Description and Care of the Monkey Puzzle Tree

Description and Care of the Monkey Puzzle Tree Monkey-Puzzle Tree is a wild, scary evergreen with open splaying and spiraling branches. The tree can grow to 70 feet tall and 30 feet wide and forms a loose, see-through, pyramidal shape with a straight trunk. The tree is so open you can actually look through it. The leaves are dark green, stiff, with sharp needles that cover the limbs like armor. Monkey-Puzzle tree makes an attractive, novelty specimen for large, open yards. It is seen in large numbers in California. Specifics Scientific name: Araucaria araucanaPronunciation: air-ah-KAIR-ee-uh air-ah-KAY-nuhCommon name(s): Monkey-Puzzle Tree or Puzzle TreeUSDA hardiness zones: 7b through 10Origin: Chile (national tree) and the Andes of South America.Uses: garden specimen; indoor tree specimenAvailability: somewhat available, may have to go out of the region to find the tree. Monkey Puzzles Range There are no native monkey puzzle trees in the United States. The natural monkey puzzle tree is now found in two small areas in the Andes and on the coastal mountain range. It is a highly fire-adapted species, occurring in an area where fires have long been caused by volcanic activity and, since the early Holocene, by humans. The tree can grow in North America along the coastal zone from coastal Virginia, down the Atlantic, west through Texas and up the Pacific coast to Washington. Description Dr. Mike Dirr in Trees and Shrubs for Warm Climates says: The habit is pyramidal-oval in youth, later with a slender bole and ascending branches near the top....cones are about twice the size of hand-grenades and hurt even worse. Tolerates extremes of soil, except permanently moist. Etymology The origin name Monkey-puzzle derives from its early cultivation in Britain in about 1850. The tree was very popular in Victorian England. Legend has it that an owner of a young tree specimen in Cornwall was showing it to a group of friends, and one made the remark, it would puzzle a monkey to climb that. The popular name became, first monkey-puzzler, then monkey-puzzle. Prior to 1850, it had been called Joseph Banks Pine or Chile Pine in Britain even though it is not a pine. Pruning The Monkey Puzzle needs to be isolated from other trees for the best display of its graceful and natural limb sweep. Maintain a central leader and do not top for best effect. Branches should be protected and only pruned if dead wood appears. Dead branches are hard to work on but will cause the tree to decline if not removed. Monkey Puzzle in Europe Monkey-puzzle was introduced to England by Archibald Menzies in 1795. Menzies was a plant collector and naval surgeon on Captain George Vancouvers circumnavigation of the globe. Menzies was served the seeds of the conifer as a dessert while dining with the governor of Chile and later sowed them in a frame on the ships quarterdeck. Five healthy plants made it back to Great Britain and were the first plants to be planted. Culture Monkey puzzle tree does best where the summers are cool and humid, and they are popular landscape oddities in England.Light: Full sun to partial shade.Moisture: Likes a moist, but well-drained soil and regular watering.Propagation: By seeds or by tip cuttings from vertical shoots. Cuttings from lateral-growing shoots will develop into sprawling shrubs. In-Depth Description Monkey-puzzle prefers well-drained, slightly acidic, volcanic soil but will tolerate almost any soil type provided drainage is good. It prefers temperate climates with abundant rainfall, tolerating temperatures down to about −20 Â °C. It is far and away the hardiest member of its genus and the only one that will grow in mainland Britain, or in the United States away from the extreme south. In Canada, Vancouver and Victoria have many fine specimens; it also grows on the Queen Charlotte Islands. It is tolerant of salt spray but does not like exposure to pollution. It is a popular garden tree, planted for its unusual effect of the thick, reptilian branches with a very symmetrical appearance. The seeds are edible, similar to large pine nuts, and are extensively harvested in Chile. A group of six female trees with one male for pollination could yield several thousand seeds per year. Since the cones drop, harvesting is easy. The tree, however, does not yield seeds until it is around 30-40 years old, which discourages investment in planting orchards.

