Which Antibiotic is the Most Effective on Bacteria?

Which Antibiotic is the Most Effective on Bacteria? INTRODUCTION Antibiotics The word antibiotic comes from the Greek anti meaning against and bios meaning life (a bacterium is a life form). Antibiotics are also known as antibacterials, and they are drugs used to treat infections caused by bacteria. Bacteria are tiny organisms that can sometimes cause illness to humans and animals. The singular word for bacteria is bacterium. Such illnesses as tuberculosis, salmonella, syphilis and some forms of meningitis are caused by bacteria. Some bacteria are not harmful, while others are good for us. Before bacteria can multiply and cause symptoms our immune system can usually destroy them. We have special white blood cells that attack harmful bacteria. Even if symptoms do occur, our immune system can usually cope and fight off the infection. There are occasions, however, when it is all too much and our bodies need some help from antibiotics. The first antibiotic was penicillin. Such penicillin-related antibiotics as ampicillin, amoxicillin and benzylpenicilllin are widely used today to treat a variety of infections these antibiotics have been around for a long time. There are several different types of modern antibiotics and they are only available with a doctors prescription in industrialized countries. How do antibiotics work? Although there are a number of different types of antibiotic they all work in one of two ways: A bactericidal antibiotic kills the bacteria. Penicillin is a bactericidal. A bactericidal usually either interferes with the formation of the bacteriums cell wall or its cell contents. A bacteriostatic stops bacteria from multiplying. Uses of antibiotics An antibiotic is given for the treatment of an infection caused by bacteria. They target only bacteria they do not attack other organisms, such as fungi or viruses. If you have an infection it is important to know whether it is caused by bacteria, and not a virus or fungus. Most upper respiratory tract infections, such as the common cold and sore throats are generally caused by viruses antibiotics do not work against viruses. Antibiotics are overused or used incorrectly there is a chance that the bacteria will become resistant the antibiotic becomes less effective against that type of bacterium. A broad-spectrum antibiotic can be used to treat a wide range of infections. A narrow-spectrum antibiotic is only effective against a few types of bacteria. There are antibiotics that attack aerobic bacteria, while others work against anaerobic bacteria. Aerobic bacteria need oxygen, while anaerobic bacteria dont. Antibiotics may be given beforehand, to prevent infection, as might be the case before surgery. This is called prophylactic use of antibiotics. They are commonly used before bowel and orthopedic surgery. Bacteria The word bacteria is the plural of bacterium. Grammatically the headline should just say What are bacteria? The incorrect usage has been included in the headline to remind readers that it is wrong and hopefully help correct an increasingly common mistake in the English language. Bacteria are tiny living beings (microorganisms) they are neither plants nor animals they belong to a group all by themselves. Bacteria are tiny single-cell microorganisms, usually a few micrometers in length that normally exist together in millions. A gram of soil typically contains about 40 million bacterial cells. A milliliter of fresh water usually holds about one million bacterial cells. Planet Earth is estimated to hold at least 5 nonillion bacteria. Scientists say that much of Earths biomass is made up of bacteria. 5 nonillion = 5,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 (or 51030) (Nonillion = 30 zeros in USA English. In British English it equals 54 zeros. This text uses the American meaning) Bacterial cell walls Bacterial cell walls consist of layer of peptidoglycan which is made up of many parallel polysaccharide chains with short peptide cross-linkage forming an enormous molecule with net-like structure. However, there are two different types of bacterial cell wall, which can be distinguished by Gram staining, a staining technique developed by Christian Gram in 1984 and still in use today. Before staining, bacteria are colorless. The cell walls of Gram-positive bacteria have a thick layer of peptidoglycan containing chemicals such as teichoic acid within their net-like structure. The crystal violet in the stain binds to the teichoic acid and resists decolouring in the rest of the process, leaving the positive purple/blue color. The cell walls of Gram-negative bacteria have a thinner layer of peptidoglycan with ni teichoic acid between the two layers of membranes and then an outer membrane-like layer made up of lipopolisaccharides. Any crystal violet which does not bind is readily decolourised and replaced with red safranine in the Gram stain. So cells appear red. PROBLEM STATEMENT Which antibiotic is the most effective on bacteria? APPARATUS 200 ml of micropipette, conical flask, forceps, 100 ml beaker MATERIALS Petri dish, sample of E.coli and staphylococcus, 3 different types of antibiotic which are carbenicilin, streptomycin and tetracycline, distilled water, Dettol handwash, 75 % of ethanol, agar, tissue paper VARIABLES Fixed variable : volume of bacteria Manipulated variable : types of antibiotic Responding variable : area of inhibition zone HYPOTHESIS The most effective antibiotic to inhibit bacteria growth is ampicillin PROCEDURE First of all, wash out hands with the soap or handwash. The working area is sprayed thoroughly with the disinfectant spray. It is left for at least 10 minutes, and wiped with a paper towel. An agar plate seeded with is prepared. The petri dish is labeled on the base at the edge out of name, the date and type of bacterium it is inoculated with by usng permanent marker pen. After finishing marking the petri dish, the Esterichia coli bacteria is poured by using micropipette into the petri dish on the marked labeling and distribute it evenly. The agar is taken out from 60 ÃÅ'Ã…  C oven. The mouth of the conical flask containing the agar is warmed in the flame to prevent any different bacteria from surrounding grow inside it. The agar is left for 10 minutes for it to solidify before putting the sterile disc dip into three different antibiotics. The forceps are flamed and used them to pick up disc or Mast ring. It is dip into the antibiotic solution and is placed firmly in the centre of the agar. The dish is taped securely with two pieces of adhesive tape and kept it upside down at room temperature for 24 hours. Step 1 until steps 7 are repeated by using another type of bacteria which is staphylococcus. Our