Ecology - sprawl field trip Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Ecology - sprawl field trip - Essay Example Accordingly, this brief essay will consider but a few of these factors with relation to the field trip that was engaged upon by our class outing to the Sprawl site earlier in the semester. The first and most pressing ecological concern is the fundamental way that the Sprawl region and growth of infrastructure and Big Box retailers has fundamental changed the water runoff for the region.1 Although adding parking lots, interchanges, and large multiple thousand square foot warehouses is itself harmful to the ecology and environment of the given region, the particular region in question experiences these negative points in a compound sense due to the overlapping nature of how one big box retailer is practically side by side to another which is side by side to a large highway interchange. This compound effect causes the drainage and water runoff of the region to be fundamentally changed in a highly negative way. Firstly, such a situation means that not only is water flow disrupted from it s normal course but a high number of added pollutants are introduced into the water table as a result of the large number of parking lots that have been added. Although seemingly benign, parking lots serve as collection points for all manner of pollutants and disrupt the flow and absorption of water into the environment in question.2 Due to the fact that cars leave all manner of fluids behind where they have been parked, it is conceivable for everything from trash associated with packaging from the store, to oil, to brake fluid, to transmission fluid, anti-freeze, and a host of other chemicals to collect on the tarmac and find their way into the water table once a healthy rain has washed over the area. Hence, the disruption of the water flow itself is but the first concern; the larger concern is concentric upon the fact that key pollutants are introduced with the presence of a number of parking lots and highway interchanges within the region.3 Of course, the issue is further compoun ded by the topography of the region in question. Whereas a general dilution of these negative environmental aspects would be seen if the topography of the site were more elevated and allowed for a greater diffusion of these pollutants prior to reaching reservoirs of lower lying land, the fact of the matter is that Big Box retailers of course seek the â€Å"perfect site† which will invariably be located in a somewhat flat or low-lying region.4 This is generally the case due to the fact that the Big Box retailers, strip malls, and other such firms want to spend as little money as possible on site improvement and grading. Hence, the ecological impact of this is the fact that the topography of the site and the presence of the pollutants readily find their way directly into the reservoirs and creeks/streams/rivers of the given site. The same can of course be said for the Sprawl site that was visited earlier in the semester. When one considers the map of the site and sees the prese nce of t

Virtue ethics Essay Example for Free

Virtue ethics Essay Boxing is a violent sport full of hate where the only objective is to knock your opponent unconscious. This is a very quick and biased view of boxing because if you study boxing closer it helps teach the person about their moral character. Boxing helps teach people to â€Å"get off the canvas and roll with the punches† (Marino, 2010, para 8) and to face their fears, two important lessons to get through life. Throughout the article written by Marino, he educates about Aristotelian ethics and uses boxing as a real-life example. I believe that Marino’s invocation of Aristotelian ethics is well articulated, and I agree with his application through boxing relating it to your life. Aristotelian ethics and boxing can relate to the rights and responsibility lens; boxing can help develop our moral lives and can clearly define and educate people about Aristotle’s definition of courage. The sport of boxing and comparing it to real-life morals and virtues is extremely well done by Gordon Marino using Aristotelian ethics. The moral virtues that Aristotle preached such as â€Å"qualities, temperance, justice, pride, and truthfulness† (Marino, 2010, para.11) all can be directly applied to Kantian ethics and the rights/responsibility lens (DesJardins, 2012). Boxing is a man versus man, woman versus woman sport which â€Å"can compel a person to take a quick self-inventory and gut check about what he or she is willing to endure and risk† (Marino, 2010, para. 4). The rights and responsibility lens are all about the self, honesty, responsibility, temperance, completing your duties and following the rules (Ethics games, 2012). All these values and characteristics are important in boxing and are all needed to find out who you truly are. Boxing teaches individuals self-discipline, responsibility, courage, and â€Å"what physical and psychic powers they possess – of how much, or how little, they are capable† (Marino, 2010, para. 5). Marino (2010) writes that Aristotle while talking about excellence, states â€Å"it is not enough to know, but we must try to have to use it† (para. 10). Boxing, unlike many other sports, accomplishes this within the first sparring session. Boxing is not only a sport that allows individuals to release anger but can also help improve ones moral character. As Marino (2010) states, life requires toughness and resiliency because it is filled with blows. Being inside a boxing ring will teach you about your own toughness and resiliency and let you face fear. Facing these fears, no matter how big or small, will make you come out with a greater understanding of your moral self. Boxers are faced with fear, but after months of training they are able to cope with their fears and can start to see things that emotions blinded them from earlier. â€Å"By getting into the ring with our fears, we will be less likely to succumb to trepidation when doing the right thing demands to take a hit† (Marino, 2010, para. 14). In doing this, you realize what it takes to overcome fear and will not crumble to this pressure when faced with real-life situations. Boxing is the best sport to use to enhance Aristotle’s view of courage because boxing is all about building up yourself, learning what you are made of, identifying your breaking point to go past it, and to face fear