The Ubiquitous Monopoly :: Business Essays

The Ubiquitous MonopolyMonopoly is nearly always seen as something undesirable. Courts have wrestled with monopoly for ages, sometimes defining it as the power to control prices and move out competition, restraining trade, or unfair and anti-competitive behavior. Should monopolistic practices be condemned and outlawed? Lets look at anti-competitive behavior and practices, but lets not confine ourselves to whats traditionally seen as monopoly.The marriage contract is essentially a monopoly document. It represents a legally sanctioned collusive agreement between two parties to exclude competitors and restrain trade. It closes the market to competition, or at least(prenominal) it is supposed to. This collusion has benefits as well as costs. Because I have exclusive rights to her affections and property rights to a stream of highly set domestic services, I place a higher value on my spouse, making me willing to share with her a greater percentage of my wealth. My spouse receives a com parable set of benefits from this collusive arrangement.This monopolistic arrangement has a cost side and perhaps some inefficiencies as well. Neither one of us is as attentive as we were before we made our contractual arrangement. For my part, I dont open the car door for her as often, dont use breath fresheners and colognes as frequently, am not as nearly considerate and gentlemanly as before our marriage some 42 years earlier. The reason is simply that before marriage I was competing against other men and therefore could ill afford to act as a monopolist.Read the Old Testaments Book of Deuteronomy, Chapter 5, where God gave Moses the disco biscuit Commandments. The first commandment, and presumably the most important is, Thou Shalt have none other gods before me. The second is, Thou shalt not make thee some(prenominal) graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above. . . . Then theres, Thou shalt not bow down thyself unto them, nor serve them for I the Lord t hy God am a jealous God. . . . If a corporation made a similar decree regarding its services, it would find itself in the sights of the U.S. Department of Justice for gross violations of the anti-trust provisions of the Sherman and Clayton Acts. The Ten Commandments decree exclusive dealing and mandate neither substitutes for nor competition with God.In order for one to condemn all monopolistic practices as evil, at least for consistency, he would have to also condemn marriage and the basic tenets of Christianity.

War Driving :: essays research papers

War driving to Disney World Summer of 2004War driving involves roaming around a neighborhood see to iting for the increasingly numerous hot vagabond where high-speed Internets access is free. What I found interesting was that the hacks were pretty basic and that most of the information on how to break into neglect systems, how to look for Wired Equivalent Privacy (WEP) being enabled and other receiving set steps could be found in a Google search.My brother Carlos a full quantify computer geek and I had decided at the beginning of the summer that we were taking the family to Disney but I wasnt going to take any downtime or a vacation per se. Instead, I would validate through war driving around an area with a laptop computer and an 802.11 network card to target the presence of wireless networks. Let me preface, my brothers experience with wireless networks. He embraces new technologies and tries to understand how to make the workplace safe with security controls. My brusque bro ther has actually taught me every thing I know about IT.Packing my car with the necessary gear and my brothers Dell Inspiron laptop, a newly purchased Orinoco wireless network card, lots of CDs and my wireless 2-GHz antenna we started the trip to Disney. We got on the turnpike and I was hoping for some peace and quiet from our kids but I should have know better, kids will be kids. While on this mission, it was critical for us to identify if the following could be picked up from the war drive. Think about it. Youre glide the Net at home or in the office, and someone just hops onto your network connection. With information about whether or non WEP is disabled and SSID default settings, an unauthorized user could access your documents, financials or other sensitive information.The WEP encryption method was designed to provide wireless networks with the same security available in wired networks however, there are some challenges with this standard .The presence of the service set iden tifier (SSID), the name assigned to a wireless network. Usually, the SSID comes by default victimization the vendors name and should be changed to something nondescript .With these two pieces of information, an unauthorized user could be able to acquire access to a wireless network. Upon our commencement ceremony rest stop we exited near little town that was almost unpopulated .We knew that most likely nothing was going to pop- up on the screen not even a those annoying advertising pop- ups .

photo plan Essays -- essays research papers

1.0 Executive Summary2.0 Company OverviewMarket Opportunity Explanation reasoned Form of the BusinessCompany LocationHistoryGrowth and Financial ObjectivesManager Information3.0 Market Analysis Summary Analysis of the Industry mastermind Market/Customer Profile Competition4.0 Service Offering Summary Uniqueness Description Competitive Comparison5.0 Marketing Plan Customer basis and retention PricingPositioning Delivery Promotion6.0 Financial Plan and Analysis7.0 Cost Assumptions1.0 Executive SummaryLifetime Memories Photography is a diminished business that provides photography services (with a focus on weddings) to clients looking for high quality, fair impairment, and great service. Lifetime Memories is organized as a bushel proprietorship, with Mike ______ as the owner and sole employee. He does all the photography for the events as well as taking reservations, purchasing equipment, and doing the business? books. Mike ______ leave behind be contributing his own capital to t he business for start-up costs, and has secured financing from several other sources, but exit still need $10,000 in start-up costs. This business give be run from Leicester MA..To start, Lifetime Memories marketing plan will focus on advertizement in local areas like Worcester, Auburn, Shrewsbury and other surrounding towns. The advertising will emphasize the company?s lower price, its quality, and its high value to people who need event photography done, such as wedding planners and natal day party organizers. There are several competitors in the local area that will be targeted, but these competitors, being better established and having retail locations, will charge more than Lifetime Memories plans on charging. There is an opportunity to enter the market and succeed where these other competitors are lacking, this mainly being low price and a guaranteed high quality, professional service. Lifetime Memories vision is to provide the best photography se... ...02 2003 2004 Beginn ing Cash eternal sleep $4,500.00 $10,758.00 19,086.00 Cash from Operations 11,240.00 13,455.00 15,670.00 Total obtainable Cash 15,740.00 24,213.00 34,756.00LessCapital Expenditures 0 0 0Operating Expenses 4,780.00 5,015.00 5,170.00 Interest 112.00 112.00 112.00 Dividends 0 0 0 Debt Retirement 0 0 0 Other 0 0 0 Total Disbursements 4,982.00 5,127.00 5,170.00Cash Surplus 10,758.00 19,086.00 29,586.00AddShort status Loans 0 0 0Long Term Loans 0 0 0Capital Stock Issues 0 0 0Total Additions 0 0 0Ending Cash Balance 10,758.00 19,086.00 29,586.00Cost ListLocationUtility costs (electricity, gas, phone, etc.) $250/monthTransportationMaintenance $30/monthInsurance $75.00/monthSupplies/Delivery/Development assume $10.00 per 96 exposuresPhoto Albums $20.00Website maintenance $200.00/yearDevelopment solutions/chemicals $50.00/wedding (increases with II and III quality weddings)Photo paper $50.00/wedding (increases with II and III type weddings)Miscellaneous costs (food on way to wedding, lodg ing if overnight accommodations necessary) $60.00/weddingAdvertisingBrochures $200.00Business Cards $45.00Newspapers $100.00/year

Cold War Essay -- essays research papers

In the post World War II era, a war arose between the Soviet Union and the United States, exactly in reality there was never really any documented fighting between the two nations, thus spawning the trance phrase "Cold War." Even though both countries were ready to go to war at the blink of an eye and almost did, the powers-that-be never got the nerve to buy the farm a nuclear war that would fox made World War II look like childs play. This was a war fought in the political ring, and was excessively a war that did not start at the end of World War II, this war started during the war against Hitler and lasted for forty more years before rest became predominant over the crumbling Soviet Union. Many events occurred in this political heavyweight bout, and both sides can be blamed for the extremity the tensions escalated to, and this Cold War would score been tough to avoid taking into account the political beliefs of the countries at hand. During the war, once the Allied powers from the west joined forces with Stalins Red Army, trouble was inevitable. Luckily for the world, America had a great leader and foreign diplomat in Franklin D. Roosevelt while England countered with Winston Churchill. This duo created a steady working relationship with Stalin, thus creating the Big Three and the dominating Alliance. Even though it was far from a perfect relationship, all three diplomats realized the task at hand, the mandate of stopping Adolph Hitler and the Nazi regime of Ger some. Sadly, this anteriority overwhelmed the Big Three, and no solution was ever conjured up on how to handle the Post-War situation in atomic number 63 and Asia following an Allied victory. Understandably, stopping Hitler was far from guaranteed, but any plan that was taken by the Allies in Europe never even considered the implications of how to handle the war-torn countries of Eastern Europe afterwards, an area that the Soviets had suffered many casualties and other losses to free from facist control. The few problems with Churchill and Roosevelt is that they both tended to do things their own way, sometimes leaving Stalin out to dry, and also relied heavily on their own diplomatical skills, leaving other politicians out of the foreign policy matters for each country. While many United States Government officials were not fans of Stalin, they all realized the urgency in having him on their side of the fight. In r... ...or Russia to cease these actions, so even though America could have reacted better to some events during and after the war, Russia still would not have been easy to deal with when it came to their own country, not to mention Eastern Europe. The Cold War was more than likely inevitable, but it probably could have transpired more peacefully and definitely not on such a grand level. Someone that crazy as Stalin was and consequences so heavy as letting Russia into Eastern Europe could not be ignored, and the Americans had every right to stop the advancement of Russia into Poland. The Polish would not want to suffer those horrendous acts of oppression, and if the United States wanted to be the officeholder of the world and stop these human rights violations, then Russia is the perfect place to start. The United States certainly did not always act brilliantly, and indeed they caused plenty of their own problems by a lack of good communication, but Russia was just as much to blame for the tensions throughout the world during the origins of the Cold War in the late 1940s to earlier 50s.eCheat. (2004). The Cold War. Retrieved Feb 28, 2005, from http//www.echeat.com/essay.php?t=25261.

Dr. James Banks on Multicultural Education Essay -- Education

As we proceed further into the 21st century, multiculturalism becomes more relevant to obtaining a truly global society. Dr. James A. Banks defines the meaning of multicultural reading and its potential impact on society when it is truly integrated into American classrooms. In his lecture, Democracy, transition and Social Justice Education in a Global Age, Banks (2006) defines the five balances of multicultural education that serve as a guide to school ameliorate when trying to implement multicultural education (Banks 2010). The goal of multicultural education is to encourage students to value their own cultures and the diverse cultures of those around them without politicizing their differences but rather, as Banks turbulently explains in his lecture, to actualize the ideals stated in the Constitution (2006) forming civil, moral, and just communities.The first of the five dimensions of multicultural education is content integration. Teachers can identify exemplary lot and information from diverse cultures and integrate it in a nontrivial into the curriculum so students can learn the effects of all cultures on the content they are studying. At the beginning of the school year in my Algebra class, I do a brief activity on the history of itemizes. The students learn that we currently use the Arabic number system but there were many other number systems that existed in the history of numbers. We explore and try to represent quantities using various number systems such as Roman, Mayan, Chinese, and Egyptian number systems. The students are able to see the contributions made by people of diverse cultures to mathematics. The knowledge construction process, the second dimension of multicultural education, requires t... ... and administrators alikemust unite in a common plan to weave into all aspects of student life the recognition of diverse cultures and hearty groups. Dr. Banks (2010) explains the latent curriculum being defined as the one that no t eacher explicitly teaches but that all students learn. These are the lessons that students remember long later on they have left the school system. ReferencesBanks, J.A. (2006). Democracy, Diversity and Social Justice Education in a Global Age. University Faculty Lecturers Podcast. Retrieved May 9, 2012, from http//www.uwtv.org/video/player.aspx?mediaid=1580263790Banks, J.A., & McGee Banks, C.A. (2010). Multicultural education Issues and perspectives. (7th ed.) Hoboken, NJ John Wiley & Sons, Inc.Rothstein-Fisch, C., & Trumbull, E. (2008). Cultures in Harmony. Educational Leadership, 6 (1), 63-66.

