The Definition of Family in the Constitution

Article 41 of the Constitution recognises the Family â€Å"as the natural primary and fundamental unit group of Society†, and as a â€Å"moral institution possessing certain inalienable and imprescriptible rights† which are â€Å"antecedent and superior to all positive law†. The State guarantees to protect the Family in its constitution and authority â€Å"as the necessary basis of social order and as indispensable to the welfare of the Nation and the State†[1]. Article 41 of Bunreacht na hEireann contains the main provisions relating to the family. It is generally considered that Articles 41 and 42 were heavily influenced by Roman Catholic teaching. They were clearly drafted with one family in mind, namely the family based on marriage. †[2]. Since 1937 when the constitution was drafted there has been major social changes such as, changing attitudes to sexual behaviour, contraceptive use, social acceptance of pre marital relations, cohabitation and single parenthood, social acceptance of divorce, just to name a few. These social changes which would not have readily existed in 1937 have not been adapted to in the Constitution in Article 41/42 concerning the †family†. Simply put the definition of family in the constitution is old fashioned. I am of the opinion that an amendment to â€Å"The Family†- namely Article 41 is required. I base my argument on 3 main reasons 1) More types of family should be recognised, not just that of a marital family. 2) The definition of family should be changed to include expressed rights of a child incorporated into Article 41 and the rights of a child not just fall under that of †the family† 3) The wording of the rights of the family to change to allow for more state intervention. Though the â€Å"family† is not defined in the constitution the Supreme Court held that the family is based on marriage – State(Nicolaou) v An Bord Uchtala[3] : Walsh J – â€Å"the family referred to on [Article 41. 3. 1] is the family which founded on the institution of marriage, on which the family is founded on the institution of marriage and, in the context of the Article, marriage means valid marriage under the laws for the time being in force in the state†. Article 41. 3. [4] states â€Å"The State pledges itself to guard with special care the institution of marriage, on which the family is founded, and to protect against attack† . From this definition it appears that a non-marital family would not be protected by the State against attack. In my opinion this provision should be amended to conform to the social change that I have previously mentioned as a family in current times is no longer just a marital family. â€Å" The law must, as far p ossible mirror contemporary civilization and as that changes so must the law. If the law becomes too rigid and inflexible, then there is always the danger that it will conflict with the needs of the people, with all the unfortunate consequences to which conflict may arise†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. during the dynamic periods of History †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. for it becomes essential for the legal system to adjust itself to the novel conditions of social life†[5] As a general rule most rights and obligations flowing from family law legislation are confined to families based on marriage. There are few contexts where non marital relationships are recognised such as domestic violence[6] and wrongful death[7]. The European Court of Human Rights have taken broader approach then Ireland and has been deemed to protect inter alia the family life of non-marital parents and their children. â€Å"It is likely that the failure to recognise the rights, and indeed the duties, of the members of non-marital families may constitute a breach of Art. 8 of the European Convention of Human rights, which requires that the State respect the family life of all persons†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. iven that the convention is now part of domestic law it is only a matter of time before Irish Law is found to be in breach†[8] The European Court of Human Rights(ECHR) broader approach to the definition of a †family† can be seen in Mouta v Portugal[9]. In this case the ECHR recognised a homosexual man and his child as a family which wouldn't be recognised under the Irish Constitution. Da Silva was previously married and had a daughter in this relationship and divorced 3 years later. .The applicant (Da Silva) sought an order giving him parental responsibility for the child. The Lisbon Family Affairs Court awarded Da Silva parental responsibility. His ex-wife appealed against the Family Affairs Court's judgment to the Lisbon Court of Appeal, which reversed the lower court's judgment and awarding parental responsibility to the ex-wife, with contact to the applicant. It was held by the ECHR that the judgment of the Court of Appeal, in so far as it set aside the judgment of the lower court, constituted an interference with the father's right to respect for family life and attracted the application of Art 8 of the Convention. Were this case to appear in an Irish Court De Souza would not have been awarded custody due to the the rigidness of the courts to move from strictly interpreting †family† in the constitution . Secondly I will explore how 1)Article 41 acts as a shield against state intervention against matters concerning †the family† and also 2)why I think †the child† should be given expressed rights in the constitution contained in the definition of family. In my opinion I think that Article 41 acts as a shield against state intervention. I think â€Å"a shield† is an effective way of describing the Article as a shield protects against attack but does not block all danger/damage, just like Article 41protects the †family† but does not provide complete immunity. This article emphasises the rights of the family as a whole while not exploring individual rights such as the rights of the child. I think the words †inalienable and imprescriptible†/rights superior to positive law† are too strong as it gives the State limited opportunity to intervene with matters concerning †the family†. When can the state intervene?. Murphy J gave his view on this question â€Å"where conduct of parents are such to constitute a virtual abdication of their responsibility or alternatively, the disastrous consequences of a particular parental decision are so immediate and inevitable as to demand intervention and perhaps call into question either the basic competence or devotion of the parents† A State intervention must be proportionate -breach of Article 41 must have justifiable circumstances. As I previously mentioned Article 41 does not provide complete protection. This can be seen in People v T[10] where a father had been convicted of sexual offenses against his daughter. Casey made the point that while Article 41 â€Å"established that the family as a unit had it's own special rights, other provisions make it clear that each member of that unit had his/her own constitutionally-guaranteed personal rights†¦.. It follows from this that the common law rule can have no application in cases where one member of a family is alleged to have committed an offense against another†[11]. I have already given my opinion that i think the words ‘inalienable and imprescriptible† and †above positive law† are too strong and limit the courts powers in intervening. One case where I think this is prevalent is is N v Health Service Executives[12] aka †the baby Ann case†. At the time of A's birth in July 2004 the applicants were unmarried and they decided to place A for adoption. The applicants married in Northern Ireland in January 2006, strengthening their legal position as they now formed a family under the constitution. The High Court held that the child was in the lawful custody of Mr and Mrs D(the Adoptive parents) and that, accordingly, a conditional order for the inquiry under art 40 had to be discharged. The decision of the High Court was based on his conclusion that the applicants had failed in their duty towards their daughter and abandoned her and that there were compelling reasons why the child should not be returned to their custody. The decision was overturned by the Supreme Court. I feel that the decision by the Supreme Court was inappropriate, it did not take into account the welfare of the child, Article 41 restricted the courts ability to award custody of the child to the adoptive parents, as the maternal parents and Baby Ann has formed a †family† under the constitution. If the State had more powers to intervene and supersede Article 41 then the custody would probably have been given to the adoptive parents (which would have been the right decision from my point of view). John Walters gave his view on the Supreme Courts decision â€Å"its hands tied by outmoded provisions of the Constitution, was prevented from doing the â€Å"decent† thing: leaving baby Ann with her prospective adoptive parents†[13]. Judge Catherine McGuiness, closing remarks in the case were interesting. She voiced criticism regarding the rights of the child in the constitution and also how she was reluctant to come to the decision to support the maternal parents claims. â€Å" It would be disingenuous not to admit that I am one of the ‘quarters' who have voiced criticism of the position of the child in the Constitution. I did so publicly in the report on the Kilkenny Incest Inquiry in 1993. The present case must, however, be decided under the Constitution and the law as it now stands. With the reluctance and some regret I would allow this appeal. †[14]. I think that the argument to give the child expressed rights under the constitution is intertwined with giving the State more scope on intervening in family cases. As it stands children's rights are thought as secondary to the parents and this can be see in Crowley. [15] I think that there should be a change from the paternalistic approach, whereby the adults know best. Were there to be an express provision outlining the right of the child there would gave been an alternative decision in the PKU test case[16]. The court acknowledged the right of the parents to refuse a both standard and important test for a new born child while ignoring the best interests of the child. The Council of Europe Recommendation 1289 (1996) point 8(i) on a European Strategy for children advised that there should be guarantees that children's rights should be explicitly incorporated into constitutional text. [17] To summarise I think Article 41 concerning the definition of family should be changed. It is outdated basing a family on marriage as in current times there are more then just marriage based families, there are a variety of situations which the normal person would regard as a ‘family'. The Constitutional Review Group stated that there is a â€Å"multiplicity of differing units which may be capable of being considered family†. [18] I think there should be an exhaustive list including the instances above where a member of the public would regard the situation as being a family. Alternatively you could leave the definition of family open and state that â€Å"family† is not confined to that of just a family based on marriage. This would leave the judiciary to determine a family on a case by case basis which is similar to the ECHR approach. This would result in a large amount of uncertainty. I would favor the first option even though it would arise it's own problems such as would being forced to become a legal family under the constitution infringe on personal rights? And also how would you determine the length of time a family is together to qualify as co-habitant?. Either way I think the implied definition of family needs to be changed. To highlight the constant increase of different types of families and the need for reform, I have taken statistics from the last 3 census' of the number of units formed by cohabiting couples (which are one †family I think should be recognised) and formed a table, this furthermore indicates the need to incorporate the change in society into the constitution.

