Saturday, August 31, 2019

Investigation into aqueous electrolytic cells Essay

Introduction: For this experiment, we are to test an aqueous solution, choosing from the four selections given: sodium chloride, copper sulfate, copper chloride and hydrogen sulfuric acid. The purpose of this investigation is to investigate one factor that affects the output of an aqueous electrolytic cell. We were given a double lesson to plan the experiment and another for us to collect data. I decided that the electrolytic cell I will study is copper chloride by measuring the mass of the carbon stick, the electrode. We are also given a supply of power units to help us investigate into aqueous electrolytic cells. Aim: My aim for this experiment is to investigate whether the amount of voltage in a circuit can affect the amount of solid discharged. Hypothesis (including reason): If the voltage increases, the amount of solid discharged from the electrode will increase as well. I predict that the solid discharged from the electrode will increase as the voltage increase in the circuit because as the voltage goes higher, the more energy will be produced and the faster the solid will be discharged from the electrode. And hence, the mass of the electrode will gradually become heavier as the voltage increases. Variables: Independent variable: voltage For the independent variable, it is the voltage, because I have to change it as we finish the experiment every time, meaning the input of the experiment. It is also a manipulated variable, which is a factor or condition that changes intentionally manipulated by the investigator to observe the effect. Since we want a big difference of mass change, we decided to go from 2amps to 12amps. Dependent variable: mass of electrode For the dependent variable, it is the mass of electrode, because this is what I will be measuring, meaning the output of this experiment. It is also the responding variable; the variable that may change result of the independent variable. Controlled variable: temperature, distance of carbon stick, length of carbon stick, type of cathode and anode metal, time of running led with constant current, volume or depth of emersion of electrodes. These are all the controlled variables, because they all need a certain amount or distance in order to keep the experiment constant each time I do it and to make it a fair test. Discussion & Conclusion: Referring to my graph, the line of best fit shows clearly a trend that the mass of the electrode increases as the voltage increase, therefore supporting my hypothesis, proving that the prediction was correct. As the voltage increased, the faster the solid was discharged from the electrode, causing the mass to increase gradually. However, during the process of collecting the data, there was a problem of unstable temperature. I had to redo the experiment again as the first attempt was not what I expect, the temperature went from 20.5Â ºCto43 Â ºC. Therefore, I changed the solution after every read of each different voltages in order to keep a more stable temperature and hold a fair test. I also noticed the copper chloride in the first attempt changed from turquoise color to dark green, I believe it is the carbon residue left in the solution. The second time, there was less because we changed to a new solution every reading. Excluding the errors made during the experiment, all in all base on the points stated above, it proves that my hypothesis is correct. Modifications to Original Plan: As mentioned in the discussion, due to the unexpected rapid increase of temperature as the voltage increase, I decided that the solution should be changed every reading to prevent an unfair test, producing unreliable results. Changing the solution after every reading will decrease the risk of unstable temperature and will carry out a fairer test, and the results are more accurate. Evaluation: My method was overall satisfactory as it carried out a successful experiment, proving my hypothesis right. But if I were to do this investigation again, I would decrease the voltage range as the range I did was too high; hence, producing chlorine gas which was toxic and it was too strong when the power unit reached 12amps. After this experience, I would be aware of the voltage, and next time I would only start from 1amps and end at 5amps. That way, there will be less risk of breathing in too much toxic chlorine gas and the experiment would be safer as well. This investigation can be extended to investigate on whether the aqueous solution would be affect by the length of the electrode.

Friday, August 30, 2019

Gibson Insurance Company

Overview Gibson Insurance Company has tasked Rebecca Hampton, the controller, with reviewing the company's allocation of corporate support costs in order to better assign the cost attributed to product lines and business units. This is important because it would help to provide better information for pricing decisions, sales compensation, and focus on areas in cost improvement. Gibson sells two categories of financial products: annuities and life insurance. They are both sold by in-house sales agents.Gibson decided to start purchasing other corporations in order to quickly grow the company’s customer base and its assets under management (AUM). GIC acquired Compton Insurance Services and Midwest Mutual Insurance Company, and although they all sold the same services, the prices and features were different. Gibson had a decision to make: keep the new acquisitions as separate legal entities, or completely absorb them into its corporate system. GIC chose to keep them as separate le gal entities, and treat them as wholly owned subsidiaries for legal and financial reporting purposes.Rebecca decided to re-evaluate the cost allocation structure. She chose to list them under 4 categories: Policy Acquisition, Customer Service, Sales and Marketing, and Corporate Overhead. All Relevant Issues Gibson Insurance main issue is its cost allocation system that allocates support costs to its various product lines based on total number of policies. This provided for an inadequate application of resources for each business unit and product line. For example, selling a new policy takes more resources and effort than maintaining an in-force policy.Another concern is a decline in profitability although the sales volumes are increasing. This is possibly due to hidden cost problems or incorrectly set prices. After a breakdown of support cost, Gibson also had a issue with possible inefficiency of processes. Hampton felt as though they used to many resources with selling new policies . Relationships Among Important Issues GIC’s current cost allocation system provides for a inadequate allocation of cost. With the true costs for each division and product line mis represented Gibson is unable to accurate set prices to match expenses of products.This also does not allow them to identify problem areas, or inefficient processes, in need of attention. With those two issues secretly effecting the books, GIC profitability has suffered. Relationships of Case Issues to Aim of the Company Gibson’s poor cost allocation and lost in profits has it wanting to develop a new allocation method. With this new method they will be able to more accurately apply resource cost and pricing to specific business units and products. After implementing the new drivers they will be able to streamline processes to lower costs.Making these changes will allow Gibson to get to gain control of costs and by affect its profitability. New Problem Statement Resulting from Case Analysis G ibson is concerned about its current allocation of corporate support costs. Currently it feels the resources of various business units are not properly assigned. Rebecca Hampton, the controller, must come up with a new allocation method to obtain a better handle on profitability, product pricing and agent compensation, and current costs. Objectives – verifying the old or developing new based on analysis Gibson Insurance main objective is to improve profitability.Its second objective is to better control pricing and resource allocation. To control pricing and resources, Gibson third objective is to develop a new cost allocation method based on different cost drivers. Finally Gibson aims to streamline its processes in the future to further lower cost to increase profit. Statement of Alternatives After analyzing the case we have come up with five possible alternatives for Gibson Insurance company. First, Gibson can choose to use the new cost drivers, developed by Hampton, to rea llocate costs to provide a more accurate picture of indirect costs.Second, Gibson can choose to reanalyze cost to come up with different cost drivers also to provide a more accurate picture of indirect costs. Third, they can redivide the support services to individual business units. This will help eliminate the simple allocation issue. Only the cost incurred in each department of the business entity will be attributed to the operations of the business entity. Fourth, Gibson can separate the individual product lines support. They can have have four separate departments for new and in-force insurance and annuities.This will dial in the cost not only to individual product cost but what status these products use the most resources. It can turn much of the indirect cost into direct costs. Lastly, Gibson can choose to do nothing. It can continue to use current method of allocation and make educated guess on what costs are incorrect and what prices are set correct. This option is not an i deal one because Gibson is currently losing money. After choosing and implementing one of the above options, Gibson can begin to work on underlying issues.They can use the new cost allocation analysis to see if any area of business is in need of adjustment. It can then decide if price meets the cost demands of division and product line. Action Plan We agree with Gibson’s controller that the new way of allocating costs is the best plan of action for Gibson. Under the old system, costs were broken up by separate legal entities and product lines. Using the old method, Midwest has $5,087,166 in total support costs, while Gibson has $5,080,997 and Compton has $3,751,837 totaling $13,920,000.The new method calls for the allocation of costs based on cost drivers, which Hampton divided into four categories: policy acquisition, customer service, sales and marketing and other corporate support. Each cost account is driven by a cost driver. Policy acquisition is driven by the number of steps required to move a new policy application to an in-force status. Customer service costs are driven by the number of incoming calls. Sales and marketing costs are driven by the number of solicitation needed to sell a product. Lastly, other corporate costs are determined by the dollar value of AUM.The total support costs of $13,920,000 is broken up into $4,375,000 in policy acquisition costs, $2,426,000 in customer service costs, $4,552,000 in sales and marketing costs and lastly $2,567,000 in other corporate support costs. The new cost allocation system allows Gibson to identify where the costs are emanating from. It helps them identify where they can cut costs and where to focus their resources to meet their aim. By employing the new system, the per units costs for each cost-driver is as follows: $42. 20 per step, $44. 06 per customer service call, $10. 2 per sales solicitation call and $14. 92 per policy for the overhead costs. Under the new system it was found that Compton h as the support highest costs, as opposed to the old system where Midwest had the highest cost. The costs for new life insurance policies makes up 40% of the total costs, which is $5,609,243. However, the new life insurance policies bring in $19,200,000 in AUM for Gibson. Yes, it is costing Gibson more to bring in new policies, but new customers are expensive because they take away from the profit. Therefore, we do not see any problem with this plan.Moreover, the new plan allows them to see that the in-force policies are not costing them anything, which tells them to focus their resources on the new-policies for both the product lines. By analyzing we decided that it is definitely costing Gibson more to bring in life-insurance policies than annuities. For example, it takes five steps to complete a policy acquisition for life insurance compared to only two steps for annuities. Also, it takes them 10 extra sales solicitations per policy for life-insurance compared to annuities. We also feel that 20 solicitation calls for one life-insurance is expensive.It costs $881. 22 to make 20 calls and the AUM for a new life-insurance policy is only $1500, so the profit margin is less than 60%. Perhaps they can train their sales employees to better perform each call and sell a policy with less number of calls. By doing this they will be able to cut their sales and marketing costs by 50% and increase their profits. Their total sales and marketing costs will go from $4,552,000 to $2,276,000 and it brings down the new life-policy costs from $5,609,243 to $4,326,989, which will make their product line more profitable and bring in more profits for Gibsons Inc.Knowing Constraints – Potential Problems Gibson Insurance Company also has to deal with potential problems. If they break up the costs into individual processes, they could possibly spend a lot more money and time than they need to. By gathering the data and breaking it up into many costs accounts will eventually cost them more in terms of management compensation, rather than helping them save. Also by implementing a new training program we may have resistance from current employees because they may feel that they are doing their job correctly without needing more training.Analysis’ Presentation Leads to Definition of Problem By analyzing the cost structure and re-allocation the costs with the new cost drivers, we have determined that the problem is the cost of sales solicitation and, possibly, the price that Gibson is charging for its insurance policies. Develops, Justifies, and Rank Objectives Gibson has five objectives. Their primary objective is to improve their profits, which requires that they prioritize other objectives, which will help them reach their goal of maximizing profit.By developing a new cost allocation method based on different cost drivers helps them to find places where they need control costs and resources, which helps them maximize profit. Develops and Weighs Altern atives We have listed five different options for Gibson to choose from. First option is to go with Hampton new cost drivers and reallocate cost on that basis. By choosing to go with the controller’s numbers we will save time and money on research vs Option 2. After we do that we will have a more accurate picture of cost and resource allocation. This will allow Gibson to work on specific reas of cost that may be hindering the company such as the number of sales solicitations. By implementing the new training program we can reduce sales and marketing by 50% by cutting the contacts needed in half. Second, Gibson can choose to reanalyze cost to come up with different cost drivers also to provide a more accurate picture of indirect costs. By going back and re-evaluating the drivers it would take more management resources. We would need to pull department heads off jobs and waste time possibly to return to the with same drivers that are already presented.So by choosing the first al ternative we can get the new cost implemented faster and begin work on fixing problems sooner. Third, they can redivide the support services to individual business units. This will help eliminate the simplify allocation issue. Only the cost incurred in each department of the business entity will be attributed to the operations of the business entity. This will not be ideal because it would require additional spending on recruiting new personnel including management. Fourth, Gibson can separate the individual product lines support.They can have have four separate departments for new and in-force insurance and annuities. This will dial in the cost not only to individual product cost but what status these products use the most resources. It can turn much of the indirect cost into direct costs. This will prove to be an inefficient method of allocating cost. Gibson would need to assign more resources to hiring personnel and restructuring processes. Gibson would possibly have to redesign it entire operating process to separate its departments and consolidating its different products line from different companies under one business entity.It would also have to deal with the backlash of current customers who may run into problems during the shift. Lastly, Gibson can choose to do nothing. It can continue to use current method of allocation and make educated guess on what costs are incorrect and what prices are set correct. This option is not an ideal one because Gibson is currently losing money. Selects Appropriate Alternative After analyzing the alternatives, we decided pick the first alternative that calls for to use the cost drivers developed Hampton.The costs are divided into four different costs namely, policy acquisition, customer service, sales and marketing and other corporate support. Each cost has cost driver, which decides the total cost for that cost account. Policy acquisition costs are driven by the number of steps required to move a new application to in -force status, which is two steps for annuities and five steps for life insurance. Number of incoming customer calls drive the cost for customer service while the number of sales solicitation drives the cost for sales and marketing costs.And finally, corporate overhead costs are driven by the dollar value of AUM. This plan will facilitate the decision process for the management because it helps them see where the costs are emanating and where they better turn their resources. For example, by allocating the costs differently they were able to see that Compton has the highest support costs at $5,100,202. 17 as oppose to the last plan where Midwest had the highest cost. It also allowed them to see that the in-force policies are not costing them anything in terms of policy acquisition and sales and marketing costs.This tells them which product line is more profitable and which is not, so they focus their resources accordingly. By finding where the costs are stemming from, they will be a ble to better control the costs thereby increasing their profits, which is their primary objective and that is that the first alternative is appropriate alternative for Gibson. Probability of Success This action plan will be successful for Gibson because it will help the managers realize where the majority of their costs stem from. It will also help them determine where they should be focusing their attention to.