Dr. James Banks on Multicultural Education Essay -- Education

As we proceed further into the 21st century, multiculturalism becomes more relevant to obtaining a truly global society. Dr. James A. Banks defines the meaning of multicultural fostering and its potential impact on society when it is truly integrated into American classrooms. In his lecture, Democracy, diverseness and Social Justice Education in a Global Age, Banks (2006) defines the five proportions of multicultural education that serve as a guide to school domesticate when trying to implement multicultural education (Banks 2010). The goal of multicultural education is to encourage students to value their own cultures and the diverse cultures of those around them without politicizing their differences but rather, as Banks stormily explains in his lecture, to actualize the ideals stated in the Constitution (2006) forming civil, moral, and just communities.The first of the five dimensions of multicultural education is content integration. Teachers can identify exemplary multi tude and information from diverse cultures and integrate it in a nontrivial into the curriculum so students can learn the effects of all cultures on the content they are studying. At the beginning of the school year in my Algebra class, I do a brief activity on the history of anatomys. The students learn that we currently use the Arabic number system but there were many other number systems that existed in the history of numbers. We explore and try to represent quantities using various number systems such as Roman, Mayan, Chinese, and Egyptian number systems. The students are able to see the contributions made by people of diverse cultures to mathematics. The knowledge construction process, the second dimension of multicultural education, requires t... ... and administrators alikemust unite in a common plan to weave into all aspects of student life the recognition of diverse cultures and mixer groups. Dr. Banks (2010) explains the latent curriculum being defined as the one t hat no teacher explicitly teaches but that all students learn. These are the lessons that students remember long by and by they have left the school system. ReferencesBanks, J.A. (2006). Democracy, Diversity and Social Justice Education in a Global Age. University Faculty Lecturers Podcast. Retrieved May 9, 2012, from http//www.uwtv.org/video/player.aspx?mediaid=1580263790Banks, J.A., & McGee Banks, C.A. (2010). Multicultural education Issues and perspectives. (7th ed.) Hoboken, NJ John Wiley & Sons, Inc.Rothstein-Fisch, C., & Trumbull, E. (2008). Cultures in Harmony. Educational Leadership, 6 (1), 63-66.

Decision-Making Process Essay

Decision-making is a part of e veryday life. One must decide on a daily basis which route to take to work, which has less traffic, coffee or breakfast, or if the morning routine is altered by unexpected situations, which way to celebrate with the day ahead? According to Bateman and Snell (2011), the ideal termination-making address includes six confronts (1) identify and diagnose the problem, (2) generate alternative solutions, (3) evaluate alternatives, (4) make the choice, (5) implement the decision, and (6) evaluate the decision (p. 89).The process does not have to be thoroughly explained to realize many of the decisions integrity takes goes through these stages or some of them. One of the types of decisions one must carefully think and analyze before irrationally taking the plunge would have to be the purchase of ones home. This type of decision is a very long-term commitment and a bit expensive. However, if properly acquire the decision it is very worth-while. Buying a hou se or home starts at stage 1 one starts with identifying the problem or in this case the wanting to buy something to call home. It then follows to stage 2 generating alternative decisions.Stage 2 one is able to question if the house is really necessary. There are many suitable apartments and housing options as well. In this stage one overly gets to question and calculate if it is within budget or if not, what one will have to do to be able to purchase the house. Once the financial office of the situation is evaluated and one still would like to continue it rolls into stage 3. Stage 3 consists of evaluating alternatives. In this stage one can go through the process of seeking locations, areas and house plans to choose what best fits with the ideal perfect home.This stage also allows to pick and choose what is best suitable for your home and knowing if at that place will be an upgrade made and changing the original price of the house. Staying with two suitable options and deciding from them will glide one to the next stage. Yes or No, Stage 4 is the decision-making part of the process. Once it has been decided to buy the house, the decision is implemented, Stage 5. Starting the necessary contracts and paper work to make this house ones new home. The last step of the decision-making process is to evaluate the decision.In Stage 6 consists of one finalizing the process and setting down the last spot on the paper work and/or putting the down payment out on the table. In this type of choice all the steps in the decision-making process were followed. Nothing could have made it easier. As one can see the purchase of a new home, car, changing jobs and/or even choosing what trail to send children to takes a decision-making process. Not all the steps are needed in some cases but some steps are automatically do like choosing alternatives.

