Corporation acquisitions Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Corporation acquisitions - Assignment Example Shareholder losses happen when firms are acquired because acquisitions have not been planned as such in the past and hence there are no forecasts that are done prior to acquiring new corporations (Scott 1994). Shareholder losses usually mean a great amount of distress for the people who invest a great deal within these firms who now have gone ahead and decided to acquire new corporations. The fundamentals of corporate acquisitions have focused a great deal on how different avenues of corporate success have been envisaged and how these bring in value and the expected returns for the sake of the firms which have expansion desires (Schnee 2004). In essence, corporate acquisitions are usually seen with a skeptical viewpoint because these are at times very diabolical in nature and do not always bring in the desired value in terms of financial success that a firm might have thought into in the past. References Gaughan, P (1999). Mergers, Acquisitions, and Corporate Restructurings. Wiley Sc hnee, E (2004). Corporate Acquisition Expenses. Journal of Accountancy, Vol. 197 Scott, C (1994). Corporate Control and Accountability: Changing Structures and the Dynamics of Regulation. Clarendon Press

Plato - The Republic Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Plato - The Republic - Essay Example as a real philosopher named Plato and was somewhat of a contemporary of Plato (Socrates died when Plato was but twenty-five), the ideas accredited to Socrates are generally thought to be Plato originals and Reeve acknowledges as much (Reeve 2004 P xi). So through his own observations of the Republic Reeve puts forth an interesting argument that Plato felt strongly in the goodness of Kallipolis (in Greek the beautiful or noble city) and was very eager to broadcast his ideas through the argument/debate process written in the Republic. In the introduction, Reeve points out that Plato’s main theme in Kallipolis is not the bylaws which govern the city. Instead, the speaker talks of the value of a social structure based entirely on virtue, achieved in ways not the least of which is the education of all people (Reeve 2004 P xix). This includes females, which is not a very favourable idea among his conversationalists. So almost from the first Plato realizes this vision of utopia (a term coined by Sir Thomas Moore almost 1,900 years later) would never actually exist. In the Republic, Book 1 finds Socrates and his companion Glaucon returning from a religious festival only to find themselves literally forced to spend at least the night with a man named Polemarchus, his brothers and his aged father Cephalus. Wiling away the time the men get into a deep philosophical discussion concerning politics and money. As happens with the elderly, Cephalus is happy with the money he has made and expounds that at his age, having virtues (i.e. not cheating or lying) is far more important than the wealth he has accumulated (Reeve 2004 P 5). So the conversation naturally turns to virtue and two subjects brought up are paying one’s debts and helping a friend with his enemy (your enemy is my enemy). Plato rejects these, not on the basis of not being just ideas, but rather that they are mostly hard to define, for each situation is different (in battle, at sea, etc.) and says he

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

The Philosophy of Epicurus - Essay Example The essay "The Philosophy of Epicurus" discusses the Epicurus's thoughts regarding the capability of everyone for seeking wisdom, the happiness to be the ultimate objective of studying philosophy and concerning religion. At the beginning of the first paragraph of his â€Å"†Letter to Menoeceus†, Epicurus says that everyone either young or old should study philosophy because â€Å"it is never too early nor too late to care for the well-being of the soul†. According to him, philosophy can bring happiness to the soul. One should study it for the happiness of mind. Again Epicurus says that the young people â€Å"can retain the happiness of youth in his pleasant memories of the past† when the old can enjoy the fearlessness of the youth even in their old age: â€Å"although he is old he may at the same time be young by virtue of his fearlessness of the future.† Again at the end of the paragraph, he comments that the ultimate objective of studying philosophy is â€Å"securing happiness†, and therefore â€Å"we do everything in order to gain it†. We can infer that Epicurus believed that happiness is the ultimate objective of studying philosophy. According to Epicurus, our â€Å"common sense† or â€Å"popular opinion† tells us that gods must be immortal and blessed. Indeed this â€Å"common sense† is man’s capability of reasoning or proving something by something by logic. The commonality of man’s perception of himself or others lies at the heart of these â€Å"reasons† or â€Å"common sense†.... Thus we can infer that Epicurus believed that happiness is the ultimate objective of studying philosophy. The Gods 3. Epicurus supposes that we know the gods to be immortal and blessed. Why