Environment, More Than Genetics, Shapes Immune System Coursework

Environment, More Than Genetics, Shapes Immune System - Coursework Example It was apparent that some people react strongly to vaccines than others, which causes the production of extra antibodies (Conover, n.p). This explains the variations experienced in the genetic setup of individuals, including identical twins. The article provided additional insights into this week’s reading because it explained the circumstances that influence variability in responses to vaccines. This is because it contains experimental findings that were attained by professional immunologists. The research presented in this article demonstrates a significant advancement in the field because it highlights the various aspects that cause bodies to react separately to antibody production. This is a further advancement in the field to expose more elements that influence reactions to vaccines. The one concern that came to mind after reading the article is how identical twins can record different variations, yet their genetic structure is similar. It does not differentiate from the fraternal twins who can possess varying genetic compositions.

Stanley Black And Decker Ma Analysis Merger Finance Essay

Stanley Black And Decker Ma Analysis Merger Finance Essay This paper seeks to conduct an MA analysis of the merger between The Black Decker Corporation and Stanley Works. It also seeks to provide details of the announcement and various reactions it elicited in the corporate market. The paper conducts a thorough research on available data on the companies and uses it to conduct the MA analysis to show the possible projected reactions in the market due to the merger. It also looks at the actual current data after the merger and compares the two. The paper concludes that the shareholders of Black and Decker Corporations got a good deal from the acquisition of the company while also the shareholders of Stanley Works experienced increased market capitalization and has had increased share value and dividend earnings. The paper adds knowledge to the already existing body of knowledge. Introduction A merger is the joining up of two or more firms into a single entity. Most companies usually use this strategy in order to increase the competitiveness of the two companies by increasing market share and enjoying economies of scale. Others merge in order to enjoy increased financial synergistic benefits (McDonald, Coulthard and De Lange, 2006). As the world economy is recovering from the 2008 recession, there is increased demand for provision of goods and services. Most companies try to fulfill this demand through various strategies of growing the companies further. Some of those companies do this through mergers and acquisitions. In the past months a merger between The Black Decker Corporation and Stanley Works has graced most of the corporate circles. Black Decker was acquired by the Stanley Works for $ 4.5 billion (Walker, 2011) and the merger completed in March 12, 2010 (Stanley Black Decker Inc Form 10-K, 2011). This paper seeks to conduct an MA analysis of the two companies. It also seeks to provide details of the announcement and various reaction it elicited in the corporate market. Analysis Studies done by Shukla and Gekara (2010) showed that horizontal merges between two multinational firms have various effects on the value of the shareholders wealth. A few days before merging, the share prices were found to be performing very well but a few days after the merge the share prices were found to perform below market portfolio. The share holders would therefore face losses at certain periods after the merge, and depending on market conditions and decisions made by the management, the share prices would probably raise afterwards. Cigola and Modesti (2008) used a static model to conclude that most likely the share prices of companies would increase after mergers. The KPMG report of 2003 (McDonald, Coulthard and De Lange, 2006) also supported this view, by pointing out that, 34% of mergers increased stockholders value, while 32 % reduced. The remaining 34% caused no changes in shareholders value. In the case of Stanley works and The Black Decker Corporation, the announcement for the merger was made officially on November 2, 2009, was completed in March 12 2010 and became effective on December 3, 2010 (Stanley Black Decker Inc Form 10-K, 2011). The two companies merged to create an 8.4 billion dollars business leader in its industry. Over 350 million dollars in cost were the expected synergies during the merger with the Black and Decker shareholders set to get a fixed share ratio of 1.275 shares of Stanley Works for each of their share (Townson, 2009). The shareholders of Black Decker Corporation welcomed the merger and voted in its favor. In order to fully understand the impact of this merger to the shareholders of Stanley Works and The Black Decker Corporation, a financial analysis of the position of the two companies needs to be done. MA analysis Before the merger took place the viability of the merge would have been evaluated using MA analysis. From the data in the MA analysis, it can be clearly deducted that: 1. The value shareholder value at risk (SVAR) and value at risk will be as shown below; The value of shareholders value at risk (SVAR) and value at risk of the merger between the two companies is very important in analyzing the viability of the merger and acquisition. The Black and Decker shareholders received 1,275 shares of Stanley works share for each share they owned at Black and Decker Corporation. This implied that as at October 30, 2009, they got get a premium of 22.1 % (Townson, 2009). From the MA analysis sheet, the percentage of post merger owned by Black and Decker shareholders assuming price at closing date reflects no synergies is 27.7% while that of Stanley Works would be 72.3%. The post deal return to Black and Deckers shareholders assuming price at closing date reflects no synergies was be 0.9% while that of Stanley Works shareholders assuming price at closing date reflects no synergies was be 0.3%. Black Deckers Premium At Risk was 27.7%, while Stanley Works hypothetical shareholder value at risk (SVAR) Assuming an all cash deal was 0.5 %. Stanley Wor ks Actual Shareholder Value At Risk (SVAR) was -0.3% %.( Expectations investing, 2001). 2. The anticipated market reaction will be as shown below: The present values of capitalized annual synergies starting the following year 2011 are 853.7 million and the premium offered for Black and Decker would have been 55.9 million. The Percentage projected of post merger company owned by Black and Decker shareholders was 27.7% while that for Stanley Works shareholders would have been 72.3%. The Post deal return to Black and Deckers shareholders would have been 4.4% while that for Stanley Works shareholders would have been 5.7% (Expectations investing, 2001). 3. Post market initial reactions will be as follows; The percentage post merger company owned by Black and Decker shareholders would have been 27.7% while that of Stanley Works would have been 72.3%. Black and Deckers Post announcement premium At Risk would have been -447.6% while Stanleys Hypothetical post announcement shareholder At risk (SVAR) assuming all cash in would have been 7.2%. Stanley Works Actual Post announcement Shareholder Value At Risk would have been 5.2% (Expectations investing, 2001). Actual data after the Merger Stanley Black and Deckers market capitalization has reached 12.44 billion dollars with its shares trading at $ 74.95. After the merger the Stanley shareholders retained 50.5% of the total share of the combined company. The value of the merger was estimated at $ 4.657 billion with the Merged companies experiencing 425 million dollars in cost synergies a 75 million dollars increment from the originally projected. The number of securities issued upon stock awards stand at 15,369,387. Revenue synergies after the merger have also been put at between 300 million and 400 million dollars by 2013. since the merger the company has been able to enjoy increased goodwill and net earnings of 198.2 million dollars in the year 2010 (Stanley Black Decker Inc Form 10-K, 2011) Conclusion From the above pre merger analysis and post merger data, it can be clearly noted that the shareholders of Black and Decker Corporations got a good deal from the acquisition of the company. Where as the analysis projected that they would only own 27.7 % of the combined stock in the company, the owned 49.5 % from the deal. The deal has also been beneficial to the Stanley Works shareholders who have experienced increased market capitalization and has had increased share value and dividend earnings.