B.F. Skinner Theories of Language Development

language development is an important aspect of children's early development as it enhances the sense of belonging, develops confidence, gives them autonomy and independence as they start to grow. Also, it helps them to communicate, interact and associate with others in the society and therefore meet the need of the required cultural customs of the regions they live in. According to B. F Skinner theories, this development is strongly dependent on the environment of the child existence with learning and reinforcement forming the core aspect of this early development (William & Ferguson, 2001).His theories indicate that new skills are attained either through operant or classical conditioning to the child thereby deepening the effects that these conditions have on the immediate environment of the child. Responses that are positively reinforced are easily repeated while those that are punished recur less often in the child language and response development (David & Carl, 2004). Although s kinner's theories are seen to take less consideration of the inherent ability of the child to develop language to itself, they have been effectively applied to many children all over the world.Consequent researches indicate that the immediate environment plays the main role in a child's language development which is the key to future success at all times. Autistic children have difficulties in understanding the language, learning how to interact with others and may be characterized by unusual repetitive movements. Skimmer theories require that stimulation is used on these children for their language development to improve. Autistic children training through positive and negative reinforcement have indicated improved levels of comprehension to their responses and sound development.Early stages operant conditioning As skinner theories suggest, language deficient autistic children requires more attention from their early stages of development compared to others. The family members and the mothers especially must dedicate high attention to them with the aim of assisting their language development (William & Ferguson, 2001). During the crying and cooing stage, it is hard to establish the children that are autisic but keen mothers can be able to tell if their children are deficient.Caregivers therefore, must assess and try to understand the child for early assistance to be availed thereby reducing late language development. The basic communication essence of the baby may be different and the mother must adopt the correct rhythm to understand the child and making it comfortable. David & Carl (2004) notes that, crying changes with age as the child progresses while cooing starts at the age of six months. The voluntary behavior at this stage is therefore highly improved with the child being able to associate with specific aspects and people.Delayed presentation and early generalization should be slowly adopted by the mother and the immediate early caregivers to the chil d (William & Ferguson, 2001). Use of negative and positive reinforcement William & Ferguson (2001) argues that immediately after babbling, the parents and the caregivers should have fully understood the child status and then subject him to specific stimulus related to the most recurrent events like eating, suckling and his immediate people familiar to him.Teachers and caregivers should reduce the number of words and also minimize the rate of introduction of new words to the child. Increased personalized attention must be encouraged for the child to comprehend the new establishment necessary for his language development. Reinforcing stimulus should also be associated with the duration of time the child is taking to understand different aspects of the language (Wilma & Pauline, 2000). Negative reinforcement increases the concentration for the child and reduces his unresponsiveness to different aspects relating to his requirements.The child easily identifies with the environment he is based in and with advanced reinforcement, he may be able to increase his ability to identify more people apart from his mother. Besides, positive reinforcement should also be slowly introduced with care to gauge the child responsiveness to the different stimulus that relate to his immediate surrounding (David & Carl, 2004). Generalization and follow up. Children acquire the linguistic competences when they have access to languages environment either at home, school or playing with other children.The cultural organized activities serve as acquisition support system for the autisic child (Jeanine & Tony, 2007). Community and early childhood supporters must start from the general aspect of the child to the specific understanding where the child can be able to communicate freely with the rest of the people. They act as the mediators to the child language where self regulation based on the observed feedback is used to determine the progress (Wilma & Pauline, 2000).Though the phonology of the child may take longer compared to other children, pronunciation, intonation and rules for combining syllables consequently develop with this assistance. Others may have more difficulty with the semantics especially for combined sentences. As indicated earlier, the efforts should be based on the basis of the immediate environment and more reinforcement emphasized for faster development. The motherese assistance should be extended even after the babies have exceeded the age for intensive care and support from the mother and the caregivers.Training and assessment. According to William & Ferguson (2001), autisic children requires more assistance through training for their language to fully develop and be able to communicate comfortably with others. The child having grown and being attended to by his teachers, the extended mands are important for the child to achieve higher levels of understanding during it's later development. The teachers therefore, must comprehend the child condi tion and increase the personal assistance in the quest for this development.Assessment at this stage assist the caregivers and the trainers to understand the level of the child response in relation to different aspects that surround him. To add to that, reinforcement should be heightened to raise the child response and intrigue it's ability for better comprehension. Turn about strategy should be employed especially for the children with severe autisic conditions. The subjects should be changed for the child to comprehend issues and language commands.Playing mode should be increased to assist the child to easily comprehend interconnections between personality, emotions and other requirements of interaction in the society faster (Jeanine & Tony, 2007). Behavior modification. Advancements are attained with the child's mental development with time and therefore, the caregivers and the society should increase the call for behavior modification in the child response and language progress. Previously, negative reinforcement are employed with punishment being associated to the wrong actions.Modification calls for shift in the application of the reinforcement mode for the children where good actions are encouraged through positive reinforcement that are healthier by providing the child with appropriate behavioral guidelines. This method benefits the child and the parents as well as the society where the impacts related to the children behavior are positive. Autisic children respond faster and positively to the positive behavioral modifications application and may serve to increase their ability to fully develop their language (David & Carl, 2004).People in the immediate surrounding of the child, must however conform to the positive reinforcement method to reduce confusion to the child. Jeanine & Tony (2007) notes that, new ideologies and language aspects are been easy to learn for the child at this stage due to changes in the approach mode and application of the positi ve reinforcement. However, skinner theories do not address clearly how deprivation is related to reinforcement in the child language development especially for the children with language learning disabilities.Identification of these reinforcement have lacked the the accuracy and completeness which establishes the beginning and the exact ending period of the process. Also, reinforcement should include simplistic and widely applicable procedures with the autisic children requiring specific directional and circumstantial application of the theories (Wilma & Pauline, 2000). Conclusion. As supported by the paper, application of the Skinner's theories is highly effective for the autisic children in developing their language for their communication and easier relationship with the society.Through understanding of the process, the immediate caregivers of the child must assist the autisic child to develop the language faster. The child entirely depends on them and the society in the latter y ears for language and other physical development. Assistance to the child must be extended to the immediate teachers who handle the child and the change of negative reenforcement to the positive one (William & Ferguson, 2001). Environment of the child especially the immediate children, caregivers and the society are required to offer maximum support to the child for better and faster development of his language.Finally, Cooperation of the people in the society is ac core part of the language development and their participation is of great importance for these children to develop their language with ease. References. David, P. & Carl, C. (2004). Behavior Analysis and Learning. Washington. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. Jeanine, M. & Tony, D. (2007). Models of Teaching: Connecting Student Learning with Standards. New York. Sage. William, T. & Ferguson, K. (2001). The Psychology of B. F. Skinner. New York: Sage. Wilma, V. & Pauline , L. (2000). Handbook on Child Development. New York. Th omson Learning Nelson.

