the activity of this enzyme9. PZA is well absorbed from gastrointestinal tract and is widely distributed to most tissues and fluid too18. The oral administration of 500 mg PZA produces plasma concentrations of 9-12ug/ml after two hours and 7ug/ml after 8 hours18. PZA is metabolized in liver whereas the metabolites are excreted through renal glomerular filtration18. Ethambutol (EMB) is discovered in 1962, acts as bacteriostatic agent and is active against undergoing cell division6, 19. EMB primarily targets on impairment of cell wall polymerization by inhibits arabinosy transferase, a vital enzyme responsible for mycobacteria cell wall biosynthesis9, 19. Since arabinosy transferase enzyme is encoded by embC-embA-embB genes, resistance against EMB evolved is believed due to mutation of these genes9. EMB is currently used as one of the first-line treatment for tuberculosis mainly because of its synergistic effect with other front-line drugs and its low toxicity property19. There is roughly 75-80% of an oral dose of EMB is rapidly absorbed in gastrointestinal tract with absorption unaffected when administered with foods20. In addition, EMB is distributed widely to body tissues and fluid, including cerebrospinal fluid before being metabolized in the liver and excreted in urine20. Streptomycin (SM) is an aminoglycoside antibiotic, used as first line treatment for TB when it first discovered in 19441, 6. Streptomycin is isolated from the bacteria Streptomycesgriseus and its antimicrobial effects against M. tuberculosisis highly effective when use in combination with other first line agents21. However, SM is no longer considered as first line treatment as resistance against it has developed rapidly1. The optimum pH for SM is at pH8 where its bacteriostatic activity will reduce with increasingly acidic environment21. SM acts by binding tightly to A site of 16S ribosomal RNA subunit, interferes with mRNA translation, causing faulty protein being produced1, 9. Resistant emergence when the mutation occurs at gene rpsL and rrs that encoded for 16S and S12 ribosomal protein1, 9. Upon administration, SM is poorly absorbed from gastrointestinal tract and mostly administered parentally1. SM is mostly excreted in urine and patients with low renal profile might experience toxicity such as neurotoxic reactions1. When the first line treatment is no longer suitable for patients or patients develop multi-drug resistance TB, second line drugs will then be introduced in combating the TB. Second line drugs that are mostly used include Ethionamide (ETH), Cycloserine (CS), Para-Aminosalicylic Acid (PAS) and Fluoroquinolones (FQ). ETH has been in use since 1960s, is a structural analogue of INH and it targets at inhibition of mycolic acid biosynthesis in tubercle bacilli9, 22. INH however is much more potent than ETH since the minimal inhibitory concentration for ETH is 0.5-5.0ug/mL22. Resistance evolved due to mutation at gene InhAand ethA which encode for oxygenase enzyme in activation of ETH 9. In vitro, CS has inhibitory effect on M. tuberculosis at 5-200ug/mL and there is no cross resistance occurred between CS and other drugs14. CS acts by interfereing the biosynthesis of bacterial cell wall14. CS is well absorbed in gastrointestinal tract and also widely distributed to body tissues and fluid including cerebrospinal fluid14. PAS was first introduced as first line drug but being replaced by Ethambutol in 1960s1. It acts bacteriostatically with possessing inhibitory effect at concentration less than 1mg/ml by interfere with folic acid metabolism in bacteria1. PAS is readily absorbed from gastrointestinal tract and distributed well throughout the body. Approximately 80% of the drugs will be excreted via kidney after being metabolized to acetylated form1. Moxifloxacin and Gatifloxacin are both been synthesized and evaluated as excellent bactericidal agents through inhibiting DNA gyrase, an ATP-dependent enzymes topoisomerase II which is responsible in bacteria DNA transcription9. DNA gyrase is consisted of two subunits that is arranged in a complex, is encoded by two different genes, gyrA and gyrB where mutations at gyrA will normally cause bacteria resistance to these new generation of flouroquinolones9. Due to the increasing incidence of multidrug resistance TB, it is highly desirable to develop new drugs that are not only potent and effective against current resistant strains of M. tuberculosis but also possess shorter treatment duration since most of the incompliance of patients is brought up by lengthy TB treatment. Most of the mechanisms of action of current treatments are involved in interfering the bacterial DNA synthesis, protein and mycolic cell wall biosynthesis. The enzymes that participate in these pathways could also be the target of newly designed drugs such as TMC207, one of the new drugs which are currently under investigations and clinical trials. TMC207 is a member of diarylquinoline class of compound which target at adenosine triphosphate (ATP) synthase by binding to subunit C of the synthase, blocking the energy pathway of mycobacteria23, 24. In vitro, TMC207 not only possesses ability to inhibit both drug sensitive and resistant M. tuberculosis isolates, but also able to sterilize the patient through killing the dormant bacilli bactericidally23. TMC207 showed a minimum inhibitory concentration of 0.03ug/mL against M. tuberculosis, suggesting a more potent agent compared to current first- line treatments such as isoniazid and rifampicin24. Apart from that, its synergistic effect with pyrazinamide could promise as effective drug combination for sterilizing the patients against TB23. A phase I clinical trials which involved short terms administration of TMC207 in healthy individuals showing no adverse effects and the subjects are well tolerated with it24. However, it is essential to investigate the selectivity of TMC207 again st mammalian ATP synthase with longer periods to ensure the patients safety when administered with TMC207. Thiacetazone (TAC) is widely used as second line anti-TB agent against multiresistant tuberculosis at present25. TAC acts by interferes the biosynthesis pathway of mycolic acid in tubercle bacilli25. The fact that M. tuberculosis has been difficult to eradicate and remains persistent is due to its cell wall that composed of mycolic acid which is resistant against chemical injury, dehydration and also has low permeability to antibiotics25. Mycolic acid contains cyclopropane rings that is activated through cyclopropane mycolic acid synthase (CMASs), has a significant contribution to tuberculosis25. By inhibiting the cyclopropanation, the cell wall biosynthesis will then be interrupted, introducing the bactericidal effects25. The aim of this research is to synthesis and evaluates the analogues of Thiacetazone which might be potential anti tuberculosis agents. The analogues will be tested against different strains of mycobacteriain lab. The target actions of these analogues will also be identified based on the structure of the analogues. The above analogue is synthesized when a benzylaldehyde reacts with a primary amine. This is a condensation process and an imine is produced. The changes at position R1 to R3 with different electron withdrawing groups are first planned to be evaluated. However, the plan is prohibited since the corresponding structures are either unavailable or too expensive that falling outside the budget. After revised on the previous analogues that were discovered and their respective MIC values obtained from lab, the structures of new analogues that are going to be evaluated are finally sorted out. The R1 to R3 positions would be replaced by either a -chloro or a -methoxy with R8 position would either be an amine, a methyl or a benzene ring. A chloro is used at position R1 to R3 since it is electron withdrawing, big and lipophilic molecule whereas the methoxy group is electron donating, small and quite lipophilic. For R8 position, an amine is selected because it is electron withdrawing and small. A methyl is also selected since it is quite lipophilic, small and electron donating. On the other hand, benzene ring which is highly lipophilic, neither electron donating nor withdrawing group might have a different effect on the analogue synthesized.