Beneficial Results of a Tactical Failure :: Personal Narrative Ceramics Essays

Beneficial Results of a Tactical Failure When I first examined this assignment, I decided that I would make some piece of pottery that I believed would have been useful to my ancestors. I wanted to make something simple, as I had no experience working with clay. I thought that a small bowl capable of holding a small amount of water would be my best bet. However, when I arrived at Aura Ceramics my intentions changed. Once I sat down to make my pottery, I decided to make something I thought would have been useful to hunter-gatherer societies, to the individuals that first utilized pottery. I tried to imagine what sorts of vessels would have been a necessity to these people. I concluded that a larger container capable of carrying water over distances would have been more useful than a smaller bowl. I wanted to make a container large enough to transport water. It needed to be light enough to carry for long periods of time. And, it would have to be durable so as not to crack or spill water while being transported. With these thoughts in mind, I began molding my clay. I started by making a fairly large basin that I estimated would have held just under a gallon of water. I figured that would have been sufficient for an individual's daily consumption. Next, I began condensing the top of the vessel into a small neck-like form in which something like a cork could be placed to prevent water from spilling out once inside the pottery. Finally, above the neck, I molded a funnel. The funnel would have made scooping and filling this container with water from an open source much easier. Unfortunately, my creation did not survive the heating process, so I do not have a finished product to demonstrate. However, I can best describe the container as looking much like a spittoon with a smaller opening at the neck of the container. After observing the transitions which the pots my classmates made went through, I can conclude that my container would have been useful to early hunters and gatherers. After the pottery was processed in the kiln it weighed less than it had when the clay was wet. Judging the differential in these weights from the other students' creations, I believe my finished product, with the gallon of water it was meant to hold, would have weighed around ten pounds.