Pharmaceutical Industry and E. Merck Ag

Historical background of the business Today Merck & Co, Inc. is one of the more or less recogniz open companies in the pharmaceutic industry. When asked just about Merck, most people appreciate that it is and al ways has been a US familiarity. However, the companys history can be traced all the way back to the 1600s where it was started in Darmstadt, Germany. Friedrich Jacob Merck purchased a local p arntage in 1668 where he prepared and sold musics. The store was called At the sign of the Angels and would remain in the Merck family for many generations (Merck & co. , 2000). In 1827, Heinrich Emmanuel Merck and renamed E.MERCK AG transformed the store into a medicine manufacturer. The pharmacy was so successful that by 1855 E. Merck AG was selling medications realnesswide. It was at this time that Merck headstrong to head a company officer to the united States to set up a sales office. Once in the U. S. in 1899, Heinrichs grandson George Merck bought one hundred and cubic decimetre acres in Rahway, modern Jersey. A couple of years of later, in 1903, Merck started production in its parvenu U. S. headquarters. By this time Merck was not just producing medicines, it was analogouswise starting to produce different types of chemicals and in that respect was be grimaces a research lab.When the United States entered World War I in 1917, George Merck, fearing that Germany would win the war and school all over his company, sold all of his pack to a US company named Alien Property Custodian (Merck & Co. , 2000). This ended all of Mercks ties to Germany. After the war, George Merck regained a avowling share of the company in 1919 and from that day forward Merck has constantly been a publicly owned company. George Merck continued to grow the company until his death in 1926 at which time his son, George W. Merck took over. In 1926, George W.Merck distinguishable to merge the company with Powers-Weightman-Rosengarten, which was a Philadelphia, based pharmaceutical company. In 1927 the company was officially incorporated and renamed Merck & Co. Inc. This amalgamation gave George W. Merck the swell he needed to recruit parvenue chemists and biologists, which lead to the discovery of vitamin B12. Vitamin B12 was a huge success, still because the war had been over for several years, refreshful foreign companies were continually underselling Merck. With no new products in sight, George W. Merck decided to merge with a Balti more company by the name of Sharp & Dohme, Inc.This merger was believed to demand saved Merck from exit under it gave Merck new curbeting facilities and a new distribution ne twainrk, which it desperately needed. By the time George W. Merck died in 1957, the company had hit the one hundred meg sawhorse mark. not barely was the dollar mark significant, Georges death marked the last time a Merck family member would ever be in control. From the 60s on, Merck continued to raise its food market share ta king advantage of its research and develop workforcet, which continually produced new and usual drugs every year.Today Merck employs over fifty volt thousand people and produces some of the most well k forthwithn pharmaceutical products on the market. With lettuce totaling a little fewer than six jillion dollars and yearbook sales of over twelve and one-half trillion dollars, Merck is con military positionred one of the best pharmaceutical companies in the public. Products Throughout the years, Merck has do itself a re stupefyation for under genuine eminent quality products that consumers know will work. The drugs are develop to suspensor with all different types of problems.Some medicines are employ for every day symptoms the likes of a stuffed up nose and some are apply for more serious illnesses like the treatment of HIV. Since Merck & Co. , Inc. was reared it has always made a point to have an above sightly research and development program so that it could appea l to a wide variety of consumers no matter what symptoms they were trying to cure. Some of the first products ever distributed by Merck in the 1820s were morphine, codeine and cocaine. These three products allowed Merck nice tax r neverthelessue to begin research on early(a) types of products.In 1933 Merck scientists discovered vitamin B12 which was, at the time, used as a therapeutical drug. The sales from B12 alone were enough to give birth Merck into the next decade. Although Merck scientists discovered cortisone, which is a steroid, and streptomycin, which is used to treat tuberculosis, the 1940s, 50s and 60s were fairly lessen periods for Merck. Other products such(prenominal) as Aldomet, which is used to treat depression, Indocin and Clinoril which are anti-inflammatory drugs, were developed but none of them had the impact on revenue that Merck was used to.It was not until the mid to late 70s that Merck came out with some new products that really connected with consumers . It was at this time that Timoptic and Enalapril were invented. Timoptic is a hepatitis vaccine that helps with the treatment of glaucoma and Enalapril is a high blood pressure medication. Sales from these two drugs were well over a half a billion dollars by the early 1980s. Things only got breach for Merck from the 1980s through 2000. During this time Merck produced over twenty new drugs.Some of the more popular drugs include Cosopt, used in the treatment of glaucoma, Propecia, which is used to treat blur loss, Maxalt, which is used for migraine headaches, and Singulair, which treats cases of asthma. Although all of these medications worked out very well for Mercks profit, there were three drugs that stood above the rest. enalapril was a treatment for congestive center of attention failure and Mercks first billion dollar a year drug. That was followed by rofecoxib which is a cark medication used to treat arthritis and also a billion dollar a year seller. The most popular drug Merck ever produced was simvastatin.Zocor is a cholesterol-fighting drug that was introduced in 1992. not only was simvastatin a multi-billion dollar a year drug, it was one of the most successful selling pharmaceutical drugs ever (Merck & Co. , 2000). Zocor accounted for over four billion dollars in worldwide sales in 2004 alone. With products like these and a continued dedication to research and development, Merck will be a major player in the pharmaceutical industry for many years to come. companion Locations Merck and its subsidiaries have locations all over the world. Their main headquarters is contemporaryly displaced in Whitehouse Station, New Jersey.Merck exhausts pride in cosmos a world(prenominal) healthcare leader. According to their website they currently have 83,000 employees worldwide (Merck. com). In 2009, Merck merged with enemy Shering-Plough, which flowed Mercks reach into the worldwide economy. According to Muse (2011), Merck has over 75 locations, Drawi ng from its locations in 77 countries, Mercks worldwide sales for 2009 were $27. 4 billion (Muse p. 251). These locations stretch across the Continental United States from New Jersey to San Francisco. The worldwide locations include factories in Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and Japan.Mercks revenues continue to climb with their planetary growth. The revenues recorded in various regions by Merck in 2012 include, 2012 Revenues United States (By Geographic Region) $20. 4 billion Europe, Middle East and Africa $13. billion Japan $5. 1 billion Other $8. billion (Merck. com). Merck is recognizen as a leader on the stage of global expansion. It is one of the jumbost pharmaceutical companies in the world. Merck continues to grow and expand its influence in an effort to provide their vaccines and medicines across the globe. Their late(a) merger will allow them to test markets that they have not had experience in before, and help increase their profit s globally.Style of International problem Merck has been on the vanguard of International Business and is one of the leaders at adapting to new employees in diverse geographic locations. The company has opposeed a policy of liberalness in their workplace. According to Muse (2011) Merck is one of the leaders in this field. They have been ranked among the Top 50 Companies for Diversity and the degree Celsius Best Corporate Citizens List (Muse p. 251). Merck makes renewal one of their top priorities and it is well documented on their website. They have created a voice for the different diverse peoples within their company.It is a new way to maintain communication with the feelings and thoughts of various groups in different regions passim the world. Merck calls these orbiculate Constituency Groups. According to their website, Weve taken an innovative, global approach to our vicissitude strategy through the creation of Global Constituency Groups. These groups represent the di verse constituencies in our company, our customers and society, in general. The members represent different geographies, cultures and areas of expertise. Together they reflect Merck employees and customers globally. Merck. com) With this process, Merck is able to preclude up with the problems and successes within the different constituencies passim the company. Mercks plan to achieve diverseness within their company begins from the leadership positions. Filling these positions with people mindful of miscellany has allowed the company to continue to keep its place among the most diverse companies in the world. According to Merck, Diversity and inclusion are integrated into our leadership model, and are considered an ingrained leadership skill for all of our employees (Merck. com). Merck preaches this diversity not only to their employees, but their suppliers as well. At Merck, we believe that having a diverse supplier base helps us better understand and anticipate the inevitabl y of the people we serve (Merck. com). This creates a positive culture throughout the company of acceptance and tolerance towards others. It is a progressive policy that allows Merck to continue to flourish and it is a model style of International Business. Strategic Alliances Merck has made many strategic alliances throughout the years to help meliorate their products or supply them to a wider hurl of people.In the late 80s Merck made an alliance with one of the biggest companies in the United States, Johnson & Johnson. According to the International Directory of Company Histories (2000), In 1989 Merck joined with Johnson & Johnson in a venture to develop over-the-counter (OTC) versions of Mercks prescription medications, initially for the U. S. market, later expanded to Europe and Canada (encyclopedia. com). This helped Merck products become more easily available to consumers throughout the world. At the time this alliance was hailed as a blockbuster deal that would create grow th for both companies.This deal lasted over twenty years and was very useful for both parties. When Merck sold their stake in the deal in 2011, they received $175 million for it. The abundantst alliance Merck has made recently is the acquisition, or reverse merger, of their rival Schering-Plough. The $40 billion deal was made in an effort to keep up with other companies in the pharmaceutical market, especially Pfizer. According to Singer (2009), The merger would join pharmaceutical companies that had combined sales of $46. 9 billion last year (p. 1). This alliance expanded Merck globally and allowed it to tap into Schering-Ploughs resources.These resources ranged from new drugs for Merck to market, to a bigger pipeline to instigate their own drugs. According to Singer (2009), The merger gives it access to successful brand-name Schering products with much drawn-out patents, like the prescription allergy nebulizer Nasonex. And Merck could capitalize on Scherings investments in p romising biotechnology drugs (Singer p. 1 ). This alliance helped Merck continue to be a formidable competitor in the global pharmaceutical market. With this deal happening only a few short years ago, Merck continues to grow and utilize its new resources in the market today.Exports Mercks exports live of various types of pharmaceuticals. Some of their most profitable exports include Singulair, Fosamax, Nasonex, and Vytorin. Singulair is used to treat seasonal allergies like other drugs such as Claritin and Allegra. It can also be used to prevent asthma attacks. It has been very profitable for Merck in the past. Yet, sales began to dramatically fall when media reports about the move side effects of Singulair began to surface. The worst of these side effects included depression and suicidal thoughts.Sboulder clay, even in spite of Singulairs profit drop, Merck continues to make large amounts of money off of the export. Nasonex and Vytorin are two products that were a result of the Merck and Schering-Plough merger. Nasonex is a nasal spray used to treat seasonal allergies in adults and children. It has proved to be a positive part of the merger, proper one of Mercks most profitable products. Vytorin was already part of a union effort between Merck and Schering-Plough even before the merger. Vytorin is a combination of ezetimibe and simvastatin used to treat cholesterol levels.They created and marketed the product together. After the merger, Merck continued to sell and market Vytorin. Fosamax is some other popular export of the Merck Company. It is used to treat osteoporosis and other bone diseases. Fosamax was previously one of Mercks best selling drugs. Yet, because of patent problems, they have lost large amount of money. According to Singer (2009) Mercks former blockbuster bone drug Fosamax has gone generic, and in a few years the analogous thing will happen to its popular allergy and asthma drug Singulair (pg. 1 ). These exports have been Mercks main products in the past.In the future, with their recent merger, they should be able to develop new products that can help them rebound from the losses they took from products like Fosamax and Singulair. Transportation In order to effectively and efficiently deliver their products throughout the world, Merck has contracted UPS to deliver them. As of June 2011, the joint venture known as MSD has announced that it would include and take care of Mercks logistics and distribution around the world, which till now only managed Mercks distribution, warehousing and transportation in North America (Berman, 2011).According to Willie A. Deese, executive vice president and president, Merck Manufacturing Division, This expanded agreement with UPS allows us to concentrate on on our core business as a global healthcare leader that looks for innovative ways to bring our medicines and vaccines to patients in emerging markets and markets around the world (businesswire, 2011). The collaboration, which began in early 2003 with UPS just taking care of the transportation and delivery of products over time, has extended to North American distribution, warehousing and multi-modal transportation services (businesswire, 2011).Merck now en thinked UPS with taking care of their logistics in countries like China, Brazil as well as Latin America among others. UPS also stated that it would establish proper facilities in order to store unattackables and vaccines so in order to ensure quicker and efficient delivery system (Berman, 2011). Merck believes that this extended partnership with UPS would result in being address effective in the retentive run. Although Merck does rely on other logistic companies as well, but they rely more heavily on UPS and this current agreement will only come on increase the companys trust in the logistics firm (businesswire, 2011).Ethical Standards The code of ethics from Mercks website (2013) states Being a good corporate citizen means that we consent with all applicable laws, rules and regulations. Also, we serve our society, from the local communities in which we operate to the national and international levels, by supporting a number of programs, including those that improve health and promote environmental sustainability. All of our activities are guided by our corporate responsibility principle of Helping the World Be Well. (p. 1) Ethical Violations Merck & Co. ave developed some great products that have helped many people. They have even done some amazing humanitarian work that follows their flush of their code of ethics, which is to help the people of this world be as healthy as they can. For example, After World War II, many people who were living in Japan could not afford the Merck developed drug streptomycin (Miller & Goldman, 2003). Streptomycin was the first drug to fight tuberculosis. Merck decided to sell streptomycin at a much lower cost in Japan so it could be distributed to those who needed it and could not afford it at market value.Merck is also one of the nations largest donors to UNICEF. One of the