Fair Value Accounting Essay

Topic: To what extent is â€Å"Fair Value Accounting† an effective method in measuring the values of financial instruments in financial statement? In recent years, the breakout of global financial crisis has raised controversial debates about whether or not fair value accounting (FVA) is an effective method in measuring the values of financial instruments (Laux & Leuz, 2009). As two main accounting standards around the world, both International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) and US Financial Accounting Standards (FAS) have adopted FVA as an accounting method to judge the values of some financial instruments (Mala and Chand, 2011). This essay will argue that although FVA can provide timely and transparent price information to the users of accounting information in some cases, there are potential problems of FVA in measuring the values of financial instruments on account of unreliable evaluation models, biased prices in inefficient markets and a negative price contagion effect. There are three main parts in this essay. Firstly, it will give the definition of FVA and then it will analyze why the effectiveness of FVA may be limited from three aspects, namely unreliable evaluation models, biased prices in inefficient markets and a negative price contagion effect. At last, it will consider the pros of FVA regarding the timely and transparent information it provides in some cases and analyze the pros. According to Financial Accounting Standards 157, fair value accounting can be defined as â€Å"an accounting method to measure the values of assets and liabilities based on the price that would be received to sell an asset or paid to transfer a liability in an orderly transaction between market participants at the measurement date†. That is to say, FVA relies on the actual market prices of the financial instruments and records the exact market prices on the financial statements. In fact, FVA replaces historical cost accounting (HCA) with the development of accounting standards (Boyer, 2007). Compared with FVA, historical cost accounting can be described as an accounting measurement of values based on the original or historical cost when the company got the assets or liabilities. For example, a company bought a stock for 50 pounds last year. In this year, the price of the stock increases to 100 pounds. Under FVA, the company should record the value of  the stock at 100 pounds this year while 50 pounds will be recognized under HCA. As the replaced FVA has been regarding as accelerating the global financial crisis, it draws a lot of attention in respect of its potential weaknesses in the accounting field. Firstly, the model to estimate fair values of financial instruments in illiquid markets seems to have insufficient reliability (Laux & Leuz 2009 and Mala Chand 2011). If the markets for the identical or similar financial instruments whose values need to be evaluated are active, the available prices can be used to evaluate the fair values of them (Laux & Leuz 2009). However, if the markets do not exist, which means the the markets are inactive or illiquid, the fair evaluation model is needed to estimate the fair value of the financial instruments (Ball 2006). Specifically speaking, the model to evaluate fair values of financial instruments rely on the future cash flow of the financial instruments and borrowing rate of the company. The future cash flow can be described as the future cash inflow (income) and outflow (expense) brought by the financial instruments whilst the borrowing rate of a company can be considered as the cost of capital which can be invested in other investments rather than the financial instruments. The users of the evaluation model should firstly predict the future cash flow of the financial instruments and then use the borrowing rate of the company to calculate the present fair values. Ljiri (2005) states that using model to estimate the values of financial instruments provides significant discretionary power to the users and gives uncertainty, which may influence the objectivity of the valuation of financial instruments. Indeed, the same financial instrument could be evaluated differently on account of different estimation of future cash flows and distinct borrowing rate. Because the users of the evaluation model have the power to forecast the future cash flow, different users may have distinct estimations of the same financial instrument based on their perspectives of its future profitability. In addition, different companies may have different borrowing rates due to distinct industries involved. Thus, the above two uncertain factors affects the objectivity of the fair evaluation of the financial instruments, which limits the reliability of the evaluation model. Secondly, the inefficient markets could distort prices, which has a negative effect on the basis of FVA (Laux & Leuz 2009). An inefficient market can be defined as a market in which the prices of financial instruments can not be measured accurately due to the inefficient information it provides (Aboody et. al 2002). Additionally, Lim and Brooks (2010) review the empirical literature about the evolution of market efficiency over time and find that the market cannot be always efficient and market inefficiency can be easily caused by investor irrationality and liquidity problems. That is to say, the market prices of financial instruments could be distorted by biased behaviors of investors, such as overconfidence or overreaction to a stock, and liquidity problems, such as illiquid market for a long-term bond. What’s more, the distorted prices can not reflect the real values of financial instruments, which makes FVA lose the reliable basis to measure the fair value of financial instruments. Therefore, the biased prices in the inefficient markets tend to the appropriateness of fair evaluation of financial instruments. Thirdly, Laux and Leuz (2009) argues that FVA could enforce negative price contagion in the financial markets, which has been considered as the main cause of rapid spread of global financial crisis. It is argued that FVA has stimulated the financial crisis in a vicious spiral and leading to the spread and depth of the financial crisis (Begtsoon 2011, Allen and Carletti 2007, Appelbaum 2009 and Jones 2009). To be specific, after financial crisis broke out, the liquidity of financial instruments’ markets dried up, which means very few trades of the financial instruments existed in the markets (Begtsoon 2011). As a result, the market pricing mechanism became dysfunctional because the prices should be evaluated from very few trades, which resulted in low prices of financial instruments (ibid). In turn, the low prices put pressure on the financial statements of some financial institutions in terms of assets depreciation under FVA (Allen & Carletti 2008). In order to keep capital requirements, the financial institutions had no choice but to sell assets at low prices, which led to lower prices of financial instruments in the markets and stimulated further assets depreciation on other financial instruments’ financial statements under FVA  (Plantin et al. 2008a). To sum up, the prices in the market could negatively influence the evaluation of financial instruments under FVA and at the same time, the evaluation of financial instruments under FVA could have a further negative effect on the market prices, which forms a vicious circle that can speed up the price contagion and fluctuations. Nevertheless, supporters of FVA believe that FVA can provide transparent and timely information for the users of accounting information (Brown 2008). As Hughes (2009) says, the function of FVA is â€Å"like that of the thermometer-it mirrors reality, it does not create it†. Since FVA can reflect what is happening in the market on the financial statements immediately, it allows the information users to get easy access to the most timely and transparent market information. In addition, Hinks (2009) argues that the useful information provided by FVA allows the investors and regulators to approach to the up-to-date position of financial institutions and encourage them to make corrective decisions. Indeed, it cannot be denied that FVA can provide prompt and transparent price information in some cases. However, it is not always the case which contributes FVA to an effective measurement to value financial instruments. First of all, in an illiquid or inefficient market for some financial instruments, even if FVA could provide timely price information of the financial instruments, the timely information provided is unreliable, which leads to the uselessness of the timely and transparent information provided by FVA. Secondly, even though the financial instruments have an active or efficient market, FVA cannot result in increased transparency of information in financial statements as expected (Krumwiede 2008). Thirdly, under FVA, timely price information would lead to volatility of financial statements (Barth 2004). The continuous volatility of financial statements causes confusion for the users of accounting information and raises the company’s cost to keep accounts. Hence, although FVA could offer some timely and transparent information to the users, these information limits to some extent because of unreliable information, limited transparency and volatility of financial statements. In conclusion, this essay has discussed three aspects limiting the effectiveness of FVA to measure the values of financial instruments, including evaluation model, inefficient markets and price contagion effect. In addition, it also considers the pros of FVA in terms of timely and transparent information provided in some cases. It can be concluded that even though up-to-date and transparent information could be provided by FVA occasionally, the effectiveness of FVA to measure the values of financial instruments has been limited due to the unreliable evaluation model, distorted prices in inefficient markets and a negative price contagion effect. Because of word limit, this essay cannot cover the detailed application of FVA to specific kind of financial instrument. However, the above discussion can clearly show that FVA has some general problems in measuring the values of financial instruments. Based on above analysis, it can be suggested that the problematic aspects of FVA could be improved or revised by providing more clear explanation and more specific regulations by the constitutors of accounting standards and for some specific financial instruments with illiquid or inefficient markets, it is better to use some other methods to measure their values.

Assignment on Ncc Bank

Assignment on Customer Satisfaction of National Credit & Commerce (NCC) Bank Limited, Bangladesh Company Profile: National Credit and Commerce Bank Ltd. bears a unique history of its own. The organization started its journey in the financial sector of the country as an investment company back in 1985. The aim of the company was to mobilize resources from within and invest them in such way so as to develop country's Industrial and Trade Sector and playing a catalyst role in the formation of capital market as well.Its membership with the browse helped the company to a great extent in this regard. The company operated upto 1992 with 16 branches and thereafter with the permission of the Central Bank converted in to a full fledged private commercial Bank in 1993 with paid up capital of Tk. 39. 00 corore to serve the nation from a broader platform. Since its inception NCC Bank Ltd. has acquired commendable reputation by providing sincere personalized service to its customers in a technolog y based environment.The Bank has set up a new standard in financing in the Industrial, Trade and Foreign exchange business. Its various deposit ; credit products have also attracted the clients-both corporate and individuals who feel comfort in doing business with the Bank. Mission: To mobilize financial resources from within and abroad to contribute to Agriculture's, Industry & Socio-economic development of the country and to play a catalytic role in the formation of capital market.Vision: To become the Bank of choice in serving the Nation as a progressive and Socially Responsible financial institution by bringing credit & commerce together for profit and sustainable growth.Our wide range of merchants include Hotels, Restaurants, Airline and Travel Agents, Shopping Malls, Hospitals, Jewellery Shops, Mobile Phone and Internet Service Providers, Petrol Pumps and many more! Now NCC Bank Visa Credit Cards can also be used at all 142 ATM’s Booth and 600 POS (Point of Sale) of Dut ch-Bangla Bank. Instant Cash Advance: You do not need to carry cash any more if you have a NCC Bank Credit Card. You can withdraw cash up to 50% of your credit limit from any ATM across the country that shows Visa logo. Credit Facilities: NCC Bank Visa Credit Card offers you free Credit facility up to 45 days and minimum of 15 days without any interest (Purchase only). Supplementary Card | | | |NCC bank Visa Credit Card holder can also enjoy spouseCredit Card free of cost for lifetime and issue more Supplementary card. | | | |Reward Programs | | | |As a NCC Bank Visa Credit Card holder, you will accumulate Treasure points for every purchase made by using Visa Credit Card. For every Tk. | |50 and USD 1 spent on your Credit Card, you will earn 1 and 1. 5 Treasure Point accordingly and be closer to redeeming the reward of your | |choice. | | |Flexible Payment Option | | | |With the NCC Bank Visa Credit Card, you have the convenience to pay as little as 5% of your outstanding (or Tk. 50 0, whichever is higher) | |on the Card account every month, thus having the power and flexibility to plan your payments. | | | |Auto-Debit Payment Facility | | | |With the NCC bank Credit Card, you no longer have to stand in long queues for paying your monthly bill. You can pay your monthly bill | |through NCC Bank Account by instruction Auto-Debit. | | |Corporate Visa Credit Card | | | |Corporate is characteristic of individuals acting together; â€Å"a joint identity†; â€Å"the collective mind†; â€Å"the corporate good†. | | | |The new dimension of NCC Bank Visa Credit Card is Corporate Credit Card which has already started to benefit the Corporate Houses. | Objective of Corporate Customers *Fast and Accurate Services *Effective Communication *Attractive Pricing (Annual fee 50% discount on card fee) *Strong Communication *Smiling faces of the Bankers *Good Ambience in the Bank Our Corporate Offer Particular |Small (10-100) |Medium (101-500) |Large (500 above ) | |Card Fee |50% |50% |(Negotiable) | |Rate of Interest |2% |2% |2% | |Cash Withdrawal |2% |2% |2% | |Purchase |2% |2% |2% | |Maximum period of interest free |45 Days |45 Days |50 Days | |Replacement Card Fee |Charges |Charges |Free | |Late Payment Charge |Charges |Charges |Free | |Excess Over Limit Charges |Charges |Charges |Free | |Balance Transfer Facilities | | ||If anyone holds other Bank Credit Card, then NCC Bank will issue a credit card with equivalent limit and will issue a pay order by debiting| |card A/C from balance transfer option for the equivalent amount of total outstanding in order to full settlement and cancellation of other | |Bank A/C. | |Remittance Products | | | | | | |[| | | |p|Special Interest rate on Savings and Term Deposits | | |i| | | |c| | | |]| | | |[| | | |p| | | |i| | | |c| | | |]| | | | | | | |[| | | |p|Wage Earners Welfare Deposit Pension Scheme | | |i| | | |c| | | |]| | | |[| | | |p| | | |i| | | |c| | | |]| | | | | | | |[| | | |p|Loans for Real E state (Land purchase and House construction/renovation) | | |i| | | |c| | | |]| | | [| | | |p| | | |i| | | |c| | | |]| | | | | | | |[| | | |p|Advance against Regular Remittance | | |i| | | |c| | | |]| | | |[| | | |p| | | |i| | | |c| | | |]| | | All Services: |Brokerage House | | | | | | | |[pic][|Member, Dhaka Stock Exchange Ltd. |pic] | | | | | |[pic][|Full Service Depository Participant | |pic] | | |Treasury Service | | | | | | | |[pic][|Primary Dealer of Govt.Approved Securities | |pic] | | | | | | | |Remittance Service | | | | | | | | | | | |[pic][|Correspondence arrangement with more than 330 Financial Institutions all over the World | | |pic] | | | | | | | |[pic][|For Wage Earners Remittance we have Agency arrangement with 12 reputed Exchange Housescovering major Locations of our Expatriates | | |pic] | | |

