Discuss Erikson's theory of development Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Discuss Erikson's theory of development - Essay Example â€Å"Ego identity is the conscious sense of self that we develop through social interaction† (Cherry 1). In the point of view of Erikson, the ego identity of an individual is controlled by the experiences he/she goes through in everyday life. As one interacts more with the society, it adds to one’s knowledge. Thus, the action and behavior of an individual is governed by his/her ego identity as well as a sense of competence. Erikson’s theory is based upon eight stages of psychosocial development (Harder). Each of these deals with a particular area of competence in life. It is up to the individual how he/she copes with the challenges encountered in each of the eight stages. If an individual performs well in a certain stage, he/she gains a feeling of mastery that is the symbol of ego strength. On the other hand, poor management of a stage will inculcate a feeling of inadequacy in the individual. The eight stages identified by Erikson are discussed below: Stage 1: T his stage is titled as trust vs mistrust. This stage essentially starts from the birth and lasts till the completion of first year of life. Because of the total dependability of child on adults in this stage, the development of trust in child depends upon the quality of care given by the adults. Development of trust is vital to achieve the sense of security in the whole life. Children whose caregivers are emotionally fake, inconsistent, and rejecting develop mistrust. When the caregivers are prudent and dutiful towards the child, the child develops trust that lasts for the whole life. Stage 2: This stage develops autonomy or doubt and shame in the child. This stage occurs in the early childhood and talks about the development of personal control in the children. When a child learns how to control various needs of the body, he/she feels independent. Moreover, a child makes choices between various types of foods, clothes and toys. Successful completion of the second stage makes a chil d confident. Otherwise, the child suffers from self-doubt. Stage 3: This stage decides the development of either initiative or guilt in the child. This covers the preschool years. Social interaction in this period gives a feeling of control and power to the child. Successful interaction with others in this stage inculcates leadership skills in the child, and unsuccessful experience inculcates guilt. Stage 4: This stage decides between inferiority and industry. The stage starts from age 5 and lasts till age 11. The encouragement received from parents makes the child competent and confident, and lack of encouragement by parents makes the child unconfident. Stage 5: This stage decides between confusion and identity and occurs in adolescence. Encouragement received in this stage provides a person with a strong identity and lack of encouragement makes him/her confused. Stage 6: This stage decides between isolation and intimacy and occurs in early adulthood. Development of intimacy in rel ationships makes them secure. Development of intimacy requires a strong sense of identity. Stage 7: Stage 7 is about the development of generativity or stagnation in a person. This stage focuses on the career building. If a person wins in this stage, he/she feels like contributing to the world positively. Failure in this stage lends the feeling of idleness to the person. Stage 8: This stage inculcat

Amendment to Controlled Substances Act: Hydrocodone

Amendment to Controlled Substances Act: Hydrocodone H.R. 1285: To Amend the Controlled Substances Act to Make Any Substance Containing Hydrocodone a Schedule II Drug Jill Garreth Abstract This paper describes H.R. 1285, a bill proposed to amend the Controlled Substances Act to make any substance containing hydrocodone a Schedule II drug. It explores the historical, sociocultural, ethical, economic and the political/legislative environment in which the bill was introduced. Some of the difficulties encountered include the bill being referred to the House Committee of Judiciary and the House Committee of Energy and Commerce (H.R. 1285-113th Congress: To Amend the Controlled Substances Act to Make Any Substance Containing Hydrocodone A Schedule II Drug, 2013). Since being referred to both committees, there has been no further action taken on this bill by Congress (H.R. 1285-113th Congress: To Amend the Controlled Substances Act to Make Any Substance Containing Hydrocodone A Schedule II Drug, 2013). Stakeholders in the passage of this bill include physicians, pharmacists, advanced practice nurses, patients and long term care (LTC) facilities. The likelihood that H.R. 1285 will pass is very small due to the fact that the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) recently made a ruling that changed hydrocodone to a schedule II drug (Drug Enforcement Administration, 2014). Because of the DEA’s actions, it seems unnecessary to push forward with H.R. 1285. Keywords: hydrocodone, schedule II drugs, controlled substances, DEA H.R. 1285: To Amend the Controlled Substances Act to Make Any Substance Containing Hydrocodone a Schedule II Drug Introduction H. R. 1285 is a bill introduced March 20, 2013 to amend the Controlled Substances Act to make any substance containing hydrocodone a Schedule II drug (H.R. 1285-113th Congress: To Amend the Controlled Substances Act to Make Any Substance Containing Hydrocodone A Schedule II Drug, 2013). H.R. 1285 â€Å"amends the Controlled Substances Act to remove dihydrocodeinone (hydrocodone) from classification as a schedule III controlled substance. Directs the Attorney General to immediately allow manufacturers and distributors to store hydrocodone compound products in accordance with the physical security requirements for schedule III, IV, and V controlled substances for three years beginning on the date enactment of this Act. Requires the Comptroller General to submit a report on the reclassification of hydrocodone products under this Act, including: (1) an assessment of the degree to which the reclassification