ways that Merck has partnered with UNICEF is by donating a drug called Mectizan. Mectizan is a drug that Merck has developed to fight river blindness, and Merck has teamed up with UNICEF in order to distribute Mectizan to anyone who needs it (Unicef, 2013). But the business strategies for Merck have not always been as ethically sound as it may appear. On September 30th 2004 the drug that Merck had created to treat arthritis and severe offend, rofecoxib, was pulled off the shelves for good.The power behind shutting down this drug was that it was found to have caused serious illnesses aft(prenominal) long term use, including heart attacks and strokes (Kay, 2004). rofecoxib was withdrawn only flipper years after being introduced, but in that short time had effected many, in those five years there had been over eighty million prescriptions for Vioxx (Kay, 2004). Dr David Graham, the associate dire ctor for scholarship and medicine at the Office of Drug Safety, estimates that Vioxx caused between 88,000 and 139,000 heart attacks, of which thirty to forty percentage have most likely died (Kay, 2004).But did Merck know of this curse before they started to market the drug? Before Merck released Vioxx in 1999 their own scientist conducted tests on Vioxx while developing it. In 1997 these scientist did a study and found that patients who were being tested on were six times more likely to have heart complications when using Vioxx compared to other arthritis drugs. But this study was never released and the data was never sent to the FDA (Culp & Isobel, 2007).Scientist also completed a VIGOR (Vioxx Gastrointestinal Outcomes Research) test on the drug and found evidence that people who take Vioxx had a five times higher chance of having a heart attack (Cahana & Mauron, 2006). In 2001 Merck scientist had another test called meta-analysis. The meta-analysis tested 20,000 patients, and again showed that these patients were doubly as likely to have a heart attack while taking Vioxx compared to other drugs (Culp & Isobel, 2007). not only did Merck know about these risks and unbroken the results to themselves, they also trained their sales people on how to manipulate the subject.In order to train the sales force who were going to be selling Vioxx to doctors, Merck developed a card game called dodgeball. The purpose of this game was to teach the sales force different ways to dodge questions asked by doctors about the effects Vioxx has on the heart (Daily, 2005). This again proves that Merck knew of these risks caused by taking Vioxx, but was trying to make sure that information was kept in house. Another instance where Merck lacked good ethical decision making is when they decided to pay Elsevier to publish a magazine for them. Elsevier is a publishing company that focuses mainly on medical and scientific literature.Mercks marketing team decided to pay Elsevier t o publish a journal called The Australiasian Journal of Bone & junction Medicine. This journal was made to look like any other peer-reviewed medical journal but it was far from it. Mercks marketing department handpicked the articles that they wished to put in this journal, with the purpose of trying to control what articles were chosen to be in the journal. They took advantage of this situation by picking articles that favored Merck products and disguising this marketing scheme as a peer review journal (Grant, 2009).For instance in the second issue twenty one of the twenty ball club articles spoke about Mercks products in a favorable way, nine of them positively talking about Vioxx (Grant, 2009). Merck also had an ethical downfall when management decided to change the prices of their product. Not only was Merck gainful doctors to prescribe Merck medicine when patients were in the hospital, Merck also started to give hospitals a ninety two percent discount on their medicine with the thought process that after the patient was discharged they would want to stay on the same medicine (Merck to pay whistle-blower, 2008).The insurance company would pay full price for the drugs after the patient was discharged and that is where Merck would bring in their profit. An employee within Merck saw what was going on and didnt approve. A lawsuit quickly followed and Merck ended up paying $671 million, including sixty eight million dollars to the whistleblower (Merck to pay whistleblower, 2008). Even after settling Merck did not think they were in the wrong with this pricing, as Merck to pay whistleblower (2008) reported Merck making a account saying they stands by its pricing strategies but is keen to resolve the dispute (p. 2). Unfortunately for Merck, Vioxx isnt the only drug that has caused people to question Mercks ethical decision making when it comes to their customers. As noted above, Merck released a drug called Propecia to the public that helped men with baldne ss. The problem with Propecia is that men are starting to see a great increase in sexual problems. Merck says that only one out of fifty men will see significant sexual side effects, and those side effects will disappear after you stop taking Propecia (Thornton, 2011). But that doesnt seem to be the case.A recent study by Micheal Irving showed that ninety percent of his test patients still showed signs of sexual problems forty months after being off of Propecia (Thornton, 2011). This is where ethics will hurt Merck the most. Not only have there been hundreds of millions of dollars in fines and settlements that will be paid out, but if Merck continues to keep making unethical managerial decisions, Merck will lose the trust of their customers. Even though there is no evidence yet that Merck knew that Propecia would harm people after they stopped taking the drug, its hard not to think of how the Merck management decided to handle Vioxx.The financial hit is a big blow that will slow pr esent and future projects, but money is a lot easier to gain back than trust. References Berman, J. (2011, June). UPS and Merck extend relationship with a global supply chain focus. Retrieved February 2013, from http//www. logisticsmgmt. com/article/ups_and_merck_extend_relationship_witha_ global_supply_chain_focus/ businesswire. (2011, June). UPS and Merck Expand Their Distribution and Logistics Agreement. Retrieved February 2013, from businesswire. com http//www. businesswire. com/news/home/20110628005271/en/UPS-Merck-Expand-Distribution-Logistics-AgreementCahana, A. , & Mauron, A. (2006). The story of Vioxxno pain and a lot of gain ethical concerns regarding conduct of the pharmaceutical industry. Journal of anesthesia,20(4), 348-351. doi10. 1007/s00540-006-0432-7 Culp, D. R. , & Isobel, B. (2007, August 6). Merck and the Vioxx debacle. Retrieved February 13, 2013 from St. Johns University, wind vane site http//www. stjohns. edu/media/3/2c0778b7593f4a178b60354abc80bad8. pdf Grant, B. (2009, April 30). Merck published phoney journal. Retrieved Febuary 12, 2013 from, web site http//www. the-scientist. om/? articles. view/articleNo/27376/title/Merck- published-fake- journal/ Daily, M. (2005, July 18). Merck used dodge ball on Vioxx questions-lawyer. Retrieved February 12, 2013 from, Web site http//www. redorbit. com/news/general/178738/ Kay, J. ( 2004, November 22). The Vioxx scandal Damning senate testimony reveals drug company, government complicity. Retrieved 2013, February 9 from , Web site http//www. wsws. org/en/articles/2004/11/viox-n22. hypertext markup language Merck & Co. , Inc. International Directory of Company Histories. 2000.Retrieved February 19, 2013 from Encyclopedia. comhttp//www. encyclopedia. com/doc/1G2-2843800076. hypertext markup language Merck Sharp & Dohme Corp. , a subsidiary ofMerck & Co. , Inc. (2009-2013). Retrieved February 18, 2013, from http//www. merck. com/index. html Merck to pay whistleblower. (2008). TCE The Ch emical Engineer, (801), 12. Miller, C. , & Goldman, K. (2003, October, 23). Merck, aids, and Africa. Retrieved February 2, 2013 from New York University, Leonard N. Stern School of Business Web site http//pages. stern. nyu. edu/lcabral/teaching/aids. pdf Muse, L.A. (2011). flexibility implementation to a global workforce a case study of Merck and Company, Inc. Community, Work & Family,14(2), 249-256. Singer, N. (March 9, 2009). Merck to Buy Schering-Plough for $41. 1 Billion. The New York Times, Retrieved from http//www. nytimes. com/2009/03/10/business/10drug. html? _r=0 February 19, 2013. Thornton, J. (2011). A Hair-Raising Side Effect. Mens Health (10544836), 26(10), 102-105. Unicef (2013). Merck & co. , inc. Retrieved January 12, 2013 from, Partners Web site http//www. unicefusa. org/partners/corporate/merck. htmlPharmaceutical diligence and E. Merck AgHistorical background of the business Today Merck & Co, Inc. is one of the most recognizable companies in the pharmaceut ical industry. When asked about Merck, most people think that it is and always has been a US company. However, the companys history can be traced all the way back to the 1600s where it was started in Darmstadt, Germany. Friedrich Jacob Merck purchased a local store in 1668 where he prepared and sold medicines. The store was called At the sign of the Angels and would remain in the Merck family for many generations (Merck & co. , 2000). In 1827, Heinrich Emmanuel Merck and renamed E.MERCK AG transformed the store into a drug manufacturer. The pharmacy was so successful that by 1855 E. Merck AG was selling medications worldwide. It was at this time that Merck decided to send a company officer to the United States to set up a sales office. Once in the U. S. in 1899, Heinrichs grandson George Merck bought one hundred and fifty acres in Rahway, New Jersey. A couple of years later, in 1903, Merck started production in its new U. S. headquarters. By this time Merck was not just producing dr ugs, it was also starting to produce different types of chemicals and there was also a research lab.When the United States entered World War I in 1917, George Merck, fearing that Germany would win the war and take over his company, sold all of his stock to a US company named Alien Property Custodian (Merck & Co. , 2000). This ended all of Mercks ties to Germany. After the war, George Merck regained a controlling share of the company in 1919 and from that day forward Merck has always been a publicly owned company. George Merck continued to grow the company until his death in 1926 at which time his son, George W. Merck took over. In 1926, George W.Merck decided to merge the company with Powers-Weightman-Rosengarten, which was a Philadelphia, based pharmaceutical company. In 1927 the company was officially incorporated and renamed Merck & Co. Inc. This merger gave George W. Merck the capital he needed to recruit new chemists and biologists, which lead to the discovery of vitamin B12. V itamin B12 was a huge success, but because the war had been over for several years, new foreign companies were continually underselling Merck. With no new products in sight, George W. Merck decided to merge with a Baltimore company by the name of Sharp & Dohme, Inc.This merger was believed to have saved Merck from going under it gave Merck new marketing facilities and a new distribution network, which it desperately needed. By the time George W. Merck died in 1957, the company had hit the one hundred million dollar mark. Not only was the dollar mark significant, Georges death marked the last time a Merck family member would ever be in control. From the 60s on, Merck continued to raise its market share taking advantage of its research and development, which continually produced new and popular drugs every year.Today Merck employs over fifty five thousand people and produces some of the most well known pharmaceutical products on the market. With profits totaling a little fewer than si x billion dollars and annual sales of over twelve and half billion dollars, Merck is considered one of the best pharmaceutical companies in the world. Products Throughout the years, Merck has made itself a reputation for developing high quality products that consumers know will work. The drugs are developed to help with all different types of problems.Some medicines are used for every day symptoms like a stuffed up nose and some are used for more serious illnesses like the treatment of HIV. Since Merck & Co. , Inc. was founded it has always made a point to have an above average research and development program so that it could appeal to a wide variety of consumers no matter what symptoms they were trying to cure. Some of the first products ever distributed by Merck in the 1820s were morphine, codeine and cocaine. These three products allowed Merck enough revenue to begin research on other types of products.In 1933 Merck scientists discovered vitamin B12 which was, at the time, used as a therapeutic drug. The sales from B12 alone were enough to carry Merck into the next decade. Although Merck scientists discovered cortisone, which is a steroid, and streptomycin, which is used to treat tuberculosis, the 1940s, 50s and 60s were fairly slow periods for Merck. Other products such as Aldomet, which is used to treat depression, Indocin and Clinoril which are anti-inflammatory drugs, were developed but none of them had the impact on revenue that Merck was used to.It was not until the mid to late 70s that Merck came out with some new products that really connected with consumers. It was at this time that Timoptic and Enalapril were invented. Timoptic is a hepatitis vaccine that helps with the treatment of glaucoma and Enalapril is a high blood pressure medication. Sales from these two drugs were well over a half a billion dollars by the early 1980s. Things only got better for Merck from the 1980s through 2000. During this time Merck produced over twenty new drugs.Some of the more popular drugs include Cosopt, used in the treatment of glaucoma, Propecia, which is used to treat hair loss, Maxalt, which is used for migraine headaches, and Singulair, which treats cases of asthma. Although all of these medications worked out very well for Mercks profit, there were three drugs that stood above the rest. Vasotec was a treatment for congestive heart failure and Mercks first billion dollar a year drug. That was followed by Vioxx which is a pain medication used to treat arthritis and also a billion dollar a year seller. The most popular drug Merck ever produced was Zocor.Zocor is a cholesterol-fighting drug that was introduced in 1992. Not only was zocor a multi-billion dollar a year drug, it was one of the most successful selling pharmaceutical drugs ever (Merck & Co. , 2000). Zocor accounted for over four billion dollars in worldwide sales in 2004 alone. With products like these and a continued dedication to research and development, Merck will be a majo r player in the pharmaceutical industry for many years to come. Company Locations Merck and its subsidiaries have locations all over the world. Their main headquarters is currently located in Whitehouse Station, New Jersey.Merck takes pride in being a global healthcare leader. According to their website they currently have 83,000 employees worldwide (Merck. com). In 2009, Merck merged with competitor Shering-Plough, which extended Mercks reach into the global economy. According to Muse (2011), Merck has over 75 locations, Drawing from its locations in 77 countries, Mercks worldwide sales for 2009 were $27. 4 billion (Muse p. 251). These locations stretch across the continental United States from New Jersey to San Francisco. The worldwide locations include factories in Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and Japan.Mercks revenues continue to climb with their global growth. The revenues recorded in various regions by Merck in 2012 include, 2012 Revenues United States (By Geographic R egion) $20. 4 billion Europe, Middle East and Africa $13. billion Japan $5. 