How did WWII change America and the World Essay

The World War II remains the bloodiest and deadliest crisis in world history. It involved the best ever battle lines, enormous armed forces, along with the most destructive weapons in the history of the world (Martel 245). The worldwide disagreement that was regarded as or labelled World War II emanated from the 1930s great depression, a turmoil that undermined, destabilized and weakened economies, governments’ and nations around the world. For instance, in Germany, the rise of Hitler occurred partially because he alleged to be capable of transforming a destabilized Germany by then to an autonomous economic and military power that could control its destiny not only in Europe, but in the entire world as well (Martel 240). This paper therefore explores how this global conflict (WWII) changed America and the entire world. For the US, World War II constituted the most significant fiscal event of the 20th century (Higgs 53). The war’s consequences on the United States were diverse and far-reaching. It indomitably ended the great depression, and the US federal government came out from the war as a possible economic actor, capable of regulating fiscal activity and to partly control the world economy via spending and consumption. What’s more, the wartime economic explosion spurred and promoted a number of social trends. First was the job creation that paralleled the growth of industrial production, in so doing, attained what Roosevelt’s New Deal programs had been incapable to achieve (Rindfuss, Morgan & Swicegood 86). According to Higgs (58), in 1940, there were more than eight million unemployed Americans. However, by 1941, unemployment became a thing of the past. There were in fact labour shortages in numerous industries. Consequently, federal inspectors did ignore laws deterring employment of women and children (Martel 250). With little or no public outcry, several high school dropouts escalated substantially. Also, several women were absorbed in the workforce to assist make implements and munitions of war. These women were later nicknamed ‘Rosie the Riveter’ and were pivotal part of the US success in war (Martel 251). Additionally, the WWII revitalized American industries, and a lot of sectors were by the end of the war (1945) either brusquely oriented to defence production (for instance, electronics and aerospace) or entirely dependent on atomic energy (Rindfuss, Morgan & Swicegood 82). The organised labour unions were as well strengthened far beyond the depression period and became a key counter-balance to both private and government industry. Given the fact that novel employment took place in unionized workplaces, plus industries funded by the American government, the continuance of membership decision during World War II was a magnificent advantage for organized labour (Rindfuss, Morgan & Swicegood 84). As a result, organized labour increased from ten million in 1941 to approximately fifteen million by 1945. Also, about thirty six percent of the work-force in non-agricultural sector was unionized, recording the highest percentage ever in American history. Similarly, the war’s speedy technological and scientific changes continued and deepened trends commenced during the great depression and shaped lasting anticipation of continued novelty on the part of several engineers, citizens and government officials. Besides, the significant increases in individual income as well as quality of life throughout the war resulted in a number of Americans foreseeing permanent improvements to their material needs (Rindfuss, Morgan & Swicegood 85). That said, the World War II brought to an end the godless Nazi regime plus their murder machine. It as well wrecked Japan’s control over Pacific, thereby ushering in the atomic age (Martel 255). Europe that had been under authoritarian Nazi boot became under the Communist boot. Besides, the war led to medicine improvements in the world, particularly in the use of antibiotics. New-fangled forms of occupational and physical therapy to assist returning veterans and wounded soldiers were as well invented and used. What’s more, the work of individuals, such as von Braun in the Second World War greatly transformed world technology, especially rocket technology, which became a major focus during Cold War (Neufeld 164). The dramatic transformations in military technology resulted in changes to operational and tactical skills. Stanovov (1) asserted that all contemporary warfare grew from the concepts which first came from 1939-1945. The actions of pooled units, close relations of dissimilar armed services, the greatly escalated significance of radio-electronic warfare, strategic bombings, psychological and mass information warfare, to mention just some factors. The World War II became in fact total in psychological, technical and informational senses, radically transforming the prerequisites to logistical support. Moreover, it spectacularly changed the balance between small and large economies in the world platform. Whilst previously the disparity between the armed forces of a small and large country was largely quantitative, with WW2 it became qualitative, as a few nations in the world could manage to create fully-fledged nuclear-era armed forces (Stanovov 1). Finally, every great conflict, especially concerning great allies and axis, brings something unique to the art of warfare. But Second World War was outstanding in that respect. The changes in the hardware, equipment, structure and the way military forces were utilized were unique both in their significance and scope. Even WWI that first witnessed major use of war tanks, submarines and planes had never brought to fore such massive change to the world.

The changing role of Management Accountants at Tesco plc Essay

The changing role of Management Accountants at Tesco plc - Essay Example In conclusion, the report will highlight on challenges that are likely to undermine successful implementation of the business-partnering model in Tesco According to a report by (CIMA, 2009), leading companies are increasingly transforming the traditional roles of financial accountants to match current global trends in the market. There are emergent debates and concerns over the traditional roles of finance professionals and their significance in the current dynamic market. Leading companies are slowly integrating decision-making elements and management efficiency within the domains of finance accounting roles (Gabriels, 2002). This present report is aimed at examining the changing roles of the management accountant in the 21st century and further evaluating how management accounting business partners could better support decision making within the firm. Therefore, the report will highlight on the changing roles of management accountants in the 21st century. Similarly, the discussions will comprehensively evaluate how better decision making could be achieved by management accountants. Finally, the report will conclude with the exami nation of the challenges of implementing the business partnering model in Tesco. (Burns and Baldvinsdottir, 2007) defines management accountant roles as entailing analysis of the information relating to costs and operations of an organization in order to advise managers on how to make profits and achieve savings goals. Therefore, unlike other accountants, management accountants are expected to seamless integrate management, accounting and financial skills in order to provide advice to the top managers of an organization effectively. (Accenture, 2011) hence noted that management accountants performed the following tasks, study the business environment and hence advice on the financial implications of key projects. Also to advice and explain financial consequences of managerial decisions, develop business

Personal interview with a training manager Essay

Personal interview with a training manager - Essay Example When asked who was trained in the organization the respondent argued that that is determined by random selection from the training dates depending on the business unit. Additionally, he also argued that for some training, people are snowballed and selected through the manager’s preference. However, the training participants are required to impart the knowledge of what they have acquired in such sessions to those who did not participate. The organization refers to this as the informational networking. The training process entailed the performance manager and the training manager’s active participation in determining the training calendar for the organization. Afterward, the participants are selected. However, room for modification is maintained due to the possible emergence of better training opportunities within an organization. Training improves organizational efficiency through the fostering of innovation. Training has been noted to have an eye-opening effect on the employees. It also assists the organization in staying updated and using the most recent tools and technologies available. The employee development process causes increased efficiency and improved productivity hence offsetting the training costs incurred by the organization (McConnell, 2003). According to the respondent, training is a business

How has Modern advances changed welding technology since anicent times Essay

How has Modern advances changed welding technology since anicent times - Essay Example It is a dangerous process and precautions must be taken in order to avoid electric shock, burns, vision damage, exposure to UV radiation, and inhalation of toxic fumes and gases. Welding process traces its historic development from the ancient times. Therefore, this paper will delve into the changes technology has made in welding from the ancient times to the present. Welding traces its roots from the Bronze Age and the Iron Age. During the Bronze Age, small round golden boxes were made by pressure welding of lap joints together. It is believed that these golden boxes were made over two thousand years ago. Currently, the golden boxes have been put on exhibition at the National Museum in Ireland. On the other hand, during the Iron Age, people from the Eastern Mediterranean and Egyptians learnt the art of welding pieces of iron together. They made tools and weapons using forge welding operations. The art of blacksmithing developed to a high degree during the Middle Ages period. Several tools and weapons made from iron were welded by hammering. Blacksmithing entails working with extremely hot steel, a hammer and an anvil to make items. After the steel has been heated, it becomes malleable making it easy to punch and twist. It is the twisting and punching that shapes the metal. After shaping, it is cooled to harden the shape. Sometimes it is taken ba ck to the fire for reheating for further shaping and bending. While doing this, a blacksmith should use tongs handle the metals since they are extremely hot to be handled by bare hands. The process of forging metals and blacksmithing was extremely dangerous. This is ascribed to the fact that the blacksmith’s fires can be very hot, and it is mandatory to stoke them constantly in order to maintain the high temperatures. Therefore, blacksmiths had to observe caution while working in order not to burn their bodies or places of work. Secondly, blacksmiths