of such products under this Act impacts the ability of patients with legitimate m edical needs, particularly those in rural areas and nursing home facilities, to access adequate pain management; and (2) recommendations necessary to address any issues relating to patient access to adequate pain management† (H.R. 1285-113th Congress: To Amend the Controlled Substances Act to Make Any Substance Containing Hydrocodone A Schedule II Drug, 2013). H.R. 1285 is a piece of legislation that could directly affect the prescriptive authority of an advanced practice nurse (DEA Issues Info, 2012). Some states only allow an advanced practice nurse the authority to write prescriptions for drugs rated Schedule III and below and because of that, H.R. 1285 has the potential to affect advanced practice nurses in at least nine states (DEA Issues Info, 2012). Environment Historical Title 21 of the United States Code Controlled Substances Act classifies drugs based on three criteria (U.S. Code: Title 21-Food and Drugs, 2012). The criteria used to determine the schedule of the drug is the potential for abuse of the drug, whether the drug has an acceptable medical purpose and the type of dependence the drug may perpetuate (U.S. Code: Title 21-Food and Drugs, 2012). Between 2004 and 2009 products containing hydrocodone had an increase in demand of approximately 125% (Drug-Related Hospital Emergency Room Visits, 2011). Florida Congressman Vern Buchanan introduced this bill to help combat the growing prescription drug epidemic in his home state of Florida and wants to make hydrocodone combination products more difficult to obtain and prescribe (Congressman Vern Buchanan representing Florida, 2014). Sociocultural There are more than just health concerns that have brought this issue to forefront. There have been many studies done that show a direct link to drug abuse and crime. According to the Bureau of Justice, 30% of offenders in state detention facilities stated that they would likely commit crimes in order to get money for drugs (Bureau of Justice Statistics, 2004). In Florida, at least 7 people die daily from prescription drug overdoses (Congressman Vern Buchanan representing Florida, 2014) and at least 75 people die daily nationwide (Drug Enforcement Administration, 2014). Crime and drug overdoses are just a few of the sociocultural considerations that caused Congressman Buchanan to introduce H.R. 1285. Ethical One ethical implication that pushes H.R. 1285 to the forefront of legislation is that because hydrocodone is a prescription medication, prescribers have an ethical responsibility to assist in combatting the misuse and abuse of this drug (Hamburg, 2014). H.R. 1285 is not designed to make it more difficult for patients with a legitimate need to obtain the medication but it is designed to assist the providers in making better educated decisions when prescribing medications that have such a high potential for abuse (Drug Enforcement Administration, 2014). Economic Economic factors that have made this issue important is not necessarily related to the cost of the drug but the cost of the effects of abuse of the drug. â€Å"Prescription opioid abuse costs were about $55.7 billion in 2007. Of this amount, 46% was attributable to workplace costs (e.g., lost productivity), 45% to healthcare costs (e.g., abuse treatment), and 9% to criminal justice costs† (Centers for Disease Control, 2014). In 2010 there were 49 million uninsured people in the United States (US Census Bureau, 2011). Rising healthcare costs and uninsured people need to be a consideration when legislators review H.R. 1285. Political/Legislative H.R. 1285 has been assigned to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce and the House Committee on Judiciary (H.R. 1285-113th Congress: To Amend the Controlled Substances Act to Make Any Substance Containing Hydrocodone A Schedule II Drug, 2013). The House Committee on Energy and Commerce has the responsibility of reviewing the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) ability to establish the effectiveness and safety of prescription and over-the-counter (OTC) drugs in the United States (Longest Jr., 2010). The House Committee on Judiciary has jurisdiction over revision to existing codes so it has an important role regarding amending the existing drug scheduling (United States House of Representatives Judiciary Committee, 2014). Despite the fact that both committees have a Republican majority, there has still been no movement on this bill. Difficulties Encountered H.R. 1285 was introduced on March 20, 2013 by Florida Republican Representative Vern Buchanan (H.R. 1285-113th Congress: To Amend the Controlled Substances Act to Make Any Substance Containing Hydrocodone A Schedule II Drug, 2013). This bill has 54 co-sponsors of which 32 are Republican and 22 are Democrat (H.R. 1285-113th Congress: To Amend the Controlled Substances Act to Make Any Substance Containing Hydrocodone a Schedule II Drug, 2013). H.R. 1285 has been referred to the House Committee of Judiciary and the House Committee of Energy and Commerce and the committee chair makes the determination on whether the bill moves forward (H.R. 1285-113th Congress: To Amend the Controlled Substances Act to Make Any Substance Containing Hydrocodone A Schedule II Drug, 2013). One difficulty noted in regards to H.R. 1285 is the fact that there has been no action taken since its introduction to Congress. There is no optimistic timeline to predict if H.R. 1285 is going to be passed. Speaking pess imistically, H.R. 1285 will not pass at all. As of October 6, 2014 a Drug Enforcement Administration’s (DEA) ruling took effect that is essentially in the same spirit as H.R. 1285 (Drug Enforcement Administration, 2014). This ruling reschedules hydrocodone from a schedule III drug to a schedule II drug (Drug Enforcement Administration, 2014). Since the DEA has already changed the schedule of hydrocodone and it has already been implemented, there is no need for further movement of H.R. 1285. Stakeholders in the passage of H.R. 1285 include physicians, pharmacists, advanced practice nurses, long term care (LTC) facilities and patients. LTC facilities have been especially vocal on this topic due to the fact they believe that any further regulation or change in the scheduling of certain narcotics will have a negative effect on patients in their facilities and the ease in which these patients will have access to them (Garrison Mitty, 2010). Nurses who work in these types of facil ities are encouraging others to join professional organizations and write to their legislators to make their voices heard (Garrison Mitty, 2010). Effects Some positive effects of H.R. 1285 are increased awareness for prescribers of the dangers of opioid dependence related to hydrocodone and a decrease in â€Å"doctor shopping† related to the tighter regulation and monitoring of hydrocodone (Phillips, 2013). Negatives of H.R. 1285 include increased difficulty for patients in LTC facilities to access physicians and obtain prescriptions needed to adequately address their pain needs (Garrison Mitty, 2010). Because of the tighter prescriber restrictions related to refills and the types of prescriptions accepted, those who reside in LTC facilities could have to wait longer to receive refills on much needed pain medication (Garrison Mitty, 2010). International The U.K. has similar problems to the U.S. when it comes to prescription drug abuse (Weisburg et al., 2014). The U.K. has the Health Act of 2006 which created Accountable Officers that track and audit the prescriptions written (Weisburg et al., 2014). The U.K. also has trialed a real-time monitoring system to be able to monitor irregular prescribing practices for certain drugs (Weisburg et al., 2014). Although it was only a trial of a computerized system, it showed great promise in assisting real-time monitoring of prescriptions written. Change to the Bill As with anything, there are always improvements that could be made. One way to refine H.R. 1285 is to implement mandatory education for prescribers. Requiring education in areas of opioid pain management, pain management alternatives and safe prescribing practices is one way that could improve policy outcomes (Weisburg et al., 2014). Another improvement that could be made is by establishing a universal standard to pain management and the dispensing of medication because by using a universal standard, improved outcomes can be expected (Gourlay et al., 2005). Another way to improve H.R. 1285 would be to include a plan to implement a national prescription drug monitoring program (PDMP) (Drug Enforcement Administration, 2014). Many states already have a PDMP in place but it only monitors statewide activity (Drug Enforcement Administration, 2014). In order for a PDMP to be effective, it would need to be nationwide and offer up to date information (Drug Enforcement Administration, 2014). Conclusions H.R. 1285 is a bill introduced to Congress to change the schedule of hydrocodone from a schedule III to a schedule II drug. Congressman Vern Buchanan introduced this bill because of the growing drug epidemic he witnessed in his home state of Florida (Congressman Vern Buchanan representing Florida, 2014). He describes seeing more pain management clinics that dispense prescriptions for drugs than McDonald’s restaurants (Congressman Vern Buchanan representing Florida, 2014). Although H.R. 1285 was referred to two separate committees, the likelihood that the bill will be passed is very slim. There has been no further action taken on the bill by either committee. Prescribers, patients and LTC facilities have a stake in whether or not H.R. 1285 passes. All have concerns regarding difficulty in prescribing medication to those who truly need it and maintaining access for the patients who are living in a LTC facilities. Due to the recent ruling of the DEA that changed hydrocodone conta ining products from a schedule III drug to a schedule II drug, it seems unnecessary for H.R. 1285 to move forward (Drug Enforcement Administration, 2014). References Bureau of Justice Statistics 2004 Bureau of Justice StatisticsBureau of Justice Statistics (2004). Bureau of Justice Statistics. Retrieved October 6, 2014, from http://www.bjs.gov 201410091059041289595843 Centers for Disease Control 2014 Prescription Drug Overdose in the United States: Fact SheetCenters for Disease Control (2014, July 3). Prescription Drug Overdose in the United States: Fact Sheet. Retrieved from http://www.cdc.gov 20141009115559483260035 Congressman Vern Buchanan representing Florida 2014 Congressman Vern Buchanan representing FloridaCongressman Vern Buchanan representing Florida (2014). Congressman Vern Buchanan representing Florida. Retrieved from http://www.buchanan.house.gov 201410091015471184166312 DEA Issues Info 2012 American Association of Nurse PractitionersDEA Issues Info (2012, June). American Association of Nurse Practitioners. Retrieved from http://www.aanp.org 20141008133918138817310 Drug Enforcement Administration 2014 Schedules of Controlled Substances: Rescheduling of hydrocodone combination products from Schedule III to Schedule IIDrug Enforcement Administration (2014, August 22). Schedules of Controlled Substances: Rescheduling of hydrocodone combination products from Schedule III to Schedule II. Retrieved October 7, 2014, from http://federalregister.gov/a/2014-19922 20141009113706118370533 Drug-Related Hospital Emergency Room Visits 2011 National Institue of Drug AbuseDrug-Related Hospital Emergency Room Visits (2011). National Institute of Drug Abuse. Retrieved October 1, 2014, from http://www.drugabuse.gov 20141008130227593245745 Garrison K Mitty E 2010 Pain management and the U.S. Department of Justice.Garrison, K., Mitty, E. (2010). Pain management and the U.S. Department of Justice. Geriatric Nursing, 31(3), 214-219. 20141009140312276748895 Gourlay D Heit H Almahrezi A 2005 Universal precautions in pain medicine: A rational approach to the treatment of chronic pain.Gourlay, D., Heit, H., Almahrezi, A. (2005). Universal precautions in pain medicine: A rational approach to the treatment of chronic pain. American Academy of Pain Medicine, 6(2), 107-112. 