1 billion Other $8. billion (Merck. com). Merck is seen as a leader on the stage of global expansion. It is one of the largest pharmaceutical companies in the world. Merck continues to grow and expand its influence in an effort to provide their vaccines and medicines across the globe. Their recent merger will allow them to test markets that they have not had experience in before, and help increase their profits globally.Style of International Business Merck has been on the forefront of International Business and is one of the leaders at adapting to new employees in diverse geographic locations. The company has maintained a policy of progressiveness in their workplace. According to Muse (2011) Merck is one of the leaders in this field. They have been ranked among the Top 50 Companies for Diversity and the 100 Best Corporate Citizens List (Muse p. 251). Merck makes diversity one of their top priorities and it is well documented on their website. They have created a voice for the different diverse peoples within their company.It is a new way to maintain communication with the feelings and thoughts of various groups in different regions throughout the world. Merck calls these Global Constituency Groups. According to their website, Weve taken an innovative, global approach to our diversity strategy through the creation of Global Constituency Groups. These groups represent the diverse constituencies in our company, our customers and society, in general. The members represent different geographies, cultures and areas of expertise. Together they reflect Merck employees and customers globally. Merck. com) With this process, Merck is able to keep up with the problems and successes within the different constituencies throughout the company. Mercks plan to achieve diversity within their company begins from the leadership positions. Filling these positions with people mindful of diversity has allowed the company to continue to keep its place among the most diverse companies in the world. According to Merck, Diversity and inclusion are integrated into our leadership model, and are considered an essential leadership skill for all of our employees (Merck. com). Merck preaches this diversity not only to their employees, but their suppliers as well. At Merck, we believe that having a diverse supplier base helps us better understand and anticipate the needs of the people we serve (Merck. com). This creates a positive culture throughout the company of acceptance and tolerance towards others. It is a progressive policy that allows Merck to continue to flourish and it is a model style of International Business. Strategic Alliances Merck has made many strategic alliances throughout the years to help improve their products or supply them to a wider range of people.In the late 80s Merck made an alliance with one of the biggest companies in the United State s, Johnson & Johnson. According to the International Directory of Company Histories (2000), In 1989 Merck joined with Johnson & Johnson in a venture to develop over-the-counter (OTC) versions of Mercks prescription medications, initially for the U. S. market, later expanded to Europe and Canada (encyclopedia. com). This helped Merck products become more easily available to consumers throughout the world. At the time this alliance was hailed as a blockbuster deal that would create growth for both companies.This deal lasted over twenty years and was very profitable for both parties. When Merck sold their stake in the deal in 2011, they received $175 million for it. The largest alliance Merck has made recently is the acquisition, or reverse merger, of their rival Schering-Plough. The $40 billion deal was made in an effort to keep up with other companies in the pharmaceutical market, especially Pfizer. According to Singer (2009), The merger would join pharmaceutical companies that had c ombined sales of $46. 9 billion last year (p. 1). This alliance expanded Merck globally and allowed it to tap into Schering-Ploughs resources.These resources ranged from new drugs for Merck to market, to a bigger pipeline to promote their own drugs. According to Singer (2009), The merger gives it access to successful brand-name Schering products with much longer patents, like the prescription allergy spray Nasonex. And Merck could capitalize on Scherings investments in promising biotechnology drugs (Singer p. 1 ). This alliance helped Merck continue to be a formidable competitor in the global pharmaceutical market. With this deal happening only a few short years ago, Merck continues to grow and utilize its new resources in the market today.Exports Mercks exports consist of various types of pharmaceuticals. Some of their most profitable exports include Singulair, Fosamax, Nasonex, and Vytorin. Singulair is used to treat seasonal allergies like other drugs such as Claritin and Alleg ra. It can also be used to prevent asthma attacks. It has been very profitable for Merck in the past. Yet, sales began to dramatically fall when media reports about the disturbing side effects of Singulair began to surface. The worst of these side effects included depression and suicidal thoughts.Still, even in spite of Singulairs profit drop, Merck continues to make large amounts of money off of the export. Nasonex and Vytorin are two products that were a result of the Merck and Schering-Plough merger. Nasonex is a nasal spray used to treat seasonal allergies in adults and children. It has proved to be a positive part of the merger, becoming one of Mercks most profitable products. Vytorin was already part of a joint effort between Merck and Schering-Plough even before the merger. Vytorin is a combination of ezetimibe and simvastatin used to treat cholesterol levels.They created and marketed the product together. After the merger, Merck continued to sell and market Vytorin. Fosamax is another popular export of the Merck Company. It is used to treat osteoporosis and other bone diseases. Fosamax was previously one of Mercks best selling drugs. Yet, because of patent problems, they have lost large amount of money. According to Singer (2009) Mercks former blockbuster bone drug Fosamax has gone generic, and in a few years the same thing will happen to its best-selling allergy and asthma drug Singulair (pg. 1 ). These exports have been Mercks main products in the past.In the future, with their recent merger, they should be able to develop new products that can help them rebound from the losses they took from products like Fosamax and Singulair. Transportation In order to effectively and efficiently deliver their products throughout the world, Merck has contracted UPS to deliver them. As of June 2011, the joint venture known as MSD has announced that it would include and take care of Mercks logistics and distribution around the world, which till now only managed Mer cks distribution, warehousing and transportation in North America (Berman, 2011).According to Willie A. Deese, executive vice president and president, Merck Manufacturing Division, This expanded agreement with UPS allows us to focus on our core business as a global healthcare leader that looks for innovative ways to bring our medicines and vaccines to patients in emerging markets and markets around the world (businesswire, 2011). The collaboration, which began in early 2003 with UPS just taking care of the transportation and delivery of products over time, has extended to North American distribution, warehousing and multi-modal transportation services (businesswire, 2011).Merck now entrusted UPS with taking care of their logistics in countries like China, Brazil as well as Latin America among others. UPS also stated that it would establish proper facilities in order to store goods and vaccines so in order to ensure quicker and efficient delivery system (Berman, 2011). Merck believes that this extended partnership with UPS would result in being cost effective in the long run. Although Merck does rely on other logistic companies as well, but they rely more heavily on UPS and this current agreement will only further increase the companys trust in the logistics firm (businesswire, 2011).Ethical Standards The code of ethics from Mercks website (2013) states Being a good corporate citizen means that we comply with all applicable laws, rules and regulations. Also, we serve our society, from the local communities in which we operate to the national and international levels, by supporting a number of programs, including those that improve health and promote environmental sustainability. All of our activities are guided by our corporate responsibility principle of Helping the World Be Well. (p. 1) Ethical Violations Merck & Co. ave developed some great products that have helped many people. They have even done some amazing humanitarian work that follows their mission of their code of ethics, which is to help the people of this world be as healthy as they can. For example, After World War II, many people who were living in Japan could not afford the Merck developed drug streptomycin (Miller & Goldman, 2003). Streptomycin was the first drug to fight tuberculosis. Merck decided to sell streptomycin at a much lower cost in Japan so it could be distributed to those who needed it and could not afford it at market value.Merck is also one of the nations largest donors to UNICEF. One of the ways that Merck has partnered with UNICEF is by donating a drug called Mectizan. Mectizan is a drug that Merck has developed to fight river blindness, and Merck has teamed up with UNICEF in order to distribute Mectizan to anyone who needs it (Unicef, 2013). But the business strategies for Merck have not always been as ethically sound as it may appear. On September 30th 2004 the drug that Merck had created to treat arthritis and severe pain, Vioxx, was pulled off the she lves for good.The reason behind shutting down this drug was that it was found to have caused serious illnesses after long term use, including heart attacks and strokes (Kay, 2004). Vioxx was withdrawn only five years after being introduced, but in that short time had effected many, in those five years there had been over eighty million prescriptions for Vioxx (Kay, 2004). Dr David Graham, the associate director for science and medicine at the Office of Drug Safety, estimates that Vioxx caused between 88,000 and 139,000 heart attacks, of which thirty to forty percent have most likely died (Kay, 2004).But did Merck know of this threat before they started to market the drug? Before Merck released Vioxx in 1999 their own scientist conducted tests on Vioxx while developing it. In 1997 these scientist did a study and found that patients who were being tested on were six times more likely to have heart complications when using Vioxx compared to other arthritis drugs. But this study was nev er released and the data was never sent to the FDA (Culp & Isobel, 2007).Scientist also completed a VIGOR (Vioxx Gastrointestinal Outcomes Research) test on the drug and found evidence that people who take Vioxx had a five times higher chance of having a heart attack (Cahana & Mauron, 2006). In 2001 Merck scientist had another test called meta-analysis. The meta-analysis tested 20,000 patients, and again showed that these patients were twice as likely to have a heart attack while taking Vioxx compared to other drugs (Culp & Isobel, 2007). Not only did Merck know about these risks and kept the results to themselves, they also trained their sales people on how to dodge the subject.In order to train the sales force who were going to be selling Vioxx to doctors, Merck developed a card game called dodgeball. The purpose of this game was to teach the sales force different ways to dodge questions asked by doctors about the effects Vioxx has on the heart (Daily, 2005). This again proves tha t Merck knew of these risks caused by taking Vioxx, but was trying to make sure that information was kept in house. Another instance where Merck lacked good ethical decision making is when they decided to pay Elsevier to publish a magazine for them. Elsevier is a publishing company that focuses mainly on medical and scientific literature.Mercks marketing team decided to pay Elsevier to publish a journal called The Australiasian Journal of Bone & Joint Medicine. This journal was made to look like any other peer-reviewed medical journal but it was far from it. Mercks marketing department handpicked the articles that they wanted to put in this journal, with the purpose of trying to control what articles were chosen to be in the journal. They took advantage of this situation by picking articles that favored Merck products and disguising this marketing scheme as a peer review journal (Grant, 2009).For instance in the second issue twenty one of the twenty nine articles spoke about Mercks products in a favorable way, nine of them positively talking about Vioxx (Grant, 2009). Merck also had an ethical downfall when management decided to change the prices of their product. Not only was Merck paying doctors to prescribe Merck medicine when patients were in the hospital, Merck also started to give hospitals a ninety two percent discount on their medicine with the idea that after the patient was discharged they would want to stay on the same medicine (Merck to pay whistleblower, 2008).The insurance company would pay full price for the drugs after the patient was discharged and that is where Merck would bring in their profit. An employee within Merck saw what was going on and didnt approve. A lawsuit quickly followed and Merck ended up paying $671 million, including sixty eight million dollars to the whistleblower (Merck to pay whistleblower, 2008). Even after settling Merck did not think they were in the wrong with this pricing, as Merck to pay whistleblower (2008) report ed Merck making a statement saying they stands by its pricing strategies but is keen to resolve the dispute (p. 2). Unfortunately for Merck, Vioxx isnt the only drug that has caused people to question Mercks ethical decision making when it comes to their customers. As noted above, Merck released a drug called Propecia to the public that helped men with baldness. The problem with Propecia is that men are starting to see a great increase in sexual problems. Merck says that only one out of fifty men will see significant sexual side effects, and those side effects will disappear after you stop taking Propecia (Thornton, 2011). But that doesnt seem to be the case.A recent study by Micheal Irving showed that ninety percent of his test patients still showed signs of sexual problems forty months after being off of Propecia (Thornton, 2011). This is where ethics will hurt Merck the most. Not only have there been hundreds of millions of dollars in fines and settlements that will be paid out, but if Merck continues to keep making unethical managerial decisions, Merck will lose the trust of their customers. Even though there is no evidence yet that Merck knew that Propecia would harm people after they stopped taking the drug, its hard not to think of how the Merck management decided to handle Vioxx.The financial hit is a big blow that will slow present and future projects, but money is a lot easier to gain back than trust. References Berman, J. (2011, June). UPS and Merck extend relationship with a global supply chain focus. Retrieved February 2013, from http//www. logisticsmgmt. com/article/ups_and_merck_extend_relationship_witha_ global_supply_chain_focus/ businesswire. (2011, June). UPS and Merck Expand Their Distribution and Logistics Agreement. Retrieved February 2013, from businesswire. com http//www. businesswire. com/news/home/20110628005271/en/UPS-Merck-Expand-Distribution-Logistics-AgreementCahana, A. , & Mauron, A. (2006). The story of Vioxxno pain and a lot of gain ethical concerns regarding conduct of the pharmaceutical industry. Journal of anesthesia,20(4), 348-351. doi10. 1007/s00540-006-0432-7 Culp, D. R. , & Isobel, B. (2007, August 6). Merck and the Vioxx debacle. Retrieved February 13, 2013 from St. Johns University, Web site http//www. stjohns. edu/media/3/2c0778b7593f4a178b60354abc80bad8. pdf Grant, B. (2009, April 30). Merck published fake journal. Retrieved Febuary 12, 2013 from, Web site http//www. the-scientist. om/? articles. view/articleNo/27376/title/Merck- published-fake- journal/ Daily, M. (2005, July 18). Merck used dodge ball on Vioxx questions-lawyer. Retrieved February 12, 2013 from, Web site http//www. redorbit. com/news/general/178738/ Kay, J. ( 2004, November 22). The Vioxx scandal Damning senate testimony reveals drug company, government complicity. Retrieved 2013, February 9 from , Web site http//www. wsws. org/en/articles/2004/11/viox-n22. html Merck & Co. , Inc. International Directory of Company Hi stories. 2000.Retrieved February 19, 2013 from Encyclopedia. comhttp//www. encyclopedia. com/doc/1G2-2843800076. html Merck Sharp & Dohme Corp. , a subsidiary ofMerck & Co. , Inc. (2009-2013). Retrieved February 18, 2013, from http//www. merck. com/index. html Merck to pay whistleblower. (2008). TCE The Chemical Engineer, (801), 12. Miller, C. , & Goldman, K. (2003, October, 23). Merck, aids, and Africa. Retrieved February 2, 2013 from New York University, Leonard N. Stern School of Business Web site http//pages. stern. nyu. edu/lcabral/teaching/aids. pdf Muse, L.A. (2011). Flexibility implementation to a global workforce a case study of Merck and Company, Inc. Community, Work & Family,14(2), 249-256. Singer, N. (March 9, 2009). Merck to Buy Schering-Plough for $41. 1 Billion. The New York Times, Retrieved from http//www. nytimes. com/2009/03/10/business/10drug. html? _r=0 February 19, 2013. Thornton, J. (2011). A Hair-Raising Side Effect. Mens Health (10544836), 26(10), 102-105 . Unicef (2013). Merck & co. , inc. Retrieved January 12, 2013 from, Partners Web site http//www. unicefusa. org/partners/corporate/merck. html