and move past it. All these values help individuals deeper understand Aristotle’s definition of courage. According to Marino (2010), Aristotle’s definition of â€Å"courage is a mean between rashness and cowardliness; that is, between having too little trepidation and too much† (para.12). This means you need to find a middle ground between having too much fear that something may happen and having no fear at all. In order to find this happy medium a person must practise, experience, and face fear to develop their courage. Boxing is perfect for developing Aristotelian courage because boxers â€Å"become more at home with feeling afraid. Fear is painful, but it can be faced, and in time a boxer learns not to panic about the blows that will be coming his way† (Marino, 2010, para. 13). This means that with time, boxers find that perfect mean between rashness and cowardliness. Marino’s invocation of Aristotelian ethics is thoughtful, and his application to real-life through boxing is the perfect match. Boxing is said to help develop our moral lives and can be a clear cut definition of Aristotle’s definition of courage. The moral virtues taught by Aristotle align with the rights and responsibility lens and focuses on the self, honesty, temperance, and completing your duties. Boxing helps an individual face their fears, identify their breaking point, struggle to exceed that point, and get through anything. This will allow a person to develop their moral character by not crumbling under pressure in real-life situations and by finding the perfect middle between rashness and cowardliness. References DesJardins, J. , (2014). An Introduction to Business Ethics. New York, NY: The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Ethics Games, (2012). Ethical Lens Inventory. Retrieved from http://www. ethicsgame. com/Exec/Eli/EthicalLensResults. aspx? R=1 Marino, G. , (2010, September 15). The New York Times. The Opinionator: Boxing Lessons. Retrieved from http://opinionator. blogs. nytimes. com/2010/09/15/boxing-lessons/? _php=true_type=blogs_r=0.

Frankenstein, by Mary Shelley | Alienation

Frankenstein, by Mary Shelley | Alienation In the story of Frankenstein, Victor, a scientific genius, created a monster known as Frankenstein. He abandons the monster as soon as he creates it. Frankenstein, the monster, experienced bad parenting growing up. No one ever taught him any manners at all. In this story, Victor and Frankenstein are both alienated by society for different reasons. The monster is rejected by society because of his terrifying physical appearance and his reactions towards people. Victor experienced alienation his entire life, when he was a child and family due to his scientific obsession. Therefore, in Frankenstein, Mary Shelley used the theme of alienation by having the two main characters, Victor and Frankenstein, alienated by society because people judged the monster based on his physical appearance and his reactions. While, Victor isolated himself from society due to his scientific experiments. Therefore, people alienated him because they thought of him as a very strange scientific maniac. As I previously mentioned, the monster was judged based on his physical appearance. As soon as everyone saw him they would start screaming in horror or run away. The monsters hideous appearance including his eight-foot long body caused people to react this way. This caused the monster to feel rage towards others. The monster would then groan in anger towards individuals. One day Frankenstein finally got to see himself in the mirror. And got surprised. Then he realized why people were so terrified by his physical appearance. This is all Victor fault because if Victor had not created him or messed up during his experiment the monster would of never have had to suffer because of this. The monsters reactions toward people also played a major role in why he was alienated. Whenever he saw how people reacted to him, he would go crazy. He would groan in a very frightening way. The monster reacted this way because of tow reason. First of all, he was rejected un fairly by society. Secondly, he felt very angry towards society. When the monster first came to life, he first saw Victor. Victor looked at him and got really scared. Then he decided to abandon the monster . The monster was raised with basically no parenting at all. He wasnt taught how to be polite or even how to act towards people. This is why the creature had no social skills at all. If the monster would have been raised with good parenting he would have been more of a human because he would of at least known how to act when others were around. The monster then began to feel confused because people didnt want to be around him. What caused him to be confused was that he had no idea why people reacted this way. He wanted to be loved. Unlike his creator he did not isolate himself from society. The monsters first experience with humans is when he meets the villagers. They threw stones at him, which aggravated him. The next experience the creature experienced was with the Dclacey family. This was the first time the monster actually wanted to be part of a certain family. The creature decided to hide because of his previous experience with humans. He was well aware that humans disliked him. As the monster was hiding, he observed the language in which they communicated, he believed it was like a godlike science, which would help him become more a human because if he could communicate like one that was a head start.. The monster continued to observe everything this family did for some time. The monster tried his best to be liked by society but failed. This made the monster come to the conclusion that he would never be accepted by humans. The creature demanded Victor to create a female companion for him. As Victor was working on this he gave up. He decided that he was no longer going to create a companion for the monster. This got the monster very angry. He got revenge by killing Elizabeth, Victors wife. As I have already stated, Victor Frankenstein also experienced alienation throughout this story. He experienced alienation from both his family and society. In Frankenstein, Victor is described as a man whos in love with science. He spent much of his time creating a monster. However, he wasnt aware of the consequences this would bring him. At the end of this story he spent much of his time trying to destroy this monster. As he