3 Cases of Erroneous Use of Colons

3 Cases of Erroneous Use of Colons 3 Cases of Erroneous Use of Colons 3 Cases of Erroneous Use of Colons By Mark Nichol In each of the following sentences, a colon is employed in the mistaken belief that the sentence structure requires it, when in fact the syntax renders it superfluous. Discussion after each example explains why a colon is inappropriate, and a revision demonstrates proper punctuation of the sentence. 1. The network is terminating all its business ties to his media company, which includes: ending its distribution of his new program, renaming the original show, and separating itself from his merchandise website. A colon should precede a list only when what precedes the colon is a complete sentence. This error is easily rectified by inserting the object â€Å"the following† before it, but a better solution is to simply omit the colon: â€Å"The network is terminating all its business ties to his media company, which includes ending its distribution of his new program, renaming the original show, and separating itself from his merchandise website.† 2. The piece was widely criticized for, among other things: failing to provide crucial context, an apparent unfamiliarity with terminology, failing to verify several claims, and failing to note that the paper had previously published a similar profile of the organization’s cofounder. As in the previous example, the writer assumed that a list must be preceded by a colon, but the punctuation is intrusive when it interrupts the syntactical flow of the sentence. In this case, a comma, not a colon, should follow the parenthetical phrase â€Å"among other things† to complement the comma preceding the phrase: â€Å"The piece was widely criticized for, among other things, failing to provide crucial context, an apparent unfamiliarity with terminology, failing to verify several claims, and failing to note that the paper had previously published a similar profile of the organization’s cofounder.† 3. They understand that, to paraphrase something British statesman Winston Churchill once said: Success is not final, failure is not fatal, and it is the courage to continue that counts. Here, the assumption is that the proper punctuation for separating an attribution from the quotation (or, in this case, paraphrase) attributed is a colon, but again, what precedes the colon must be a complete sentence, such as â€Å"Here is a paraphrase of what British statesman Winston Churchill once said† (clumsy, but syntactically sound). In addition, because the paraphrase is integrated syntactically into the sentence, capitalization of the first word is erroneous: â€Å"They understand that, to paraphrase something British statesman Winston Churchill once said, success is not final, failure is not fatal, and it is the courage to continue that counts.† (Without the attribution, the sentence would be styled â€Å"They understand that success is not final, failure is not fatal, and it is the courage to continue that counts.†) Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Punctuation category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:Possessive of Proper Names Ending in SThat vs. Which48 Writing Prompts for Middle School Kids

Case Study Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 54

Case Study - Essay Example This will help in determining how the function focuses the dynamism of the course work. This leads to the determination of accountability measures. I will let students know how I will measure the success rates and share awareness of what they will work towards. This helps them avoid a drift off from the objective. It is helpful to rewrite the measures on clear understanding and referring back to them. Establishing group norms and agreements gives each student a choice to contribute while providing accountability for all. Even though, the class approaches are used with most adult groups, using them on children inspires more friendly norms while offering students opportunities of growth. Children based on their ages might foresee things such as respect for each other and respective idea. Several mechanisms support successful collaboration of the student goals and child welfare prospects. Some unfortunate consequences lead students to ostensibly serve systems to receive inadequate education services. Focus groups help in advancing education goals while students learn how systems within classrooms work collaboratively. The approach reports the successful practices and barriers for the identification of participants affecting the educational principles functioning in the lives of children under my care (Montiel 282). One of the barriers is shared individual accountability for the work while the groups allow wholesome assessments. It is prudent to complete individual tasks and reconvene to expedite the sharing of individual works and synthesizing information. Accountability is one of the factors of working groups where the teacher finds effective and creative ways in monitoring multiple groups that work within the classroom (Montiel 284). The assignment rules are helpful, and students work to analyze the education objectives. Collaborative learning method allows the students to learn through ways that stakeholders come together. This element

Good reporting Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Good reporting - Essay Example This is because of the fact that no writer could be able to please all readers. With this in mind, the best thing to do is to delight the certain readers you want to speak to and make your words seep through their hearts and minds. It is only when you know who your readers are, what they like, and how they digest a writing are you able to resonate with them which is an effective bait to actually make them start reading you. Making your readers check your story out does not really require a rocket science skill. A catchy headline, a straight to the point front-page, or perhaps writing the first about any current event is key. However, a good journalist would not stop in just turning heads, but will want to make sure readers read until the end. This will be possible by understanding your reader’s behavior in reading. Generally, taking them through the whole story by using simple words is always helpful. Doing so would avoid them from stopping in the middle just because they got frustrated about a highfalutin word they can’t relate to (Reporting and Writing Basics). Also, a good story never fails to identify who, what, when, where, and why which is basically what will give your readers at least the slightest reason to read you. In doing so, the manner by which you establish each by using descriptions is also significant (How to Write A Good Story). It is not necessary that you describe everything but just pick out the highlights you think would play a big part in the story. Yes, it is good to involve all the five senses of each reader however, it is also very important to correctly diagnose which among the senses do your readers tend to use more often, in the kind of genre of your writing. The order of importance you incorporate in your story is also crucial. It is very important for a story to have a constructive development instead of a deductive