Ecommerce And Its Applications Information Technology Essay

Ecommerce And Its Applications Information Technology Essay We are in the age of Knowledge and consequently in the midst of an electronic revolution. The impact of which on the economy is much more powerful than caused by industrial revolution. With the inception of the web, organizations and individuals are more and more making use of E-Commerce to create new business ventures. The www is not only a source of information, but an astounding business opportunity as well. Online business is thriving and more and more corporate companies are joining the fray of electronic transaction. The era of E-Commerce has established a significant synergy between the use of digital info and computerized business. Introduction The Internets impact on people has been profound; particularly with respect to consumers, who are starting to use the Internet as a new medium to trade and purchase goods and services. It is a general concept covering any form of business transaction or information exchange executed using information and communication technologies. Electronic commerce is the most recent step in the evolution of business transactions. It replaces the swapping of money for goods or bartering (the swapping of goods for goods) with the exchange of information from computer to computer. Electronic commerce, or e-commerce as it is otherwise known, is a very broad terminology. E-commerce enables organizations of all sizes and in all market sectors to improve their competitiveness. It cuts across geographical boundaries and time zones to save time and costs, to open up new market opportunities and enable even the smallest of companies to compete globally. E-commerce spans established processes such as bar code scanning and electronic data interchange (EDI), as well as newer arrivals, electronic mail, the Internet, the World Wide Web and mobile electronic commerce. E-commerce is attractive because it reduces the cost of doing business. Sending a few bytes of data over a network is cheaper, faster and more convenient than sending a messenger or even making a phone call. E-commerce covers any form of business or administrative transactions or information exchange that is executed using any information and communications technology (ICT). Classification of E-Commerce by application: Electronic Markets Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) Internet Commerce Electronic Markets Present a range of offerings available in a market segment so that the purchaser can compare the prices of the offerings and make a purchase decision. Example: Airline Booking System. Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) It provides a standardized system, Communicated from one computer to another without the need for printed orders and invoices delays errors in paper handling. Example: EDI is used in the large market chains for transactions with their suppliers Internet Commerce It is use to advertise make sales of wide range of goods services.This application is for both business to business business to consumer transactions. Example: The purchase of goods that are then delivered by post or the booking of tickets that can be picked up by the clients when they arrive at the event Types of E-commerce:  · business to business  · business to consumer  · consumer to business  · consumer to consumer Business to Business: The really big business on the Internet and the World Wide Web isnt books and CDs but ball bearings, electronic components and other materials that businesses buy, sell and distribute to and from each other. Although this type of business to business trading may be new and attracting plenty of media and public attention, business to business has been trading by electronic means for nearly twenty-five years. The most famous method of business to business trading has to be the electronic data interchange (EDI) established for exchanging business information between companies that regularly did business with each other. Business to Consumer: Businesses selling to the general public typically through catalogs utilizing shopping cart software. By dollar volume, B2B takes the prize, however B2C is really what the average Joe has in mind with regards to ecommerce as a whole. Having a hard time finding a book? Need to purchase a custom, high-end computer system? How about a first class, all-inclusive trip to a tropical island? With the advent ecommerce, all three things can be purchased literally in minutes without human interaction. Consumer to Business: A consumer posts his project with a set budget online and within hours companies review the consumers requirements and bid on the project. The consumer reviews the bids and selects the company that will complete the project. Elance empowers consumers around the world by providing the meeting ground and platform for such transactions. Consumer to Consumer: It facilitates the online transaction of goods or services between two people. Though there is no visible intermediary involved but the parties cannot carry out the transactions without the platform which is provided by the online market maker such as eBay. There are many sites offering free classifieds, auctions, and forums where individuals can buy and sell thanks to online payment systems like PayPal where people can send and receive money online with ease. eBays auction service is a great example of where person-to-person transactions take place every day since 1995. E-Commerce applications Multimedia Content for E-Commerce Applications Multimedia Storage Servers E-Commerce Applications i. Client-Server Architecture in Electronic Commerce ii. Internal Processes of Multimedia Servers iii. Video Servers E-Commerce Information Delivery/Transport E-Commerce Applications Consumer Access Devices SCAN002 Conclusion The Web plays an expanding role just as it does in a consumer e-commerce. Business to business activity is still, and we believe will remain, the main area of electronic commerce activity. This covers everything from established communications between retailers and their suppliers, the electronic banking payment systems through to the new Internet based catalogue systems. In the future, all of us will conduct an ever-increasing number of business transactions on-line. Companies who implement solutions to conduct business on-line will stay competitive and responsive in this evolving market place.