Financial Analysis of Paint Industry

Financial Reporting Analysis Paint Industry (Asian Paints) Financial Reporting Analysis of Paint Industry (Asian Paints) CONTENTS Profitability Ratios †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. 3 Operating Profit Margin †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 3 Industry Comparison †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚ ¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. Gross Profit Margin †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. 4 Industry Comparison †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. 4 Net Profit Margin†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 5 Industry Comparison †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. Earnings per share †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. 6 Industry Comparison †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. 6 PERFORMANCE RATIO †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢ € ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. 7 Price/Earnings Ratio †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. Industry Comparison †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. 7 Return on Capital Employed †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â ‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. 8 Industry Comparison †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. 8 DEBT COVERAGE RATIO †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. Interest Coverage Ratio †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. 9 Industry Comparison †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. 9 LIQUIDITY AND SOLVENCY RATIO †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 10 Current Ratio †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. 0 Industry Comparison †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚ ¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 10 Quick Ratio †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. 11 Industry Comparison †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 11 ACTIVITY RATIO †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. 2 Inventory Turnover Ratio †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. 12 Industry Comparison †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 12 3 – Step Du Pont Analysis †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 13 Asian Paints †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã ¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. 3 Berger Paints †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. 13 Kansai Nerolac †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. 14 Akzo Nobel†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 15 CONCLUSION †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. 15 Page | 2Financial Reporting Analysis of Paint Industry (Asian Paints) PROFITABILITY RATIOS OPERATING PROFIT MARGIN Operating margin is a measurement of what proportion of a company's revenue is left over after paying for variable costs of production such as wages, raw materials, etc. When looking at operating margin to determine the quality of a company, we look at the change in operating margin over time to compare the company's yearly or quarterly figures to those of its competitors. If a co mpany's margin is increasing, it is earning more per dollar of sales. The higher the margin, the better is the performance of the company.Operating Margin = Operating Income/Net Sales INDUSTRY COMPARISON 2011-12 2010-11 2009-10 2008-09 2007-08 Asian Paints 16. 81 17. 57 19. 24 13. 16 15. 83 Berger Paints 10. 61 10. 21 10. 45 8. 43 10. 08 Kansai Nerolac 12. 3 12. 88 14. 55 10. 7 14. 24 Akzo Nobel 6. 65 11. 00 12. 33 11. 89 10. 60 25 20 2011-12 15 2010-11 2009-10 10 2008-09 2007-08 5 0 Asian Paints Berger Paints Kansai Nerolac Akzo Nobel The graphs show a higher value for Asian Paints as compared to its competitors. The reason for this is the high income earned for every sale concluded. However, the ratio for all the companies is dropping over the years.Akzo Nobel has shown a sharper decline than all the others, which implies lesser income. The profit margin of the company has declined and hence OM has also declined. Page | 3 Financial Reporting Analysis of Paint Industry (Asian Paint s) GROSS PROFIT MARGIN A company's total sales revenue minus its cost of goods sold, divided by the total sales revenue, expressed as a percentage. The gross margin represents the percentage of total sales revenue that the company retains after incurring the direct costs associated with producing the goods and services sold by a company.The higher the percentage, the more the company retains on each dollar of sales to service its other costs and obligations. Gross Margin (%)= (Revenue-Cost of Sales) / Revenue INDUSTRY COMPARISON Asian Paints 15. 61 16. 14 18. 11 11. 90 14. 62 Berger Paints 9. 19 8. 77 8. 88 7. 08 8. 69 Kansai Nerolac 10. 24 10. 70 12. 11 8. 16 11. 23 Akzo Nobel 4. 77 9. 21 10. 29 9. 53 8. 18 2011-12 2010-11 2009-10 2008-09 2007-08 20 18 16 14 12 10 8 6 4 2 0 14. 62 11. 9 18. 11 16. 14 15. 61 Percentage (%) 12. 11 10. 7 10. 24 11. 23 7. 08 8. 88 8. 77 9. 19 8. 16 8. 18 9. 53 10. 29 9. 21 Akzo Nobel 8. 69 Asian Paints Kansai NerolacBerger Paints 2008 2009 2010 2011 20 12 ? The gross profit margin percentages (GPMs) are almost constant over the years for all the four companies. Asian Paints has greater GPM than others as, being the largest company both in terms of the balance sheet and the market share; it enjoys huge economies of scale. This guarantees lower costs as compared to the competitors. ? Akzo Nobel’s GPM has dipped drastically from FY11 to FY12 and that is because of increase in the expenses. These expenses were mainly on account of hiring (employee expenses) that the company did during the financial year 2012. 4. 77 Page | 4Financial Reporting Analysis of Paint Industry (Asian Paints) NET PROFIT MARGIN The ratio of net profits to revenues for a company or business segment – typically expressed as a percentage – that shows how much of each dollar earned by the company is translated into profits. Net margins can generally be calculated as: Net Margins = Net Profit/Revenue Where Net Profit = Revenue-COGS-Operating Exp enses – Interest and Taxes INDUSTRY COMPARISON Asian Paints 2011-12 2010-11 2009-10 2008-09 2007-08 11. 38 11. 61 14. 29 7. 97 10. 28 Berger (%) 6. 61 6. 99 7. 02 5. 79 6. 79 Paints Kansai Nerolac 7. 86 9. 03 9. 04 6. 58 9. 00 Akzo Nobel 9. 60 14. 8 15. 00 31. 6 6. 30 35 30 25 20 15 10 5 0 Asian Paints Berger Paints Kansai Nerolac Akzo Nobel 2011-12 2010-11 2009-10 2008-09 2007-08 ? Net margins will vary from company to company, and certain ranges can be expected from industry to industry, as similar business constraints exist in each distinct industry. ? Here, the values are falling for all the companies, and all of them have more or less similar values. This implies that the NPM is similar for all companies. Page | 5 Financial Reporting Analysis of Paint Industry (Asian Paints) EARNINGS PER SHARE The portion of a company's profit allocated to each outstanding share of common stock.Earnings per share serve as an indicator of a company's profitability. When calculating, it is more accurate to use a weighted average number of shares outstanding over the reporting term, because the number of shares outstanding can change over time. EPS= (Net Income – Dividends on Preferred Stock) /Average Outstanding Shares INDUSTRY COMPARISON Asian Paints 2011-12 2010-11 2009-10 2008-09 2007-08 99. 92 80. 81 80. 74 37. 78 39. 12 Berger RS 5. 12 4. 29 3. 47 2. 78 2. 89 Paints Kansai Nerolac 40. 06 38. 22 61. 42 36. 59 44. 46 Akzo Nobel 54. 79 47. 94 43. 25 77. 38 15. 69 120 100 80 60 40 20 0 39. 12 37. 78 80. 74 80. 81 99. 92 44. 46 36. 9 61. 42 38. 22 40. 06 Asian Paints Kansai Nerolac 2. 89 Berger Paints 2. 78 3. 47 4. 29 5. 12 2008 2009 2010 15. 69 Akzo Nobel 2011 ? The shares of Berger paints have a Face Value of Rs. 2, hence it has a larger number of shares. On the other hand, Asian Paints has Face Value of Rs. 10 therefore it has smaller number of shares. This implies that the EPS of Berger Paints is less than Asian Paints. ? Asian Paints has the best figures in spite of adjustment of EPS. A better comparison of the EPS can be done with adjusted EPS, as it gives realistic numbers. Hence for comparing, we can multiply the EPS of Berger Paints by 5 and then compare.Also Berger paints has been the most consistent competitor throughout 5 year with steady increase in EPS. 77. 38 43. 25 47. 94 54. 79 2012 Page | 6 Financial Reporting Analysis of Paint Industry (Asian Paints) PERFORMANCE RATIOS PRICE/EARNINGS RATIO The price by earnings ratio is a valuation ratio of a company's current share price compared to its per-share earnings. A high P/E suggests that investors are expecting higher earnings growth in the future compared to companies with a lower P/E. Price Earnings ratio = (Market Value per Share) / (Earnings per Share) INDUSTRY COMPARISON 2011-12 2010-11 2009-10 2008-09 2007-08Asian Paints 31. 91 31. 35 25. 59 20. 96 30. 06 Berger Paints 20. 09 19. 86 16. 83 12. 59 12. 58 Kansai Nerolac 22. 52 21. 3 9. 92 5. 58 8. 03 Akzo Nobel 14. 64 1 6. 31 13. 85 5. 39 39. 74 45. 00 40. 00 35. 00 30. 00 25. 00 20. 00 15. 00 10. 00 5. 00 0. 00 Asian Paints Kansai Nerolac Berger Paints 8. 03 5. 58 9. 92 30. 06 20. 96 25. 59 31. 35 31. 91 21. 30 22. 52 12. 59 16. 83 19. 86 20. 90 39. 74 12. 58 Akzo Nobel 2008 2009 2010 2011 5. 39 ? A high P/E value implies future expectation of the markets from the shares of the company is high. Very high PE(price to Earning) implies an overpriced share in the market. High ROCE(Return on Capital Employed) with low PE implies that company is doing well and the price of shares will rise in future. Berger Paints in this regard stands out because it has efficiently managed the input raw material fluctuations very well. ? Asian Paints has the highest ROCE in the industry for FY12, as it is the market leader as well. Page | 7 13. 85 16. 31 14. 64 2012 Financial Reporting Analysis of Paint Industry (Asian Paints) RETURN ON CAPITAL EMPLOYED A ratio which indicates the efficiency and profitability of the ca pital investments by a company.ROCE should always be higher than the rate at which the company borrows; otherwise any increase in borrowing will reduce shareholders' earnings. ROCE = EBIT / (Total Assets – Current Liabilities) INDUSTRY COMPARISON 2011-12 2010-11 2009-10 2008-09 2007-08 Asian Paints 52. 24 55. 73 62. 84 49. 35 57. 32 Berger Paints 25. 88 26. 2 26. 64 18. 48 22. 9 Kansai Nerolac 27. 02 27. 3 26. 8 25. 4 28. 1 Akzo Nobel 17,36 14. 17 12. 94 11. 57 13. 04 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0 57. 32 49. 35 62. 94 55. 73 52. 24 22. 9 18. 48 26. 64 26. 2 25. 88 25. 43 26. 78 27. 36 27. 02 28. 01 Asian Paints Kansai Nerolac Berger Paints 008 2009 2010 ? If (Return on Capital Employed) ROCE is high and Price to Earning is low (i. e. , it is share is available cheaply), the share is recommended. This is because the company is utilizing its capital well and the price is lower as compared to the earnings. ? Asian Paints has had a phenomenal growth in this regard. It has been very effi ciently utilizing the capital employed. This factor has been one of the distinguishing factors clearly making it market Leader. 13. 04 11. 57 12. 94 14. 17 17. 36 Akzo Nobel 2011 2012 Page | 8 Financial Reporting Analysis of Paint Industry (Asian Paints)DEBT COVERAGE RATIOS INTEREST COVERAGE RATIO A ratio used to determine how easily a company can pay interest on outstanding debt. The interest coverage ratio is calculated by dividing a company's earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) of one period by the company's interest expenses of the same period. INDUSTRY COMPARISON 2011-12 2010-11 2009-10 2008-09 2007-08 Asian Paints 50. 66 74. 05 74. 27 55. 04 69. 73 Berger Paints 15. 14 17. 99 36. 62 8. 33 10. 28 Kansai Nerolac 340. 78 310. 54 196. 02 75. 24 112. 68 Akzo Nobel 64. 18 103. 00 116. 55 38. 29 33. 68 400 350 112. 68 75. 24 196. 02 300 250 200 69. 73 55. 4 74. 27 74. 05 50. 66 150 100 50 0 Asian Paints Products 310. 54 340. 7 Kansai Nerolac Berger Paints 8. 33 36. 62 17. 99 15 . 14 10. 28 2008 2009 2010 33. 68 38. 29 Akzo Nobel 2011 ? For Kansai Nerolac, the debt has drastically reduced from 1. 23 to 0. 09Cr in FY11-12. Therefore a very drastic drop in Interest coverage Ratio is seen for FY12. Though Akzo Nobel has no long term debt, it the short liabilities are the reason which leads to the interest expenses. ? Also, Berger Paints has seen its interest expenses increase by 50% and debt coverage ratio high indicating that it has higher interest payables.This implies that it has taken huge debts, the reason for which might be for expansion, as the other ratios for the company do not point to any problems in its earnings capability Page | 9 116. 55 103 64. 18 2012 Financial Reporting Analysis of Paint Industry (Asian Paints) LIQUIDITY AND SOLVENCY RATIOS CURRENT RATIO The current ratio, also known as liquidity ratio, is used to give an idea of the company's ability to pay back its short-term liabilities (debt and payables) with its short-term assets (cash, inventory, receivables). The higher the current ratio, the more capable the company is of paying its obligations.A ratio under 1 suggests that the company would be unable to pay off its obligations if they came due at that point. While this shows the company is not in good financial health, it does not necessarily mean that it will go bankrupt – as there are many ways to access financing – but it is definitely not a good sign. Current Ratio = Current Assets/ Current Liabilities INDUSTRY COMPARISON 2011-12 2010-11 2009-10 2008-09 2007-08 Asian Paints 1. 07 0. 93 0. 89 1. 13 0. 99 Berger Paints 1. 44 1. 43 1. 57 1. 34 1. 15 Kansai Nerolac 1. 67 1. 518 1. 44 1. 47 1. 866 Akzo Nobel 1. 09 0. 85 0. 73 0. 79 0. 81 . 52 1. 66 2 1. 8 1. 6 0. 99 1. 13 0. 89 0. 93 1. 07 1. 4 1. 2 1 0. 8 0. 6 0. 4 0. 2 0 Asian Paints 1. 88 1. 3 1. 15 1. 34 1. 57 1. 43 1. 44 1. 53 Kansai Nerolac Berger Paints 2008 2009 2010 ? Paint industry player have typically very healthy CR ranging between 1 a nd 2. There are very few chances of their facing an insolvency problem. ? Asian Paints’ current assets have seen an increase of about 50% and Current liabilities increase by about 25%, thus leading to a greater increase in its CR from FY11 to FY12. Major increase was due to increase in cash and inventory levels compared to Asian Paints ?Akzo Nobel has experienced a huge increase in inventory production improvement and hence its figures have improved. Page | 10 0. 81 0. 79 0. 73 0. 85 1. 09 Akzo Nobel 2011 2012 Financial Reporting Analysis of Paint Industry (Asian Paints) QUICK RATIO An indicator of a company's short-term liquidity. The quick ratio measures a company's ability to meet its shortterm obligations with its most liquid assets. It is more conservative than the current ratio, as the current ratio often overestimates the company’s ability to repay its short term obligations. The higher the quick ratio better is the position of company.It is also known as the â €Å"acid-test ratio† or the â€Å"quick assets ratio†. Quick Ratio = (Current Assets – Inventories – Prepaid Expenses)/Current Liabilities INDUSTRY COMPARISON Asian Paints 0. 57 0. 34 0. 38 0. 59 0. 47 Berger Paints 1. 10 0. 99 0. 88 1. 10 1. 08 Kansai Nerolac . 84 . 74 . 79 . 99 1. 16 Akzo Nobel 0. 65 0. 48 0. 44 0. 48 0. 45 2011-12 2010-11 2009-10 2008-09 2007-08 1. 16 1. 4 1. 2 1 0. 59 0. 38 0. 34 0. 57 0. 8 1. 08 0. 79 0. 74 0. 84 1. 1 0. 88 0. 99 1. 1 0. 99 0. 6 0. 4 0. 2 0 Asian Paints Kansai Nerolac Berger Paints Akzo Nobel 2008 2009 2010 2011 ? The growth of QR has not been in line with the current ratio.The large variation for different companies is because of the huge levels of inventory (huge portion of CA). ? As compared to FY11, Asian paints inventory has increased by 20% in FY12. ? Berger paints and Kansai Nerolac figures are good, others might have issues in solvency as they have very low values of QR. 0. 48 0. 44 0. 48 0. 65 0. 47 0. 45 20 12 Page | 11 Financial Reporting Analysis of Paint Industry (Asian Paints) ACTIVITY RATIO INVENTORY TURNOVER RATIO Shows how many times a company's inventory is sold and replaced over a period. Number of days in Inventory holding i. e. (365/ Inventory Turnover Ratio), which is also directly proportional to the cost of handling inventory and should be as low as possible. Inventory Turnover Ratio = COGS / Closing Inventory INDUSTRY COMPARISON Asian Paints 7. 56 7. 08 7. 95 9. 8 8. 03 Berger Paints 5. 80 5. 87 6. 37 6. 64 5. 92 2011-12 2010-11 2009-10 2008-09 2007-08 Kansai Nerolac 6. 76 7. 17 8. 17 10. 08 9. 11 Akzo Nobel 6. 35 8. 73 11. 60 10. 20 8. 72 10 8 6 4 2 0 8. 03 9. 8 7. 95 7. 08 7. 56 12 9. 11 10. 08 8. 17 7. 17 6. 76 6. 64 6. 37 5. 87 5. 8 8. 72 10. 2 11. 6 8. 73 5. 92 Berger Paints Akzo Nobel 14 Asian Paints Kansai Nerolac 008 2009 2010 2011 2012 ? Berger paints is best in the industry, next comes Akzo Nobel and then Asian Paint. ? Sales of Akzo Nobel have increased by 70% , proportionately COGS and inventory has increased by 100%, and therefore we can observe a sharp dip in its ratio. 6. 35 Page | 12 Financial Reporting Analysis of Paint Industry (Asian Paints) 3 – STEP DU PONT ANALYSIS ? ROE = Operating efficiency * Asset Usage Efficiency * Financial Leverage ? ROE broken down into three components :†¢ Operating efficiency = Net Income / Sales †¢ Asset Use efficiency = Sales / Assets †¢ Financial Leverage = Assets / Net worthASIAN PAINTS 16 14 12 10 8 6 4 2 0 2007. 5 2008 2008. 5 2009 2009. 5 2010 2010. 5 2011 2011. 5 2012 2012. 5 Operating Efficiency Asset Usage Efficiency Financial leverage ? Operating efficiency has increased from 10. 28 in 2008 to 11. 38 in FY12. Due to higher input costs, this parameter has dipped slightly compared to last year. ? Asset Use efficiency has been improving because more and more assets are now productive that were procured in earlier years ? Financial Leverage has been flat throughout 5 years, meaning the company has largely relied on Cash or Equity rather than Debt to function.BERGER PAINTS 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 0 2007 2008 Operating Efficiency 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 Asset Usage Efficiency Financial Leverage Page | 13 Financial Reporting Analysis of Paint Industry (Asian Paints) ? Operating efficiency has been varying from 6. 79 2008 to 6. 61 in FY12. Company has not been able to manage the profitability due to varying Crude oil prices. ? Asset Use efficiency has been improving because more and more assets are now productive that were procured in earlier years ? Financial Leverage has been declining throughout 5 years, which is beneficial to the company.KANSAI NEROLAC 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 0 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 Operating efficiency Asset Usage Efficiency Financial Leverage ? Operating efficiency has been very volatile varying between from 9 in 2008 to 7. 86 in FY12. Company has not been able to manage the profitability due to varying Crude oil prices. ? Asset Use efficiency has the lowest amongst the peers that have been compared because company has not been investing in PPE Page | 14 Financial Reporting Analysis of Paint Industry (Asian Paints) AKZO NOBEL 35 30 25 20 15 10 5 0 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013