Thursday, August 29, 2019

What Globalisation Means Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3250 words

What Globalisation Means - Essay Example This paper stresses that globalisation and the initiation of new technologies have significantly changed the way business, government and society are organized. One of the key driving forces behind these changes is a new business model. Manufacturing technology, which began during the industrial revolution, making mass production possible; Transportation technology, like railways, motor transport, steam shipping and aeroplanes, allowing the movement of people, materials and finished products from country to country and continent to continent more quickly and cheaply; Information and communications technology, like the telephone, computers, the internet, satellite television, which have together contributed to both the globalisation of markets and the global co-ordination of worldwide business activities; all these contribute to the rapid pace of globalisation. This article makes a conclusion that major investments are being made by U.S. and European businesses, recognising the advantages of establishing offshore facilities that would complement their operations and production. Many businesses have resorted to interfirm cooperation to streamline and increase the efficiency in their respective operations. Interfirm cooperation is evident in research and development which allows firms to benefit from lower costs and high quality knowledge-based workers while the host country gains from technology transfer, acquiring new technologies and information from research and development efforts.

Wednesday, August 28, 2019

Male, Masculine, Virility Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Male, Masculine, Virility - Assignment Example and bodily health are the distinguishing characters in the personality of a perfect man and are often highlighted in men related to military or sports. The sense of independence and sacrifice makes him the focal point of pride and attention. Considering from a physical point of view, the perfect soldier has a well built frame, perfect height, a muscular figure and above all the perfect attitude. Who does not notice a soldier? He is the one fighting for the sovereignty of his country and wherever he is mentioned, shown or written about no one can deny the vitality of their purpose. The country’s defenses are vested upon its military. Usually countries engage each other in cold wars which are more political than physical but sometimes things get ugly and that is when military comes into action. This valor, bravery and prestige are the identification of a virile man. No imaginary depiction of superheroes can compete with a real life existing soldier ready to sacrifice his life in the name of his people. The self- respect, honor and pride associated with this notion are a source of benefit for the entire nation. This not only gives the nation a sense of confidence and security but also something to get inspired from. As far as physical disabilities are concerned, society attributes such men to be weak and vulnerable, while for them this approach is a source of constant self-pity and dependence. It destroys the remainder of their talents and points of encouragement; all this in the name of natural disabilities. â€Å"Paralytic disability constitutes emasculation of a more direct and total nature. For the male, the weakening and atrophy of the body threaten all the cultural values o masculinity: strength, activeness, speed, virility, stamina, and fortitude.†(Murphy 94) For men their bodies are the focal point of identification and attribution. In military special attention is given to physical health of soldiers along with stamina building. So they form an

Tuesday, August 27, 2019

Children oncentration Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Children oncentration - Essay Example Children do not have skills to maintain focus, psychologists call this part the executive function according to them it involves the pre-frontal cortex of the brain. During the underdeveloped stage of skills, it becomes hard for children to take control of their impulse, hold information in her working memory and maintain focus. The problem with the child is not that he cannot pay attention but it’s that he cannot pay attention to what you want them to. Many children pay attention to everything happening around them and cannot selectively focus on one thing this especially happens to those with ADHD, however, paying attention can be taught.Children with this problem experience poor fine motor coordination this is where one finds that the handwriting is poor, difficult to read small this makes the child write slowly, avoid writing because homework because it is difficult to write therefore, they prefer printing. Poor memory is also associated with ADHD where a child finds it ha rd to memorize material such as multiplication tables, spelling different words, math’s formulas or hate in history. This makes the child has a forgetful memory where they forget homework assignment forgets to take books home or even to turn in completed assignment to the teacher.To teach children how to focus, one needs to see this a skill to be mastered through learning and practicing, any work presented to a child should be done that in small chunks, which are to be done in smaller stretches of time then allowing them to have breaks.

Monday, August 26, 2019

Child Development Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Child Development - Essay Example e â€Å"feelings†, while the behaviorist would take a more practical approach and try to show the young child that there was indeed nothing to fear in the dark externally. Chapter 2 †¨2a Connection: Read the description of the study investigating antisocial boys and their friendships on page 44 of your text. The data collection method was structured observation. What type of research design did the researchers use, and why? †¨Ã¢â‚¬ ¨ The researchers used qualitative research in order to study antisocial boys and their friendships.1 Structured observation is a more qualitative type of measurement than necessarily a quantitative one would be. The type of research design should be correlational; this method should be utilized because it would probably be the most fruitful. 3a Application: Nora, pregnant for the first time, has heard about the teratogenic impact of alcohol and tobacco. Nevertheless, she believes that a few cigarettes and a glass of wine a day wont be harmful. Provide Nora with research-based reasons for not smoking or drinking. †¨Ã¢â‚¬ ¨ Nora should know that research shows that expectant mothers who smoke typically have lower birth weights and are much more likely to be born premature. Also, drinking alcohol while pregnant may pose a significant development risk to the fetus, and continued drinking (of one glass per day) could give the child Fetal Alcohol Syndrome, which is characterized by certain facial deformities. 4b Application: After several weeks of crawling, Benji learned to avoid going headfirst down a steep incline. Now he has started to walk. Can his mother trust him not to try walking down the steep surface? Explain, using the concept of affordances. †¨Ã¢â‚¬ ¨ Benji’s mother should not trust the baby to walk down a steep surface even though he has stopped going headfirst down a steep decline. His balance might not totally be adjusted yet since he is just learning to walk. The baby must use the concept of affordances to derive (by

Sunday, August 25, 2019

Personal Code of Ethics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Personal Code of Ethics - Essay Example ed commitment, principled living style, objectivity, harmonious behavior, constructive criticism, beneficial communication, learning passion, and critical reflection. In pursuing my career in finance and accounting, I will take care to conduct myself as much ethically as possible in both personal and professional life by always ensuring the definite presence of this ethical code in my mind. By keeping the values which form the hallmark of my code, I will learn the ropes to establish a smooth career which would not be marred by insignificant criticism, harsh communication, unprofessional thinking, workplace debauchery, and demoralized behavior. Developing a code of ethics prior to initiating a professional career holds utmost importance, because it saves one from engrossing in character-destroying activities and ruining one’s career for life. I will promote healthy and constructive dialogue with fellow colleagues and managers, while taking care to criticize where necessary but in a bias-free manner. I will negotiate certain issues with other people at workplace by being critical, reflective, and ethical at the same time. I will never hold back my passion and commitment for offering solutions for myriad problems and will always consult my code of ethics for maintaining workplace

Renaissance of Thoughts Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Renaissance of Thoughts - Essay Example However the thesis proves to be a contrast. According to Aristotle, no one would be able to stay happy and wise unless the â€Å"philosopher’s paradox† is defended. Socrates commitment to the sufficiency thesis, however, offer lucid substantiation for Socrates’ dedication to the requisite of wisdom for happiness and so defines the fundamental significance of wisdom for Socrates. On the typical interpretation, Socrates argues for the sufficiency thesis in Euthydemus 278–282. Irwin nicely exhibits this way of reading the passage: â€Å"Socrates takes it to be generally agreed that we achieve happiness by gaining many goods (279a1–4), but he argues that the only good we need is wisdom. He argues in three stages :( 1) Happiness does not require good fortune added to wisdom (279c4–280a8). (2) Wisdom is necessary and sufficient for the correct and successful use of other goods (280b1–281b4). (3)Wisdom is the only good (281b4–e5). Fro m this Socrates concludes that if we want to secure happiness, we need not acquire many goods; we need only acquire wisdom (282a1–d3)†. (Jones 2013). In this context it is relevant to discuss the philosophy of Roger Bacon where he made precise observations about the natural processes of life. His attention was mainly relating to alchemy and his misconceptions had connection with his knowledge of magic. He loved to experiment and because of this some of his contemporaries regarded him as necromancer and sorcerer. His thirst to know the truth paved the way for a new experimentation where he formed a head from dead human heads and expected it to speak to him through the aid of devil. Alchemists applied some experimentation technique in the Aristotelian domain, to draw conclusions from the principles which had already been ascertained through thoughts, philosophies and observations (Krebs 1999 124) around 2500 years back, the Buddhist tradition explained the meaning of happ iness. However, Buddha’s first preaching was about the fact that the foundation of happiness revolves round suffering and pain and both happiness and pain are the results of our own deeds and thoughts (cloudwater.org n.d.). As per Martin Luther King Jr. â€Å"If we are to have peace on earth, our loyalties must become ecumenical rather than sectional, Our loyalties must transcend our race, our tribe, our class, and our nation; and this means we must develop a world perspective† (The Wisdom of Martin Luther King, Jr. n.d). Thus the thoughts of scholars state that gaining continuous knowledge and obtaining wisdom from various experimentations are the main sources of happiness. Happiness is a universal term and it can’t be obtained staying aloof from others. The perspective of eminent scholars state that â€Å"happiness can’t be felt unless we know what sadness is.† However the modern day philosophies state that people today, tend to relate happiness with material possession. It is true that wealth brings happiness, but for a moment. In the words of Jesus Christ, â€Å"It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the Kingdom of God† (Gulla 2010 170) The urge for wealth and material possession is defined by our needs. It can be said that, however, even if needs are satisfied, it can’t provide a long-term satisfaction as needs are innumerable.  