tried to destroy the monster he isolated himself from society. He would always go to his lab and try to come up with other scientific creations. He regretted ever creating the monster because the monster caused him a lot of trouble. People then thought of him as some crazy scientific genius. Victors scientific views alienated him from all his surroundings. He had a very keen interest in since ever since he was a child. Him being so different from the rest of the family is what got them to alienate him. He just seemed so different and strange from the rest. As Victor was growing up, he became even more obsessed with science. This is what caused him to come up with all his crazy experiments and ideas. He decided to isolate himself from society and spend most of his time at his libratory , where he would mix all different types of chemicals and try to create new inventions. He lived his entire life this way. He had no regrets about any of this until he had created Frankenstein. That was when he had finally realized that he should of stopped all of his scientific experiments and call it quits. The monster got him more frightened then what he had ever been. As I previously mentioned, Victor refused to create a companion for Frankenstein. His reason for this was because he was afraid of making another huge mistake and having to face the consequences for his actions. However, the monster did not understand this and seeked revenge on his own creator by killing his wife Elizabeth. After the death of Elizabeth, Victor became even more scared of the monster because now he knew for a fact that the monster was capable of murdering others in order to get what he wants. Through out this story, both the creature and the creator suffer a lot because of alienation. Victor isolated himself from society. While the monster was alienated by the rest. The monster suffered more than Victor because he truly wanted to be loved. Victor just isolated himself due to obsession with scientific experimenting. The monster, on the other hand, tried his best to be part of society, but he failed and never was. Work Cited Alienation in Frankensteinhttp://ltu.se/ copyright of website 1971,1997 Themes and Construction: Frankenstein http://find.galegroup.com/ Shelly, Mary Frankenstein published by Lackington, Hughes on 1818 Abigail Williams: Friend or Foe? Abigail Williams: Friend or Foe? Abigail Williams, a villain, is manipulative and strong willed but her weaknesses of deception and desire fuel her jealousy of Elizabeth Proctor. To some she was a close companion, her and her small entourage of sneaky young girls, stir up a lot of problems with the small but well known settlement. Back to 1692 the mischievous girls all started with a devious plot to rid elizabeth proctor from the town, abigails hatred for the mistress was enough to put the whole town on the map for witchcraft. Maybe her intentions werent as evil as they see me, but maybe they were, at first the girls and titichuba gathered in the forest for just innocent encounters maybe just to make the boy of there dreams fall for them. Abigail quickly turned to selfishness, having john proctor wouldnt be enough for her, the 17 year old girls twisted intentions were out to kill. In my opinion she definitely is the brains behind this group of attention seeking, sportin girls. She can take everything to extensive drama just to prove silly falsehoods, Most definitely a very skilled actress. Abigail williams would do anything possible to keep her name out of the equation, she definitely did not want to be the root of the trouble, selfish yes, but im sure some could argue that she just wanted to keep her and her friends out of trouble, they were aware of their punishments, maybe being whipped and spanked. In abigails eyes peoples lives were not important she was only concerned about her image. Soon after the story beings you get to see her true colors. Betty one of the youngest turns cold and ill. Abigail has no compassion for even her own so called friend. The witty girl does not care as she threatens her, she is only worried about how much trouble she is going to be in because of bettys actions, even though she is definitely the cause of all the mischievous behavior . Shut up! All of you. We danced. That is all, and mark this, if anyone breathe a word or the edge of a word about the other things, I will come to you in the black of some terrible night, and I will bring with me a pointy reckoning that will shudder you! And you know I can do it. I saw Indians smash my dear parents heads on the pillow next to mine. And I have seen some reddish work done at night. And I can make you wish you had never seen the sun go down! One of my favorite abigail williams quotes, even though this is just a little preview of how cruel she can be. The girls intentions become pure, she is doi ng all of this out of despite of john proctor. To her all the townspeoples lives are just part of a big game. The character struggles to make to right decisions and think about others very self conceited. As the story continues the truths unravel and you see the real side of the girls most just devious abigail. The very famous story of the witches in salem massachusetts because more and more popular by the year. As it is all started with the girls cruel scheme to ruin the life of john proctors beloved wife, and mother to two young boys. Abbi was very envious of elizabeth because she had what she always wanted. In the end, abbi lost and so did elizabeth. John Proctor does not make it to the end of this tragic story, if only abigail would have done whatever she could in her power, because she really did have too much power for such a young girl, maybe she would have saved the poor farmer and his family. Elizabeth quickly moves on and re marries,she was a good wife and to me didnt deserve all the drama john had put her through. She lives happily ever after, unfortunately so does abigail and all her young friends. Im sure never have a remorse and sorrowful bone in her body. Over all you can tell this young girl should have never had any sort of authority in a courtroom, her evil games and cruel ways, cost a towns reputation, and her own in my opinion. By the end of the story you see that she was just the talk of the town with her affair with john proctor she was not shunned or put to shame for it though. Even a couple years later only one of all the girls choose to apologize.