201410091514541512988925 Hamburg M A 20140403 FDA Commissioner Margaret A. Hamburg statement on prescription opioid abuseHamburg, M. A. (2014, April 3). FDA Commissioner Margaret A. Hamburg statement on prescription opioid abuse. Retrieved October 7, 2014, from http://www.fda.gov 20141009112410159525513 HR 1285-113th Congress: To Amend the Controlled Substances Act to Make Any Substance Containing Hydrocodone A Schedule II Drug 2013H.R. 1285-113th Congress: To Amend the Controlled Substances Act to Make Any Substance Containing Hydrocodone A Schedule II Drug (2013). Retrieved from http://www.govtrack.us 20141008132123465403199 Longest B B 2010 Health policymaking in the United StatesLongest Jr., B. B. (2010). Health policymaking in the United States (5th ed.). Chicago, IL: Health Administration Press. 201410091217191092675209 Phillips J 2013 Prescription drug abuse: problem, policies and implications.Phillips, J. (2013). Prescription drug abuse: problem, policies and implications. Nursing Outlook, 61, 78-84. 201410091423161519538522 United States House of Representatives Judiciary Committee 2014 United States House of Representatives Judiciary CommitteeUnited States House of Representatives Judiciary Committee (2014). United States House of Representatives Judiciary Committee. Retrieved from http://www.judiciary.house.gov 201410091227131141156554 US Census Bureau 2011 Overview of Uninsured in the United States: A study of the 2011 current population surveyUS Census Bureau (2011, September). Overview of Uninsured in the United States: A study of the 2011 current population survey. Retrieved October 8, 2014, from http://hhs.gov 201410091201171076915503 US Code: Title 21-Food and Drugs 2012 Legal Information InstituteU.S. Code: Title 21-Food and Drugs (2012, January 14). Legal Information Institute. Retrieved from http://www.law.cornell.edu 20141008143645967177272 Weisburg D Becker W Fiellin D Stannard C 2014 Prescription opioid misuse in the United States and the United Kingdom: Cautionary lessons.Weisburg, D., Becker, W., Fiellin, D., Stannard, C. (2014). Prescription opioid misuse in the United States and the United Kingdom: Cautionary lessons. International Journal of Drug Policy, 20141009144237381562709

History and Global Impact Vibrio Cholerae and Cholera :: Diarrhea Bacteria Disease

Vibrio Cholerae and Cholera - The History and Global Impact Abstract Cholera is a diarrhea disease caused by the bacteria, Vibrio Cholera. For centuries, cholera has terrorized the world. There have been seven pandemics since 1817 and many lives have been lost. Even to this day, cholera runs rampant in many areas of the world. The impact cholera has had on the world is enormous. Cholera has caused immense amount of human suffering and economic/social loss since its beginning. But, as time goes on, discoveries are made and ideas are created on treatments that save many lives and some places are now cholera free. In those regions, Cholera is a thing of the past; while in other parts of the world, it is very much still a threatening disease of the present and future. ______________________________________________________________________________ Cholera, the massive watery diarrhea disease, has struck the earth with its angry fists since the beginnings of civilization. From the start, Vibrio cholerea has infested the world and Cholera has especially terrorized the world in a series of pandemics. Without a doubt, Cholera has traveled throughout the whole world, stopping to pillage multitudes of cities of many of its inhabitants. It knows no boundaries. The only place it hasn’t ruthlessly invaded is the barren ice desert of Antarctica. Even to this day, cholera still robs places of lives. The first Cholera pandemic broke out in 1817. Cholera outbreaks continued to spread across Europe, Central Asia, Southeast Asia, the Middle East, and parts of Africa until 1823 (Barua Pg.8). Where the pandemic began is controversial, but cholera was definitely present in multiple places prior to and during 1817. India was an area that was affected by cholera in 1822. The fatality rates among the native and English troops in India were 21 for every 100 for the natives and 10 per 100 for the English (Barua Pg.8). Six years after the first Cholera pandemic, another pandemic sprang up. The second pandemic flew through Asia, Europe, the Middle East, some parts of Africa and the United States from 1829 to 1851. There were many â€Å"violent epidemics† sprinkled throughout the pandemic. One particularly violent epidemic took place on a pilgrimage to Mecca, where many died, including the Mecca and Jeddah governors and the Pasha (Barua Pg.9). Another outbreak that took place near Mecca was in 1846 where 15,000 people died (Barua Pg.10). However, as more cases of cholera appeared more new ideas for treatments did too. History and Global Impact Vibrio Cholerae and Cholera :: Diarrhea Bacteria Disease Vibrio Cholerae and Cholera - The History and Global Impact Abstract Cholera is a diarrhea disease caused by the bacteria, Vibrio Cholera. For centuries, cholera has terrorized the world. There have been seven pandemics since 1817 and many lives have been lost. Even to this day, cholera runs rampant in many areas of the world. The impact cholera has had on the world is enormous. Cholera has caused immense amount of human suffering and economic/social loss since its beginning. But, as time goes on, discoveries are made and ideas are created on treatments that save many lives and some places are now cholera free. In those regions, Cholera is a thing of the past; while in other parts of the world, it is very much still a threatening disease of the present and future. ______________________________________________________________________________ Cholera, the massive watery diarrhea disease, has struck the earth with its angry fists since the beginnings of civilization. From the start, Vibrio cholerea has infested the world and Cholera has especially terrorized the world in a series of pandemics. Without a doubt, Cholera has traveled throughout the whole world, stopping to pillage multitudes of cities of many of its inhabitants. It knows no boundaries. The only place