hands are washed with soap or handwash and the bench is cleaned again using the 75 % of ethanol. After the incubation, the plate should be looked at carefully but do not open it. Where bacteria have grown the plate will look opaque, but where the antibiotics have inhibited growth, clear zones called inhibition zones will be seen. The diameter of the inhibition zones is measured in milimetres and the information is used to decide which antibiotic is most effective at inhibiting the growth of the bacterium. The data is collected from other members of the class who used the other bacterial cultures. PRECAUTIONS When carrying out the experiment, we should work very closed to the Bunsen burner to prevent any impurities in each apparatus that is used. Do not seal completely the upper and lower part of petri dish. Both petri dishes contain different bacteria need to be inverted to prevent the water vapour from forming at the upper site of the agar. It might affected or overshadow the inhibition zones that are formed inside the dish. Make sure our hands are constantly being wash with disinfectant before touching any apparatus. Before using any apparatus, they should be sterile to prevent any unwanted impurities to grow in the petri dish. Do not open the petri dish after incubation to prevent from infection. Explanation of the data Table above shows the area of inhibition zone of the bacteria growth on two different bacteria. Four types of antibiotics are used to be investigated which is the most effective on a particular bacteria. They are tetracycline, streptomycin, carbenicillin and ampicillin. Whereas two types of bacteria are used which are staphylococcus and Esterichia Coli. For E.coli, ampicilin showed the greatest inhibition area of bacteria growth with 10.2 cmÂÂ ². Another antibiotic that showed the closest reading is streptomycin. Tetacyclin and carbenicilin showed 5.3 cmÂÂ ² and 4.9 cmÂÂ ² respectively. This result clearly shown that ampicilin is the most effective antibiotic to inhibit the growth of E.coli. Besides that, E.coli is a gram negative bacteria. The cell walls of Gram-negative bacteria have a thinner layer of peptidoglycan with no teichoic acid between the two layers of membranes and then an outer membrane-like layer made up of lipopolisaccharides. In addition to that, Staphylococcus also had a higher inhibition zone of bacteria on ampicilin. Other bacterias have no effect as great as ampicilin which can be consider as a strong antibiotic. Staphy is a gram positive bacteria. The cell walls of Gram-positive bacteria have a thick layer of peptidoglycan containing chemicals such as teichoic acid within their net-like structure. The crystal violet in the stain binds to the teichoic acid and resists decolouring in the rest of the process, leaving the positive purple/blue color. That is why ampicilin is said to be the most effective antibiotic on both bacterias. Limitations There are some limitations that cannot be avoided when carrying out the experiment. The first one was every apparatus that we used had been sterile by the laboratory assistant. Thus we had to wash our hands thoroughly before touching anything. We even could not talk during the preparation. The problem was we carried out the experiment on the labs table, instead of using the cupboard fume to maintain the sterile apparatus. Thus, there might be some of the apparatus that we were using had been contaminated. This condition might affect the reliability of the experiment hence the expected results might not get at the end of the experiment. Besides that, we had to wash our hands by using the dettol hand soap before we start and end the experiment. We had to remove all the impurities and bacteria and that was the purpose of washing hand. The problem rose as we did not know whether we had washed our hand to the maximum cleanliness. Consequently, all the apparatus and materials that we used might be affected by our hand. This is done so that there are no infections or contaminations on the agar that might give problems later. Sources of error There are some sources of error when carrying out this experiment. Firstly, we prepared the experiment at room temperature. It was supposed to carry out in sterile medium to prevent anything from affecting during the preparation of bacteria and antibiotics. Next, the major problem that could be seen during the experiment was most of the groups could not be able to solidify their agar to the maximum hardness. Consequently, when inverting the petri dish, all its contents would be messy inside the petri dish and the disc had mixed to one another. Thus, the antibiotics on each disc also had mixed that could affected the whole result. To overcome this problem, students should let the agar solidify before inverting the petri dish. Another problem was some of the groups do not invert their petri dish before keeping it inside the incubator. This would cause the water vapour to form at the upper part of the petri dish. It would also affect the growth of the bacteria in agar. Fourth, the layer of agar inside the petri dish was too thin that caused it fell to the bottom when inverting it. Besides ruining the shape of the agar and the position of the discs in the agar, the thin layer of agar also inhibits the growth of bacteria because it lacked of nutrients. To prevent this, the layer of agar should be half of the petri dish. Further work To get more reliable and accurate result, this experiment should be repeated by varying the temperature to investigate the activity of antibiotic on bacteria. This means that increase the temperature would cause the antibiotic to act more rapidly compared to the temperature that we used before. Thus we do not have to wait for 24 hours to see the inhibition zone. This manipulated variable also do not waste the time consuming for the experiment. Moreover, as the antibiotic shows more faster effect, thus the bacteria and antibiotic should be put in separately different petri dish to prevent it from overlapping. CONCLUSION The most effective antibiotic is ampicilin. The hypothesis is aceepted. Words = 2200 Marks and Spencer: Processes of Change Marks and Spencer: Processes of Change Introduction All organizations that are currently undergoing some kind of change. Many of these programs on the changes resulting from management practices, such as culture change, business process engineering, empowerment and quality of the whole. Other initiatives, the changes are dependent on the needs of the organization to reposition the face of changing competitive conditions. A good example is the ongoing process of change at Marks Spencer. Strategic Change The term is usually reserved for such initiatives. These transitions are often