The teaching profession :: essays research papers

Being a Teacher Although teaching, from the outside looking in, appears simpler than it actually is, there are many challenges a teacher faces throughout his or her career. Despite these difficulties, there are also many rewards. As I consider this field for my future career, I will discover some of the most important aspects, such as the beginnings of teaching, how the profession has evolved and where teaching is headed in the future. Also it is important to note the availability of jobs and education you must acquire before becoming a certified teacher. Since the beginning of time, teachers have covered the earth. In the earlier years, informal teachers, parents, who taught their children about the world. The early mothers and fathers also taught their children how to survive, a means of getting food, and which pathways to avoid. Of course, informal teachers to this day, aren't paid anything but are only awarded the satisfaction of raising a human being. Next in the order of educational institutions came the one room school house. Teachers of 1872 were required to complete certain tasks before the day's session. The teacher, after arriving in the morning, was required to fill lamps and clean the chimney, in addition to building a fire. Their duties weren't terribly taxing. However the limitation that were put on their social life seem a bit unusual, compared to today's standards. For instance, a male teacher could devote one night a week to courting a lady, two if he attended church regularly. Wemen who got married or "engaged in unseemly conduct" were dismissed. After the teacher spent ten hours on studies, they were required to read the Bible or other good books. Teachers were required to set aside large amounts of their pay so that after they retired, the wouldn't become a "burden on society." Teachers were never allowed to drink, smoke, go to pools, public halls, or revceive a shave in barber shop. If the teachers abided by all these outrageous rules, they were eligible for a .25 cents, a week raise, with the approval of the Board of Education. (www.columiagorge.com) One such case was that of Marilyn Callen, born in Nebraska, who always knew she wanted to be an educator. After two years of college, she began teaching at the local two room school house in the country. Her first year was 1937. Marilyn was only 25 when she began. She taught grades

Matrix Organizational Structure Essays -- Business Management

Organizational structure is the way that an organization arranges people and jobs so that work can be performed and goals can be achieved. Good organizational design helps communications, productivity, and innovation. Many organization structures have been created based on organizational strategy, size, technology, and environment. Robbins and Judge (2011, p. 504) listed three common structures: simple, bureaucracy, and matrix. In this post the author will describe the matrix structure, and discuss its advantages and disadvantages. Matrix structure is first introduced in the aerospace industry in the 1960s and become one of the popular organizational design options in today’s business and industry (Derven & Alexandria, 2010). Burns and Wholey (1993) poinited out that matrix structure were used in advertising agencies, aerospace firms, research and development laboratories, hospitals, government agencies, and universities. Matrix structure is the combination of two or more different structures and take the advantages of the pure functional structure and the product organizational structure (Robbins & Judge, 2011, p. 497). The employees in the matrix may have two bosses: their functional department managers and their product managers. For example, all engineers may be in one engineering department and report to an engineering manager, but these same engineers may be assigned to different projects and report to a project manager while working on that project. In many organizations, a matrix structure is i mplemented to address the requirement to do more with less and become more agile. The matrix structure, which focuses on horizontal as well as vertical management, has become more widespread as a result of globalization and the... ...llustrate his points. References: Burns, L. R., & Wholey, D. R. (1993). Adoption and abandonment of matrix management programs:Effects of organizational characteristics and interorganizational networks. Academy of Management Journal, 36(1), 106-139. Carter, L., Ulrich, D., & Goldsmith, M. (2005). Best practices in leadership development and organization change: how the best companies ensure meaningful change and sustainable leadership. San Francisco, CA: John Wiley and Sons. Derven, M., & Alexandria, T. D. (2010). Manging the matrix in the new normal. T + D. Alexandria, 64(7), 42-49. Robbins, S. P., & Judge, T. A. (2011). Organizational behavior (14 ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson. Sy, T., & Cote, S. (2004). Emotional intelligence: A key ability to succeed in the matrix organization. Journal of Management Development. 23(5). 437-455

P&G Gillette Merger