Legal Abortion Essay Example for Free

Legal Abortion Essay The topic of abortion is one of the most controversial of our times. It has caused countless deaths and several violent confrontations between the two separate parties of opinion. The fight between pro-life and pro-choice supporters has been long and brutal. This is because, despite what several people may believe, abortion is neither right nor wrong. It is a matter of personal opinion. In this way, each side can say with certainty that the other is wrong. However, the question still remains; should abortion be legal? Though some may disagree on this point, the fact is that legalized abortion is the only option that will protect the lives of American citizens. Therefore, present abortion laws according to Roe v. Wade should be upheld and maintained in the United States (Brown 2). Roe v. Wade was a landmark decision that legalized abortions in the United States. It was about a poor, pregnant woman who filed a lawsuit against the state law of Texas, which stated that abortions were illegal. The case went all the way to the U. S. Supreme Court, which meant that the decision made affected the nation as a whole. On January 22, 1973, the Supreme Court ruled in favor of Jane Roe and stated that the 14th amendment guarantees an adult woman the right to seek a termination of her pregnancy until viability (Guernsey 63). From this day on, abortions in the United States were legal. The definitions of the opinions taken on abortion are somewhat unclear to many people. Hopefully, the definitions stated below will be of some help in choosing an opinion. Pro-life supporters believe that a fetuss right to live comes first, before the rights of a pregnant woman. Pro-choice supporters believe that it is a womans fundamental human right to decide when and whether or not to have the child (Lowenstein19). Nevertheless, while the pro-choice side fights the right to have an abortion, they make a distinction between pro-choice and pro-abortion, These groups want women to be able to choose an abortion if it is right for them. However, they do not necessarily believe abortion is the solution for everyone (Lowenstein 52). There are many reasons why abortion should be legal. The single most important effect of legalization has been the substitution of safe, legal procedures for abortions that formerly were obtained illegally ( Jaffe, Lindheim, and Lee 147). One only needs to look into American history to see the results of prohibiting abortions to women. The violence which occurs today because of the pro-choice/pro-life conflicts is minimal in comparison to the thousands of hopeless women who turned to illegal abortions. Women, seeing no other solution to their problems, turned to back room clinics. These clinics were located in poverty-ridden sections of the city and their conditions were deplorable. The places themselves were layered in filth and disease. Inexperienced butchers using dirty and crude equipment treated the women. As if these backroom clinics were not bad enough, there was an even more appalling decision a woman might face. If she were unable to pay the exorbitant price for the illegal surgery, she would often perform the act herself. Knitting needles, coat hangers, antiseptic douches, and poisons were used most often (Welton123). It is better now that women have a place to go where abortions can be performed cleanly with minimal risk. Legalization of abortion is the only choice no matter what side on takes in the debate. Women will try to do what they think is necessary to live as they wish, no matter what the risk. Each year 84,000 women die worldwide from failed abortion attempts (Lunneborg67) . Because of anti-abortion legislation, women avoid going to the hospital, often until it is too late, to avoid prosecution from police. In the cases of rape and incest, the very idea of being forced to have the child of the womans abuser is repulsive. There are also cases when a womans health is put in jeopardy by having a child at all. Forcing a woman to bring the child to term would be no less than attempted murder (Steffen 49). If a woman is forced to give birth to a child she does not want, if left in that womans custody, the child could potentially face hatred and resentment from the mother for the rest of its life. In countries all over the world, children are found dead and abandoned in places as degrading as garbage dumps. The only effective method of preventing unwanted births is abstinence, and this is just not a realistic objective. There is no 100% effective form of birth control, and even men and women using birth control have unwanted pregnancies. Some women for financial, occupational, social, and maturity reasons, see pregnancy as cessation of their lives. There are no accurate statistics on how many women attempt or succeed in committing suicide each year rather than live with their pregnancies. Women will continue to gave abortions with or without government legislation, but with legislation, the conditions under which they have their abortions can be sanctioned and observed. If abortion is the right choice for a woman, she shouldnt have to worry about its safety. The procedure is perfectly safe. The earlier an abortion is done, the safer it is. Most abortions, about 95%, are done during the first trimester (Lowenstein 52). Less than one percent are done after the twentieth week, and usually only for medical reasons (Safety 1). According to the National Abortion Federation, having an abortion in the first three months of pregnancy is safer than giving birth to a child. Women hardly ever die from legal abortions-only one in two hundred thousand (Lowenstein 52). Women are seven times likely to die from childbirth than from a legal abortion (Maguire 1). Many pro-life supporters believe that abortion should be banned because life begins at conception and taking a life is unlawful. The individual sex cell consists of 23 chromosomes. It is only through combination, through merger, that the sex cells attain the full complement of heredity units that defines a human being (Shettles 17). The merger of the two sex cells is complete within twelve hours, at which time the egg is fertilized and becomes known technically as the zygote. The inherited characteristics of