does he suppose this? According to Epicurus, our â€Å"common sense† or â€Å"popular opinion† tells us that gods must be immortal and blessed. Indeed this â€Å"common sense† is man’s capability of reasoning or proving something by something by logic. In the first place, we must accept that man’s capability of reasoning or devising logic is very subjective. That is, the commonality of man’s perception about himself or others lies at the heart of these â€Å"reasons† or â€Å"common sense†. Man commonly perceives himself as a subject to ephemera and to death: â€Å"while we exist death is not present and when death is present we no longer exist† (Epicurus). Man reasons that gods exist even while â€Å"we no longer exist†. But si nce people popularly believe that gods send blessings and evils to men (though Epicurus assumes these popular beliefs, about gods to have concerns for men, as something wrong) ages after ages, man reasons that they must be immortal and blessed; otherwise, they would not be able to do so. Thus Epicurus supposes that â€Å"commonsense† provokes men to popularly accept that the gods are immortal and blessed. Again once Epicurus says that â€Å"Most men do not retain the picture of the gods that they first receive† (Epicurus 2). This sentence may refer to Epicurus’s belief that man’s knowledge about gods is inborn. This innate or inborn idea about gods’ immortality and blessedness provokes everyone to form a popular opinion that gods must be immortal and blessed. 4. Epicurus infers from the fact that the gods are the immortal and

Cover Letter--Investment Analyst-- DT Capital Advisory Essay

Cover Letter--Investment Analyst-- DT Capital Advisory - Essay Example Bachelor of Commerce program has been immensely helpful for my professional career. This program has focused on different areas and aspects of business such as finance, accounting, management, human resource management, economics and other vital areas of business studies. This degree has certainly enhanced my knowledge related to business and managing business. I am doing double specialization in Finance and Economics and Management. Therefore by having double specialization, I will have knowledge related to Finance, Investment, Economics, and Financial affairs and other finance related subjects and at the same time I will study courses such as management, human resource management, and others. As I have already worked in different companies, therefore, these experiences have helped me in knowing about practicality of different business and finance concepts. I was working as a Credit assistant at China Minsheng Banking Corporation. This job allowed me to do to investigate and evaluate the profile of customers and then recommend their credit limit. I have also worked and provided credit investigation reports of 6 projects to the Risk Management Executive Committee within demanding timelines. I have also worked at Guangdong Zhongnuo Wealth Capital Management Corporation as Management Associate. At this organization, I have worked with different departments of the company including human resource, capital market, and marketing, and this helped me to learn about different aspects and domains of business. Because of my characteristics and performance, I was assigned the responsibilities of team leader for conducting intensive advertising campaign. All these experiences have hel ped me in have a better understanding of how businesses operate and the importance of different departments at the workplace. In the future, I want to be a financial analyst or want to work in a brokerage house where I

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

The Philosophy of Epicurus - Essay Example The essay "The Philosophy of Epicurus" discusses the Epicurus's thoughts regarding the capability of everyone for seeking wisdom, the happiness to be the ultimate objective of studying philosophy and concerning religion. At the beginning of the first paragraph of his â€Å"†Letter to Menoeceus†, Epicurus says that everyone either young or old should study philosophy because â€Å"it is never too early nor too late to care for the well-being of the soul†. According to him, philosophy can bring happiness to the soul. One should study it for the happiness of mind. Again Epicurus says that the young people â€Å"can retain the happiness of youth in his pleasant memories of the past† when the old can enjoy the fearlessness of the youth even in their old age: â€Å"although he is old he may at the same time be young by virtue of his fearlessness of the future.