it hasn’t ruthlessly invaded is the barren ice desert of Antarctica. Even to this day, cholera still robs places of lives. The first Cholera pandemic broke out in 1817. Cholera outbreaks continued to spread across Europe, Central Asia, Southeast Asia, the Middle East, and parts of Africa until 1823 (Barua Pg.8). Where the pandemic began is controversial, but cholera was definitely present in multiple places prior to and during 1817. India was an area that was affected by cholera in 1822. The fatality rates among the native and English troops in India were 21 for every 100 for the natives and 10 per 100 for the English (Barua Pg.8). Six years after the first Cholera pandemic, another pandemic sprang up. The second pandemic flew through Asia, Europe, the Middle East, some parts of Africa and the United States from 1829 to 1851. There were many â€Å"violent epidemics† sprinkled throughout the pandemic. One particularly violent epidemic took place on a pilgrimage to Mecca, where many died, including the Mecca and Jeddah governors and the Pasha (Barua Pg.9). Another outbreak that took place near Mecca was in 1846 where 15,000 people died (Barua Pg.10). However, as more cases of cholera appeared more new ideas for treatments did too.

Waste Disposal on Cat Ba Island

At present, the waste disposal issue on Cat Ba Island is still seriously concerned. Mr. Sang Bui Quang, Director of Department of Natural Resources and Environment, said on website www. monre. gov. vn that waste management has not met environment protection requirements, there has not been waste treatment firms, and commonly discharge waste directly from ships into the sea. Consequently, it seems to impact on the environment, the scenery and also Cat Ba People. Waste disposal includes treatment in the land and on the water. In the land, Cat Ba has only one landfill, Dong Trong. It is not far from Hung Son block( about 8km), the point of storing rubbish through all sites of Cat Ba and surrounding areas with the volume of 40m3/day. Each day, the rubbish is buried and prayed three times. However, the landfill has not met hygienic standards so that the pollution here is adversely affecting people's lives in this area. In reality, there are some campaigns to dispose the situation, but it is not effective. The landfill still has rising smoke and the unbearable stench so that flies and mosques are crowded there and surrounding areas. Assigned to Cat Hai public construction and urban service company to collect, transport and dispose rubbish in the area of Cat Ba, including handling baggage pollution of Dong Trong. Despite great efforts to minimize pollution affects people's lives, the district also can process according to the method of chemical spraying, burial. There is no way to remedy the situation thoroughly cell infection here. On the water, waste disposal has met more difficulty. In the bay, there are 123 cages, including 106 aquaculture cages and 17 cages with people living, which is the main reason for water pollution. Although each cage has its own trash, the big amount of rubbish into the water (i. e. waste water, fish, food†¦). Waste from the fishing vessel and the fish cages are at risk of causing environmental pollution at the alarming level. Fishing boats use big plastic bags to marinate fis, they scratch those and throw into the sea before moving up onto the shore. According to Mr. Bay Vu Tien, there is also a collecting ship to take rubbish from cages to the land. But it just counts for 30% of the waste. The baggage is floating on the water that makes a bad image about Cat Ba environment in tourists’ mind.

Cyclermate Report

CYCLERMATE COMPANY PERFORMANCE REPORT Word count: 3099 words The INCREDIBLES – FB2A Ngo Mai Anh Hoang My Hanh Dinh Ngoc Huyen Nguyen Hai Ly Nguyen Ha Thu Nguyen Son Tung Content 1. Introduction 2. Liquidity and Capital structure 2. 2. 2. 3. 2. 4. 2. 5. 3. 1. 3. 2. SWOT Analysis Liquidity Matters Capital Structure Matters Short-term options Page 3 4 3. Production Methods SWOT Analysis Short-term Options 8 4. Human Relations 5. Investigation for Lone-term Survival and Profitability 6. Conclusion 7. Reference 8. Appendix 10 12 13 14 15 2|Page 1. Introduction Cyclermate Ltd is a small company producing bicycles in UK. The firm was set up by Lewis Llewellyn and Dai Armstrong, the two close friends in a local cycle touring club. They produce traditional upright cycle, which imitate the 1940’s and 1950’s. In 1990s, the company expanded to meet the demand and they bought a 15,000 square feet warehouse with 2,000 square feet of office accommodation. The high quality hand- made bikes brought them good reputation and maintained high sales though they did not advertise much. However in 2010 the company has trouble as the sales decrease and the demand fell in spite of lower price. Some customers even complained about quality of the product because they got accidents due to front brake. We are a group of consultants and we are preparing this report that will give Cyclermate’s banker an objective view about this company. Although at the moment they are having overdraft and some difficulties in selling products, we are here to make the bank see opportunities of this company and continue investing in it. 3|Page 2. Liquidity and Capital Structure 2. 1. SWOT Analysis ? Strengths ? ? Cyclermate has a long establishment time and reputation in producing traditional bike. The company has asset of a large piece of land worth ? 208,000 (included ? 48,000 of factory and ? 160,000 of unused land). ? Weaknesses ? ? Cyclermate has very few current assets and more non-current asset. This reduces the liquidity of money. There is a great liability that is in the form of bank overdrafts. Costs are rising while price per unit decrease to encourage customers resulting in reduce in revenue. ? Opportunities ? ? A fixed amount of bike is ensured to be sold with Cyclermate’s reputation Sales may increase with environment protection trend There is a chance of getting investment from Dai’s cousin ? ? ? ? Threats Banks do not allow anymore overdraft, thus there is a possibility of bankruptcy With competition from other companies and e-commerce, together with bad reputation from accidents caused by Cyclermate’s bikes. sales may continue to remain low ? Linda Llewellyn – one of three shareholders wants to withdraw money from company business 2. 