Alcohol Abuse In American Youth Essays - Alcohol Abuse,

Alcohol Abuse In American Youth It has been stated in each research source that hazing and particularly binge drinking is the most serious problem affecting social life, academic life, and health on college campuses today. The journal article pertaining to this issue, How Harvard's College Alcohol Study Can Help Your Campus Design a Campaign Against Student Alcohol Abuse (CAS: Campus Alcohol Study for short), focuses more heavily on binge drinking and prevention than it does on the Greek system itself. The authors, Wechsler, Nelson, and Weitzman, contend that binge drinking is a nationally recognized problem but has not been studied efficiently enough to warrant effective prevention plans. The purpose of this article is to share with the public the results of a survey representing 50,000 students in 140 colleges, in 39 states. This is the first nationally representative survey of its kind and the analysis of its outcome by the authors of this article has resulted in seemingly sound prevention ideas. To begin interpreting the binge drinking phenomenon, a solid understanding of the term must be presented. Binge drinking is defined by all the articles as consuming five or more drinks in rapid succession (four or more for women) at least once in a two week period. Shockingly, the College Alcohol Study (CAS) found that two out of every five college students binge drink. The authors of this article argue that binge drinking has negative effects not only on the drinkers, but also on the entire student body. The binge drinker might get alcohol poisoning, other related physical injuries, or weakened academic performance, while the non-binging students are subjected to insults, arguments, vandalism, physical and sexual assaults, and loss of sleep due to alcohol influenced peers. The next topic that the article gets into is the different areas that change need be made to lessen the presence of binge drinking and ways in which these changes might be made. The first idea presented is that simply educating students about alcohol abuse and related problems is not effective. The CAS shows that four out of five students have been exposed to anti-alcohol education and still two out of these five binge drink, let alone drink at all. In fact, Wechsler, Nelosn, and Weitzman state that most members of predominant binge drinking groups like athletes and Greek organizations openly admit to being educated in this area. These findings display how ineffective alcohol education on college campuses is. After eliciting what not to do, the Wechsler, Nelosn, and Weitzman show the reader what the simple numbers from the CAS suggest be done. First they explain that the college administration has to realize that they have a lot more student support in the fight against binge drinking than they think. The CAS results showed that more than half of all college students favor more college intervention. This idea leads into the authors' next one, which is the whole idea of marginalizing the serious drinkers. Serious binge drinkers are not aware of their problem and are usually very loud and vocal when protesting anti-drinking policies. These hardcore bingers however, only represent a small percent of all drinkers and an even smaller percent of the student body. The authors suggest that steps be taken to marginalize this small group of heavy drinkers by reversing some misleading policies. Presently alcohol-free dorms are available upon request by students. Wechsler, Nelosn, and Weitzman believe that the alcohol consuming students should have to request separate dorms, not the other way around. The current method creates the illusion that most students consume alcohol and tend to quiet potential anti-alcohol advocates. Lastly, the fact that alcohol is cheap, plentiful and easy to get in college towns creates great appeal to college students. For less than five dollars (half the price of one movie ticket) under age students can purchase enough alcohol to ?drink themselves silly.? In the past, colleges have fought a battle against fake ID's, but now the CAS says that only one in five underage drinkers use and phony ID. The method of choice is to get beer and liquor from older students. ?One third of older students have been asked by underage students to provide them with alcohol, and almost all complied. This is one student

Why Astrology Lost Its Place in the Academic World

Why Astrology Lost Its Place in the Academic World Hashtag: #Signos (Portuguese for â€Å"Signs†) Through most of its history, astrology, a study of zodiac signs and its influence on our growth, personalities, and daily lives was highly regarded as â€Å"science†, a discipline that is closely associated with astronomy and mathematics.   A scholarly tradition, astrology was then accepted in political and academic contexts and a valuable system for a predicting astronomical event in many cultures throughout the centuries.   For instance, since the Arabs during the 10th century believed that the motions of celestial bodies affect life on earth and future events can be predicted by studying their movements, they were advanced in these areas and made significant contributions to the science of astronomy. Wearing the Trappings of Science Astrology was popular and continued to flourish during the 11th century. The Egyptians, Greeks, and Romans were also active in this field and built exceptional observatories to improve observation and understanding of celestial bodies. Sophisticated astronomical instruments such as the â€Å"astrolabe† (left image) were developed to enhance observation of the sky, calculation of latitudes, time and motion of the sun, stars, and the signs of the zodiac, and boost the accuracy of astrologer’s prediction. However, the legitimacy of the study that is now recognized as â€Å"pseudoscience† or a belief system that is â€Å"incorrectly presented as scientific†, was called into question by 17th-century scientific concepts and astronomical models.   In particular, the heliocentric model of the solar system where the Earth and other planets revolve around the Sun, significantly affect the credibility of the traditional geocentric (Earth-centered solar system) chart where the position of the zodiacal signs and horoscope are based. Read more information here: Unacceptable Words in Academic World Academic and Intellectual Credentials Why the South Lost the Civil War Computer Science Thesis The Scientific Basis for Defining Seasons Zodiac Signs and Horoscope Are not Science According to literature, although astrology relies on a scientific tool and complex mathematics such as those used to measure planetary motion in astronomy, the study is not a reliable predictive tool as it does not adhere to any valid scientific method and cannot be accurately tested.   Moreover, since astrology fails to abide by the standards of evidence or characteristic of most legitimate science, it eventually lost its place in the academic world.   The scientific community also disowned astrology, as it cannot provide a precise explanation on how the positions of celestial objects could actually affect people and influence events on our planet. Astrology according to Karl Popper lacks falsifiability or refutability, the ability that separates science from non-science.   Contrary to Popper, Thomas Kuhn argued that the non-empirical process and concepts involved in astrology make it unscientific. This is because failed predictions and inability to explain why horoscope fails do not necessarily make them violators of scientific principles. In reality, since astrology is not amenable research (see Research Paper), most astrologers do not investigate and merely adhere to rules and guidelines for a field of study fraught with known limitations. Instead of correcting a failure and revising a flawed astrological hypothesis in a meaningful way, most astrologers explain away failures.   According to Kuhn, even if the stars actually influence human lives and the world around us, individuals who do not solve puzzles are not practitioners of science.   Similarly, due to the presence of numerous fallacious logic and poor reasoning in astrological literature, philosopher Edward James view astrology as an irrational field of study. For instance, most astrological writings in James analysis are not coherent, blatant, uncorroborated by evidence, reluctant to pursue arguments, no sense of a hierarchy of reasons and incapable of satisfying the demands of legitimate reasoning.