P&G-Gillette Introduction On January 28th 2005 P&G agreed to buy Gillette for $57bn (? 30). Gillette was the number 1 in razor accessories and proctor gamble was number 1 in consumer products, a marriage of the best in their respective industries. The merger of the two companies created â€Å"the world’s largest consumer products conglomerate. † Gillette was a leader in its category of razors and batteries, merging with P&G provided it access to P&G’s technology and marketing skills. P&G added Gillette razors , Right Guard deodorant and Duracell batteries to its more than 300 consumer brands, including Ivory Soap, Head and Shoulders shampoo, Pringles, Crest toothpaste and Bounty paper towels. Company Background P&G P&G a fortune 500 company headquartered at down Cincinnati, Ohio. P&G is manufacturer of wide range of consumer products ranging from Ivory Soap, Head and Shoulders shampoo, Pringles, Crest toothpaste and Bounty paper towels. P&G reported revenue of $82. 6 billion in 201. P&G was started in 1837 when William Proctor, a candlemaker, and James Gamble, a soapmaker, met in Cincinnati to become business partners and Proctor and Gamble was born. In 1858–1859, sales reached $1  million. By this point, approximately 80 employees worked for Procter & Gamble. In 1880, P&G discovered and marketed an inexpensive soap that floats on water called Ivory soap. William Arnett Procter, William Procter's grandson, started a profit sharing program with the company’s workforce in 1887. This program eliminated the chances of workers going to strike. Company opened many facilities to cover up the exponentially increasing demand. In 1920’s and 1930’s when radio because popular, P;G sponsored a number of shows and soon the radio shows were known as ‘soap operas’. P;G expanded into new countries in both areas: manufacturing and product sales and with the acquisition of Thomas Hedley co. in 1930, P;G became an international corporation. Large number of products and brand names were introduced over time, and P;G branched out into new areas. â€Å"Tide†, laundry detergent, and â€Å"Prell† shampoo was introduced by the company in 1946 and 1947 respectively. First toothpaste â€Å"Crest† containing fluoride was sold by P;G in 1955. In 1957 company branched out again with the purchase of Charmin Paper Mills and began manufacturing toilet paper and other paper products. Once again focusing on laundry, Procter ; Gamble began making â€Å"Downy† fabric softener in 1960 and â€Å"Bounce† fabric softener sheets in 1972. Prior to 1960 Johnson and Johnson were manufacturing disposable diaper called â€Å"Chrux† but P;G came out with one of the most revolutionary products on the market called â€Å"Pampers†, first test-marketed in 1961. Babies always wore cloth diapers, which were leaky and labour intensive to wash. Pampers provided a convenient alternative, albeit at the environmental cost of more waste requiring landfilling. To diversify its product line and to increase profits P;G acquired a number of companies. Some of the acquisitions included Folgers Coffee, Norwich Eaton Pharmaceuticals (the makers of Pepto-Bismol), Richardson-Vicks, Noxell (Noxzema), Shulton's Old Spice, Max Factor, and the Iams Company. In 1994, P&G was in top headlines, the management was placed in an unusual position of testifying in front of court in engaging with interest rate derivatives which they were not much capable to understand and incurred huge losses from that leveraged position and later on they sued the Bankers trust for the fraud. In 1996, P&G was again in headlines as Food and Drug Administration approved a new Product developed by company called Olestra. As the brand was called Olean, it was a lower-calorie substitute for fat used in cooking potato chips and other snacks but during its development stage it was associated with anal leakage and gastrointestinal difficulties in humans. On 28th January 2005 Gillette was acquired by P&G, forming the largest consumer goods company and placing Unilever into second place. This acquisition helped P&G to add new products into its product line that included brands such as Gillette razors, Duracell, Braun, and Oral-B. The European Union and the Federal Trade Commission approved the acquisition, with conditions to a spinoff of certain overlapping brands. P&G agreed to sell its Spin Brush battery-operated electric toothbrush business to Church & Dwight. P&G also divested Rembrandt a Gillette's oral-care toothpaste line. Official merger took place on October 1, 2005. The deodorant brands Right Guard, Soft ; Dri, and Dry Idea and Liquid Paper, and Gillette's stationery division, Paper Mate was sold to Dial Corporation and Newell Rubbermaid respectively. In 2008, P&G branched into the record business with its sponsorship of Tag Records, as an endorsement for TAG Body Spray. Gillette Gillette, originally founded as American Safety Razor Company, is a world leader in men grooming products as well as of women. It was founded by King Gillette who in 1895 came up with the idea of disposable razor after being frustrated by dulled old razors that required professional honing. He envisioned an inexpensive razor blade combination where blade can be clamped on the razor and once getting dulled can be replaced. After six years of innovation and engineering finally in 1901 after joining hands with a MIT machinist, William Nickerson, American Safety Razor Corp was born. In 1903 company was renamed as Gillette. Company paid the first cash dividend in 1906. Before First World War Gillette expanded abroad opening in London, first sales office was opened, manufacturing plants in Paris, Montreal, Berlin, and