Emily Brontes Wuthering Heights Essay -- Emily Bronte Wuthering Heigh

Emily Bronte's Wuthering Heights 1) The story takes place in the early XIXth century. There are two characters in this extract : Mr Lockwood and Catherine Linton. Mr Lockwood is the first narrator of this novel, he was one of Mr Heathcliff's tenants. At the beginning of the story , there were three characters : Heathcliff, a foundling, his sister Catherine and his brother Hindley. Catherine fell in love with Heathcliff, but was married with Edgar Linton. So, the second character we meet here is Catherine Linton, Edgar Linton's daughter. This extract belongs to the end of the novel. Catherine comes back to the farm Wuthering Heights, she tries to get in the house trough the window. Mr Lockwood, which had read Catherine's diary, does not recognize her. 2) In this text, Mr Lockwood is in his bed room at Wuthering Heights, he is alone and he had to stay in the farm because of the snow. He is disturbed by the gusty wind and the incessant move of the fir-bough. So he tries to stop this teasing noise, opening the window and seizing the branch. When his fingers grabbed the branch, another cold hand caught his. Then the context makes the text become an ambiguous experience and we can say that this extract is set between sanity and madness to some extents. First of all, we will see that this text relates an ambiguous experience. The atmosphere is gloomy : Mr Lockwood is alone in an isolated farm, everithing is dark around him and there are many teasing noises. So we can say that the atmosphere is quite nightmarish. Mr Lockwood had found Catherine Linton's diary, and he had read it. So he knows the passion between Catherine Linton and Mr Heathcliff, the owner of Wuthering Heights. The first contact between... ...ieve that what he is living is a hallucination, a product of his imagination because nothing seems to be real. Maybe that the excessive feelings mentionned are caused by Mr Lockwood's imagination ; for the reader, the atmosphere is not very threatening. As in many pre-Romantic novel, the nightmarish atmosphere, symbolised by the darkness, the moor, the winter, is the source of imagination and also of fear : imagination and extreme feelings like fear are linked together. We could make a link between this novel from Emily Bront and the short stories by Edgar Allan Poe, like in The Raven for example. Indeed, Poe wrote his short stories in the same period as Emily Bront. In The Raven, the power of imagination, the supranatural and the unreal have also a great place, and we could note, as in Wuthering Heights, that the feelings expressed are often excessive.

Essay --

Over the years, there have been multiple studies on the stimulation effects on the brain from brain exercises. Some of the more prominent studies are the IMPACT, ACTIVE, and IHAMS studies. First off, the IMPACT study which had 487 participants. It is the largest experiment ever to examine whether or not brain stimulants are able to improve cognitive abilities in adults. Led by distinguished scientists from Mayo Clinic and the University of Southern California, the IMPACT study proves that people can make statistically significant gains in memory and processing speed if they do the right kind of scientifically designed cognitive exercises. Studies prove that people can make statistically large gains in memory and processing speed if they do certain brain exercises. The study was conducted on the original Posit Science Brain Fitness Program, which contains six of the auditory exercises in BrainHQ: Sound Sweeps, which was called â€Å"High or Low†, Fine Tuning, Memory Grid, Syllable Stacks, To-do List Training, and In the Know. Those who participated in the study trained with these exercises for a total of about forty hours. Specifically, the IMPACT study found that the people that used the exercises became more efficient in the exercise tasks. This was an expected result, seeing as how the exercises would make the people think quicker to respond to the tasks. The improvements included better memorization, quicker response, and just overall increased efficiency. â€Å"Gold standard† memory assessments—tests that are widely known to and accepted by doctors—showed that the Posit Science exercises genuinely improve memory overall.(Posit Science, 2013) This was a major achievement because it showed that the exercises don’t just teach shor... ...ctive control group, who followed a computer-based program of active learning. The IMPACT study proves that cognitive decline is not inevitable and irreversible. Adults—regardless of their education level, IQ, or other demographic factors—can improve their cognitive abilities. Just as every adult can benefit from physical exercise, every adult can benefit from the right kind of cognitive fitness as well. Using Posit Science exercises available as part of BrainHQ can effectively strengthen and build memory and processing speed. These improvements help people perform better at work, connect better with others, enjoy their favorite activities more, and keep up with daily tasks efficiently. There have also been studies to show that physical training helps stimulate the brain as well. Sports, working out, simply running can help the brain get into a routine and learn

The Financial Cost of Technology in Education Essay -- essays papers

The Financial Cost of Technology in Education Think about how much it costs you or your family to keep up with the latest computer technology. Also think about about how much you pay at home for a high speed internet connection. Not to mention, the security, adware, and virus protection software you must purchase to ensure your computer keeps working properly. Consider how much it costs to outfit a single classroom with this technology, or even an entire school. Schools are still expected to provide books, pencils, and paper; however, they are now also expected to budget in computers, scientific calculators, and DVD players. Computers cost up to one thousand dollars a piece; scientific and graphing calculators cost around one hundred dollars a piece; in addition wiring the schools to accept this new technology can cost thousands. The cost to implement technology into our schools is enormous, tens of thousands per school, and millions per school system. In the 21st century, people are becoming more and more dependent on technology. We rely on computers and cell phones more than books and meeting people face-to-face. The internet is becoming a main source of information and communication. Schools, as the primary educational source, must then teach children at a young age how to use technology as an efficient and effective tool. In schools’ haste to update and modernize everything, many concerns are overlooked; most notably, the necessity of additional technology and the amount of time and money required for the new technology. In many instances, the cost of technology is far greater than the rewards. The Washington Post reported that D.C. public schools lost $25 million and five years on a failed project to insta... ...aste.† The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. May 23, 2004. News; Pg. 1A. Retrieved from Lexis Nexis Academic on 10/18/04. 6. Hare, Mary Gail. â€Å"School officials explain rising cost of programs; County must pay the bills for state, federal initiatives.† The Baltimore Sun. August 6, 2004 Friday CARROLL Edition. LOCAL, Pg. 5B. Retrieved from Lexis Nexis Academic on 10/18/04. 7. King, Wayne D. â€Å"Taxpayers don’t have to be strangled by the cost of technology in schools.† (1998) New Hampshire Business Review. Vol. 20 Issue 23, p9. Retrieved from MasterFILE on 10/18/04. 8. Fickes, Michael. â€Å"How much does technology really cost?† (May, 2004.) School Planning and Management. Vol. 43 Issue 5, Pg. 16. Retrieved from Ebsco on 10/18/04 9. â€Å"The Price is Wrong.† (Nov/Dec 1997) Learning journal. Vol. 26 Issue 3, pg. 7. Retrieved from Ebsco on 10/18/04

