Collaborative Health Care

Running head : IMPROVE PRODUCTIVITY WITH LEADERSHIP 1 Improve Productivity with Leadership Natalie Misyuk Chamberlain School of Nursing Marilyn Smith NR 447 Collaborative Health care IMPROVE PRODUCTIVITY WITH LEADERSHIP 2 Improve Productivity with Leadership Introduction Working in the VA has made me become a leader, I have been employed here for about 4 years and it feels like family.I started becoming a leader by learning though out my experience from my colleagues of my other jobs that I held and the knowledge I have acquired through my school that helped me prepare for the future. I want to be there for my whole career as a Registered Nurse and as a Leader in my clinic to improve productivity and processes. The two SMART goals that I have choose are: 1. Reduce late and cancelled appointments in the Women's clinic. 2. To provide the female veterans with the newest technology available on the market. I choose them because I want to be the best nurse advocate to my patients.Goal 1: Leadership Development My leadership development is about being a natural leader. I attend conferences, read books and keep myself updated on the different theories of leadership. I always wondered what kind of leader I would become but over the years I have learned to lead and improve my skills to become a natural leader. It is about certain strategies that you just have to have. Strategic thinking helps you to learn to step back from the day-to-day tactical details and focus on the â€Å"why†, not just the â€Å"what† and â€Å"how†.Being a good listener means to learn to pay attention and demonstrate to others that I value what they have to say. IMPROVE PRODUCTIVITY WITH LEADERSHIP 3 Peer-Reviewed Articles The article that I found is called â€Å"Empowering others to take an active role in patient care† This article talks about how leadership traits are very difficult to apply into the real world when you try to learn them from someone. Each individu al is a leader within himself and is a product of individual xperiences, individual opportunities, and individual training who has been exposed to challenging situations, unique opportunities (Sara J. White 2012). It is simply not realistic to think, â€Å"How can I be like her? ,† or in â€Å"How can I be as good a leader as Abraham Lincoln? † When we think about the great leaders that we have come across in our lives, it would be difficult to retrace the knowledge, experiences, and perspectives that shaped their ability and effectiveness. It is difficult to acquire or develop the attributes necessary to be a good leader by seeing examples of ood leadership in others. Good leadership ability will result from applying knowledge useful in situations that require leadership, practicing the skills associated with leadership, and having the desire and motivation to exert these in appropriate situations. (Sara J. White 2012) Leadership is â€Å"about coping with change. â €Å"‘ This requires more specific knowledge, skills, and attitudes. The individual must have the knowledge necessary to be a good leader, including the knowledge necessary to develop a vision, stimulate change, work well with people, and become a person of influence.Credible Websites The website that will help me with the development of my SMART goal talks about â€Å"10 Tips to Improve productivity at work. † by Adam Gurian. It is a business professional website, but it can be applied to anyone that wants to improve processes in their work. He talks about how to quickly manage IMPROVE PRODUCTIVITY WITH LEADERSHIP 4 difficult situations and how to be a leader at work, which will result in productivity in the workplace.The number one is to Act immediately on phone the messages, I never knew how important this is for my patients, but if you can return the phone call back to a patient that is in a great emergency then it can accomplish much maybe even and save the patien t's life. It all starts from the little things that we do as nurses to help our day run smoothly. Another important tool is to organize your tasks for the day, so you can tackle your most important priorities together, you will save time and be more efficient and produce higher quality work. By starting your day ith the most important task, you will increase your productivity and get your day off to a good start. This is a credible website that applies to my specific SMART goal because it talks about different positive ways to get the job done. This website is very helpful for employees in any field to be productive in their job. Informational Expert I have spoke with the Nurse Educator in my job about how to reduce late and cancelled appointments in the Women's Clinic. The nurse educator had informed us, for all the clinics the number one priority to reduce late and cancelled appointment is to make reminder calls at least 2-4 days in advance.We all forget things, and appointments a re among the easiest things to lose track of. Appointment cards are helpful, but in the end, a phone call is your best bet. Email, text message and other automated solutions are starting to make some headway, but a good old-fashioned telephone call is still the most effective tool to combat schedule disintegration. We are very busy in our clinic, so not all the time these phone calls are able to be made but for the most part we have to start making it our number one priority.The Nurse Educator told us to create a workbook where we will type everything out; the patients name, date or appointment, time, which doctor and for what reason. In this work book IMPROVE PRODUCTIVITY WITH LEADERSHIP 5 we will keep track of patients who received the call, who the message was left for and who cancelled or just didn't show up. My goals are to be on top of these reminder phone calls and try to call everyday to the patients scheduled when I have some free time. In the worst case scenario when phone calls weren't able to be made, our clerk will send out reminder letters.I can definitely achieve my SMART goal this way, by working together as a team and collaborating with each other to meet our clinics goals. Goal 2: Organizational Planning I know this goal is a difficult one to achieve, because it is all about the timing and the finances of the VA hospital. It is one of the goals for our clinic to have the most recent and newest technology offered to the Women Veterans. A few months ago I went to a conference and I heard about the new Mammography technology that is being offered, which is called Computed Tomography Laser Mammography.This medical imaging technique uses laser energy in the near infrared region of the spectrum, to detect angiogenesis in the breast tissue. The technology uses laser in the same way computed tomography uses X-Rays, these beams travel through tissue and suffer attenuation. It would be great to see my clinic have one of these in the near future, I know how painful getting a mammogram can be and this new way o f getting a laser detector can do the best job pain free. Detect tumors, and any abnormal tissue with this pain free mammogram. Peer-Reviewed ArticlesThe article named â€Å"Exploring the Influence of New Technology Planning and Implementation on the Perceptions of New Technology Effectiveness† by Bellamy, Al talks about that organizations that recently installed new technology bettered the workplace and its effectiveness. Technology is believed IMPROVE PRODUCTIVITY WITH LEADERSHIP 6 to have more effective outcomes when it is integrated systematically within an organization’s strategy process. Organizations that have good leadership, have good decision-making processes, and rganizational policies and procedures. Organization with new technology is much more effective in every way. An organization that is characterized by its members as being rigid and unwilling to change would probably approach new technology planning and implementation differently than an organization described as open and that does not resist change. There may also be parallel differences in the effectiveness in which new technology is deployed. The perceived climate of the organization may mediate the relationship among technology, the planning processes, and the perceived effectiveness of he deployment of technology (Bellamy, 2009). This all means that new technology in the workplace is for the better in every way, and the number one goal is to to better patient outcomes. The way that this article relates to my SMART goal, is by talking about that new technologies improves production and patient satisfaction. Credible Websites The website that talks about why technology is very beneficial to the workplace because it simplifies and reduces the labor involved to complete the task at hand. Technology is the use of any tool that was developed by man to enhance the productivity of any given task.This website has a differe nt approach about technology because it does not talk about the medical field with its new technologies, but it talks about technologies in the work place. This specific website talks about farmers utilizing various technologies to increase their farm production. New farm technologies improved in quality production and more foreign exchange was brought into our country because of this. The way that this IMPROVE PRODUCTIVITY WITH LEADERSHIP 7 ebsite applies to my SMART goal is by talking about new technologies benefiting any work environment to improve the quality of the produce. The actual website is http://www. fiji. gov. fj Informational Expert My nursing manager has told my team that it is a great goal that we have thought of, however it is something that will take place not until the year 2015. The financial situation is very bad right now with the VA Hospital, after the hurricane Sandy, the Manhattan VA was destroyed which put us in great financial loss. New technologies are o n their way but we will just have to wait.My nurse manager recommended that the patients that are in a lot of pain doing mammograms the old way, can be referred to an outside specialty clinic that provide these types of special services with laser Mammography machines. Summary I have learned a lot in this research paper, being a leader in the work environment lets me realize that there are many things to look out for to keep the clinic running smoothly. Make pre-visit telephone calls is one great goal that I came up with, with the Nurse educator in order to improve productivity and efficiency.My goal is to continue learning about different leadership styles in my workplace and to continue to build and lead high performing teams is especially in the Women's Clinic. We must work closely together and wear many different hats to effectively meet our company's demands. I appreciated doing this research and learned a lot about how we can improve quality and productivity. Creating an envir onment that will promote problem solving is part of creating an effective team.My informational expert has taught me that you should never be afraid to communicate whatever it is you want to learn IMPROVE PRODUCTIVITY WITH LEADERSHIP 8 more about, because it will only help you learn something new, you can never be wrong from asking a question instead of doing something without the correct answer. References Bellamy AL. (2007). Exploring the Influence of New Technology Planning and Implementation on the Perceptions of New Technology Effectiveness.Journal of Technology Studies, v33 n1 p32-40. 9 pp. White SJ ; Wilkin NE ; McElroy SR. (2012). Leadership development: Empowering others to take an active role in patient care. Journal of the American Pharmacists Association:(J AM PHARM ASSOC), 2012 May 1; 52 (3): 308-18. http://www. businessnewsdaily. com/3272-improve-productivity-tips. html http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Computed_tomography_laser_mammography http://www. fiji. gov. fj/index . php? option=com_content&view=article&id=739:technologies-improve-production&catid=97:features&Itemid=198

