Aacounting Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Aacounting - Assignment Example From the analysis of the working capital, one can make a conclusion that the company is doing well because the working capital position of the company has improved from the 2005 to 2006. The current ratio is a measure that is used to show the ability of a company to clear its short term debts by the use of current assets. The preferred current ratio is usually 2:1 or 1.5: 1 depending on the industry that the company is found. The company is improving in performance and that shows that the company will be able to cater for its short term obligations. However, in comparison with the industry’s average, the company is performing the average. That means that the company has potential that it can exploit so as to be in the same level as the industry players and that would contribute to the success of the company because more investors would be attracted. The acid test ratio is used to show the ability of a company to clear its short term debts with the use of current assets but excluding inventory. Inventory may at times not be liquid and that means that it cannot be f much help in a short duration of necessity. The ratios also signify the ability of the company to cater for its short term obligation using current assts. The acid test ratio for the company is also not within the industry’s average. However, the company has made significant progress and that implies that if the trend continues, the company will be able to match the industry’s average. The return on equity is the rate at which the company is able to utilize the shareholders funds. The rate should be favorable so as to ensure that the company shareholders get a reason to always do business with the company. It shows the amount of net income that is usually returned as a percentage of the equity contributed by shareholders. The ratio is useful in the measurements of the profitability of a company because it

Asda-the company's capital structure starting from 2008 Essay

Asda-the company's capital structure starting from 2008 - Essay Example The cost of debt to a company is therefore relatively less than equity financing. Besides this, debt is considered cheaper by the providers of finance and it attracts tax relief on interest payments. The greater the level of debt, the more will be the financial risk to the shareholder of the company. Hence the return required would be higher. This also helps in establishing the gearing mix of a company. The higher a company is geared, the higher would be the risk involved. There are many factors that contribute towards the availability of different sources of funds {(Goyal et al (2005); Darren (2006)}. Equity financing is raised by issuing equity shares or rights issue, preference shares issued are not considered as equity issue as they carry a fixed percentage that is to be paid to the preference shareholders and hence in substance preference shares have a debt nature attached to them so they are categorized under debt issue. Equity finance is considered a comparatively more risky approach of raising finance than debt financing, it is also considered more costly to raise equity finance than to raise debt finance (Burton et al, 2003). Asda is a UK based supermarket chain which deals in clothing, grocery, children toys and other general products used during normal routine. It is a subsidiary of the American Wal-Mart. Asda initiated its business involving Dairy products and later went on to diversify its business. It has been always renowned for its great marketing strategies. It was taken over by Wal-Mart as a subsidiary in 1999. Asda is considered as the second largest retail chain business after TESCO in the United Kingdom. Later in 2009, Wal-Mart made a deal to sell Asda to Corinth Services Limited for an amount of  £6.9 million. Since that deal Asda is a subsidiary of Corinth Services Limited (Telegraph.co.uk, 2010). Gearing is one major issue which has a critical effect onto the capital structure of a

Production And Consumption Inseparability

Production And Consumption Inseparability Inseparability of production and consumption refers to the concepts of interaction and service encounter. The process of simultaneous production and consumption involves the presence of customers, the customers role as a co-producer, customer-employee and customer-customer interactions that makes it unique from a product (Shostack 1977). Researchers often refer to the customers as partial employees in a service setting. During co-production, customer involves himself in self-service (self check-in), using technology and machines offered by the service provider (airlines). 2.1 Service encounters During simultaneous production and consumption, it is the service encounters, that are the critical moments of truth in which customer often develops a perception/ attitude about the business (Bitner et al. 2000) and creates a differentiation from other competitors. In the airline industry, these service encounters are on which the organisation, either thrives or dies based on customers evaluation of their service. And the successful organisations take it a step further to enhance their core or essential features with extended or enhanced features. Service encounters can take place across a range from the traditional face-to-face (check-in, cabin crew), telephone (telephonic check in, booking tickets), and lastly through the internet (web check-in, booking tickets) and at every point the airline industry thrives to make it easier and comfortable (less time consuming) for the customer. A successful organisation is which that exceeds the customers expectations (enhancing features) and not just meeting their expectations (core features). But Harris et al. (2003) suggests that if the core features are not met by the airline industry, it is that leads to customer dissatisfaction. He also suggests that only 5% of the unhappy customers complain to the service providers, thus making it difficult for the service providers to address the issue. What intrigues even more is that the 95% of the customers, who do not complain, talk negatively about the service to their acquaintances. . However, when dissatisfied customers do complain and the problem is resolved to their satisfaction, they are very likely to return. The reasons for dissatisfaction may vary across long queues at check-in or booking counter, incompetent personnel, unsafe website and so on and so forth. Bitner