Dialectics in Oryx and Crake Essay

Canadian author Margaret Atwood’s novel Oryx and Crake, is about an anti-utopian society that chronicles the collapse of civilization and corrupt medical practice. The town’s morals are highly questionable, in that the majority of the citizens approve of gene splicing, transgenic animals, like mixing a dog’s genetic code with a wolf, and transplanting animal organs in human beings. The book poses a question of what is truly ethical in medical practice? This story has an immediate correlation to the island of Dr.  Moreau, by H. G. Wells, in which a mad scientist creates a dysfunctional society of genetically spliced transgenic animals as well. Like The Island of Dr. Moreau, Margaret Atwood relies on dialectical elements. Dialectic is a classical philosophy originated by the Greeks that depended on the furthering of society through thesis and antithesis. In modern day it has developed between most scholastics as a fine art of persuasion. It is ever present in Oryx and Crake through the dialectics produced through Crake’s insanity. His main dialectical argument is that society has become morally bankrupt and is due for a change and Crake claims intellectual right over all of man kind. His views are presented as deliriously radical, but there is irony in the fact that the University that Crake attends is named Asperger’s U. A term used to describe people who are usually extremely intelligent and often very eccentric, it be could argued that Atwood hints to imply Crake may be the correct one after all, and that the rest of society is wrong. This virtually tyrannical takeover of both the world and the lives of Oryx and Snowman are done entirely through aggressive persuasion. In the formation of Crake, Atwood creates an insanely ranting lunatic, with whom in the end the reader has no choice but to sympathize. The dialectic argument that is posed here is that the dye is cast. Atwood, acknowledges that our society’s morals tread a fine line from damnation, and she writes a novel that puts us one step over that line. The reader has no choice but to sympathize with Crakes’ actions because he is a product of an unbearable world, not too distant from our own. The novel itself, poses a persuasive argument to the reader, in that all of the occurrences in the plot are rationally plausible. There are scenes in the novel where the two men, Crake and Snowman, are attending college together and enjoying their favorite pastimes. These hobbies include, watching nudie news, live executions, and child pornography. In the beginning moments of the lives of the two main characters, the reader views a demoralized world, in which it appears even the plot’s hero is desensitized to the plight of his society. The ironic and reasonable argument posed is that all of these things they are doing, we can do today in our society. At the same time, child pornography, nude news, and live executions online are all either frowned upon and remotely new to our society. Atwood presents the enjoyment of these practices like they are common occurrences. The same goes for gene splicing. It is widely debated as an immoral and illegal act, but it is reasonable enough to think that with the passing of time eventually a law can be passed to legalize both gene splicing and child pornography. This would inadvertently make the use and distribution of these practice more heavily abundant in society and change the moral makeup of the people as a whole. A third persuasive argument the novel poses, and this is more from a perspective of female empowerment, is the idea of polyandry. It is historically a man’s fantasy and an empowering element for the man, while degrading to the woman, for a man to have two wives. Atwood poses the exact opposing scenario in this novel. On one end the idea of polyandry is implied through the relationships both Snowman and Crake have with Oryx. It is directly inferred to in that the Crakers only breed when they are polyandrous. This like most of the novel is a play on societal norms. Underlying in the dialectic argument of the novel are societal implications. For example, by Atwood calling Crakes’ creations the Crakers, she creates an implied connection on words to the Quakers, who are known for starting their own Christian new world. Crake also embodies the values of real time corporations, in that he creates a medical demand for his products through unleashing a virus. His behavior can only be expected by his inherent capabilities and by him being the product of a moral-less society. Atwood’s novel is also fueled by human nature, the horrific experiences the characters go through and their apathetic reactions actually seem believable because they are so human. An example of this is shown in the scene where Crake has just destroyed society as we know it and snowman watches the devastation on the internet, The whole thing seemed like a movie†¦The worst of it was that those people out there – the fear, the suffering, the wholesale death – did not really touch him (Atwood, 2004). It is ironic that Atwood makes a reference to the end of society being like a movie; this exposes snowman’s adolescent and distant nature, as well as makes him appear more human. This also connects back to the live executions witnessed online earlier in the novel. These are examples of Atwood using real time human tendencies to show her characters’ disenfranchisement from society. The actions following this scene consist of snowman leading the Crakers out into the new world in which they find glow-in-the-dark bunnies running rampant. This is another societal implication in that this was the actual result of transgenic Dr. Eduardo Kac, who spliced rabbit and jellyfish DNA in the year 2000. In sum, the dialectic philosophy is present in Margaret Atwood’s novel, Oryx and Crake in that it poses multiple arguments. It supports these arguments through real-time societal implications, believable characters, and a radical thesis carried out by Crake. Atwood’s literary genius is revealed in the fact that, all three of these elements draw sympathy from the reader, and in effect persuade the reader to believe the rationale behind the destruction of their own society.