Pinnacle Manufacturing Case

Original Work please INTEGRATED CASE APPLICATION –PINNACLE MANUFACTURING: PART II 9-37 (Objectives 9-7, 9-8) In Part I of the case, you performed preliminary analytical procedures for Pinnacle (pp. 245–247). The purpose of Part II is to identify factors influencing risks and the relationship of risks to audit evidence. During the planning phase of the audit, you met with Pinnacle’s management team and performed other planning activities. You encounter the following situations that you believe may be relevant to the audit: 1.Your firm has an employee who reads and saves articles about issues that may affect key clients. You read an article in the file titled, â€Å"EPA Regulations Encouraging Solar-Powered Engines Postponed? † After reading the article, you realize that the regulations management is relying upon to increase sales of this division might not go into effect for at least ten years. A second article is titled, â€Å"Stick to Diesel Pinnacle! â €  The article claims that although Pinnacle has proven itself within the diesel engine industry, they lack the knowledge and people necessary to perform well in the solar-powered engine industry. . You ask management for a tour of the Solar-Electro facilities. While touring the warehouse, you notice a section of solar-powered engines that do not look like the ones advertised on Pinnacle’s Web site. You ask the warehouse manager when those items were first manufactured. He responds by telling you, â€Å"I’m not sure. I’ve been here a year and they were here when I first arrived† 3. You also observe that new computerized manufacturing equipment has been installed at Solar-Electro. The machines have been stamped with the words, â€Å"Product of Welburn Manufacturing, Detroit, Michigan. 4. During a meeting with the facilities director, you learn that the board of directors has decided to raise a significant amount of debt to finance the construction of a new manufacturing plant for the Solar-Electro division. The company also plans to make a considerable investment in modifications to the property on which the plant will be built. 5. While standing in line at a vending machine, you see a Pinnacle vice president wearing a golf shirt with the words â€Å"Todd-Machinery† You are familiar with the company and noticed some of its repairmen working in the plant earlier.You tell the man you like the shirt and he responds by saying, â€Å"Thank you. My wife and I own the company, but we hire people to manage it. † 6. After inquiry of the internal audit team, you realize there is significant turnover in the internal audit department. You conclude the turnover is only present at the higher-level positions. 7. While reviewing Pinnacle’s long-term debt agreements, you identify several restrictive covenants. Two requirements are to keep the current ratio above 2. 0 and debt-to-equity below 1. 0 at all times. 8.While reading the footnotes of the previous year’s financial statements, you note that one customer, Auto-Electro, accounts for nearly 15% of the company’s accounts receivable balance. You investigate this receivable and learn it has been outstanding for several months. 9. The engagement partner from your CPA firm called today notifying you that Brian Sioux, an industry specialist and senior tax manager from the firm’s Ontario office, will be coming on-site to Pinnacle’s facilities to investigate an ongoing dispute between the Internal Revenue Service and Pinnacle. 0. A member of your CPA firm, who is currently on-site in Detroit at the Welburn division, calls you to see how everything is going while you are visiting Solar-Electro in Texas. During your conversation, he asks if you know anything about the recent intercompany loan from Welburn to Solar-Electro. 11. During discussions with the Pinnacle controller, you learn that Pinnacle employees did a significant amoun t of the construction work for a building addition.The controller stated that the work was carefully coordinated with the construction company responsible for the addition. Required a. Identify specific considerations from Parts I and II of the case that affect your assessments of engagement risk and acceptable audit risk. Use each of the three factors in the text to categorize your conclusions: External users’ reliance on financial statements Likelihood of financial difficulties Management integrity As the Independent Auditor I would require from Pinnacle, the client a Management Representation Letter.This is a letter an auditor is required to obtain from management at the conclusion of fieldwork, confirming representations explicitly or implicitly given to the auditor, indicating and documenting the continuing appropriateness of such representations, and reducing the possibility of misunderstanding regarding the representations. b. Assess acceptable audit risk as high, medi um, or low considering the items you identified in requirement a. (A risky client will be assessed as a low acceptable audit risk. I will identify the audit risk as high. c. Identify inherent risks for the audit of Pinnacle using the information from Parts I and II. For each inherent risk, identify the account or accounts that may be affected. (1)Related Parties – A reporting entity’s affiliates, principal owners, and management also, any members of their immediate families. Points of consideration is a Pinnacle VP owning Todd-Machinery, its repair men working at Pinnacle at the time the auditor was at field work, while standing in front of vending machine. 2) While reviewing Pinnacle’s long-term debt agreements, there were several restrictive covenants. Two requirements are to keep the current ratio above 2. 0 and debt-to-equity below 1. 0 at all times. This is an item of consideration of possibilities for Pinnacle to â€Å"cook the books† so as to keep in compliance with covenant. (3) There is a high turnover of employees. After inquiry of the internal audit team, you realize there is significant turnover in the internal audit department. You conclude the turnover is only present at the higher-level positions. 4) While reading the footnotes of the previous year’s financial statements, you note that one customer, Auto-Electro, accounts for nearly 15% of the company’s accounts receivable balance. This receivable and learn it has been outstanding for several months. This is an inherent risk of being a related party transaction wherein goods could be sold to Auto-Electro, a related party, but Pinnacle has not received collection of receivables because this is just to make the financial statements look good as having the sale.Revenue and Inventory accounts are affected. (5)There is an ongoing dispute between Pinnacle and Internal Revenue Service. 10-43 (Objective 10-5) In Parts I and II of this case, you performed prelimi nary analytical procedures and assessed acceptable audit risk and inherent risk for Pinnacle Manufacturing. Your team has been assigned the responsibility of auditing the acquisition and payment cycle and one related balance sheet account, accounts payable.The general approach to be taken will be to reduce assessed control risk to a low level, if possible, for the two main types of transactions affecting accounts payable: acquisitions and cash disbursements. The following are furnished as background information: A summary of key information from the audit of the acquisition and payment cycle and accounts payable in the prior year, which was extracted from the previous audit firm’s audit files (Figure 10-12) A flowchart description of the accounting system and internal controls for the acquisition and payment cycle (Figure 10-13,p. 34)—the flowchart shows that although each of the company’s three divisions has its own receiving department, the purchasing and acco unts payable functions are centralized The purpose of Part III is to obtain an understanding of internal control and assess control risk for Pinnacle Manufacturing’s acquisition and cash disbursement transactions. Required a. Familiarize yourself with the internal control system for acquisitions and cash disbursements by studying the information in Figure 10-12 and Figure 10-13. FIGURE 10-12 Information for Audit of Accounts Payable — Previous Year . Prepare a control risk matrix for acquisitions and a separate one for cash disbursements using Figure 10-5 on page 308 as a guide. A formatted control risk matrix is provided on the textbook Web site. The objectives should be specific transaction-related audit objectives for acquisitions for the first matrix and cash disbursements for the second matrix. See pages 608–612 in Chapter 18 for transaction-related audit objectives for acquisitions and cash disbursements. In doing Part III, the following steps are recommen ded: (1) Controls a.Identify key controls for acquisitions and for cash disbursements. After you decide on the key controls, include each control in one of the two matrices. b. Include a â€Å"C‚† in the matrix in each column for the objective(s) to which each control applies. Several of the controls should satisfy multiple objectives. (2) Deficiencies a. Identify key deficiencies for acquisitions and for cash disbursements. After you decide on the deficiencies, include each significant deficiency or material weakness in the bottom portion of one of the two matrices. Answer:During a meeting with the facilities director, you learn that the board of directors has decided to raise a significant amount of debt to finance the construction of a new manufacturing plant for the Solar-Electro division. The company also plans to make a considerable investment in modifications to the property on which the plant will be built. Auditing Presentation and Disclosure. a. Completeness T he auditor should ensure that all required disclosures related to accounts payable and purchases have been included in the notes to the financial statements. Required disclosures include: 1.Payables by type (trade, officer/ employee, affiliates) and term (short-term and long-term) 2. Purchase contracts and purchase commitments. 3. Related party purchases and payables 4. Expenses by segment b. Valuation, Allocation and Accuracy The auditor should read the footnotes and other information related to accounts payable and purchases to determine whether the information is accurate and presented at the appropriate amounts. c. Rights and Obligations and Occurrence The auditor should compare disclosures to other audit eveidence to ensure that all disclosed information related to accounts payable and purchases has occurred. . Understandability and Classification The auditor should read all accounts payable and purchase related disclosures to ensure that they are understandable. The auditor sh ould determine whether material long-term payables or non-trade payables require separate disclosure. b. Include a â€Å"D‚† in the matrix in each column for the objective(s) to which each significant deficiency or material weakness applies. (3) Assess control risk as high, medium, or low for each objective using your best judgment. Do this for both the acquisitions and cash disbursements matrices.Control risk is to be assessed as high therefore as auditor, I would increase my risk sampling. Expenditure Cycle A. Internal Control- Purchases The following functions in a purchase transaction should be segregated: 1. Purchase Requisition The purchase requisition starts the purchasing cycle. The department in need of the asset or services sends a properly approved, serially numbered requisition to the purchasing department. The requisitioning department should not have the authority to actually place the purchase order. This would indicate a weakness in internal control. 2. Purchase OrdersThe purchasing department should place the order only after giving proper consideration to the time to order and the quantity to order. The purchasing department should also obtain competitive bids from various suppliers to make sure that the best price is obtained. The purchase order is issued only after proper approval. For internal control purposes, it is best that pre-numbered purchase orders can be used. There should be multiple copies that will be sent to: (i) the requisitioning department; (ii) the vendor; (iii) the receiving department; and (iv) the accounting department.If the purchase order is canceled, all copies should be recalled and filed so that every purchase order number is accounted for. 3. Receipt of Goods or Services The copy of the purchase order sent to the receiving department serves as an authorization to accept the goods when they arrive. It is preferable that the copy not indicate the quantity ordered. Thus, the receiving department is forced to count the goods upon arrival. A receiving report is prepared by this department and forwarded to the accounting department. The goods are forwarded to the requisitioning department .B. Internal Control – Accounts Payable The accounting department has three functions: (i) to record the payable, (ii) to approve the invoice for payment; and (iii) to record the payment after it is paid by the Treasurer. 1. Recording the Payable The copy of the purchase order sent to the accounting department notifies them that there will be a future cash disbursement. The receiving report is compared with the purchase order and the vendor’s invoice as to the quantity to prevent payment of charges for goods in excess of those ordered and received.The accounting department records the goods as received in inventory, and records a payable. 2. Approving Invoice for Payment and Recording Payment When the invoice arrives, the accounting department approves it by matching the invoice, purchas e order, receiving report, and (sometimes) the requisition. When payment is made, the payable is reversed. The accounting department should ensure that the invoice amount is correct, and that it accurately reflects any purchase discounts, before approving it for payment. C. Internal Control – Cash DisbursementsIt is best for internal control purposes to pay invoices by check. For effective internal control, the functions of approving the payment and signing the checks should be segregated. Approved voucher packets (matched invoice, purchase order, receiving report, and requisition) prepared by the accounting department (Accounts Payable) are received by the Treasurer, who prepares, signs, and mails the checks and cancels all supporting documents after payment. Paid vouchers are returned to the accounting department for posting of the payment and filing of the documents.

Bmw Research Paper Essay

BMW is enhancing the travel experience for drivers and passengers while also launching a series of new platforms The BMW Group – one of Germany’s largest industrial companies – is also one of the most successful car and motorcycle manufacturers in the world and 2011 was its best year to date. With almost 1. 7 million vehicles sold, the BMW Group is the world’s leading premium manufacturer in terms of sales volume. Its three automobile brands, BMW, MINI and Rolls-Royce, and the BMW and Husqvarna motorcycles brands led to record sales of â‚ ¬68. 8bn. During 2011, the company introduced five new BMW models across the 1,3,5 and 6 series as well as the Mini Coupe and the Rolls-Royce 102EX, the first electric vehicle in the ultra-luxury segment. In addition, the company also launched a new sub brand – BMW i – that includes the i3 all-electric and i8 plug-in hybrid concept cars due for launch in 2013. However, as well as selling more products than ever and expanding production capacity, especially for the all-important China market, the company also kicked off a number of strategic partnerships for the future. These included the start of the BMW Peugeot Citroen Electrification joint venture, the acquisition of a strategic investment in SGL Carbon SE and the cooperation with Toyota Motor Corporation in basic research for battery cell technology. Although a significant manufacturer, BMW is not part of a larger company like its main competitor Audi. As BMW invests heavily in innovation to continue to produce the ultimate driving experience, keeping its power options open is key, so as the shift towards electric continues to gather speed these development partnerships are vital elements in the company’s growth strategy.

Philosophy of Emotion Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Philosophy of Emotion - Essay Example In view of the prolifertion of incresingly fruitful exchnges between reserches of different stripes, it is no longer useful to spek of the philosophy of emotion in isoltion from the pproches of other disciplines, prticulrly psychology, neurology nd evolutionry biology. While it is quite impossible to do justice to those pproches here, some sidelong glnces in their direction will im to suggest their philosophicl importnce.In this ppr I will criticlly nlys th concpt of motion s it is rfrrd by svrl rsrchs nd philosophrs. I will py spcific ttntion to th dfinition of motion by Solomon nd Russll who invstigtd th phnomnon profoundly nd from diffrnt prospctiv s th mjority of uthors. Philosophrs hv bn concrnd nd oftn worrid bout th ntur of motion sinc Socrts nd th "prSocrtics" who prcdd him, nd lthough th disciplin hs grown up s th pursuit of rson, th motions hv lwys lurkd in th bckground, s thrt to rson, s dngr to philosophy nd philosophrs, s just plin unrsonbl. Prhps tht is why on of th most nduring mtphors of rson nd motion hs bn th mtphor of mstr nd slv, with th wisdom of rson firmly in control nd th dngrous impulss of motion sfly supprssd, chnnlld or, idlly, in hrmony with rson. But nowhr hv th unruly nd thrtning powr of th motions bn mor t odds with wht hs oftn bn clld "rson" thn in th rlm of justic, whr both compssion nd its vicious "ngtiv" countrprt, vngfulnss, hv bn condmnd s disruptiv, irrlvnt nd, t worst, downright dngrous (Jms, 1889). Robert Solomon (1980) spurred both interest nd opposition with his provoctive thesis tht emotions re judgments, lbeit judgments of prticulr kind, chrcterized by their mode of hste nd their evlutive content. Under the influence of (Srtre 1948), he lso dopted the view tht emotions could be understood s strtegic choices, collectively driven by the gol of protecting nd enhncing self-esteem (Solomon 1984). In his more recent work he hs lso written bout the emotionl dimension of justice, nd dvocted n enrichment of emotion theory through cross-culturl perspectives nd the integrtion of scientific perspectives (Solomon 1999). Th rgumnts tnd to focus on th llgd "cpriciousnss" nd "prjudic" of motions, lthough, ltrntivly, thy r ttckd for thir "intrctibility" nd thir stupidity. On th on hnd, consrvtivs lov nothing mor thn to lmbst th "do-goodrs" nd "blding hrts," nmly thos who xprss thir flings rthr thn stick by som bstrct nd oftn ruthlss, but in ny cs "hrd-hdd" thory. On th othr hnd, thr is th g-old insistnc on "th rul of lw," shrd by both librls nd consrvtivs, which insists on "not rturning vil for vil," nd, ccordingly, th forswring nd condmntion of rvng. But compssion nd rvng r but two sids of th sm coin, nd ginst th wisdom tht gos bck to Plto. Rson is not th mstr hr, nor should it b. (Nor, of cours, should it b slv.) Wht must b shown is tht th motions do not nd should not ply n infrior rol in dlibrtions bout justic, nd tht it is fls tht motions r mor primitiv, lss intllignt, mor bstil, lss dpndbl, nd mor dngrous thn rson. Rson nd motion r not two conflicting nd ntgonistic spcts of th soul. Rtionl motions constitut justic, which is nithr dispssiont nor mrly motionl. "I hd been dvised erly in life tht sound decisions cme from

Comparative Analysis of Keys to Successful Revenue Synergy Programmes Essay - 1

Comparative Analysis of Keys to Successful Revenue Synergy Programmes - Essay Example According to the paper  there is no ambiguity relatively in the difference of drivers and expectations of M&A functions changing with time and as per the ongoing economic environment. It is interesting to observe the market behaviour after the recuperation from the recession worldwide on whether companies are currently acquiring for achieving revenue synergies or cost synergies.From this study it is clear that the Kraft acquisition of Cadbury was projected to offer $1 Billion in Synergies, as declared by the Kraft Foods. The incremental revenue synergies of $1billion were excluded of $750 million to be achieved in cost synergies by 2013. These revenue synergies, according to the Kraft, would be derived from the business increase in developing regions from one/fourth of the total revenue to approximately touching one/third after the merger.  The confidence of the Company management is getting reflected from the acquisition, as it expects to become a long-run high-bracket performer in the food industry world wide. Presently, the Company is earning more than 50% of its revenue from outside North America, from countries like Brazil, China, India and Mexico, where GDP and demand growth are the most firm.  Kraft CEO, Irene Rosenfeld, also holds the same opinion from the â€Å"unique and complimentary combination† of Kraft and Cadbury, stating that, â€Å"together with our significant presence in high-growth developing markets, will deliver consistent growth in the top tier of our peer group†.