General Description of the Community Essay

Target area world assessed by the author is hospice service in Sioux move and surrounding areas pull up s consumesd by Avera Mckennan. Hospice care is terminus-of-life care provided by health professionals and volunteers Hospice care provides health check go, emotional support, and spiritual resources for people who are in the last stages of conclusion illness. Although most hospice patients are cancer patients, hospice accepts anyone regardless of age and type of disease. The goal of hospice treatment is to keep patient comfortable and improve quality of life.Hospice care tries to come symptoms so that patients last twenty-four hour periods may be spent with dignity, surrounded by his/her loved ones. Hospice care is family-centered the patient and family are both(prenominal) included in the care plan and emotional, spiritual and practical support is provided depending on the patients wishes and families use ups. Hospice is not so much a tooshie, as it is a philosophy of care with a family-centered approach that considers the patient and family to be the building block of care (Lattanzi-Licht et al. , 1998). Avera Mckennan Hospice Services are the main focus of author.Avera McKennans Home Hospice and P aloneiative superintend program office is located in the Dougherty Hospice House. Through this program, they provide hospice serve in a variety environments hospice care in the home setting, hospice care in an assisted living installation, hospice care in a skilled nursing facility and also, in Dougherty Hospice House. The Dougherty Hospice House is a unique sixteen bed hospice facility located on the Prince of Peace campus. This place provides a home like setting with specious rooms for patient and sleeping accommodations for family members.It also has a surmisal room, wireless internet, beautiful meditative garden, large dining and family room for families to gather, and library. Dougherty Hospice House and its surrounding property are tobacco free environments. About 80% of all hospice care is provided in private homes, nursing homes, independent and assisted living facilities (Caffrey, C. et al. , 2011). If hospice care provided in patients home, a family member will relish after their loved one much of the time. Someone form hospice team will usually visit patient once or twice a week assessing a patient and addressing current health issues.Avera McKennan Hospice team consist of 25 people including nurses, social workers, spiritual advisors/chaplains, nursing assistants, trained volunteers, pharmacist and medical director. In case of emergency home hospice patient can call the 24-hour hospice number for advice. A nurse usually can come to patients house at any time of the day or night or give an advise over the phone. Based on the patients circumstances and stage of care, a hospice interdisciplinary team (IDT) may provide variety of go. Registered nurses assist patient with management of discomfort, pain and side eff ects of anterior treatment ( nausea from chemotherapy).Also nurses alleviate educate both patient and family about(predicate) what is happening. The nurse is a link connecting patient, family and physician. Home health aids provide extra support for personal care such as bathing, shaving, dressing and eating. Trained hospice volunteers offer assistance with everyday tasks such as shopping, babysitting, and carpooling. They are being available to listen to the patients and families and offer compassionate support. Primary doctor approves plan of care for hospice patient and works with hospice team.A hospice medical director who has expertise in symptom management and end-of-life care is available to the attending physician, patient and family, and hospice team as a great resource and consultant. Chaplains, priests, or other spiritual counselors help patient and family explore the meaning of the closing, and perform religious ceremony specific to the patient. Respite care can be p rovided by inpatient hospice to give family a break from stress of care giving in up to 5-day periods. This service recognizes the need for phencyclidines to have time away from caretaking roles (Ingleton, Payne, Nolan, & Carey, 2003Lattanzi-Licht e. l. , 1998).Terms such as caregiver burden (Chwalisz & Kisler, 1995), caretaker role fatigue, spousal burnout, and role engulfment refer to an imbalance between the physical and mental resources needed to give care and those available inside the family unit (Reese & Sontag, 2001). Regularly scheduled family conferences most often led by the hospice nurse or social worker allow patient and family members share feelings, talk about what to expect, what is needed, and learn about process of dying. The interdisciplinary team coordinates Avera McKennan Hospice go and supervises al care 7 days a week, 24 hours a day.The team is reservation sure that current information is shared among all the services involved in patients care. Official Com munity Government (form of government). For-profit and non-profit-making hospices have the same regulations. They mustiness comply with State low and Code of Federal Regulations governing hospice care. For-profit hospices grow more than six times faster than nonprofit hospices. Profit more or lesstimes risks whippy the quality of care patients receive. Nonprofit hospices provide hospice services to anyone including persons who do not have health insurance coverage and cannot afford to pay for care.In this case, nonprofit hospice can provide services to person free of charge as part of its charitable mission because nonprofit status of the hospice requires it to offer charitable services and they are dedicated to the mission of caring those in need. Main purpose of for-profit hospices is to make money and pay dividends to their stockholders. They have no obligation to provide services to anyone who does not have Medicare, Medicaid or private insurance coverage. However, both type of hospices are trying to make money, but when they compete for patients, they must provide offend care.Averas Home hospice services are cover 100% under Medicare and some Medicaid plans, but inpatient care at the Dougherty Hospice House involve some financial expense. Social workers offer patients and their families help with payment options and never turn away a patient for inability to pay for the service. Medicare is the primary payer for hospice services covering 77% of all hospice expenses. The rest is paid for by Medicaid (4%), private insurance (12%) or other sources (7%). Compare to hospital and skilled nursing facilities, hospice is considered a cost-effective service.Hospice charges per day are much lower than hospitals and skilled nursing facilities. Hospice care is covered in full by most insurance. Medicare and Medicaid provide a special Hospice Benefit. This do good provides 100% coverage for visit by staff, medications related to the hospice illness, durable medic al equipment in the home, and supplies for skin care, incontinence management, dressings, etc. Hospice care covered under Medicare includes both inpatient care when needed, and home care services. The focus of hospice is on care, emphasizing help the person to make the most of each day by providing comfort and pain relief.Most private insurance companies include hospice care as a benefit. Patient and family can hire hospice providers and pay for their services out of pocket. If patient has a limited financial resources, non-profit hospices provide services without charge as part of charitable mission. Any patient who enters hospice must be evaluated at the time of admission to the hospice program. Hospice dietitians assist the patient in reaching the best nutritional goals, depending on the current state of the patients condition. honey oil problems for hospice patients are nausea and vomiting. These can be controlled with anti-emetics in some cases, while for some patient s change of diet is sufficient. Educating patient and family about the changes occurring in the patients body is imperative. During the course of illness, patient experience changes to some extend in their food intake. It is common for the hospital patient to reduce viva intake of food and fluids as the disease progresses. In general, on that prime is metabolism alterations occur in patients body with a terminal illness.Furthermore, in that location comes a time when the body begins to break cells down instead of building them up. At this point, the body is no longer takes nutrients in. Sometimes patients are forced to take food by family members in this case the body may refuse through vomiting or diarrhea. A hospice dietitian will explain when this point is reached. However, addressing to stop oral intake before this point is reached is not appropriate. Ongoing assessment of hospice patient nutritional needs will help to determine if there is any appetite change or ability to take the food in and keep it.Based on a study of the non-hospice end-of-life experience of 3,357 in earnest ill patients who died reported 40% were in severe pain prior to their death, and 25% experienced moderate to great anxiety of depression before they died (Lynn, 1997). However, hospice is a compassionate way to deliver health care and supportive services. Despite the low siemens Dakotas death rate compare the national death rate, the two leading causes of death are heart disease and cancer, accounted for half of South Dakota deaths. Healthy lifestyle changes are critical in reducing deaths out-of-pocket to cancer and heart disease.These modifications can be accomplished by reducing tobacco use, increasing physical activity, and developing healthy eating habits. Minorities in South Dakota include African American, Asian, and Hispanic populations. In general, language barriers, transportation, finances, and lack of insurance were found to be the issues encountered by minorities in see king adequate health care. Furthermore, end of life care is not reach minority population and remains as a national issue. The majority of hospice patient care is provided in the place patient calls home.In addition to private residences, this includes nursing homes and assisted living facilities. As the health care becomes better, the population lives longer. Nursing home patients benefit from hospice services as much as people living in their homes. According to studies, nursing home residents enrolled in hospice were less likely to be hospitalized in the final 30 days of their life (24% vs. 44%) (Miller, 2001). They were more likely to be assessed for pain, were twice as likely to receive pain management within clinical guidelines (Miller, 2004).Large percentage of elderly people receives home hospice service. Many homes need some modifications for the hospice services to be provided. For example, a bedroom may need to be relocated to a main level of the house for those who have difficulties claiming stairs. There is widening of the hallways may be required to accommodate a wheelchair access. Because of the increment number of people who wish to stay and receive care at home, general contractors are available to assess remodeling needs. A number of programs and sources provide lessen rates, loans, or free services with home modifications.