What is Democracy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 1

What is Democracy - Essay Example This paper will examine the role of democracy in fostering equality, creating the concept of ‘the greater good’, its values of sovereignty and fostering good interpersonal relationships as well as its values of liberty. Democracy is all about representation and giving the people a voice (Brodie et al., 2014 pg 31-45). This was evident in the direct democracy system that was used in ancient Greece, where all people had a voice and participated in the decision-making process, which became the principle within democracy (Brodie et al., 2014 pg 31-45). In practice, all citizens had the ability to influence the direction of policies adopted by the state via the voting process (Brodie et al., 2014 pg 31-45). However, the huge population in contemporary times means that such as model would not be reasonable because the process would be too lengthy to respond to urgent matters. Instead, an indirect model has been adopted, one where a select group of people make the decisions for the rest of the population (Brodie et al., 2014, 2-15). Therefore, the role of the policy-making bodies in contemporary times, in accordance with the existing democratic principles, is to make policies that benefit the people who v oted for those in government (Brodie et al., 2014, 2-15). From this assumption, it follows that policies should be evaluated by their ability to reflect the needs of the citizens in the country (Brodie et al., 2014, 2-15). For example, in present day America, Americans put pressure on the government to recall troops from war-torn areas if the presence of these troops in battles is not in the best interests of citizens. Therefore, the best democratic practices have to allow citizens to make changes while also simplifying life as much as possible. The concept of the greater good, as a democratic principle, examines the role of elected leaders to fulfill the wish of their voters (Brodie et al., 2014, pg

The sports facility in Stratford-Upon-Avon Essay

The sports facility in Stratford-Upon-Avon - Essay Example Marketing programmes within the organization should reflect a commitment to meeting the needs of the members of the community in which the organization will serve. Therefore, analysis, both internal and external, should include members of the community, as stakeholders. It should also include the current position of the organization, available resources and identification of the organization’s core competencies or strengths.By assessing the organization’s strengths and weaknesses, the marketing team can develop a marketing programme that focuses on matching the organization’s strengths with needs of stakeholders. The sports facility is currently facing a recent loss of revenue, due to decreased sales of membership. To combat this phenomenon, the marketing strategy has made the decision to offer an all inclusive family membership, which can be used by any and all members of the family. The stakeholder analysis and market segmentation activities suggest that busine sses in Stratford-Upon-Avon should consider the entire family, in this family-oriented community. The goal of the marketing plan align is to align organizational strategy with the marketing strategy, in order to reach the target markets, with a cohesive message that speaks to target segments. Target segments need to understand how the sports centre can benefit them. Situation Analysis The sports facility that once offered individual memberships is not as profitable as it once was. Membership has decreased, likely due to financial concerns and the current state of the UK and global economy.

Women would succeed in combat if given the chance Essay

Women would succeed in combat if given the chance - Essay Example pression of poor women, heterosexist bureaucracy, environmental ruin, and militarization all raise weighty issues for feminist movements today.1 Although feminist movements all over the world have been diversely triumphant, we become heir to several issues women of the earlier periods confronted. However, there are new issues as well as we try to understand a world permanently blemished by the unsuccessful attempt of communist and postcolonial capitalist societies to meet the economic, social, religious, and psychological demands of most of the world’s people. Globalization has increasingly become representative of the motives and goals of the free market and companies rather than autonomy and liberty from economic, cultural, and political subjugation for all the inhabitants of the world.2 There are several of the issues tackled in ‘women and war’. It adopts as its basic arguments the importance of the involvement of feminist movements in both local and global political, economic, and cultural mechanisms, and the importance of a global discourse in creating an ethical tradition able to endure and revolutionize the oppressive and commodified processes of the global economy and community.3 The discussion raises the value of feminist research and analysis and aims to build connections between mobilizing, deliberation, and analysis. The discussion of ‘women and war’ offer methodical and workable interventions into the Western-dominated discipline, while at the same time emphasizing the effort that can and has to be carried out to visualize and promote cross-cultural feminist unity. The topic ‘women and war’ is a key representation of the ties between mobilizing, deliberation, and analysis and the actualization of feminist unity promoted by such topic. Drawing on diverse readings and documents, the discussion has introduced a general, compelling, critical analysis of global gendered militarism, emphasizing women’s opposition to it. Furthermore, this