Pharmacia & Upjohn Essay

As Pharmacia & Upjohn ready their Rogaine product to be distributed over the counter the company faces many new challenges not previously considered. Pharmacia has estimated that once in the over the counter market Rogaine would reach $250 million in sales within their first year and $1 billion over a period of five years. The numbers mentioned above where forecasted under the assumption that the FDA would approve a request for three year marketing exclusivity, this request was however denied. Pharmacia & Upjohn must now consider the possibility of loosing 60% of their volume to competition. The brand will have to reevaluate their potential first year sales and decide how they will modify their marketing plan to differentiate Rogaine from comparable products. External Analysis Customer Analysis. Pharmacia & Upjohn target men and women between the ages of 25 to 49 for their Rogaine product. Since Rogaine’s introduction as a prescription drug the product has grossed over $700 million in sales. At the time of the case research estimated that there were about 20 million women and 40 million men in the United States with thinning hair or baldness. Out of this group 38. 6 percent of women say they would seek treatment for hair loss and 30. 4 percent of men say they would seek treatment. Combined men and women are estimated to spend an estimated $300 million a year on products for the treatment of balding. As of now Pharmacia & Upjohn estimate potential retail sales of $250 million a year. Management will now have to take into consideration that they could lose up to 60 percent of their sales after their patent expires. Growth Prospect. By 1995 cumulative sales for the brand had reached $700 million in the US and exceeded $1 billion worldwide. Sales from their first year offering nonprescription Rogaine were expected to yield $250 million in retail sales in year one and $1billion over a period of five years. The company obviously expects growth in this market. Based on current industry trends and indicators, the hair regrowth industry is currently in the growth stage. One major characteristic of the growth stage is increased competition. In the past Rogaine was the only product offered containing their patented formula, however, there is now the possibility of at least three other brands using similar formula’s coming to the market. True to products in the growth stage Rogaine will be making a few changes to their marketing mix. Pharmacia & Upjohn plan to increase the percentage of minoxidil from 2 to 5 percent, sell Rogaine at half the price of the prescription version, distribute to retail outlets and increase promotion efforts. Marketing Profitability. The possibility for intense competition is very high for Rogaine. This is due to Pharmacia & Upjohn’s patent expiring for Rogaine and the denial of their request for a three year period of marketing exclusivity. As a result Bausch & Lomb, Alpharma, and Lemmon Company have all considered the possibility of bringing hair regrowth products to the market. The threat of substitutes is also particularly high due to generic brands offering similar products coming to the market. Generic brands typically sell for 25 percent to 50 percent less than brand name products. As a result of a greater number of options customers will now have more bargaining power than in the past. Distribution Channels. As a prescription drug Rogaine’s strategy was to first educate members of their sales force who would then call on physicians, dermatologist, and other health care professionals. After this introduction Pharmacia & Upjohn began targeting consumers directly through television commercials, print ads and direct mailings. Their over the counter strategy will include creating a â€Å"hair regrowth category† and distributing products through pharmacy or hair care sections of food, drug, and mass merchandise retail outlets. The company also plans to send mailings to around 40,000 physicians, 20,000 pharmacists. Consumers will be targeted with mail in rebates, television commercials and by advertisements placed in periodicals. Overall 92 percent of the target will see Rogaine through television and 77 percent of customers would be reached through print advertisements. Marketing Trends. Two major trends that will affect the marketing mix for Rogaine is lower pricing and increased promotion. A single, twin and triple pack of Rogaine will now retail for $29. 0, $55. 00 and $75. 00 respectfully. Overall their products will be selling for half the price of the prescription version of the product. Increased competition will also be a new trend in the market. Competitors such as Bausch & Lomb, Alpharma, and Lemmon and Company will be entering the market selling similar products. Overall $75 million will initially be spent on advertising in the over the counter market. There are also plans to increase the amount of minoxidil from 2-percent to 5-percent in order to increase product effectiveness. In comparison as a prescription drug it was estimated that Rogaine spent between $40 million and $50 million on marketing annually up until 1991. In the past Rogaine was protected by a patent blocking competitors from using their formula. A key success factor for Rogaine in the over the counter market will be differentiation. Rogaine will have to differentiate itself from competition who may be offering lower priced products. Customer Analysis. As of now Rogaine has two defined segments. Men between the ages of 25 and 49 make up the largest customer segment for Rogaine. Research indicates that 9. 9 percent of men who experience hair loss actually seek treatment. At the time of the case it was estimated that there were around 40 million balding men in the US. This means around 3,960,000 men will actually seek treatment for hair loss. The second submarket for the hair product is women between the ages of 18 and 49. It is estimated that around 20 million women have thinning hair and an estimated 13. 3 percent will actually seek treatment for their hair loss. Customers who purchase Rogaine are motivated by cosmetic reasons. Although hair loss is most commonly caused by the medical condition alopecia, it is not something that requires one to seek treatment. Most insurance plans do not even cover doctor’s visits or prescriptions for hair loss products such as Rogaine. Unmet Need. Although Rogaine is considered a success there are many who have not benefited from the use of the product. Research indicates that only 26 percent of male users reported moderate to dense growth and 33 percent reported minimal growth while using Rogaine. Out of women within this same age range only 19 percent reported moderate hair growth and 40 percent reported minimal growth. This means that there is still a large majority of the market that needs a solution to their hair loss problems. Performance Analysis. With the denial of the request for three year marketing exclusivity, this has affected the way Rogaine will compete against other hair loss treatment companies. Rogaine has assured its client based that their product is the â€Å"the only product medically proven to regrow hair. † Rogaine has been able to dominate the market with sales over $600 million during the years of 1988-1995. Sales are projected over the course of the next five years to increase at an average rate of 20% each year, with a total of net profit before taxes of $759,438, 823 at the end of 2000. Determinants of Strategic Options. Rogaine has chosen to spend $75 million on a marketing program to create awareness and a trial of the product. The $75 million will be distributed between one 30-second commercial spot for both men and women, information and displays would be sent to an estimated 40,000 physicians, and 20,000 pharmacists would receive the Rogaine Pharmacy Kit. Rogaine was also offering consumers a way to join the direct marketing program by signing up or calling the toll free number to join. Rogaine is also partnering with Progaine, (a shampoo) by offering coupons for Progaine inserted inside the Rogaine packages. Rogaine is currently facing the implications of having the 3 year market exclusivity request denied. This denial is allowing Rogaine’s competitors the ability to flood the market with their brand of hair re-growth products. This flooding of the market will likely decrease the growth rate of 20% in sales.