Lifespan Development and Personality Paper Essay - 1

Lifespan Development and Personality Paper - Essay Example In addition, alcohol, drugs such as cocaine, lead, pesticides can damage sperm and cause children wit congenital defects. If the mother consumes alcohol during pregnancy, then the alcohol crosses the placenta and can result in children with ‘fetal alcohol syndrome’. The kind of diet that a mother takes, drugs, both legal and illegal would effect the later development of the infant. Mothers who have a healthy life style give birth to well formed babies with the right development of limbs and brains. Tobacco smoking by pregnant women is seen to cause premature babies that have low birth weight and increase in fetal deaths. Such children also show increased behavior abnormalities and cognitive problems. Motor development is mainly due to natural maturity but it can also be affected by environmental influences such as disease and neglect. Children with alcoholic mothers or ones who are neglected show lesser inclination to learn motor skills and may grow up with learning disa bilities and other problems. Piaget showed that an infants intellect is different from an adult and that an infant begins at a cognitively primitive level and that intellectual growth progresses in distinct stages, motivated by an innate need to know. Three major concepts are important: schemas, assimilation and accommodation. Schemas are cognitive structures or patterns consisting of a number of organized ideas that grow and differentiate with experience. Assimilation is the process of absorbing new information into existing schemas and accommodation is the process of adjusting old schemas or developing new ones to better fit with new information. In the first few weeks of life, an infant has multiple schemas based on the innate reflexes of sucking and grasping. These schemas are primarily motor and may be little more than stimulus and response mechanisms and soon other schemas emerge as the infant starts eating solid food. Assimilation and accommodation are the two major

Impact of Brand Image on Consumer on Clothing Industry Dissertation

Impact of Brand Image on Consumer on Clothing Industry - Dissertation Example lysis 25 3.1 Theoretical Framework 25 3.2 Justification of Research Method 28 3.3 Sampling 31 3.4 Data Analysis 32 Chapter 4: Research Findings and Discussion 34 4.1 Background of the Respondents 35 4.2 Impact of Brand Image on Buying Behaviour 37 4.3 Possible outcomes and Results 42 Chapter 5: Conclusions and Recommendations 43 References 46 Bibliography 50 Appendix 51 Chapter 1: Introduction 1.1Problem Formulation Clothing happens to be one of the necessities along with food and shelter. However, over the years clothing has been a bit more than just a mere necessity to cover body parts. Clothing has become an integral part of the style statement and hence a lot of companies have entered the clothing business making it quite competitive. The clothing business on global basis includes major players as well as small local players. As a result of the rise in competition marketing and research has become extremely important to gain competitive advantage. The market research and analysis in clothing industry is mostly concerned with the study of consumer behaviour patterns in order to indentify personal needs and also to analyze the perception of the consumers towards various stimuli related to the marketing mix in the form of product, price, place and promotion. One of the most popular topics of market research has been the effect or impact of brand image on consumer behaviour. Researchers round the world have tried to analyze factors that mostly influences a buyer of behave in a certain fashion. Researchers have tried to understand whether the customers are willing to pay premium price for branded products; the association of branding and consumer perception towards quality. Being the developed economy that they are countries like U.K., U.S. has seen the presence of the... Clothing happens to be one of the necessities along with food and shelter. However, over the years clothing has been a bit more than just a mere necessity to cover body parts. Clothing has become an integral part of the style statement and hence a lot of companies have entered the clothing business making it quite competitive. The clothing business on global basis includes major players as well as small local players. As a result of the rise in competition marketing and research has become extremely important to gain competitive advantage. The market research and analysis in clothing industry is mostly concerned with the study of consumer behaviour patterns in order to indentify personal needs and also to analyze the perception of the consumers towards various stimuli related to the marketing mix in the form of product, price, place and promotion. One of the most popular topics of market research has been the effect or impact of brand image on consumer behaviour. Researchers round the world have tried to analyze factors that mostly influences a buyer of behave in a certain fashion. Researchers have tried to understand whether the customers are willing to pay premium price for branded products; the association of branding and consumer perception towards quality. Being the developed economy that they are countries like U.K., U.S. has seen the presence of the plethora of major brands like fast fashion retailers like Zara, H&M, top-shop; major sports cum fashion apparel brands like Addias, Puma, Nike, Fila, Fcuk, etc.

Essay topic in reference to Personally Identifiable Information and

Topic in reference to Personally Identifiable Information and ethics - Essay Example This paper describes ethical issues and their relationship to the use of information technology the paper delves trends as well as impacts of the ethics of individuals and organizations Ethical actions of a person are defined as activities that are performed with a particular criterion of what is good. It thus relates to the question of what is regarded as good or bad by humans. Just like the other fields, information technology is aided by a particular code of ethics (Floridi, 2008). Privacy is an issue that has both external as well as internal implications. Keeping in mind that all organizations often collect their employee’s data, data that is not safeguarded properly can lead to various implications to an individual. Such information includes background data, compensation, and personal identification data such as account identifiers and social security numbers. This type  of information is maintained as well as accessed by authorized personnel. Systems that are used in tracking sensitive information are secured, though at some point data must be used in other systems. To ensure that information is secured, operational procedures and policies are used to handle data, in case these policies and procedures are not properly enforced, they can be accessed by unauthorized personnel and can be used to commit crimes. All Employees activities as well as the use of technologies are monitored by their organizations. Thus, employees are notified that when they are using organizational assets, they should not expect any privacy; such corporate assets include network and internet access. Even without such disclaimers, there is no need to notify that they are being monitored (Mason, 2006). The major issues in monitoring of employees activities include whether organizations have obligations to notify their employees the extent of

The Liability of the Manufacturers and Their Conduct in Case of Essay

The Liability of the Manufacturers and Their Conduct in Case of Accidents - Essay Example Courts have considered on a case to case basis the liability of the manufacturers and their conduct in case of accidents. For instance, in the case of Messina v. Clark Equipment, 263 F.2d 291, C.A.2 1959, the Court dismissed the appeal in an action against the manufacturer of the earth mover in order to recover for machine operator’s death. In this case, the machine operator was killed while he was raising the scissor arms and bucket, and they had shut off the motor, and while doing this, he was actually getting out of cab when bucket fell causing him to be crushed between the scissor arms and the cab (Messina v. Clark Equipment 291). The Court dismissed the appeal because there was an absence of showing that there was indeed a hidden defect or concealed danger in earth mover (Messina v. Clark Equipment 291). It reasoned that under the New York law, a manufacturer has no duty to a remote user beyond the duty to keep the article of manufacture free from hidden defects or danger s (Messina v. Clark Equipment 291). Thus, if a remote user such as in this case, sues a manufacturer of an article for injuries suffered, he must allege and prove the existence of a latent defect or a danger not known to plaintiff or other users (Messina v. Clark Equipment 291). Citing the case of Campo v. Schofield, 301 N.Y. 468, 95 N.E.2d 802 (1950), the Court explained that, â€Å"If a manufacturer does everything necessary to make the machine function properly for the purpose for which it is designed, if the machine is without any latent defect, and if its functioning creates no danger or peril that is not known to the user, then the manufacturer has satisfied the law's demands.†

Personality profile Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words - 1

Personality profile - Essay Example Personality and especially that of a personal profile is a very wide. Wide because it touches all the relations to social, economic and political phenomenon that defines everybody’s way of conduct. For the purpose of this case, I will particularly center my personality focus on my career at the present and in the future and shade some light on who I am. A number of tests are also very instrument in the whole evaluation process and I don’t hesitate into taking any that ensures complete understanding of myself is done in a very competed and efficient way. There are a number of tests that are used in self discovery. As the methods differ according to the angle of approach of what you want to figure out, I decided to take a test a Big five test. This test mostly centralizes its analysis on 5 major areas that define and model a complete human. As per the test, my emotional stability score was high above average at 74% percentile. My ability to remain as calm as possible even when am tensed is something my family can attest of. This has been my feature since when I started understanding things around me. I will not go on tearing books because I have scored low in a physical science class or go throwing things around because simply things have not been as I wanted them to be at home. I hold and have control of my emotions. This has been very instrumental in my relationships with people whom have had a chance to be close to me. This though does not imply that you go on stepping on my foot intentionally and unapologetically. In that case I will squarely handle you as the law demands. My inquisitiveness nature, which scored a 84% percentile, amazes me personally. Severally I have heard my mother say that she has never seen an inquisitive child like. When it comes to curiosity, I do not bother whether it kills the cat or not. I will ask anything as long as I have no clue of what actually it is. For clarity, my enquiries have

Emotional Intelligence Essay Example for Free

Emotional Intelligence Essay Emotional intelligence is defined as an individual’s ability to perceive, control and appraise emotions. Emotional intelligence can be learned, strengthened or be an inborn characteristic. Emotional intelligence is thus the subject of social intelligence that entails the ability to monitor one’s own and other’s thoughts and emotions, to differentiate among them and to apply information in guiding one’s thinking and actions. There are four varied areas of emotional intelligence. This includes, identifying, understanding using, and managing emotions. In the current world, emotional intelligence influence behavior in various social settings such as schools, community and the work place (Matthews, Zeidner Roberts, 2004). Every activity that is done with application of emotional intelligence is aimed at superseding and helping persons in their academic achievement, work performance, capacity to communicate effectively and solving daily problems. This helps an individual in building meaningful affiliations and making moral decisions. Mindfulness is viewed as an emotional intelligence for an individual growth. Mindfulness involves centering on one’s concentration on thoughts, feelings and events in the present time while remaining inquisitive, open and admitting whatever happens. Mindfulness promotes effectiveness as an individual engrosses himself/herself in an experience so as to disregard himself/herself. Mindfulness can be used as a technique for management of intense emotions such as fear and anger that leads to misconstruction and conflict. This enhances minimization of human suffering. Mindfulness practice facilitates interpersonal perceptive and effectiveness through social and emotional progress. Therefore, mindfulness strengthens ourselves and also promotes others as well as increasing self-regulation which is a main component of emotional intelligence. In Effective Emotional Orientation (EEO), a leader must have emotional intelligence. This helps him/her to bring into line personal and subordinate goals so as to accomplish the company’s goals. Nevertheless, EEO can be promoted through achievement of competencies. The skills that an individual acquires help him/her to increase the ability to manage and monitor his or her own emotions and correctly determine the emotional status of others in influencing their opinions. According to Buddhist approach to emotional well- being, when training is done for a particular period of time, it fosters mental and emotional well-being. However, subjective interior experience must be acknowledged as a justifiable domain of reality. Buddhist view mental health as a condition of mental balance and division of emotions on the basis of either constructive emotions or destructive emotions. The conception of emotional intelligence has been applied in a number of areas that are outside the psychological research and therapy rings. Professional, educational and community organizations have incorporated various aspects of the emotional intelligence values. This helps institutions to promote working linkages, have better results and advance personal contentment. Emotional intelligence is applied so as to normalize emotions for personal health and more especially, mental health (Matthews, Zeidner Roberts, 2004). For instance low emotional intelligence is coupled with depression, low self-esteem, solitude, suicidal feelings and hostile behavior. On the other hand, high emotional intelligence is associated with increased well-being such as more fulfillments with life and increased happiness. Emotional intelligence has a significant function in medicine nursing and other healthcare disciplines for both personal healthcare and professional practice. In everyday life, emotional intelligence is seen as a possible aspect in mediating stress. Therefore, acknowledgement of emotional intelligence is vital to health care administration leadership in order to promote health in the society. References Matthews, G, Zeidner, M Roberts, D. (2004). Emotional intelligence: science and myth. Cambridge, Massachusetts: MIT Press.