How to Stay Calm in a Stressful Situation

How to Stay Calm in a Stressful Situation Staying calm in an unsettling situation Its three-thirty in the morning, you see as you roll over to check your iphone, the soft-yellow glare of the screen shining on your face, but still too bright in relation to the darkness of your room. Getting back to the snug, warm part part of your bed, attempting to get warm, you hear again what probably woke you up, since you normally do not get up until 4:40 in the morning. Looking out the window, softly retracting the heavy drapery which does a good job at blocking out light and sound, so whatever made that initial scraping sound outside, is worth to pay any mind to. As you peep outside, blinding light and blistering heat suddenly hits your face, like if someone took out a cloth from a hot oven and pressed it onto your face with force. What you are seeing, is the whole forest that encircles your isolated home on fire, rapidly spreading from tree to tree. That loud snapping sound, was the pine tree that fell and scraped the edge of the house. The fire from the branches, roared on , licking the roof and setting it a-blaze. You, witnessing this hell-like dream, quickly recollect yourself, not panicking and swiftly slide out of bed. Sprinting to your little brother and cousin who are sleeping in the same room together, you snatch them up into your arms, the family dog staying on your heels, then you bust through the front door, not caring that you just Sparta-kicked it off its hinges. Little brother and the cousin, both nearly five years old, are crying and screaming about the fire blocking your driveway by another pine tree and that we are, going to burn alive. Telling them to, hush-up and, quit yalls crying before I leave yall here, you practically throw them into the back seat of your Toyota Tundra Truck, the dog jumped in, her tail in between her legs, wrapping them up with wool blankets, slamming the door shut, you crawl in the drivers seat with ease. Igniting the engine with your keys, putting the gear into full drive, you put the petal to the metal, right at the burning tree while your relatives a re covering their eyes and sobbing, you are shaking pretty bad too, yet calm and reserved. The steel frame protecting the hood and grill of your truck, it successfully smashes through the fallen tree; you feel the shock-wave ripple throughout your body from the impact. Soon yall reach the highway and are cruising Eastward, away from the fire, which rose nearly one-hundred and fifty feet into the night sky and the smoke, ten times as high. You begin to think to yourself of what just happened about ten minutes ago, knowing that if you lost your cool, you along with your brother, cousin, and dog, would have been burned alive right about now. So you thank God for keeping you calm and getting out alive with everyone, in a silent prayer, still shaking. As you can see, staying calm in a stressful/scary situation, can save your and others Lives too. Heres a brief testimony of a wildfire evacuee that inspired me to write that made-up story for you: There were flames on both sides of the highway. It was pretty scary,especially when you have your little brother and your little cousin in the car with you, and theyre freaking out, and you have to tell them to calm down (Rowell). Perhapswe should, Laugh oftenWhen you laugh, your muscles relax and the stress hormones in your body go down (Adams). Take my own personal bullying experience back in seventh grade in the locker room and I wont name any names. Everyday, during lunch and P.E. back at the Junior High, there was a large group of kids one grade ahead of me who loved to give me hell. There were seven or six of them, all loud mouths and quite more built than me. Anyways, everyone including myself, finished playing dodgeball, so I am pretty sure it was a Friday. I know that they would pick on me, call me names, flicking my ear as they pass by me, even a shove or two, just to taunt me and I would always take it and not do anything to retaliate because I was simply scared. I wanted to try something new that day in order to possibly get them uninterested in me and that was laughing when they began to throw profanities at me. Well, unfortunatelyÂÂ   Im unable to recall what exactly happened, but I know I just laughed whenever they bullied me and that really helped me with not being so scared. So if you are being harassed by others, just laugh if its verbal. I promise that you will not be really scared nor as shaky. Eventually, their verbal teasing, threats, and the occasional shove, turned into slapping and punching. Of course, these events took place whenever an adult or teacher was not looking. I was growing tired of this constant abuse, so I decided to stand up for myself (it was nearing the end of my seventh grade year, after the STAAR test). I began to look up fighting videos and re-watched the movie Sherlock Holmes for the fight scenes over and over until the last day of school and I felt confident that I would take down these guys one-on-one. But I was still shaking just thinking about it and started to tear up when I got close to my first target. Again, I forgot what I said, but I know I did chicken out and I regret not beating up my bullies. Think about this, How can you expect someone to be confident when this is his or her first time fighting? You have to believe in your training and believe in your techniques (Puu). I was not anything Mr. Puu just explained; I was a coward and cowards lose their honor. I have yet to gain mine back. Late at night, almost midnight, with absolutely no moon nor starlight to light the vast prairie you and your fellow men treck with unease. The grass is a foot high, really slick that is sticking to your combat boots and the tip of your AR-15. The thickest of fog you could ever imagine, is annoyingly spooky, as you can not even see your own boots, but you and your men bravely go on, across this haunted Texas Prairie. Now the only noise you hear, is the hushed breathing and footsteps of you and your squad mates, that is, until you hear a high-pitched screech from behind you for about two seconds thensilence. When everyone heard that, all yall stopped dead in yalls tracks. The five other men, you know by instinct, are looking at you, even though no one could see each other. The only way to not get separated, was the rope that you and your team had tied to each other about five hours ago before walking onto this immense expanse of land. You tap the rope that is attached to you twice, sig nalling to them to get flat on their chests and do not move, just look and listen. Yall wait for the same heart wrenching shriek again for five minutes, justwaiting. Soon, you can not hear your boys breathing anymore. It grew so quiet, that you could hear silence and you can actually hear the blood flowing to your ears, yearning to pick up any sound to turn the coming painful headache you begin to start feeling. Then, out of nowhere, you hear the rapid approach of what sounds like feet, from behind you and quickly accompanied by the same, terrifying screech that sounded just like a Woman wailing and a deranged screech owl put together. You immediately jump to your feet, urging the squad on to sprint as fast as they can and you tell the caboose man to unload his machine gun at whatever was chasing yall. Running at top speed, bringing your legs up to your chest, in fear of getting snagged on something or getting tripped by an occasional deer that happened to be sleeping. Your chest and legs begin to feel very heavy and are hurting from sprinting for about five minutes. Breathing is becoming very difficult and quite the challenge. Suddenly, you feel a violent tug at where the rope knots off of you and you are no longer anchored off by it. For whatever is chasing you, got a hold of your men all at once, you are now alone, still running towards nowhere, through the fog, just hearing that quick rustle of grass behind you, knowing thatthing is closing in. The wind began to pick up finally, though you know your strength is now failing you, just a little bit longer! You think to yourself desperately while starting to slow d own, your breaths coming out in short gasps, the wind at full speed of nearly seventy miles per hour blowing in from behind, lending your feet wings. No more than five seconds later, you burst through a large bush and onto a busy highway, your rifle lying on the concrete beside you. You close your eyes, expecting to get devoured or dragged by whatever creature did to your comrades about fifteen minutes ago. Miraculously, nothing happened, just vehicles whizzing by and the wind, blowing in your face, choking you. Raising your arm to your nose and mouth to breathe, you get up and when you do, you drop on your knees then puke your guts out. So,breathing techniques can actually help calm the body to respond in these stressful situations in the most effective way (Klimas). In conclusion, staying calm in all bad, stressful, and scary situations, all you need to do is, just keep your cool and breathe deeply. Do not freak out and you will be just fine. 🙂