2. Liquidity Matters The current ratio measures whether or not a firm has enough resources to pay over its debt over the next 12 months. Current ratio is calculated as follow. In this case, current ratio is 1. 85 which means that for every dollar the company owes in the short term it has ? 1. 5 available in assets that can be converted to cash in the short term. Therefore, it can be understood that current liabilities are still in control. However, the ratio is a little bit high so it reflects that the company is not efficiently using its current assets or its short-term financing facilities. This may also indicate problems in working capit al management. 4|Page Quick ratio measures the ability of a company to use its near cash or quick assets to extinguish or retire its current liabilities immediately. The higher the ratio, the greater the company’s liquidity is. (Quick Assets = Current Assets – Inventory) Here, Cyclermate has a quick ratio of 1. 15 which means Cyclermate has enough quick assets to convert to cash in order to pay current liabilities if necessary. Cash ratio measures a company’s ability to immediately use cash to pay its current debts This ratio indicates that this company does not have much cash in hand and naturally it cannot pay bank overdraft right away by cash. Generally, Cyclermate’s current liabilities are still in control with the liquidity of its current assets. However, with limited cash in hand, other current assets are needed to increase liquidity in to ensure the ability to pay debts in urgent circumstances. . 3. Capital Structure Matters Capital structure is the way a company combines between Equity and Liabilities in order to optimize financial sources. The effectiveness of a company’s capital structure is often analyzed through debt-to-equity (D/E) ratio. Here, Cyclermate’s D/E ratio is estimated 1. 976. It means that with eac h ? 1 of Equity, there is ? 1. 976 of Liabilities. In other words, at the moment, the ability to pay debt of Cyclermate is over the ability of payment for shareholder’s fund. To resolve the problems or to reduce the ratio, there are two main trends: decrease Liabilities and/or increase Equity. In the short term, it is very difficult to raise shareholder’s fund as it takes time to persuade individuals and organizations to invest in a small company who is in the verge of bankruptcy. Even when there is a possibility that Dai’s cousin will invest to Cyclermate, long time will be needed to complete legal policies and internal matters. Thus, in short-term, it is more rational to focus on minimizing Liabilities. Therefore, problems of capital structure in short-term turns out to be the same matters with liquidity, which is: how to increase cash in company account to pay bank overdraft and other liabilities. |Page 2. 4. Short-term Options To deal with the difficulties of Cyclermate Ltd in liquidity as well as capital structure, we firstly take into account about the company assets that can be quickly converted to cash in case bank asks for paying back overdraft. The assets are chosen includes company’s free hold land and trade debtors. Looking at this companyà ¢â‚¬â„¢s financial strengths, it is easy to recognize its very huge freehold land which is worth ? 160,000. However, this value has been recorded with historical price in the purchase time – by the end of 1990. Thus, we calculate the current price of the land in December 2011 is about ? 269,160. 4 (if the price in 1990 was 100%, the inflation rate made the average price in December 2011 reach up to 168. 244%). As a result, if we convert immediately the freehold land, the money gained is enough to pay all ? 264,864 current liabilities (including ? 177,364 of bank overdraft and ? 87,500 of trade creditors). In addition, the company has a small scale; therefore; we do not have to concern so far about expanding factory area. In addition, this company has ? 00,571 at trade debtors that represents the amounts own by cycle shops and this amount of money can cover the bank overdraft. Though Cyclermate could not take back all the trade debtors, they should take back as much as they can. Then, we consider about plans to increase profit or to decrease cost for Cyclermate in short-time with the purpose to raise the company’s fund: The draft budget for 2010/11 points out that Cyclermate has poten tial to have budgeted trading loss with only 950 and 1300 bikes sold through direct mail order and cycle shop in turns. In the first stage, we calculate the amount of bikes to reach BEP (break-even point) with assumption of the same price, same cost and same proportion of two types. In the calculation: Q*: Break-even point Fixed cost = Indirect cost Price per unit = Average price per unit = Total sales / Total bike quantity (of both 2 types of bike) Variable cost = Direct cost per unit ? Q* (estimated) = 2,753 bikes 6|Page Thus, to reach BEP Cyclermate needs to sell 503 more bikes (including about 212 bikes through direct mail order and 291 bikes through cycle shop). In fact, how to sell 503 more bikes is a difficult matter. As a result, we decide to suggest lowering direct cost in each bike by reducing parts namely lamps, lock, basket, dynamo and brake front (replace by brake front without dynamo). The reasons will be explained in detail in next part about Production. By doing this, each bike saves about ? 31. 09 for direct material / variable cost. We calculate BEP again with the new variable cost and find out Q* = 2310 bikes which means Cyclermate only needs to sell more 60 bikes (25 bikes through direct mail order and 36 bikes through cycle shop). Consequently, the cost cutting method can help increase profitability. Moreover, there are some employees want to retire or cannot work anymore like Lewis Llewellyn or Idris Pugh. If Cyclermate accepts to let them free (the plan will be explained in Human Relations part), they will have a new budget of ? 