et al. (2000) suggests that in the airline industry core factors vary from friendliness of the staff, knowledge about the service, efficiency, and quality service, sanitary and safe environment. But to create differentiation from their competitors these organisations, provide added or enhancing factors and those include concierge service, reservations, seating by host, lounge/ hotel facilities for delayed flights and so on and so forth. Today in the airline industry, companies do offer most of these features but it is noted that the cost increases for a more pleasurable experience. For example, an Air India flight provides cheaper flights just barely meeting the core features, but Emirates for the same route provides expensive flights with a varied extended factors. What companies like Air India could do to provide a better experience would be to remove/ reduce the unsatisfactory experience (upgrading a customer, complimentary meal in case of delayed flights, trained personnel to deal with unhappy customers). 2.2 Shostacks Models Based on Shostacks Continuum, the package tours (Flights+ Hotels) offered by most airlines, form the intangible end, even though there are tangible ends to be considered. Shostack (1977) suggested that there is no element known as a pure service and that there is always a continuum between the tangible dominant goods and intangible dominant services. The airline industry, the tangible elements include the interiors of the flight, food, seat and also the overall graphic continuity from buying tickets to the attendants uniforms (Shostack 1977). Even though the airline industry is intangible dominant, different market segments require different elements to make it an experience for them. Say for example in the case of Virgin airlines they have three tailored traveling experience for three different markets. In the case of students/ backpackers or during bad economic conditions, it is elements such that reaching from one destination to the other or a no frills flight would be of emphasis on the nuclear core (cheap flights+hostels, bed and breakfast) In the case of business travelers, it would be schedule frequency along with comfort would be most important (a comfortable travel+ hotel with internet, office facilities). Lastly for tourists (with families), it would be unison of in-flight and post-flight services (hotels) that would be of paramount importance (Comfortable flight-but not too expensive+hotel near a tourist destination) But in the case of tangible elements the various markets demand differently. For example, for flights like Air Asia, which offers low cost air travel, the travelers are not provided certain tangible elements such as food and drink in-flight. But these airlines just cater to travelers who wish to travel on a limited budget. So the challenge for other firms is to create an experience for each market, so that it would form an experience for each of them as each of their needs differ from another. The challenge is to understand how consumers perceive a certain service and what as a firm they should do to manage and meet the expectations (Lovelock and Gummesson, 2004). Shostack (1977) defined a model that was termed as total market entity where she argues that a change in one element may change the entity on a whole or partial basis. Say for example in an air travel there, it is a unison of both tangible as well as intangible factors. And some tangible factors just act as service elements/evidence. 1. Peripheral evidence: this refers to a tangible factor, which no or little value if it exists on its own. It is part of the service or is required to experience a service. For example a flight ticket, does not mean anything on its own, but is essential for completion of a service. 2. Essential evidence: Consumers do not own these and can exist on its own as its highly dominant in its impact on a service purchase. An example of an essential element provided by Shostack is the DC-10 aircraft, which was involved in a few crashes in the 1970s. But even though all the issues were resolved, US refused to fly in a DC-10 aircraft that eventually led to scrapping them off completely. This model however does not show how a service functions and this is explained using another model by Shostack-Service Blueprinting. It has been developed to deal with processed, acts and flows and in (fig 4), a blueprint for airline travel has been presented under how airlines try to reduce variability 2.3 Service experience Every time a customer is interacting or having a service encounter, a service experience is taking place and because simultaneous production and consumption takes place, the customer mostly experiences the service in the firms physical surroundings (Groove and Risk, 2001). In some cases the level of involvements between the customer and the employees of the organisation is high and in some cases very low and some with no involvement at all. And the nature of physical environment depends on the nature of service as well as service experience. What the firms aim to do is make profit while creating a satisfactory or unique service experience. What determines an experience is also the nature of the physical space. For a high involvement case, (for example, self check-in, lounge services, website) customer satisfaction can be enhanced, by creative use of physical design (Bitner 1992). In the second case, where the employees play a major role, and where customers have less or no contact (cock-pit, cargo personnel) with the service personnel, the physical environment should be to motivate, satisfy the employees, as no or few customers will experience that. In the last case, where there both customers and employees interact in the same environment at the same level (counter check-in), the servicescape is the most complex as it needs to appeal to the customers but at the same time be efficiently motivating the employees (for example, at a check-in the counter needs to look clean and efficient to the customers, but also comfortable for the employee-nice seats, environment). Thus the environment should be neutral to appeal to bot h customers and employees. Other than the physical environment, it is the customer to whom the service is delivered is what is important. Like mentioned earlier, different customer have different needs and it varies based on their gender, age, social status and so on and so forth. For example, a customers needs travelling on business class will vary from that from one travelling in economy class and the service provider needs to meet each of their needs. What normally happens in the airline industry is that the customer travelling on business class is more looked after than the economy class traveller. This would mean that it creates a negative service experience for the traveller. 