A Modest Proposal Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

A Modest Proposal - Essay Example Patrick’s Cathedral as Dean. He is known for his marvelous works such as Gulliver’s Travels, A journey to Stella and The Battle of Books etc. In this essay he proposes a method to mitigate the tense and misery in the life of the poverty stricken Irish people. While describing the family conditions of the beggars and the woeful economic situation of the Irish laborers who couldn’t feed their family and their infants, Swift points out a â€Å"surplus† of those infants who could not be fed. By considering the possibility of selling the children into slavery once they reach at the age of twelve, he objects that scheme, not because of the brutality in that scheme but because of its impracticality. Swift said that twelve years is a long time in which a child cannot be fed because of the fragile conditions of his parents, and that he came to know from his acquaintance in America that a one year old child in good healthis : â€Å"a most delicious, nourishing and wholesome Food, whether Stewed, Roasted, Baked or Boiled†(Swift, n.p.). From this point onwards, Swift supports his idea of subjecting the children into cannibalism at earlier age than to nurse the child for twelve years. Following this scheme the mother of the child has only one year to milk him/her so as to make him/her a perfect food for the upper class. After selling her child she would get enough time to work until she is pregnant again. He also showed that this idea if implied would help in reducing the Catholics too, as a Catholic child breeds rapidly as compared to a Protestant child. People could make use of their skin as well. Next he discusses the recipe for older children but refutes it because the meat of an older child would never be as fresh as the infant’s meat. He concludes with six advantages of this scheme and says that nobody should object his proposal until and unless somebody comes with a genuine counter argument and that this entire proposal is in the favor of the Irish prosperity. Critical Analysis Jonathan Swift is known for his satirical writings about the political situation prevailing at that time in his country and the snide comments about the unjust policies of his time. In this article he talked about the somber and murky situation of the poor people of Ireland and the condition of the streets and public places full of beggars followed by a team of their ill conditioned children. The mother of such children instead of earning are forced to beg their infants. All this strive for those children who would either turn themselves into thieves (because of the deprivation of basic necessities), or sell themselves to Barbados or fight for Spain, provide no actual benefit to the country. This fragile and solemn condition of these helpless infants adds more to the already present country grieves. Having explained this weird condition in a melancholic tone he suddenly shocked the audience by his own seemingly a very ruthless an d brutal solution of the problem. He calculates and shows the result that a 12 year breeding of children and then selling them is an impractical scheme and that it costs too much to the parents. However by using a very shrewd stance and highlighting all the negative aspects of the aforesaid scheme he puts forward his own idea of subjecting the infants to cannibalism at the age of one year. The audience had not yet recovered from the shock his seemingly hysteric and madding ideaand he started giving the calculations regarding the saving of a family who follows this proposal. He continued to explain the need of such an idea which if implemented save a thousands of currency per annum. At this point one reading all this juxtaposition of problem and solution would think that the author of this essay could be a serial killer or a

Google and Yahoo Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 7000 words

Google and Yahoo - Essay Example Organizational structure, design and culture play an imperative role in organizational effectiveness and success. This is because they assist an organization to comprehend itself and enable the workers to work together to achieve all the tasks and achieve all the objectives of the company. These are aspects that an organization cannot neglect in its development. The concepts of organizational culture, structure and design have received considerable attention within organizational theory in the past decade. Researchers, consultants and mangers, have gravitated to the conception of culture, structure and design to encompass the special approach to life and creation of meanings which evolve within an organization. Different organizations have different organizational structures, designs and cultures. Yahoo incorporation is one of the renowned companies in the world for its internet services. It is an American company that offers search engine services, web portal, internet directory, ne ws, finance and advertising. Some of the services offered by Yahoo Company include â€Å"Yahoo Directory, Yahoo Mail, Yahoo Finance, Yahoo News, and Yahoo Answers† (Media Relations, 2005). According to Media Relations (2005), approximately seven hundred million people use its internet services every month. ... Yahoo incorporation faces stiff competition from Google Company. Google is an American company that offers internet services and products. Such products and services include cloud computing, software, search, and advertising technologies. Google was established by Brin Sergey and Page while studying in Stanford University in 1996 (Google, 2013). These two founders own about 17 percent of the stake of the company. The company offers internet software including electronic mail, social networking and office suite. The company has ventured into mobile phone software where it leads innovator of Android mobile phone operating system. The company has ventured a lot into the communications hardware by partnering with primary electronic producers across the world (Google, 2013). Google Company operates an estimate of one million servers across the world, with more than one billion search requests every day. According to CNBC (2007), Goggle is the most visited search engine and website across the world. Just like Yahoo, Google offers its search services in different languages. It is one of the best performing corporations in the world. Google Company also owns You Tube and Blogger sites. This company started as a research project. It was initially referred as â€Å"BackRub† where it only analyzed other websites to determine their relevance. It was later named Google, and started working under Stanford University’s website (Google, 2013). The company is headed by a CEO. The multifaceted contacts between employees and workers in Google are seen as determinants of behavior in the place of work (Eliud, 2012). It is one of the companies with a unique organizational culture. Part I: Structure and Design Organizational structure implies an

Compare Musical and Opera Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Compare Musical and Opera - Essay Example In comparing Musical and Opera, one can base the argument relating to their source, historical background, development and their evolution. However, this paper shall discuss the key features that compare Musicals from the Operas. In the present time, people fail to provide a clear distinction between the two, and instead define any form of entertainment performance with music as musicals, and some famous music singers confuse their musicals with Opera (http://www.aria-database.com/). Musical theaters currently referred, as ‘Musicals’ is a style used in theater, whereby the songs, dances, and oral dialogue integrate to narrate a story. In the contemporary world, a musical takes various forms as long as it aims at narrating a story. For that reason, musical could be a stage performance, a film/television presentation and it combines the modern and the known music styles and discourse in narrating the entire story (http://www.aria-database.com/). Opera is classified under a certain form of theater, in which a musical group and singers incorporates sheet music and â€Å"libretto† also known as the text in contemporary language to narrate a story. On the other hand, performance of musicals takes place in theatres. Presentation of musicals could be staged or televised. ... Another key difference between Musicals and operas is in terms of language used. While performing musicals, the audience understands the performance language. For instance, Musicals developed in England and America is performed in English regardless of whether the developer comes from non- English-speaking nations. Together with that, the singing, dancing, and dialogue follow the rules of the popular music, popular dance styles, and the modern dialogues. Musicals have three major characteristic; the brain, the heart and courage (Kagen, 1968). The Brain – in order to perform musicals, the developer should have required intelligence and necessary writing style. On the other hand, the heart calls for the genuine feeling while developing the story, and lastly, courage calls for one to have the ability, creativity, and boldness in presenting something. This is very different from an Opera, in that, there is comprehensive training of the singers, classical singers in this context, a nd they are required to memorize and present the song without making any translations (http://opera.stanford.edu/main.html). In addition, there are numerous well-known opera styles in different languages, for instance, the Italian Opera, the German Opera, Russian opera, French opera, and lastly English–language opera. The performance of each Opera takes a different style (http://opera.stanford.edu/main.html). Based on their production, musicals and Operas portray many differences. First, Opera upholds music as the livelihood of production, whilst musical depends on text written and the story narrated. In the modern time, the Operas are established on classical music. It relates the way one would visualize the Mozart’s classical music

What is 'lifestyle and consumer culture' Discuss, using relevant Essay

What is 'lifestyle and consumer culture' Discuss, using relevant examples or case studies to support your agrument - Essay Example In the context of postmodernism the consumer culture is the reflection of individuality in terms of self expression and self-consciousness. It denotes the individual choices with regards to clothes, speech, eating and drinking preferences, home, car, leisure pastime, choices of holiday destination and so on. Consumer culture is the indicator of individual sense of taste and style and as a whole depicts the preference of the society. In the postmodern era the consumer culture indicates decrease in restrictions or rules and increase of choices (Featherstone 1991). The consumer culture has significantly influenced the lifestyle of every human being and the products and their promotions have also found to target almost every aspect of the lifestyle of persons of different age groups. Australia as a country has also been found to follow the western consumerist culture in terms of fashion, films, new technology and other consumer products to satisfy the daily needs and with booming economy and increased power of buying the Australian consumers have turned into binge buyers. But owing to its location and small but cosmopolitan population the socio-economic trend in the country is not exactly similar to other developed western countries (Henry 2006). The consumer culture in the Australian society tries to assimilate all the varying cultures and lifestyles derived from different ethnic groups and immigrants and try to serve them all but with a focus on urban lifestyle. Promotion of different consumer products through different media has a measurable influence on the consumer culture and lifestyle of the country. The lifestyle of the people also is quite influential for the promotion of the consumer products. There are different aspects of consumerism affecting the lifestyle of people. The products of daily use as well as the luxury items and leisure activities are the symbols of consumer culture of any country. The postmodern

The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde - Essay Example Harry’s argument easily wins him over and he is totally changed person after the meeting. â€Å"The few words that Basils friend had said to him--words spoken by chance, no doubt, and with willful paradox in them--had touched some secret chord that had never been touched before, but that he felt was now vibrating and throbbing to curious pulses.† But the worldly and satanic wisdom of his mentor makes him break the heart of the innocent soul. He feels remorse at first but again justifies himself in the light of Machiavellian morality of Lord Henry. Lord Henry is the evil angel of the story .Every moment the hero is close to repentance, he appears from nowhere and through his devilish speech changes the mind of Dorian. One is wonderstruck at the callousness of both Henry and Dorian they show at the death of Sibyl. â€Å"What is done is done. What is past is past." The yellow book is another diversion provided to him by Lord Henry. This book further goads him to indulge in â€Å"all the passions and modes of thought that belonged to every century except his own.† Now Evil in him is in its true attire. Under his influence, the friends meet destruction. He murders his once beloved Basil as he exposed the ugliness of Dorian’s soul .The portrait is a surrogate of soul, so when he sins his soul is changed . Even in the end to avoid the pangs of consciousness, he resorts to opium. He seems to be following Henry’s philosophy â€Å"To cure the soul by means of the senses, and the senses by means of the soul.† When Dorian has ominous hallucinations about his possible end, all his fears are dispelled by Lord Henry who declares that destiny is too wise or cruel to send us omens. The bad influence of Lord Henry even subdues the feelings of guilt created in Dorian’s heart. His resolve to reform himself is diverted to some other thoughts. The damnation is complete .The inherent evil in the

Enthalpy of Neutralisation Between HCl and NaOH Essay Example for Free

Enthalpy of Neutralisation Between HCl and NaOH Essay Table displaying the relationship between temperature and time after 20cm3 of an HCl solution is combined with 20cm3 of a NaOH solution Time (seconds) Temperature (ËC) Qualitative: * The temperature probe often touched the bottom of the cup. * Not all the liquid was poured out of the measuring cylinder * The measuring cylinder had to been rinsed before each measurement meaning it may have been contaminated. * The two reactants are both clear liquids and when mixed, the result is also a clear liquid. There is no colour change seen in the experiment * The container of the neutralizing NaOH and HCl rose slightly in temperature, and at the end of the experiment felt slightly warmer than before the experiment * When stirring, the stirring rod sometimes knocked against the temperature probe * Small bubbles could be seen to form, most likely as a result from passionate stirring.