67,534 per year. This budget is not only enough to employ new staffs to vacant positions, but also can save an amount of salary for the company. 7|Page 3. Production Methods 3. 1. SWOT Analysis ? Strengths: ? The cycles made by the company are â€Å"retro† styles and totally hand-made with high-standard which have high demand from the market ? The whole process is divided clearly into stages which are responsible by specialized people at each specific stage ? Weaknesses: ? ? ? ? Faults is continuously appearing and reduces the quality of the product The recent painting method causes some quality problems to a number of fames. Moreover, the highly toxic paint materials is ruining the compressor and extraction equipment There are some components that are not necessary make the cost to produce a cycle quite high There are some employees’ issues that invisibly affects the production and reduces the productivity ? Opportunities: ? The new materials and technologies that Dai’s relative provides is a great opportunity to develop the product The firm has commissioned a cycle shop in Cardiff to build the wheels for it with reasonable quality and are always delivered quickly 3. 2. Short-term Options First of all, it is good that the company have specialized people responsible for each specific stage. This is because on e of the most important facets of job specialization is its potential to increase worker productivity and output. However, in the current arrangement, there are still some clashes of tasks between people. Therefore, it is necessary that tasks are assigned specifically to employees. Secondly, after the interview, it is clearly that faults causes mainly by the painting method and Janice’s mistakes as she has to work quickly and late. In short term, it is too difficult to upgrade the painting method to fix the paint quality problems so reducing the number of fames painted each day to focus on the quality should be concerned since demand for the period continues to fall. The company also should prioritize assembly to guarantee that every product is tested carefully before reaching customers. Beside the problems mentioned above, there are some employees’ issues that also need to be concerned about such as Idris Pugh who is responsible for wheels, mudguards, chain guards, stays and other hardware is really old and often absent because of his heath. Fortunately, the company has already 8|Page commissioned a cycle shop in Cardiff to do the job with reasonable quality and is always delivered quickly. The direct cost is somewhat higher than the materials and components used by Idris, but the company can reduce the cost of paying salary for Idris. Since the cost is rising significantly, it is highly recommended that some component which does not add any value to the product should be eliminated. In addition, whether something adds to the value of the product or not are determined by customers rather than by the company. For instance, an example of something a customer would consider being waste: redundant accessories. Customers obviously do not want to pay for it, so the company can reduce costs by eliminating it as much as possible. In this situation, the company could reduce costs by removing lock, basket, and lamp and replace the brake with dynamo with a normal brake. The company also should rearrange the warehouse to reduce the wastes causes by moving between places, searching things and so on, because the process looks to be somewhat shambolic. The warehouse should be rearranged. (Refer to appendix) 9|Page 4. Human Relations Human relation is the way people interact and behave toward each other, human relation plays important role in business. Each organization or business tries to find out the effective ways that build up a good relationship in firm and maintaining it. Taking the time to think strategically about how the people in your business are managed will help you avoid potential problems. After interviewing with people in the company and reviewing their work, we realized that the clash of work did not only slow down the process but also create conflicts between members. Since each job is not done or supervised by one specific person, it is hard to keep track of the responsibilities when errors occur. To make ourselves clear when suggesting specialization, we will now name the specific jobs for each person in the company. Dai Armstrong is enthusiastic both about the company and about its future, he gave a number of ideas about possible directions, however he has too much work such as paperwork, doing fame. As a director, his task is about external relation but he only works in the factory. To develop their company, he needs to go out and work with the distributors. Another shareholder, Lewis Llewellyn, is less optimistic than Mr. Armstrong about company’s future. He also shows that he is keen on retiring. Since he does not desire with work, company should let him retire. The third shareholder in the board of director is Mr. Lewis’ wife. After divorcing with Mr. Lewis, she wants one third value of the business. To deal with this difficult problem the company should negotiate with Lewis’s ex-wife, either by continue giving her her dividend or persuade her to take her investment back only according to inflation rate. In production team, Mr. Maldwyn Jones thinks that his manager undervalues his skills and he is thinking about leaving due to this. To improve as well as motivate him, the company should let him replace Lewis in manager board in the business manager position while Mr. Armstrong works on external relations. At the same time, Mr. Maldwyn should still continue his painting job while helping Dai with management. Mr. Emlyn Morgan has many ideas about how to improve production and his wife thinks that he is undervalued by the managers. Like Mr. Maldwyn, to motivate him to work his best, he should be promoted to the overall production managers, overseeing all the works happens in the factory and assist the young workers as they have questions. 