Express and Courier Industry

Global express and courier industry overview Introduction The primary business of the express industry is the delivery of time-sensitive shipments, typically with a transit time of two to three days. These are delivered mainly by air and ground. The industry has been witnessing significant growth as a result of the constant rise in demand for express and courier services over the last decade across user industries, including manufacturing, pharmaceutical, financial services and high-tech sectors. In the last decade, the advent of e-commerce business models and their subsequent penetration along with increasing demand from the financial services sector contributed to strong industry growth. Most companies provide an additional range of activities besides pure transportation, including online tracking of shipments, online payment collection and insurance facilities. However, in recent times, the industry has witnessed a deceleration in growth as a result of rising fuel costs and reduced demand from user industries due to the global economic slowdown. Major players Traditionally, due to low demand and high costs of operation, the express industry has been dominated by national postal departments. While some of them still continue to be dominant in their respective national markets, others have evolved into larger regional and global players with multi-modal operations such as Deutsche Post World Net (which also operates DHL) and La Poste. Globally, the industry is dominated by the big four — Deutsche Post World Net (DHL), FedEx, United Postal Service (UPS) and TNT, all of which have strong multi-modal arms with worldwide operations. Key markets The US is the single largest market for express services, followed by Europe and the Asia–Pacific region. In recent years, the Asia-Pacific region has experienced tremendous growth, largely attributed to increased demand for express and courier services in China and India as well as sustained demand growth in Japan, Korea and Australia. Strong economic growth and increased international trade due to manufacturing outsourcing from the western countries has particularly resulted in the fast-growing demand for express and courier in India and China. Key challenges Rising fuel prices: Rising fuel costs have been the biggest concern of the express and courier industry globally over the past two years. Rising fuel costs have affected the industry directly via an increase in input costs and also indirectly by hampering growth prospects due to decreased demand from user industries. Environmental concerns: As part of the transport industry, the express industry has also come under renewed pressure from both environmental groups and governments to lower its carbon footprint. Environmental laws have necessitated increased usage of vehicles run on alternative fuel to transport and deliver shipments across the globe. DHL, UPS and FedEx have begun to deploy vehicles run on alternative fuel for deliveries and collection, especially in the mature US market. Outlook Over the past two years, the global express market has been reeling under the pressure of rising fuel and transportation costs and decrease in demand from the western countries. However, demand for express services is set to rise over the medium term with sustained growth of the Chinese and Indian economies. Over the longer term, the industry is expected to witness the emergence of large integrated players in the emerging markets of China and India. The market is expected to witness consolidation activities and a shift toward third-party logistics (3PL) and fourth-party logistics (4PL) players.