Leicester, England, and offices in France and Hamburg, Germany. By 1923, Income from foreign operation accounted for 30% of the total income. In 1910, Owner and President King Gillette decide to sell a major portion of his stake to investor John Joyce. Joyce was made the vice-president of the company. After his death in 1916 his friend, Edward Aldred, bought out the shares left to Joyce and took charge of the company. Gillett’s patent on safety razor expired in 1921 and company was ready for new change. Gillette introduced the â€Å"new improved† razor at the old price, and used the old style razor, renamed the Silver Brownie razor at $1, to enter the low-priced end of the market. Gillette transformed into the razor blade model by giving away razor handles as premiums with other products, developing customers for the more profitable blades. Abroad expansion also continued. In 1922 Gillette became royal purveyor to the prince of Wales and in 1924 to King Gustav V of Sweden. Gillette came into top headlines when its Paris office gave Charles Lindbergh a Gillette Gold Traveler after he completed the first transatlantic flight. Company named Auto Strop Safety Razor, owned by Henry J. Gaisman, filed suit against Gillette for patent infringement after Gillette produced a new blade using a continuous-strip process similar to one originally demonstrated to Gillette by Gaisman. Merging with Auto Strop solved the problem for Gillette but it gave birth to another problem. Gaisman checked the company's financial records and found out that Gillette had over-reported its earnings by $3 million for the past five. Stock price of Gillette fell from a high of $125 early in 1929 to $18 by end of decade. This led to the reorganization of Gillette. King Gillette resigned as nominal president and Gaisman became the new chairman of Gillette and Gerard B. Lambert, son of the founder of the Lambert Pharmacal Company and a former manager there, came out of retirement to become president of Gillette. Gillette blatantly went to market and admitted the poor quality of its old blade and came up with a blade called blue blade made by continuous-strip process. Gillette entered into sports advertising and this lead to sharp increase in the sales. In 1942 sports events held by Gillette were called ‘Gillette Cavalcade of Sports’. In 1962 Gillette faced tuff competition from the English Wilkinson Sword Company as it started exporting the stainless steel blades to United States. Gillette also faced challenges from local player in stainless steel category and was left behind in the race. Gillette was left behind and latter it jumped into and developed a new blade but at that time it had lost its market share by 10%. By 1971 Gillette had four domestic divisions: the Safety Razor Division; the Toiletries Division, which featured Right Guard deodorant and antiperspirant; the Personal Care Division; and the Paper Mate division. In mid 1970’s Gillette divested its business by selling off unprofitable business such as Buxton in 1977, Welcome Wagon in 1978, and Hyponex and the Autopoint mechanical pencil business in 1979 and pumping money into the core business. In 1986, Gillette was being pursued by Ronald Perelman, who had previously taken over Revlon. He was about to make a tender offer for Gillette, Gillette responded by paying Revlon $558million in return for Revlon not making a tender offer. This exposed the Gillette vulnerability and it resulted in Gillette going with standstill agreement with 10 different companies. Gillette had responded to various takeover threats by cutting cost and thinning the workforce. Gillette also divested its weak operations and because of it stock showed a jump by 24%. By 2004 Gillette had annual sales of $10. 5 billion and net income of $1. 7 billion. The Acquisition On January 28th 2005 P;G announced the acquisition of Gillette. As per the deal, 0. 975 shares of P;G common stock were exchanged for each share of Gillette. It accounted for 18% premium to Gillette shareholders based on the closing share prices on January 27, 2005. However, the approval by the shareholders of both Gillette and P;G was required. The merger was expected to get regulatory clearance by 2005. P;G planned to buy back $18-22 billion of its common stock in around 18 months immediately after the merger. The structure of deal came out to be 60% stock and 40% cash, although on paper it was a pure stock-swap. | The extra 18% premium paid by P;G for Gillette's stock looked like that it made 18% more difficult for the deal to pay dividends to stock holders. The problem was in buying back shares as P&G would have to borrow funds to finance this transaction. In light of this move, both the companies came under the scanner of credit agency for a possible downgrade. S&P considered all the rating for P&G under negative umbrella watch based on the likelihood that the deal would cause P&G to increase its leverage. As of September 30, 2004, P&G had debts of $21. 4 billion and Gillette of $3. 