Congress Essay -- essays research papers

There is a definite need for Congress in the United States. It serves many roles such as making laws, implementing national policy and watching over the other two branches of government. These are just a few of the duties of our U.S. Congress. Although they are essential to our government, there are potential problems. People are not always satisfied with the length of time involved in passing a law as well as the deadlock Congress can experience on an issue. Another potential problem people see with Congress is representation. Not all Americans feel that they are equally represented. The Congress of the United States is viewed by many as the largest branch in government. Some people might even say it is the most important. This is due to the roles Congress pays in our government. Congress is responsible for the lawmaking in our country as well as implementing national policy. The power to make laws was given to Congress by our forefathers when they constructed our constitution. Passing laws is very important to our country because without them we would be living in chaos. Of course, all our laws are not perfect but for the most part our Congress does a good job at keeping this country under control. The problems with lawmaking that most people see is the time involved in getting a law passed. In order for a bill to become a law it must first be introduced to the House or Senate, or both, then referred to a committee. This can be a very time consuming process. Anyone interested in having a law passed must realize the process involved and be patient. In addition to lawmaking Congress is also involved in passing amendments. Our nation has been able to grow and strengthen due to the amendment process. In order for our government to keep up with the changing times it is crucial that we make adjustments to the constitution. The downfall is that the amendments passed have not always kept up with changing times. Arguments against Congress would be that they taken to long in enforcing the amendments. The U.S. Congress must also implement national policy. The Congress must regulate commerce in order to create a prosperous economy. It is up to Congress to monitor the growth of the economy and be ready to act if necessary. Congress has the power to implement monetary policy in which they decrease taxes to induce spending during a slow econo... ... half the nations population are women, but the 102nd Congress had only thirty one women members. In addition, our nation is made up of mostly blue collared workers, yet the most predominant occupation of Congress members are lawyers. With this in mind the Congress must strive to understand and represent the needs of the people. Congress cannot ignore the disadvantage groups that feel unrepresented in the system. Until the enactment of Medicare in 1965, Congress declined to pass health care legislation for the elderly. There will always be people for and people against any branch in government. The reason being, government is not perfect, nor are the people who run it. Laws take time to create and policies take time to be implemented. You cannot deny the fact that regardless of the time involved these procedures are a major and necessary step. Over all Congress does a good job with the roles and duties it is given. When it comes to representation, the vote lies in our hands. We have the power to vote for who we want to represent us. We can make a difference if we get involved in electing those who share the same ideas of the people to make us a better a better nation.