Edmunds Corrugated Parts Essay

The issues that Edmunds Corrugated Parts and Services have been faced with all lead the company to be in position that they are in. This company issues could be sum up as employment and competitor advantage. The employee issues started from the beginning of the company. According to the case Larry, the owner and operator, was not only given a loan but also a barn to start his business. Which was a great start for Larry because he was able to employee about 100 people which many of them were his neighbors. Just as in any company Edmunds Corrugated Parts and Services was face with the fact of replacing employees because they were nearing retirement. As time change the younger generation sought to move away and not stay local so Larry was face with a potential unemployment issue in his company. The other issue that Edmunds was faced with was the fact that they were losing several industries in the United States. According to the case consolidation in the paper industry had wiped out hundreds of the U. S plants that Edmunds once served, with many of the survivors either opening overseas facilities or entering into joint ventures abroad. This was causing the loss of business for this company. Especially when the manufactures were investing in higher quality machines that broke down less frequently. This was the beginning of companies not utilize Edmunds parts because the parts were not needed. This issue was halting the growth and the even the potential to keep the company at the standing they were in for the past years. Create and describe a strategy for addressing the situation at hand. There are various ways of address the two situations at hand. As for the employee issues that they would be facing it is as simple of being proactive. Since the younger generation is leaving the area than there must be incentives for them. The New York Times reported that a Midwest Independent Transmission System Operator, known as Midwest I. S. O was faced with a similar problem. It was even reported that the jobs are so complex that summer interns and college graduates can’t step right into them. Just as the problem of the younger generation moving away and not wanting to stay both companies had similar issues. One of the first things we did was to enhance our employee referral program. Employees now have several opportunities to make money by referring candidates. First, we give any employee who refers a candidate a scratch-off card with a discount for coffee, food or a movie, and we enter their names into a monthly drawing. The monthly winner gets $300, even if we don’t hire the person who was recommended (Begley 2008). When employees refer new employees that general means that the current employee is vested and want to see the company succeed. When the new employee performs below standards than that reflects the current employee and they generally will police themselves. This would allow the current employee to essential hire their replacement and the company could continue with its business. As far as the other issue of growth and losing clients there are many ways that Edmunds could fix it. Edmunds could look into a joint venture. A joint venture or strategic alliance is a form of partnership where businesses come together to share knowledge, markets, and profits. Joint ventures can take on various forms. Small companies can band together to take on the goliaths of their industry. Big companies can form alliances with quicker and nimbler small businesses. And small companies have the opportunity to forge strategic alliances with big name companies for expanded geographic reach (Zarhorsky 2012). This strategy could help them serve the companies that they had lost. If they are in a partnership with the company that services the newer machines they could reach all of the clients that both companies have. In essence it would they could be one company for all machine and equipment needs. Assess which element in the strategy you just described would be the hardest to implement and explain why. Within any business a partnership the difficult part is the implementation of it. The problem that Edmunds would have is the fact of trying to join with a competitor. The companies that are servicing the newer machines are his competition because they have the same clients he uses to. The advantage that Edmunds has is they still have a market share and both companies would benefit from this. According to Business Link a joint venture can also be very flexible. For example, a joint venture can have a limited life span and only cover part of what you do, thus limiting the commitment for both parties and the business’ exposure. This does not have to be a longer term but just to make one stop show to server all of the machines whether they are new or older model. A joint venture can help your business grow faster, increase productivity and generate greater profits. A successful joint venture can offer access to new markets and distribution networks, increased capacity, sharing of risks and costs with a partner, access to greater resources, including specialized staff, technology and finance (Business Link 2012). With all of these factors this would cause the company to grown and be able to stay in business. The difficult part would be to implement the changes that come with a partnership. The companies would have to adopt each other policies and produces to assure they are serving the customer on the same level. Describe what strategies Edmunds could use in the future to reduce potential crises before they happen. One of the main issues that Edmunds was having was centered around employees. Edmunds employees were soon to retire and there were no plans to back fill them. Today, many companies recruit and hire to fill holes â€Å"in the moment† and don’t always consider their long-term business goals or the future needs of the organization. This can potentially lead to bad hires or ultimately, lost opportunities (Hess 2011). There was no recruitment strategy in place to assure that there were back fills for the employees. The only mention was that of the younger generation leaving and not wanting to stay local. As the war for talent continues to escalate, it’s essential that key business leaders are involved with the development of your recruitment strategy to ensure that every hire you make is a good one – for today and tomorrow. Hiring to your business strategy is paramount to ensuring that you’re not only hiring the best available talent – but you’re hiring the best available talent with the desired experience and competencies, to meet both current and future needs of the organization. The future success of your company depends on it (Hess 2011). If the company would hired based on their business model this would help attach the right qualified people. They were only concern with going after the younger generation but the experience was with a older generation. Older generation still has at least 10 years or more and would be significantly younger than that of the retiring work. This strategy with help fix one of their major issues. With a new set of employees brings on a new set of ideas and ways of conducting business. Another area that could help prevent or reduce a potential crisis is developing a Research and Development program. According to Business Exchange research and development (R&D) taken on a more prominent role in businesses, as consumer are looking for quality and innovation at a reasonable price range. This is why Edmunds began to lose clients because the machines changed and there was not a need for their parts on the newer machines. More and more companies are looking to their R&D teams for the â€Å"next great things† as they navigate through the current recession. When revenue is low companies will begin to look for new innovative ways of doing business. Edmunds was not prepared for this shift in the market. If a R&D program was in place this would help prepare for them what lies ahead.