Cluster Analysis Research Proposal Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Cluster Analysis - Research Proposal Example The coefficient of stage one is 1788. The cluster under stage two has one group under it and cluster has two groups under it. The coefficient under stage two for both clusters is 33445. Based on the criteria of years as member of the club, distance from the club and club membership, The cluster with the most population is the distance from the club group. The next cluster belongs to the group years as member. The last cluster belongs to the group club membership. This only shows that the nearness or the long travel time is a big factor in decision making for both the customers the management. Therefore, since distance is big factor in the invitation for new members to use the beautify facilities of the club, then the club must first entice people living near the club. This also shows that there are not as many member presently because only a few members as compared to the total guests of the club. It is noticed that the club membership cluster is the lowest of the three criteria. This statistical data shows that it is the difficulty of companies to maintain or even increase the present members. Based on the criteria importance of pool facilities, importance of tennis facilities and importance of challenge of golf, the cluster no. one has two groups under it and cluster two has three groups under its wings for the same stage. ... one has two groups under it and cluster two has three groups under its wings for the same stage. The coefficient of stage one is 479.295. The cluster under stage two has one group under it and cluster no. two has two groups under it. The coefficient under stage two for both clusters is 2015.879. Based on the criteria importance of pool facilities, importance of tennis facilities and importance of challenge of golf, there is a big cluster around importance of pool facilities. Then the second cluster is belongs to the importance of tennis facilities criteria. The last cluster belongs to the importance of golf criteria. The above shows that the importance of pool facilities is a very strong marketing tool to increase the company sales. This also shows that more people in the club prefer to go and while away the sunshine at the pool area while the other members prefer to go tennis. This is a very powerful tool to help increase the profitability of the business. It is also relaxing to do business thinking while splashing that pool water onto the face to refresh the tired thinker. More people prefer pool because it is relaxing. Also, it is so nice to look at the beautiful bodies of men and women as the wear their swimwear. We can think of a possible business like, swimwear. Whereas, the people who love tennis and gold will have to sweat it out to enjoy. Tennis is mostly for the teenagers or below forty year old population. Whereas gold, is only for the rich man, real rich that is. The golf clubs cost so much. The golf bag and other gold accessories are sold at very prohibitively high prices. This shows that more people

Economics Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Economics - Coursework Example The objective of the essay is to identify the challenges that have punctuated the energy market, the nature of business competition and possible approaches to handling these problems. To achieve this, the essay will point the constraints that exist in the market and use a theoretical approach to examine possible causes for these challenges. This way, it will be possible to make recommendation on how market regulation and demand side management can be used to solve these problems. The UK energy sector has shown a dynamic trend in the last few years with changes in energy prices and consumer expenditure. The Office for National Statistics noted that there was consistent increase in prices of both electricity and gas within the country. Between the year 2011 and 2013, the percentage price changes of both electricity and gas exceeded 10% in the UK. This is contrary to the expectation of the consumer at a time when the government strategic goals were directed towards reduction in the cost energy (Foxon et al., 2000). The poorest households in the UK have been adversely affected by the rise in cost of energy in the UK. Statistics show that the rich household energy costs increased by 1% while the poor households experienced an increase of 3% in cost energy between 2002 and 2012. These changes have been criticized as oppressive and there appears need for change in policies to prevent further increase in the cost of Energy as part of the government’s manifest o to support equity and reduce poverty level. The UK Energy Market Firm market concentration statistics provides a possible explanation for the changes in energy demand and prices within the country. A Herfindal-Hirschman analysis shows that the index remained fairly constant between 2005 and 2008 but increased considerably between the year 2010 and 2013. An increase in the index shows that there is considerable

Original need for the Commerce Clause Research Paper

Original need for the Commerce Clause - Research Paper Example The original concrete programs that were targeted by the clause by giving Congress the authority to regulate commerce were, giving protection or subsidy to favored domestic merchants, restrictions on international trade and punishing foreign producers or imports. The cause was therefore adapted because of the need to nationalize tariffs on imports or state imposts (Gould, 1980). From this, it is evident that neither interstate commerce and trade with Indians was a significant issue in the clause’s original intend/debate. The often claims regarding the purpose of the clause is that it was meant to avert protectionist economic policies among all the US States and to launch common market characterized by free trade across the borders of all states. However, barriers on interstate commerce were not an issue in the original debates. As Johnson (2004) explains, the constitution was put down before Adam Smith with its meaning originating from the mercantilist tradition that existed then but free trade and laissez fair came to dominate the dominate economic thinking later on. Looking at the current description of the clause, it is clear that the Commerce Clause are not the proper descriptions of the original meaning and need of the

National Consensus Project Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

National Consensus Project - Term Paper Example Where the patient suffers a terminal illness, it is wise to avoid expensive lifelong therapies which may also be very painful for the patient to undergo. If the patient does not specify prior to their illness/death the preferred treatment method, the family will try to avoid the patient’s death. In allowing doctors to subject patients to lifelong treatments, the family would have unintentionally caused the patient considerable trauma and pain. People should be advised to write wills as early as possible while still healthy enough to do so. Applying Saint Leo University’s core value- community- will make the patient aware of the need to create a socially responsible environment that challenges individuals to listen, learn and serve others. Through writing a will, the patient would have fulfilled the Community value. It is necessary to observe the core values of respect and integrity in convincing the patient to write down the will. Respect demands that the advisor listens and appreciates the patient’s views and beliefs. After the will is drawn, integrity requires the beneficiaries of the will to honor the patient’s desires and also the advisor to keep the previous promises made. Recuperative medical care and palliative care share a host of similarities. However, there are a number of fundamental distinctions between the two. The core distinctions between recuperative medical care and palliative medical care lie in the timing, care location, payment and the manner of treatment (Hospice Vs. Palliative Care, n.d.). Palliative care is offered by a team of professionals in institutions such as nursing homes, hospitals, and extended care facilities while recuperative medical care is offered in the patient’s home. Patients considered terminally ill are the only ones eligible for recuperative medical care while patients receiving palliative care have no time restrictions. Since palliative

Survey discussion board 4 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Survey discussion board 4 - Essay Example by Kim, it was revealed that outsourcing is actually opted as a viable strategy to achieve the following benefits: â€Å"(1) lowering of costs for the outsourcing party, (2) compensation for lack of internal expertise, (3) freeing of managerial and governing personnel to focus on their core competencies and high level issues, and (4) availability of best-in-class practices and the latest technology† (Kim 1). However, the legal issues that need to be taken into account by the outsourcing organization inlcude addressing the terms of the outsourcing agreement (which should clearly and explicitly stipulate the services that are to be provided, the warranties, any disclaimers, and addressing unforeseen events), ownership concerns, privacy and confidentiality issues, jurisdicational concerns particularly affecting the countries where the organization intends to outsource the identified tasks, termination concerns on the agreement, and finally, statutory concerns (Kim). From here, it could be deduced that the outsourcing organization need to prepare additional resources to cater to legal costs that require the preparation of legal documents, as well as the need to address any impending legal concerns that would results from outsourcing. One of the ethical and moral concerns that face the outsourcing organization is addressing the 120 people in South Carolina center that would be displaced, retrenched or simply loses their jobs. As employer, the organization has ethical and moral obligations to ensure that appropriate labor laws are observed and applied to the best interests, not only of the new client, but more so, of the affected employees and the organization, as a whole. Other moral and ethical implications include the need to ensure that the services to be provided are at par with those provided by the South Carolina center but was justified by the lower costs of labor; that the cultural disparities are appropriately addressed, including any language or

Corporate governance and ownership reforms in Japan Essay

Corporate governance and ownership reforms in Japan - Essay Example The paper will review recent shareholder activism, board structure, the latest corporate scandal, and reforms in the regulative environment of Japanese corporate governance as well as judicial system reformation conducted in the past few years. The paper will also present an analysis of data collected from previous research on the effects of foreign investment in Japanese firms and the introduction and assimilation of U.S. boardroom structures to Japanese corporations. The paper will further examine the attitudes of Japanese managers, legal practitioners, and acceptance and resistance to traditional governance methods vis-a-vis the new U.S.-style forms of governance and ownership structures. Also, the paper will delve into the conflicts and tensions created by the adoption of U.S.-style shareholder activism or board structures in the corporate world among the Japanese business legal practices, and provide analysis of some of the factors involved in such frictions. Introduction The li nkage between corporate ownership and governance has been studied for many decades from various angles. While this area of scholarship had largely emphasized the widely-held type of ownership2 and agency problems that arose out of it,3 corporate ownership and governance issues continue to differ worldwide even after economies or business practices have largely converged.4 As corporate activity spread across the world, scholarship has gradually started to focus on institutional and functional differences.5 Broadly speaking, the analysis of this divergence has been conducted through how corporate governance converted and persisted. While convergence optimists claim dominance toward the U.S.-type shareholder-centered model,6 the ownership structure and unique characteristics of corporate ownership and governance still remain significant. The persistence of this divergence is analyzed through the theory of complementarity in each corporate governance system.7 It is true that the global corporate governance system certainly seems to be unified both functionally and formally, despite persisting differences.8 However, as seen in the example of Japan in this paper, corporate ownership and governance are shaped by historical path-dependence, and the social norms of each country still plays an important role in corporate governance. The reformation of corporate ownership and governance in Japan after the collapse of so-called bubble economy in 1990 is a prime example of corporate governance convergence and persistence. Corporate ownership in Japan had been characterized by reciprocal cross-shareholdings among corporation and banks. Also, corporate governance in Japan has a unique character where the main bank and employee interests play a central role with insider-oriented boards. As we will see in the following chapter, this structure experienced significant change after the 1990s through dissolving cross-ownership and adopting some shareholder-oriented, Anglo-American rules of governance. While these reformations can be considered as a corporate conversion caused by globalization, many Japanese corporations still retain unique governance characteristics and adopt U.S-style rules and practices, causing conflict and tension among Japanese businesses and legal practitioners. This paper attempts to address the issue derived from corporate conversion and persistence that occurred very recently in Japan. I: Dissolution of Cross

Private Finance Initiative Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Private Finance Initiative - Essay Example TUPE enables these individuals to enjoy the status of being public and private workers simultaneously. This arrangement is intended to relieve the government of a heavy burden of initiating and funding projects across the country. The PFI is a program that began Britain and Australia before spreading to most of the Western countries and eventually to the rest of the world. Since early 1990s, PFI has grown into one of the common ways to develop public investments1. The program is being used to develop many different types public infrastructure. With a PFI, private organizations can place bids on these infrastructure projects, and reverse the conventional trend, whereby developing public projects were solely the responsibility of the government. The private investor that emerges the winner in the bidding process is normally awarded the contract to develop and maintain the infrastructure project. FPI enables private companies to benefit from a permanent profit from such an initiative2. In most cases, governmental organizations are not ready to handle big projects, but they do want to make sure the projects are. By engaging the private sector through a PFI, this is tenable. Apart from relieving the government of the burden of laying infrastructures, a private finance initiative reduces the amount of tax being channelled to such projects. When the private investors shoulder the larger percentage of the funding, the government can then concentrate on other important projects. PFI projects In many cases, the method of construction that is implemented by governments has been based on placing the burden on the PFI contractors to design, bid and build the public assets. Under these criteria, the public organizations often come up with a design for a public infrastructure project. This work may be done by internal experts, or it may be awarded to a private company specialized in architecture. Once the plan is authorized, the government then invites bids from privately own ed construction companies, thus paving way for the winning bidder to construct the facility3. Many projects for government facilities have conventionally had extended private sector contacts to cater for maintenance. Typical cases of a PFI are court facilities and government offices that have been built on privately owned buildings. The health care industry is also not left out: many small government-owned health care facilities are operating in private sector premises. Better Service Delivery Private finance initiative has been implemented in the United Kingdom, where the government emphasized its significance and contribution toward better service delivery to citizens. In 2002, the government announced that it would engage the private sector more, especially to improve the quality of services in the healthcare industry4. The government made public its intention to ensure that quality services were achieved by approving contracts that had met the thresholds of quality. But whereas PFI can be more costly to implement as compared to conventional government funding, since public institutions enjoy lower lending rates than the private investors, most of the governments around the world have held the belief that the increased costs of amassing the needed finances by the private sector will remain etched in the better services for a far longer period of time5. Additionally, proponents of a PFI believe that there will be efficiency in savings. Market forces have also proved the government wrong: private companies have