10 | P a g e Although Idris Pugh is a wheelwright perfectionist and his products never gets complaints, he is not not healthy enough to work regularly. We think that the best solution is to let him retire and recruit a new skillful worker to replace him. Janice and Ffred are two young assemblers. Janice likes her job but sometimes she feels pressure because she has to work overtime. However, because the sales have decreased and there are a lot of bikes left therefore she will not have to work overtime for a while. Ffred is young and in experience so he often makes mistake. Now, with the supervising of Emlyn Morgan, he will able to avoid faults. Packing is a step that is taken by anyone who has time. We think that factory should have an employee who is specialized in this task. Ianto Prichard is an odd-job man and cleaner in the factory. We decide to promote him to be in charge of this task since he is used to the work in the firm. He can do his job every weekday morning and for certain his salary will be higher. Glady Wells, who cleans the office twice a week, can clean both office and factory now twice a week and he will be paid more. 11 | P a g e 5. Investigation for Lone-term Survival and Profitability Political ? From 1990s, UK government and campaign group have tried to promote cycling as a good alternative choice for car and a good way to improve health ? 12,000 miles of the National Cycle Network is build which are equivalent to 200% of the network expansion ? London is the host of Olympic 2012 with the commitment to encourage people to participate more in sports activities like cycling Economic ? UK has recovered from economic crisis thus customers would have more budget ? Fuel costs is rising, therefore many people are switching from car to bicycle ? Growing online sales of bicycle products Social ? UK people are more aware of health and environment benefits from riding bicycle, especially in avoiding absenteeism ? More events organized to encourage people participation in cycling ? Traditional bike has been in favor of customers Technology Law Environment ? New types of bike has been launched to the market ? Laws encourage people to choose bicycle (e. g: protecting cyclists against car drivers in an accident or having preferential traffic signals) ? Environment protection campaigns promote and make people aware of advantages of riding bicycles in reducing emissions One company is a successful company if it has a good management team. Cyclermate Ltd really needs a good director who has clear vision about the company’s future and he must know exactly how to run this company. By looking at the PESTEL analysis above, we think that Dai Amstrong still see a great potential in this industry, thus he keep being so optimistic about it. He now must reorganize the company’s structure to make it work more efficiently. In addition, the director should pay attention to financial management. It plays an important role in the survival of the company. According to Mr Jones, the company had not advertised its products in the national press for some years now, we would have to advertise more on media. Besides, he mentioned an alternative route to increased sales that is trying to build up the direct sales to have the maximum benefit. We can sell the products online through Internet which is a helpful tool for saving advertising cost. Furthermore, the directors also should pay attention to the demands of customers to know exactly what they want so that its products could meet the needs of customers. The other firms in the same market were increasing their sales of â€Å"traditional† machines; therefore; we could think about the new technologies to develop new products. Mr Owen – Dai’s cousin had some expertise in new technologies and he was willing to help. The profitability of the company might be ensured if all the options are applied. Besides, we can apply some campaigns such as saving energy that helps reduce the heating, lighting and power cost. 12 | P a g e 6. Conclusion To conclude, the main problems in Cyclermate are the low liquidity of their asset, and problems in managing human resources. We believe that with the suggested solution, Cyclermate will be in a safer and more successful position than they are now. Through this report, the bank has a clearer view of where Cyclermate is standing in its development. With the resources and potential they have in hand, it is such a waste if they do not get further loan to continue developing. We also want to point out that with this uch potential, Cyclermate may even appear to be a very good candidate for loan, as they can expand their market not only local-wide but world-wide. 13 | P a g e 7. Reference 1. TIMOTHY S. HATTEN (200), Accounting Records and Financial Statements. In: Small Business Management: Entrepreneurship and Beyond. 4th ed. South-Western: Cengage Learning, pp. 202-234 2. The British Cycling Economy [Online] http://corporate. sky. com/documents/pdf/publications/the_british_cycling_economy. htm 3. Gregory Hamel. January 07, 2011. The advantages of Job Specialization. [Online]. Avaiable: http://www. ehow. com/info_7743130_advantages-job-specialization. html. [December 10, 2011] 4. David Anderson. October 2006. 5S Manufacturing: What Is It?. [Online]. Available: http://www. todaysfacilitymanager. com/tfm_06_10_profdev. php. [December 10, 2011]. 5. Steve Jonathan. March 14, 2011. The advantages of 5S. [Online]. Avaiable: http://www. ehow. com/info_8061038_advantages-5s. html. [December 10, 2011] 6. LeanMan. 2010. Increase The Profit through waste reduction. [Online]. Avaiable: http://leanman. hubpages. om/hub/Increase-Profit-through-waste-reduction. [December 10, 2011] 14 | P a g e 8. Appendix Sales Direct mail order Cycle shop Budgeted total revenue Direct materials Indirect costs Total Costs Budgeted trading loss Interest Payable Possible tax loss recovery Shareholders’ Funds 846,118 (916,312) 446,580 1,292,698 (1,362,892) 29,602 (-40,592) (36,000) 35,000 28,602 units 1067 1370 Price ? 700 420 Revenue 7 46,900 575,400 1,322,300 Table 1: Draft budget – 2010/11 after selling more cycles (Number in red is the old record) Picture 1 Rearrangement of Warehouse 15 | P a g e