† Again at the end of the paragraph, he comments that the ultimate objective of studying philosophy is â€Å"securing happiness†, and therefore â€Å"we do everything in order to gain it†. We can infer that Epicurus believed that happiness is the ultimate objective of studying philosophy. According to Epicurus, our â€Å"common sense† or â€Å"popular opinion† tells us that gods must be immortal and blessed. Indeed this â€Å"common sense† is man’s capability of reasoning or proving something by something by logic. The commonality of man’s perception of himself or others lies at the heart of these â€Å"reasons† or â€Å"common sense†.... Thus we can infer that Epicurus believed that happiness is the ultimate objective of studying philosophy. The Gods 3. Epicurus supposes that we know the gods to be immortal and blessed. Why does he suppose this? According to Epicurus, our â€Å"common sense† or â€Å"popular opinion† tells us that gods must be immortal and blessed. Indeed this â€Å"common sense† is man’s capability of reasoning or proving something by something by logic. In the first place, we must accept that man’s capability of reasoning or devising logic is very subjective. That is, the commonality of man’s perception about himself or others lies at the heart of these â€Å"reasons† or â€Å"common sense†. Man commonly perceives himself as a subject to ephemera and to death: â€Å"while we exist death is not present and when death is present we no longer exist† (Epicurus). Man reasons that gods exist even while â€Å"we no longer exist†. But si nce people popularly believe that gods send blessings and evils to men (though Epicurus assumes these popular beliefs, about gods to have concerns for men, as something wrong) ages after ages, man reasons that they must be immortal and blessed; otherwise, they would not be able to do so. Thus Epicurus supposes that â€Å"commonsense† provokes men to popularly accept that the gods are immortal and blessed. Again once Epicurus says that â€Å"Most men do not retain the picture of the gods that they first receive† (Epicurus 2). This sentence may refer to Epicurus’s belief that man’s knowledge about gods is inborn. This innate or inborn idea about gods’ immortality and blessedness provokes everyone to form a popular opinion that gods must be immortal and blessed. 4. Epicurus infers from the fact that the gods are the immortal and

Trends in Fashion Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Trends in Fashion Management - Essay Example The essay "Trends in Fashion Management" concerns the fashion management and trends. Moreover, analysis of the case study clearly reflects a continuous process of evolution in the journey of Luxottica (2012) as it continued to materialize itself with innovation in its production, focusing on excellence in the manufacturing processes, and at the same time, acquisitions of successful companies that facilitated Luxottica in creating its brand image in the eye wear industry. Since few decades, technology has played an enormous role in influencing business processes all over the globe. Luxottica (2013) has responded to technology in an efficient manner, and its globally integrated distribution system is one of the major indications of its efficiency in terms of utilization of technology. It has been an observation that in the past, business organizations even with quality products were not able to survive in the global market due to their inefficiency in terms of technology; however, Luxo ttica (2013) has successfully transformed this challenge into one of its qualities that distinguish it from its competitors in the market. With implementation of SAP information system, the company has not only been monitoring its manufacturing and sales progress; however, it has also enabled Luxottica in reducing delivery time and improving its service; in other words, resulting in effective supply chain management that has become one of the most important aspects of successful business organizations.

Bronchial Colonization in Pulmonary Resection Patients

Bronchial Colonization in Pulmonary Resection Patients Bronchial colonization profile of patients undergoing lung resection and its impact on infectious complications in the postoperative period. Is it necessary to evaluate the collection method and risk of contamination? Abstract: Introduction: The pattern of bronchial colonization in patients requiring pulmonary resections is little described in the literature. The primary objective of this study is to evaluate the profile of bronchial colonization in patients undergoing lung resection in a general hospital through the collection of the resected specimen only. The secondary objective is to evaluate prognostic factors of infectious complications after lung resection, including the colonization of the lower airways. Methods: This was a prospective study that included all consecutive patients undergoing lung resection for noninfectious disease and without signs of acute respiratory infections. Intraoperative bronchial or lung parenchyma culture of the resected specimen was collected by the surgeon still under completely sterile conditions. A patient was considered colonized if the quantitative endobronchial culture was positive at 48h with a predominant microorganism exceeding a cutoff value of 104 colony-forming units. Results: Negative cultures were found in 81.4% of patients. Colonization with predominant bacteria (at least 104 cfu/mL) was identified in 18.6%. The rate of infectious complications was 24.42%. The incidence of postoperative pneumonia (POP) was 20.9%. POP developed at a median of 4 days after surgery. Three patients developed empyema, and of the three, 2 had both POP and empyema. None of the studied factors was associated with postoperative infectious complications Conclusion: We conclude there is colonization of the lower airways in patients undergoing lung resection in our institution. This finding, as well as the other analyzed factors, did not result in increased POP risk in this sample. The intraoperative collection method employed in this study should be further evaluated in larger studies. Introduction The lungs of healthy humans have traditionally been considered to be sterile when examined by culture-based techniques (1). In patients with lung diseases, such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and cystic fibrosis, colonization of the lower airways (LAWs) has been well documented and associated to these diseases [2-5]. Regarding the subgroup of patients with lung diseases requiring thoracic surgeries, very few studies have described the profile of colonization of LAWs. And to the best of our knowledge, there has been no description of this subject in a Latin American country (3,6-8). However, the colonization of LAW has been associated with the risk of postoperative pneumonia (POP). Schussler et al., in a study with 507 patients and Bede et al., showed that there is significant association between bacteria in the lower airways and risk of POP [3,9], being an independent risk factor in the multivariate analysis. A study was carried out including all consecutive patients undergoing pulmonary resections for noninfectious diseases to investigate the profile of LAW colonization. The secondary objective is to evaluate prognostic factors of infectious complications after lung resection, including LAW colonization. Materials and Methods This prospective study consecutively included all patients submitted to lung resection for noninfectious diseases, without signs of acute respiratory infections. Patients presenting at the date of admission for planned surgery with clinical and radiological signs of pulmonary infection (fever greater than 37.7 °C, purulent sputum) were excluded from this study in cases of urgency surgery. Except for the urgencies, patients were treated with antibiotics and submitted to surgery at least 7 days after antibiotic discontinuation. Patients with a diagnosis of pulmonary tuberculosis were also excluded. The study was approved by the ethics committee of our institution under protocol number 209146141. All data on patient characteristics, results of microbiological studies, treatment procedures and outcome (POP) were prospectively collected through our database. We studied the following risk factors for POP: age, gender, surgical risk classification of the American Society of Anesthesiology (ASA), cancer patients and the presence of bacteria in the lower airways. All patients were intubated with a double-lumen endobronchial tube to undergo single-lung ventilation. Bronchial or pulmonary parenchyma culture of the resected specimen was collected by the surgeon still under completely sterile conditions. A patient was considered colonized if a 48-hour culture was positive with the presence of a microorganism. A policy of early extubation was systematically employed. Decisions concerning intensive care unit (ICU) admission after resection were established based on type of resection, predicted postoperative lung function and associated comorbidities. Postoperative analgesia was achieved through one of the following methods: use of epidural catheter intermittently or intermittent intravenous analgesia with morphine and dipyrone. A regular physical therapy program was started on the day of the surgery. Oral feeding was started on Postoperative Day 1. Patients received antibiotic prophylaxis with second-generation cephalosporin (cefazolin, 2.0 g at anesthesia induction and postoperatively, 3 g/24 h for 24 h) except in cases of known or suspected allergy, or if a different type of prophylaxis was indicated [4,10]. Lung resections were performed according to standard techniques. The type of resection was recorded. The diagnoses were established by anatomopathological analysis of the resected lung specimens. Patients were assessed twice a day. Chest roentgenograms were performed postoperatively once a day during the chest drainage period. POP definition was (1) abnormal radiographic findings (new or changing radiographic infiltrates that persisted after physical therapy or bronchoaspiration) and (2) fever greater than 37.8 oC or dyspnea, and (3) one of the following criteria: a new rise in C-reactive protein level, WBC count in the previous 24 h (with WBC count > 12109/L) [3] or an increase and modification of the expectorate. All postoperative pulmonary complications were secondarily reviewed by a clinician and a thoracic surgeon. Infections occurring within one month of surgery or during in-hospital surgical stay were recorded. Wound infection was defined as a reddened, painful, and indurated wound, not necessarily associated with bacterial isolation. Empyema was defined as the presence of purulent fluid in the pleural drainage or as the isolation of pathogens from the pleural cavity. Results are expressed as percentages and means  ± standard deviation (SD). The correlation between the studied variables and postoperative infection was performed