Saturday, August 24, 2019

Teen Pregnancy in the United States Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Teen Pregnancy in the United States - Essay Example The focus of the article then moves on to the steps that could be taken in order to ensure that this issue is dealt with in the most effective manner. It is seen that a multi-dimensional approach is necessary to find out the best solution to the problems related to teenage pregnancy in the United States. Not only there is the need for a more comprehensive educational plan, there is also the need to introduce programs that support the further education and the career of the adolescent mother. In addition, support is also necessary for the mother to understand how to raise the child. The article concludes by discussing the need for a combination of the programs so that there is a comprehensive method to prevent both teenage pregnancies and to support adolescent mothers. Adolescent pregnancy has become a social issue that attracts a very high level of attention because the United States has the highest rate of teen pregnancy among the industrialized countries. The rate of teen pregnancy in the US is almost double of that of Great Britain and over 10 times that of Japan (unc.edu, 2005). Therefore, it is no longer an issue that concerns just the teenager and the family, but it has become a social issue that has larger implications and repercussions that has the local and national impact. The peak period for teenage pregnancies was during the early 1990s when the teenage birth rate was over 60 births per 1000 women. Over a period, this rate has come down slowly. During 2006, this number reduced to 41.9 births per 1000 women (guttmacher.org, 2006). Researchers feel that there are two main reasons for this high rate of teenage pregnancy. One is that the age of menarche is now much lower than what it has been before. This results in an increase in sexual activity without the awareness of its consequences at a much earlier age, resulting in teenage pregnancy (Kaplowitz, 2006).

Friday, August 23, 2019

Merger & Acquisition in Pharmaceutical Industry Dissertation

Merger & Acquisition in Pharmaceutical Industry - Dissertation Example This essay stresses that M&As can be motivated from multiple sources. This conclusion is supported by industry surveys of pharmaceutical firms who report having multiple M&A goals: grow the core business, realize cost synergies, acquire new technologies, gain competitive advantage, generate fiscal advantage, and so on. Such a phenomenon is not unique to pharmaceutical firms; firms in other industries typically have multiple objectives in pursuing M&As. It is possible, of course, that many positive aspirations are voiced to disguise underlying motivations for cost synergies. This paper makes a conclusion that the problem with multiple rationales noted in these other industries may also pertain to pharmaceuticals: the lack of a clear focus in the merger and the presence of conflicting agendas. In the presence of multiple goals, the intentions of the two firms (particularly if one acquires the other) are likely to diverge, if not conflict. Moreover, there may be a simultaneous (and confusing) effort to cut costs and pursue growth. Other problems that stem from multiple rationales concern the merger implementation effort – for example, the difficulty in mapping out the implementation steps due to the need to accommodate a variety of potentially conflicting interests and directions. Multiple rationales may thus prove dysfunctional during the merger transition and lead to unresolvable conflicts. Industry analysts argue that one party in clear control, with a dominant economic rationale, a simple program, great communication, and excellent execution, is the critical ingredient for M&A success.

Thursday, August 22, 2019

”Things Fall Apart” by Chinua Achebe Essay Example for Free

†Things Fall Apart† by Chinua Achebe Essay In †Things Fall Apart† Chinua Achebe takes us to a Nigerian village at the time of the British colonization of Africa where substantial changes are affecting the inhabitants. Okonkwo is a proud African man who strives to succeed in the Igbo society. In his early days he created a name for himself by being a successful wrestler. He then put enormous effort into making his farm prosperous by working hard and creating a big family. That he appreciates hard work and discipline defines him as a father. When he realizes that his oldest son Nwoye is not of the quality he requires, he feels himself obligated to take action mostly with the use of violence thought he finds little pleasure in beating the children and views. It is rather a way to obtain respect and his way of parenting. To some extent this domestic aggression is accepted and is an acknowledged part of the Igbo culture. Apart from the elevated position he acquires other clansmen do not always agree with his impulsive nature as for the incident during the week of peace when he beat his wife. At first sight Okonkwo is a confident man who has no fears. This is deeply rooted in the view of how a man should be in their culture where the ability to not show any emotions is highly redeemed. But actually, a lot of his actions can be traced back to fear and insecurity. This fear clearly has to do with Unoka, his work-shy father who left nothing over to his son but debt after his death. Eventually, these moral standards conflict Okonkwo when affection starts to grow for Ezinma, the daughter of his second wife, feelings which he experiences are difficult to handle. He also feels especially bad after he killed the adopted boy Igbomefuna, an act that puts Okonkwo in a depression that if nothing else demonstrates that something has changed in his character. †Okonkwo was also feeling tired, and sleepy, for although nobody else knew it, he had not slept at all last night. He had felt very anxious but did not show it. When Ekwefi had followed the priestess, he had allowed what was  regarded as reasonable and manly interval to pass and then gone with his machete to the shire†. (p 82) One could wonder why he follows even though the priestess had requested to be alone with Ezinma during the sprititualic ritual. It is evident that breaking the rules of the ritualic traditions is not something he could let himself do easily. Not mainly would it be fright of the gods. Okonkwo tries to keep up a facede which involves obeying the traditions of his ancestors as for not showing emotions. And with a past as a warrior it is understandable why he is keen to not look weak. Reference list: Things Fall Apart – Chinua Achebe Litterature Criticism And Theory – Andrew Bennet Nicholas Royle (p.63-70)