1 billion. Synergies Gillette maintains 64 manufacturing facilities in 27 countries, and its products are sold in more than 200 countries and territories, with more than 60 percent of sales occurring outside the United States. For P&G the acquisition of Gillette was an opportunity for P&G to add a masculine dimension to overwhelmingly female-biased portfolio. This seems to be a merger of exactly strategically fit companies who complement each other. It was combination of two best-in-class companies creating a stronger brand portfolio, opportunities for even more innovation, faster sales growth, and cost savings. The importance of economies of scale and focus as described by analyst, P&G had attempted to gain both with this acquisition. There was change in marketing sense as Gillette market was mostly towards men so P&G women dominated product category have showed steep learning curve in understanding the men marketing. It was boost to its product category and therefore enhancing the top line. Both the companies have presence in different part of globe made the deal a geographical fit. Gillette has strong presence in countries such as Brazil and in India, where P&G has been lagging behind Unilever. P&G has excellent penetration and distribution in China, the Philippines and fast-growing Eastern European markets such as Russia and Poland. Diversification of Product Portfolio As there was little overlapping in Gillette and P&G business this helped P&G to broaden its product base and offer more products to men in its women dominated product category. Story Now After five years of the deal, things haven’t gone the way as expected. The boost to the top line that was expected by P&G with acquisition of Gillette has been in doldrums. P&G has lost the Gillette top management talent as most of senior managers (with the notable exception of current P&G Vice Chairman Ed Shirley) have left. P&G's stock has lagged behind key competitors', including Colgate-Palmolive Co. and Unilever, beaten P&G 4 to 1 and 3 to 1, respectively, in the stock market. The recession has played against P&G decline in sales in Gillette products have become a reason of worry for P&G. P&G executives and Gillette officials show an optimistic view on the deal they feel still a lot more is still to come. Gillette has helped P&G to transform in different ways that aren't always obvious. P;G has made aggressive moves in key markets such as Brazil and India; a much stronger operation throughout Europe and an even stronger showing on U. S. retail shelves; a ever growing investment which will increase the companies efficiency and help it to deliver the best with innovated products. The deal has indeed given both the companies significant advantages. Economies of scale have been brought in along with some cost cutting giving P;G increase in revenue and income. But only time will tell if this union of seemingly very compatible partners is truly a match made in heaven. Exhibits P;G balance sheet Balance Sheet| | | 29-Jun-11| 29-Jun-10| 29-Jun-09| 29-Jun-06| Assets| | Current Assets| | | Cash And Cash Equivalents| 2,768,000  Ã‚  | 2,879,000  Ã‚  | 4,781,000  Ã‚  | 6,693,000| | Short Term Investments| –   | –   | –   | | | Net Receivables| 7,415,000  Ã‚  | 6,325,000  Ã‚  | 7,045,000  Ã‚  | | | Inventory| 7,379,000  Ã‚  | 6,384,000  Ã‚  | 6,880,000  Ã‚  | | | Other Current Assets| 4,408,000  Ã‚  | 3,194,000  Ã‚  | 3,199,000  Ã‚  | | Total Current Assets | 21,970,000  Ã‚   | 18,782,000  Ã‚   | 21,905,000  Ã‚   | | Long Term Investments| –   | –   | –   | | Property Plant and Equipment| 21,293,000  Ã‚  | 19,244,000  Ã‚  | 19,462,000  Ã‚  | | Goodwill| | 57,562,000  Ã‚  | 54,012,000  Ã‚  | 56,512,000  Ã‚  | | Intangible Assets| | 32,620,000  Ã‚  | 31,636,000  Ã‚  | 32,606,000  Ã‚  | | Accumulated Amortization| –   | –   | –   | | Other Assets| | 4,909,000  Ã‚  | 4,498,000  Ã‚  | 4,348,000  Ã‚  | | Deferred Long Term Asset Charges| –   | –   | –   | | Total Assets | | 138,354,000  Ã‚   | 128,172,000  Ã‚   | 134,833,000  Ã‚   | | Liabilities| | | | | | Current Liabilities| | | | | Accounts Payable| 17,312,000  Ã‚  | 15,810,000  Ã‚  | 14,581,000  Ã‚  | | | Short/Current Long Term Debt| 9,981,000  Ã‚  | 8,472,000  Ã‚  | 16,320,000  Ã‚  | | | Other Current Liabilities| –   | –   | 7,768,000  Ã‚  | | Total Current Liabilities | 27,293,000  Ã‚   | 24,282,000  Ã‚   | 30,901,000  Ã‚   | | Long Term Debt| | 22,033,000  Ã‚  | 21,360,000  Ã‚  | 20,652,000  Ã‚  | | Other Liabilities| | 9,957,000  Ã‚  | 10,189,000  Ã‚  | 9,146,000  Ã‚  | | Deferred Long Term Liability Charges| 11,070,000  Ã‚  | 10,902,000  Ã‚  | 10,752,000  Ã‚  | | Minority Interest| | 361,000  Ã‚  | 324,000  Ã‚  | 283,000  Ã‚  | | Negative Goodwill| –   | –   | –   | | Total Liabilities | | 70,714,000  Ã‚   | 67,057,000  Ã‚   | 71,734,000  Ã‚   | | Stockholders' Equity| | | | | Misc Stocks Options Warrants| –   | –   | –   | | Redeemable Preferred Stock| –   | –   | –   | | Preferred Stock| | 1,234,000  Ã‚  | 1,277,000  Ã‚  | 1,324,000  Ã‚  | | Common Stock| | 4,008,000  Ã‚  | 4,008,000  Ã‚  | 4,007,000  Ã‚  | | Retained Earnings| 70,682,000  Ã‚  | 64,614,000  Ã‚  | 57,309,000  Ã‚  | | Treasury Stock| | -6. E+07| -6. 1E+07| -5. 6E+07| | Capital Surplus| | 62,405,000  Ã‚  | 61,697,000  Ã‚  | 61,118,000  Ã‚  | | Other Stockholder Equity| -3411000| -9172000| -4698000| | Total Stockholder Equity | 68,001,000  Ã‚   | 61,439,000  Ã‚   | 63,382,000  Ã‚   | | Net Tangible Assets | -2. 2E+07| -2. 4E+07| -2. 6E+07| | P&G Income statement FINANCIAL SUMMARY (UNAUDITED) Amounts| 2006| 2005| 2004| 2003| 2002| Net Sales| $68,222| $56,741| $51,407| $43,377| $40,238| Operating Income| 13,249| 10,469| 9,382| 7,312| 6,073| Net Earnings| 8,684| 6,923| 6,156| 4,788| 3,910| Net Earnings Margin| 12. 70%| 12. 20%| 12. 00%| 11. 00%| 9. 70%| Basic Net Earnings Per Share Common Share $| 2. 79| 2. 7| 2. 34| 1. 8| 1. 46| Diluted Net Earnings Per Common Share| 2. 64| 2. 53| 2. 2| 1. 7| 1. 39| Dividends Per Common Share| 1. 15| 1. 03| 0. 93| 0. 82| 0. 76|