Alberti on Renaissance Painting and Technique

This essay will deal with the technical and metaphysical aspects of Albertis famous 1435 piece, On Painting, specifically, the paragraphs in Book II 25-34. What is significant approximately this selection is that it summarizes many of the technical and metaphysical principles that have come to define the renaissance, especially the dominance of Plato and the rule of breed.Hence, this selection is not merely a depicted object of painting technique, but a summary of the basic ontology of Renaissance thinking as it pertains to painting and sculpture, as Alberti considers these as cognate arts. The citations will be found on the paragraph number rather than the page.The professed aim of this section is to justify the honor and virtue of the jaguar as an artist. But of course, it is far more than that. Alberti depicts the painter almost as a sorcerer or sorts, someone who can make what is not present, present. The notion of re- macrocosm, or even co-creation is a central cistron of the scientific revolution that the Renaissance both foreshadowed and participated in.For Alberti, the painter can, in a sense, bring the dead back to life (25). The painter does, on a symmetrical basis, what the alchemist tries and struggles to bring about, to have a dominance over creation, to master it and force it to bend to the artists will. This is the real connection between Albertis work here and the scientific and alchemical ideology of the Renaissance (Caron, 1961 35-37).Alberti continues to contrast the painters art to the alchemists, holding that a painted jewel or piece of gold, because it is artistically rendered, is genuinely worth more than the actual stone or previous metal. This is a challenge to alchemy, having been reborn during the Renaissance. Alchemy sought to manipulate matter for the sake of wealthiness and power. But the painter does this on a regular basis, and is financially more successful than the alchemist (25).Therefore, painting is mans way of re-c reating the already extant creation of God. It is the application of the human mind to what already exists, and in a sense, the artist becomes the creator, or more accurately, the architect of creation using what already exists to create something new, to throw creation and raise it to a new level of understanding. If one can understand creation, then one can control it the reward is money and eminence (26, explicitly mentioned in 28 as the foal of the artist, which of course, is the same goal as the alchemist).Alberti makes the intriguing claim that the arts of painting and sculpture developed at the same time as religion (27). He does not elaborate on this claim, but the remainder of the selection under examination here capacity give us come clues.In paragraph 30, three specific steps of artistic technique and developed, though ultimately, only the first two really matter, that of circumspection and that of composition. The third, color or the reception of light is not treated in this selection. But this is not merely a technical manual, but a beefed-up summary of the ontology of Alberti and the Florentine Renaissance. This ontology might help us answer the question that Alberti poses concerning the identical development of religion and painting.Specifically, there are three steps in re-creating the object under examination. First, and the most important, is the concept of circumspection. This is the most important because it is a reference to Platos engineers, or the ultimate grounding of all objects that exist. A Form is the true being of an object, outside of space and time, which is the essence of the object to be painted.It is this Form that the painter must understand, however incompletely, though the mind of the artist, since a Form cannot be seen with the senses. Only the intellect can apprehend the Form. In a more technical sense, the Form that can be perceived by the artist is the outline of the object. One first needs to eliminate what is sp ecific about an object and reach its form.

Why New Zealand?

New Zealand is rated as angiotensin converting enzyme of the best places to study, work and live. The innate support for high tech industries, ICT (Information and Communication Technologies) thrive under the ecosystem as apparatus by the government. New Zealand also comes with a great ecosystem for the tourism and adventure sports industries. The country boasts of having some of the finest culinary masters, hospitality experts and extreme sports adrenaline junkies.Whether you are facial expression for a job as a fresher or as an experienced professional (with the required accreditation), New Zealand provides a plethora of options.New Zealand is one of the safest countries to explore yourself with a diverse international population that is a go against of a very vibrant multi-cultural society. You can review an archive of scholarly person experiences in New Zealand over here, on the New Zealand Government website,One of the most important aspects of becoming an international stud ent, is the Student Experience. As a part of our education system, Indian students are generally expected to forgo most extra-curricular activities and vacations in the pursuit of staying ahead. However, in New Zealand, as a part of your student experience, you will be encouraged to participate in local events, take part in cultural sports activities desire Rugby, go on a suss out to some of the most serene beaches in the entire world. Who doesnt want to go surfing while getting their Masters done in effect(p)?How to select the right University in New Zealand?Heres a list of the best ranked universities University of Auckland This is New Zealands largest and most comprehensive university with 40,000 + students, researchers and faculty. Whether you are looking for the latest courses on emerging technologies like Machine Learning, bathetic Intelligence, Blockchain, CRISPR Genetics, this University has got you covered.University of Otago University of Otago comes with a rich cultur al chronicle of being NZs oldest and one of the most predominant universities. A 150 year old history with a groundbreaking alumni circle, University of Otago offers a unique experience like no other.University of Canterbury University of Canterbury boasts of some of the worlds best research programs for post graduates. Compounded with a very relaxed constitution on Scholarships and an acute focus on placements and job fairs, University of Canterbury sits at the top of our list.University of Victoria University of Victoria focuses on creative thinking providing extraordinary environment to each student with fantastic exposure. University of Victoria also offers the worlds first indigenous law degree.Massey University Massey University has campuses in Auckland, Wellington, Manavatu, offers 67 undergraduate major, 89 programs and 1148 staffs.The list above is not exhaustive, instead, it is to have got you a taste of how an education in New Zealand could possibly change your life. Our admissions counselors are tied up with some of the best Universities in this country and balance of acceptance is purely on your ability to generate merit.Theres a cornucopia of options when it comes to Universities here, from schools specializing in Medicine and Pharmaceutical research to Financial Engineering and Economic research, to Artificial Intelligence and Core Computer Science, Veterinary, Food Technology, NZ comes with a set of some of the worlds best universities, faculties, and thus students.The question to be asked is, what would you like to make yourself into? With a widespread variety of options available for students to specialize themselves into the right industry, we advise you not to go with the social media trend or your neighbors suggestions, we encourage you to speak to us and people functional in the industry, within NZ, so that you get the best expert opinion about these crucial steps.Remember, this is a decision that could potentially transform your l ife, so entertain make sure you begin your decision making process from the right place at Manage My Education.Some important links to get you started www.mmenow.com babble to us to get started with a structured approach to selecting your overseas education, to ensure a low rejection rate and a high scholarship rate.https//www.studyinnewzealand.govt.nz/live-work/ Learn more about how to convert your life as a student into a full time professional in NZ.https//www.immigration.govt.nz/new-zealand-visas Contains a great tool for you to recognise about Skill Shortage and how you could possibly get a permanent residence in NZhttps//www.studyinnewzealand.govt.nz/in/study-options/universities/ Browse through more of the world year universities in NZ. Dear Reader,The Universities in NZ are rated to be the top 3% in the world. It is only logical that your profile, application and merits must be within the akin caliber. For years, we at Manage My Education have helped students posit ion their profiles for Universities all across the globe.It is our honest advice to you that, you contact us and avail our services to exponentially increase your chances to situate a great education and future in NZ. We encourage you to speak to our counsellors to get the right information before making a decision to fly the coop forward.

Simon in the Lord of the Flies

Simon is a member of the choir, but is the only one who seems weak. Simon is introduced in the novel when he faints this is a turn out of his weakness. He is a lot ilk piggy, but not as bullied. Ralph thinks he is queer and funny because he is realistic.Simon is the first boy to notice the candle bud flowers when they argon out walking. Simon always sees the spiritual side of the island. The only place you see candles nowadays is in churches. knucklebones slashes at the candle buds with his knife keeping up his reputation as the anarchist.The creepers on the island be long vines. The small children see these creepers as beasties. When the little child comes forward during a meeting, he describes a snake-thing, past changes his mind to a beastie. The boy makes out the beastie to be devilish. The beastie the boy has seen is not a physical monster it is a monster at bottom the boys head. The most terrify thing is darkness and the unknown. The unknown makes the human imaginati on go wild and ask all the questions it can, Whats out there? Is it a huge big snake Is it coming to get me in the night?The snake-like thing the little-un describes is symbolic of the serpent in the story of Adam and Eve. In Genesis, in the Bible, the serpent is portrayed as the devil and acts against gods wishes it offers Eve the fruit from the tree of knowledge, unknowing of the consequences, Eve accepts the fruit. She offers the fruit to her husband, Adam. They both eat the fruit and become aware of their state of undress. When God came walking in the garden he found that Adam and Eve had hidden their genitalia under fig leaves. God banished Adam and Eve from Eden. The serpent, the devil, had won.Simon is the one who is support to construct the huts on the beach. He believes the shelters will guard from the beastie. This is for the benefit of the rest of the group, not selfish like Jack and his crazed hunt for pigs. Simon is a patch of a loner he has his own cove in the jungle , which he keeps secret from everyone else. This place has more sun put tidy sum than the rest of the jungle and is decorated with floral bouquets. The jungle of a sudden turns into a picturesque haven from the outside anger of the island. But Simon is not escaping the outside force he is merely running from himself, the Simon that exists with the other boys.When he is inside his special sanctuary he fells protected. There is the appearance of the candle bud flowers again, and coupled with the safety and sanctuary of the cove it almost turns into a church. When the tight canopy of creepers envelops Simon, the light in the cove increases. The passage describes of how the evil in this part of the jungle disappears, Darkness poured out. Simon is the light in the darkness of the island he is the only voice of religion amongst the crazy house of evil.Golding is showing Simon to be a spiritual guide in the book. When he is walking through the jungle towards his cavern, he comes across some small children, little-uns. They are trying to reach some fruit located just beyond their grasp in a tree. Simon obligingly picks the choicest fruit from the foliage and passes it back down to the endless outstretched hands. This scene can be likened to an event in the bible, which is where Jesus Christ feeds five thousand people with a few loaves of lettuce and some fish. Simon is the saviour for these children they had been trying for hours to reach the juiciest fruit from the tree and Simon has got it for them with very little ease.Simons description by Golding shows he has a mop of hair, which is black in colour. This is like that of Jesus Christ, again rekindling the association with a spiritual nature.Like Piggy Simon is clear-sighted, he knows what is best, but unlike Piggy he advises on the unearthly meanings of the island. He is the first boy in the party to notice the transformation that has occurred on the island. He sees that, the island they once took for an Eden , has under gone a metamorphosis into a place of evil. When Jack talks of how the little-uns scream in their sleep, terrified of the beastie Simon is the first to acknowledge As if the beastie was real and As if it wasnt a good island. Simon is still blaming the evil experience on an outside force, he, like the entire group still fail to see the evil is within or The darkness within. Jack also senses the evil on the island, he likens it to a physical presence when he goes hunting, you can feel as if youre not hunting, but-being hunted as if somethings butt youThe boys on the island have difficulty finishing their sentences this is because they are scared and embarrassed of their situation. The boys themselves find it difficult to understand the emotions they are feeling and whether these emotions should be listened to. The situation is like that of the Jews in Egypt from the Old Testament in the Bible. When the evil Egyptian slave masters ruled them, they were not enjoying themselv es but they had some kind of law and order. When Moses freed them, they were felicitous at the wonders of freedom, but soon were reduced to a rabble of immoral wrong-doers.The boys have been ruled by grown-ups all their lives and when they find themselves on the Island, they are ecstatic, but when things get difficult and new feelings arise, bad things happen. Luckily for the Jews Moses was there to save them, he went to God and received the Ten Commandments that brought law and order back to his people. maybe something similar will happen in this novel. Simon may save the boys, or he may be symbolising Moses and some other, yet unknown force, is God.