Dream Come True

My heart skipped a beat. Every minute when am sitting on the bleachers kept me on thinking about what would happen for the next minutes. I prepared myself. I set my camera, I fed my hungry tummy, and practice myself shouting and yelling. Then, my course began. When I am preparing myself, I hear the crowd's noise. They were shouting. Teens, and even adults scream for the lights turned off and the music was played. It was the very melodic music I've ever heard in my entire life. I took a deep breath and started to scream and stopped.I grab my camera in y pocket and steal some pictures. I capture banners, artworks, and the many fan girls sitting around the performance stage. Following a couple of minutes, the formal program started. The crowd was silent. The program was officially blessed by a prayer played and the Philippine National Anthem was conducted. The opening remarks filled with colorful thoughts was then followed by well-known former seminarian in Dave. And this is what we're waiting for. The program officials and staffs positioned and calibrated the countdown and snap!The crowd began to be wild again. The emcee took his first step up on the stage and welcome us with a great Hello! And make acquainted with the crowd. He then introduce the first performer. He was the son of an executive in GAMMA Dave but I don't actually know who he was. He sang This Love by Maroon 5 and the popular song of the hit singer Jason Mrs., I'm yours. Several performers after the guy performed and act upon on stage. It was already 7 in the evening. The multitude become hot and bothered on who will perform next. The girl beside me asked, â€Å"Is it him?Will he be going to perform now? I answered â€Å"Not yet. † And can you guess who the next performers were? They were the singing priests in Dave City, Rev. FRR. AH Better and Rev. FRR. Civil Bunya. The crowd was alive again. They didn't care about the people instead they join with the music and sing all along with the cr owd. They sang 2 songs and then bid goodbye and said â€Å"Enjoy! † After the performance, the assembly was silent again. After a couple of minutes, the emcee shouted â€Å"Are you ready? † and just as you know, here we go again. I scream, they scream and everybody scream.The countdown set into 10, 9, 8, and the throng became more agitated. 6, 5, 4, 3, I feel the moment. 2, 1, and the long wait was over. The LCD projector showed a mini-slideshows of the pictures of him. Now became wild. I never forget to capture a video and stare to the pictures in the slideshows. I jumped up and down all over again. I didn't know what to do. Then a man stood in front of the people watching up on the stage. He was tall, pinkish-white and a good-looking guy. Did you already know who he was? And what am screaming for? He has the initials of DEJA. And you got it right, he was Daniel John FordPaddled. He wears checkered long sleeved turtle-neck polo, skinny jeans and a black Vans shoes wit h white laces. Shouted. I jumped up and down and took stolen pictures of him and it seems I would faint. I can't actually remember what I did. Shout and shout. I yell here and there, jump here, and roll there. He is so beautiful. He shouted â€Å"Hey! Hello! † and the crowd grumble. His voice is so seductive. I say to myself, â€Å"l could rather be dead. † He sang four songs including his revivals and his original composition that made him known better, the Nasty An Nag LATA.He waved his hand here and there. Banners were raised and cameras took their own flashes and the people were down the stage. It was like a huge stampede. After he sang his four songs with liberation he greeted us a â€Å"Good evening! † Indeed it was a very good evening even when the rain is pouring hard and we don't even care. Even when he talk, everybody is shouting and me? Could never imagined what I will going to do. As the emcee meet him and talk awhile for a short interview, I stared at him. He is so special. Want to touch his hand but I couldn't. This will be a gift.

The Noun is Plea, the Verb is Plead

The Noun is Plea, the Verb is Plead The Noun is â€Å"Plea,† the Verb is â€Å"Plead† The Noun is â€Å"Plea,† the Verb is â€Å"Plead† By Maeve Maddox Some writers are using plead as a noun. Its a verb. One meaning of the verb plead as a legal term is To put forward any allegation or formal statement forming part of the proceedings in an action at law. In general use, the verb plead means to make an earnest appeal, entreaty, or supplication; to beg, implore. The noun plea has similar legal and general meanings: plea: 1. A suit or action at law; the presentation of an action in court. An urgent, emotional request, an entreaty; (also) an unarticulated appeal. Used as a verb in place of plead, plea can be regarded as a regionalism (Chiefly Eng. regional [north.], and Sc. Now also U.S.): If you plea guilty and then later in another hearing say th(at you didnt do it, can you be charged with perjury? example of U.S. usage in OED Using the verb form plead for the noun plea, however, is jarringly nonstandard: A Plead to Sinners title of a poem on a religious site A plead to ban homophobia headline on a college site A plead for help part of a blog title In each of these examples, the word wanted is plea. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Misused Words category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:Has vs. Had80 Idioms with the Word Time20 Classic Novels You Can Read in One Sitting