The Paradox of the Software Essay Example for Free

The Paradox of the Software Essay When believing in a certain god, people become biased towards justifying and asserting the greatness of their god. Naturally, a person like Thomas Aquinas would not have been dubbed a Saint if he did not have an immense faith towards his god, so therefore he would have a way to justify his god against this paradox, just as critics can find faults and inconsistencies to argue his reasoning.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   According to him, divine omnipotence is not merely being able to do anything any everything conceivable or inconceivable, but rather being able to do everything that is a logical possibility; the compatibility of the predicate to its subject. An effect can only be deemed possible if it has a logical cause. However, god’s omnipotence or what is logically possible for a divine being like him cannot be measured in terms of what is humanly possible. It would be very hard for someone with such devotion to god as that of a saint to accept that his omnipotence can be diminished by something as mundane as a computer software. Therefore, for a person like him, god, without question will always be omnipotent. To back that claim, saint Aquinas would argue that god being beaten by a software in chess is illogical, a predicate that is not compatible with its subject, and inconceivable, therefore, god’s omnipotence cannot be challenged by whether he could be beaten by a software or whether he could create such a software. There is a saying that a teacher’s greatness can be measured if he can be surpassed by his student. It would mean that the student has learned everything he could from the teacher and even more than the teacher could teach him. That could also apply to a creator; a creator’s greatness can be measured if he can be surpassed by his creation. It will always be possible for a creator for create something greater than him, because he would know his own limitations, therefore he could improve those in his creation. The only question is whether he would allow himself to be surpassed by something that came from him or if he will deliberately limit the capabilities of his creation thus maintaining his superiority over it. As I had mentioned earlier, people will always find ways to defend what they believe in; such as the case of Saint Aquinas’ philosophies regarding his god. The way he agued god’s omnipotence seems as if he just asserts gods divinity and that his greatness cannot be questioned or diminished. Given the earlier argument regarding the creator and his creation, it only seems that there is an omnipotent god because god himself may only be limiting the capabilities of his creations to a level lower than that of his to maintain his power over them. References Martin, C. J. F. (1997). Thomas Aquinas: God and Explanations. Edinburgh: Edinburgh   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   University Press. Paterson, C. Pugh, M. S. (2006.), Analytical Thomism: Traditions in Dialogue. Ashgate. Selman, F. (2007). Aquinas 101:A Basic Introduction to the Thought of Saint Thomas Aquinas.

War of Indian Independence 1857

War of Indian Independence 1857 The Indian Rebellion of 1857 is also known as Indias First War of Independence, the Great Rebellion, the Indian Mutiny, the Revolt of 1857, the Uprising of 1857, the Sepoy Rebellion and the Sepoy Mutiny. The many names are the result of the conflicts continuing importance to Indias national sense of identity. It began as a mutiny of native soldiers (sepoys) employed by the British East India Companys army, against perceived race based injustices and inequities, on 10 May 1857, in the town of Meerut, and soon erupted into other mutinies and civilian rebellions which were mainly centered on north central India along the several major river valleys draining the south face of the Himalayas [See red annotated locations on Map at right] but with local episodes extending both northwest to Peshawar on the north-west frontier with Afghanistan and southeast beyond Delhi. The main conflict occurred largely in the upper Gangetic plain and central India, with the major hostilities confined to present-dayUttar Pradesh, Bihar, northern Madhya Pradesh, and the Delhi region. The rebellion posed a considerable threat to British East Indian Company power in that region, and it was contained only with the fall of Gwalior on 20 June 1858.Some regard the rebellion as the first of several movements over ninety years to achieve independence, which was finally achieved in 1947. Other regions of Company-controlled India-Bengal province, the Bombay Presidency, and the Madras Presidency-remained largely calm. In Punjab, the Sikh princes backed the Company by providing both soldiers and support. The large princely states, Hyderabad, Mysore, Travancore, and Kashmir, as well as the states of Rajputana did not join the rebellion. In some regions, such as Oudh, the rebellion took on the attributes of a patriotic revolt against European presence. Rebel leaders, such as the Rani of Jhansi, and Rani of Tulsipur of Tulsipur-State, became folk heroes in the nationalist movement in India half a century later, however, they themselves generated no coherent ideology for a new order. The rebellion led to the dissolution of the East India Company in 1858, and forced the British to reorganize the army, the financial system, and the administration in India. India was thereafter directly governed by the Crown in the new British Raj. War of independence is described as an uprising that was ignited by Indian troops in the town of Meerut near Delhi in 1857. In addition to economic exploitation, political, and military causes, the British failed  to observe several cultural factors in their rule. One of these factors being that India was a cast-based society. But most important, was the religious conflict regarding the famous British cartridges that used pig and cow fat. India had a long history of recurring revolts during British occupation. Although some of these uprisings were more effective than others, nonetheless they were indicative of a widespread discontent with British rule. Revolts were a yearly occurrence but were always cruelly put down by the British forces. The Indians were never a match for the British, and without an efficient way to communicate with others these revolts were unable to spread to other areas of the country. The Rebellion of 1857 was different because it was the larger and more widespread armed challenge to British rule. It began as a revolt of Indian Sepoys, but, The revolt then spread rapidly to other garrisons and soon turned from a limited military mutiny into a widespread civil rebellion that involved peasants, artisans, day laborers, and religious leaders (Tignor, 712). Besides attacking government buildings including prisons, treasuries, barracks and courthouses, Sepoys and peasants killed all Europeans and Christians they could find. As a result it has been described by many as a nationalist revolt, or Indias first war of national independence. Following can be stated as possible and logical reasons or causes of war of independence 1857: Controversies and disputes Unease among masses due to social reforms introduced by the company Economical exploitation by the British Unrest among the Sepoys The Enfield Rifle Prophecies, omens, signs and rumors Controversies and disputes: Many locals believed that british wanted to force them to change their religon and convert to Christianity. The British creed of the time was Evangelism, and many East India Company officers tried themselves to convert their Sepoys. This was strongly discouraged by the Company officials. The doctrine of lapse was also a major reason for this tragedy [1]. According to this doctrine the company could annex any heirless princely state if the ruler didnt had any natural heir to the throne. In eight years, Lord Dalhousie, the then Governor-General of India, annexed many kingdoms including Jhansi, Oudh, Satara, Nagpur and Sambalpur. Nobility, feudal leaders, and royal forces were unemployed . Even the treasure of the royal family of Nagpur was publicly sold in Calcutta. It was seen as a sign of abject disrespect by the Indian aristocracy. Indians were not happy by rule of Europeans who were bent on rather rapid expansion and westernization. They didnt had any regard for historical subtleties in Indian society. Reforms made by british , such as putting curbs on Sati (the self-burning of widows with their husbands) and minor marriage, were accompanied with prohibitions on Indian religious customs, seen as steps towards a change in religon.[2] Historian William Dalrymple asserts that the rebels were motivated primarily by by resistance against a move by the East India Company, which was perceived as an attempt to impose Christianity and Christian laws in India.[3] For example, when Zafar met the sepoys on 11th of May in 1857, he was told: We have joined hands to protect our religion and our faith. They later stood in Chandni Chowk, the main square, and asked the people gathered there, Brothers, are you with those of the faith?[3] Those British men and women who had converted to Islam were spared, while Indian Christians such as one of royal physicians, Dr. Chaman Lal, were killed in cold blood.[3] Dalrymple also states that as late as 6 September, when calling the inhabitants of Delhi to join hands and put resistance against the eminent British attack, Zafar issued a proclamation stating that this was a religious war being prosecuted on behalf of the faith, and that all Muslim and Hindu citizens of the capital city, or of the countryside were encouraged to stay true to their faith and creeds.[3] As further evidence, he proves that the Urdu manuscripts of the pre and post-rebellion periods usually refer to the British not as angrez (the English), goras (whites) or firangis (foreigners), but as kafir (infidels) and nasrani (Christians).[3] The justice system was certainly not just to locals. In 1853, the British Prime Minister Lord Aberdeen opened the Indian Civil Service to locals; however, this was viewed by most of educated India as an non-compensating measure. The official records and war diaries were laid before the House of Commons during the sessions of 1856 and 1857 which revealed that Company officers were allowed an extended series of appeals if convicted or accused of war crimes . The Company also exploited the locals financially. Failure to pay the unjust and heavy taxes always resulted in seizure of property by the government. British slowed the pace of their programme of reform and also sought to pacify the gentry and princely families, particularly Muslim, who had been major leaders of the 1857 revolt. After 1857, local land lordship became more domineering, the discrimination based on caste became more manifest, and the collective partition between Hindus and Muslims became discernible and visible, which many analysts argue was due to a British approach of divide and rule. An additional vital reason for the rebellion was the stance towards the Mughal monarch, Bahadur Shah II. The governor-general of India at the time, had affronted the Emperor by asking him and his family to leave the Red Fort. Later, Lord Canning, the next governor-general of India, announced that Bahadur Shahs successors would not even be permitted to use the title of the Shahanshah. Such lamentable events were condemned by public. Unease among masses due to social reforms introduced by company: Many locals were angry due to the rule of the British and perceived a project of westernization and slavery to be taking place.The forbidding of Sati (self-immolation by widows along with dead husbands) and minor marriage seemed to be a herald to an nuisance of Christianity. It was also a reason for the tragedy.[2] Economical exploitation by the British: The British East India Company was a huge trading firm . The supremacy of the British invasion force took nearly 150 years to emerge. Till 1700s, the yearly expenses in enticement to local rulers and officers reached almost 90,000 pounds. By bribing the administration, the Company was allowed to function in abroad markets notwithstanding the verity that the cheap imports of South Asia impair conjugal trade. By 1767, the Company was strained into an accord to pay 400,000 pounds into the state Exchequer per annum. By mid of 19th century, while, the Companys monetary difficulties had reached a position where mounting taxation requisite escalating British territories in South Asia extraordinarily. The Company began to put curbs adoption rights of indigenous rulers and began the procedure of appropriation of independent Rajas. Karl Marx wrote that in 1854 the Raj of Berar, which comprised 80,000 square miles of land, a population from four to five million, and enormous treasures, was forcibly seized. By 1857, the very last relics of sovereign Indian states had disappeared and the Company exported untold quantities of gold, jewels, silver, silk, cotton, and a host of other precious materials back to England every year. This very asset funded the industrialized Revolution to great extent. The agricultural land was restructured under the rather callous feudal system to smooth the progress of the compilation of excise. In some regions farmers were strained to toggle from carry-over farming to commercial crops such as indigo, jute, coffee and tea. This resulted in destitution to the farmers and increases in food prices. Indigenous commerce, in particular the renowned weavers of Bengal and elsewhere, also suffered under British statute. Import tariffs were maintained low, according to conventional British free-market sentiments, and consequently the Indian open market was snowed under with cheap garments from Britain. Master weavers had their fingers cut off to prevent them from weaving. The Indians felt that the British were imposing incredibly grave excise on the locals. This incorporated an boost in the levy on land. This appears to have been the most imperative raison dà ªtre.