2.4 Service Quality Service experience is defined by the quality of service provided by the airlines. Based on this service quality, a conceptual model by (Parasuraman et.al 1988), defines the gap between what the customers expect and what is provided. From this model, it can suggested that to create a better service encounter for the customers: Gap1 This represents the void between the perceptions and expectations between the marketer and the consumer. The key is to understand what the customer expects rather than forming a perception of what they might want. Parasuraman et al. (1988) suggests that this void can be filled if sufficient market research is done prior to offering the service. For example, if an airline firm is to find out what a particular target market is looking for, before offering enhanced factors. Gap 2 This refers to the void between what the company perceives and the service quality specifications. For example, low-budget flights like Air Asia advertise that they provide in-flight entertainment, but the quality is limited (all passengers view the same programme on a single television set) Gap 3 This is the void between quality specification and service delivery. For example in the case of few Asian airline companies, the quality of service provided would be accepted by the home nation. But outside the home nation, the quality specification may not be on par with what the customers expect. For example, in India, Kingfisher airlines claims to provide world class travel experience to its customers. Even though the service provided is perceived to be on par with top airlines in India, the quality of service offered is nowhere close to airlines such as Singapore Airlines, Thai Airways etc. Gap 4 This relates to the void between the standard of quality promised and the service delivered. Thai airways has positioned itself has an airline that brings together quality as well as hospitability (Travel with the Thai touch, Smooth as Silk). But what raised issues and led to negative publicity was when their personnel were found to be rude to passengers. This led to a completely contradicting image of what they claim to be to what is delivered. 2.5 Differentiation To create a differentiation from their competitors, airline firms use the Porters Generic Strategy Model (1980): Cost Differentiation Cost Leadership (No Frills) Rynair, EasyJet, AirAsia Differentiation (Premium price for superior quality) Singapore Airlines, Emirates Cost Focus (Differentiation only for a particular target group) Kingfisher Red-low cost Business travel Differentiation Focus (Premium price for superior quality for a small target group) Concorde flights used by BA, Air France A380 flights-Singapore airlines, Qantas, Air France Scope Narrow Broad Fig 1: Porters Generic Model for the airline industry Airlines Pursuing cost leadership strategy Airlines pursuing an integrated strategy (some stuck in between) Airlines unable to achieve either a cost leadership or differentiation strategy Airlines pursuing a differentiation strategy High Fares Low Fares Low Service Level High Service Level Fig 2: Airlines Realized Business strategies (adapted from Dostaler, Flouris 2004) Using Fig 1 and fig 2, Porters Generic strategy can be explained as: Cost Leadership Cost leadership refers to gaining competitive advantage and giving your company an edge over the others. This can be attained in two ways: Firstly increasing profits by reducing costs. Secondly increasing market share by charging low prices. Airlines such as Air Asian, Rynair have chose to cut costs to a minimum, thus enabling to charge the customers low prices. This tactic helped them gain market share, and also have all their flights fully booked, which leads to further reduction in cost. But where they did compromise in on the in-flight and other services. For example, these airlines do not even provide water in the flight; one is expected to buy them, free seating etc helps them price their tickets low. Smaller airlines even provide just few routes at cheaper prices than their international rivals. But the risk if when competitors follow suit and hence firms should look for means to continuously reduce costs. Differentiation Strategy This involves making ones service different and more unique. This could be achieved by airlines in terms of their airplane types, costs, brand image etc. Singapore Airlines, Emirates have portrayed this image of making travel an experience with their superior quality. But as Porter (1980) argues that for a company using differentiation strategy, they would incur additional costs for research, development, innovation as well as advertising, which are normally recovered from the customers. Focus Strategy Airlines using focus strategy focus on a niche market and this could be a unique low cost airline for a target group or high-end price for another target group. For example, the A380 airplanes used by Singapore Airlines and Emirates charge a premium price of  £3600 for Business Class travel on Emirates from Heathrow to Dubai. So this is for the target group who like to travel with a lap of luxury with pool tables, spas, Internet, lounge area etc during their flight of less than 7 hours. There is very less competition in markets where focus strategies are used. But the risk is when the niche will disappear and when the business and customer preferences change over time. 2.6 VARIABILITY OF SERVICES One other feature of services marketing is its heterogynous nature and organisations strive to reduce the variability that would lead to building a strong brand. The aim is to communicate a persistent image and message to its customers at different places and different times. Service Variability can take place in different ways. Variations in external Conditions -weather, crowding and differences in service locations Variations in service delivery- customer interactions with employees Variations in customer perception-customers perception of a service may differ from place to place and with time too The figure below shows the causes and consequences of service variability in any organisation. High Level of perceived risk for buyers Difficulty in