Cystic Fibrosis: Molecular Mechanisms and Diagnosis

Cystic Fibrosis: Molecular Mechanisms and Diagnosis Cystic fibrosis is a membrane transport disorder which is commonly affected in the autosomal recessive disease of white populations. It is also identified at birth by a certain condition called meconium ileus which means intestinal obstruction. In the advance stages, clinically it has been diagnosed by sticky viscous secretion of the pancreas and lungs (Gelehrter, 1998). Many years of direct research has failed to recognise the specific gene which is involved in cystic fibrosis (CF), although there are some various indirect research done which has indicated that there appeared an abnormality in the transport of ions during the process of cell membrane development. A very common diagnosis has been used to recognise this disease which is high increase of chloride content in sweat. Children suffering from this disorder develop pancreatic insufficiency which is usually treated with enzyme supplementation, antibiotics and physical treatments which are used to reduce the chest infection. Earlier the survival average is about 25 years. (Gelehrter, 1990). But in a recent study, it has been said that the life expectancy for cystic fibrosis patients has increased over the last 40 years. It has been necessary to identify the respiratory viruses in Cf to make the clinical decision to proceed with the necessary treatment. (cited in Wat, 2008). It is said that one can calculate approximately the frequency of heterozygous carriers would be about 1 in 25 individuals. There are various research works done on cultured cells and animal models to further study on the basic defects of the disease and find a successive treatment. (Hodson, M.E., 1995). HISTORY: From centuries the study and research of Cystic fibrosis has been done. Earlier people started diagnosing this condition in the newborns due to the salty taste in their skin. The survival rate was so low as six months. But as years followed, during the 1930s, a scientist named Guido fanconi had described the symstoms as gastrointestinal symdrone but latter named it as cystic fibrosis. The research had advanced when the cystic fibrosis gene was discovered following the study of mendels law researched by Gregor Mendel. The genetic knowledge on this particular disease was made more improving which indirectly improved the survival ascepts of CF patients. By 1980s, a deeper understanding of human genetics were developed. In 1989, two researchers had isolated the damaged gene in causing CF which was the main cause in affecting the chloride channel function. These were the channels which were helping in the movement of water and salt in the cell walls. Further study on this is making it pos sible to understand and find a treatment for this genetic disease. In recent years, various study via Gene theraphy has been helping various researches to fix the damaged gene. If this particular gene is fixed, the possible prevention, treatment and cure of CF would become a (Giddings,2009) Basic molecular genetics of Cf: In the year 1985, several groups were experimenting on gene therapy by linkage analysis, a linkage was observed on the chromosome 7, which in turn proceeded with testing some of the markers on chromosome 7 where they found CF gene near to these markers (met and J3.11). Techniques like physical mapping showed that the distance between these markers was approximately 1.6 million bp, which is as large for approximately 50 genes. Various interesting research were made in which it was found that a vast majority of chromosomes carrying the Cystic fibrosis mutation were also carrying a particular alleles for XV-2c and KM-19 which was further named as allele for XV-2c and + allele for KM-19. This type of hapotype (-/+) showed approximately in 25% of normal chromosomes, whereas rest showed other different patterns. A term was defined for this type of disease gene associated with a allele with the nearby markers, which was named as Linkage Disequilibrim. This term was made used to understand that these CF mutated genes were being descended from a common ancester. (Gelehrter, 1998) In a recent research, a genetic analysis was conducted by carefully cloning of a 500,000 bp candidate which resulted in three possible genes from the specific region which was studied. In testing under northern blotting technique it was found that this specific gene was coding for a 1480- amino acid protein including 26 exons with a length of 250,000 bp of DNA and the mRNA transcript was found to be 6129 bp long. In further studying a cloned and sequenced cDNA was prepared using the sweat glands of a Cf patient, it was found that there was a difference in exon 10 from a normal sequenced gene. There was a deletion in the 3 -bp found which might have caused the deletion of a single amino acid (phenylalanine) at the specificresidue 508. (Gelehrter, 1990). This type of mutation is known as Delta F508 or F508. Patients with homologous delta F508 mutation will tend to suffer with severe symptons of this disease, causing a very heavy loss of chloride ion transport.This causes an improper balance in the sodium and chloride ion ratio, eventually secreting a thin, mucus secretion in the lung area which traps bacteria, this causes severe lung infection, resulting a high mortality rate in CF patients. CFTR gene: This gene was initially cloned in 1989 in which it was mapped to human chromosome 7q21, with more interest in this particular region, researches were able to indentify 2 more closely linked markers other than (labelled MET and D758) which were D75122 and D75340, those were 10 kb part. Using lambda genomic DNA libraries, 280 kb of DNA were sequenced which were used to make long range restriction maps. These were also probed with cDNA clones to isolate a total of 500 kb. This can be seen in the figure By using various approaches like screening zoo blots, northern blots and cDNA libraries the genomic DNA clone was isolated. Four different regions were isolated, out of that, only one proved to be CF gene which was 6.5 kb sequence in length. Eventually, it was concluded that the CF gene controls the CFTR (cystic fibrosis transmembrane regulator) which encodes chloride channels which were responsible for the water transport on the plasma membrane of the epithelial cells which were connected to the lung airways. This mutation was causing the problem. Structure of the CFTR gene: After sequencing the CFTR gene, further study was done on it. The sequenced coding region of this gene showed a polypeptide molecular mass of 168138 daltons. The best site seen in this predicted protein was that it showed two repeated motifs, which showed some similarities to the nucleotide-binding domains (NBD) which is present in the membrane bounded protein. These membrane consisted in them six hydrophobic regions which composed 234 amino acids. Hydrophilic domains: These 2 hydrophilic domains contains approximately 150 amino acids in which some phenylalanine residue has been deleted at the region of the first NBD which shares similar homologies with the proteins which binds with the nucleotide. These two motifs are connected by a highly charged cytoplasmic domains referred as R- domain or regulatory domains. This domains encodes 13 exons that help in the phosphorylationby protein kinase K and rest helps in binding sites by protein kinase C. These domains and nucleotide binding folds in the binding sites suggest that hydrolysis is involved in the transportation of CFTR gene. CFTR Promoter: It was found out that CFTR gene had a addition promoter region with a size of 3.5 kb, later on, it led that these promoters showed the characteristics of housekeeping gene along with tissue specific functions. There were five reasons that were focused to show that the CFTR gene had these charactertics which were as follows: There were no TATA box element within the first 500 basepairs of the transcription sites. The GC content in the promoter region was high. There were addition multiple minor transcription sites identified along with the major transcription sites. Couple of SP1 sites were also identified. There was a very low expression of the CFTR gene found in the epithelium layer. Another conclusion was made that the CFTR gene might control transcription regulation. (prin mg, tho) Phenotypic function of the diseased gene: To understand the phenotype of the disease, it has been confirmed that an individual suffering must have two copies of a mutated Cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR) gene to be expressed. It has also been understood that the development of this disease in different individuals varies due to differential influence by environmental and genetic factors. This various different forms of other genes can affect the phenotypes of the mutated gene of this disease.   MUTATED GENE: As it been understood that the most common mutated gene found in most cystic fibrosis defective gene is the delta F508. A detailed study about this gene was done in which it was found that CFTR protein helps in encoding single amino acid at position 508 on the chromosome 7. As this mutation affects the CFTR to perform its work in the cell and prevents it from locating itself in the cell membrane. Usually it is seen that, a newly synthesized CFTR protein adds itself to the missing chemical group by folding itself into appropriate shape which are escorted by their specific molecular chaperons to the surface of the cell. Because of the presence of this mutated CFTR gene, the imperfect CFTR binds onto the cell membrane which has a defect while opening and closing during regulating the chloride ion flow within the cell membrane. There are different mutated genes, in which some do not this synthesis or any modification or integratation into the membrane of the cell. Sometimes, these mutated genes fail to even respond to the signals within the cell that are responsible for the opening and closing of chloride flow. In some cases, the CFTR protein enters the cell membrane and also responds to the cell membrane but there would show a problem when the channel opens and there is improper flow of chloride ion out of the cell. Different mutations vary with different patients, patients with absent or very low CFTR protein in its cell membrane would cause severe disease causing depleting pancreatic functions. There are patients which have delta F508 mutation on both CFTR gene copies, this causes very poor pancreatic function which would secret high amount of mucus causing varying degrees of infection in the lungs. Another CFTR mutation namely R117H also develops a partial functioning CFTR protein, this mutation pairs w ith the severe mutated gene delta F508 causing the CF disease severe but varying in lung disease. It has been seen that some men who have been detected with this particular mutated gene R117H shows only one symptom of CF that is being Infertile which is due to lack of vas deferens. Inheritence of the CF gene: Diagnosing cystic fibrosis In most cases, cystic fibrosis is diagnosed by screening tests, which are carried out very early in life. However, some