Why To Travel Alone

Yara exchanged the comforts of home 16 years ago for a life on the road. She has been traveling the world mixing a †¦ Shutterstock 1. You will meet amazing people. While traveling with friends or a significant other can be a lot of fun, traveling solo for a certain amount of time can prove to be one of the most rewarding things you’ll ever do because of the great people you’ll meet. When we travel with friends or a partner, we tend to stick to that little group of familiar faces and even though you’ll meet new people, the dynamics and interactions won’t be as deep and fulfilling.While you’re on your own on the road, you’re much more eager to meet travel buddies, team up with other travelers and generally reach out more in order to socialize. 2. The overwhelming sense of absolute freedom. When you travel on your own and you start meeting people and making awesome friends, you’ll probably team up with travel buddies and end up expan ding your travel plans. You’ll probably change your plans once you hear about that amazing waterfall, that incredible desert beach, the opportunity to bungee jump from a high bridge, or  taste a special delicacy you’ll only find off the beaten track.When you’re traveling, you’re open to change and you’ll welcome it with open arms. The great thing is that you don’t have to fit into a group’s agenda, give explanations or disappoint anyone, you can follow your rhythm, desires and move like the wind. 3. Traveling alone challenges your fears and insecurities This is a big one, especially if it’s your first solo experience. I remember the first time I traveled when I was 18 and moved to London on my own for 3 months to be an au pair and live with a local family.I was terrified of the unknown, but if I would have surrendered to that fear, I would have never get to know the strong, courageous and adventurous side of me. I was scared, but I did it anyways and by the 3rd day, I was really proud of myself. From then on I never let fear stop me. 16 years and many adventures later, I still have a little voice inside my head, asking: â€Å"What if something goes wrong? † â€Å"What if you get into trouble?† This is normal and perfectly human; fear exists for our own protection and boosts our awareness. But we shouldn’t let it control our lives.Safety can be a great comfort, but common sense is the key. Read and research a lot before you travel, check out hostel reviews, and research feedback from other travelers in forums and blogs. Respect the local culture and I guarantee you’ll be fine. 4. Fall in love. Everyone wants to find their better half and much is said about failed relationships while on the road. It doesn’t have to be like that! We find love when we meet someone who shares our interests, dreams, and goals. While traveling solo you’ll meet so many people from all w alks of life that falling in  love might just happen.Whether it will be a great summer love or end up at the altar, no one knows, but there are many people out there with amazing stories. If you already have a partner, this time away can boost your passion and once you’re back, you’ll appreciate each other’s company more. 5. You can take the time to nurture yourself. If you have a stressful life back home, either studying hard or working too much, traveling on your own can be the time to take some time off and nurture yourself.Whether you’re a backpacker traveling cheap or if  the sky is the limit as far as your budget goes, you can use this time to pamper yourself. Indulge in rich and delicious local meals which will boost your energy and health, take long walks on the beach by sunrise, or get a massage. Do some yoga and relax a lot. Enjoy all the wonderful things you deserve, and understand that happiness is a birth right, not a privilege. 6. Youâ⠂¬â„¢ll have a chance to recreate yourself and be who you want to be. While traveling solo, you can leave your grumpy, tired old self behind and start to be a new you.Explore parts of your personality you are not very  comfortable or familiar with. When on the road, you might be challenged by unexpected factors and be positively surprised how well you respond to them. Empower yourself by unleashing the wonderful, irresistible and intelligent person you are, but whom you’ve neglected in your everyday routine. 7. You can finally take time to leave everything else behind. Just disconnect from the world for a while. Turn off your mobile, â€Å"forget† to check you emails for a few days†¦ don’t think about the bills, the responsibilities, the duties and problems. Leave them behind.Some of the most intense creative times or the ones where we find the solutions for all our problems are actually the moments when we disconnect and stop worrying. Have you ever trie d to remember a name or a date and you just can’t spit it out, but after you quit trying it pops out? It’s the same for the rest of life. Sometimes our brains need to get rid of old thoughts in order to be able to create space for new ones, better ones. So just disconnect yourself from everything and you might be amazed by how fresh you’ll feel once you get back home.