related radicals in the organization, which includes strategy, structure, systems, processes and culture. Success in implementing strategic change in organizations is poor. Many simply do not understand that the implementation (which is actually turning plans into reality), and not the wording that is difficult. To the strategic objective becomes a reality, it is necessary to change the way people behave in organizations. This will require more restructuring and new systems. Background of change Faster pace of change is the starting point. Sure, companies live in times of change, indeed, more turbulent age than ever. But what was true for many years. What happened to that last, managers realized that without changes in not only miss opportunities, can kill or paralyze society. Even if an organization indulges in finally change may be too late to prevent continual arthritis of the company. Marks Spencer has been horribly damaged, not only by his lawyer about the size of its reserves, but by managing cattle demonstrated that corresponds to unravel. M S, after serving what turned out to be a strong reflection of heavy blows of its reputation and profits fell by a few weak sales. The worst thing is that Suns statistics were accompanied by anecdotal evidence bad choice of clothing for women, lack of resources, attractive shops which confirmed that the problems were not resolved. M S knew that he needed the conversion to a retailer who fleet feet, a magnet for vendors and managers, and a dynamic leader in the field of fashion. But M S was never one of those three things. During the long reign of dominance Rick Greenbury, the consolidated unnecessary functions from the past: from top to bottom, slowly and deeply conservative. Description of changes in the organization The process of change can be difficult, may be slow and painful. People by nature do not like change. Companies naturally do not like change. The question is whether we want to drive the implementation of strategic changes in our business, how much pain we are ready to commit to adopting means for change? We must first ask the reasons for changes in the business environment? There are four modes of changes that may occur in any company and be seen as the primary cause. The theory of change management Managing change in the tradition of organizational development, considers the organization of social systems, and therefore relates to humanistic element in conjunction with the mechanics of the organization. The aim is to improve the efficiency and prosperity by facilitating the organization of the development process so that eventually the organization is able to solve their problems and adjust if necessary. Therefore, in order to implement effective change, the scientist-physician must be able to adapt and apply appropriate rules to the current situation. Familiar models for inclusion in our theories in use were selected for their usefulness, adaptation and integration of members of the organization. They are listed below. Planned changes to the model of Lewin (1951) These changes in the oldest and most fundamental are that Lewins change model. It consists of three stages: melting, movement and refreezing. The publication is to reduce the peacekeeping forces of organizational behaviour. The movement involves moving behaviour of the organization and re-freezing is to stabilize the new state. Lewins saw a change in behaviour of sources in the organization. These forces are trying to maintain the standard and those who fought for change. Model of action research The classical model of action research focuses on the planned changes as an iterative process in which a preliminary examination on the organization is a way for future research and future needs. Search in the initial phase is estimated to guide research. The model focuses on the massive data collection and identification prior to any action taking place and a careful evaluation later. Emphasis is placed on the organization and work with your doctor to change all stages of the process. Business model is based on the most current research approach to planned change and is often considered synonymous with the IP (Cummings and Worley, 2005) Kotter Model According to Kotter, the plans should be established to develop appropriate stages, achievable and measurable changes, while engaging, enable and facilitate the participation of people as quickly and as openly as possible (Kotter, 1995, p. 2-3). Changes must be realistic, achievable and measurable (Kotter, 1995, p. 6). These aspects are particularly relevant to management and changes in individual groups. Prior to the organizational changes, the organization must determine what it wants to achieve with this change, why and how he knows that change is achieved. It is the address that is affected by this change and how they will react. Finally, how changes in the organization are able to achieve alone and what aspects of the changes he needs a specialist or outside help to achieve. Intervention Our diagnosis, offer interventions to deal with errors or problems and help Marks and Spencer in competition with other organizations. This list, which is not exhaustive credits towards a cultural change, but taking into account the wider context, which is defined at the beginning of the quantitative changes in corporate strategy are required. Therefore, the intervention process, which includes culture change, would be best suited for this case. Transformational change Transformational change is a relatively new organizational change. Is concerned about radical change and is essentially change the way the organization is perceived both internally and externally and how it works. This type of change would be particularly relevant to the case of Marks and Spencer, as it must radically change the way you operate in a competitive environment. Culture change The concept of organizational culture has brought a lot of research and culture, many models have been developed to define measure and observe the culture. However, little consensus about the nature of culture or to understand. Nevertheless, culture has become a very important part of the organization and activities covering a culture change have increased sharply. Schein (1990), Millward (2005) model of culture is one of the most commonly used, consists of four layers at different levels of consciousness. In the centre of the basic assumptions (unconscious, reactions uncontested guide), values (this is important) and norms (how to behave), and finally, artefacts (observable behaviours and procedures). This metaphor of culture cannot hope to capture all the elements of organizational culture, it is a useful tool in the study. Need for change To understand how