Starbucks Strategic

Starbucks – Strategic Management Prowess Efficacy Today we stand witness to a new coffee era, one made up of Caffe Lattes, Espresso Macchiatos, Cappuccinos and Frappuccinos. Specialty Coffee is here to stay and no one will be more eager to tell you that than Howard Schultz, CEO of Starbucks, the world’s largest specialty coffee bar. In 1993, Starbucks continued its aggressive expansion and moved into the East Coast market by establishing a presence in Washington, D. C.This expansion has continued and today Starbucks operates more then 15,800 stores internationally and employs roughly 140,000 employees. It grosses 11. 7 billion in annual revenue and is opening 5 new stores every day. (Starbucks Corporation, 2011) Starbucks competes with players both within the specialty market and against those outside the specialty coffee market. Some examples of competitors within the specialty coffee market are Tully’s coffee, Seattle’s Best Coffee, Peet’s Coffee, Caribou Coffee and other smaller chains.Those outside the specialty market include, Folgers, Proctor & Gamble, Dunkin Donuts, McDonalds and numerous other coffee serving establishments. Starbucks leverages its customer loyalty, premium quality coffee and the homey atmosphere of its stores to fend off competition. Specialty Coffee Industry Attractiveness The most attractive industry for any profit maximizing firm within a capitalistic society would be one in which they can have a pure monopoly. In economics this refers to situations in which one established firm can be the sole provider of a product or service in a particular market segment.This theory of monopoly would be one end of the industry attractiveness scale, while the other endpoint would be defined by the theory of perfect competition. This scale will help us to define the attractiveness of the specialty coffee industry in relation to these two extremes. The five forces analysis of the specialty coffee industry has allowe d us to identify some of the key structural characteristics of the main players in the industry, such as the buyers, suppliers, potential new entrants, potential substitutes and rivals within the industry.These key structural characteristics suggest that the forces exerted by these five players on the specialty coffee industry initially made it ideal for a situation to develop in which the industry structure was closer to the monopoly end point on the scale of attractiveness rather than the pure competition end point. The primary competition among rivals within the industry was not price oriented; the buyers of specialty coffee and the sellers of Arabica beans had little bargaining power at their disposal; and there existed no true substitutes for specialty coffee.The strongest force acting on the industry was that of the potential new entrants, which could be mitigated by a first mover firm if it was able to establish dominant brand recognition, successfully expand aggressively and create a defendable differentiated product. Therefore, placing the specialty coffee industry at its inception in the late 1980s on the scale defined above is now possible and it appears to reside closer to the monopoly end of the scale than perfect competition, making it a very desirable industry from the standpoint of a profit maximizing firm such as Starbucks.The second important factor influencing the attractiveness of an industry is the demographic makeup of the consumer base. The higher average American consumption of coffee per day, added to the attractiveness of the industry by providing an enormous pool of potential customers. These two factors also play a significant role in determining the attractiveness of the industry because they show that the average customer of the specialty coffee industry has more financial resources, education and consumes more coffee than the typical American.This implies a consumer base that is more flexible to price fluctuations and is less lik ely to fuel discounting among rival competitors, or a price war. Both Michael Porter's five forces analysis of the specialty coffee industry and the demographic makeup of the consumer base, then, suggest an extremely attractive industry with large growth potential in the late 1980s. The objective of any firm trying to dominate or monopolize the specialty coffee industry would be to create defendable sources of competitive advantage through the use of barriers to entry and a horizontal or organic hierarchy that could outpace competition in innovation.Results of the five forces analysis would suggest, given the unlikely prospect of a price war and the negative repercussions of one, that price superiority alone would be an ill-advised approach. Starbucks’ Success Factors First-mover advantage When Howard Shultz purchased the assets of Starbucks on August 18, 1987, he immediately set in motion an aggressive growth strategy targeted at the unique consumer base the specialty coffee industry attracted. Strategic expansion to eastChicago was chosen as the first major eastern expansion target because it presented enormous opportunities being located in the heartland of the two largest basic coffee companies in the United States. The first of these two companies was Folgers, part of the food and beverages division of Procter ; Gamble, and the second company was Maxwell House. California Expansion California simply represented a vast market with an ideal demographic makeup and open attitude toward high quality and innovative foods.Los Angeles was chosen to be the hub city in California given its status as a trendsetter and Hollywood's cultural ties to the rest of the country. The Catalog Another means Starbucks utilized to determine the most advantageous locations to open new stores was through their mail order catalog. This catalog gave customers the opportunity to order wholesale packaged Starbucks’ coffee beans from anywhere in the country. Employee Sati sfaction As Howard Schultz said in reference to his employees, â€Å"these people are not only the heart and soul but also the public face of the company.Every dollar earned passes through their hands. † Maintaining quality of Arabica beans In order to ensure that the quality of Arabica beans stayed at a consistently high level, Starbucks pursued strategies to secure their supply-chain. Environmental / Social Goodwill By collaborating publicly with Conservation International, Starbucks stands to increase their legitimacy with other NGOs; thus, reducing the risk of protests and the negative implications those protests would have on their brand image.This alliance also allowed Starbucks to attain economies of scale in regards to their ability to contribute positively to the community and the environment by tapping in to some of the expertise offered through Conservation international. The