by logistic regression analysis. Data processing and analysis were performed using the statistical software MedCalc, release 12.7.0.0. A p value less than 0.05 was considered statistically significant. The risk factors found to be predictive of POP at univariate analysis were entered into a multivariate regression analysis, to identify independent variables. Results Between June 15, 2012, and December 15, 2013, 86 patients undergoing lung resections in our department were included in the study. Three patients were excluded from the study due to preexisting infections at the time of surgery (infectious interstitial lung disease) and six due to a diagnosis of pulmonary tuberculosis. Antibiotic prophylaxis with drugs other than cefazolin was employed in three patients due to known allergy to penicillin/cephalosporins or because of coexistent cardiac valve disease. Demographic data on the remaining 86 patients, type of diseases and surgical procedures are shown in Table 1. Cancer patients comprised 53.4% of the sample. Among them, primary lung tumors (non-small cell lung cancer) were treated through major lung resection (lobectomy or pneumonectomy). Pulmonary metastases were treated through segmentectomy. Also regarding cancer patients, some patients were submitted to segmentectomy for diagnosis of interstitial infiltrate, which showed to be lymphangitic carcinomatosis. Among the benign diseases, lobectomy and pneumonectomy were used in all patients with bronchiectasis. Segmentectomy was used for interstitial lung diseases and benign nodules that included patients with scar tissue and inflammatory nodules, in addition to hamartomas. Regarding the length of preoperative hospital length of stay, 52% of patients were admitted 1 (one) day prior to surgery (Figure 1). Negative cultures were obtained in 70 of 86 (81.4%) patients. Colonization with predominant bacteria was identified in 16 of 86 cases (18.6%). Colonization by pathogenic bacteria occurred in 10.4% of all patients (9/86). Staphylococcus, Enterobacter, Acinetobacter baumannii and Escherichia coli species represented the most frequently involved microorganisms (Table 2). Gram-negative bacteria were obtained from cultures in nine cases. None of the patients had polymicrobial colonization. The complication rate was 24.4% (21/86). The incidence of POP was 20.9% (18 /86). POP developed at a median of 4 (1-9) days after surgery. Empyema developed in 3 patients, and of the three, 2 had both POP and empyema. Patients with POP frequently required mechanical ventilation (40.2%), and in-hospital mortality was 22%. Of the 16 colonized patients, 4 (25%) had POP, whereas among non-colonized patients, POP occurred in 14 of 70 cases (20%) (Figure 2). For all variables analyzed separately, the p value was greater than 0.05 and the 95% confidence interval (95%CI) included the number 1, indicating that no variable significantly influenced POP incidence, according to the available sample. Still, some alternatives were used aiming to identify some underlying statistical relevance, such as stratifying age ranges, transforming age into a categorical variable or considering the minimum value of p as 0.1, so that the variable would be subsequently analyzed in a multivariate model. However, no statistically significant impact was identified for any variable (Tables 3). Multivariate analysis was not performed due to the negative results of the univariate analysis. Discussion The colonization of LAW in patients undergoing thoracic surgery is scarcely mentioned in the literature. It is known that patients with some lung diseases, such as cystic fibrosis and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) have atypical pulmonary flora [11-18], but patients submitted to lung resection usually include a much wider range of diseases. The study of this profile in different institutions is important to better understand the predominant bacterial flora and whether there is or not impact on the risk of infectious complications and whether antibiotic prophylaxis needs to be reviewed. Some studies have shown that LAW colonization increases the risk of POP (2,8,9). Other studies even suggest that, as it influences the risk of POP, LAW colonization would require a change in antibiotic prophylaxis in thoracic surgery (3,7). However, it is necessary to evaluate the collection method and risk of contamination of the collected samples. Our study described a heterogeneous flora, with many non-pathogenic microorganisms, but with an incidence (18.6%) that is comparable to that found in other studies. Yamada et al., in their study with 626 patients and Schussler et al., who assessed 478 patients in 2008, found 12.8% and 14.7% of LAW colonization, respectively (3,8). Belda et al. and Ionas et al. reported 83% and 41% of LAW colonization, respectively [9,6]. However, to the best of our knowledge, our study is the first that used the culture collection method performed by the surgeon, while still under completely sterile conditions in all patients. Previously, Ionas et al. used this technique, but in combination with protected specimen brush (PSB) through bronchoscopy in 41 patients (6). On