Conduct an investigation into any business organization. I choose ( Essay

Conduct an investigation into any business organization. I choose ( Ooredoo Qatar ) - Essay Example Ooredoo is a public telecommunication company based in Qatar. It provides mobile, wireless, wireline and content services (Ooredoo.om, 2015). The state partly owns the company. It was a monopoly before starting to trade publicly in 2006. Ooredoo was first launched in Kuwait in 1999 before Qatar Telecom acquired 51% Wataniya Telecom shares from Kuwait Projects Holding KSC (KIPCO) group. In 2012, Qatar Telecom (QTel) made an offer to acquire the rest of the company. It has since increased its share to 92.1%. Its name changed to Ooredoo from Wataniya. QTel itself began in 1949 but was officially established in 1987. It developed to be National Telephony Services in 1970, operated by Qatar National Telephone Services (QVTS) while international services by Cable and Wireless. Corporate social responsibility (CSR) is a duty that organizations have, other than making profits, to communities in which they find themselves. It is an emerging concept that has become universally accepted and adopted by many business entities as a way of appreciating communities and other stakeholders of organizations worldwide. CSR consumes the resources of organizations thus reducing their profits. This appears to be an inconsistency to the role of directors, which is to increase the wealth of shareholders by increasing profits. However, CSR does not start or end with the communities themselves but also with the shareholders too. Managers of organizations have a corporate social responsibility to shareholders in varied ways. The first corporate social responsibility and the most important are maximizing profits leading to good returns and dividend policies. Organizations have a responsibility to shareholders who are the owners of capital to offer them good returns. This, therefore, calls upon the managers of Ooredoo to always make favorable and attractive dividend policies, which will attract more investors and create value for the shareholders investments. It is the

William Faulkners Essay Example for Free

William Faulkners Essay William’s Faulkner’s â€Å"Barn Burning† will confirm the prevalence of moral order over any other order, so that where conflict exists between truth and blood, truth prevails. Although it could be invoked that blood is thicker than water , it is also counter argued that water is wider than blood . There is therefore no substitute for choosing what is right under all circumstances. Discussion of â€Å"Barn Burning† will illustrate in reality the truth of the proposition as it tries to persuade that there is in fact basis to believe and adhere to such proven universality of truth. One argument to support the thesis of this paper is the fact the moral duty occupies higher ground than duty to parents. Doing what is right may result to disobeying parents as long the person exercising the responsibility knows what is right. Such is the case in point in the Faulker’s Barn Burning which is a story of an adolescent boy named Sartoris Snopes (or Sarty as hereinafter called) who is made to appear in court, hoping he will not have to testify in the arson case against his father (Mr. Snopes). Sarty knew that his father Mr. Snopes was absolutely guilty of arson but whoever judge will handle the case now was not an easy thing for Sarty to handle and could still be considered by Sarty as his enemy since the very person to be convicted and was facing the risk of punishment is his very father. Must not Sarty as a son still have to maintain some loyalty given the relationship being by blood? Has that point of testifying against one’s father come Sarty? Has he has not yet separated himself from his father? What must he do? Answering these challenging questions require going deeper what really happened in the story. Before proceeding to some of details of the story, it is best to express for the meantime the argument for upholding the prevalence of moral duty over loyalty to one’s father. It may thus be argued that that fulfillment of moral duty would lead eventually to independence of a person. Independence is the price for making difficult choices for which Sarty is also subject in the story. After laying the arguments to support the thesis there is still need to define some terms as used in the thesis for purpose of clarity. What are the separate meanings of duty to parents, moral duty and independence? Duty to parents is the obligation to obey parents with due all due consideration and respect by reason of the natural relationship. Moral duty is the capacity to choose what is right over what is wrong under all circumstances. Independence as defined connotes freedom from coercion in making difficult choices and a declaration by a person’s individual responsibility for his or her decision. After the definitions, the arguments may now be supported with important parts of the story. Since the first argument is the fact the moral duty occupies higher ground than duty to parents, it may be asked: What is right thing that must be done by Sarty and that may result to disobeying his parents? The obvious answer is the decision to tell the court the truth in making his testimony but such testimony could pin down his father, whom he knows to be guilty. An independent observer may readily see the internal conflict of loyalty to parents and love of truth in the case of Sarty. Indeed it would be straightforward to say that Sarty whether he likes or must make a choice between right and wrong in the end. He cannot leave a decision hanging between the peace’ and â€Å"dignity represented by the de Spains with the meanness and unhappiness of the Snopes family. But one may have to understand that it is more than that. Basing on the story’s beginning, when Sarty was prepared to testify that his father was innocent of burning down that barn, he would have done it because it is his job is to stick to his father. One may however see that at the end of the story, Sarty cautioned Major de Spain (the owner) about his father’s intention to burn down the latter’s stunning plantation. Sarty did this though with his knowledge that this will bring his (Snope’s) family down once and for all, and that this could cause never be able to go home again. This is a difficult decision to make for a boy. How in the world could he made the right one? To do this, Sarty must realize that he was not his father, and the path he wanted to travel in the world was not the same as his father’s. In making a choice, perhaps there is need to go back what led his father to commit arson as subject of trial for which Sarty was being made to testify. The story would readily tell then the nature or predisposition of Sarty’ father to burn everything. Sarty Snope’s family are wandering farmers, hence there is basis in the story to say that they move around even more often than is normal because of his father’s practice (that has become a habit) of burning something down every time to express his anger. Perhaps with his personal evaluation, Sarty understood that there was something profoundly psychological wrong about his father, but it would seem that he disregarded his father’s danger. What a bad luck may the incident has meant for Sarty since upon their family’s arrival at the beautiful plantation of Major de Spain, Sarty had the feeling that the de Spains are safe but as event turned out in the story, Sarty did not know that his father could just as easily bring down a big plantation when his father gets angry. In support of the argument that fulfillment of moral duty would lead eventually to independence of a person, it may be stated that what is natural will come to pass. Moral duty which this paper defined as the capacity to choose what is right over what is wrong under all circumstances has its roots in the natural law and violating the same could have grave consequences like the feeling of guilty conscience. Fulfillment of the moral duty has its rewards too to the person as it could mean freedom from guilty conscience and freedom to make more moral decisions that could sustain long term happiness and independence. In may be asked: Must loyalty bow at the altar moral duty? When must loyalty come to an end? It may be observed that an important part of the story is about loyalty but there is an inner conflict in which the character of the story must face that is his ability to be loyal to his blood origin. And so in Faulkner’s â€Å"Barn Burning†, Sarty spent the majority of the story under a great emotional confusion. What could really cause a young man to tell his father: â€Å"Father please stop as what you are doing is wrong. † It was therefore the demand for loyalty to his father brought about by the relationship that has caused him mixed emotions as to what is the right or wrong in dealing with his father’s tendency to barn burnings. There is basis to notice Sarty’s father’s paranoid thinking and silent threats that may be giving Sarty the inner battle between what’s morally right and family loyalty. In the story, there is that ever-present pull that was causing his guilt feelings. Hence, in one instance he was seen defending his father’s actions and this happened shortly after he was angry with his father for putting the family in such terrible conditions. As in every suffering that must come to an end, he had to be under the true test of loyalty which came at the end of the story when it became clear that his father will be burning the landlord’s barn down after the incident a certain incident within his knowledge. Sarty was angry but the guilt never stopped. If viewed in psychology, it may observed that anger and guilt could really happen together at the same time for Sarty and one would ask: â€Å"Which emotion has the greater chance of being expressed or realized into actions? † First it must also be asked â€Å"What would have made Sarty to feel guilty to the situation? † It may argued that a short period of time did occur in story when Sarty is actually an partner in crime to his father’s actions which he may freely done although with hesitation by running to the to place he was ordered to go and getting the oil to be used by his father in setting the fire. Sarty did show loyalty to his father by obedience. Indeed, loyalty could be blind if it closes its eyes to the truth. Indeed blood is thicker than water but water is wider than blood as oceans contain all the water but blood stays only in living animals. Sarty, in his search for true identity, must now make a choice and he must choose fulfillment of moral duty over his duty to parents. Thus throughout Faulkner’s story Sarty was seeking his true identity. There was confusion caused by his father’s actions that had push him to question who he was. His feeling was temporary while his moral duty to tell the truth of his father’s actions was universal. Although it was his duty to be loyal to his blood and hate the men who were enemies of his father hates, there was a higher standard of which he must also respond. Thus in the storey it could be deciphered that after Sarty was struck by his father for almost telling the Justice of the Peace the truth about the fire and he was found expressing his confusion. He needed therefore to search for what was his true identity to find the solution to that confusion, What may have caused confusion was the fact that he was being struck by his father without any explanation. He was most of the time treated as young man. Sarty may be presumed not to have taught maturity by his father. His having to obey his father to get the oil to be used for burning was an imposition into his mind. It could only be Sarty’s own way of developing where he could assert himself that he ought to become a mature person in order to have courage to face the consequences of his decision. As Sarty was a young man he could have been experiencing and asking the inevitable question of identity and knowing but not knowing enough. His feeling of the pressure to be what his father wanted him to be, although in his heart he knew that his father was wrong was something that must be resolved. In weighing things, he tried to find justification about his father’s behavior in order to be what he thought he should be by telling himself that his father was once a soldier, who deserves respect and honor him and this attempt included trying to convince himself that his father was done with his criminal behaviors. But an instance happened where the landlord demanded twenty bushels of corn as payment for damages that his father had ruined and the book how Sarty thought about the matter: â€Å" Maybe this is the end of it. Maybe even that twenty bushels that seems hard to have to pay for just a rug will be a cheap price for him to stop forever and always from being what he used to be†¦maybe he won’t collect the twenty bushels † His nature as person may have afforded Sarty’ capacity to mature. Attaining maturity is a natural phenomenon in one’s life as one grows with age. For Sarty, it may be argued that he did in fact survive his childhood and was able to look back on it sensibly. From being a child he felt his father could not help but be what he was; but nature has its own way and by the time that adulthood came to Sarty, he was aware of the truth of his father’s criminal behavior and which Faulkner has written: â€Å"†¦the element of fire spoke to some deep mainspring of his father’s being, as the element of steel or of powder spoke to other men, as the one weapon for the preservation of integrity, else breath were not worth the breathing, and hence to be regarded with respect and used with discretion† . This knowledge of what is wrong is a natural feeling and the mind appreciates without really thinking is predispose to avoid a rule. Interviewing a friend about whether he exerts effort of knowing what is right, the response was: â€Å"It is one’s nature to avoid the wrong. † There is time for everything. Everything that has started must come to an end. The dilemma that Sarty was suffering must come to an end. Sarty has now to make a decision. He is to make a choice between what is right or wrong. The moment to decide to practice a Sarty’ maturity did came the night of the final barn burning when Sarty made the decision on a subliminal level to warn the landlord of his father’s actions. It was also at that same night that night his father got killed and Sarty realized that he was set free; it was therefore decision that he has done the right thing. His running to the flaming barn, he felt he was running through his childhood. With his screams, he suddenly became calm and clear headed to signal his freedom. It may be concluded the life may be a series of trade offs or great exchanges of what is important to individual person’s life. There are issue of values which may not be seen but felt and asserted by their universalities. Independence is one of this values and its pursuit requires a moral agent to do what is right under the circumstance. Independence has however a price to pay and may extend to individual’s love ones. Such was the story beautifully portrayed by â€Å"Burning Barn†. Works Cited: Faulkner, The Faulkner Reader: Selections from the Works of William Faulkner, Random House, 1954 Flexner and Flexner, ‘Wise Words and Wives Tales: The Origins, Meanings and Time-Honored Wisdom of Proverbs and Folk Sayings Olde and New, Avon Books, New York, 1993 Hoffman, W. Blood is Thicker Than Water, Alien Perspective 2002 Personal interview with a friend conducted on what one feel about a given wrong in making a choice.