Wednesday, August 21, 2019

Le Groupe International Belge French Essay

Le Groupe International Belge French Essay Note de Synthà ¨se Le groupe international Belge SOLVAY, est un groupe diversifià © il est composà © de 3 Domaines dActività ©s Stratà ©giques: Chimie, Plastique et Pharmacie Lintà ©gration des actività ©s pharmaceutiques au sein du groupe Solvay sinscrit dans là ©volution historique du groupe et dans une stratà ©gie de croissance durable. Depuis les annà ©es 70, Solvay a dà ©cidà © de dà ©velopper des actività ©s acycliques, en particulier dans le domaine de la santà ©, ce qui la conduit à   de nombreuses acquisitions, avec encore rà ©cemment lacquisition des Laboratoires Fournier (2005). Solvay Pharmaceuticals est devenue une socià ©tà © active, de dimension internationale. Solvay Pharmaceuticals a fortement contribuà © au dà ©veloppement du Groupe. Alors que jusque là   le groupe raisonnait en termes de croissance durable et veillait au dà ©veloppement de son actività © pharmaceutique, on assiste aujourdhui à   un revirement stratà ©gique avec la dà ©cision prise le 28 Septembre 2009 de cà ©der lintà ©gralità © des actività ©s Pharmaceutiques. Il est à   noter que le DAS Pharmacie est lactività © la plus rentable du groupe (2/3 des bà ©nà ©fices pour 1/3 du CA). La problà ©matique qui sest alors dà ©gagà ©e a à ©tà © de savoir pourquoi lentreprise Solvay a fait le choix de se dà ©gager dune actività © rentable? La dà ©cision se caractà ©rise comme une stratà ©gie de recentrage, compte tenu du marchà © de la pharmacie (concurrence, mutations) et de ses contraintes (financià ¨res, sanitaires, là ©gales†¦) ainsi que des ressources de lentreprise (taille moyenne). Ce recentrage intervient dans une logique de focalisation stratà ©gique à   long terme. Solvay a dà ©cidà © de dà ©sinvestir par cession (sell-off), avec lintention de se concentrer sur son cÅ“ur de mà ©tier afin dassurer sa pà ©rennità © sur des marchà ©s dominables (≠ Pharmacie structure concurrentielle non favorable) et de renforcer la cohà ©rence de ses actività ©s. Ce revirement sinscrit donc dans une dynamique dadaptation et de pà ©rennisation. Solvay à   donc pour ambition daffirmer sa position parmi les leaders dans les produits et services de la chimie et du plastique, par croissance interne (forte valeur ajoutà ©) et externe (nouvelles compà ©tences, nouveaux territoires). Cette stratà ©gie apparaà ®t comme cohà ©rente face au rude marchà © de la Pharmacie, mais des incertitudes persistent quant au rà ©investissement des sommes dà ©gagà ©es par la vente, mais aussi quant à   lavenir de Solvay sur des marchà ©s enclin à   une flambà ©e des prix des matià ¨res premià ¨res (Progression du CA mais baisse des performances). Introduction A lheure du dà ©veloppement considà ©rable des nouvelles technologies, biotechnologies ou autres nanotechnologies, le secteur mà ©dical est en perpà ©tuel mouvement. Ainsi, avec des efforts en recherche et dà ©veloppement trà ¨s importants dans ces secteurs et laccroissement des produits gà ©nà ©riques ainsi que des laboratoires, ces derniers nont plus seulement comme but de dà ©velopper des ressources et solutions pour les personnes malades. En effet, un rà ©el business sest dà ©veloppà © autour de ce secteur avec une concurrence mondiale qui saccroà ®t chaque annà ©e dans le cadre dune augmentation des dividendes versà ©s aux actionnaires, nà ©gligeant parfois la vocation premià ¨re du secteur mà ©dical: aider les personnes malades. De ce fait, les socià ©tà ©s nont pas de remords à   tester de nouveaux mà ©dicaments en contre partie dune contribution financià ¨re sur des à ©tudiants ou personnes dà ©sireux darrondir leurs fins de mois. En outre, les rachat s dactions ou de socià ©tà ©s sont de plus en plus frà ©quents, les commerciaux mà ©dicaux sont de plus en plus nombreux et laugmentation des produits gà ©nà ©riques complexifient le domaine du secteur mà ©dical de nos jours. En 2010, la France a consacrà © 2,2% du PIB pour la RD, soit prà ¨s de 30 milliards deuros, en augmentation de 5,5% par rapport à   2009. Lunion europà ©enne sest fixà ©e un objectif de croissance de 3% par an dans le but de rattraper le retard par rapport aux Etats-Unis. Le budget de recherche et dà ©veloppement dans le secteur privà © en France est de 5 milliards deuros pour lannà ©e courante. Cette faible croissance des dernià ¨res annà ©es à   conduit à   la dà ©localisation de nombreuses entreprises dans dautres pays au dà ©but du XXIà ¨me sià ¨cle. Dans le cadre de notre sujet de recherche, nous à ©tudierons la position du groupe international SOLVAY qui sest rà ©cemment sà ©parà ©e dun de ses trois domaines dactività ©s stratà ©giques, le secteur pharmaceutique. Ce domaine qui à ©tait rentable pour la socià ©tà © Belge. Aprà ¨s avoir prà ©sentà © ce groupe diversifià ©, nous prà ©senterons les cours de son action et mettrons en à ©vidence les chiffres clà ©s qui permettent de mieux lapprà ©hender. Dans une seconde partie, nous nous focaliserons sur le domaine cà ©dà © par SOLVAY, le secteur pharmaceutique et nous y à ©tudierons plus prà ©cisà ©ment ses diffà ©rentes facettes. Nous pourrons ainsi en dà ©gager des rà ©flexions sur la pertinence de la dà ©cision rà ©alisà ©e par les dirigeants de la socià ©tà ©. I. SOLVAY un groupe diversifià © 1. Prà ©sentation du Groupe SOLVAY Solvay est une socià ©tà © fondà ©e en 1863 par le chimiste Ernest Solvay. Le groupe fut le premier à   dà ©velopper la production du bicarbonate de sodium ainsi que lutilisation de là ©lectrolyse. SOLVAY est donc un groupe chimique et pharmaceutique international dont le sià ¨ge se trouve à   Bruxelles. Il est prà ©sent dans 50 pays et emploie plus de 29.000 personnes dans les secteurs dactività ©s: Chimie, Plastique et Pharmaceutique. Aujourdhui, SOLVAY est un groupe international qui intervient dans lindustrie chimique et pharmaceutique, il sest dà ©veloppà ©, dans plus de 50 pays, emploie 29000 employà ©s dans le monde. Le sià ¨ge se trouve à   Bruxelles, en Belgique. Le groupe, qui a une actività © industrielle importante dans les secteurs dactività ©s: Chimie, Plastique et Pharmaceutique, veille à ©galement à   la protection de lenvironnement tout au long du cycle de vie du produit dans le cadre dune prise en compte active du dà ©veloppement durable. Chacun est dailleurs sensibilisà © à   ce sujet dans le code de conduite de la socià ©tà ©  «One group, One code, One path ». Depuis le 15 Fà ©vrier 2010, SOLVAY sest rà ©orientà © sur 2 axes stratà ©giques (Chimie, Plastique) avec la revente de lactività © pharmaceutique à   la socià ©tà © Abott dans le cadre dun recentrage des actività ©s de la socià ©tà © Belge. La plus-value aprà ¨s impà ´t rà ©alisà ©e sur la vente du secteur pharmaceutique est de 1,7 milliards deuros. La socià ©tà © a pour but de rà ©investir cette somme dans des projets stratà ©giques en chimie et plastiques. De plus, elle souhaite continuer à   dà ©velopper ses rà ©gions qui ont un potentiel de croissance. En attendant les rà ©sultats des à ©valuations sur ces projets, elle compte investir à   court terme la trà ©sorerie excà ©dentaire. 2. Les parties prenantes Le groupe SOLVAY est cà ´tà © au NYSE Euronext à   Bruxelles, il est dà ©tenue à   30,07% par Solvac, 3,05% est dà ©tenu par Solvay Stock Option Management et 2,94% est dà ©tenue par Blackrock. Il est a souligner que M. Patrick Solvay est administrateur de la holding Solvac est dà ©tient 5,27% du Capital de celle-ci. à  Lien à ©troit entre Solvac et Solvay (Famille Solvay) 3. Performance Globale Quant à   lanalyse de la performance globale et à   la projection de la socià ©tà © sur les prochaines annà ©es, nous avons retenu les informations les plus pertinentes (daprà ¨s là ©tude des analystes dinfinancials: www.infinancials.com, des donnà ©es fournies par www.bourse.lesechos.fr, ainsi que des donnà ©es du Groupe Solvay: www.solvay.com). Voici tout dabord les diffà ©rentes à ©volutions des chiffres daffaires et rà ©sultats opà ©rationnels entre 2008 et 2009: CA 09 ∆% CA 08/09 Resultat opà ©rationnel 09 ∆% Resultat opà ©rationnel 08/09 Pharmaceutique 2791 3% 649 29% Chimique 2713 -12% 246 3% Plastique 2982 -19% 73 -72% * les chiffres ci-dessus sont en millions deuros/Source: infinancials.com Ci-dessus, là ©volution du chiffre daffaire et du rà ©sultat opà ©rationnel entre 2008 et 2009. On peut facilement observer sur ces donnà ©es calculà ©es à   partir du rapport 2009 de Solvay, que lactività © pharmaceutique a à ©tà © en forte progression aussi bien en termes de ventes que de rà ©sultat opà ©rationnel. Les actività ©s chimiques et plastiques, quant à   elles, en rà ©gression considà ©rables au niveau des ventes ainsi quen rà ©sultat opà ©rationnel pour lactività © plastique, ont en partie à ©tà © affectà ©es par la crise mondiale rà ©cente. Seulement le secteur pharmaceutique permet de rà ©tablir ces valeurs peu favorables durant lannà ©e 2009. De plus, daprà ¨s le rapport 2009 de SOLVAY, la là ©gà ¨re à ©volution du rà ©sultat opà ©rationnel du secteur chimique a à ©tà © induite par la diminution des coà »ts fixes et coà »ts à ©nergà ©tiques. Le secteur pharmaceutique a de nombreux produits phares dans diffà ©rentes spà ©cialisations comme les vaccins antigrippaux (Influac), la gynà ©cologie (Duphaston, Prometrium), la cardiomà ©tabollique (Tricor, Liphantyl) ou encore la neuroscience (Serc). Ces produits sont à   forte valeur ajoutà ©e pour le groupe. Ainsi, lacquisition de filiales et le dà ©veloppement de la socià ©tà © dans des pays en voie de dà ©veloppement ont contribuà © à   la plus-value rà ©alisà ©e lors de la cession. 2009 Prà ©visionnel 2010 ∆% 09/10 Investissements et acquisitions 567 673 18,7% RD 555 148 -73,3% Total 1122 821 -26,8% * les chiffres ci-dessus sont en millions deuros/Source: infinancials.com Sur ce tableau, on peut observer la projection de la socià ©tà © quant à   lannà ©e 2010 concernant les investissements et la recherche et dà ©veloppement. On peut constater que la socià ©tà © va continuer à   se dà ©velopper en comptant acquà ©rir dautres filiales. Suite à   la vente du secteur pharmaceutique à   Abott, la RD va considà ©rablement diminuer. En effet, la recherche mà ©dicale nà ©cessite beaucoup de moyens pour la recherche afin de dà ©velopper de nouveaux mà ©dicaments. Suite à   là ©tude de la performance des concurrents, et grà ¢ce aux ressources dinfinancials.com en sà ©lectionnant les crità ¨res suivant: EBITDA, rendement de la dette, revenus net, valeur des actions, volatilità © des actions. Nous avons pu caractà ©riser la socià ©tà © comme suiveuse. Voici, selon les analystes dinfinancials.com, la notation attribuà ©e à   la socià ©tà © en comparaison de la concurrence mondiale: SOLVAY Concurrence mondiale Taux de croissance 1,9 4,2 Valeur de lentreprise 3,4 5,1 Profitabilità © 6,1 5 Risque de marchà © 7,3 6,7 * toutes les notes sont notà ©es sur 10 points A titre informatif, les indicateurs et les valeurs pertinentes dà ©taillà ©s de ces dernià ¨res annà ©es sont mis à   disposition en annexes (Annexe 1). 