organizations respond to the need for change, we must examine the organizational processes and management, organization transformation through additions, deletions or changes to the resource base leads to the attainment of these processes of change. We need to know not only what the organization which markets will come, how fast they grow, but how they do it. To understand how organizations respond to the need for change, we must examine the organizational processes and management, organization transformation through additions, deletions or changes to the resource base leads to the attainment of these processes of change. We need to know not only what the organization which markets will come, how fast they grow, but how they do it. Factors that determine the need for strategic change Organizations usually in response to changes in the external environment, as well as the development of competitive advantages in the organization. External environmental factors, including: Social factors Such as changes in demographics and purchasing habits of consumers. Legal factors Legal pressures that force organizations to comply with the law changes, for example, in response to environmental legislation. Economic factors Relate to the booms and declines in economic activity in general, changes in interest rates, inflation, etc. Political factors These are related to wider policy changes for example the government to take a particular line of the privatization / role of government in society. Technological factors Technological aspects of technological advances such as developing new methods based on point of sale by the company. In addition to these factors, he slept a significant impact on the organization, making competition. Slept analysis is an analysis of the major changes in the environment of the organization. This is sometimes called environmental scanning. Managing change is a key aspect of how the organization responds to changes in an appropriate manner. Todays managers believe that in the future, organizations need more leaders who can use the talents of the organization in achieving its objectives, the development of a culture that believes change as an opportunity rather than a threat, regularly invent the organization, effectively planning and implementing change. To succeed in this environment, managers have to do the right things in the existing well-defined procedures and limitations. Predictable and stable environment reduces the need to mobilize the organizations capacity, flexibility, creativity and innovation. The environment has changed radically, and successful organizations and their managers should behave differently. Managers in todays environment are needed to transformation of the organization, to develop good relationships with internal and external stakeholders, run horizontally and vertically, and not the entire culture lines enable employees and the development of networks and alliances. Stakeholders in developing a strategy change Stakeholders are those who have direct interest in the organization and may be beneficial, and harmful to the organization if not properly treated if a policy is adopted in order to keep the company and they should also participate in company affairs and decision making. The system is planned in this direction in which we can pass our message to all actors in society and be in the best interest of the latter. Some of it is also relevant for people who do not want to change or resist change. The behaviour of these people also consider. Resistance to change Responses to organizational change initiatives are no different. In the beginning there is a small proportion of the early adopters those who want to participate, because I just changed a breakthrough that will lead to better conditions. Most of the people affected by the initiative of the changes will be far less enthusiastic than the early adopters, but over time they will eventually accept and adjust to it. Finally, the group will not be very resilient, many of whom will never adapt to the changes in place. This range of behaviour results from a normal distribution. It is a natural phenomenon intuitively understood by most managers of change. Unfortunately, though perhaps unconsciously, to understand the phenomenon, these managers often do not use this knowledge to better organize an effective change. The aim is to adopt the first to develop their support and consciously use their influence to speed up the most reluctant to change. It is important to understand that they do not reflect the impact of hierarchical position. Leaders are natural leaders and respected functional experts who are well connected. They are nodes in the social, business, politics and communications networks, and their sphere of influence goes beyond the scope of their parent organization. While these influential illustrate its support for the changes, they are a marketing tool more powerful than any message issued by the office of managing change. Strategies should be performed on the leaders of high or medium, the goal is to transform them into the first users, and use its influence over the end of the interest or commitment. For those who cannot be pulled forward or to the small force, aims to accelerate the speed of their adaptation to help them better understand and prepare for the consequences of change. It is also focusing on people who are able to adapt, but because of its unique combination of knowledge, skills or abilities, but a significant contribution. Some people will be unwilling or unable to adapt to change. They are already able to demonstrate their acceptance and respect for a change, otherwise, may suffer the consequences clear. Include initiatives that will affect change, how it will affect them and what their reactions might be important for the success of the strategy changes. When an organization brings new things about people, there will be problems. Participation, involvement and open, early, full communication are important factors. How to tell change to people The workshops are very useful process to develop a common understanding, methods, principles, methods, systems, ideas, etc. Surveys are useful to repair the damage and lack of trust among employees if you allow people to fill them out anonymously, and provided that publish and implement the findings. You cannot force change individuals and teams must have the right to seek their own solutions and responses, the facilitation and management support, tolerance and compassion for managers and executives. Management style and leadership behaviour are more important than intelligence and the political process. Employees must have confidence in the organization. A leader must listen to and work with these