Is fundamental analysis redundant Essay

Introduction Shortly after the stock market crash in 1929, as the first batch of financial experts in the Great Wall, Benjamin Graham and David Dodd firstly mentioned the concept in a book called security analysis: Based on public information that intelligent investors are able to analyse securities and determine whether the current price of stocks and bonds is over or below their intrinsic value. The Critical thinking and strong logic make this theory become the foundation of nearly all investments theories in Wall Street. Warren Buffett, John Neff, Peter Lynch and other famous investors become the  best practitioners in fundamental analysis. This essay will firstly introduce the related theories of fundamental analysis. Secondly, the essay will explain free cash flow model to equity valuation and the qualitative and quantitative factors of fundamental analysis. Thirdly, choosing a particular company analyses the relationships between the leading financial ratios and its stock price. Finally, indicating why financial ratios and free cash flow model cannot explain Berkshire Hathaway cooperation’s stock price changed during global financial crisis. Theory Aasuumption & Metholody Theory Fundamental analysis which is based on analyzing the intrinsic value of securities, focuses on factors affecting the stock price and its trend and lets investors determine what type of securities they choose to buy and when to buy. (Lee and Swaminathan 1999, 8 )The basic assumption of fundamental analysis is that value investors believe that the market price is determined by its intrinsic value and the stock price can reflect its intrinsic value in the long term. Cash flow model Fundamental analysts use cash flow model, dividend model to roughly estimate a company’s intrinsic value. They assume that the stock price of the intrinsic value is its present value of the stream of expected cash flows and the selected reference values are based on generating the cash flow data. For example, using free cash flow model to measure intrinsic value, investors firstly assume the observed company can increase at constant rate and then choose the reference value based on a constant growth rate (g)to estimate free cash flow the next 10 years. Secondly, they calculate the present value of the 10-year cash flow based on the constantly discounted rate (k). Secondly, they estimate the terminal value P10=free cash flow*(1+g)/(k-g) and calculate its present value. Thirdly, they get the present value of the company and calculate pre- share value: equity value/numbers of shares. Rational investors can make well-informed investment decisions according to the relationship betw een market price and intrinsic value. Qualitative factors On the company level, fundamental analysis focused on two factors: qualitative and quantitative. Qualitative and quantitative analyses have a dialectical relationship. Both analyses should join together to analysis and inspect on a particular company. Although qualitative analysis is used for physical areas, with the usage to tackle non-financial information, it can be widely useful in business and finance fields.(kesh and Raja 2005, 167) The qualitative analysis of the company level is concerned with products and services, competitive advantage, management efficiency, corporate culture. Advanced products can get increasing cash inflows and improve company value (Carter and Demissew 2008, 63) because booming demand for products and services can lead to a high reinvestment rate of the company, this creates additional wealth.( Madden 2007, 125) Competitive advantage can includes producing capacity and the efficiency of a company’s design and cost controlling better than the industry’s competitors. Generating a competitive advantage for a company will creates stakeholder value. (Vilanova, Lozano and Arenas 2009, 63) The improvement of management efficiency can lower operating costs and company culture can enhance corporate image, leading to improvement of company value. Quantitative factors The quantitative factors in fundamental analysis are based on a deep understanding of financial reports which is the process of identifying opportunities and threats from the company, so investors must be concerned with the balance sheet, cash flow statement and income statement analysis. Financial statements consist of all important historical information about the company’s operation management during a specific time period (quarterly, annually). All these information provide an overview of a company’s business activities and can help managers assess the company’s wellbeing. (Dayanandan 2010, 116) Financial statement Different users are interested in different areas of the financial statements. For example, investors and equity holders are concerned with  expected earnings and dividends of the observed companies. Company’s executives usually focus on the company’s capacity. Therefore, based on historical reports, different users can get valuable information about what they concentrate on. Financial statement analysis includes selected data from financial statements to predict the company’s financial health.( Hagos and Pal 2010, 441) Applying these data from financial reports, such as profitability ratio, liquidity ratio, management efficiency ratio, debt ratio, market performance ratio analyses year by year to determine whether to buy or sell observed companies. Based on analyzing financial statements, financial analysts are able to use profitability ratio, including gross margin, ROE to indicate how efficiently revenue is generated. The liquidity ratio such as current ratio, net working capital can be used to prove the firm’s ability to generate sufficient liquidity when needed and to meet short term obligations. For example, current ratio is an indicator as a rate of current assets to current liabilities. It measures the liquidity status of a company. With a higher current ratio over time, this company will be able to meet its current obligations and experience less financial risk.( Zaki, Bah and Rao 2011, 315) Table1 Sourced by Berkshire Year ROE Total asset turnover Debt/equity P/E P/B closed Price 2003 0.105 0.588 1.32 12.7 1.34 $84280 2004 0.085 0.394 1.20 18.8 1.6 $87900 2005 0.093 0.412 1.16 15.5 1.45 $88620 2006 0.102 0.397 1.27 12.5 1.27 $109990 Table 1 above shows the some figures provided by Berkshire corporation’s annual report from 2003 to 2006. During this period, the stock price has a significant increase from $67600 in Jan 2rd, 2003 to $109990 in Dec 1st, 2006. And from 2003 to 2006, Berkshire Hathaway Inc’s net worth is $13.6billion, $8.3billion, $5.6billion and 16.9billion respectively. Graph1: Berkshire Hathaway(BRK) Inc’s stock price between 2003 and 2006 Sourced by yahoo finance The increase of Net worth can indicate the stock price’s change during this period. The gain in net worth during 2003 was $13.6billion, which increased the per-share book value of its stock by 21% from $41727 to $50498. Because of good quarterly reports and an annual report, the stock price reflected the company’s performance, rising from $67600 to $89490. However, between 2004 and 2005, the gain in net worth increased $8.3billion and $5.6billion. Although in 2004 Berkshire’s book-value gain of 10.5% fell short of the index’s 10.9% return, the net worth fell from $13.6billion to $8.3billion, leading to fluctuation of the stock price during 2004. In 2005, the net worth fell to $5.6 billion because hurricane caused loss worth of $34billion. And in the stock market, the price fluctuated and even slightly increased. However, the price reflected the company’s performance. As a multi-business company, its main business-insurance company called GEICO improved its management efficiency at nearly 32% and warranty numbers increased by 26%. On the other hand, insurance float of BRK’s insurance company increased from 46 billion to 49 billion. Due to the capital cost rate of mostly 0% and improving competitiveness, its stock price rose sharply. Financial ratios (price to book ratio and earnings per share ratio) measure share price compared to earnings, book value per share and indicate whether the market overvalues, undervalues and appropriately values the firm’ shares. Managers use to assess investors’ perceptions of future prospects. Some investors invest in stock market based on analyzing financial statements. Table2 Table2 shows