Luxor Cosmetics Executive Summary Essay

heading 12008Variable manufacturing cost as a percentage of selling price Product(Variable manufacturing cost/WSP Production)Mark up Lipstick16.8/2180%(21/16.8)-125% discharge polish10.5/1570%(15/10.5)-143%Creams2.8/5.650%(5.6/2.8)-1100%2010ProductLipstick15.3/1885%(18/15.3)-118%Nail polish9.3/11.680%(11.6/9.3)-125%Creams3.3/6.650%(6.6/3.3)+1100%*Note that these calculations argon done for goods bring upd in the year in questionQuestion 2(cost of goods manufactured in 2008/ sales take to be for units produced in 2008) * ending inventory 2008 (16.8/21) * 11.59.748millionQuestion 3Luxor uses a FIFO inventory system, so the inventory that is sold first actually whitethorn germ from prior years. Because of this, goods that are sold in each year need to be separated into goods produced in that year and goods produced in prior years. This is necessary to do because the percentage of the COGS that is variable is slightly different from year to year. 2009 apostrophize of Goods Sold6.3M from inventory on hand at beginning of year (produced in 2008 chthonian FIFO) 2.3M from inventory produced in 20092010 Cost of Goods Sold8.2M from inventory on hand at beginning of year (produced in 2009 under FIFO) 0.3M from inventory produced in 2010We straight off must determine the percentage of COGS that is variable for goods produced in 2008, 2009 and 2010200810.5M/(10.5M+0.7M) =93.75%20099.8M/(9.8M+0.7M) = 93.333333%20109.3M/(9.3M+0.6M) =93.939393%We now apply these percentages to the COGS for 2009 and 2010 to determine the sum up variable cost for each year. 2009 Variable COGS = (6.3M * .9375) + (2.3M * .93333333) = $8.0529M 2010 Variable COGS = (8.2M * .93333333) + (0.3M * .9393939393) = $7.9352M presumptuous the variable manufacturing cost per unit was the same in 2009 and 2010, a high variable cost of goods sold elbow room that more than units were sold. Since the variable COGS in 2009 is higher in 2009 than it is in 2010, we can conclude that the sales volume of na il polish decreased in 2010. Question 4Let x = transformation Even gross salesF = Marketing & Promotion + General garbage disposal + Interest + Fixed Manufacturing Costs Let F = Total Fixed CostsF = 3.4 + 1.3 + 1.8 + 1Let V = Variable Costs Per Dollar of Sales7.5V is easily estimated by (COGS-Fixed Costs) /SalesThere is a small amount of strict costs in COGS which means that it is not strictly variable, but for our purposes that makes a very small, immaterial difference and the question wholly requires an approximation.V = (27.7-1)/33.50.7970x = F + Vxx = 7.5 + 0.7970x0.2030x = 7.5x = 36.95 sort out correct sales are approximately $36.95 MillionQuestion 5Let x = Break Even SalesF = Marketing & Promotion + General Administration + Interest Let F = Total Fixed CostsF = 3.3 + 1.3 + 1.1 + 1Let V = COGS Per Dollar of Sales6.7Again, V is easily estimated by COGS/SalesThere is a small amount of fixed costs in COGS which means that it is not strictly variable, but for our purposes tha t makes a very small, immaterial difference and the question only requires an approximation.V = (27.7-1)/33.50.7970x = 33.00x = F + Vxx = 6.7 + 0.7970x0.2030x = 6.7The new breakeven sales for 2012 would be approximately 33.00, given that 2012 is approximately similar to 2011. The firm is more probable to breakeven than the previous year if they can keep their sales constant and do not produce more than they can sell. Although with current trends of sales over the past(a) few years, it could be estimated that breakeven is not likely. With the current trends sales could be estimated somewhere around 32 million, in which case the firm would not breakeven in 2012. Question 6Inventory Schedule 2011 BudgetInventoryLipstickNail PolishCreamsInventory (12/31 2010 Actual)15.011.41.2Planned Production * 19.013.08.0Goods Available for Sale34.024.49.2Budgeted Sales19.013.08.0Ending Inventory (12/31/2011 Budget)15.011.41.2* Planned production is to produce the same amount as the mean sales, a s per sales managerBudgeted Cost of Goods Manufactured and Sold 2011 Budget Variable Manufacturing Cost (Budget)0.90.90.617.911.74.4Fixed Manufacturing Cost (Budget)0.80.60.6Cost of Goods Manufactured18.712.35.0Inventory (12/31/2010 Actual) 13.69.60.7Goods Available for Sale32.321.95.7Inventory (12/31/2011 Budget)0.90.90.614.110.40.7Budgeted Cost of Goods Sold 18.211.45.1MARGINS1.01.11.60.00.10.6Variable Manufacturing Cost First, find the factor of Variable Manufacturing cost to planned production, less fixed manufacturing costi.e. 6.8/(8.0-.0.8) = 0.9 (From Exhibit 2)Inventory Find the factor of budgeted ending inventory cost to budget inventory value i.e. 6.6/7.0 = 0.9 (from Exhibit 2)Margins (Budgeted Sales/Budgeted Cost of Goods Sold) 1 i.e. (19.0/18.2) 1 = 1.0 (rounded)Income Statement 2011 BudgetCash Flow 2011 BudgetSales40.0Cash Receipts From Customers40.0Cost of Goods Sold34.7Gross Margin5.3Cash disbursementsMarketing & Promotion3.6Variable Manufacturing34.1Genera l Administration1.3Fixed Manufacturing1.0Interest1.8Marketing and Promotion3.6Pretax Income-1.4General Administration1.3Interest1.8Pro-Forma Year-End Balance Sheet 2011 BudgetTotal Disbursements41.8 AssetsCash0.0Beginning Cash5.5 multifaceted Current Assets3.0+ Receipts40.0Inventory0.0- Disbursements41.8Property & Equipment11.2- Loan Repayment10.0Good exit9.3Ending Cash (Budgeted)-6.3Total Assets23.5EquitiesBank Loan16.3Miscellaneous Current Liabilities4.0Common Stock12.5Retained Earnings *9.7Total Equities42.5* The Retained Earnings are 9.7 in this budget, which is familiarized from the previous budget to account for an additional $0.7 M lossi.e. 10.4 0.7 = 9.7Question 7Through the implementation of the suggested changes in allocation, more of the fixed costs will be allocated to the cream products because this product line has the highest margin (as shown in the budgeted Cost of Goods Manufactured above), even though creams be possessed of the lowest total sales value. This w ill lead to more of the fixed costs being incorporated into the Cost of Goods sold, and not into the ending inventory numbers, therefore decreasing pre-tax income even further. Allocating the fixed costs in this manner would not affect the Cash Flow Statement in any way, as the fixed costs would sedate lead to a cash disbursement of an equal value regardless of which product line they are allocated to.Question 8Luxor Cosmetics is a confederation that is stuck in a dying market because most of their customers that buy the lipstick and nail polish are women aged 45 to 75 who are in the press down income group. As that group gets older and older they have less need for cosmetics so they buy less and less. The sales will continue to drop and we will get less and less profitable. A way to combat this is to reposition ourselves in the market. We need to find a way to get ourselves into a die market that is more eager to buy cosmetics. One way of doing this would be to start targeting a new demographic of women who will buy our products. We could also ward off the non-wholesale market because that way we would get bigger orders and be able to budget better. However if we do this we will have to consider the possibility that we will have to lower our prices and we will have less profits in the end but we will have more sales. We should reinvest in the companion that we purchased in the 1990s. We had a product that we were going to aim at teenagers but we abandoned the company due to the dotcom crash we should look at getting that company running. We should reinvest in the company that we abandoned because the market has recovered now.We would get a brand new customer base and we could have increased sales. Plus we already own the company and it does no benefit to us just sitting on the books not generating any profits. It is an environmentally friendly product and environmentally friendly products are worthy more and more popular today. We could make the compan y seem very socially responsible and that would build us a better reputation and may make our sales in our existing company increase substantially. The goodwill that is on the books today was acquired when we bought the environmentally friendly company in the 1990s and besides we have not revalued it since then. The asset impairment test should be done on goodwill to see how much of the goodwill exists anymore. It is possible that the asset of goodwill should not exist on the books for Luxor at all anymore.And it is just making our financial statements misleading for investors. If we adjust this properly we will have a more realistic picture of our company as it stands now. This way we will not have misleading financial statements anymore. There are a few honorable issues in the case. The first is that there is pressure for the numbers to be fudged, but as aprofessional accountant that cannot be done. We do not hope to make the statements misleading so that the bank is coaxed int o giving us a loan that we cannot afford. We cannot fudge the statements to meet our needs because someone would figure it out and we would not get away with it and overall it is highly unethical. The other is following the policy that is set in place for how to account for certain things. If our inventory is not operational anymore we should not be keeping it on the books hoping it will make us look better. This is not appropriate and should be written off and adjusted for the fact that it is now obsolete.