Kaleidoscopes of Light: Reflecting on Namibian Faith and Culture :: Essays Papers

Kaleidoscopes of Light: Reflecting on Namibian Faith and Culture In this illuminating semester in Southern Africa, my Christian beliefs have been colored with light from kaleidoscopes of cultures and people. I have been heavily challenged, strengthened anew, and turned on my head more than once. Perhaps most explicitly, I have learned about the role of religion in social change in Namibia, from study in this course, in visiting eight different churches over the course of three months, and in building relationships with inspiring Namibians. As I prepare to make my return journey home, I wonder if I will be prepared to share and describe what religious frustrations and exaltations of faith have filled my days. I wonder if my spiritual curiosity will continue to refine and deepen my appreciation for the meaning of Christianity in my life, especially as I return to work in a Christian summer camp in Montana. I wish I could say that the message of unconditional love cradled in the scripture of my faith has struck me anew during my time here. But my experiences have filled me with more spiritual questions and concerns than answers of affirmation. This is adventuresome and stimulating, to say the least, and I am glad for the challenge provided here; faith should never be a docile and lame journey of life. Throughout our religious classes this semester, meeting religious leaders and human rights activists has fueled my understanding of the meaning of Christianity. In lectures from community leaders, pastors and counselors, our class discussions bore witness to Christianity’s original context in Southern Africa, its profound role in the liberation struggle and its potential in continuing processes of reconciliation in Namibia. Reading historical reviews and articles of colonialism and apartheid exposed me to the heart-rending effects of religion in this country. What still strikes me to the core about what I’ve learned is the good religious communities can offer this nation. As our articulate speaker Rev. Nangula Kathindi, President of the Namibian Council of Churches, demonstrates with her words and her work, church involvement in breaking the wall of silence surrounding SWAPO atrocities and human rights violations is for the empowerment of Namibians everywhere. Her posit ion of authority within the church gives a fresh perspective on the role of the church playing into everyday life in Namibia, and how its influence can be used for progressive change today. The words of Kathindi fill me with hope for the future generations of Namibia; she is a living testament to the power of churches reshaping the race-war worn lives of Namibians today.

Write an evaluation of how effective you think the Dubble campaign has

Write an evaluation of how effective you think the Dubble campaign has been so far and how your advertising has aimed to reach Dubble’s target audience eff. The Dubble Campaign: ‘Write an evaluation of how effective you think the Dubble campaign has been so far and how your advertising has aimed to reach Dubble’s target audience effectively.’ In October 2000, Comic Relief and The Day Chocolate Company teamed up with Kuapa Kokoo, a co-operative of 35,000 Ghanaian cocoa farmers, to launch Dubble, a unique chocolate bar aimed at 10 -16 year olds. In January 2001, Dubble was introduced to the public through a ‘chocolate challenge’ competition launched by Comic Relief on the Live and kicking show. The competition was to design a wrapper for Dubble. In October, Dubble was launched onto the shelves of supermarkets and outlets. Free bars were given away in Smash Hits and Match magazines. A Dubble website was developed featuring a web link between schools in Ghana and the U.K. Dubble advertisements were featured on T.V, magazines and the Internet, all media widely used by teenagers. Dubble is part of the Fair Trade campaign, which ensures that farmers in developing countries, who grow crops like cocoa used in chocolate making, are paid fairly for their products. Fair Trading and links with Comic Relief are important attributes for Dubble. The Fair Trade link helps children understand Dubble’s aim- helping Ghanaian cocoa farmers. Additionally, the f...

Shakespeares Macbeth - Why does Macbeth Murder Duncan? :: GCSE English Literature Coursework

Why does Macbeth Murder Duncan? In Shakespeare’s play Macbeth, the lead character of the same name is not sufficiently happy with the high social position he occupies and the honored status he has acquired. Viewing the play simplistically, one may conclude that Duncan is murdered due to the ambition of Macbeth. Ambition is a sin, of course, and therefore Macbeth is punished for his sins. If one does not care to probe more deeply, this evaluation of the play is almost entirely satisfactory, because it is very simple and neat. Yet, this approach converts the work from an extraordinarily complex study of evil into a straightforward morality play and closes off discussion of the most interesting aspects of the play.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Now, there is some evidence for the charge of ambition. Macbeth does want to become king, and he refers to that desire as ambition ("I have no spur/ To prick the sides of my intent, but only/ Vaulting ambition which o'erleaps itself/ And falls on th'other" (1.7.25-28). But we need to be careful here not automatically to take a character's own estimate of his motivation for the truth, or at least for a completely adequate summary statement of all that needs to be said. We need to "unpack" just what that concept of ambition contains in the character to whom we apply it.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   For a fascinating aspect of Macbeth's motivation is that he is in the grip of something which he does not fully understand and which a part of him certainly does not approve of. This makes him very unlike Richard Gloucester, who announces his plans with glee and shows no scruples about what he has to do (quite the reverse: he looks forward to doing away with his next victim and invites us to share his delight). Clearly a part of Macbeth is fascinated with the possibility of being king. It's not entirely clear where this desire comes from. The witches (whom we will discuss later) put the suggestion into the play, but there is a strong hint from Lady Macbeth that she and her husband have already talked about the matter well before the play begins ("What beast was't then/ That made you break this enterprise to me?" (1.7.48-49). In that case, the appearance of the witches may be, in part, a response to some desire in Macbeth.