the other hand, all studies used bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) or PSB as collection method (2,3,6,8,9). Schussler et al. reported that they initially attempted to collect cultures from the resected specimens in the first 30 patients, bu t as culture results were negative, they gave up on the method, although it appears to be a more reliable result (2). It is also noteworthy that our study involved patients with different lung diseases and this fact may have influenced the incidence of bacteria in LAWs, unlike previous studies that were carried out in patients with the same disease, most with early-stage lung cancer. According to the literature, BAL is influenced by factors such as: the collected volume, when less than 100 mL, can increase contamination by mucus and airway cells; smokers and patients with COPD may have decreased volume of the recovered fluid. This method has sensitivity and specificity values ranging between 42-93% and 45-100%, respectively [19]. In addition to bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL), the PSB method is a procedure with greater specificity, due to lower chance of sample contamination caused by the bronchoscope passage through regions such as the oral mucosa or contact with tracheal and bronchial secretions, compared to unprotected BAL [20]. On the other hand, the risk of sample contamination exists and operational costs are not feasible in most Latin American institutions. We understand that intraoperative collection eliminates the risk of contamination from other airway areas and the sterile conditions of the environment and operating team also warrants that the chance of c ontamination during material handling is also minimal. We found no association between bronchial colonization and POP, perhaps because there were few patients with pathogenic bacteria (10.4%). Yamada et al. also found no association between LAW colonization and POP in their study (8). Belda et al. described 35.8% of patients colonized with pathogenic bacteria. Schusller et al., in 2006, first reported an incidence of 22.8% of LAW colonization by pathogenic bacteria (9,2). These studies showed an association between LAW colonization and POP. However, once again, differently from our study, they collected culture samples through PSB and BAL, increasing the chance of contamination with the upper airways and thus, possibly increasing the number of patients with positive culture and pathogens. Consequently, our results might represent the actual bacterial flora of LAWs more accurately. Another interesting factor is that Schussler et al. found a correlation between the colonizing bacteria and the causative agent of POP in only 5 of 50 patients and this finding was not statistically significant. Ionas et al. and Yamada et al. also found the same result regarding this correlation between colonizing bacteria and bacterial agent identified in patients who developed POP (3,6,8). The incidence of POP was relatively high (20.9%), but compatible with literature data. Radu et al. described seventy-six cases (24.4%) of pulmonary resections that were complicated by postoperative pulmonary infections (7). Belda et al. described POP in 31% of the patients (9). Regarding mortality in patients with POP, the literature shows mixed results, with a mortality rate of up to 40% (2, 21). Possibly, the higher mortality is associated with the profile of operated patients. Belda et al. reported 13% of deaths in patients submitted to pulmonary resections only for early-stage primary lung cancer (9). Our study showed a mortality rate of 22% in individuals with POP. However, our sample included patients with metastatic cancer and severe inflammatory diseases. Our study has some limitations. Ours is a small sample and, therefore, we believe that other studied factors did not influence the risk of infection. Moreover, we did not isolate microorganisms during the postoperative period in patients who developed POP, to be compared with LAW cultures collected during surgery. The analysis of antibiotic prophylaxis was not performed, because LAW colonization did not appear as a risk factor for POP. In the last decade, culture-independent DNA-based techniques have demonstrated that much more complex microbial communities reside in the lower airways, where bacterial culture has failed to reliably demonstrate resident bacteria. (22). Unfortunately, these techniques are not yet available in our institution. We conclude that lower-airway colonization is found in patients undergoing lung resection in our institution. This finding, as well as the other analyzed factors, did not result in increased POP risk in this sample. The intraoperative collection method employed in this study should be further evaluated in larger studies to define the risk of POP associated with LAW colonization. Table 1 – Preoperative clinical status and surgical procedures performed Table 2 – Colonization profile of lower airways Table 3 – Univariate analysis to identify possible risk factors for postoperative pneumonia. Figure 1. Number of preoperative in-hospital length of stay. Figure 2. Incidence of postoperative pneumonia (POP).