4. Domaines dActività ©s Stratà ©giques La typologie des 3 DAS: Pharmaceutique : Cest un secteur de croissance non cyclique, il reprà ©sentait une zone de croissance pour Solvay. La socià ©tà © pharmaceutique est de taille moyenne. Chimique : La branche chimie dispose dun leadership fort et dune position concurrentielle. Elle se dà ©compose en 4 grands pà ´les: Le Pà ´le des minà ©raux (46% du CA du secteur Chimique: Carbonate de soude et dà ©rivà ©s, carbonates de baryum et de strontium,  « advanced Functional Minerals  ») Le Pà ´le Electrochimie et Fluor (36,3% du CA du secteur Chimique : soude caustique et produits fluorà ©s) Le Pà ´le Oxygà ¨ne (16,3% du CA du secteur Chimique : peroxyde dhydrogà ¨ne, dà ©tergence et caprolactones) Et le pà ´le Organique (0,9% du CA du Secteur Chimique) Plastiques : Cette branche est mineure dans lactività © du groupe, et se caractà ©rise par une spà ©cialisation dans: Les Polymà ¨res  « high tech  » et Inergy Automotive Systems (42% du CA de ce secteur) Et les actività ©s compà ©titives de la chaà ®ne vinylique (58% du CA de ce secteur) Il est à   souligner que Solvay fait partie des leaders mondiaux dans les domaines de la fabrication et de la commercialisation de produits plastiques et chimiques. Analyse des performances à ©conomiquespar DAS: Dans un premier temps nous allons analyser la reprà ©sentation des diffà ©rents DAS dans la performance à ©conomique du groupe Solvay. Rà ©partition du CA 2009 en pourcentage: Rà ©partition du Rà ©sultat 2009 en pourcentage: Au niveau du Chiffre dAffaires on remarque que la rà ©partition est homogà ¨ne avec une reprà ©sentation denviron 1/3 pour chaque DAS. Cependant dans lanalyse du Rà ©sultat on remarque que le portefeuille dactività ©s est trà ¨s dà ©sà ©quilibrà © en effet la Pharmacie reprà ©sente 2/3 du Rà ©sultat global du groupe. Tandis que les secteurs Chimique et Plastique ne reprà ©sentent seulement 1/3, la chimie à ©tant le plus rentable des 2. Suite à   cette analyse nous pouvons dire que le secteur Pharmaceutique est le plus rentable et ainsi est la source principale de revenu pour du groupe. Analyse du portefeuille dactività ©s du groupe: Matrice BCG: Lanalyse du portefeuille BCG est basà ©e sur 2 indicateurs la PDM relative et le taux de croissance. Pour le groupe Solvay, la Matrice laisse apparaitre la Pharmacie comme DAS Dilemme, en effet compte tenu de la concentration du secteur et de la taille moyenne de la branche pharmacie du groupe Solvay cette actività © devient problà ©matique. La chimie cÅ“ur de mà ©tier du groupe reprà ©sente lactività ©  «Vache à   lait », en effet Solvay fait partie des leaders sur ce marchà © à   tendance stable (taux de croissance nul) et enfin lactività © Plastique se prà ©sente comme  «Star » car Solvay travaille beaucoup dans le segment des plastiques  «high tech » et simpose comme un acteur important dans le domaine. II. Le Recentrage: une stratà ©gie nà ©cessaire et cohà ©rente? 1. Diagnostic (Focus DAS Pharmacie) A. Diagnostic Externe Les grandes tendances du marchà ©: * Une croissance fragilisà ©e: Le secteur connaà ®t une croissance mais qui est fragilisà ©e par la crise. En effet depuis ces 3 dernià ¨res annà ©es, on assiste à   un ralentissement de la croissance du CA du secteur et ainsi a une perte de vitesse de la croissance du secteur. Plusieurs facteurs, expliquent cela, daprà ¨s les à ©tudes du XERFI 700 on dà ©note : Les à ©conomies des organismes payeurs tel que lassurance maladie et autres mutuelles qui rà ©duisent leurs coà »ts. Une baisse significative de lauto mà ©dication : du fait de la remonter des prix et de la baisse du pouvoir dachat de la population dut à   la crise Une forte augmentation de la consommation de vaccins ainsi que de la vente de mà ©dicament gà ©nà ©rique. Rà ©ellement seul lactività © hospitalià ¨re et des maladies de grandes ampleurs tel que de la grippe A soutiennent lactività © du secteur. Concernant le dà ©veloppement des gà ©nà ©riques il est dà ©favorable à   lindustrie franà §aise par exemple (car cest un producteur de second rang). Les principaux producteurs sont les pays à ©mergents tel que la chine l inde ou le brà ©sil. Laugmentation de la perte de brevet reprà ©sente une hausse des couts de la recherche et un dà ©clin de la productività © de la RD Un durcissement de la rà ©glementation des mà ©dicaments concernant notamment toutes les à ©tapes de fabrication. La radicalisation des conditions dhomologation des nouveaux Laugmentation des substituts tels que les alicaments, les contrefaà §ons de mà ©dicaments (en nette progression dans les pays en dà ©veloppement) et les nouvelles alternatives thà ©rapeutiques. Le problà ¨me de surcapacità © des grands groupes dans la production de mà ©dicaments reprà ©sente à ©galement une des raisons de la fragilità © de ce secteur. Le problà ¨me de ce ralentissement vient principalement de la faible croissance des marchà ©s forts tels que les marchà ©s europà ©en et amà ©ricain. Nà ©anmoins les pays en dà ©veloppement tels que la Chine, lInde reprà ©sentent un à ©norme potentiel. * La crise du modà ¨le Blockbuster: Le modà ¨le blockbusters reposait sur la production dun nombre restreint de rà ©fà ©rences qui par des effets de masses et dà ©conomie dà ©chelles, atteignait des niveaux de rentabilità © trà ¨s à ©levà ©. On assiste aujourdhui à   une crise de ce modà ¨le du fait quaujourdhui la clientà ¨le a nettement moins besoin de mà ©dicament de masse mais de plus de mà ©dicament ciblà ©. Ce systà ¨me est à ©galement remis en cause par: la perte des brevets, laugmentation des coà »t de RD, la concurrence des gà ©nà ©riques†¦ * La tendance à   la spà ©cialisation Le secteur pharmaceutique sur le long terme tend à   un partage des risques et vers un modà ¨le de blockbusters de niche (mà ©decine de spà ©cialità ©). Cette nouvelle tendance intà ¨gre le dà ©veloppement des nouvelles technologies, lenjeu de se modà ¨le rà ©side dans une stratà ©gie de portefeuille nouvelle adaptà ©e a des besoins bien spà ©cifiques. * Restructuration dans le secteur Les grands laboratoires sont à ©galement à   la recherche dà ©conomies de coà »ts, notamment en RD, cest ainsi que lon a assistà © à   une vague de restructuration en 2008. Lobjectif à ©tant dadapter lorganisation de la RD (sous traitance), pour leurs permettre de prà ©server leur potentiel dinnovation et mieux rà ©pondre à   lintà ©gration des nouvelles technologies. * Le retour à   une concentration du marchà © (mà ©gafusions) Face à   ces mutations du secteur, les grands laboratoires on dà ©ployà © de nouvelles stratà ©gies pour conserver leur position et rà ©pondre aux exigences du marchà © et des payeurs. Les enjeux aujourdhui pour ces groupes sont loptimisation des coà »ts et la croissance externe, cest ainsi quils on recours à   des Fusions et Acquisitions ciblà ©es par exemple en rachetant des petites boà ®te spà ©cialisà ©es dans les biotechnologies (RD active et innovante) ou en acquà ©rant des actività ©s oà ¹ les barrià ¨res à   lentrà ©es sont moins importantes comme les gà ©nà ©riques, les vaccins†¦(les entreprises cibles sont de taille moyenne). Le secteur pharmaceutique passe de la production de produit de masse à   la recherche de marchà ©s de niche à   fort potentiel. Cette à ©volution passera incontestablement par des investissements importants à   linternational (conquà ªte de nouveaux marchà ©e), en RD (nouvelles technologies) etc †¦ Analyse PESTEL: *Source Xerfi 700 On a pu observer que le contexte dans lequel lindustrie pharmaceutique à ©volue est de plus en plus difficile. Le dà ©veloppement de nouveaux mà ©dicaments coà »te cher et lissue est toujours plus incertaine. Les contraintes sanitaires et là ©gales sont devenues draconiennes et lapprobation de plus en plus difficile. Analyse des à ©là ©ments structurels du secteur: Modà ¨le de Porter(5 forces+Gouvernement)  · Le pouvoir de nà ©gociation des fournisseurs (+) Il y a un faible pouvoir de nà ©gociation de la part des fournisseurs. En effet les entreprises du secteur commandent majoritairement de grosses quantità ©s notamment du fait de la production de masse des mà ©dicaments et dans le but de rà ©aliser des à ©conomies dà ©chelles (systà ¨me des blockbusters). Cependant ce fort pouvoir de nà ©gociation tend à   diminuer du fait de la crise du modà ¨le des blockbusters.  · Le pouvoir de nà ©gociation des clients (+-) Il y a un faible pouvoir de nà ©gociation de la part des clients. Cependant les clients finaux sont fortement influencà ©s par limplication des organismes payeurs, dans le taux de remboursement des mà ©dicaments.  · Les produits substituts (- -) Les produits gà ©nà ©riques sont de nouveaux produits de substitution leur production commence dà ¨s quun brevet tombe dans le domaine public. Le nombre de mà ©dicaments gà ©nà ©riques est en augmentation chaque annà ©e ce qui est une menace pour le secteur. Enfin la dernià ¨re menace sont les produits contrefaits en augmentation dans les pays en dà ©veloppement qui se substituent à   tord aux mà ©dicaments originaux. Autre menace dans une moindre mesure, les alicaments et mà ©decines douces, bien quils ne rà ©pondent pas aux mà ªmes besoins et ne sont pas rà ©ellement substituables, ils sont consommà ©s en amont par les consommateurs ce qui correspond à   une forme de substitution.  · Entrants potentiels (+) Le secteur est fermà © aux nouveaux entrants, il est donc difficile de venir concurrencer une entreprise sur le secteur, en effet il y a de trà ¨s fortes barrià ¨res à   lentrà ©e (investissements financiers à ©levà ©s, technologies†¦). Il faut cependant souligner le fait que les clients dans ce secteur ne sont pas fidà ¨les à   une marque si le produit à   la mà ªme efficacità © (mà ©dicaments gà ©nà ©riques).  · Concurrence interne (- -) La rivalità © dans ce secteur dactività © est trà ¨s vive du fait du nombre et de la taille des acteurs (concentration). Le marchà © de la pharmacie est de type ultra concurrentiel, avec une dominance des 2 leaders mondiaux (Pfizer et GSK), suivis de grands groupes internationaux (ex: MerckCo, Sanofi-Aventis, Novartis†¦) et en de laboratoires nationaux indà ©pendants trà ¨s actifs qui possà ¨dent des positions fortes notamment dans la RD.  · Gouvernement (-) Il est essentiel de noter limportance des facteurs induits par le Gouvernement dans un secteur tel que celui de la Pharmacie. En effet le gouvernement joue un rà ´le essentiel en ce qui concerne le contrà ´le de la production des mà ©dicaments et des prix pratiquà ©s. Le gouvernement joue un rà ´le essentiel dans un pays comme par exemple en France oà ¹ il est un organisme payeur (remboursement des mà ©dicaments). B. Diagnostic Interne Dans les annà ©es 70 et au lendemain de la crise pà ©trolià ¨re, le groupe Solvay a optà © pour un modà ¨le stratà ©gique hybride, en se lanà §ant, grà ¢ce plusieurs acquisitions, dans le secteur pharmaceutique. Lobjectif à ©tait alors davoir une actività © plus stable dans son portefeuille dactività ©s, qui permettrait de compenser laspect trop cyclique des actività ©s Chimie et Plastique (rà ©partition des risques). Cette petite actività © est devenue grande et source de revenu, au cours du temps. En 2008, la pharmacie pesait pour 52 % du bà ©nà ©fice du groupe Solvay, elle nest donc pas une actività © annexe. Il semblerait quaujourdhui Solvay Pharma soit un groupe denvergure relativement modeste et nest pas la taille critique pour poursuivre son à ©volution dans le secteur pharmaceutique. SOLVAY PHARMACEUTICALS est un groupe de socià ©tà ©s pharmaceutiques qui assurent les actività ©s pharmaceutiques mondiales du groupe SOLVAY. Axà © sur la recherche, ces socià ©tà ©s semploient à   rà ©pondre à   des besoins mà ©dicaux non satisfaits dans les domaines thà ©rapeutiques suivants: neurosciences, cardiomà ©tabolisme vaccins antigrippaux, gastro-entà ©rologie et gynà ©cologie/andrologie (source Solvay). En passant en revue les principales fonctions de lentreprise, il est possible de dà ©terminer les forces et faiblesses par rapport aux concurrents de lentreprise Solvay. Nous analyserons donc la branche pharmacie sur diffà ©rents aspects et crità ¨res : Commercial Solvay pharma a augmentà © ses ventes en Amà ©rique du Nord. Cela est dà » à   des raisons bien prà ©cises. Lapprobation de mà ©dicaments par la Food and Drugs Administration (FDA) a nettement augmentà © la vente de certains produits comme le CREON. Il a donc explosà © les ventes aux Etats-Unis puisquil le chiffre daffaire dà ©passe les 260 millions deuros. On peut aussi noter une diminution des ventes de Marinol puisque le mà ©dicament est passà © dans le secteur public. Lentreprise doit ainsi faire face à   une concurrence fà ©roce que sont les gà ©nà ©riques. On peut ainsi noter une forte augmentation des parts de marchà ©s sur le sol Amà ©ricains puisquil reprà ©sente 39% des ventes totales dans le monde de Solvay Pharma. De ce fait, Les principaux clients de Solvay Pharma sont lAmà ©rique du Nord, la Russie et la France. LEurope reste en tà ªte avec plus de 46% des ventes rà ©alisà ©. La collaboration avec ChemDiv met en avant une volontà © de se rapprocher encore plus de la Russie ainsi que des Etats-Unis. De plus, il reflà ¨te une recherche permanente puisque ChemDiv est un institut spà ©cialisà © dans la recherche de nouveaux composà ©s. On peut donc noter que ce partenariat sintà ¨gre parfaitement dans la stratà ©gie de croissance de Solvay Pharma. Elle est aussi en collaboration avec HUYA Bioscience International, une entreprise spà ©cialisà ©e dans la facilitation et laccà ©là ©ration du co-dà ©veloppement mondial de nouveaux produits biopharmaceutiques originaires de Chine. Ainsi grà ¢ce à   cette collaboration, Solvay Pharma accà ¨de au portefeuille de molà ©cule chinoise et dà ©veloppe le domaine cardiovasculaire. On peut aussi noter les produits phares de Solvay Pharma qui sont les vaccins antigrippaux principalement vendus en Europe, lAndrologie vendu dans le monde entier ainsi que lEnzyme pancrà ©atique. Recherche et dà ©veloppement Dans le cadre de la recherche et du dà ©veloppement, Solvay Pharma continue son partenariat avec Abbott. Ainsi, sur les produits visant à   diminuer le cholestà ©rol, Solvay Pharma et Abbott ont dà ©veloppà © un produit TRILIPIX rà ©duisant ce symptà ´me. Ils ont ainsi pu diminuer les dà ©penses de recherche et dà ©veloppement. On peut aussi noter que dans ce secteur dactività ©, la RD est trà ¨s importante. De ce fait, les dà ©penses dans ce pà ´le sà ©là ¨vent à   416 millions deuros alors que lentreprise alloue un budget total de 555 millions deuros toutes les dà ©penses lià ©es à   la recherche. Il est important de noter que Solvay Pharma se munie des meilleurs installations puisquelle a installà © la technologie la plus rà ©cente pour son unità © de production cellulaire. Au dà ©but des annà ©es 2000, les espoirs du groupe reposaient sur deux molà ©cules vedettes : le Cilansetron (syndrome du colon irritable) et le Bifeprunox (schizophrà ©nie). Cependant face aux diffà ©rents refus des autorità ©s sanitaires, Solvay a dà » abandonner ces molà ©cules en 2005 (Cilansetron) et 2009 (Bifeprunox), ces à ©checs ont entrainà © la perte de plusieurs millions deuros. On dà ©note à ©galement une faible productività © en termes de RD chez Solvay Pharma. Aujourdhui la rentabilità © et la croissance de lactività © Pharmaceutique sont assurà ©es par les molà ©cules hà ©rità ©es de lacquisition de Fournier (Tricor/Trilipix). Lactività © Pharmaceutique repose donc  «principalement » sur ces molà ©cules (faiblesse a long terme) qui constituent le principal argument de vente la branche Pharma. Financier On peut constater que la vente de Solvay Pharma reprà ©sente un gain de plus de 5 milliard deuros. Ce montant est basà © sur les gains quenregistre Solvay Pharma depuis les dernià ¨res annà ©es. De fait, le rà ©sultat opà ©rationnel sur ce secteur atteint des records puisquil a augmentà © de plus de 27% atteignant ainsi 640 millions deuros sur lannà ©e 2009. On peut aussi constater dans les tableaux des flux de trà ©sorerie que lentreprise Solvay Pharma diminue les efforts dinvestissements puisquelle a diminuà © ses emprunts de prà ¨s de 200 millions deuros. Cela est dà » à   la trà ©sorerie que dà ©gage depuis peu lactività © pharmaceutique. Lentreprise pratique aussi à ©normà ©ment lauto financement puisquelle en a les capacità ©s. C. SWOT Opportunità ©s Menaces Forte augmentation de la consommation de vaccins. Forte augmentation de la vente de mà ©dicament gà ©nà ©rique. Lactività © hospitalià ¨re et des maladies de grandes soutiennent lactività © du secteur. Fort potentiel des nouveaux marchà ©s en dà ©veloppement tel que la Chine, le Brà ©sil et lInde. Modification de lorganisation de la RD Fort potentiel de dà ©veloppement des marchà ©s de niche (spà ©cialisation) Diminution de laugmentation du CA du secteur Ralentissement de la croissance Une baisse significative de lauto mà ©dication Faible croissance des marchà ©s Occidentaux Marchà © trà ¨s concurrentiel (notion de taille critique) Durcissement de la rà ©glementation des mà ©dicaments concernant toutes les à ©tapes de fabrication Diminution des remboursements des à ©tablissements payeurs (tel que la sà ©curità © sociale) La crise du modà ¨le des blockbustersà  dvpt des gà ©nà ©riques Une hausse des couts de la RD et un dà ©clin de la productività © Pertes des brevets Dà ©veloppement des big pharma (FAà  concentration du secteur) Forces Faiblesses Recherche et dà ©veloppement Prà ©sence importante sur un marchà © porteur quest le cholestà ©rol (fenofibrate) Gros portefeuille de molà ©cules Partenaire dune grande importance Abbott, partenaire chinois (acquisition de part de marchà © en Chine) Dà ©veloppement grà ¢ce à   lacquisition des pà ´les pharmaceutiques (cardiovasculaire avec lacquisition de Fournier) Solvay Pharma dimportance moindre / à   la concurrence (taille moyenne) Difficultà © à   faire face au marchà © des gà ©nà ©riques Coà »t de la RD Manque de productività © dans la RD Rentabilità © et croissance repose sur les molà ©cules de Fournier Echec du dà ©veloppement de 2 molà ©cules vedettes Actività ©s mà ¨re de lentreprise ne peuvent pas se dà ©velopper à   cause de linvestissement dans la pharmacie Facteurs Clà ©s de Succà ¨s: Le dà ©veloppement et la rà ©organisation de la RD, et lintà ©gration de nouvelles technologies La rà ©duction des coà »ts et le dà ©veloppement sur des segments a forte valeur ajoutà © notamment par des processus de fusion acquisition Malgrà © son degrà © de spà ©cialisation, Solvay Pharma na pas la taille critique pour rà ©pondre au FCS (dà ©velopper un avantage concurrentiel durableà  coà »t à ©levà ©) et ainsi pour se dà ©velopper sur un marchà © ultra-concurrentiel. 2. Les modalità ©s de la dà ©cision A. Description de la dà ©cision de recentrage Le 28 Septembre 2009 Solvay a annoncà © le recentrage de ses actività ©s, afin de mettre en Å“uvre une rà ©orientation stratà ©gique sur son cÅ“ur de mà ©tier dans lintention dassurer la pà ©rennisation du Groupe. Pour cela le groupe à   dà ©cider de vendre la totalità © de ses actività ©s pharmaceutiques. Cette annonce a suscità © tout dabord lintà ©rà ªt des firmes europà ©ennes et tout particulià ¨rement du groupe Sanofi-Aventis. Loffre faite par Sanofi-Aventis a à ©tà © dà ©clinà ©e par la famille, celle-ci valorisait la socià ©tà © à   7,2 milliards deuros (soit 85 euros par action), Solvac souhaitait alors 100 euros par actions. La vente a finalement à ©tait faite à   Abbott,  «coopà ©titeur » historique du groupe, pour une valeur dentreprise totale denviron 5,2 milliards deuros. ABBOTT est une entreprise multinationale amà ©ricaine diversifià ©e dans le domaine de la santà ©, elle intervient dans la recherche, le dà ©veloppement et à   la commercialisation de produits pharmaceutiques et mà ©dicaux spà ©cifiques, y compris les produits nutritionnels, diagnostiques et les dispositifs mà ©dicaux. Lentreprise amà ©ricaine emploie plus de 72.000 personnes et commercialise ses produits dans plus de 130 pays (source