Ranbaxy Laboratories

| Ranbaxy Laboratories Ltd. | | â€Å"Personally, I feel that companies who constantly innovate to provide better products and services and who can offer superior value propositions to the consumer are the ones likely to command more respect globally than others† Malvinder Mohan Singh, former CEO and MD, Ranbaxy Laboratories Ltd Table of Contents Executive Summary5 The Company5 Hybrid Business Model6 Porter’s Five Force Analysis7 Bargaining Power of Buyers8 Bargaining Power of Suppliers9 Threat of New Entrants10 Threat of Substitutes11 Threat of Rivalry12 Value chain analysis13Inbound logistics13 Operations13 Outbound logistics13 Sales and marketing13 Service14 Procurement14 Technological Development14 Human Resource Management14 Firm Infrastructure14 VRIO Analysis16 Internal Analysis- A Resource Based View16 Factors Leading to Growth18 Strategy18 Business-level Strategy18 Focus on Differentiated Products18 Corporate-level Strategy20 R&D in Ranbaxy20 NDDR – A sep arate Entity Decentralization20 First Mover Advantage20 Information Security and Information Synergy21 Acquisitions21 Agreements and Collaboration22 Recommendations22Medium term Strategy (5-7 years)23 Long term Strategy (10-15 years)25 References26 Exhibit27 I. Market Share27 II. Market Structure & Herfindahl-Hirshman index27 IV. Market Forecast31 V. Competitor Analysis31 VI. Ranbaxy Financials32 VII. Pharmaceutical Industry Future33 VIII. Conservation of energy and its impact37 Executive Summary Product patent regime implemented in India from Jan 2005 compelled Indian pharma companies to relook in to their marketing strategies so as to become competitive & strongly withstand in the competition with MNC’s & big giants in domestic markets.Product patent regime posed Indian pharmaceutical companies to change their strategies. If the Indian companies wanted to withstand in competition & survive, they have to invest more in the R&D for development of New Chemical Entities (NCEâ⠂¬â„¢s). Before patent regime, with the help of reverse engineering & process patent companies were enjoying copying MNC’s molecules & introducing their own brands & investing less in NCE’s. The rapid growth of the Indian Pharmaceutical Industry was sponsored by the non-recognition of product patents for drugs under the Indian Patent Act, 1970.However, the case reversed with the advent of signing of the TRIPs agreement. This change ensured that firms should reorient themselves for R&D-based innovation to survive. This would enable them to compete in regulated and open market. Ranbaxy Laboratories Ltd. adopted a â€Å"High-Risk-High-Returns† strategy to respond to the challenging business environment brought about by the introduction of the new patent regime. But the financial health of the firm was affected severely by the increasing expenditures on risky R&D and patent challenges with inadequate returns.High cost acquisitions in foreign markets and setting own manufacturing & selling facilities abroad in order to increase its geographical presence added further to the problem. Eventually, Ranbaxy had to redefine its business model. In 2008, a strategic combination of an innovator and generic powerhouse was brought in by Ranbaxy by selling its 63. 92% shares to Daiichi Sankyo Company Ltd. The study reveals how Ranbaxy adopted a new strategy every time the company confronted a new challenge in the ever so changing scenario of Indian Pharmaceutical Industry.From pioneering the art of reverse engineering and becoming a cost-effective firm globally, the firm went on to become the first Indian Pharmaceutical firm to launch the first original drug developed by an Indian entity, Synriam, and reaping profits by way of para IV filings for the star-drug Lipitor. Ranbaxy made a way out through its strategies to claim its top position in the Indian Pharmaceutical Industry and globally. The Company Ranbaxy Laboratories Limited is one of the India's lar gest pharmaceutical companies. It is an integrated, research based, international pharmaceutical company.It produces a wide range of quality, affordable generic medicines, that are trusted by healthcare professionals and patients across geographies. Ranbaxy is ranked 8th amongst the global generic pharmaceutical companies, and has a presence in 23 of the top 25 pharmaceutical markets of the world. The global presence of the firm encompasses 49 countries, and it has world-class manufacturing facilities in 11 countries to serve customers in over 125 countries. Ranbaxy entered into an alliance in June 2008 with Daiichi Sankyo Company Ltd. The combined entity now ranks among the top 15 harmaceutical companies, globally. The strategic deal will place Ranbaxy in a higher growth trajectory and it will emerge stronger in terms of its global reach and in its capabilities in drug development and manufacturing. A detailed portfolio of company’s financial positioning and market structure is provided in the exhibits. (Exhibit I, II and VI) Hybrid Business Model Ranbaxy is working very closely with Daiichi Sankyo to extract synergies in various geographies. Ranbaxy markets Daiichi Sankyo’s brands in countries such as Romania and Malaysia.Additional resources and capabilities are also being directed towards this region. These capabilities will result in improved business performance in other markets also, like Africa, Middle East and Asia. Branded business is the core factor that differentiates Ranbaxy from most other Indian generic companies. Ranbaxy has its own teams in more than 40 countries, while many Indian companies elect to sell their products through distributors. The ‘Global Hybrid Business’ team took several initiatives during the year to leverage synergies between Ranbaxy and Daiichi Sankyo, individually and collectively.Their collaboration is maturing with time and the synergies now extend beyond marketing and cover a significant part of the pharmaceutical value chain. A manufacturing and supply framework was established between Ranbaxy and Daiichi Sankyo Espha Co. Ltd. during the year and they are working together to develop products for the Japanese market. Porter’s Five Force Analysis The analysis is done from the perspective of an average incumbent player in the industry. Overall attractiveness of industry is moderate at 3. 1 points. The key buyers are hospitals and pharmacies.The key suppliers are active pharmaceutical ingredients and clinical trial services providers. The pharmaceutical market witnesses fairly strong buyer power. Oligopsony status strengthens buyer power. The price control policies of state and private sector institutions also add to buying power, as they are the ultimate purchasers of drugs. The business of pharmaceutical companies depends vitally on obtaining high quality equipment, materials, personnel, and third-party clinical testing services. The regulators must be satisfied th at the products of new entrants are safe and effective.Pharmaceutical industry also experiences substitutes in terms of non-drug therapies and like. In addition, cheaper generic copies are substituting research based drugs as they are no longer protected by patents. Bargaining Power of Buyers Pharmaceutical manufacturers sell to drug wholesalers. These then sell on to pharmacies, or to healthcare institutions as hospitals. Most pharmaceutical products require prescription except for OTC and similar drugs. Marketing of prescription drugs is therefore heavily directed at medical practitioners.Medical condition may entail several different drug treatments leading to product differentiation and weakening buyer power. Differentiation includes efficacy, side effects, ease of use and cost-effectiveness. The reverse happens when generic copies are available. The buyer power is also increased because the ultimate source of funds for most drug purchases is a public or private-sector health in surer or similar body. Such large purchasers exert monopsony market power ad it is very common for them to use one or more specific price control strategies. In some scenarios governments may directly set drug prices, making any departures illegal.In case of reimbursements governments may set a very low price for new or existing drugs. Under reference price regimes reimbursement levels are determined by contrasting the price of a drug in therapeutic category and/or peer group countries. If therapeutic category contains generics the reference price is pushed down for on-patent drugs in the same category. If peer group countries have lower per capita incomes, a similar effect occurs. Price-volume or profit control may also exist. Beyond the stipulated amount manufacturers have to offer either price reductions or compensatory disbursement to government.Overall, industry attractiveness due to buyer’s bargaining power is moderate at 3 points. Bargaining Power of Suppliers Manufact urers of active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) are major suppliers to the pharmaceutical market. This forms a sub-sector of the chemical industry. Many leading pharmaceutical companies enjoy less bargaining power of suppliers due to major investments in fine chemicals manufacturing which provides a high degree of self-sufficiency. APIs are provided on a contractual basis and so pharmaceutical companies risk elevated switching costs if they think about moving their business to a different place.Sequentially, pharmaceutical companies make use of sourcing managers to diminish costs and to lessen supplier power. However chemical manufacturers can demand higher prices in case of development of new therapeutic agents as it requires sourcing of newer APIs. Most companies purchase raw materials from many suppliers thereby lessening their reliance on any one company. In general, suppliers have little differentiation as laboratory equipment and chemicals are mostly uniform. Thus companies have a many options to acquire the best quality and cost relationship, diminishing supplier power.But, there are cases requiring specialized facilities or raw materials, such as sterile processing of biological materials. These cases increase supplier power. Forward integration by suppliers is highly unlikely; however due to chemical synthesis capabilities they are ideal candidates for production of generic drugs. Recent years have seen a trend of large pharmaceutical companies producing their own chemicals to enhance profits, however smaller companies lacking the resources necessary to do this have relied on API manufacturers.Pharmaceutical companies outsource their drug testing and clinical trials to third-parties. As these trials are very important for regulatory approvals, these service providers constitute important suppliers. Overall, the industry attractiveness due to supplier’s bargaining power is moderate at 3. 28 points. Threat of New Entrants Market entry is affect ed by regulation and legal frameworks in quite a few ways. A company that wants to market its products is obliged to show that its drugs are safe and effective, to a national regulator. The Drug Standard Control Organization (CDSCO) plays this role in India.A start-up company needs significant up-front investment which must be accessible for the time it takes to develop and test the product. It is time-consuming to meet these regulatory requirements; it may take 10-15 years to get a drug to market. According to the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA), out of 5,000 to 10,000 screened compounds, only 250 enter preclinical testing, of which only 5 enter human clinical trials, and finally just 1 will be approved. Another regulatory barrier to entry is the use of restrictive formularies: only certain drugs may be listed as preferred for a specific therapeutic category.This means that non formulary alternatives can only be prescribed under special circumstances an d with prior consent from the appropriate authority, or with more sizeable co-pays from the patient. Thus the potential market for non-formulary drugs is smaller than the size of the therapeutic class market. New entrants to the market are also slowed by the strength of intellectual property protection. Overall, industry attractiveness is moderate at 3. 44 points. Threat of Substitutes As far as substitutes are concerned patients may prefer traditional remedies.Physicians may decide on non-drug treatments if they deem them more apt. Switching costs for patients are moderately low. Though, they may be more important for the final buyers, the healthcare providers. For example, presume a healthcare system reviewed the clinical data and determined that a chronic condition that is treated by drugs taken for the patient’s lifetime can be treated by a simple surgical procedure. This would be a valuable and inexpensive alternative. However, it may need more surgical teams to be train ed and more availability of operating theatres, requiring funding from the healthcare system.The attractiveness of industry due to threat of substitutes is moderate at 2. 75 points. Threat of Rivalry The general structure of the industry is reflected as near perfect competition (Exhibit II). Industry has also witnessed high growth over the years (Exhibit III) Several multinational corporations dominate the Indian research-based pharmaceutical industry, beside smaller firms as biotech players fixed on a small quantity of new products. There is some proof of consolidation, which reduces rivalry as players increase their product portfolio or geographical spread.Certain specific therapy areas may have more effective concentration. Therefore products can be highly differentiated based on their clinical effectiveness. Generic companies can be profitable by selling the same molecule at lesser price than the original. This shows that setting up good-quality manufacturing processes is not ve ry expensive. A resulting effect of this is that it is comparatively trouble-free for research-based companies to increase output, for example by licensing agreements with other companies, eliminating the need to expand their own production facilities.This tends to increase rivalry. Exiting the market is moderately easy. Many assets can be classified as ‘weightless’. For example trademarks, patents, synthetic methods, and others. These can be sold comparatively easily. Many of the production facilities and equipment and R;D will find uses outside pharmaceutical industry. Overall, industry attractiveness due to the degree of rivalry is moderate at 3 points. Value chain analysis Inbound logistics Ranbaxy has implemented various ERP solutions to minimise cost of inbound logistics. Operations CMC- Chemistry, Manufacturing and Control – Trial manufacturing of small scale API and intermediates of some of Daiichi Sankyo’s pipeline products is ongoing at Ranbaxyâ €™s manufacturing facilities. The result is huge cost savings and efficiencies for Daiichi Sakyo. * PDR- Product Development Research – Daichii Sankyo’s knowhow is being used to reduce deviation rate of products. Transfer of new drug research to Daichii Sankyo has enabled Ranbaxy to focus on generic research. * Ranbaxy achieved a total of 230 filings across markets. * Rationalization of potable water supply by operating one system instead of earlier practice of two systems. Measures for Conservation of Energy resulting in savings of 11. 