Walgreens Strategic Analysis Essay Example

Walgreens Strategic Analysis Essay Example Walgreens Strategic Analysis Paper Walgreens Strategic Analysis Paper Veronica Washington 0180175 Walgreens Pharmacy (WAG) An Industry Leader at the Inflection Point The following report is an in-depth discussion of Walgreens Pharmacy with an analysis and assessment of the company’s strategic initiatives. Each strategy yields a direct purpose of diminishing the influence of a specific force from Porter’s 5-force Model as the supporting data culminates an outlook on the company’s future. COMPANY OVERVIEW Charles Walgreen of Chicago, Illinois, pioneered the first Walgreens in 1901, with corporate headquarters now located in Deerfield, Illinois. In the company’s 100-year reign as the prescription industry leader, Walgreens changed from war bonds, soda fountains, and restaurants to 24-hour store access, nationwide locations, easy-to-use online stores, and health care clinics. 6,400 stores now operate in all 50 states including Puerto Rico, with 30% open 24 hours. By 2010, Walgreen’s aspires to operate 7,000 stores nationwide and pave the way for the organic growth of 13,000 sites. As of December 2007, Walgreens employs 226,000 associates, hiring 25,000 in 2007 (WAG Annual Reports, 2007). According to the company’s 2007 annual reports, â€Å"Walgreens has been listed on: Fortune magazine’s Most Admired Companies in America list†¦ranked 44th on the Fortune 500 list of largest U. S-based companies†¦[and] ranked the leading online drugstore. † (WAG Annual Reports, 2007) In the past 2 years especially, Walgreens embarked on several ventures that will enable them to have first-mover advantage in the healthcare industry. CURRENT FINANCIAL INFORMATION In 2007, Walgreens increased net sales by 13. 4% to $53. 7 billion and increased net income by 16. 6% to $2. 4 billion. Long-term investments, which have consistently increased by roughly $100 million dollars each year since 2004, reflect company profits (WAG Annual Reports, 2007). In the 2007 operating cash flow analysis, Walgreens yielded a yearly total over $23 million in deferred taxes that arose for tax relief in advance of tangible asset depreciated accounting expenses. While net cash flows in the operating sector dropped by $80 million in a single year production, sales, and delivery continue to expand. In the 2007 investment cash flow analysis, the company directed $6. billion toward short-term investments (auction rate securities) available for sale amounting to an accumulated $6. 8 billion (WAG Annual Reports, 2007). With a staggering $1. 8 billion spent on new additions in 2007, this perceived overextension by shareholders of the company’s business and intangible asset acquisition of $1. 1 billion doubles the amount of cash used in the invested activities of 2006 (WAG Annual Reports, 2007). Employee termination and salary cuts yielded a 50% drop in proceeds received from company life-insurance policies. The $5. million proceeds of 2007 pale in comparison to the $10. 7 million received only a year before. Walgreens spent $2. 4 billion in investing activities during 2007, more than that of 2005 and 2006 combined (WAG Annual Reports, 2007). In the 2007 financi al cash flow analysis, net proceeds were $850 million. With a $141 million debt payment, $1 billion in stock repurchases, $310 million cash dividends to shareholders, and a $214 million bank overdraft sum, Walgreen’s 2007 net cash used for financing activities rose to $626 million from 2006’s $413 million (WAG Annual Report, 2007). In summation, the initial cash and cash equivalents of 2007 declined from $920 million in January to $255 million by the end of December resulting from the company’s overextension, and may result of losing their position as the industry leader in the near future (WAG Annual Reports, 2007) POWER OF BUYERS According to Porter, a buyer who has power â€Å"can always find an equivalent product, [then] play vendor against [one] another† (Porter, 2008). Consumers reap the benefits of an industry that pays for repeat business. In 2007, Walgreen’s pharmacists took 157,000 prescription transfer calls from neighboring competitors. (WAG Annual Reports, 2007) Mark Wagner, VP of Operations, announced that after reviewing the 2007 compiled transfer logs of the company, â€Å"72% of all prescription transfers [in 2007] are competitor coupon-related issues † (WAG Annual Report, 2007) Walgreens remained static in their decision to offer any type of compensation to new customers or transferred prescriptions until October 2008. Walgreens customers receive an average of four prescriptions on monthly basis from the pharmacy (WAG Annual Reports, 2007). With 65% of the sales revenue of the company coming from the pharmacy, Walgreens declines to bargain with out-of-pocket customers over price. Regardless of a climbing prescription drug-price trend, demand remains elastic because customers demand choices of similar, less expensive medications if authorized by their doctor. The amount of reimbursement Walgreens receives from Medicare, Medicaid, and Worker’s Compensation falls drastically, as incremental revenues from those sources decreases (Stewart, 2006). According to Lueck, â€Å"Medicare and Medicaid comprise 25 percent of the federal budget, and the government cannot afford to spend at the current rate† (Lueck, 2008). In order to maintain relationships with customers, retail pharmacies resorted to buying sections of Medicare Part D insurance companies: AARP Walgreens vs. CVS Caremark (Caremark Rx Inc. , 2007). RIVALRY AMONG EXISTING COMPETITORS From Porter’s point of view, â€Å"the degree to which rivalry drives down an industry’s profit potential depends, first on the intensity with which companies compete and, second, on the basis on which they compete† (Porter, 2008). Other than retail pharmacies, hospital pharmacies, mail-order pharmacies, internet pharmacies, international pharmacies, vitamin stores, and homeopathic treatment providers attempt to maintain market share in the healthcare industry (Lueck, 2008). Walgreens largest competitor, CVS Pharmacy, fell short of Walgreen’s sales revenues by $7 billion in 2007 (WAG Annual Report, 2007). Contrary to Porter’s model of rivalry, the healthcare industry is experiencing massive growth. Growth is not a force, but only a factor; and as Porter mentions, â€Å"high growth rate will not guarantee profitability if customers are powerful†¦Ã¢â‚¬  as stated in the last section (Porter, 2008). Tom Charland, CEO of Merchant Medicine, in his prophetic wisdom forecasted an â€Å"increased scarcity of physicians and midlevel practitioners in many markets and the increased use of pharmacists. † (Berman, 2007) This justifies the idea that most baby-boomers will spend several hours a week in doctor’s offices receiving treatment for maladies that require prescriptions. Because of meager prescription profits, customers gain little when switching from one pharmacy to another. As Jeff Rein, VP of Walgreens, understands, â€Å"95% percent of our patients pay only the co-pay required by their insurance plans. † (WAG Annual Report, 2007) This removes Wal-Mart’s $4 prescription plan from the picture. POWER OF SUPPLIERS In Porter’s words, suppliers with power â€Å"can squeeze profitability out of an industry that is unable to pass on cost increases in its own prices. (Porter, 2008) To make up for excessive inventory costs for new medication Walgreen’s must decrease labor hours and work more efficiently. For corporate executives in retail pharmacies like Mark Wagner of Walgreens, â€Å"the end solution is to cut costs†¦and the biggest cost in stores is payroll. † (Merrick, 2008) With manufacturers keeping new FDA-approved substitute (generic) medications at bay by creating expensive time-released versions of the ori ginal, retailers spend more money than ever before on shelf space (Merrick, 2008). The following demonstrates a sample of what Porter means by suppliers having power when they â€Å"offer products that are differentiated† (Porter, 2008). In March 2008, analysts at Citigroup Inc. announced, â€Å"AstraZeneca will have more time to market the product†¦Seroquel XR, a once-daily version of the [original] drug†¦ slowly [converting] patients to the patent-protected drug before a generic version of Seroquel becomes available† (Merrick, 2008). Generic companies defending their rights to enter the market state brand name manufacturers received patents through inequitable conduct (Merrick, 2008). While CEO of Astra Zeneca, David Brennan remains â€Å"pleased with the courts decision to uphold [our] valid intellectual property, healthcare companies like Walgreens suffer exorbitant inventory costs at lower vendor allowances for keeping both brand and newly arriving formulations (Merrick, 2008). STRATEGIC ANALYSIS The significance of this report’s title, â€Å"An Industry Leader at the Inflection Point†, speculates that Walgreens cannot remain myopically moving forward now that competitors are strategically placing modes of â€Å"creative destruction† in the healthcare industry. For example, Walgreens is following suit to retake power from buyers, a force seen in previous paragraphs, with a revolutionary prescription problem-processing center, POWER. These 24-hour call centers will automatically fix any third-party insurance rejection errors at all 6400 store locations, leaving pharmacists and pharmacy technicians more time to devote to prescription accuracy, efficiency, and patient consultation. Alan McNally, Walgreen’s new CEO as of October 22, 2008, justifies the use of POWER so â€Å"the company’s founding base of competitive advantage will bring vital market share, stockholder optimism, and customer sentiments of timeliness and prescription safety back to Walgreens† (WAG Annual Reports, 2008). Despite Walgreens’ ability to gain back market share by utilizing POWER, this evolution of problem-solving workflow is the company’s first major step in â€Å"creative destruction. Since an estimated â€Å"25-30% of work in the pharmacy originates from processing and troubleshooting third-party claims†, Walgreens shows no sign of maintaining current hourly needs for technicians when POWER operations begin (Merrick, 2008). The excess reserves saved from this venture will allocate finances for greater stockholder dividends and ensure the company’s progressive movement into staying one-step ahead of the competition (Merrick, 2008). Acc ording to the 2008 annual reports released in November, the salary expenditures saved from cutting technician hours will help support funding for the accumulated $1. billion dollar long-term debt in 2008 (WAG Annual Reports, 2008). Formerly discussed in the section, â€Å"Power of Suppiers†, Walgreens showed vulnerability to brand-name manufacturer’s new formulations marketed to physicians as more effective and safer than their FDA-approved generics. The county’s nation-wide recession that tumbled into a worldwide pandemic has been reason enough for many consumers to forgo reinstating their prescription insurance plans in 2009 and instead shop around for bargain generics (Lueck, 2008). Porter describes the country’s turmoil perfectly by announcing America is in the â€Å"Age of Anxiety,† as he reminds readers that in the US â€Å"restructuring destroys about 30 million jobs per year† (Porter, 2008), To combat consumer demand for lower cost prescriptions, Walgreens has aggressively marketed the Walgreens Drug Program in 2008. This discount program offers consumers the option of choosing from a list of 400 price-approved and quantity-approved generic medications at a 90-day supply for $12 (WAG Annual Reports, 2008). To attract customers to less expensive and more readily available generic medications, Walgreens built the discount rogram to show how much each customer can save while receiving a therapy that is exactly or similar to what their doctor prescribed. The only cost associated with this plan is a one-time $20 fee for using the service pennies compared to the hundreds of dollars each month otherwise spent on prescription healthcare covera ge. The idea of Walgreens creating healthcare clinics where customers can go and receive treatment for common symptoms arose from competitor initiatives to capture a segment of the market not dominated by Walgreens. The purpose of this tactical approach was to lessen the force of rivalry in the industry. As of November 2008, Walgreens â€Å"operate[s] more than 600 health and wellness clinics in our stores and on employer worksites [with] plans to expand to 800 sites by the end of fiscal 2009 (WAG Annual Reports, 2008). While data on this new mode of investment has not been conclusive or forecasted in expected yearly revenue, Walgreens intends on honing company expansion in this market to counter aggressively competitor initiatives. STRATEGIC ASSESSMENT The watershed of massive change for Walgreens culminated amidst what economists are calling a worldwide recession. Like all prosperous profit seeking companies, Walgreens managed to find ways to cut hours while increase efficiency that paved the way for higher shareholder dividends in 2008. CEO Alan McNally describes Walgreens’ strategy as â€Å"a successful triumph in a frantic market† leading on with a direct correlation of the yearly highlights to â€Å"an increase of $. 11 in common share dividends for 2008† (WAG Annual Reports, 2008). Despite the company’s massive growth of long-term debt, the strategic positioning of POWER centers in high volume areas and payroll cuts began the combat against the emerging inflection point issues discussed. More than 1 million people enrolled in Walgreens discount card program in 2008. The company anticipates numbers to increase significantly at the beginning of Medicare reinstatement in January 2009 as members become more proactive in finding lower prescription costs. Constructed on gaining the business of customers upset with their current prescription coverage, the iscount care program cultivated an increase of gross market share to 17. 6% of the retail prescription market in 2008. According to the new annual reports, in August 2008 Walgreens priced a $1. 3 billion five-year bond offering to be â€Å"used in the repayment of short-term debt under its commercial paper program and general corporate purposes† (WAG Annual Reports, 2008). The bond’s primary purp ose of financing the expansion of Walgreens’ Take Care Clinics around the country will reinforce goals of insatiable growth in the United States. As the beginning stages of these clinics develop, Walgreens will have a better idea of the market’s reaction. SUMMARY OF STRATEGY These market-enhancing strategies formulated by observing frustrated consumers over the years yield a successful and progressive outlook for Walgreens. While Walgreens’ presence in communities nationwide will continue to expand, the systems and processes which customers receive service will undoubtedly change. As services become increasingly automated and salaries are cut to supply overhead costs of the latest technologies and capital investments, Walgreens’ initiatives to solidify their position as the market leader will continue to be a tantalizing puzzle for the company’s corporate executives. REFERENCES Berman, D. (2007,  January  17). CVS Raises Caremark Bid, Pressuring Express Scripts. Wall Street Journal   (Eastern Edition),   p. A. 4. Retrieved November 9, 2008, from Wall Street Journal  database. (Document ID:  1195592291). Caremark Rx Inc. : Advisory Firm Urges Holders To Accept Offer From CVS. (2007,  March  14). Wall Street Journal   (Eastern Edition),   p. A. 12. Retrieved October 25, 2008, from Wall Street Journal  database. (Document ID:  1232229641). Lueck, S. (2007,  September  19). Politics Economics: Democrats to Revisit Medicare Provisions. Wall Street Journal (Eastern Edition), p. A. 12. Retrieved October 23, 2008, from Wall Street Journal  database. (Document ID:  1337919191). Merrick, A. (2008,  March  19). How Walgreen Changed Its Prescription for Growth. Wall Street Journal   (Eastern Edition),   p. B. 1. Retrieved October 20, 2008, from Wall Street Journal  database. (Document ID:  1448083011). Merrick, A. (2008,  October  9). Walgreen Abandons Bid for Longs; Drug Chain Cites Weak Economy, Withdraws $2. 7 Billion Offer. Wall Street Journal   (Eastern Edition),   p. B. 1. Retrieved November 9, 2008, from Wall Street Journal  database. (Document ID:  1570234871). Stewart, J. (2006,  November  8). Common Sense: Letdown Over Deal By CVS, Caremark Offers Opportunity. Wall Street Journal   (Eastern Edition),   p. D. 2. Retrieved November 9, 2008, from Wall Street Journal  database. (Document ID:  1158307411). Porter, Michael E. (2008. Jan) â€Å"The Five Competitive Forces that Shape Strategy. † Harvard Business Review. Porter, Michael E. (2008. Nov) â€Å"Why America Needs an Economic Strategy† Business Week Walgreens Annual Reports, The (2007, Dec 31). Questions and Answers for Shareholders. Retrieved October 10, from Walgreens Co. Website: http://files. shareholder. com/downloads/WAG/460812286x0x147120/C3FF93FD-4E51-4F5A-94FD-C0D058A9A911/Walgreen_AR_07. pdf Walgreens Annual Reports, The (2007, Dec 31). Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Results of Operations and Financial Condition. Retrieved October 10, from Walgreens Co. Website: http://files. shareholder. com/downloads/WAG/460812286x0x147120/C3FF93FD-4E51-4F5A-94FD-C0D058A9A911/Walgreen_AR_07. pdf