Tuesday, August 20, 2019

Transformational transactional and autocratic leadership styles

Transformational transactional and autocratic leadership styles This section has contrast and comparison of transformational, transactional and autocratic leadership styles. Transformational leader motivate and inspires his team to perform tasks and to achieve the desired goal. On the other hand transactional leadership portrays direct and effective leadership style, the direct authority given to the leader with regards to punishing and rewarding team members depending on the results of the project. On the contrary, autocratic leadership is characterized by individual control over all decisions and little input from group members. It is also known as authoritarian leadership. Autocratic leaders typically make choices based on their own ideas and judgements and rarely accept advice from followers. It involves absolute authoritarian control over a group. Transformational leadership is a commitment to a vision and empowering others to achieve that vision (burns, 1978).It is a primary style of leading .Efficiency and motives are mandatory for transformational leadership include a commitment to a change as a process, ability to reconceptualize systems, to build networks and tolerance to complexity. In contrast to transformational leadership, transactional leadership is aimed at maintaining equilibrium or the status quo, by performing work according to the policy and procedures, maximizing self interests and personal rewards, emphasizing, interpersonal dependence and routinizing performance. Authentic transformational leadership is grounded in moral foundations that are based on idealized influence by developing a vision, inspirational motivation by creating high expectations, intellectual stimulation and individualized considration by giving personal attention to followers (bass and avolio, 1994).Apart from that involvement of team members encourages reciprocal clarification of objectives and specification of mutually helpful work process. Transformational leadership is particularly relevant for complex and complicated environments such as healthcare where change is essentially the norm (plsek and greenholgh, 2001). According to burns transactional leader approaches followers with an eye to exchanging one thing for another, but the transformational leader recognizes and exploits an existing need or demand of a potential follower, and looks for potential motives in followers, seeks to satisfy higher needs and engages the full person of the follower. On the flip side, autocratic leaders always promote the one sided conversation that restricts the creative and leadership skills of employees which can affect the outcomes of project. It is also believed that an autocratic leader hinders socialization and workplace communication, which can cause disagreements and conflicts. The most effective factor of the leadership is that a leader should be more energetic, enthusiastic and passionate about his work, concerned and involved in the process and also focused on helping the group members to get success. It is true that great things have been achieved through perfect and accurate leadership. In the process of leadership such leaders become strong role models and encourage followers to emulate them. In transformational leadership, leaders and followers make each other to advance to a higher level of moral and motivation (burns 1978). The major policy of transformational leader is to impart a strong vision that inspires followers to change expectations, perception and motivation of work to accomplish the goals. Transformational leaders are said to engender trust, admiration, loyalty and respect amongst their followers (Barbuto, 2005).It is also based on self reflective changing of values and beliefs by the leader and their followers. Transformational leaders are people who can create significant change in both followers and the organization with which they are associated (griffin, 2003). They lead changes in mission, strategy, structure and culture, in part through a focus on intangible qualities like vision, shared values and ideas, and relationship building. Transformational leaders also find common ground that allows them to enlist followers in processes of change. As every leadership style has both positive and negative aspects. The positive feature of transformational leadership is that, it is very useful in health care area like hospitals and NHSs. It can be very helpful for fresher staff on practice and also for students on training. Transformational leaders provide guidance, motivation and encouragement about their practice which can assist them to enhance their perception regarding workplace and advanced care work. The leaders create an environment where they can feel comfortable and facilitate them to communicate their concerns about practice and also articulate their viewpoints which can be obliged in research practice. Leaders have ability to generate enthusiasm and draw people together around a vision through self confidence(Fisher, 2009). The negative part of transformational leadership is that, some leaders may have narcissistic inclinations, flourishing on power and manipulation. Moreover, some followers may have dependent characters and form strong and unfortunate bonds with their leaders (stone, Russell and Patterson, 2003). It can create conflicts between the leader and followers which can affect the results. The morality of transformational leadership has been questioned, especially by libertarians and organizational development consultants (Griffin, 2003).A key criticism is that within it transformational leadership has potential for the abuse of power (Hall, Johnson, Wysocki and Kepner 2002). In transactional leadership, the leader pursues a cost benefit, economic exchange to met subordinates current material and psychic needs in return for contracted services rendered by the subordinates (Bass). As exactly said by Bass the transactional leaders work within the organizational culture as it exists; the transformational leader changes the organizational culture. Transformational leader trusts that people rise higher and learn more through positive inspiration than negative inspiration. In autocratic leadership, autocracy thoughts mostly come from great man theories of leadership. This approach stresses the greatness and authority of the leader that inspires subordinates. Transactional leaders bond the target to rewards, provide mandatory assets, illuminate expectations and provide different kinds of rewards for their victorious performance. They set specific, assessable, achievable, practical and appropriate goals for their subordinates. The leader actively observes the wo rk of subordinates, monitor for divergence from rules and standards and take suitable action to prevent mistakes. The autocratic leadership has also been some positive and negative traits. It can be more beneficial in some instances, such as when decision need to be made quickly without consulting with a large group of people. Some projects require strong leadership in order to get things accomplished quickly and efficiently and when leaders power has been challenged by the followers. It is also the fact that decision making becomes more fast and simple in autocratic leadership, as the leaders dont have to convince or discuss with anybody. In such circumstances, people always favour the ability to be told what do next. According to Money Zine, In fact, in times of stress or emergency, some subordinates may actually prefer an autocratic style-they prefer to be told exactly what to do, the autocratic leadership style is very effective when times are stressful. For an example, in hospital practice area, in emergency situations doctor needs to take appropriate action to save the life of patient. At that time the whole responsibility is of the doctor and he should have all the qualities of an autocratic leader by which he can provide the suitable command to his team and protect the precious life of patient. In many work settings long discussions have no place and this form of leadership limits arguments. It allows subordinates to have one task and work on it, by which employees can get proficiency to develop the company. The negative attributes of the autocratic leadership is that the leader usually prefer one side conversation and act as Hitler to order the work assignments. As the leader has all the power there is a chance that he can use his employees. This leadership style can create an environment of fear, offence and absenteeism. According to Money Zine, The communication style of an autocratic leader is usually described as one way. They tell u exactly what they want done. The pleasant work environment is very necessary, where everyone is friendly. According to leithwood, transformational leadership is that which facilitates of a redefinition peoples task and vision, a renewal of their commitment and the reorganization of their systems for goal accomplishment. It is a relationship of mutual stimulation and altitude that converts followers into leaders and may converts leaders into moral agents. Transformational leadership promotes capacity expansion and obtains higher levels of personal obligation amongst followers for organizational purpose. Transactional leaders use different type of rewards to swap over followers and this compliance only develop followers extrinsic motivations and extrinsic contingent rewards probably decrease the intrinsic incentives. Whereas transformational leaders who motivate followers based on social exchange and use economic exchange to complement leadership practices develop followers intrinsic and extrinsic motivations (Cardona, 2000). Moreover transformational leaders use flexible authority, strate gies as inspirational appeals and ingratiation, as well as hard tactics, such as barter and power, is more useful in motivating subordinates than transactional leaders use only hard plans. Meta-analytical evidence supports the generalizable findings that transformational leadership is more effective, productive, innovative, and satisfying to followers than is transactional leadership (Lowe, Kroeck Sivasubrahmaniam, 1996). The transactional leaders are very effective in providing guidance on competency resolutions which are intended to improving productivity and cutting costs. The relationship of transactional leader with their followers inclined to be temporary and not based on affecting bonds. On the opposite the transformational leaders encourage followers by tempting to strong emotions in spite of the definitive effect on the followers and do not inevitably attend to the positive moral values. The transactional leadership works in most of the cases where its provided and the subordinates are motivated by rewards. If the leader of the hierarchy has a strong personality and proficient enough to make important decisions, this verified compliance policy works best for them. For example, subordinates in clinical practice under the transactional leader, work efficiently to get rewards and in the race of getting rewards their skills might be improved. Rewards could be of any type like increment of wages o r extra bonus or emotional encouragement etc. Private notes of congratulation to successful followers can also help foster self confidence (Eric, 1992) The autocratic leadership style is quite different than transformational and transactional leadership. The autocratic leadership style works well during group projects. Many group projects are inclined to fail because members of the group depend on each other to take decisions; here the autocratic leader takes appropriate resolution in the favour of organization. Otherwise this leadership style always criticized by the followers. Some of the autocratic leaders who have caused fear in peoples mind because of their dangerous activities are: Adolf Hitler, Joseph Stalin, Saddam Hussein, Martha Stewart and Howell Raines. On the other hand, transformational leadership lacks the checks and balances of countervailing interests, influences and power that might help to avoid dictatorship and oppression of a minority by a majority (Bass, 1997). Apart from that a powerful transactional leader always found everything favourable to his way. And when people get used to doing things just the way the y are told, what and only as much they are told, their thinking and imagination power stopped working. It will be tough to find new leaders from the lower starters of power hierarchy and it can create stressful work settings. Output can be maintained but originality and breakthroughs will be hard to find. The transformational leadership style is similar to the charismatic leadership, because these leaders are very active and encourage their subordinates with lot of passion towards the goal. Transformational leadership is a part of the new leadership concept, which gives more interest to the charismatic and affective fundamentals of leadership. Transformational leader have an excellent power of influence that helps followers to achieve more than the leader expect from them. For example, Gronn(1996) remarks on the close relationship between charismatic and transformational leadership while pointing out the absence of notions of charisma in some work transformational leadership (Crawford, Gould Scott, 2003). There is an argument that transformational leadership is facilitative of change because it contributes to organizational development, success and institutional culture (Barnett, McCormick Conners, 2001).It is said that To bring about change, authentic transformational leadership pr omotes the moral values of integrity, devotion and fairness, as well as the end values of justice, equality, and human rights (Griffin, 2003, p. 8). Moreover, both transactional and transformational leaders are conscious about the correlation between an attempt and remuneration, their leadership is approachable and its basic concept is to dealing the present issues and leadership is depend on the leaders authority to support followers for their achievements. Besides it, the transactional leadership focuses on situational power, politics and benefits. It include principles, but characteristically those are essential for successful swap connections (for example, mutuality, honesty). According to Jim Barrett, In any situation the leader is the one who is the initiator. The advantages and disadvantages of autocratic leadership are understandable for certain circumstances. For example, organization needs a strong leader to make fast and right decision in emergency conditions. Though, in less stressful situations, it may be better to discuss on topic before taking action. Sometimes, autocratic leaders have better ideas and adopting this leadership style can lead to the success of the company. However, in most cases it has some undesirable effects like, it is said that autocratic leadership is only accepted when need emerges and these leaders cannot remain popular for more time among their followers. Consequently, autocratic leadership frequently leads to increased absenteeism and staff turnover, which can decrease the productivity and progress of company. In addition to it, transactional leaders inspire followers by alluring to their own self- interest and transformational leaders encourage the followers to transcend their own interest for the group o r company. According to burns (1978), transformational leaders motivate followers to move beyond their self interest and to contribute to the overall vision and success of the organization. By doing so, the followers then meet their need for finding meaning and purpose in their work and may become leaders themselves. There are some implications about the transactional theory that transactional leaders overstress the short-term goals, rules and procedures. This type of leadership may work well where the organizations have simple and clearly defined problems. The only contract between the leader and followers is the money which followers obtain for their compliance and endeavours and after the completion of contract there is no relationship between the leader and followers. Odom and Green (2003) argue that principles of transformational leadership applied to ethical dilemmas faced by leader offers the prospect of less litigation and better ethical outcomes than the more common transactional approach to ethics. The transactional leadership is not a true leadership style it focus on the short-term goals and limited the innovative work of subordinates. In comparison to transformational leadership, transactional leadership is looking unsatisfactory but not bad, in prospectively developing the leadership. It provide basis for grown-up connections but leaders should not practice it entirely otherwise it can produce an environment pervaded by authority, position, politics and bonuses. While transformational leaders reveal a wide range of proficiencies, contain both technological and people skills. They are forward looking visionaries, expecting potentials for the organization. At the end we can say that transformational leadership style is best than autocratic and transactional styles. Through great inspiration, vision, charisma and intellectual stimulation transformational leaders prospectively promote the concert beyond expectations and effect vast changes within subordinates and organization. This leadership style is well-suited to the present issues like ambiguity, universal and organizational instability. . As Carlson and Perrewe (1995, p. 834) observe, major changes in the organizations mission, strategies and level of follower commitment are likely to emerge as a result of transformational leadership.