71 million rupees. (Exhibit VIII) Source: Ranbaxy Files Outbound logistics The company has also focussed on cost cutting at this level to strive towards its goal of cost leadership. Sales and marketing * Ranbaxy used its strong distribution network to introduce Daiichi Sankyo’s innovator products in Singapore, Malaysia and Italy. * Marketing synergies are rolled out in India and Romania. Source: Ranbaxy Files Service * Ranbax y ensures high levels of service to distributers. Procurement To gain advantage a project related to supply chain of API and drug product is ongoing. The intent is to promote rationisation and increase price efficiency to mitigate risk. Technological Development * Anti counterfeiting system to reduce pilferage. * Flexible multipurpose manufacturing to de-risk business and utilise production capacities optimally. Human Resource Management * Daiichi Sankyo talent exchange programme to ensure cultural synergies and skill enhancement. * Rotated employees through international assignments to create global leaders. * Additional features added in PMS. Introduction of whistle blower policy. * Long term ESOPs applicable to people in 43 countries and multiple nationalities. Firm Infrastructure * Upgradation of global manufacturing capabilities to enhance capacities, efficiencies and strengthen processes and compliance. * Dosage form facility in US has been upgraded and manufacturing capacity increased. * Investment in Greenfield facility in Africa. * Plan of a Greenfield facility in Malaysia. * Setup of a dedicated facility at Paonta Sahib. * Quality compliance, quality improvement and signing of consent decree with FDA. Implemented 22 global quality standards. * Implemented enterprise wide quality management system (TrackWise, Documentum, LMS etc). The company has inculcated sufficient changes in the value chain to be in line with its hybrid policy. As the company strives to be a global leader it has made huge investments in firm infrastructure. Also human resource management has been suitably enhanced to create a culture that assists in growth. VRIO Analysis Under the hybrid business model Ranbaxy has transferred new drug discovery to Daiichi Sankyo, while Ranbaxy will take care of generic drugs.Utilising these synergies Ranbaxy has also implemented flexible manufacturing at many facilities. Resource| Valuable| Rare| Costly to imitate| Used by organisation| | Daiichi Sankyo’s R;D| Yes| Yes| Yes| Yes| Sustained competitive advantage| Flexible manufacturing capabilities| Yes| Yes| Yes| Yes| Sustained competitive advantage| Expertise in acquiring Abbreviated New Drug Applications (ANDAs)| Yes| Yes| No| Yes| Temporary competitive advantage| SYNRIAM a breakthrough molecule for Malaria| Yes| Yes| Yes| Yes| Sustained competitive advantage|Internal Analysis- A Resource Based View The purpose of this section is to utilize the concept of resource based approach to determine the resources and the interactions that exist among these resources leading to differential performance of Ranbaxy in the Indian pharmaceutical industry. The internal analysis could be thought of as strengths and weaknesses of the SWOT framework applied to a firm. The RBV focuses on idiosyncratic and costly to copy resources, the exploitation of which may give a firm a competitive advantage. I.Assets: These refer to the ‘resource possession’. They are the factors of production that the firm may draw upon to provide valuable goods and services to the customers. They are both, tangible as well as intangible in nature. As a part of this project, these assets were identified in case of Ranbaxy, which are as follows: 1. R;D Expenditure: Firms that invest heavily in R;D are more likely trying to compete on the basis of innovativeness and technology breakthrough although high investment does not necessarily guarantee generation of successful innovation.Ranbaxy has been investing heavily in the R;D of new drugs. The ration of R;D expenses to Sales stands at 11% for Ranbaxy (2009-10) compared to the 5% industry average. 2. Marketing Expenditure: Morgan et al. (2009) find that marketing excellence do lead to superior performance. Marketing as a resource has been considered in itself to have huge potential in making a difference to the firm’s performance. Due to the venture into OTC products (Volini, Revital etc), the marketing expenditure has inc reased by 18% over 2010’s expenditure, when compared with the industry average. . Tacit Knowledge (Company’s Age): As a firm grows, with age, it develops a network of relationships with various institutional actors like government, suppliers, customers, banks and other institutions (Makhija, 2003). The stock of tacit knowledge can be only built over time as the individual learns a particular skill or as member of a group or as a team learns to interact with each other. Thus, as the company ages, the interactions build, networks build, resources build and relationships build. The company is over 50 years old and was incorporated in 1961. . Culture: Ranbaxy firmly believes in providing autonomy to their employees and in letting the employees discover their potential while working for them. Individuals are given fair bit of responsibility quite early in their careers and hence, their actions impact the business. This has resulted in a culture of entrepreneurship within th e organization. The spirit of innovation and creativity supports this entrepreneurial culture. An employee should not be part of R;D to bring about innovations. Creativity is promoted in all the parts of the organization.Genuine mistakes are considered as a part of learning and calculated risk taking behavior is encouraged. II. Capabilities: This is better understood in terms of ‘resource utilization’. Capabilities are those constituents of the firm which help exploit the resources in implementation of the firm’s strategies. 1. MD Experience: Ranbaxy is flourishing under the able guidance of Mr. Arun Sawhney who joined Ranbaxy in May 2008 and was elevated to the position of President-Global Pharmaceutical Business in January 2010. Since August 2011, he is CEO ; Managing Director.Mr. Sawhney is a veteran in industry, with international experience of three decades in the Chemical and Pharmaceutical industry. He has held senior functional and management positions pr eviously in global pharmaceutical companies like Max-Gb, Bayer India Limited and Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories Limited. Factors Leading to Growth The key to Ranbaxy’s growth lay in the strategic decisions taken by its management from time to time. These strategies – specific patterns of decisions and actions – helped them achieve a competitive advantage.It exemplifies how symbiotic interdependencies can be managed and harassed for the organisation’s benefit, by manipulating the specific and general environmental forces. Ranbaxy’s main strategy to manage its environmental forces seems to be through forming strategic alliances for the various products and markets. The company has followed an r-strategy i. e. the strategy of entering a new environment early, and has thus reaped the benefits of being an early entrant in new market. Strategy Ranbaxy is focused on increasing the momentum in the generics business in its key markets through organic and i norganic growth routes.It is the company's constant endeavour to provide a wide basket of generic and innovator products, leveraging its unique Hybrid Business Model with Daiichi Sankyo. As part of the Hybrid Business Model, Daiichi Sankyo will utilise Ranbaxy's strong manufacturing capabilities and expertise in developing generic medicines for the Japan and market them through Daiichi Sankyo Espha Co. , Ltd. The company will also increasingly focus in high growth potential segments like Vaccines and Biosimilars. These new areas will add significant depth to the existing product pipeline.Business-level Strategy Focus on Differentiated Products The company realized the importance of having a versatile product portfolio and thus is focusing on offering differentiated/value-added new products to the Indian masses. Ranbaxy has accelerated its pace to bring in new differentiated products in the Indian market to consolidate its leadership position. Ranbaxy is building upon the practice of related Diversification – entry into a new domain that is related in some way to an organization’s domain- to gain a competitive advantage Examples:- 1. Rank in Therapy SegmentsOver the last few years, Ranbaxy has realigned its domestic operations to the needs of its target customer groups to have a more focused relationship with the doctors. This is aimed at providing customer specific quality services surpassing expectations. By forming relationship with doctors, demonstrates that Ranbaxy manages symbiotic resource interdependencies by the way of co-optation to manage its specific environment better. 2. Entering into the Oncology Segment Since Ranbaxy did not have a significant presence in the Oncology segment, it entered into a strategic alliance with Zenotech Laboratories Ltd.Of Hyderabad, India, a company with a strong hold in this segment. 3. Strengthening presence in Asthma Segment In- Licensing agreement demonstrates that Ranbaxy makes use of the informal stra tegy of long term contracts to manage its resource interdependencies. Ranbaxy has entered into ‘In- Licensing’ agreement with Euro drug laboratories, the Netherlands-based pharma company for the Asthma product Doxophylline – a Novel Xanthine Bronchodilator. It is a strategic step in the direction of expanding the product portfolio through differentiated products for the Indian Market, in the post patent era. 4. NCE Products – India FocusRecently a licensing agreement with a swissbio- pharmaceutical company, Debiopharm, was signed for the New Chemical Entity (NCE) Drug in the Gastroenotlogy segment. 5. Strengthening Product Basket in New Markets In Canada, soon after the launch of its products in 2005, Ranbaxy is further expanding its product portfolio through in- licensing and has already emerged as a pioneer in this area. In mid 2006, Ranbaxy Pharmaceuticals Canada Inc (RPCI) and Janssen – Ortho Inc (JOI) entered into a licensing and supply agreeme nt for a generic version of Risperidone compressed tablets, sold under Ranbaxy’s label, Ran Risperidone.Corporate-level Strategy R;D in Ranbaxy NDDR – A separate Entity Decentralization Ranbaxy received an in- principle approval from the Board of Directors to De- merge its Drug Discovery Research (DDR) operation. This is a significant step in creating an independent pathway for DDR with dedicated resources and enhanced focus for long term value building. Ranbaxy’s state-of-the-art research infrastructure and scientific talent pool can be more effectively leveraged through an independent vehicle that better aligns assets with priorities to accelerate the company’s drug discovery programs.The resulting operational freedom and flexibility will also help to open up new growth opportunities, while providing a platform for increased collaboration. By the way of Decentralization of NDDR, Ranbaxy has promoted flexibility and responsiveness by allowing the researc h department to make on the spot decisions. Ranbaxy practices division if labour and specialization by allocating dedicated resources and creating scientific talent pool to DDR. The core competency of DDR is to discover new drugs First Mover Advantage Ranbaxy saw a great business opportunity in Japan, and hence entered the market in the year 2002 through a strategic alliance with a midsized research pharmaceutical company, Nippon Chemiphar Co, Ltd (NC) of Japan. Ranbaxy owned 10% equity * The company further consolidated its presence in Japan by increasing its equity stake in the NPI, from 10% to 50% in 2006 and NPI thus became a 50:50 joint venture between Ranbaxy and NC. Information Security and Information Synergy * Information security has been a priority at Ranbaxy since 2006. ‘Operation Safed Sagar’ was initiated to protect the company’s information assets. The program is focussed on bringing behavioural change in people, sensitizing them to the importance of Information Security. By using Information Security, Ranbaxy has demonstrated that it uses IT * To make critical information accessible to employees. * To facilitate beliefs norms and values of Ranbaxy. * To enhance motivational effects of cultural values. Acquisitions * June 2005 Efarmes in Spain * March 2006 Senetek in the US * March 2006 Allen in Italy * March 2006 Terapia in Romania * March 2006 Ethimed in Belgium July 2006 Mundogen in Spain * Sep 2006 Cardinal Drugs in India * Dec 2006 Be-Tabs in South Africa In the year of 2007 alone, Ranbaxy made and acquisition of 13 established and well recognized brands of the dermatology segment from Bristol- Myers Squibb in the US. Thus Ranbaxy has aggressively adopted merger and takeover strategy for growth in newer markets. Agreements and Collaboration Agreements and Collaborations 1. Agreement with GSK Extended * Strategic alliance with GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) helped Ranbaxy expand its drug development responsibilities and further fi nancial opportunities. Ranbaxy was to conduct stages till clinical proof is established. GSK thereafter will conduct further clinical development and take resulting products through the regulatory approval process to final commercialization. By forming strategic alliance with its competitor, GSK, Ranbaxy has demonstrated that it uses strategic alliance to manage its competitive interdependencies. . 2. Collaborating with DST * Under this collaboration, Department of Science ; Technology (DST) will provide financial support by way of soft loans to Ranbaxy. * The funding will enable Ranbaxy to conduct the pre clinical toxicity tudies/safety studies and take the molecules up to human phase-1 clinical trials. Recommendations Since its inception, Ranbaxy has been innovating on way to conquer the market. The strategies the company would adopt would be highly influenced by the external stimulus of the pharmaceutical industry. Following are the expectations from the Pharmaceutical Industry i n the times to come and how Ranbaxy should strategise to reap in the opportunities of the changing times. Medium term Strategy (5-7 years) Focus on increasing the scale of generic operations 1.Indian market to be at USD 55 billion with potential for more With market diversity on the rise, the drivers of the growth have proliferated and become more nuanced. Among the various drivers of the growth epidemiology factors, increasing affordability, enhanced accessibility, and rising acceptability are the most prominent (Exhibit VI). This opportunity can be fully utilized by Ranbaxy if it continues to ace its present strategy of capitalizing on generic drugs. This has to be accompanied by heavy investments in R;D for securing the leadership position in the times to come.But the cost strategy can made effective only by focussing on generics. 2. Mass therapies will remain important even though speciality therapies will increase share Mass therapies have evolved to comprise two differing oppo rtunity areas. The first which makes up the majority of the opportunity is acute indications within therapeutic areas such as respiratory and gastro-intestinal that have been traditionally treated by general practitioners (GPs) and consulting physicians (CPs). The second segment comprises older therapies in chronic indications such as diabetes, hypertension, and epilepsy.With the growing cases of both the types in India, Ranbaxy can actually look forward to organic or inorganic growth so as to be able to serve the particular area. The venture can be through differentiation or entering the market jointly by some other player. 3. Metro and Tier I Markets will drive growth while rural market will increase its share Metro and Tier I markets each account for about 30% of the Indian pharmaceuticals market. Mass therapies constitute a majority of this market. During the last 5 yrs, Metro and Tier I markets have grown at an estimated rate of 14 to 15 percent, in line with the overall market .The expectation is that the current momentum will continue and this segment will become a USD 33 billion market by 2020. This calls for a very strong distribution so as to penetrate in the rural sectors of the country. This is very important particularly in case of India wherein more than 70% of the population resides in rural areas. Low cost strategy will help the firm to gain success in the particular area. Apart from the distribution network, Ranbaxy can take the leverage of the Govt’s initiatives to expand healthcare in the rural areas. 