presenting an image of consistent quality Difficulty in developing strong brands Services are produced live Often leads to no chance to correct mistakes before consumption Often reliant on imperfect human inputs May be difficult to blueprint the service Variability of Service Fig 3 : Cause and Consequences of Service Variability The issue of variability leads to difficulty in attaining a uniform output especially in services that require a lot of human interaction. Say for example, we still have not developed technology to eliminate the need of humans completely. Airlines do not use robots to replace the human cabin crews as one human interaction is essential and secondly some technologies are too expensive to adopt suggest that behavior varies not only amongst different employees but also amongst the same employee on different days and with different customers (Lovelock 1983). And even though scripting and blueprinting is used to reduce variability, it still has its demerits. To provide a good service as well create an experience for the customer and to ensure reduced service variability, the airlines use the following techniques: 1. Employee Training As employees are part of any service provided, most airline firms have a rigorous selection and training process. For example, Singapore Airlines hires staff who fit in with the Singapore Girl image and portray the same values as the firm does. Firms who invest a lot in selection and training process mostly offer higher quality service than others. Air India does not provide constant training to its staff and hence issues arise when the staffs do not communicate a coherent message. Staff hired should be able to empathise with the customers as well as trained to deal with different types of unsatisfied customers. Also it is taken care to see that the staff matches the cultural differences of the country they are based in. 2. Scripting Most airlines have pre-determined scripts for each type of service encounter, which consists of either verbal responses or series of actions. The usage of verbal scripts is common while booking a ticket or enquiring about a service. Like for example, when a customer calls a call centre for a query, they normally have a script, which goes by: Good morning, Thank you for calling Malaysian Airlines. My name is Ben and how may I help you? Similarly a scripted message is used after a call or as an apology. In the case of scripted actions, it would how all cabin crews, follow the same actions once passengers are in the flight. All messages and actions are scripted so as to ensure a coherent image, message as well to ensure that the information is communicated at all times. But this has its limitations in terms of how at times personnel feel restricted from offering superior service based on their judgement. 3. Blueprinting Shostack (1982) suggested that blueprinting allows quantitative description of critical service elements, such as logical sequences of actions and processes, time that happen at a place of service delivery. It also defines actions for the place of interaction (front-line) as well for events taking place beyond the line of visibility. (Zeithaml, Bitner et al. 2006) define service blueprinting as a tool for simultaneously depicting the service process, the points of customer contact, and the evidence of the service from the customers point of view. With this description, the authors emphasise the different systemic layers overlapping in a service, from the layer of customer interaction and physical evidence to the layer of internal interaction within the service production process. The figure 4 below shows a service blueprinting for an air travel. Fig 4: Blueprinting for Air Travel Airport exterior Parking Baggage claim Seats Gift shops. Toilets Terminal Food/beverage Magazines Airplane Seats Gift shops. Toilets Terminal X-ray machine Metal detector Conveyor belt Computer/ credit card Desk Ticket Terminal Airport exterior Parking Online/ website Mechanic Check plane Metal detector Conveyor belt Conveyor belt Remove bags Pilot Serve customer Greet customer Send off customer Load bags on plane Check Passenger Greet take bags Registration Leave airport Pick up luggage Immigration Exit plane Fly Board plane Check in Wait at gate Security check Arrive at airport Reservation Support Process Contact Person Backstage Onstage Customer Physical Evidence 4. Quality Audits This is done to monitor the consistent quality provided by the airlines. Ground service analysis covers ticketing, check-in, security, lounges, boarding, departures, transfer, arrivals, and corporate branding. Onboard service analysis is a detailed and complex Qualitative evaluation of all product and service delivery elements core product standards, service efficiency and critical factors of staff service delivery. IATA carries out frequent safety audits. 5. Quality Awards Airlines often advertise the awards they have received for their superior quality. These awards are recognized worldwide and ensure that these airlines provide world-class travel experience for their travelers. For example, in 2009, Singapore Airlines was awarded the Airline of the Year award for its superior quality and safety. These information may not be too relevant for the customers, it just adds enough publicity to make consumers realize how one offers superior service than another thus prompting them to try these airlines on their next travel. 6. Service Recovery However thorough an airline is on its quality and service provided, there would still be occasional glitches. And a feature of any service is its heterogeneous nature, where each service encounter is different from another one. Berry (1995) argues that companies do not empower front line employees to solve problems immediately. A service failure does not automatically lead to a lost customer. But once an issue is identified, if it is dealt with promptly and the right actions are taken to ensure that the customer is satisfied, then it mostly would not lead to a lost customer. But in case of a major issue, the customer might seek financial compensation. 