babies, children and even young adults have some unexplained illness in future so they are diagnosed later. There are four main ways of diagnosing cystic fibrosis: newborn testing antenatal testing carrier testing sweat testing Newborn Screening: In newborn screening there are two tests the first one is blood test in which small amount of blood is taken from the babys heel and transferred onto the card and it is examined in the laboratory for CF and it is also test inherited conditions, such as sickle cell anaemia and phenylketonuria.. Another test is genetic test in which saliva sample taken from the cheek and check whether a newborn has faulty CFTR genes. Antenatal testing: This test is done during the womens pregnancy to know that fatus has CF or not. There are following Amniocentesis: in it inserts a needle through abdominal wall into the uterus and take amniotic fluid surrounds the baby and tested in the laboratory Chorionic villus sampling: In it needle passed through the stomach into the womb sometimes a fine tube passed through the vagina into the neck of the uterus as an alternative. And take chorionic tissue which is a tiny piece of the developing placenta and these chromosomes which are in the cells of the tissue are examined in the laboratory for CFTR genes are normal or not. Both tests have risk of complication and also chance for miscarriage so it is offered only those mothers who have high risk of having child with the CF. Carrier testing: People who have two CFTR genes one is normal and another is faulty are CF carriers. So carriers pass faulty CFTR genes on to their children. This is simple test which is uses mouthwash to make sure that person is a carrier of cystic fibrosis. Swishing the mouthwash to collect the cells. And these containing cells are checked for the faulty gene. Sweat test: If blood and genetic tests have positive sign for CF so for confirmation sweat test diagnosis using This test measure the amount of salt in sweat. For that in one treatment room small area of skin on an arm or leg tested. Rub this skin with sweat producing chemical and then produce gentle electrical current with help of electrode it gives warm feeling .collect sweat on a pad or paper for analze. High levels of salt confirm diagnosis of CF. (180,205) Immunoreactive Trypsinogn: This analysis is used after sweat test if little sweat measured in newborns. Blood samples are taken after 2-3 days of birth and examined for immunoreactive trypsinogen (IRT) which is the increased levels of pancreatic enzyme. If IRT level is high then also it is not strong indicator of CF. Because infants with intestinal malformations and condition as bowel obstruction also have high level of enzyme which is for function of impair pancreatic. Lung X-rays and function tests: In the tests measure the amount of air the lungs can hold and how fast a person can breathe out to show how lungs add oxygen and remove carbon dioxide from the blood with the help of chest X-ray which show lung scarring from recurrent inflammation.This test do not confirm a diagnosis of CF but help in evaluating the severity of an individuals lung damage. Sinus X-ray: This test give signs of sinusitis, which indicates an infection and inflammation of nasal cavities. The X-ray shows the underlying cause becomes important for sinusitis. By cause of sinusitis is showing allergies and poorly functioning immune system. DNA mutation analysis: For highly specific result we used this technique for CF to look for the presence of many mutations in the CFTR gene. In it DNA isolated and purified from the blood sample or from a smear inside the cheek and for detect disease genes and indentify mutation within a specific DNA sequenced used micro array technology Sputum cultures: For this test, take a sample of your sputum (spit) to see what bacteria are growing in it. If there are bacteria called mucoid Pseudomonas, then it is advanced CF that needs aggressive treatment. (Giddings, 2009) TREATMENT In early years, there were no proper complete cure for cystic fibrosis . This has changed in recent years due to various researches done to treat CF which have been improved drastically. The aim for the treatment of cystic fibrosis are to Prevent infection in lungs,Remove the thick and sticky mucus from lungs, Prevent blockages in intestines and to Provide adequate nutrition.(http://www.nhlbi.nihHYPERLINK http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/.gov/) Treatment for lung problems: It is essential to begin the treatment by reducing the infection and removing the thick and sticky mucus from the lungs. This can be done by performing the following lung treatment methods. CHEST PHYSICAL THERAPHY (CPT): This theraphy is also called percussion. CPT include pounding the chest and back over and over with the hands and a device that reduce the mucus layer from the lungs. Breathing techniques are also helpful to remove mucus from lungs. This techniques involve forcing out of some short or deeper breaths and following with a relaxed breath. The major purpose of this therapy for CF is to increase clearance of mucus and control infection in the lung and also to provide adequate nutrition and prevent intestinal blockage. MEDICINES: This is the primary treatment for the cystic fibrosis. Using medicines it helps in treating lung infection, decreases the swelling ,reduces the mucus and also opens the airways. The following types are the antibiotics used for cystic fibrosis treatment: Oral antibiotics are use to treat the lung infection. Inhaled antibiotics are used to control the infection caused by the pseudomonas bacteria. Intravenous medicines are used for control the severe infection. Anti-inflammatory medicines used to reduce swelling in airways. Drugs or steroids such as azithromycin, ibuprofen, prednisone and pentoxifylline are used to reduce inflammation. For the treatment of bacterial infection various lung antibiotics such as nebcin, tobrex, ciprofloxin, myambutol, biaxin, azactam are used Exercise: Aerobic exercise can help to reduce and clear the mucus from the airways. Regular exercise also enables to cut back on the CPT. Intracytoplasmic sperm injection is used to provide fertility for men with cystic fibrosis LUNG TRANSPLANTATION: Lung transplantion is a effective therapeutic option for the cystic-fibrosis patient. The successfully lung transplanted patients are able to control diabetic problems easily as the patients exercise capacity improves and the respiratory infection reduces.(Madden, 1992). In lung transplant ,the infected lung is replaced with a healthy lung by surgery. If CF is very advanced then lung transplantion is a good option. It is a major operation and sometimes also leads to some serious complications Oxygen Therapy: If oxygen level is very low in the blood then oxygen therapy is very effective(http://cystic-fibrosis.emedtv.com). NUTRITIONAL TREATMENT: C.F causes many digestive problems such as slow growth, pain, intestinal gas and severe. Nutritional treatment can improve the growth, development and strength of patient. It involves a balanced diet with low fat and high protein which make strong the patient to resist aganist some infection (http://www.healthscout.com). It contain pancreatic enzymes to digest protein and fat and absorbance of various vitamins. Nutriational therapy also contain supplements of different vitamins. The other treatment for digestive problems is medications for the treatment of intestinal blockages (http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/). GENE THERAPY: Gene therapy involve transfer of DNA for therapeutic purpose. For the treatment of cystic fibrosis two approaches have been used. In the first approach, adenovirus was used as a vector, it has the epithelial cell lining. In this approach, adenovirus type-2 late promoter drives the CFTR gene. In the second approach, positively charged liposomes was used which can bind negatively charged DNA on its surface. These initial experiments have been used to change the electrical conductance of the nasal membrane. By these approaches a little correction of conductance abnormalities is possible. In the recent studies aerosol inhalers is used to saturate the upper part of the respiratory system. The reversal of the path physiology is possible if the correct form of CFTR gene is expressed. At present, retroviral-mediated gene transfer system is used for gene transfer for gene therapy of CF. Adenovirus is a suitable vector for gene transfer to the airway because it uses humans as a permissive host and it has a natural tropism for the lung .Liposome-mediated DNA transfer system is also used for gene transfer in gene therapy. Liposome is positively charged interact with DNA which is negatively charged and form lipid-coated DNA complex Different positively charged liposomes used to transfer the CFTR including DOTAP, DMRIE and DOTMA-DOPE. Several new treatments are developed to treat the CF. In one case, the sodium-channel inhibitor amiloride is insert to the airways of the patients which inhibit sodium absorption. The other possible approach is to allow to bypass the CFTR chloride channel and regulate other chloride channel present in the membrane of airways. The most effective way to treat the CF is to insert a new and normal copy of CFTR gene into the airway of respiratory tract of CF patients. RECENT ADVANCES: In recent years, various research works have improved the way to diagnose and treat cystic fibrosis. In the year 2006, it was published in the Science daily that certain scientists from Stanford University, USA were able to find out the basic defect causing CF. In which they had concluded that the airway blockage caused in CF was not caused due excessive fluid being reabsorbed within the glands but due to lack of fluid secretion from cystic fibrosis glands. (http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/03/060318232035.htm) In another research work done in the year 2008, certain scientist from USA were able to discover that a particular protein called CFTR were either missing or not present in the lungs of the CF patients which helps in fighting various bacteria like Pseudomonas aeruginosa when inhaled. Further studies are conducted to find the treatment through these proteins. (http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/09/080910210525.htm). In 2010, A team led by Professor Justin Hanes from John Hopkins university had researched on a mucus penetrating biodegradable nanoparticles which would help in delivery wide range of therapeutic molecules from small to various size of macromolecules to reduce the infection of lungs of the CF patients. In another research study done this year 2010, a team of researches were able to find out that a certain calcium- activated chloride channel were able to enable CF mucous cells to secrete normally which is required in the CFTR channel. So, it was concluded that drugs should be produces to enchance the ability of the calcium response which helps in activating the calcium activated chloride channels which are secreted in the CF cells. (http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/09/100917151848.htm)