ideas, or change can be very painful, and soon will be lost in the process. You may also find that the main problem is the resistance of the people and defence of someone who is in the organization, what you do. After this challenge, you can begin to compare what is happening with what the organization intends to do (mission, values, goals, priorities, targets, key performance indicators, process measures), as people feel things (marketing, maintenance workers, morale and attitudes ) as well as customers and suppliers feel too much (in fact, go out and find clients and former clients in particular). Follow the protocol is very difficult you have properly with people and explain who you are and what you do. Be polite. Respect the people more than usual; because they are sensitive, it is understandable. The framework for change management at Marks Spencer Marks Spencer has been under pressure to change the external economic factors and not yet answered correctly. It is for this reason that the approach proposed amendment is necessary to initiate and implement change is being driven by the management of physician (s). Using current models and theories of change management in the organization development, proposed a framework for planned changes that could be used by Marks Spencer. Context of Changing First, in the context of the situation to be addressed in order to develop appropriate methods of change. This can be done in three dimensions: The volume changes Incremental change to solve specific problems such as lack of communication and low customer satisfaction Quantum amendment to change the basic functioning of organizations, including the structure and culture Degree of organization Over-organized where policies are too rigid for effective action due to poor communication, conflict avoidance, etc. Sub-structured where there is too little regulation for the effective operation due to lack of direction and coordination structure. Domestic vs International Cultural differences, especially between Eastern and Western societies, for example, Asian countries tend to be hierarchical and North America deal with individuality. It can be difficult to implement change, which encourages openness among employees when it is not viewed positively. In the case of Marks and Spencer, the magnitude of change is that major changes in the quantum of culture, structure and strategy must be addressed. They will be included in the applied intervention. They are also highly organized society with the management system now that he is honoured to be part of the overall problem. Although the system successfully in the past, is steeped in ancient culture and able to adapt to a redesigned image of Marks Spencer. Therefore, the process of change at Marks Spencer will focus on softening of the structure. General review, Marks Spencer, will be treated as a citizen of the operation of this case, since closed down its operations in Europe and North America sold its franchise stores in Hong Kong. The model change is composed of seven steps to help developers to the key issues of transformation. Activities focus on people, leadership, trust, vision, empowerment, celebration and institutionalization. Despite the emerging linear stages can occur simultaneously. Effective communication is the mortar. There must be open and honest communication in every step of the process, and communication needs to combine these steps together. Nothing can destroy the effort to change sooner or permanently, that poor communication. Here are the steps for effective transition. Assessment and solve human problems Contractor changes need to invest time and effort to understand the problems of people does not appear in place of those who suffered, and then practice the golden rule of treating others as they would be treated. Exercise strong leadership in the organization Without strong leadership, positive change will not. Leadership can no longer be the domain of a few organizations all the staff responsible should do what it takes to achieve organizational goals. This is especially true when change must occur. Many must step in and assume leadership. Spreading leadership and decision-making responsibilities, inspires and motivates everyone to play a role in implementing the changes. Building trust in the leadership Confidence is simply the belief that it would suffer if threatened. Obviously, the level of mutual trust between labour and management or between supervisors and subordinates affects the health of the organization. Clearly articulate the vision to all If you want to change, please explain the reason and purpose of fundamental change. People cannot have a real idea of where the organization is or what problems it faces. You have to tell them. They need to understand the purpose for the desired result. Be prepared to answer these questions: What is the problem? Who said that? What happens if you do not change? Creating an helpful environment Organizations can do everything possible to prepare the ground for change in response to the concerns of people in order to demonstrate strong leadership, building trust, formulating a vision all, that is, but to create an environment to enable success. Honest answer is that you can get almost as much as you want to manage anything else of a turbulent, messy, chaotic nature, it is not really manage it, talk with her. It is a question of leadership is one of management skills. The first thing to do is jump in. You cannot do something outside. A clear sense of mission or purpose is essential. A simple mission, the better. Building a team that can work hard and one of them is the team leader. Pick people with relevant skills and high energy levels. Youll need two. Set flexible priorities. You must have the ability to drop what youre doing and tend to something more important. Treat everything as a temporary measure. Ask for volunteers. You will be surprised that arises. You will be pleasantly surprised what you can do. Find a good boss or team leader and stay in his way. Conclusion In concluding this report, we can say that effective reforms introduced to the strategy are to maximize the huge returns if these changes are well managed. In this report, and Spencer takes on the characters thinking and different models are also discussed to show the strategic shift from Marks Spencer, which is a leading company in the UK, but suffered from some activities for that has to change, and finally models Kotter and Lewins, a representative of the role of stakeholders that their existence in the affairs of the company is very necessary to be able to join in their decisions and At last appropriate model is also developed, which will provide guidance for better performance.