most important aspect of the strategic alliance with conservation international was the co llaborative development of C. A. F. E. practices (Coffee and Farmer Equity Practices). The primary goal of the C. A. F. E. practices was to enhance the coffee farmer’s quality of life and to ensure a long-term stream of high quality coffee.Capturing the concept of â€Å"The Third Place† Starbucks tries to offer a â€Å"third place†, where people can get away from the daily routines of their lives and enjoy a cup of coffee from Sumatra, Kenya or Costa Rica. Most importantly, it is a place that offers casual social interactions. Michael Porter’s 5 Forces Analysis The five variables responsible for the forces analyzed using this model are the industry suppliers, buyers, potential new entrants, substitute products and the competition among existing firms.The analysis will apply Porter's five forces model to the environment surrounding Starbucks today in order to develop an accurate understanding of the current specialty coffee industry. Industry Rivalry Starb ucks competes with a variety of smaller scale specialty coffee shops, mostly concentrated in different regions. All of these specialty coffee chains are differentiated from Starbucks in one way or another. Caribou Coffee is a specialty coffee chain that competes with Starbucks. Where Starbucks strives to create an upscale European atmosphere, Caribou coffee tries to implement a more American feel to their coffee houses.A Canadian-based company, A. L. Van Houtte, operates roughly 100 corporate outlets and franchises, serving nearly 3 million cups of coffee per day. As the original inspiration for Starbucks, Peet’s Coffee and Tea Company which originated in Berkeley, California still poses a serious competitive threat. In addition to these smaller scale specialty coffee companies, Starbucks must now compete against two of the largest companies in the fast food industry namely Dunkin Donuts, and McDonald's restaurant fast food chain. PASTE REST OF COMPETITOR LOGOSPotential for N ew Entrants The primary deterrents to entry in the specialty coffee industry are the various barriers to entry. The economies of scale within the specialty coffee industry have increased as the size of the top players has increased. There is numerous cost disadvantages imposed on new entrants that are independent of the economies of scale considerations. Product differentiation within the specialty coffee industry has moved towards more subjective traits such as the ambience of the store, the social responsibility of the company and brand identification.All of this makes it more difficult for new entrants to gain a solid customer base. Substitute Products The force created by substitute products in the specialty coffee industry has decreased. Supplier Bargaining Power This initiative was designed to. The fair trade coffee certification ensures that the coffee farmers would be compensated fairly for their crops. Their increased unity under this initiative worked as a positive externa lity by increasing their ability to exert bargaining power over their buyers, and this initiative is looked at by consumers in their decision of where to purchase their premium coffee.Bargaining Power of Buyers The primary buyers in the specialty coffee industry remain individual consumers, who neither engage in concerted behaviour nor individually purchase in large volumes relative to the total sales of a corporation such as Starbucks. The Specialty Coffee Industry Life Cycle: An Evolutionary Process Through the application of Michael Porter’s five forces model to the specialty coffee industry in which Starbucks currently competes, an understanding of the relative magnitude of each of the five competitive forces has been developed. Specialty Coffee Growth RateWhen analyzing the specialty coffee industry’s sales growth from 1990 to 2011, as illustrated in exhibit 1, we can see that the industry experienced enormous growth in total sales between 1998 and 2002. Using exh ibit 2, which depicts the generic stages of the industry lifecycle in a graphical format, we can compare the two and pose a hypothesis as to where the specialty coffee industry is in this life cycle. Namely, this comparison suggests that the specialty coffee industry is near the inflection point between the growth stage and the maturity stage in the industry lifecycle. Target Consumer SegmentWhen specialty coffee was first being produced, its target consumer segment was the upper income class. This can be seen in Exhibit 3, which shows a survey Starbucks conducted during the 1990s and highlights the high education and income of its average consumer. This specific customer segment has been nearly fully penetrated. Any additional growth will most likely come from those consumers with middle or lower incomes. Strategic Adaptation Strategies The first thing an organization must do to adapt to a changing lifecycle is to determine where the industry is in that lifecycle.From the assumptio ns made in this analysis, I have postulated that Starbucks and the specialty coffee industry in the United States is at the end of its growth stage and in the beginning of its mature stage. The buyer market will slowly become fully saturated and repeat buyers will become the primary constituents of the consumer base, with a stronger emphasis on discounting and less differentiation between brands. The next step is formulating a proper strategy to overcome the barriers, in the form of organizational inertia. This would involve developing a fundamental understanding of what the primary contributors to that inertia are.This in turn involves identifying the existing routines and capabilities, the hierarchy structure, along with the power structure and identifying the ingrained perceptions of the business from an outsider’s perspective. Competitive Advantage in a Mature Industry It is first important to determine how Starbucks should reorient their strategic focus, given the charac teristics of a mature industry. In the case of Starbucks, they should improve their capabilities in their distribution network and maintain their industry lead in low transportation costs. Starbucks, however, should not attempt to pursue cost advantage in low-cost inputs.In the specialty coffee industry, quality is determined in large part by the quality of the raw inputs, Arabica coffee beans, which are used during the brewing process. Starbucks also should not attempt to seek a cost advantage through their labor force. Undercutting these two inputs would place their brand reputation at risk, which would have a very detrimental effect on their profits. TO ADD: SWOT ANALYSIS + PORTER MODEL IN PICTORIAL FORM+ PESTEL ANALYSIS SOME MOER DIAGRAMS AND PICs Appendix: Starbuck global footprint Growth of Starbuck Stores over last 40 years