Human growth and developement Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Human growth and developement - Essay Example 1. Development proceeds from the head downward. This is called the Cephalocaudle principle. This principle describes the direction of growth and development. According to this principle, the child gains control of the head first, then the arms, and then the legs. Infants develop control of the head and face movements within the first two months after birth. In the next few months, they are able to lift themselves up by using their arms. By 6 to 12 months of age, infants start to gain leg control and may be able to crawl, stand, or walk. Coordination of arms always precedes coordination of legs. 2. Development proceeds from the center of the body outward. This is the principle of Proximodistal development that also describes the direction of development. This means that the spinal cord develops before outer parts of the body. The child's arms develop before the hands and the hands and feet develop before the fingers and toes. Finger and toe muscles are the last to develop in physical development. 3. Development depends on maturation and learning. Maturation refers to the sequential characteristic of biological growth and development. ... Finger and toe muscles are the last to develop in physical development. 3. Development depends on maturation and learning. Maturation refers to the sequential characteristic of biological growth and development. The biological changes occur in sequential order and give children new abilities. Changes in the brain and nervous system account largely for maturation. These changes in the brain and nervous system help children to improve in thinking or cognitive and motor or physical skills. 4. Development proceeds from the simple to the more complex. Children use their cognitive and language skills to reason and solve problems. For example, learning relationships between things, or classification, is an important ability in cognitive development. The cognitive process of learning how an apple and orange are alike begins with the most simplistic or concrete thought of describing the two. Seeing no relationship, a preschool child will describe the objects according to some property of the object, such as color. Such a response would be, "An apple is red or green and an orange is orange." The first level of thinking about how objects are alike is to give a description or functional relationship between the two objects. "An apple and orange are round" and "An apple and orange are alike because you eat them" are typical responses of three, four and five year olds. As children develop further in cognitive skills, they are able to understand a higher and more complex relations hip between objects and things; that is, that an apple and orange exist in a class called fruit. The child cognitively is then capable of classification. 5. Growth and development is a continuous process. As a child develops, he or she adds to the skills already acquired and the new skills