Financial Analysis of Honest Tea Essay

Through Honest Tea’s three years of business, their business shows some positive signs of a promising company. Since Honest Tea is a start-up company, it is understandable that their net income is in the negatives since their expenses will outweigh their sales, but as the three years have gone on, their net income has improved, and even increased by 74% from 1999 to 2000 from -$882,359 to -$228,879, which shows a positive sign of growth. Honest Tea is also very capable to pay back their short term liabilities since their current ratio is a high 5.92. Their profit margin has also increased over the three year period from -71.7% to -36.3% showing positive signs of profit and ability to grow. Honest Tea is able to generate $0.50 for every dollar of assets they have, which isn’t a huge amount, but being in the positive for a start-up company is important. Unfortunately, Honest Tea isn’t very efficient in turning over its inventory since this turnover ratio is less than one, but, for a start up, they are doing well. Revenues increased tremendously from 1998 to 1999, but fell by almost 50% in 2000, so that is worrisome. The debt to equity ratio in 1999 was .241 and it decreased in 2000 to .142. A lower debt to equity ratio usually implies a more financially stable business, so it’s great that the debt to equity decreased from 1999 to 2000. Companies with a higher debt to equity ratio are considered more risky to creditors and investors than companies with a lower ratio. Unlike equity financing, debt must be repaid to the lender and requires debt servicing or regular interest payments. In other words, debt can be a far more expensive form of financing than equity financing. Companies leveraging large amounts of debt might not be able to make the payments. Creditors view a higher debt to equity ratio as risky because it shows that the investors haven’t funded the operations as much as creditors have, so it’s good to see that Honest Tea has been getting more money from investors so they don’t have a large amount of debt. Compared to some other companies in their industry (Triarc Cos Inc, Saratoga  Beverage, National Beverage Corp., Clearly Canadian Beverage, etc.), Honest Tea is far behind. Most of this is due to the fact that Honest Tea is a start-up company and all of these other companies are well established, but these competitors are turning out positive profit margins and positive net incomes which makes it very hard for Honest Tea to compete in the market. 1.) Honest Tea’s sales dropped in 2000, so they are trying to find more capital to keep the company running. The success of the company, before the cold spell in 2000, had drawn a lot of media attention which caused Honest Tea to be featured in Fortune, Entrepreneur, and Beverage World, which definitely helps the company’s reputation, but Honest Tea really needs to get their sales back going in order to stay relevant in the market. 2.) First of all, in the future, Honest Tea need to raise more financing to be successful. They need to find more venture capitalists or angel group in order to support the continuation of the company. Honest Tea also needs to start expanding distribution of their product, but that can only happen if they get the financing to pay for the distribution. They need more distribution so they can pick up more customers that will demand their product, in hopes that either they can grow Honest Tea as its own company, or that it will get picked up as part of another big brand such as Pepsi or Coca Cola. 3.) In order to continue its distribution and growing the company, Honest Tea believes a $2 million round of financing would carry Honest Tea to profitability. 4.) Honest Tea has received financing from many different places. The first financing had come from Goldman and Nalebuff, they would be decent investors but they only have so much money to give to the company. Next, they approached family and friends, they raised around $200,000 for Honest Tea but they wouldn’t be considered the ideal investor because they don’t have enough money to support Honest Tea past their seed stage. Customers of their product have also contributed capital to the company, but these investors have not been the right investors because they are not as sophisticated as  venture capitalists and angels, and don’t necessarily have the experience with interpreting financial statements which means they require a lot of extra time and attention and that takes away from Goldman and Nalebuff’s ability to focus on growing Honest Tea. They also received financing from venture capital groups, which would be a better fit for Honest Tea since the venture groups don’t need as much attention as Honest Tea’s other unexperienced investors but they also demand more control of the company than Honest Tea’s other investors. 5.) Right away with the financing from the family and friends, there wasn’t really a specific structure, but in 1998 Honest Tea established a financing structure. The financings have been structured so that when an investor purchased common stock, the founders were given warrants for creating the company. Honest Tea structured them in this way because Nalebuff though that by including warrants for the founders with exercise prices staged at multiples of the initial price at which family and friends brought in would avoid such disagreements. If the company did well, then they would be able to exercise their warrants and they would own a greater fraction of the company, but if they didn’t, then the original investors would own a larger piece of the firm. 6.) Honest Tea should look for angel investors or venture capitalists, this is because the investors that Honest Tea currently has are very inexperienced when it comes to financial statements, so to have financiers that have experience and knowledge when it comes to investing and finance. Angel investors and venture capitalists also have more access to large amounts of capital and have connections that the current investors do not. 7.) The proposed financing and valuation do make sense because it gives Honest Tea the best chance of the founders maintaining 50% of the equity of the company. Honest Tea is using a warrant based structure, which seems complex, but really it’s a smart way to structure their financing. This type of financing allows Honest Tea to keep founder equity, as long as they meet their goals and targets. If they don’t, more of the equity goes to their investors because they will be issued more shares of the company. This is a  good set-up because it gives Honest Tea’s owners a reason to work hard to meet their goals, and if they don’t the founders will lose their 50% share of the company. The valuation of the company makes sense because it’s based on Honest Tea’s sales of their two products and the value of their bottling plant. If they sell a lot of their products, the valuation of their company goes up. However, if they don’t sell enough of their product, the valuation of the company goes down. If the valuation goes below $15.1 million, then shareholders will be issued more shares and they would get more control over the company. 