7. Customer Retention Parasuraman et al. (1985) suggests that even though there is a positive relationship between service quality and customer loyalty, above a certain level, additional improvements in quality do not have further impact on customer retention as there is no point in increasing quality costs if it cannot be passed down to the customers. The variability of services poses a high threat when it comes to brand building, but since humans are an integral part and cannot be eliminated completely, steps are taken to provide better training, motivate and encourage employees as they all form part of the service encounter. As Lovelock and Gummesson (2004) suggests that performance is less variable when machine-intensive technologies are used. So as to reduce the consequences of service variability, airline industries have adopted the use of technology so as to reduce if not eliminate the factor of human error. These include: Use of computerised system instead of telephone operators. Use of self-check in Kiosks at airports, mobile check-in (SSTs-Self Service Terminals) Using website to book or amend tickets. The other dimension of variability is the extent to which a service can be altered to meet the demand of individual customers. Services that are manufactured for a large number of customers are difficult to be customised like in the case of air travel, but can be customised in particular areas. For Example scheduled airline service is highly standardized in design but offers modules for customizing specific elements, such as alternative schedules; service to or from different airports in the same metropolitan area; different classes and prices; seat location; and a selection of drinks, food, and other amenities. But with the evolution of technology, industries especially the airlines are adopting technology as far as possible as with rising competition there is no room for error. But not using humans at all is impossible. So as Jim Collins said: people are your most important asset is wrong. The right people are your most important asset. REFERNCES Berry, Leonard L. (1983), Relationship Marketing, in L.L. Berry, G.L. Shostack, and G.D. Upah Emerging Perspectives on Services Marketing. Chicago: American Marketing Association, pp. 25-28. Bitner, M. J. (1992), Servicescapes: The impact of Physical Surroundings on Customers and Employees Journal of Marketing. Vol. 56, pp. 57-71. Bitner, M., Brown, S.W., and Meuter, M. L. (2000). Technology Infusion in Service Encounters Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science. Vol. 28, No.1, pp. 138-149. Dostaler, I. and Floris, T. (2004). Business Strategy and Competition for the Future in the Airline Industry. Airline Magazine. No. 28, pp. 1-4. Harris, K.J., Bojanic, D., and Cannon, D. (2003). Service Encounters and Service Bias: A Preliminary Investigation Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Research. Vol. 27, No. 3, pp. 272-290. Groove, S and Risk, R. (2001), Service theatre: An analytical framework for services marketing in Lovelock and Writz (2004) pp. 78-87. Lovelock. C (1983) Classifying Services to Gain Strategic Marketing Insights, Journal of Marketing, Vol.47, pp. 9-20. Lovelock, C. and Wirtz, W. (2004), Services Marketing, People, Technology, Strategy, USA, Pearson Prentice Hall Lovelock, C., and Gummesson, E., (2004). Wither Services Marketing? In Search of a New Paradigm and Fresh Perspectives. Journal of Services Research. Vol. 7, No. 1, pp. 20-44. Parasuraman, A., Valarie A. Z., and Leonard L. B. (1985), A Conceptual Model of Service Quality and Its Implications for Future Research, Journal of Marketing,Vol. 49, pp. 41-50. Parasuraman. A, Zeithaml. V., and Berry. L. (1988), SERVQUAL: A Multiple-Item Scale for Measuring Consumer Perceptions of Service Quality. Journal of Retailing. Vol. 64, No.1, pp. 12-40. Porter, M.E. (1980). Competitive Strategy: Techniques for Analyzing Industries and Competitors, New York, NY: Free Press. Shostack, G.L (1977). Breaking free from Product Marketing Journal of Marketing. Vol. 41, No. 2, pp. 73-80. Zeithaml, V. A., Bitner, M. J. (2006). Services Marketing : Integrating Customer Focus across the Firm. Boston, McGraw-Hill/Irwin.

The Mind of a Killer Essay example -- Psychology, State of Mind

The mind of a killer is one that is not easily comprehended. The events of their lives deeply root and morph themselves into disturbed thoughts and mind sets that fuel a killer to commit murder. In Truman Capote’s In Cold Blood, the case of the quadruple homicide of the Clutter family in Holcomb, Kansas involved murderers who were two very different individuals that had teamed up to commit an important â€Å"score†. The plan was devised by Dick Hickock to rob and murder the Clutter family and he brought about his cellmate from prison, Perry Smith to assist him with the job. Each man’s past contains different events that contribute to their not-so-sound states of mind and each view the crime differently. The psychological differences between the men give a better insight into the execution of the Clutter murders and the reasoning behind them. Perry Smith’s past proves to be highly influential his psychological state of mind. He grew up in an unstable home as his mother was an alcoholic and his father remained absent for long periods during his life. His home life was very insolvent as a child until his parents divorced when he was six years old. After that, he was sent to a Catholic orphanage where he was punished by the nuns. Whenever Smith would wet the bed, the nuns would beat him. Perry states, â€Å"I had weak kidneys and wet the bed every night. I was severely beaten by the cottage mistress, who had called me names and made fun of me in front of all the boys† (275). First signs of his disturbed psychological state were brought up around this time. â€Å"She was later discharged from her job. But this never changed my mind about her and what I wish I could have done to her and all the people who made fun of me† (275). His father then came, ... ...m all while Dick collected the shells from the gun. Dick’s suffering from a character disorder is different from Perry suffering from schizophrenia because while Dick’s disorder still affects his actions and thought process, Perry’s keeps him blind to his actions and how they are wrong. While Perry and Dick were on two different sides of the psychological realm, it did not stop them from working together to execute the murders of the Clutter family. Capote’s portrayal of Perry and Dick provides an insight into the minds of the killers themselves and brings the reader a better understanding of the crime. The explanation of their past and what led them to their psychological disturbed states helps one to understand why the two men, although virtually complete different with their problems, were able to execute one of the most heinous murders in American history.