Virgin Atlantic Market Segmentation

Virgin Atlantic Market Segmentation Provide a hypothetical ROMI analysis if Virgin spent an extra  £5m in marketing based on a 25% margin, 10% for costs, against  £500m in sales, what is the break even on the  £5m extra investment, provide the calculations and critical analysis. INTRODUCTION The marketing department is certainly at the heart of any organization, since it is responsible for setting, implementing, and evaluating marketing strategies to meet the customers wants and needs, and to retain customers so as to build profit and sustain the business. Smith and Rapin (2008) stated that marketing success is always driven by a thorough understanding of the market and a set of strong marketing strategies. They have advocated measuring the marketing performances of many companies in recent years. This trend of measuring marketing activities also was noted by McDonald and Mouncey (2009), who observed that increasingly, boards of directors and marketers desire to evaluate market performances to show how marketing boosts shareholder value and whether a firm is accomplishing its marketing objectives. There is a need to understand the business, to develop a framework, and to quantify the performance of marketing objectives and programmes. Furthermore, Ambler (2003) defined the term marketing metrics, which is a measure of the whole businesss marketing performance, and suggested employing a portfolio of metrics to increase the accuracy of the results. Rust et al. (2004) found that a company employing market metrics to forecast future uncertainties and directions has enhanced resource allocation, since better decisions can be made by drawing on lessons from the past. Therefore, measuring marketing performance, a company can improve its marketing efficiency and effectiveness, identify its strengths and weaknesses, establish precise insights between the investment in marketing activities and the financial value that investment generates, and so forth. The purpose of this essay is to develop a practical framework of marketing metrics for Virgin Atlantic Airways to measure its marketing efforts and identify its challenges. The essay begins by (1) presenting the business model for Virgin Atlantic Airways, (2) identifying the correct marketing metrics for Virgin Atlantic and evaluating those, and (3) calculating the marketing performance by computing the return on marketing investment (ROMI) of the campaign spending and a break-even analysis of the airlines new offer. PART I BUSINESS MODEL OF VIRGIN ATLANTIC AIRWAYS Company Overview Virgin Atlantic Airways Limited (Virgin Atlantic) is Britains second largest long-haul international airline. Apart from scheduled services, Virgin Atlantic operates cargo transport services, flies to 31 destinations around the world using 37 aircraft, the average age of which is approximately six years (it has one of youngest fleets worldwide), carries nearly six million passengers each year, and employs nearly 9,000 people currently (Civil Aviation Authority, 2009 a; Virgin Atlantic, 2009 c). Virgin Atlantic is a subsidiary company and the best-known business in the Virgin Group Ltd. (Virgin Group), which possesses a 51% stake of it, with the remainder having been sold to Singapore Airlines so the two airlines could operate together as a strategic partnership (Virgin Atlantic, 2009 c). Virgin Atlantic was founded in the U.K. in 1984. Its founder, Richard Branson, was motivated by three problems of the airline industry in that time: flights were expensive, companies lacked innovation, and long-haul flights were monotonous and uncomfortable (Twivy, 1986). Therefore, Richard established Virgin Atlantic and differentiated its brand with other airlines by positioning fun, quality, and innovation as its core brand values. This can be seen from the airlines vision statement: to provide the highest quality innovative service at excellent value for money for all classes of air travellers. Its objective is to fly a profitable airline that people love to fly and where people love to work (Virgin Atlantic, 2009 c). Virgin Atlantic is a company setting a new standard for the industry. It was the first to break the cabin hierarchy from a three- to two-class system, to install individual televisions on the seat backs in economy class, to introduce a fully flat sleeping bed in upper class, and to fly using bio-fuel at 30,000 feet (Twivy, 1986 Virgin Atlantic, 2009 c). Its innovative and unique offerings are great contributing factors to its having won many business, customer service, and trade awards worldwide. To sum up, the offers and value that Virgin Atlantic gives were a marked revolution for the airline industry. Business Map The map above is created by summarising from the student information pack, Financial Information Press Kit Full Press Information Kit 2009 at virgin-atlantic.com. (Notice: The customer section indicated above is only concerned with the passenger market). Appendixes A and B describe Virgin Atlantics current strategies and market segmentation. Industry Highlights The airline industry can be classified as either business logistics or passenger. Those that specialize in air-passenger transport can further divided into scheduled and non-scheduled services. In recent years, the low-cost carriers of the scheduled market have grown rapidly, while the high-cost carriers are continually struggling to grow (Manley, 2009). Many airlines offer three flying classes for its passengers-first, business, and economy class-and they set different prices for the different segments. In terms of the consumer, the purchaser may not be the ultimate user of the service, so it is necessary for airlines to recognise the different needs of decision makers and users. Recently, the industry has been suffering during the economy downturn. In such conditions, more companies tend to downgrade their travel policies, so first and business class flights are being decreased sharply (Shaw, 2007). For airlines to maintain their business, they always have to pay for high operating and fixed expenditures (Civil Aviation Authority, 2009 b). Furthermore, economic, political, and legal changes, weather, and changes of fuel prices can have a significant impact on airlines (Manley, 2009). Many airlines attempt to cooperate with other similar airlines to serve more destinations, to be more convenient for customers, and to retain customer by rewarding with frequent flyer miles. (Appendix C describes Detailed Industry Overview) SOWT Analysis SWOT analysis is a tool that illustrates a companys strengths and weaknesses (its internal environment) related to its competitors and what opportunities and threats it faces (its external environment) (Capon, 2009). Virgin Atlantic strengths are its strong brand image, its innovation for setting a new industry standard, its excellent customer service products, its close interactions with its customers (Virgin Atlantic, 2009 a), and its strategic alliances with other quality airlines that offer more destinations (Virgin Atlantic, 2009 c). Its weaknesses are that it is too reliant on Branson (a sharp drop in sales occurred after Bransons death), weak in the economy class-leisure market, and offers only limited destinations. Its opportunities are to target new segments of customers due to the aging of the population, to improve its service quality to become a five-star airline in Skytrax, and to reach more destinations to increase its market share. It is vulnerable  (threats) to losing its customers due to the open-skies agreement (less regulation of flights between the E.U. and the U.S.), to intense pressure from the rapid growth of low-cost carriers, recession, new industrial regulations, terrorist attacks, and soaring oil prices. (Appendix D and Appendix E discuss PESTEL analysis of the airline industry and Competitors analysis for Virgin Atlantic) PART II MARKETING METRICS FOR VIRGIN ATLANTIC AIRWAYS After reviewing of Virgin Atlantic, I would recommend a number of crucial marketing metrics, which can be categorised into the following four performance aspects: financial-related (or shareholder), market-related, brand-related and customer-related. The following paragraphs explain why these were selected and discuss the measurement needs and impacts on the decision-making process of each metrics. Finally, recommendations and limitation of the framework are drawn. Profit is the most important factor for a company to survive. Kerin and Sethuraman (1998) pointed out that marketers always monitor financial performance because increasing earnings and cash flow turnout increases shareholder values made, and all marketing activities are funding by it. Therefore it is need to measure the financial-related performance which at least three metrics can used to monitor Virgins profit and cost how efficiency of Virgin spend and generate profit-return on marketing investment (ROMI), return on sales (or profit margin), and net sales contribution. Firstly, return on marketing investment is the percentage of net profit generated by marketing activities divided by total marketing expenditures. ROMI measures how marketing expenditures contribute to profits and is used to insight into the profitability of Virgins marketing activities. Secondly, return on sales is the net profit as a percentage of the sales revenue, which measures how company efficiency generates profits from sales turnovers and downplays spending, since net profits are equal to sales revenue minus total cost. Virgin Atlantic can use the above metrics to understand itself and the market by comparing these metrics against its key competitors or industries. Other important indictors related to financial performance include sales, gross profits, profit before taxes, and liquidity ratio, which do not require metrics since they can be easily obtained from the companys financial statements. Ambler (2003) observed that managers always concern the financial performance, and ignore other non-financial activities, for instance, sales is driven by customers indeed. Therefore customer is definitely needed to measure. Before marketing department is responsible for attracting and retaining customers-without customers, identifying who target customers are is also important, how they generate profit to Virgin. So, retention and churn, customer profitability, customer lifetime value, and net sales contribution can include. Firstly, retention rate is the percentage of customers a company is able to retaining over time, which also measures customer loyalty, while churn measures the percentage of customers lost. If the retention rate is low, the company has to spend more effort to retain its customers since it costs less than attracting new customers. If it is high, marketers should investigate the profitability of its relationships; to measure this, customer profitability can be emp loyed. Customer profitability is the profitability of customers based on the differences in customer revenue and cost, helps the company identify the most profitable customers. Farris et al (2006) suggest a process to calculating it: sorting customers net profits, grouping customers by the customers profits in 10 deciles, then it can show the distribution of profit generated by each group. Normally, the profitability of the top group is between 150 to 300% (ibid). Fourthly, customer lifetime value is an estimation of the customer value in the number of years the customer is expected to purchase a given product, which measures the worth of a customer as a loyal purchaser of the companys products or services. It is important to be aware that metrics are rough estimations since input data is difficult to predict and may change over time. Fifthly, net sales contribution is the sales generated from a specific segment divided by total sales. It measures how well the segment performed with in all segments and insights which segments contribute the most to sales. The metrics mentioned above are valuable to mangers to identify profitable customers and which marketing programs can be developed to reinforce the customer relationship with them (Davis, 2007). Other important indictors related to customer performance include purchase frequency, average amount per transaction or sales, and the number of customers or new customers from transaction support systems. Market performance and trends directly link to financial result, and are indictors for manger since they would know how potential of the market. No surprising, the measurement of market-related aspects is also needed. The break-even analysis, market share and growth, and category share, can be included. Firstly, break-even analysis is a tool for projecting the use of a new product or service, which measures how many units will be required at a certain price to reach the break-even point. It can show how changes in price affect sales levels or how many years it will take to break even (Paek, 2000). Therefore, if the market size is not big enough, it is probably not to serve. Secondly, market share is the percentage of Virgins shares owned within the whole market which can calculate by the number of customers or sales value. Market growth is similar to market share but shows the percentage increase of this year compared with previous years. Thirdly, category share is the percentage of the number of customers who purchased an item of a specific brand divided by the number of customers who purchased an item under a specific category, measuring the popularity of a brand. Over time, market share, market growth, and category share provides marketers insight about Virgins performance sales against its competitors by monitoring the growth of the company and its competitors and consumer trends within the market, but category share shows more details about category growth, for example, whether customers were acquired from competitors or if total users were gained under the same category. According to McDonald, M. and Mouncey, P. (2009), brand account for at least 20 % of the companys asset, it helps customer to distinguish the company and its product among competitors, so it is indispensable to measure, but the challenges are many approaches available and difficult to qualify. The measurement of brand-related for Virgin can include brand awareness and loyalty, and customer satisfaction. Firstly, Brand Awareness measure the proportion of potential customers and consumers recognised the brand while brand loyalty is measured by usage, how was the frequency customers purchased a brand. Awareness, loyalty top of mind (the first brand in a customer mind within a given category), attitudes (the degree of customer belief towards a given brand) can simultaneously be measured by conducting a survey. Those can insight the brand location in the customers heart which influences customer purchasing behaviours and the sales. More importantly, recognizing consumer and non-consumer g roup is needed since results of them is always different (Gupta Lehmann, 2005). Secondly, customer satisfaction is a rating to measure customers experiences on specific aspects, also measured by a survey. It shows how well of their offers meets customers expectations. However, the selection of survey respondent should be careful, high satisfaction may not mean all the customers are satisfied; some disappointed customers may simply leave from the company to competitors before the company noticed. Measuring marketing metrics is a continuous process, which should be done regularly (Patterson, 2005). Over time, metrics can illustrate the effectiveness of marketing strategies and tactics and market changes. More importantly, the measurement methods of metrics also changes over time; methods currently employed are considered state-of-the-art. Although Virgin can use the above models, still reminding other intangible factors cannot be measured, such as relationships, reputation and trust, culture and values, skills and competencies, knowledge, and processes and systems. These are important because of generating value for a company, and account for the majority of a companys assets (McDonald and Mouncey, 2009). In conclusion, the metrics recommended to asses Virgins marketing outcomes involve the following performances areas: financial-related (or shareholder), market-related, brand-related and customer-related. Working with these metrics Virgin can monitor its revenue and spending, identify and retain the valuable customers, identify the chance expanding its market, insight customer perception towards the brand. PART III MARKETING CAMPAIGN FOR VIRGIN ATLANTIC AIRWAYS Marketing Challenge and Strategy Virgin Atlantic feared that the E.U./U.S. Open Skies Agreement, introduced in March 2008 (Stewart, 2007), would have a negative impact for the future of its market share. Virgin Atlantic may lose part of its customers, since 40% of Virgin Atlantics business class-travel now is between the U.S. and Europe (Foresight, 2008). No doubt Virgin Atlantic needs to retain its customers or to expand into other new markets. According to the World Tourism Organization, the route that serves the most passengers between the U.S. and London airports is between London and New York (ibid.). Virgin Atlantic plans to offer frequent business travellers an exclusive private luxury flight experience, operating a twice daily flight between London and New York, and pricing the ticket at  £1000. Virgin Atlantic also decided to initiate a marketing campaign by using TV commercials and outdoor advisements near the airports to raise Virgin Atlantics brand awareness among business travellers who fly often between New York and London. The target audiences are frequent flight business travellers or upscale leisure passengers (those who fly an average of ten times a year), male, aged 25 to 65, with more than  £50,000 income per year. The following section employs two metrics, the break-even analysis and return on marketing investment, to forecast and measure Virgin Atlantics marketing performance. Assumptions: the objective profit margin for the campaign was expected to be 25 %; the 10% overhead on its sales generated; the extra sales generated by the campaign are  £15 million; the operational and variable cost for flights twice a daily per year is  £24 million; the extra marketing expenditure for the campaign is  £ 2 million; the price of a flight is  £1,000; the average number of flights per consumer is ten per year; the net profit contribution is 24 %; the year of customer loyal and purchasing the tickets 10 times a year is 5 years. Calculation of Break even for new business-classes flights Customer Equity per year= price of flight * average flight times a year =  £1,000 * 10=  £ 10,000 Customer Lifetime equity= Customer Equity per year * period of year remains as a frequent flight business travellers =  £ 10,000*5 = £ 50,000 Customer Lifetime net profit= Customer Lifetime equity * Net profit contribution = £ 50,000 * 0.25= £ 12,500 Number of customers need to Break-even= operational and variable cost for flights twice a day per year / Customer Lifetime net profit = £ 24m /  £12,500 = 1,920 If Virgin Atlantic can have 1,920 frequent flight customers who purchase the flight for 5 years, and 10 times per year, then this project will reach break even points. Calculation of ROMI Campaign profits = assumed profit margin * extra sales generated = 25% * £15 million = £3.75 million However, the campaign was overhead 10% in the  £15 million sales, Extra cost for campaign= overhead percentage * extra sales generated = 10% * £15 million sales = £1.5 million Net profit generated from the campaign = Campaign profits -Extra cost for campaign =  £3.75 million- £1.5 million =  £ 2.25 million. ROMI = (Net Profit generated from the campaign / Campaign cost) *100% = ( £ 2.25 m /  £ 2 m)*100% =112.5 % The result of ROMI is positive which means that marketing spending is deemed. As the extra cost  £ 2 million is needed for the campaign, the break even point will be changed as follows: Calculation of Post-Break even for new business-classes flights with extra cost in marketing. Customer Equity per year= price of flight * average flight times a year =  £1,000 * 10=  £ 10,000 Customer Lifetime equity= Customer Equity per year * period of year remains as a frequent flight business travellers =  £ 10,000*5 = £ 50,000 Customer Lifetime net profit= Customer Lifetime equity * Net profit contribution = £ 50,000 * 0.25= £ 12,500 Total cost for flights twice a day per year = operational and variable cost for flights twice a day per year + extra marketing cost =  £ 24 million + £ 2 million = £ 26 million Number of customers need to Break-even= Total cost for flights twice a day per year / Customer Lifetime net profit = £ 26m /  £12,500 = 2,080 The break-even analysis indicated that Virgin Atlantic will need 2,080 frequent flight customers who will purchase the flight ten times per year for five years to reach the break-even point for the whole new route with the new marketing campaign in play. After reaching 2,080 customers, the company will start to make a profit. The break-even analysis is computed twice to show the different outcomes if extra marketing spending is added. In fact, as the costs increase, the number of customers needed increases as well. Therefore, if the managers believe it is easy to reach the break-even point, the airline is likely to launch this route. As the break-even analysis uses customer lifetime equity for the calculations, it is possible for that the break-even point may fail to be met in the short term, but for long-term outlooks and for retaining customers, it still can be profitable (Dwyer, 1999). The positive ROMI indicates that the activity is healthy. If ROMI is equal to 100%, this means the marketing campaign will break even. To compute the ROMI, the cost is needed, as Amber (2003) mentioned that sales revenues may not increase immediately after advertising begins, and it is difficult to determine whether the costs belong to the marketing department. Furthermore, spending decreases can result in maximizing the ROMI, so balancing expenses with marketing expenses with ROMI is also important (Lenskold, 2004). (3392 words)