8.) The ready to drink tea market is looking very promising for Honest Tea. In 1999, the ready to drink tea market totaled $2.67 billion, which was an increase by 9% from 1998. Although this doesn’t seem like a huge market, because the wholesale and retail sales have increased by 9% in just one year, I believe that the market will grow. Experts even projected that the read to drink tea market would more than double in size over the next 10 years, meaning the $2.67 billion market will be an over $5 billion market in a short 10 years. Distribution channels have also been growing, ready to drink tea sales and loose tea bag sales have been growing in other channels such as drug stores, and growing by 21.2% growth in volume sales in mass merchandise, which is outgrowing other forms of drinks such as coffee and bottled juice. Honest Tea’s competitors are national brands; Snapple controls 14.6% of the market, Arizona Iced Tea holds 10.6% of the market, and Lipton represents 9.5% of the market. Honest Tea’s competition/ brand loyalty would be considered one of the barriers to entry; all of Honest Tea’s competition is well established national companies, which means that it would be very hard to compete with them since they have already mastered their distribution around the country and they all have significant control of the ready to drink tea market. Economies of scale is another barrier to entry for Honest Tea, since other companies in the market has a lot of production their average costs fall, but since Honest Tea is a small company their average costs are still large, so they need to work to increase their production to get their average costs down. 9.) Rapid growth is not that important, especially if it causes Honest Tea to  compromise some of their convictions. It would be more beneficial for the company to grow slowly and organically to keep the mission of their company. If a venture capitalist pushes Honest Tea to grow too fast, this may cause Honest Tea to take shortcuts when it comes to being organic and environmentally and economically responsible, which could cause customers to not value the Honest Tea brand as they did when they were growing slowly. So I would say that rapid growth is not important to Honest Tea. However, going national is very important for Honest Tea. Honest Tea needs to go national in order to get brand loyalty, so grocery stores, gas stations, dining establishments, etc., would demand to have Honest Tea in their establishment. Going national would also mean that Honest Tea would have better access to investments or a chance to be acquired by a strategic partner, which is part of Honest Tea’s exit strategy. So going national is a huge part of what Honest Tea wants to accomplish with its company, which means it’s very important to go national. 10.) Honest Tea needs the money for investing in new distribution channels, hiring a nation sales force, purchasing marketing and merchandising materials, gaining capital to support the launch of Honest Tea in new super market chains, and gaining capital to get the Three Rivers Bottling plant to profitability. They need the money as soon as possible because it need to cover operating losses for the next several quarters to keep Honest Tea functioning. 11.) The pro forma projections of Honest Tea do make sense. The pro forma projections take into account the months that ready to drink tea sales may decline due to seasonal preferences, for example since January and February aren’t a time where the market would demand a cold, refreshing drink, Honest Tea has projected those months to have the smallest amount of cases sold. Conversely, the projections also show that the tea bag sales will increase when ready to drink tea decreases. Honest Tea’s projections make sense in the aspect that they take into account the coolers, marketing, travel expenses, etc., that will come with expanding their business. The projections also show how the expenses per month decrease showing that the company is taking economies of scale into consideration, meaning that the  more production they have the average cost will decrease. One aspect of the projections that don’t make sense is how the end of 2001 the company’s net income is in the positive, but once January of 2002 begins, Honest Tea is projecting a huge drop in net income to -$286.1, but besides that, Honest Tea’s projections make sense. 12.) Honest Tea’s financing strategies thus far have not been ideal. They have depended on family, friends, and customers to provide them with capital, and this has caused Seth and Barry to spend much of their time explaining financial statements, searching for more capital, and holding the hands of their inexperienced investors. The current financing has caused Seth and Barry to spend too much time worrying about investments, and not enough time to figure out how to grow the business. Seth and Barry really need to start looking for more professional sources of financing such as angels and venture capitalists.The valuation and financing structure that Seth and Barry have set up for the offering of their shares have provided Honest Tea with a much more organized and reliable financial structure that allows them to not have to spend so much time explaining themselves, which gives them more time to grow their business. 13.) This deal is very attractive to venture capitalists. Honest Tea has a huge market opportunity since they have created a new beverage category that has been on the rise the past couple of years, which would be very attractive to an investor. Honest Tea has also proved that customers are willing to buy their product and even invest in it, which shows they have a following. Another reason this deal is very attractive, is that Honest Tea has received much media attention and received different awards for sustainable practices and packaging, so the product is well known and has the potential to have brand loyalty in the future. Honest Tea also has great management teams that have expertise in the tea industry, and have even worked for companies, such as Sobe, who have rapidly expanded in the past. A great management team is very appealing for a venture capitalist because it means that the VC has to spend less time watching over the company since they already have the expertise that they need to grow. Lastly, Honest Tea is a great venture capital investment because it already has access to its  own bottling plant, so they have no barriers when it comes to mass production. Their bottling plant has the opportunity to provide Honest Tea with approximately $30 million in sales, which is very attractive for an investor. 14.) The deal with the venture capitalist is not attractive for Seth and Barry. First of all, the deal wanted the pre-money valuation of the company to be $5-$7 million, which means that the founders have to give up their proposed 50% control of the company. Secondly, the rapid growth that the venture capitalist is pushing may require Honest Tea to compromise on some of its more socially conscious principles. Currently, Honest Tea is structured so that the founders have the control of the company, so they can do what they like, but giving up half of their control would most likely mean compromising their principles. Even though the $5 million investment would help Honest Tea tremendously, it isn’t worth sacrificing their principles to grow quickly. Honest Tea should consider the Investors’ Circle investment over the venture capitalists. Even though Investors’ Circle isn’t offering as much money as the VC, their principles match Honest Tea’s principles. Investors’ Circle invests in socially responsible start-ups, so they won’t push Honest Tea to compromise their principles, instead, they would support their principles. Investors’ Circle is even willing to invest up to $6.5 million depending on the company’s needs, so Honest Tea should really consider getting an investment from Investors’ Circle over the venture capitalist. 15.) The deal structure and valuation make sense, but it’s hard to know what they based the pre money valuation on since it’s very low compared to Honest Tea’s valuation. The deal structure does make sense, since the venture capitalist is giving Honest Tea so much in financing it makes sense that they would require significant control over the company.