Monday, August 19, 2019

Treatment of Women in The Big Sleep, the Movie :: Movie Film comparison compare contrast

Treatment of Women in The Big Sleep, the Movie Version Often, we hear commentary about films that reading the book before watching the movie ruins the experience or that movies are never as good as the book on which it is based. The difference between forms is not as much about already knowing how the story ends as it is about the dumbing down of the work for a broader audience. However, Chandler wrote The Big Sleep as a piece of pulp fiction that was read by a large populace. So, with this knowledge, I expected my experience with the 1946 film version of The Big Sleep to be less than stellar. As I watched the film version, one glaring difference stood out; the romance between Vivian Reagan and Phillip Marlowe which did not exist in Chandler's book. Overall, there is a clear difference in the treatment of Marlowe's reaction to womyyn. "Shot during wartime, the film turns the draft induced "man shortage" into a satyr's fantasy; sloe-eyed heiresses, harsh-slingers with come hither looks, and horny lady cab drivers brazenly proposition Marlowe, who regrettably stiff-arms most of them in the name of business." (Hagopian) Two clear exceptions seen in the movie to the hands off, all work and no play attitude of Phillip Marlowe from the book are the romantic relationship with Vivian Reagan and the afternoon tryst with a bookstore clerk. The most obvious reason for the change in the relationship between Vivian Regan and Phillip Marlowe is the movie studio's rationale behind producing Hawkes' film version of The Big Sleep. Lauren Bacall, who plays Vivian Regan, and Humphrey Bogart, who plays Marlowe, had created a successful pairing previously in To Have and Have Not. Warner Brothers asked Howard Hawkes to find another script to work around Bacall and Bogart to create another box office smash hit. The piece that Hawkes choose was Chandler's The Big Sleep. So, Hawkes' intention was not to be true to Chandler's version of The Big Sleep, but instead to merely dupilcate the monetary success of To Have and Have Not. In order to maintain the element of romance between Bogart and Bacall which was a key ingredient to the success of To Have and Have Not, Hawkes had to create romance between Marlowe and Vivian which was not part of Chandler's version of The Big Sleep.

Usefulness of Mathematics Education Essay -- Math Mathematical Jobs Es

Usefulness of Mathematics Education There has been much discussion over the years about the usefulness of mathematical studies. Everyone seems to have a different viewpoint on the issue. Some believe that mathematics has little use in the working world and so is not a subject that should be taught at higher levels in secondary school. Others argue that mathematics does serve a profound purpose, albeit one that is subtle and not obvious in the vocational world. G. H. Hardy and Underwood Dudley, two great mathematicians of the twentieth century, have differing views, and our current Secretary of Education Richard Riley has his thoughts as well. So who is right? Who has a stronger argument? Here we will take a closer look at what is the main objective of all mathematics instruction. Hardy once wrote, "Very little of mathematics is useful practically, and that little is comparatively dull" [2]. However, in the next sentence, Hardy states that the power, the importance, the usefulness of a mathematical idea is not in its practical application, but rather in the power of the thought. Dudley agrees with this statement; his main premise is that mathematics, from the world’s viewpoint, is a way of thinking as opposed to the thought. Dudley argues that mathematics is not taught so students can someday go out on the job with confidence of knowing the derivative of sin(x), but that the subject exists in the classroom to teach students how to think [1]. Mathematics is a method of thinking, a powerful way of looking at the world, but it is not a way of making use of oneself in practical living. In 1996 Robin Ria II and David Burghes conducted an investigation of the need for math skills of young, perspective employees in business, in... ...ambridge: The University Press, 1941. [3] Lacampagne, Carole B. State of the Art: Transforming Ideas for Teaching and Learning Mathematics. July 1993. <http://www.ed.gov/pubs/StateArt/Math> (10/16/99). [4] Quirk, William G. The Anti-Content Mindset: The Root Cause of the "Math Wars". <http://www.wquirk.com/content.html> (10/16/99). [5] Ria II, Robin, and David Burghes. Mathematical Needs of Young Employees. <http://www.ex.ac.uk/cimt> (10/16/99). [6] Riley, Richard W. "The State of Mathematics Education: Building a Strong Foundation for the 21st Century." Conference of American Mathematical Society and Mathematical Association of America. 8 Jan. 1998. <http://www.ed.gov/Speeches/01-1998/980108.html>. (10/16/99). [7] Wood, Michael. The Case for Crunchy Numbers in Practical Mathematics. <http://www.soton.ac.uk/~gary/Wood98.htm> (10/16/99).

Sunday, August 18, 2019

Advertising :: essays research papers

Advertising Advertising promotes more than mere products in our popular culture. Because images used in advertising are often idealized, they eventually set the standard which we in turn feel we must live up to. Advertisements serve to show us what the ideal image is, and further tell us how to obtain it. Advertisers essentially have the power to promote positive images or negative images. Unfortunately, most of the roles portrayed by women tend to fit the latter description. The irony lies therein since it is these negative images which have been most successful in selling products. It is easy to understand the appeal which these ads hold for men, as they place women in an inferior role; one characterized by helplessness, fragility and vulnerability. Certainly one can not deny that visual images serve to create the ideal female beauty within the material realm of consumer culture. The problem is that if one strays from this ideal, there's the risk of not being accepted by men. Advertisers, by setting ideals, not only sell their products, but in fact reaffirm traditional gender roles in mainstream America. Women portrayed in sexual ads are depicted as objects and commodities, to be consumed by men for visual pleasure and by women for self-definition. Any depiction of a woman in scant clothing ultimately makes her look vulnerable and powerless, especially when placed next to a physically stronger man. Studies show that advertisements will concentrate primarily on a woman's body parts rather than her facial expressions. Also, it was proven that over 50% of commercials portraying women contained at least one camera shot focusing on her chest. Men enjoy these images, and sadly, women tend to try to embody them, regardless of the extent to which they degrade themselves. Perhaps one of the most recent, successful, and controversial ad campaigns of the nineties is that of Calvin Klein. Ironically, in contrast to the normal, objectifying advertisements that deface women altogether, Klein focuses on his model's expressions. However, these expressions are similar to those of a scared child. The naked female model in turn looks even more vulnerable than when she was faceless. Here, in this ad Kate Moss is depicted as an innocent scared child. Her fingers touch her lips as if she is not permitted to speak, while her eyes look as if they are bruised. Moss' breast is exposed in this image, but instead of appearing voluptuous, Moss appears to be almost prepubescent. She stares vacantly and helplessly into the camera. Again, women see these images as attractive to men and subsequently feel the need to embody them. Advertising :: essays research papers Advertising Advertising promotes more than mere products in our popular culture. Because images used in advertising are often idealized, they eventually set the standard which we in turn feel we must live up to. Advertisements serve to show us what the ideal image is, and further tell us how to obtain it. Advertisers essentially have the power to promote positive images or negative images. Unfortunately, most of the roles portrayed by women tend to fit the latter description. The irony lies therein since it is these negative images which have been most successful in selling products. It is easy to understand the appeal which these ads hold for men, as they place women in an inferior role; one characterized by helplessness, fragility and vulnerability. Certainly one can not deny that visual images serve to create the ideal female beauty within the material realm of consumer culture. The problem is that if one strays from this ideal, there's the risk of not being accepted by men. Advertisers, by setting ideals, not only sell their products, but in fact reaffirm traditional gender roles in mainstream America. Women portrayed in sexual ads are depicted as objects and commodities, to be consumed by men for visual pleasure and by women for self-definition. Any depiction of a woman in scant clothing ultimately makes her look vulnerable and powerless, especially when placed next to a physically stronger man. Studies show that advertisements will concentrate primarily on a woman's body parts rather than her facial expressions. Also, it was proven that over 50% of commercials portraying women contained at least one camera shot focusing on her chest. Men enjoy these images, and sadly, women tend to try to embody them, regardless of the extent to which they degrade themselves. Perhaps one of the most recent, successful, and controversial ad campaigns of the nineties is that of Calvin Klein. Ironically, in contrast to the normal, objectifying advertisements that deface women altogether, Klein focuses on his model's expressions. However, these expressions are similar to those of a scared child. The naked female model in turn looks even more vulnerable than when she was faceless. Here, in this ad Kate Moss is depicted as an innocent scared child. Her fingers touch her lips as if she is not permitted to speak, while her eyes look as if they are bruised. Moss' breast is exposed in this image, but instead of appearing voluptuous, Moss appears to be almost prepubescent. She stares vacantly and helplessly into the camera. Again, women see these images as attractive to men and subsequently feel the need to embody them.

Saturday, August 17, 2019

Express and Courier Industry

Global express and courier industry overview Introduction The primary business of the express industry is the delivery of time-sensitive shipments, typically with a transit time of two to three days. These are delivered mainly by air and ground. The industry has been witnessing significant growth as a result of the constant rise in demand for express and courier services over the last decade across user industries, including manufacturing, pharmaceutical, financial services and high-tech sectors. In the last decade, the advent of e-commerce business models and their subsequent penetration along with increasing demand from the financial services sector contributed to strong industry growth. Most companies provide an additional range of activities besides pure transportation, including online tracking of shipments, online payment collection and insurance facilities. However, in recent times, the industry has witnessed a deceleration in growth as a result of rising fuel costs and reduced demand from user industries due to the global economic slowdown. Major players Traditionally, due to low demand and high costs of operation, the express industry has been dominated by national postal departments. While some of them still continue to be dominant in their respective national markets, others have evolved into larger regional and global players with multi-modal operations such as Deutsche Post World Net (which also operates DHL) and La Poste. Globally, the industry is dominated by the big four — Deutsche Post World Net (DHL), FedEx, United Postal Service (UPS) and TNT, all of which have strong multi-modal arms with worldwide operations. Key markets The US is the single largest market for express services, followed by Europe and the Asia–Pacific region. In recent years, the Asia-Pacific region has experienced tremendous growth, largely attributed to increased demand for express and courier services in China and India as well as sustained demand growth in Japan, Korea and Australia. Strong economic growth and increased international trade due to manufacturing outsourcing from the western countries has particularly resulted in the fast-growing demand for express and courier in India and China. Key challenges Rising fuel prices: Rising fuel costs have been the biggest concern of the express and courier industry globally over the past two years. Rising fuel costs have affected the industry directly via an increase in input costs and also indirectly by hampering growth prospects due to decreased demand from user industries. Environmental concerns: As part of the transport industry, the express industry has also come under renewed pressure from both environmental groups and governments to lower its carbon footprint. Environmental laws have necessitated increased usage of vehicles run on alternative fuel to transport and deliver shipments across the globe. DHL, UPS and FedEx have begun to deploy vehicles run on alternative fuel for deliveries and collection, especially in the mature US market. Outlook Over the past two years, the global express market has been reeling under the pressure of rising fuel and transportation costs and decrease in demand from the western countries. However, demand for express services is set to rise over the medium term with sustained growth of the Chinese and Indian economies. Over the longer term, the industry is expected to witness the emergence of large integrated players in the emerging markets of China and India. The market is expected to witness consolidation activities and a shift toward third-party logistics (3PL) and fourth-party logistics (4PL) players.