Angiomax Case Study

The healthcare industry is extremely different than any other industry in the business world. This, along with the benefits and pricing issues, make this case, on Angiomax, an interesting one to analyze. In determining pricing, positioning, and target markets, it is important to not only understand the product but also look at competition and the chain of users, or the buyers, decision makers, and users, as all are very different in this case, as opposed to many industries when all three of these roles may be portrayed by the same individual(s). Before pricing can be looked at, it is important to determine who the product should be targeted towards. There were a number of studies done by Biogen (the company that created Angiomax) of angioplasty patients which showed that the obvious target should be very high risk patients (patients who had previously had heart attacks within two weeks) due to the significant improvement those patients experienced upon taking doses of Angioplasty as opposed to Heparin, the standard medication which was much less expensive but not as effective. Angioplasty did not show as much significant improvement over Heparin for those lower risk patients. The pricing structure should be based on Angiomax’s value propositions. For the end user, or those high risk patients, Angiomax gives the benefits of (1) more predictable results than Heparin, (2) much lower risk of death, and (3) less prevalent complications and thus less time in the hospital than Heparin patients. However, clearly, the buyer or the hospitals, have more power than end users in the decision making. The value proposition for the lead users, or buyers, is as follows: (1) more predictable results than those of Heparin, (2) Fewer costs of addition complications that are standard with Heparin, (3) Fewer complications from Angiomax leads to better reputation of doctors and hospital, and (4) fewer complications leads to more open beds which means more patients can be served (and more money made). Based on these value propositions, Angiomax should clearly be priced at a premium. It is difficult to price this drug because of its high R&D costs, long development cycle, short period of patent protection, and low FDA approval rate. Furthermore, in order for Angiomax to be successful it must steal market share from the current drug on the market- Heparin, which is priced at $2 per dose versus Angiomax’s $40 per dose. However, Angiomax must educate the buyers and doctors on the enormous value that will be derived from using Angiomax over its competitor. Some rough numbers can be shown to these doctors or managers to show that the cost of complications for Heparin users if $110,252,800 versus Angiomax users at $40,185,600 resulting in savings of $70,067200, which, upon dividing by the 700 major health centers results in $100,096 savings per year. Based on this and a breakeven analysis, in which you analyze the cost of complications + number of patients in the centers and the cost of Heparin, it can be determine that at the price of $835. 4, hospitals can breakeven. Therefore, the price cap is $835. 0, but I think that Angiomax should be priced much lower, at about $400 in order to much more efficiently gain market share since the patent protection is relatively low. Furthermore, the drug can be charged at a premium due to the lack of price sensitivity from price sharing (due to patients with health insurance not having to pay the full price. ) For the future, MDCO may need to change its business model up. Due to the high R&D costs an d the short patent protection in this industry, as well as the â€Å"blockbuster† drugs, it is important that the organization consistently is innovative in the future. Because Angiomax has fewer than ten years left with its patent protection, MDCO must be developing new drugs based on the same value proposition but for other markets. Using data and information from clinical trials, as was done with Angiomax, MDCO should determine which markets will benefit significantly from lowering complications, and therefore can be charged at a premium. In terms of Angiomax, MDCO should look into low cost production processes for the drug, as well as attempting to foster a more successful version of the drug for other segments, such as low risk patients.

Junk foods Essay

Research has revealed that the increase in the junk foods industry is interrelated with the rapid increase in the obesity pandemic. Junk foods contain high calories and fats and are therefore the sole ingredient in the spread of overweight and obesity. The cause for alarm is that the targeted lots are the pre-school, school going children and adolescents. Over the years, the number of school going children becoming overweight and obese has increased two fold because they easily access the fast foods and junk foods outlets. Overweight is a condition responsible for so many other diseases: these are like: heart diseases, type 2 diabetes, high pertension, the gallbladder disease, infertility and weakened immune system, just to mention but a few. The illnesses aside, obese people face social stigma: the society discriminates the victims because people normally believe that they are to blame for their conditions. As such, they do not freely intermingle with the rest for fear of such stigmatization (Cassell, D. 000). Junk foods should therefore not be encouraged in schools because of the health effects that follow and because basically ‘prevention is better than cure’. The junk food culture today has become a social custom and so many school going children therefore just take these foodstuffs to conform to what other people-especially their peers- are doing to identify with them. Such environments that are conducive to weight gain make school going children more vulnerable to obesity. In most cases, non-healthy foods are more affordable than the healthy alternatives: junk food manufactures make the foods more attractive because of the labeling that is more appealing. When children grow up not knowing how to prepare healthy foods, they resort to cheaper and less time consuming –in preparation-foods which are obviously more energy giving and have high percentages of calories. Apart from school going children, even adults are not spared in then spread of the obesity pandemic, and this is a cause for alarm in the society (Jefferies, R.  