Contributions of Religion Essay

Explain the ways in which religion contributes to the lives of individuals and society. Religion is a set of beliefs that govern an adherents morality, ethics, values, and as a whole their daily behaviours and attitudes. Offering the cause, nature and purpose of the universe; religion provides an individual with an identity and a sense of belonging to the world and their community. Devoid of such an understanding, people wouldn’t know how to treat themselves, others and the environment; taking away the crucial sense of their place on earth and furthermore their aspirations of peace, development and survival. Naturally as consequence, religion contributes to the lives of all individuals and society. As long as humanity has existed, people have been avidly trying to find the answer to life’s profound questions; how did the universe come to be, what it is they need to do to last both on earth and after death. Due to answering such questions, religion has been used by humans to develop and improve their lives, giving life meaning and order. Maintaining such order and wellbeing is the essential basis that human society rests on. Giving people the idea of how to behave and interact with one another, religion’s order creates harmony, the factor that is compulsory for survival. Principal teachings of religion are what then coach generations on how to preserve this amity. Even if a person is not spiritual, Religion’s ethical teachings have been known to even influence the administration of each nation’s legislative acts; Separate legal systems and law reforms rising from the laws inability to discriminate people’s virtues. Moreover social welfare is a constant practice within religious traditions, care facilities such as hospitals and orphanages often developed by religious institutes. The roles and positions of people within society are also determined by religions. The place of each sex and the definitions of childhood are two main examples. This is then followed by its dictation of appropriate diet, dress and definitions of the weekly and yearly calendar. Following the guidelines that all of society are expected to follow, religion also relates to people on a more personal level. Already having answered how we all came to exist, religions and their texts bear understanding of what it means to be who people are and the relationships that are expected of them when it comes to their interactions with others and nature. This understanding is what entails the ethics, morals and values that guide the person to behave appropriately towards life. When ethical issues in someone’s life prove to be challenging, people turn to religion to help them decide on what is right and what isn’t. When it comes to the proper celebration of significant events and times in their lives, religion also gives individuals ways by which they can do so. These rituals can mark growing up, acceptance of faith, or holy unions such as when as the marriage of an upcoming priest to God. In order to stay true to each faith, religion also shares the traditions that are upheld to help each individual become a better person. Examples of such traditions are prayer, sacrifice and fasting. Overall, religion is a crucial aspect of modern day society. Without the order and meaning it has given civilization, human existence would be chaotic and seemingly futile. This is because without religion instructing individuals on how to act, and society’s general conservation of peace; life as we know it wouldn’t exist let alone be as in order. These are the ways religion has contributed to individuals and society.

Literary Elements From The Story Of An Hour - 847 Words

Zachary Burkey Professor Eidson English 1102-402 (CRN 88967) Thursday, November 16, 2017 Literary Elements from The Story of an Hour The Story of an Hour by Kate Chopin is a short story from the late nineteenth century centering upon a young woman as she processes newly received information that has reported her husband dead from a horrible train accident. Due to this sudden turn of events, she has been gifted a new outlook towards her potential future. Throughout the development of the story, many literary devices have been used in order to help facilitate a certain set of thoughts and themes by Kate Chopin. All of which have come together to make an extraordinary literary experience that helps†¦show more content†¦It was not a glance of reflection, but rather indicated a suspension of intelligent thought.† (Chopin)The window from which Louise looks outwards from for much of the story is representative of the freedom and prospects that dangle before her after her husband has died. From the window, Louise observes a blue sky, tr eetops, and clouds. She hears people and birds singing and smells a coming rainstorm. Everything that she gathers through her senses hints towards happiness and renewal. When she gazes and contemplates towards the sky, she feels the first sense of bliss. Once she fully takes in this array of emotions, she feels that the open window is sustaining her with life itself. The open window provides a clear, unobstructed view towards the distance and Louise’s own bright future, which is now unshackled of the wants and needs of another person. It is, therefore, no coincidence that when Louise turns away from the window and her view, she promptly loses her freedom as well. All of these subtle artistic elements help accentuate the underlining theme of the whole story. During the progression of the story, the reader learns of Louise melancholy towards her position in her marriage. Louise’s weeping about Brently’s death underlines the difference between her sorrow and happ iness. Louise sobs or thinks about sobbing for well over the majority of the story, ceasing only when she ponders the prospect of her new freedom.Show MoreRelatedThe Story Of An Hour And A Pair Of Silk Stockings By Kate Chopin1057 Words   |  5 Pages Authors often have their own literary repertoire, or style, to appeal to the audience in which they are writing to. Kate Chopin is a well-known writer, known for her works that mainly focus around women and their expected roles in society. Chopin’s writings are often based on the effect that the turn of the century had on women, which she best expresses in her two short stories â€Å"The Story of an Hour† and â€Å"A Pair of Silk Stockings†. In both of the stories previously stated, the author givesRead MoreShort Story and People1473 Words   |  6 Pagesï » ¿Title: Story Of An Hour Author: Kate Chopin I. 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