Has British aid policy over the past 20 years been effective Essay

Has British aid policy over the past 20 years been effective - Essay Example This has been one of the biggest move in the recent years that has ended with U.K. meeting the pledge to give 0.7% of its GNP as donor aid. In the latest development in the policy dubbed the UK AID Match scheme, the public is given a chance to give their opinion on a portion of the international development budget is to be used (Department of International Development, 2015). The scheme is aimed at helping alleviate poverty in the developing countries. In the three years that the scheme is supposed to be running, the United Kingdom is to award a whopping  £120 million to selected developing countries in two funding rounds per year. This has been seen as the most significant turn in the aid policy in the recent years. This paper will therefore try to address the effectiveness of the aid policy in the past 20 years and its effectiveness in fulfilling its mandate. Aid is justified on moral and national interests of the country. This is according to the British Prime Minister David Cameron and international development minister Justine Greening. Therefore, the developments that are made as far as the aid policy is involved are meant to make a point in the international scene (The Guardian, 2013). The periods of economic hardships that have hit the world in the recent past also affected the UK aid policy with little money being set aside for the kit. Africa and other struggling countries such as Syria have been the recipients in the British aid policy. British is obligated to make significant contributions to various programs which include the ones in the European Union. More funding was done to the many civil societies in Africa (Hearn, n.d.). The UK’s total aid program has been the major factor in determining the foreign aid that will be given to countries rather than basing that as an obligation as it has been done in the recent years. The