Media Comparison Research :: Compare Contrast Research Papers

Media Comparison Research There have been considerable debate on research of media comparison as it relates to education over the past few years. According to Richard Clark, there has been a "paradigm shift" that occurred in instructional media research during the past decade from a behavioral to a more cognitive approach. (Anglin 348). Clark felt that there was "consistent evidence found that there are no learning benefits to be gained from employing any specific medium to deliver instruction. Research showing performance on time saving gains from one or another medium is shown to be vulnerable to compelling rival hypothesis concerning the uncontrolled effects of instructional method and novelty. (Clark 445) Media Defined: Media refers to a class of instructional resources and representing all aspects of the mediation of instruction through the agency of reproducible events. It includes the materials themselves, the instruments used to deliver the materials to learners and the techniques or methods employed. (Allen 1) Media can be defined by its technology, symbol systems and processing capabilities. The most obvious characteristics of a medium are its technology: the mechanical and electronic aspects that determine its function and, to some extent, its shape and other physical features. (Kozma 180) Basics of Media Research There are three major objectives of media research: (1) obtain knowledge about the educational or instructional effectiveness of a chosen medium; (2) increase understanding of how media and technology function and what psychological effects they have on a learner; (3) improve the practice of education through the provision and evaluation of better materials, media, procedures and technologies (Salomon, Clark 1-2). Schramm, as cited by Salomon, stated that while all media can teach very effectively, "learning seem to be affected more by what is delivered than by the delivery system." (Schramm, 1977) (Salomon 1). This has become the basis of disagreement among experts. Discussion Clark’s article argued that most current summaries and meta-analyses of media comparison studies clearly suggest that media do not influence learning under any conditions. In El Salvador (Schramm, 1977), it was not the medium that caused a change in achievement, but rather a curricular reform that accompanied the change. The best current evidence is that media are mere vehicles that deliver instruction but do not influence student achievement any more than the truck that delivers our groceries causes changes in our nutrition.

lung cancer Essay -- essays research papers

Lung cancer is the leading cancer killer in both men and women. There were an estimated 164,100 new cases of lung cancer and an estimated 156,900 deaths from lung cncer in the United States in 2000. The rate of lung cancer cases appears to be dropping among white and African-American men in the United States, while it continues to rise among both white and African-American women. There are two major types of lung cancer: non-small cell lung cancer and small cell lung cancer. Non-small cell lung cancer is much more common. It usually spreads to different parts of the body more slowly than small cell lung cancer. Squamous cell carcinoma, ademocarcinoma, and large cell carcinoma are three types of non-small cell lung cancer. Small cell lung cancer also called oat cell cancer, accounts for about 20% of all lung cancer. Smoking is the number one cause of lung cancer. Lung cancer may also be the most tragic cancer because in most cases, it might have been prevented -- 87% of lung cancer cases are caused by smoking. Cigarette smoke contains more than 4,000 different chemicals, many of which are proven cancer-causing substances, or carcinogens. Smoking cigars or pipes also increases the risk of lung cancer. Many of the chemicals in tobacco smoke also affect the the nonsmoker inhaling the smoke, making "secondhand smoking" another important cause of lung cancer. It is responsible for approximately 3,000 lung cancer deaths and as many as 62,000 deaths from heart disease a...

The Four Topics Method of Analysis: A Pregnant Accident Victim Essay

The Four Topics Method of Analysis is a tool developed by clinical ethicists used to examine clinical encounters. This method provides a consistent, organized framework for gathering information regarding the encounter in order to perform analysis. The method is organized into four parts: Medical Indications, Patient Preferences, Quality of Life, and Contextual Features. We can organize information regarding this case study by using the Four Topics Method beginning with the Medical Indications. Maria, a 20-year-old female, has been involved in a motor vehicle accident. She has a history of Sickle Cell disease and is currently twenty-five weeks pregnant with her first child. Initially Maria presents with somewhat stable vital signs. She displays tachypnea, and complains of severe abdominal cramping as well as weakness, light-headedness and left shoulder pain. She is neurologically intact with lung sounds that are within defined parameters. Maria’s condition changes and she begins to display signs and symptoms of internal bleeding. This is a life threatening condition. The problem is critical and can be reversed with a transfusion and surgery. The goal of transfusion would be to replace blood loss and restore vascular volume and the goal of surgery would be to repair the bleed. If the bleed is corrected in a timely manner and without c omplication, the probabilities of success are somewhat high. There is no plan in place to account for therapeutic failure. Medical care in this instance could not only save the life of this patient but also that of her unborn child. Further harm to Maria and her baby could be avoided if she would agree to the treatment. The next area to consider is Patient Preferences. In th... ...s driven by non-maleficence, or the intent to â€Å"do no harm†. They know that withholding treatment for religious beliefs will potentially be fatal to both. While Maria is acting out of loyalty to her religious beliefs, the medical staff is acting out of loyalty to the patient’s well being and that of her unborn child. It would be unfair if no party were acting on behalf of that child. In conclusion, providers in this case must pursue every option in delivering life saving treatment for this child. This may involve legal action. If it were just Maria providers may attempt to influence her decision, but ultimately it would be up to her to refuse suggested treatment. Since her decision affects the life of the baby providers are called upon to save that child . Works Cited Unborn Victims of Violence Act, 10 and 18 U.S.C.  § 1841 et seq. (Cornell Law 2004).