B 2005). To perfectly understand the correlation between increased consumption of junk foods and the increase in prevalence of obesity, the role of junk foods in nutrition related disorders should be analyzed. Junk foods and fast foods consumption coupled with little or no healthy exercise is the sole reason for the abrupt increase in overweight and obesity especially in urbanized regions. In such regions, the quality of the diets is questionable; this has led to the increase in obesity which in severe cases leads to death. The probability of overweight children becoming overweight way into adulthood is very high, and chances of such a person dying prematurely are high too. Obesity caused by excess consumption of junk foods has dire economic effects: since obesity leads to other diseases like high blood pressure, the costs of treating these ailments are far above the ground. A country’s healthcare system is hard-pressed: this is a financial weigh down since the biggest percentage of the healthcare costs are taken care of by the tax payers. The costs divided into direct and indirect costs: direct costs are those that are injected into the direct treatment of the disease, prevention and diagnosis and research. Expenditure that is not direct are those of the employment asset value of employees lost due to the people who are sick and the employment benefits lost due to passing away of the employees. Hospital bills are very costly since these funds run into billions that could be injected into other projects, this means that overall, the economy of a country strains due to this pandemic (Hernell,O 2005). The psychological effects are among other things, negative body image or low self esteem, unease, dejection and more often than not, obese individuals carry out themselves in a way that is not socially healthy. Social stigmatization can be eliminated by increase in education about obesity matters. The position that the sale of junk food promotes school activities-as held by many- holds no water; this is because the students’ health and the society’s’ health in general is more important than that financial aspect of it. To say that the society is going to make money at the expense of children’s health is unreasonable; this explains why junk food sales should not be encouraged in schools at any cost. Thanks to excessive consumption of junk foods, tooth decay and disorders have increased to epidemic levels and dental care is needed, this is very costly given that the economy is not forthcoming. Osteoporosis is an even major fear and the overall treatment of these diseases is very costly, all said and done, prevention of these diseases by discouraging the consumption of junk foods is less costly (Cataldo, R. 000). Another reason why junk foods should be discouraged in schools is because these foodstuffs create a ‘bliss point’: this is a point where a person eating them feels hungrier and wants more and more. The ingredients used to make junk foods like sugar and fats are addictive; the worst party of it is that the foods are always available and therefore the temptation of taking more and more is hard to resist. These modern foods are hyper appetizing and the end results of most of such foods is to create and or arouse a mind-set of pleasure. Research has proven that half the populations of people who are obese and overweight are more likely to be restless or, better said, over-active than their normal counterparts. Once these people are electrified, the neurons in the brain trigger more action making their systems to demand more food to eat-more often than not, this means yearning for more junk foods. The bliss point is the peak of wanting more salt, sugar and fats: these are the ingredients for desserts and other junk foods and at the best possible level, ones appetite is excited to want more of such foods (Hollander, T 2004). The evil of junk foods is that they make us to desire less of healthy foods and therefore discourage healthy eating: this fact explains why junk foods should no be encouraged in schools. Healthy eating is one thing that constitutes discipline; when people do not eat healthy, they are considered not to be morally well-mannered and this is one of the contributory factors to social stigma experienced by people who are overweight. Healthy eating ensures fine health and therefore one is not at risk of getting diseases. When young adults eat healthy, this is a way of ensuring that they are responsible and that they need not wait for adults to instill good manners. Junk foods make students inactive (that is once they become overweight), this means a people of lazy character who can not get involved in much activity. Inactivity is disastrous in the work place and even in schools: this means that even the performance of students in class reduces abruptly and this is not impressive for the schools image. Should these people grow into adults and get to the employment fields, they become sluggish at work and this in turn leads to poor performance. Overweight people are more often than not discriminated at work and in extreme cases, they even could be paid at lower rates than their counterparts and this is not just. Inactivity or a country of inactive people is costly to the overall economic growth because this causes it to be low (Corrine B 1999). Junk foods by reducing activity lead to health issues that in the long run lead to disabilities, diabetes and arthritis are just some of the effects of eating these foods in excessive amounts and soon, people are eating themselves to premature death. Levels of cholesterol rise due to the same and insulin resistance thrives. Thanks to fast foods and unhealthy eating, breathing problems in men increase and in women, fertility rates decrease. The ingredients used to make junk foods are of very poor quality and are less rich in nutrients. The question is not the quantity of the food, rather, it is the quality, and this explains why the body does not get the right nutrients in the right proportions when someone eats junk food. On this note therefore, the individual eats more and more but does not get enough of the food, or rather, gets hungry too fast. Indeed, eating junk foods in excess is an act that triggers a health time bomb (Dare, C. 1999). These foodstuffs reduce the desire to want very much of foods rich in calcium: calcium is very important in bone structure construction and once we do not have enough of it, the effects are out of the ordinary. Young adults therefore suffer from poor bone structure at very tender ages hence reducing their life spans. Highly processes foods (as junk foods are) contain a lot of chemicals in their additives; we may not get obese but we could get other sicknesses. One may not even suffer when they are young but the side effects catch up with us as we age, so the solution is to stop eating these foods in the first place. It is not a small truth therefore to say that by eating these highly artificial foods, our systems get intoxicated with poisons. Some of the old age effects of these foods are early menopause: in spite of having poor fertility, menopause also catches up with us and this means women are at a greater risk (Escott, S. 1996) Since overweight and obesity are major concerns in the world at large and are caused by excessive consumption of junk foods, it is important to devise ways of preventing the disease in view of the fact, it is a health time bomb in waiting. Obesity slows down the metabolic rates (hence slowing down the process of breaking down of food) of the victims hence leading to inactivity and putting one at a risk of adding more weight. To curb this problem therefore, the solution is to eat healthy coupled with taking exercises. The rationale behind this argument is straight forward, when one exercises, the metabolic process or better said, the process of breaking down of fats is increased and therefore, the fats are emulsified or broken down into a more normal digestive process. One may either employ the services of a qualified nutritionist or adopt a healthier eating pattern: just enough body giving foods and more of the other essential nutrients in the right proportions. Eating healthy will have to be coupled with having the right attitude and great discipline. Again, one need to go on an exercising program, long brisk walks although not strenuous, jogging and probably going to the gym, reduction of average screen time and instead focusing on body fitness would just