Leading And Managing A Change In Clinical Practice Nursing Essay

Leading And Managing A Change In Clinical Practice Nursing Essay I had seen many patients complains of complex wounds that need long time to cure. Complex wounds are considered as a real challenge to the health care providers especially when it is accompanied with factors that can play role in impaired and complicate wound healing such as Surgery, infection, the presence of diabetes, Trauma, Radiation, Autoimmune diseases and arteriosclerosis. As stated by Ferreira. M, 2006: The most commonly seen complex wounds that require special care and attention are Wounds in the lower extremity of diabetic patients, Pressure ulcers, Chronic venous ulcers, Wounds following extensive necrotic processes caused by infections and Chronic wounds related to vasculitis and immunosuppressive therapy that have not healed using simple care. There is no specialized and responsible team who can determine the best type of management for the patients with complex wounds. The health care provider in the hospital is providing the same care and management to the patients who complaining of simple or complex wounds. They need to know that There are striking differences between simple wounds, for example surgical wounds or skin scratches, and those chronic wounds that do not heal primarily and demand specialized care, mostly in hospitals (Ferreira. M, 2006) .This will harm the patient (physically and emotionally), decrease the quality of care that provides to the patients, delay wound healing and increase the period of hospitalization. The care provided for patients with wounds can be described in one single word which its DRESSING. While the treatment of the complex wound is much complicated. Determining that the majority of these complex wounds should be considered surgical cases and not just cases for dressings as stated by Ferreira. M. 2006. The treatment of complex wounds should be by using surgical procedures instead of the clinical measures. In addition to debridements, skin grafting, and flap coverage. Health care providers (doctors, nurses, etc) need to increase their awareness about the important of the presence of wound management team in each hospital to decide the best type of management, decrease the complexity of the treatment and choose the best surgical approaches that will increase the quality of life to the patient. Step 2 A complicated wound needs more than just a bandage to recover and heal. It needs special attention; compassion of a wound care team who are specializes in non-healing and slow to heal wounds. As stated by Tjandra. J, 2001Wound healing is the replacement of destroyed tissue by living tissue, and is fundamental to survival. My vision is to form a team of professionals who work together to assess patients wound and provide input regarding their treatment. This team consists of physicians, physical therapists, dietitians and nurses wound therapy nurses and nurses specialized in complex wounds. These specialized wound nurses may visit patients in their home in order to provide an effective plan to heal their wounds. They have to work on providing appropriate wound care to the patients that will help the complex wound to heal faster. As well as they should know that Wound healing may be impaired by general factors such as malnutrition, corticosteroids, diabetes mellitus and anaemia, which affect the patient as a whole. And local factors such as infection, ischaemia and hematoma which affect the site of the wound (Tjandra. J, 2001). In addition to cleansing, control bacterial growth and prevent infection. This team will also provides education to patients and their families to help prevent any future complications, increase there awareness regard complex wounds and their demands to heal, encourage them to collaborate with the team and participate in the treatment. This change will enhance the quality of care patients received; improve the quality of life, decrease the period of hospitalization and promote the process of healing. It is important that all practitioners are aware of the pathophysiology and aetiology of pressure ulcers and mechanisms to prevent pressure ulcer development (Ousey, K, 2005) because Patients with complex wounds need to spend long period in the hospital so they will be at high risk of develop bed sore. Team members should coordinate program to prevent pressure ulcer that will protect the patient from getting this series skin problem. This change will build up a very strong team who are able to put the patient on the right way of cure and make them able to treat the complex wounds in time less than the expected. It is a real chance for all the health care provider specially nurses toward increasing their knowledge and improving there skills. Wound care team consider as a good step towards improving the health care services in the hospital. Step 3 4 Leadership is a very important concept in nursing professional that helps to develop the skills of nurses and the other health care professionals. I will be able to achieve my vision by using one of the most important models in leaderships and management. It is John Adairs Leadership model. Adair has developed what he calls a functional approach to leadership based on three overlapping circles of needs which are achieving the task, managing the team or group and managing individuals (Cipd 2010). By adopting this model of leadership, my responsibilities as a leader to achieve the task are as follows: sharing my vision, goals, and objectives with the team members. Then, create an action plan to achieve the task, considering timescales and strategies. It is important to share my action plan with the members and ask them for feedback or suggestions. After that I will distribute responsibilities by agreement and delegation, monitor and maintain overall performance against plan and report the progress toward the team aim continuously. Finally review, reassess, adjust plan, methods as necessary. In addition to that I will encourage and motivate the members to be involved in making decisions and giving suggestions, to make the task a success and meet our goals. The leader should try to resolve any groups conflicts and look for ways to develop a cooperative team working. However, to develop each nurse and improve her skills, we will recognize the team member as individuals, and get to know their strengths and needs, we have to help them and encourage them to challenge the complex cases of wounds. It is very important to give awards and recognitions to the individuals hard efforts and work. Therefore, to achieve my vision and reveal the benefits of this change I will apply Lewins three- stage model of change. It is a holistic model that helps people to think about the change and gradually adopt it as pointed out by martin (2003). Lewin proposed 3 stages for any changes to occur, including: the unfreezing stage is when people start to believe that there is a need for change, the moving stage, when it is possible to make changes, and the refreezing stage is when the change is strengthened and becomes the new normal state (martin 2003). In the unfreezing stage team members must realize that they will be able to treat any type of complex wounds and promote wound healing if they work on improve their knowledge and skills. They will see the importance of act as one collaborative group to enhance the quality of care and promote wound healing. As stated by Reinelt (2010) Evidence-based practice (EBP) is commonly used to inform practice decisions in the fields of medicine, nursing, social work, child welfare, and criminal justice. So it is important to provide the team with some evidence based research that will guide decision-making about what treatments and protocols to use with individual patients, and offenders to ensure the highest possible accountability for producing good results. Reinelt (2010). In addition to that, I will invite nurses and doctors from other countries that are already implemented this idea in their hospitals and ask them to give presentation to our health care providers about their experience and discuses how this change can improve the quality of care and increase the benefits to the patients. Throughout this stage, I will be expecting initial resistance to the change by some people but I will listen carefully to their opinions and issues, I will try to convince them of the important and the benefits of implementing this change. I will also encourage them to give suggestions that would help in achieving my vision. In the moving stage, we will see the possibility of forming complex wound team in the hospital and improve members skills and knowledge. In this stage I will arrange for different teaching sessions and workshops that will help in increase members knowing, improve their therapeutic and communication skills, and enhance their confidence. One of the most important nursing leadership qualities is supporting your team, If the members of the team wish to develop new skills, or apply their theoretical knowledge in a practical environment, it is important that the leader provide a supportive environment for them to try out these skills. This will provide them with the true method of learning, and develop their skills in a competent manner (Lalwani, P. 2010). In addition, there will be a team supervisor who will distribute and organize the work between the members and promote team collaboration. In the refreezing stage, the change is carried out and implemented, the team is working together to treat and promote healing of any difficult wounds. Leader should keep in mind that not every member can deal with stress and other such aspects of the profession very well. So, as a leader, I will need to support them, and understand and help them in a way that proves useful for them (Lalwani, P. 2010). The Leader is responsible of solving problems, encourage and motivate the members and introduce feedbacks, as stated by Lalwani, P. 2010, Feedback can, and should also be positive, as this will further encourage your team members to perform better and keep introducing innovative yet efficient ways of becoming independent. Therefore, there will be monitoring committee to observe team achievements, evaluate their understanding, knowledge and skills and recognize the benefits of this change for patients, families, and the healthcare providers. The findings will determine if we will carry o n this change, stop it or create another action plan to overcome the difficulties and improve the outcomes. Step5 As stated by Lalwani, P. 2010, my goal is ensure the betterment of the organization I am work for, by improving the quality of patient care, which I can do with the application of various creative leadership qualities and management strategies, and the different leadership styles in nursing. My action plan included many steps and events which will aid to achieve my vision and create wound management team consist of physicians and nurses specialize in the complex wounds. This will help to achieve my goals such as enhance the quality of care patients received, improve patients quality of life, and promote healing of the difficult wounds. In addition to improve health care providers knowledge and skills regarding the difficult wounds and the most important thing is create nurses specialize in wound therapy and make them able to treat any complicated wounds. So I think my action plan is fit well with my previous explanation and rational for change. Conclusion By the end of this assignment I discover that there are at least 8 qualities that successful leaders have: Responsibility, Integrity, Decision takers, Deal with facts, Vision and inspiration, Optimism, Resilient, and Excellence (Brodie, D. 2008). The Successful leaders are not just working to put themselves in good senior position but to use their skills, knowledge and all the leadership qualities for the growth of the organization that they are working for, provide high quality of care to the patients that will lead to patient satisfaction and play role in the progress of their health and well being. I can understand now that the leaders are those who are willing to follow. They must be perfect in whatever they do, because by doing their best; they will discover that only the best is expected from their team members. http://www.scielo.br/scielo.php?pid=S1807-59322006000600014script=sci_arttext Tjandra, J. Clunie, G. Thomas, R (2001). Text Book of Surgery/ Wound Healing and Wound Management. USA, Canada, Australia. 2nd ed., Pp 20, 23, 24, 25. Ousey. K, (2005) Pressure Area Care, UK.1st ed., Pp 13 http://www.cipd.co.uk/subjects/maneco/leadership/leadshipovw.htm?IsSrchRes=1 Martin, V. 2003 Leading change in health and social care, 1st ed., Routledge: London and New York, Pp. 104-06. http://leadershiplearning.org/blog/claire-reinelt/2010-06-29/use-evidence-based-practice-field-leadership-development http://www.buzzle.com/articles/nursing-leadership-qualities.html (Lalwani, P. 2010) http://ezinearticles.com/?The-8-Qualities-of-Successful-Leadersid=760414