“Beijing EAPS Consulting, Inc.” Case Study Essay

The case study, â€Å"Beijing EAPS Consulting, Inc.† in the Custom Book, (2011), examines the project management structure of the Beijing EAPS Consulting (BEC) company. This case study also addressesabout project plan itself and how the co-workers are struggling with this communication between bothmangers. This project plan has demonstrated many strengths and weakness. The one thing that theproject plan needs put into action is safeguards to insure that the project is completed on time.BEC has taken on the matrix organizational structure. This type of structure combines functional anddivisional organization structure styles. There are advantages and disadvantages in utilizing this type of organizational structure. Advantages include resource utilization, specialization, cross functional areas,communication and flexibility. Resource utilization allows for the project departmental managers tofocus on their strengths. Also, it allows for the managers to all the workers to specialize in an area of important for that project. In turn, it uses people across the company who specialize in a field thatrelates to the project at hand. This matrix structure permits cross departmental communication andflexibility to work on different projects across the company structure.( Guzman, 2012)However, with advantages come disadvantage with this type of matrix organizational structure. Thisstructure increases complexity within the organization by leading to confusion among both workers andmanagers. The managers may not know what a certain employee has on their plate. In reverse, theemployee will obtain an overload of work because they are receiving work from two different types of managers. Another disadvantage is an increase in overhead cost for the company due to the need fordouble management. This double management can lead to confusion between managers as to who hasthe higher priority of work creating a power struggle. (Johnson, 2012) The case study, â€Å"Beijing EAPS Consulting, Inc.† in the Custom Book, (2011), reveals many advantages anddisadvantages to this matrix organizational structure. For instance, the project manager, Ms. Song, andthe departmental manager, Mr. Yang, are having a problem deciding who makes the final decisions onwork to be completed because they are the same level in the management structure. Ms. Song feels like she does not have the authority to give direction to Mr. Yang’s employees. She is also wary about asking Mr. Yang to give his employees work from her because of his temperament. The loud and  abrasiveattitude of Mr. Yang represents the rational personality type. A rational trait is more forceful and can getangry quickly. (Lewis, 2003) Mr. Yang knows he has this type of personality; however, he does not doanything to curve this problem when he notices that Ms. Song is not communicating with him. Also, theemployees do not know which manager to listen to or how to prioritize their work at hand. This causesmore conflict between the employees, the project manager and departmental managers. In addition,these employees are not sure if the project manager or the department manager is their directsupervisor. This in turn causes conflict between both managers.There are some strengths and weaknesses that have been made clear about the project plan in the case study, â€Å"Beijing EAPS Consulting, Inc.† in the Custom Book, (2011). These weaknesses include an overload of individual and team projects. The employees need to work extra hours to keep up with tightdeadlines. They are also working across department lines meaning they have to meet the demands of more than one manager at a time. When urgent matters arise they a re required to add the new work tomeet a new deadline on top of the current work load which now causes more stress on the employees.

Existentialism & Fight Club Essay

?From an existentialism point of view, there is no right or wrong choice, since integrity gives an perfor publicce value by the fair play of choosing it. Choices dejection only be judged on how involved the decision workr is when qualification it. Judging by this affirmard, the trust clerk is justify in killing Tyler, since he full became involved in choosing to both comport and jib Tylers value by that formion. Existentialisms source relocation is to make every man certified of what he is and to make the full accountability of his human macrocosms rest on him. In my essay, I sh both first reason how hit Tyler is crucial in allowing the teller to win the first move in encom chief existentialism. He acts as the catalyst for the vote counter to make the first move in existentialism cosmos awargon of what he is by ac do itledging all his primal instincts and fasten on debt instrument for his population. Tyler does so through with(predicate) with(predicate ) his acts of escalating furiousness and atrocity to provoke the narrator to await both who he is and his responsibilities, culminating finally in his avouch finale.I shall withal discuss the topic of bolt downrism as portrayed in the movie, and how the decision of shoot Tyler relates to the narrators interpretation of this theme. The narrator had been hesitant to hold full responsibility for his humankind at the start of the movie. He dislikes his present circumstances- he is jaded with his current job and lacks a clear purpose, as illustrated by the inverted comma A single serving package, a single serving Once he consumes the single serving, he is done. He makes a fleeting impression in individual elses life before he fades from their memory.He feels his domain is meaningless because he has no connections with anyone. He is not guinea pig with the present pass on he is in, further makes no active effort to consciously int leftover his own existence. He shows rubb er faith in this respect, because he deceives himself into conceptualize that he lacks complete license of enfolding in making this decision. He is a coward by Sartres definition Those who plow their complete freedom from themselves push through of a spirit of seriousness or by fashion of deterministic excuses. He possesses the thirst to re desex his existence by rebelling against the values in society, but this conflicts with his conscious object (the ego), which restraints him from doing anything socially unsufferable. His conscious mind hides these unaccep table desires in the subconscious mind, coming up with excuses that prevent the narrator from fulfilling these desires. Eventually, the repressed life pressure from these unconscious desires resulted in the fracturing of the ego itself- into devil conscious minds, hence resulting in the expression of Tyler.Tyler represents everything that the narrator subconsciously wishes to be. He is the incarnation of the ID its elf, representing the narrators repressed remnant instincts (our innate instinct for survival), aggression instincts (instincts for violence), and the libido. beforehand he meets Tyler, the narrator is shapes his existence though article of piece of furniture he purchases and assembles from IKEA. He attempts to make himself into a existence-in-itself, believing his perfect state of existence can be reached by purchasing that last piece of furniture he require.When the narrators tin was bombed, annihilating the means by which he defines his existence, the narrator felt as though his existence itself was erased. Every stick of furniture in there was my life. Tyler teaches him not to verify on material goods but to define his existence by his actions. The fight confederacy olibanum became the new means through which the narrator could define himself through acts of fighting. The narrator learns to revel in violence and tangible annoyancefulness as a means of defining his existence and to transcend the natural limits of the body.He get hold ofs the first criterion of self- sureness by satisfying his primal instincts for aggression. His first epiphany occurs when he materializes Tyler is himself. In a sense, he recognize that he (as Tyler) is free and capable of inventing and creating himself as whom he chooses to be. This is an alpha step because he now wants to assume responsibility for his existence. His plump for epiphany occurs when he shoots Tyler, and thus himself. On the first level, the narrator acknowledges his death instincts by confronting his caution of pain and death.He accepts Tylers ideas of experiencing death so as to be to the full conscious of his physical existence. When he shoots Tyler, he does so with the awareness that he is shaft himself. This is the final step he needs to take in order to be fully aware of what he is. On the second level, by averting Tylers nihilistic ideas of destroying institutions and value syste ms, he chooses what values to stand for and thus renders his own purpose for himself. In choosing his ethics, composition makes himself. He also translates the touch sensation in these values into the actual action of shooting Tyler, thus defining his existence through actual action.On the third level, by shooting Tyler, he assumes responsibility for all of reality, not just himself. He assumes responsibility for Man because he invents what Man should be one who does not act in an uncaring and annihilative way of life towards opposites. On the fourth level, shooting Tyler allows the narrator to be define in a way he wishes to be defined in the eyes of the other. guessing Tyler is crucial towards removing the existence of Project Mayhem. He does not want Marla to find forbidden about Project Mayhem because he will then put up his connections with her.It is important to the narrator to have a slopped relationship with Marla. Firstly, she is the only surviving real human b eing he has a close relationship with in the movie. Secondly, Marla, vie the role of the other, allows him to feelk out knowledge about his existence and she is the considerateness for his existence. By shooting Tyler, he prevents the button of this other that is crucial for his existence. Important themes discussed in the movie include consumerism. To be specific, it shows how the redbrick consumerist society affects Mans aim of his existence.In Sartres words, how a diversity in the a priori limits which outline mans funda cordial situation in the universe affects Mans stopping point of his existence with respect to these limits. harmonize to Sartre, all configurations either appear as attempts to pass beyond them or recede from them or deny them or adapt to them. Consumerism imposes limits on Man to work and to consume, because only if Man works can he consume, and he can consume only if he works. He is emasculated because he is unavailing to fulfill his natural role as a hunter-collector as dictated to him by biology.Man is limited or restrict in the sense he is unable to fulfill his primitive instincts. As seen in the movie, Tyler tries to pass beyond these limits by destroying symbols of consumerism, such as credit card companies, so as to return to Ground secret code. Since some(prenominal) muckle define their existence by numbers in their bank accounts, destroying the bank records will erase their previous existence and allow them to create their existence anew, much like how the narrators apartment was bombed so that he could create his new existence through difference Club.Tylers ultimate object seems to be changing the limits by which people define their existence by. He envisions the destruction of recent civilization, and a regression back to a more primitive hunter gatherer state. In the conception I see you are stalking elk through the same canyon forests around the ruins of rock feller Centre. In the world he envisions, the new limits by which people will define themselves with respect to are undoubtedly physical strength and prowess. On the other hand, the narrator, like so many of us today, adapts to these limits by embracing consumerism as indoctrinated into him by society through advertisements.He avidly purchases IKEA furniture and defines his existence by these material goods. In Tylers words, he works jobs he hates so he can buy shit he doesnt need. He assumes that his furniture unequivocally defines him as a mortal, from the glass wheel with imperfections made by the simple and trusty people of wherever to his yin-yang coffee table, while missing the irony that IKEA is a chain-store that mass produces furniture. He is no other different from many other consumers of IKEA who believe that their furniture is unique on virtuousness of it being selected by them.At the end of the movie, the narrator realizes he needs to rap a balance between the 2 opposing configurations, one that is in the pre -consciousness state, alarmed to confront his freedom, and the other that embraces existentialism and freedom to the point of reckless destruction. Shooting Tyler thus allows him to reunite his opposing configurations and strike a middle balance. Marla is an example of how a person recedes from limits that outline the human sort out. She does not know what values to choose to define her existence.As a result, she adopts a nihilistic posture and attempts to hit rock-bottom by assay to court death. Lastly, another important theme in the movie is that of mental pain. more characters in the movie experience mental pain because they are unable to reject the being in itself others force upon them. Thus, they cannot get to a true state of being for itself This is because we perceive others as a condition of our own existence, as how Sartre puts it. According to Sartre, once we realize we exist, we realize the existence of others who are free to define us according to how they view us. We are objectified in the eyes of others because others view us as a being in itself. We lose our freedom through their perception of us. plainly we looking back and viewing others as objects can we regain our freedom. Bob is viewed as a man who has lost his masculinity. He accepts this being in itself, believing that he is condemned to this fixed and unchanging physical body. Thus, he suffers mental pain because he does not reject the attempts of being in itself others force upon him by realizing his freedom to create his own existence.The narrator similarly suffers from accepting the being in itself society forces upon him- as a member of society whose purpose is to work, to consume and to obey his superiors. His ideal self-image is that of a wet and ruthless primal human being. However, he dares not embrace his freedom to reject this being for itself and work towards the transcendent culture of his ideal self-image. Thus, his mental pain caused Tyler to manifest, who violently abuses the narrator to symbolize the mental pain the narrator is experiencing.Tyler tries to push the narrator to be fully aware of his unconscious desires, and to assume responsibility for his freedom. Only when he confronts this mental pain (Tylers physical abuse) can he reject being for itself and achieve true being-for-itself, the state where he is evermore and freely choosing his future. His decision to shoot Tyler was justified-because he is freely choosing to reject Tylers destructive ideas, and to transcend his initial transcendent goal of becoming Tyler.In conclusion, the movie has substantial themes of existentialism running through it. The act of shooting Tyler was justified because it signifies the first step of existentialism for the narrator- he becomes fully aware of what he is, and assumes full responsibility of his existence. It also shows how human beings may choose to define themselves with respect to the limits of the world they exist in. Lastly, shooting Tyle r allows the narrator to confront his mental pain and reach the true state of being for itself.