mainly the relationship between the book value and stock price. Financial analysts are willing to use book value to measure the stock price. From the table 2 above, the book value of the Berkshire Hathaway increases from $14426 in 1995to $70281 in 2006 and the company’s stock movements, rising from $31900 in 1995 to $110050 in 2006. In addition to particular years, these two charts reflect clearly whether a short term or a long term, the trend of the book value and stock price is roughly the same. In the long term, the growth rate of the net worth is a useful indicator to justify intrinsic value. From 1995 to 2006, the net worth of Berkshire Hathaway’s  net worth increased from $5.3billion to $16.9billion, more than 3.18 times growth during the period. Stock price had increased 3.44 times with book value 4.87 times. Although 1n 1999, the net worth fell to 0.358billion, in the long term, this company still had a significant increase in its stock market per formance. Analysts also can apply activity ratios such as total asset turnover ratio and average payment ratio period to measure management effectiveness in managing its assets and to determine whether the investment in particular asset categories is too high or too low and also find out the efficiency or speed in converting accounts to sales or cash. (Dayanandan 2010, 114)Debt ratios such as debt to equity ratio and debt ratio can indicate financial leverage and the apparent financial risk assumed by the firm’s equity holders. Application Dow Jones Graph2 Dow Jones industrial index Sourced by yahoo finance Graph2 shows the change of Dow Jones industrial index before, during and after global financial crisis. The global financial crisis started in 2007 because the burst of housing bubble caused credit crisis especially in the debt markets.( McCarthy, Solomonand Mihalekl 2012, 1277 ) the stock market highly violated between 2007 and 2009. For example, in United States, the stock market increased to the peak in October 2007 with the Dow Jones Industrial Average about 14,000. After that duration, the Dow Jones dropped sharply from 12,000 in August 2008 to 6,600 in March 2009. After 2009, there is significant increase until now, rising to 14,929. Company- Berkshire Hatchaways Berkshire’s core business for insurance business includes the property casualty reinsurance and special class insurance company. For the past 25 years, this company has increasingly strong capital and little debt, for shareholders to create the value of more than 25% growth on average every  year. Table 3 shows analysis ratios and stock price from 2006 to 2012. Table3 Year ROE Total asset turnover Debt/equity P/E P/B closed Price 2006 0.102 0.40 1.27 12.5 1.27 $109990 2007 0.109 0.43 1.24 13.8 1.51 $141600 2008 0.046 0.40 1.41 38.16 1.71 $96600 2009 0.059 0.38 1.19 18.1 1.11 $99200 2010 0.08 0.37 1.29 14.9 1.24 $120450 2011 0.06 0.37 1.32 19 1.18 $114755 2012 0.077 0.38 1.23 14 1.1 $133000 Sourced by Berkshire Graph3 Berkshire’s stock price between 2006 and 2012 Sourced by yahoo finance The gain in net worth during 2006 was $13.6billion, which increased the per-share book value of its stock by 18.4% to $109990. In 2007, the net worth is 12.3billion, which increased the per-share book value of its stock by 11% to $141600. However, in 2008, the stock price fell to $96600, and then there is an increasing trend from 2009 to 2012. Total assets turnover ratio Total assets turnover ratio measures the management efficiency of the firm in managing its total assets to generate sales. A high ratio suggests greater efficiency. Figures shown in table3, the total assets turnover ratio during global crisis had slight change between 0.37 and 0.40. However, the stock price changed sharply, so the stock price can not reflect the stability of this ratio. ROE indicates the rate of return realized by a firm’s shareholders on their investments and uses as an indicator for the company’s operation. Return on equity (ROE) Return on equity (ROE) is the best indicator to learn how much money a company is making for its investors and measurement of the company’s operations. (Dayanandan 2010, 117) However, ROE is also sensitive to leverage. Assuming that proceeds from debt financing can be invested at a return greater than the borrowing rate, ROE will increase with greater amounts of leverage. From 2007 to 2008, the debt to equity ratio increased by 13.7%, from 1.24 to 1.41. However, ROE rate fell sharply from 10.9% to 4.6%. Although ROE overreact to debt change, Berkshire’s fundamental did not change in 2008. Most of Berkshire’s business is affected by the economic significant downward in 2009. However, its manufacturing services and retail generated a lot of cash flow and continued to consolidate their market competitive advantage. Berkshire’s two most important businesses: business insurance and utilities also had a good growth rate. These businesses produced a large amount of business profits in 2008. P/E ratio P/E ratio is a common approach used by security analysts. In practice, investors usually use expected P/E ratio for the following year and analyse whether the stock price is overvalued or undervalued on the basis. P/E ratio indicates that a stock of its P/E rate over 30 is more likely to be overpriced. The P/E ratio in 2007 and 2008 is 13.8 and 38 respectively and the stock price during the period time of 2007 and 2008 is $141600 and $96600. The change of stock price is overreact to the pre-share earnings. P/B ratio P/B ratio gives some idea of whether an investor is paying too much for what would be left if the company went bankrupt immediately. From 2006 to 2009, P/B ratio increased or decreased had no direct correspondence with the stock price. However, to most companies, the book value is always lower than the stock price. Because most companies have intangible assets such as brand name, specialized skillsï ¼Å'product pricing power. These factors can not reflect in the balance sheet, but the long term trend of the market value is similar with book value. It seems that when P/B ratio increases, the gap between book value and stock price increases. On the other hand, the gap shows investors are willing to hold the stock due to its intangible assets. Cash flow model All these financial ratios cannot explain what happened in 2008 and using cash flow model to estimate the stock price also cannot explain this situation. Because investors assume the company can increase at constant rate. Although they use long-term GDP growth rate to reduce the risk of assessing value, this growth rate cannot explain and predict what happened during the investing period. They also use CAPM to measure discounted rate given by the risk-free interest rate plus a risk premium. The formula is ki=Rf+(Rm-Rf)ÃŽ ²i. However, ÃŽ ²sometimes cannot estimate risk between the market and stock. For example, a company’s market value increases from 10billion t0 20billion is less than market value of the company from 10billion to 3billion. If the company still operate well, from the market side, the risk of buying a company of the market value of 20billion is less than buying the same company of its market value of 3billion. Conclusion Therefore, during global financial crisis, fundamental analysis was useless. It is clear that during some periods the stock price is overvalued or undervalued significantly from its intrinsic value, leading to highly volatility of market price. Any market volatility is considered as irrational performances, so these market valuations caused by behavioral finance which do not have impacts on the company’s assets valuations and  operations. (Adams, Armitage and FitzGerald 2012, 157). In the long term, the trend of the stock price is similar to the trend of its intrinsic value. On the other hand, in the short term, market price is influenced and fluctuated by political, economic, psychological factors, so market price is always undervalued or overvalued, but it is fluctuating around the intrinsic value. Some research show that sometimes earnings information cannot react to the stock market simultaneously and all the public financial information pose a gradual influence on the stock market for a while. During global financial crisis, the stock price sharply fluctuated because of financial behavior. Debt crisis caused by housing loan had a significant impact on people’s confidence. 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