Pathophysiology of DORV and Surgical Management

Pathophysiology of DORV and Surgical Management Advances in genetic techniques and ability to detect the chromosomal abnormalities in the cellular structures; have had a great impact on the detection of congenital cardiac defects. Although in the past congenital heart diseases have long been recognised as a constituent of complex genetic syndromes, a genetic cause for specific congenital heart diseases has less been apparent; as the sources of these defects has been believed to be multifactoral. In addition, with the advancement of the molecular genetic studies, it has come to light that in many instances, congenital heart diseases exhibit classic Mendelian transmission. It is also possible to trace the direct involvement of a gene with a particular congenital cardiac defect. Tetrology of Fallot has been found to have genetic predisposition, it is estimated that offspring of a parent with tetrology of Fallot is more likely to suffer from the disease in comparison to offsprings whose parents do not suffer from congenital heart disease. Studies estimated that about 1.5% of live births will be affected by tetrology of Fallot if the parents suffer from the defect and about 0.1% will be affected by the presence of tetrology of Fallot if parents do not suffer from congenital heart disease. In comparison in DORV chromosomal abnormalities have only been identified in some cases. In the Baltimore-Washington infant study, DORV was diagnosed in a few patients with downs syndrome and in trisomies 13 and 18, although the incidence was quite low compared with that morphologically similar lesion, tetrology of Fallot. In addition the related conotruncal abnormality, complete transposition of the great arteries, was not found in any patient with trisomy in reported study, this suggests that DORV and transposition of great arteries may be etiologically similar and may be fundamentally different form tetrology of Fallot in terms if developmental mechanism. Also DORV and Transposition of Great arteries are rarely found in patients with CATCH 22 syndromes, although tetrology of Fallot is not uncommon. In a large sample study of patients with conotruncal abnormalities to evaluate the frequency of 22q11 deletions, only 1of 20 patients with DORV as compared to 15.9% of the patients with tetrology of Fallot. The studies have also reported that DORV may be a part of complex CHD in patients with DiGeorge, velocardiofacial and conotruncal anomaly-face syndrome. In a resent animal study it was reported that DORV occur in mouse embryos homozygous for the JMJ mutation, which affects the nuclear protein jmj coded by chamber-specific genes. Surgical Management Surgical management for the DORV and tetrology of Fallot is determined by the anatomy and physiology of the defect as well as the age at which the diagnosis is made and at which the need for surgical intervention arises. Indications for operation are similar to those for defects that lie on each side of the DORV spectrum (VSD, tetralogy of Fallot, and Transposition of great arteries). In addition the presence of associated cardiac defects may modify the approach. In DORV the position of VSD and the presence and severity of pulmonary stenosis are probably the most important considerations. In tetralogy of Fallot most patients have satisfactory systemic arterial oxygenation saturation at birth and require no treatment. However when the oxygen saturation drops below 75-80% operative intervention becomes imperative. Hypoxemic spells may occur from the transient reductions in pulmonary blood flow, due to sudden increase in right ventricular outflow tract obstruction and the decrease in systemic vascular resistance, so a surgical approach takes into consideration the number and location of ventricular septal defects, anatomy and severity of right outflow tract obstruction, coronary artery and aortic arch anatomy and the presence of other cardiac and non cardiac anomalies. Depending on the severity of the cyanosis two types of surgical streams are available. There are two basic possible types of surgical strategies for newborn infants with tetralogy of Fallot. One of the strategies consists of a staged repair; where initial palliation is followed by a complete repair and other one being a complete repair in the neonatal period. Palliative surgical correction, which often does not require the use of cardiopulmonary bypass, is the creation of systemic to pulmonary shunt. This correction is achieved by connecting systemic blood flow source to a the pulmonary blood flow, as already mentioned the main feature of this congenital defect is the reduced flow to the pulmonary system which is the basis of cyanosis. The palliative repair is done by fitting a tubular prosthesis between a systemic artery and a pulmonary artery as shown in the figure (?) (a, b and c). The commonest type of systemic-to-pulmonary arterial shunt is a modified Blalock-Taussig anastomosis which is a communication between a subclavian and pulmonary artery of the same side. Another form of palliative correction is done by creating a connection between ascending or descending aorta and the trunk of pulmonary artery. The connection which connects the posterior ascending aorta to anterior pulmonary trunk is called Waterston shunt and connection bet ween posterior pulmonary artery to anterior descending aorta is called potts shunt. Both of these techniques have there advantages and disadvantages (figure (S) e and f). Figure ( ? ) The most common types of palliative procedures for tetralogy of Fallot. The modified Blalock-Taussig shunt (MBTS) using a Gore-Tex graft either from the right subclavian artery (A) or the right innominate (INN) artery (B). C, A central aortopulmonary shunt using Gore-Tex. D, A right ventricular outflow patch without ventricular septal defect closure. Pathophysiology of DORV Once the anatomic variables of DORV are understood, the various physiologic manifestations become both logical and predictable, at the tetrology end of the DORV spectrum; pathophysiology is similar to that in the tetrology of Fallot. The most important variables determining the physiology of a given heart are the position of the VSD in relation to great arteries, the relation of the great arteries to each other and the presence of associated defects (in particular, outflow tract obstruction). In general patients with large VSD and no pulmonary stenosis or severe pulmonary vascular resistance are not clinically cyanotic. This is because Qp is high and the resultant mixture of blood in the right ventricle has a high enough oxygen saturation to prevent clinically evident cyanosis; however there is some arterial desaturation. Although both great arteries arise from the right ventricle, often incomplete mixing of oxygenated and unoxygenated blood occurs at the ventricular level because of streaming. This streaming of blood within RV is usually determined by the relationship of semilunar valves to the VSD and the position and presence of the infundibular septum. The blood in the great artery most closely related to the VSD and therefore most aligned with LV outflow tract tends to have the highest oxygen saturation. Likewise, the great artery that due to streming, preferentially receives systemic venous return, tends to have a lower saturation. This phenomema is somewhat different from true single ventricle physiology. In DORV with subaortic VSD and no pulmonary stenosis, pulmonary blood flow will be determined by the relationship of pulmonary to systemic vascular resistance. What is usually the case after the first few weeks of life pulmonary vascular resistance is less than systemic vascular resistance, pulmonary blood flow will be greater than systemic flow, resulting in higher than normal pulmonary arterial saturation and congestive heart failure. As the pulmonary vascular resistance increases in response to this abnormal volume load, pulmonary blood flow correspondingly decreases. Eventually, if left untreated, this usually results in pulmonary vascular obstruction disease with severely and irreversible elevated pulmonary vascular resistance, causing progressive cyanosis and early mortality. However if when the VSD is in subaortic position with pulmonary stenosis, whether valvular or subvalvular, obstruction to pulmonary blood flow is found. Conduction System In tetrology of Fallot the sinus and atrioventricular nodes are normal in location, and the bundle of His follows the same general course as in patients with isolated perimembraneous and juxtatricuspid VSDs. Thus it emerges through the right fibrous trigone at the base of the noncoronary cusp of the aortic valve and courses forward toward the papillary muscle of the conus along the inferior VSD margin or slightly to the left side of the defect edge. In addition, hearts which show marked clockwise rotation of the aortic root with overriding, the right trigone is carried more rightward and superiorly and directly into VSD margin. By contrast, the bundle of His does not lie on VSD margin when a muscle ridge is present, since the ridge projects superiorly above the right fibrous trigone. In DORV with concordant AV connections the AV node lies in the usual position in the muscular portion of the AV septum. The bundle of His penetrates the fibrous right trigone of the central body and lies along the posteroinferior margin of the VSD in lesions that are juxtatricuspid wheter the defect is subaortic, doubly committed, or sub-pulmonary. When muscle is interposed between the defect and the tricuspid valve, this muscle protects the bundle, which no longer runs along the posteroinferior free margin of the defect. Oxygenation Hemodynamic representation of Tetrology of Fallot (indicating right to left shunting) Supply of oxygen to the body Due to the mal-alignment and deviation from the normal physiology, the main issue of the patients with tetarology of Fallot is hypoxemia due to inadequate pulmonary blood flow caused by the inadequate pulmonary blood flow, which is determined by the right ventricular pressures and degree of obstruction. Since the right and left ventricular and aortic pressure is equalized, a drop in systemic arterial pressure will result in a reduction in pulmonary blood flow. Oxygen carrying capacity of blood depends mostly on haemoglobin concentration and greater the haemoglobin concentration in the blood that perfuses the lungs, the greater the amount of oxygen extracted per unit of blood flow. In neonates the haemoglobin concentration is relatively high (15 to 18 g/dL), however it drops to about 10 or 12g/dL by 3-4 months after birth. In neonates with tetralogy of Fallot there is an increase in blood level of erythropoietin due to hypoxemia. Iron is required to maintain or increase in haemoglobin levels; however suckling infants have very low stores of iron and food intake in early infancy provides little iron. Therefore there is a high incidence of anaemia in children with tetralogy of Fallot. On the other hand tetraology spectrum of DORV, where the great arteries lie side by side with aorta to the right of pulmonary artery and both semilunar valves lying in the same transverse and coronal plane the physiology is similar to tetralogy of Fallot. In these neonates the VSD is closer to aortic valve thus oxygenated blood form left ventricle is directed to the aorta and the deoxygenated blood is directed to pulmonary artery but the degree of pulmonary stenosis directs portion of deoxygenated blood into aorta. In addition due to the presence of large VSD both ventricles are subjected to similar pressures. Due to the pulmonary stenosis the blood flow to the lungs is restricted causing drop in the pulmonary systolic pressure, which in turn causes hypoxemia. The pulmonary stenosis is most often infundibular, but may be valvular, with or without a small pulmonary valve ring. In doubly committed VSD category of the DORV spectrum the conoventricular septal defect is both subaortic and sub-pulmonary owing significant conal septal mal-development and mal-position. The hemodynamics change in that case will also be determined by the presence or absence of subaortic or sub-pulmonary stenosis. Therefore cases with sub-pulmonary stenosis will have reduction in the pulmonary blood flow and will result in the hypoxemia and thereby cyanosis corresponding physiological characteristics of tetralogy of Fallot. Also in cases of non-committed DORV majority of great vessels arise form right ventricle thus right ventricle is subjected both pulmonary and aortic circulation resistance. Oxygenated blood form left ventricle gets mixed with non-oxygenated blood through VSD making systemic and pulmonary circulation equal. In addition due to left and right shunting right ventricle is volume overloaded and results in congestive heart failure. Additionally, the stimulation for the formation of red cells continues and very high counts of red cells are achieved, but the cells are microcytic and hypochromic, since the average corpuscle volume and average corpuscle haemoglobin are markedly reduced. Also the rise above 60% increases the blood viscosity. This raised viscosity of blood leads to greater resistance to flow through the tissues and ultimately capacity to transport oxygen vanishes. In transposition spectrum of DORV the physiology is different then described above, since the presence of large sub-pulmonary VSD and its commitment to the pulmonary artery; the course of circulation is dependent on the afterload on each ventricle, as shunting could occur in either direction. In this type of defect the oxygen saturation in the pulmonary artery is higher than in systemic circulation. The high oxygen saturation of pulmonary arterial blood will however decrease the pulmonary vascular resistance and consequently will result in right to left shunting during systole. This will result in some decrease in PO2 of blood distributed to the lungs as well as through ductus arteriosus. On the other hand during diastole a larger volume of blood will return from the pulmonary veins to the left atrium and ventricle and thus results in a left to right shunting. As a result, the oxygen saturation of the blood going to systemic circulation is increased and thus tends to limit the abnorm al decrease in the upper body PO2. A characteristic of this defect is the presence of a large unrestrictive VSD with which the mixing of pulmonary and systemic blood takes. This phenomena result in a relatively large pulmonary to systemic blood flow ratio and consequently high systemic oxygen concentrations; therefore limiting the tissue hypoxia. However the inability of the ventricles to maintain the physiological normal pressures cardiac failure is often associated in infants with transposition spectrum of DORV. Infants with this type of physiology