4.Hospital channel will increase significantly in influence, though retail will stay important. Currently, as much as 80 to 85% of the market is being accounted for by the retail segment. Even in 2020, the expectation is that the retail segment will remain the mainstay of the market. However, consumption in hospital settings will rise to a considerable 20 to 30% share of the market. India will continue to witness a remarkable rise in medi cal infrastructure throughout the next decade. Not only will there be a dramatic rise in infrastructure, the nature and mix of hospitals and care delivery centres will undergo major shifts.As a result, the expectations are that the hospital segment of the pharmaceuticals market to grow at well above 20% and reach a size of USD 14 billion by 2020. The firm can leverage the opportunity by attaining the corporate-level strategy wherein the firm can get into strategic alliance so as to become the sole strategic partner to supply medicines to the hospital. More so, the firm can also get into ventures of laboratory partnerships. The laboratory collection centres needs comprehensive chain of branches across the country. The same infrastructure can be utilized to expand the retail chain of pharmacy. . Drugs worth more than 45 billion USD going off patent by 2015 Indian pharma companies have depended heavily on drugs coming off patent in the US to fuel their growth. But with the patent cliff nearing its end, they are now widening their horizon to include new growth areas. In 2012, drugs worth $ 35,514 million went off patent in the US. In contrast, in 2013, only 30 medicines worth $16,966 million are expected to come off patent and the value would fall to $ 2,952 million by 2020. Ranbaxy has won several ANDAs in the recent history, the prominent one being the ANDA of the star-drug â€Å"Lipitor†.The marketing exclusivity obtained by the company by the ANDA can help boost the profitability. Ranbaxy must continue doing to sought for more acquisitions of ANDAs so that the company can harp in the profits and at the same time build the reputation of a reliable manufacturer worldwide. Long term Strategy (10-15 years) The organisation should diversify into other revenue streams Contract Research Bio-Pharma Contract Manufacturing New Drug Development The three major segments – domestic formulations, formulation exports and bulk drug exports – have traditio nally been the backbone of the Indian pharmaceutical industry.With the generics market set to become extremely competitive in the long term (next 10 years), Ranbaxy should look to make the most of the current generic opportunity and achieve a substantial scale of operations. (Refer to Exhibit VII for Indian Pharmaceutical future forecasts. ) However, going forward, with more MNCs foraying into India and a shrinking generic market, Ranbaxy will have to increase their reach in segments such as contract research, biopharmaceuticals and new drug development (NDD). Global challenges will force the organisation to offer a whole gamut of products and services to ensure stable revenues and margins.The company can leverage its hybrid structure to achieve this long term diversification need. References 1. Barney, J. B. (1986), â€Å"Strategic factor markets: expectations, luck, and business strategy†, Management Science, Vol. 32 No. 10, pp. 1231-41. 2. Amit, R. and Schoemaker, P. J. H. (1993), â€Å"Strategic assets and organizational rent†, Strategic Management Journal, Vol. 14 No. 1, pp. 33-46. 3. Morgan, N. A. , Vorhies, D. W. and Mason, C. H. (2009), â€Å"Market orientation, marketing capabilities, and firm performance†, Strategic Management Journal, Vol. 30 No. 8, pp. 909-20. 4. Makhija, M. 2003), â€Å"Comparing the resource-based and market-based views of the firm: empirical evidence from Czech privatization†, Strategic Management Journal, Vol. 24, pp. 433-51. 5. Cappelli, P. , Singh, H. , Singh, J. V. and Useem, M. (2010), â€Å"How the best Indian companies drive performance by investing in people†, Harvard Business Review, March, pp. 91-7. 6. http://www. moneycontrol. com/stocks/top-companies-in-india/market-capitalisation-bse/pharmaceuticals. html 7. http://www. ranbaxy. com/news/newsdisp. aspx? cp=993;flag=LN 8. http://www. crisilresearch. com 9. Marketline reports 10. Ranbaxy. com Exhibits I.Market Share Ranbaxy has a mar ket share of 4. 78 % in Indian industry. Also Company has its considerable earnings from the global markets. Region| Sales in US$ in Million| % Share| USA| 791| 41. 5| India| 412| 21. 62| Europe| 297| 15. 59| CIS| 108| 5. 67| Africa| 189| 9. 92| Asia Pacific| 108| 5. 67| Thus, Ranbaxy needs to develop their global strategy as more than 75% of its revenue is generated from their global business. II. Market Structure ; Herfindahl-Hirshman index | Company Name| Market Cap (Rs. Crore)| s (% of market Cap)| s2| 1| Sun Pharma| 84,736. 49| 23. 76| 564. 55| 2| Cipla| 31,418. 31| 8. 81| 77. 61| | Dr Reddys Labs| 30,889. 01| 8. 66| 75. 02| 4| Lupin| 27,046. 65| 7. 58| 57. 52| 5| Wockhardt| 22,623. 49| 6. 34| 40. 24| 6| GlaxoSmithKline| 17,896. 05| 5. 02| 25. 18| 7| Ranbaxy Labs| 17,042. 95| 4. 78| 22. 84| 8| Cadila Health| 15,200. 53| 4. 26| 18. 17| 9| Divis Labs| 13,754. 59| 3. 86| 14. 88| 10| Glenmark| 13,726. 38| 3. 85| 14. 81| 11| Piramal Enter| 9,951. 71| 2. 79| 7. 79| 12| Ipca Labs| 6,3 95. 77| 1. 79| 3. 22| 13| Torrent Pharma| 5,839. 88| 1. 64| 2. 68| 14| Biocon| 5,439. 00| 1. 53| 2. 33| 15| Strides Arcolab| 5,409. 10| 1. 52| 2. 30| 16| Sanofi India| 5,345. 52| 1. 50| 2. 25| 17| Aurobindo Pharm| 4,796. 25| 1. 4| 1. 81| 18| Pfizer| 3,150. 36| 0. 88| 0. 78| 19| Abbott India| 2,953. 23| 0. 83| 0. 69| 20| Jubilant Life| 2,942. 72| 0. 83| 0. 68| 21| Sun Pharma Adv| 2,655. 82| 0. 74| 0. 55| 22| Unichem Labs| 2,115. 98| 0. 59| 0. 35| 23| Wyeth| 1,914. 96| 0. 54| 0. 29| 24| Novartis India| 1,885. 05| 0. 53| 0. 28| 25| AstraZeneca| 1,884. 75| 0. 53| 0. 28| 26| Alembic Pharma| 1,869. 14| 0. 52| 0. 27| 27| Fresenius Kabi| 1,863. 13| 0. 52| 0. 27| 28| FDC| 1,690. 56| 0. 47| 0. 22| 29| Ajanta Pharma| 1,558. 75| 0. 44| 0. 19| 30| Natco Pharma| 1,358. 77| 0. 38| 0. 15| 31| Claris Life| 1,198. 18| 0. 34| 0. 11| 32| Merck| 1,048. 25| 0. 29| 0. 09| 3| Panacea Biotec| 907. 74| 0. 25| 0. 06| 34| JB Chemicals| 703. 92| 0. 20| 0. 04| 35| Elder Pharma| 676. 49| 0. 19| 0. 04| 36| Hikal| 628. 01| 0. 18| 0. 03| 37| Shilpa| 625| 0. 18| 0. 03| 38| Dishman Pharma| 599. 98| 0. 17| 0. 03| 39| Indoco Remedies| 576. 4| 0. 16| 0. 03| 40| Orchid Chemical| 566. 79| 0. 16| 0. 03| 41| Plethico Pharma| 453. 26| 0. 13| 0. 02| 42| Shasun Pharma| 444. 3| 0. 12| 0. 02| 43| Vivimed Labs| 416. 49| 0. 12| 0. 01| 44| Nectar Life| 386. 85| 0. 11| 0. 01| 45| TTK Healthcare| 375. 52| 0. 11| 0. 01| 46| Sequent Scienti| 373. 44| 0. 10| 0. 01| 47| Sharon Bio Medi| 369. 76| 0. 10| 0. 01| 48| Aanjaneya Life| 357. 1| 0. 10| 0. 01| 49| Fulford| 288. 62| 0. 08| 0. 01| 50| Parenteral Drug| 279. 62| 0. 08| 0. 01| |   | 3,56,630. 63|   | 938. 78| The above data indicated the Market Capitalization of the top 50 pharmaceuticals companies. The Herfindahl index 938. 78 indicates that the pharmaceutical industry in India is low concentration and thus highly competitive industry. The high number of companies represent monopolistic environment, but market represents an Oligopolistic nature with top 8 fir ms having a market share of nearly 70% (69. 21%, Eight firm concentration ratio). Sun Pharma is the largest firm in the Indian industry with 23. 6% followed by all others with market share less than 10%. Thus we can conclude that Indian pharmaceutical industry is highly competitive and fragmented at the bottom. III. Market analysis The Indian pharmaceuticals market has achieved strong, double digit growth for the 2007 – 2011 periods. The market is expected to maintain this level of robust growth from 2012 through to the end of the forecast period in 2016. The Indian pharmaceuticals market had total revenues of $12. 3 billion in 2011, representing a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 17. 6% between 2007 and 2011. The performance of the market is anticipated to grow at a CAGR of 17. % for the five-year period 2011 – 2016, which is expected to drive the market to a value of $27. 3 billion by the end of 2016. Year| $ billion| % Growth| 2011| 12. 3| 15. 3| 2010| 10. 7| 1 7. 6| 2009| 9. 1| 18. 9| 2008| 7. 6| 18. 9| 2007| 6. 4| | | | | India pharmaceuticals market value: $ billion, 2007–11 Market Share Company| Market Share (%)| Cipla Ltd. | 4. 1| Ranbaxy Laboratories Ltd. | 3. 6| Lupin| 2. 7| Dr. Reddy’s | 2. 3| Others| 87. 3| India pharmaceuticals market share: % share, by value, 2011 IV. Market Forecast In 2016, the Indian pharmaceuticals market is forecast to have a value of $27. billion, an increase of 122% since 2011. The compound annual growth rate of the market in the period 2011–16 is predicted to be 17. 2%. Year| $ billion| % Growth| 2011| 12. 3| 15. 3| 2012| 14. 2| 15. 4| 2013| 16. 7| 17. 6| 2014| 19. 7| 17. 8| 2015| 23. 1| 17. 7| 2016| 27. 3| 17. 8| V. Competitor Analysis Dr. Reddy’s $ million | 2008| 2009| 2010| 2011| 2012| Revenues | 1,067. 40| 1,482. 30| 1,500. 20| 1,594. 40| 2,065. 00| Net income (loss) | 82. 1| -110. 3| 22. 8| 235. 7| 304. 4| Total assets | 1,828. 00| 1,788. 60| 1,714. 70| 2,028. 00| 2,550. 40| Total liabilities | 817. 2| 891. 1| 798. 7| 1,046. 30| 1,324. 20|Key Ratios Ratio | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012| Profit margin | 7. 7% | (7. 4%) | 1. 5% | 14. 8% | 14. 7%| Revenue growth | (22. 2%) | 38. 9% | 1. 2% | 6. 3% | 29. 5%| Debt/asset ratio | 44. 7% | 49. 8% | 46. 6% | 51. 6% | 51. 9%| Return on assets | 4. 5% | (6. 1%) | 1. 3% | 12. 6% | 13. 3%| Cipla Limited $ million | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012| Revenues | 926. 0 | 1,134. 7 | 1,219. 6 | 1,371. 0 | 1,521. 1| Net income (loss) | 149. 7 | 165. 8 | 230. 9 | 205. 0 | 239. 9| Total assets | 1,223. 7 | 1,422. 0 | 1,560. 2 | 1,835. 1 | 1,995. 9| Total liabilities | 422. 1 | 493. 9 | 298. 5 | 412. 1 | 365. 3|Key Ratios Ratio | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012| Profit margin | 16. 2% | 14. 6% | 18. 9% | 15. 0% | 15. 8%| Revenue growth | 15. 3% | 22. 5% | 7. 5% | 12. 4% | 10. 9%| Debt/asset ratio | 34. 5% | 34. 7% | 19. 1% | 22. 5% | 18. 3%| Return on assets | 13. 8% | 12. 5% | 15. 5% | 12. 1% | 12. 5%| Lupin Limit ed $ million | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012| Revenues | 612. 8 | 822. 0 | 1,031. 4 | 1,242. 1 | 1,511. 9| Net income (loss) | 87. 2 | 107. 1 | 145. 5 | 184. 1| 185. 2| Total assets | 718. 0 | 857. 5 | 1,085. 6 | 1,307. 3 | 1,693. 6| Total liabilities | 444. 9 | 550. 3 | 532. 0 | 595. 9 | 821. 6| Key RatiosRatio | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012| Profit margin | 14. 2% | 13. 0% | 14. 1% | 14. 8% | 12. 2%| Revenue growth | 40. 4% | 34. 1% | 25. 5% | 20. 4% | 21. 7%| Debt/asset ratio | 62. 0% | 64. 2% | 49. 0% | 45. 6% | 48. 5%| Return on assets | 14. 5% | 13. 6% | 15. 0% | 15. 4% | 12. 3%| VI. Ranbaxy Financials $ million | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012| Revenues | 1,585. 1 | 1,582. 6 | 1,621. 7 | 1,912. 8 | 2,169. 1| Net income (loss) | 125. 1 | (203. 0) | 63. 3 | 319. 5 | (619. 0)| Total assets | 2,008. 2 | 2,830. 8 | 2,594. 3 | 3,022. 9 | 3,605. 6| Total liabilities | 1,410. 0 | 1,899. 4 | 1,655. 8 | 1,812. | 2,726. 8| Key Ratios Ratio | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012| Pr ofit margin | 7. 9% | (12. 8%) | 3. 9% | 16. 7% | (28. 5%)| Revenue growth | 23. 2% | (0. 2%) | 2. 5% | 18. 0% | 13. 4%| Debt/asset ratio | 70. 2% | 67. 1% | 63. 8% | 60. 0% | 75. 6%| Return on assets | 6. 5% | (8. 4%) | 2. 3% | 11. 4% | (18. 7%)| During the year 2011, the Company resolved its legacy issues with U. S. Food and Drug Administration (â€Å"FDA†) and signed a Consent Decree with FDA in which the Company committed to further strengthen its procedures and policies to ensure data integrity and to comply with current good manufacturing practices.This is considered to be a positive development for the Company as it will provide greater clarity around the outlook for the business in the U. S. The Company has made a provision of Rs. 26,480 million ($500 million) for settlement with the U. S. Department of Justice, which the Company believes will be sufficient to resolve all potential civil and criminal liability. Further, due to sharp depreciation of rupee foreign excha nge charge of Rs. 16,584. 08 million was made during the year. The combined impact of these two exceptional items on the performance of the Company was Rs. 43,064. 08 million.Due to the above exceptional items, the Company incurred a loss (after tax) of Rs. 28,834. 16 million in the year. * The debt to equity ratio for Ranbaxy is the highest among the big 4 pharmaceutical companies in India (refer to appendix for competitor figures). * The company’s average return on asset has been considerably lower than that of the other top players in the industry (refer to exhibit V for competitor figures). * While the company’s sales have picked up the constant less than expected return on asset will be a cause for concern for the investors. VII. Pharmaceutical Industry Future Medium termManufacturing opportunities for Indian players to remain upbeat * Increasing no. of drugs going off patent and decline in R;D productivity among the large global players provides an immense potent ial for Indian formulation and bulk drug players. * According to research the Indian Pharmaceutical Industry is set to grow at CAGR of about 17%. * Healthy growth momentum in formulation export to continue. * Rising ANDA approvals are a testimony to India’s capability in this area, coupled with strong pipeline of ANDA approvals in the medium term. * Bulk exports are expected to witness robust growthLong term Growth in generic market to slow down over the next decade Over the last 40 years, since its inception, the Indian pharmaceutical industry has thrived on the generic model by leveraging on its process chemistry skills and low-cost manufacturing advantage. This has enabled players to tap the huge generic opportunity abroad. However, the R;D productivity of large global pharmaceutical players (innovators) has considerably slowed down over the past few years which is underscored by the declining number of new molecules (New Molecular Entities – NMEs) being approved by the US FDA each year.Taking this trend forward, the lack of new drug launches between 2010 and 2015 onwards will mean that the generic opportunity set to open up in the next decade (post 2020) is likely to be significantly lower. (assuming average age of 8-10 years of patent exclusivity) These changes in the global pharmaceutical landscape could cause a slowdown in the generics segment and hence, the Indian pharma industry will be forced to look at newer avenues for growth. * Large global players suffering from low R;D productivity.Over the past few years, R;D activities by large global players have resulted in the innovation of only a handful of new and significant molecules. Meanwhile drug development costs have escalated. The cost for developing a new molecular entity (NME) has more than doubled to $1. 5 billion over the past 5 years. During the same period, the number of NMEs approved by the US FDA continued to hover around 15-20 with an occasional rise to over 20 as seen in 20 04 and 2008. * Higher risks and lower returns: New drugs over the last two years fail to deliver.In addition to low R;D productivity, innovators' returns from novel molecules have substantially declined over the last few years. None of the new drugs approved over the past 2-3 years have been blockbusters (with sales over $1 billion) or even sales greater than $750 million. This decline in sales is primarily due to the availability of substitutes (generic as well as patented) for existing diseases. Rising emphasis on usage of generics has also steadily reduced the prescription of patented molecules. Over the past few years, off-patent drugs have been the key growth drivers in the generic market.According to research post 2020, growth in the generic market is likely to slow down to 3-5 per cent. Fewer drugs going off-patent coupled with lower prices of the patented drugs (as a result of the availability of substitutes) will be the key reasons that will result in a significantly lower incremental generic opportunity. VIII. Conservation of energy and its impact Measures for conservation of energy | Impact resulting into saving (in rs Million)| * Increase in steam to fuel ratio from 10. 2 to 11. 4 by increasing the condensate recovery| 3. 0| * Rationalization of potable water supply by operating one system instead of earlier practice of two systems| 2. 04| * Operational optimization of process air compressor by supplying air from instrument air compressor| 1. 55| * Fuel emulsification system for furnace oil to improve the combustion efficiency in boiler by 3%| 1. 40| * Installation of Solar Heating system for boiler feed water| 1. 20| * Modifications in cooling tower by replacing the fans and pumps with low energy consuming & efficient fans and pupms in old utilities for pilot plant and Lovastatin plant| 0. 9| * Flexiblity was built into the system to facilitate operation of a single chiller unit at night time| 0. 63| * Reconditioning of cooling towers resulting in bringing down the cooling water temperature by 4’C thereby improving the chiller efficiency| 0. 47| * Re-engineering of air flow in AHU’s in two production blocks thus saving energy| 0. 26| * Replacement of old window ACs with energy efficient split ACs, and installing new ACs in 2 Conference Rooms thereby avoiding operation of centralized cooling during weekend meetings| 0. 17|