make a huge difference in health (Franseen, L. 1999). Another way out is to change ones lifestyle in a positive way: more often than not, the biggest barrier to change at times is the mind set. Often, one believes that they can not take up a challenge and change; this is normally when one believes that they can not achieve a certain goal. People are often caught up in busy schedules and do not have time to get involved in exercising programs. Another barrier to change is normally the environment in which one lives; people tend to conform to the lifestyles that other people lead in their surrounding. In this case the pointers to these lifestyles are trends in food and status. One needs to beat the barriers by evaluating the current lifestyle, identifying the flaws in the said lifestyle and making out the areas that need amendments. Information acquisition is important in this process and helps one learn healthy ways to lose weight (Garfinkel, P. E 1997). Support system helps one to lose a large mass of weight and doing it single-handedly. Friends can act like a source of enthusiasm in spite of the fact that they may not want to achieve the same objectives as you, they provide support just in case you may want to draw back. In a weight loss program, setting practical goals is one of the ways of achieving the goals of weight loss and management. Objectives that are short term and that are practical help one to gain the driving force towards their realization. In the same breath, an individual does an assessment to see where they have reached against how far they want to go and what they have so far achieved. In the instance that short term objectives are set, they prove helpful in achieving and the realization of the final objective (Rosenbloom, C. 999). As a point of concern, learning institutions should be made healthy places to learn: the quality of food served should therefore be of great importance both to the administration and to the society in general in order to guarantee security to our children. For students to learn at their full potentials, the feeding programs should ensure that the foods served are of high nutritional value and that they are fresh and attractive to the scholars and that the food service supports the learning institutions educational mission. School meals should meet the health standards of the regulatory authorities and these should also be met by the learning institutions’ feeding programs: these standards if imposed, the students will not be left at risk of feeding on junk and fast foods throughout the day. The regulatory authorities together with the learning institutions administration should ensure that the meals served in school grounds should offer a wide assortment of cultural cuisines to offer students with a variety to choose from (Woolsey, M. 2002). There should not be an incongruity between what the children are taught in learning institutions on nourishment and good eating habits and the reality on the ground, whether students are eating unhealthy foodstuffs or what is easily available is junk food. Against this background therefore, food and nutrition should be incorporated into the schools learning syllabus and the students should also learn about food preparation. At the grass roots levels, there should be established an advice-giving board that should comprise of the educators, parents and the community at large to come up with courses of action that govern school feeding programs. The advice-giving board should instill disciplinary action against the learning institutions that do not follow the resolutions passed, time and again; the board members should make impromptu visits and inspect the food service amenities and the set of choices of foodstuffs available for students. Such an arrangement would ensure good discipline on standards of hygiene and food quality especially if there is a feedback mechanism provided to monitor the implementation (Smith, A. F 2006). Medics say that eating of beans help in burning up calories: beans are low in fats and calories content and when one takes beans; they feel satisfied for as long as four hours. Often, one does not feel like eating when they are fully satisfied and as such, there is no temptation to eat junk foods. Exercises should also be done after meals so that the process of emulsification of fats is complete, aerobic classes are ideal in this case because as a matter of fact, stored fats are naturally turned into fats and stored in this form. Breakfast should be the largest meal in the entire and normal day; it should also be the meal that contains the largest amount of calories. Since there is a lot of activities during the mid-morning and the entire day, calories are burnt down easily and more rapidly. Biologically, eating food with very little calorie content is no the solution to weight loss, this is because when the body is at very low metabolism, it is considered famished. When the body lacks adequate nutrients, it becomes difficult to achieve loss of weight. Lifting weights is also Okayed as a way of loosing weight, this is because lifting weight increases muscles and this in turn increases the rate of burning down calories and fats. Drinking a lot of water is very healthy a method of reducing weight: the higher the amount one takes the higher the likelihood of loosing weight, when one feels hungry, it helps one to eat less. When one drinks water before eating, they do not eat much (Carolyn, C. 2004).

King Alfred the Great essays

King Alfred the Great essays King Alfred the Great (871-899) was one of the best kings ever to rule. He defended his kingdom from Viking raids, enacted a code of laws, and helped to give rebirth to religious and scholarly activity. During Alfreds reign, he demonstrated military and strategic skills, sound authority and the capability to inspire men and plan for the future, great devotion to the support of religion, personal scholarship and the promotion of education. King Alfred was born in 849 AD at Wantage, Berkshire. Aethelwulf, the King of Wessex and Alfreds father, had four sons and one daughter. Alfred was the youngest of the four other children. At the age of four, Alfred had the desire to become a monk. As a result, his father sends him to accompany Pope Leo IV in Rome. Alfred would go to Rome again with his father in 855 on a pilgrimage. In 858, Aethelwulf dies, leaving Wessex to be governed by his three other brothers, Ethelbald, Ethelbert, and Elthred. (Alfred the Great) In 865 a "great heathen army" (Alfred the Great) arrived in England seizing a dispute in Northumbria in order to control the divided kingdom. By 870, the army had built multiple roads into Mercia, subdued East Anglia, and killed its king Edmund. By 871, the heathens joined forces with another army from overseas, and began to attack Wessex. In return, the West-Saxons and the Mercians combine forces and attack the Danes. The only way for Alfred to get the Danes to submit to peace was to pay them a large sum of money. In 868, Alfred marries Ealhswith, the daughter of Aelthelred Mucill. Ealhswith was the granddaughter of a past King of Mercia. Alfred would not ascend to the throne until the death of his brother Elthred, in Easter of 871. (Alfred the Great) Now that Alfred is King of Wessex, he must protect his insecure kingdom from invasion. The Danes would attack the West-Saxons again in 875. But this time Alfred did not pay them for ...