usually appear with mild cyanosis and in congestive heart failure. In addition if there is effective mixing but pulmonary flow is reduced by the presence of pulmonary stenosis or increased pulmonary vascular resistance, pulmonary to systemic flow ratio decreases and arterial saturations will be lower and subsequently will result in tetrology of Fallot type pathophysiology. Right to Left Shunts. Now just for a moment let us consider a large VSD assocoiated with pulmonary valve stenosis which is severe enough to have a resistance greater than systemic vascular resistance. Just like the last case, this ratio of resistances results in reversal of the shunt. This is in fact an unusual combination, but the point here is that the situation mimics the haemodynamics of tetralogy of Fallot. Also it shows how associated pulmonary stenosis can have a great influence on cardiac malformations on many sorts. We will meet it again in the commom mixing situations. On the other hand with no pulmonary stenosis look at the difference Right to Left Shunts. I am making a morphological point here: tetralogy of Fallot is not a coincidence of pulmonary stenosis and VSD but the consequence of right ventricular outflow tract and central pulmonary artery hypoplasia. The diagram can be adjusted to accentuate this, as above. Tetralogy has a variable and sometimes spasmodic stenosis of the muscular right ventricular outflow tract. Sometimes, particularly early in life, the degree of obstruction is not great and the infant may present with signs of a VSD shunting left to right. Qp:Qs (Ratios Pulmonary to systemic Ratios) Double outlet Right ventricle hemodynamic representation (DORV -Common mixing) In many cases of complex congenital cardiac disease it can be quite difficult to understand how the degree of systemic desaturation reflects the flows in malformed heart. It helps to realise that many of them fall into this group of common mixing circulation, which is to say that all pulmonary and systemic venous blood streams are obliged to come together at some point in the circulation. They are: Totally anomalous pulmonary venous drainage. Univentricular heart. Double outlet right or left ventricle. All simple valve atresias. Fallot pulmonary atresia. Truncus arteriosus. And any of the above in combination with any other defect. If there is complete mixing of the systemic and pulmonary returns, it follows that pulmonary and systemic arterial saturation will be identical. Due to streaming effects, the mixing may not be quite complete but the saturations will still be nearly identical. This all means that some degree of systemic desaturation will be present. The degree of cyanosis is dictated by the ratio of pulmonary to systemic flow as shown in the figure above, in which Qp is pulmonary flow and Qs is systemic. Often, particularly in the univentricular heart and in the double outlet ventricles, it is asssociated pumonary stenosis which determines the ratio of Qp to Qs. Some patients with a Qp high enough to keep systemic saturation above 94% or so will not be clinically cyanosed. Time and space do not allow a full descrtiption of all the pathologies so we will take one example, double outlet right ventricle. Double outlet right ventricle is a good example of the haemodynamic variability of this group. The figure above shows the circulation in a case where there is a large ventricular septal defect, no pulmonary stenosis and no significant rise in the pulmonary vascular resistance. Pulmonary blood flow is elevated and the radiograph will show plethora. The high ratio between pulmonary and systemic venous return means that the saturation of the mixed flow, and therefore of the aortic blood, is 90%, which is barely detectable clinically as cyanosis INTRODUCTION  Ã‚  In 1888, Etienne-Louis Arthur Fallot described three cyanotic patients with four similar anatomic features [1]: Stenosis of the pulmonary artery Intraventricular communication Deviation of the origin of the aorta to the right Concentric right ventricular hypertrophy This constellation of findings has since become known as tetralogy of Fallot (TOF). The prevalence of TOF in the United States is about 3.9 per 10,000 live births [2]. This defect accounts for about 7 to 10 percent of cases of congenital heart disease and is one of the most common congenital heart lesions requiring intervention in the first year of life [3]. TOF occurs equally in males and females [4]. The pathophysiology, clinical features, and diagnosis of TOF will be reviewed here. An overview of the management of this disorder, including postoperative complications and issues related to pregnancy, are discussed separately. (See Overview of the management of tetralogy of Fallot.) ANATOMY  Ã‚  The exact embryologic abnormality that accounts for TOF is unknown. What is recognized is that during development, there is anterior and cephalad deviation of the infundibular septum. This results in a malaligned ventricular septal defect (VSD), with the aortic root overriding the defect and leading to subsequent right ventricular outflow obstruction (figure 1). The ensuing right ventricular hypertrophy is thought to be a response to the large VSD and right ventricular outflow obstruction with resultant systemic right ventricular systolic pressure. Ventricular septal defect  Ã‚  The VSD in TOF is most commonly a single large malaligned subaortic defect located in the perimembranous region of the septum (picture 1). The VSD can extend into the muscular septum. There are rarely other muscular ventricular septal defects. (See Pathophysiology and clinical features of isolated ventricular septal defects in infants and children.) Right ventricular outflow obstruction  Ã‚  The right ventricular outflow obstruction is often at multiple levels (picture 2): The anterior and cephalad deviation of the infundibular septum results in subvalvar obstruction Hypertrophy of muscular bands in this region can further accentuate subvalvar obstruction The pulmonary valve annulus is usually hypoplastic, although in some instances it is of normal size The pulmonary valve itself is frequently bicuspid and stenotic In addition, it is not uncommon to identify an area of supravalvar narrowing in the main pulmonary artery at the sinotubular ridge. There may also be further obstruction at the branch pulmonary arteries. These may be diffusely hypoplastic or have focal areas of stenosis, most commonly at the proximal branch pulmonary arteries. The proximal left pulmonary artery near the site of ductal insertion is a frequent location for stenosis (picture 3A-B). Overriding aorta  Ã‚  Overriding aorta is a congenital anomaly, in which the aorta is displaced to the right over the VSD rather than the left ventricle. This results in blood flow from both ventricles into the aorta. The degree of aortic override of the VSD can vary widely and is one of the major factors used by some groups to differentiate between TOF and double outlet right ventricle. If one defines double outlet right ventricle as the presence of aortic/mitral valve fibrous continuity, then the degree of override is not relevant to diagnosis. If, however, one defines double outlet right ventricle as a condition with greater than 50 percent aortic override, then, by definition, the degree of aortic override in TOF is limited. Associated cardiac features  Ã‚  There are a number of frequently associated anatomic features that are important to look for when evaluating a patient with TOF, since they affect therapy. Associated cardiac anomalies occur in about 40 percent of patients with TOF. Approximately 25 percent of patients have a right aortic arch. This is particularly important to identify if one is contemplating a palliative shunt. Abnormalities of the coronary arteries, such as the left anterior descending arising from the right coronary artery, are seen in about 9 percent of patients [5]. These are important to identify prior to complete repair, since the course of the artery may run directly across the right ventricular outflow tract; inadvertent transection could have catastrophic consequences. Occasionally, patients have significant aorticopulmonary collateral vessels that may require attention prior to or at the time of surgery. A patent ductus arteriosus, multiple ventricular defects, and complete atrioventricular septal defects may be present. Infrequently, aortic valve regurgitation is present due to aortic cusp prolapse. GENETIC FACTORS  Ã‚  Although TOF may present as part of a known syndrome, this lesion typically occurs sporadically without other anomalies. Surveys of patients with nonsyndromic TOF have reported the following genetic abnormalities: In one study of 114 patients with nonsyndromal TOF, 4 percent of patients had mutations in transcription factor NKX2.5., which appears to have a role in cardiac development [6]. In genome-wide surveys of patients with nonsyndromic TOF and their parents, de novo copy number variants were estimated to be present in about 10 percent of sporadic cases of TOF compared to less than 0.1 percent in controls at several chromosomal locations [7]. Tetralogy of Fallot has also been reported in association with mutations in TBX1 and ZFPM2 [8-10]. Further investigation is required to determine the role of these mutations in the evolution of Tetralogy of Fallot. Approximately 15 percent of patients with TOF present with associated syndromes, including Down syndrome (trisomy 21), Alagille syndrome (mutations in Jagged1), and DiGeorge and velocardiofacial syndromes (deletion on chromosome 22q11) [8,11-17]. There may be susceptibility genes for TOF within the latter region of chromosome 22q11 in children without extracardiac anomalies [16,18,19], and 22q11.2 deletion syndrome is unrecognized in many adult patients with TOF [20]. (See DiGeorge syndrome: Pathogenesis, epidemiology, and clinical manifestations  and Inherited disorders associated with conjugated hyperbilirubinemia, section on Alagille syndrome.) PATHOPHYSIOLOGY  Ã‚  The physiologic consequences of TOF are largely dependent upon the degree of right ventricular outflow obstruction. Since the VSD is typically large and unrestrictive, the pressure in the right ventricle reflects that of the left ventricle. As a result, the direction of blood flow across the VSD will be determined by the path of least resistance for blood flow, not by the size of the VSD. If the resistance to blood flow across the obstructed right ventricular outflow tract is less than the resistance to flow out of the aorta into the systemic circulation, blood will naturally shunt from the left ventricle to the right ventricle and into the pulmonary bed. In this situation, there is predominately a left-to-right shunt and the patient will be acyanotic. As the degree of right ventricular outflow obstruction increases, the resistance to blood flow into the pulmonary bed also increases. If the right ventricular obstruction is significant enough to increase resistance, it will be easier for blood to cross the VSD from the right ventricle into the left ventricle and go out the aorta, which now becomes the path of least resistance. This right-to-left shunt across the VSD will result in a large volume of desaturated blood entering the systemic circulation and cyanosis and polycythemia will ensue (figure 1). One of the physiologic characteristics of TOF is that the right ventricular outflow obstruction can fluctuate. An individual with minimal cyanosis can develop a dynamic increase in right ventricular outflow tract obstruction with a subsequent increase in right-to-left shunt and the development of cyanosis. In the most dramatic situation, there can be near occlusion of the right ventricular outflow tract with profound cyanosis. These episodes are often referred to as tet spells or hypercyanotic spells. The exact etiology of these episodes is unclear, although there have been a number of proposed mechanisms, including increased infundibular contractility, peripheral vasodilatation, hyperventilation, and stimulation of right ventricular mechanoreceptors [21]. CLINICAL PRESENTATION  Ã‚  The clinical presentation of the patient with TOF is dependent upon the degree of right ventricular outflow obstruction: Children with severe obstruction and inadequate pulmonary flow typically present in the immediate newborn period with profound cyanosis Children with moderate obstruction and balanced pulmonary and systemic flow may be noticed during elective evaluation for a murmur Children with minimal obstruction may present with pulmonary overcirculation and heart failure Most children with this lesion are symptomatic and cyanotic; there is a subgroup, however, with typical morphology and hemodynamics that remains clinically asymptomatic for a period of time (pink variant). In general, the earlier the onset of systemic hypoxemia, the more likely it is that severe pulmonary outflow tract stenosis or atresia is present. Physical examination  Ã‚  On inspection, individuals with TOF are usually comfortable and in no distress. However, during hypercyanotic spells, they will become hyperpneic, and infants will often become agitated. If cyanosis is present, it is most easily seen in the nail beds and lips. On palpation, one may appreciate a prominent right ventricular impulse and occasionally a systolic thrill. Hepatomegaly is uncommon. Peripheral pulses are usually normal, although the presence of prominent pulses may suggest the existence of a significant patent ductus arteriosus or aorticopulmonary collaterals. Cardiac auscultation  Ã‚  On auscultation, the first heart sound is normal, and the second heart sound is most commonly single because the pulmonic component is rarely audible. Third and fourth heart sounds are uncommon. An early systolic click along the left sternal border may be heard, which is thought to be due to flow into the dilated ascending aorta. (See Auscultation of heart sounds.) Murmur  Ã‚  The murmur in TOF is due primarily to the right ventricular outflow obstruction, not the VSD. The murmur is typically crescendo-decrescendo with a harsh systolic ejection quality; it is appreciated best along the left mid to upper sternal border with radiation posteriorly. It can, however, have a more regurgitant quality that can be easily mistaken for a VSD. (See Auscultation of cardiac murmurs.) The murmur is due both to the degree of obstruction and to the amount of flow across the obstruction. In TOF, unlike isolated valvar pulmonary stenosis, the amount of flow across the right ventricular outflow tract will decrease as the obstruction increases, due to the shunting of blood right-to-left across the VSD. Thus, as the obstruction increases, the murmur will become softer. During severe hypercyanotic spells, the murmur may actually disappear due to the markedly diminished flow across the obstruction.