a unique human being has been established, and in no circumstances will it change (Shettles 17). At eighteen days, the heart is pumping through a closed circulatory system, with blood whose type is different from that of the mothers. The brain starts working at forty days. and all of the fetuss body systems are in place by the time it is two months old (Every child 1). Pro-lifers believe this evidence shows a fetus is alive. For these reasons, they feel the fetus has a soul and is a person worthy of respect. They conclude that aborting a fetus is the same as murdering a person (Abortion 3). Most pro-choice supporters agree that taking a human life is unlawful, however, they argue that unborn fetuses do not constitute fully developed human life. The possession of forty-six chromosomes does not make a cell a person. Most of the cells in a persons body contain these 46 chromosomes, but that does not make a white corpuscle a person. As for the significance of uniqueness, identical quintuplets are genetically identical, yet they have personal identities apart from their genetic endowment. Even though a fetus might have a heartbeat and brain waves, this does not make a fetus a person. To be a person, there must be evidence of a personality. Dogs, frogs, and earthworms have all characteristics listed, but that is insufficient to make them persons Zindler 25). Another major pro-life concern is the medical hazards of an abortion. Pro-lifers believe that abortions have many negative physical and psychological effects. They say that even though abortion has been legalized, it remains a complicated procedure that can potentially harm a womans ability to bear normal, healthy babies in the future (Hilgers 152). The most common early complications of legally induced abortion are infection, hemorrhage, perfor ation of the uterus, and laceration of the cervix (Hilgers 153). There is also a pelvic inflammatory disease which can follow abortion, and happens up to 30 percent of the time (Lowenstein 44). Although the complications are physical, many pro-lifers say that the psychological effects are far more dangerous. They believe abortion has a particularly harmful effects on teenagers (Everyones Biography 1). The Medical College of Ohio studied how teenagers were able to cope with abortions as compared to adult women. They studied thirty-five women who had abortions as teenagers and thirty-six women who had abortions after age twenty. They found there were two factors present in teenage abortions. First, people other than the teenager had control of the abortion decision. Second, teenagers are less knowledgeable about the procedure and may have false ideas about it. Also, teenagers were less likely to consult a professional before making their decision. The study showed teenagers experienced greater stress during the abortion (Lowenstein 45). Pro-choicers strongly disagree on this matter. It is a proven fact that legal abortions are now medically safe and simple. Teenagers, for example, are 24 times more likely to die from childbirth than from a first-trimester abortion (Carlson 25). Death resulting from legal abortion is a very rare occurrence and easy to measure. In the first trimester, less that half of one percent of all abortion patients experience major complications (Jaffe, Lindheim, and Lee 150). Of course abortion involves some risk, but so do all medical procedures. According to the American Psychiatric Association report published in Science magazine in 1990, there are no significant psychological aftereffects of legal abortion. Legal abortion requested by the woman does not cause emotional problems or depression. Some women may feel sad or guilty at first, but not any more or less than any other personal crisis (Lowenstein 53). In particular, teenagers who had abortions seem to behave more normally than others who gave birth to a baby. Teenagers who have abortions are more likely to graduate high school, go to college, and get good jobs (Lowenstein 54). The third most controversial topic on abortions involves so-called hard cases such as rape and incest. The first point pro-lifers make is that the law allowing raped women to get abortions would only affect a few women, less than 1 percent of all abortions each year (Guernsey 68). Pro-life supporters believe the damage has already happened-that of the rape. An abortion will simply cause more psychological and physical harm. Even though half of the fetus if part of the rapist, half of the fetus is part of the woman, too. They believe it is unfair to kill a being who was not responsible for the rape (Lowenstein 47). Their feeling is the same for incest. In cases where abortion is chosen, pro-life activists believe an innocent baby is killed for a crime its father commits. The father, instead, should suffer. Pro-lifers believe if abortion is chosen, it helps to hide the fact that incest took place and it might continue(Lowenstein 48). Should abortion be allowed in cases of rape and incest? Absolutely yes, say pro-choicers. There may be serious psychological effects from having a child that was a result of a horrible experience like incest or rape. Pro-choice supporters believe if the woman decides to raise the child, they say, she will have a constant reminder of the incident (Lowenstein 55). Surveys have shown many people would accept abortion in cases of rape or incest (Women 2). Medical research has not determined whether there are genetic tendencies toward sexual crimes. The child may carry some of those genes (Lowenstein55). In summary, abortion is a personal choice. No should be able to tell a women whether or not to have a child. Therefore, keeping abortion legal will ensure that situations that involve crisis or health risks to the mother or the fetus can be handled safely and legally.

William Goldings Lord of the Flies :: Essays Papers

Lord of the Flies Summary One fact about this book should be established from the start - this is not a children's book. The "littluns" and "bigguns" represent members of the human race. The conflict between law and barbarism would have, I believe to be the same had the island been inhabited with adult survivors instead of children. The novel is about a transition from an immensely exciting adventure of some children, to what eventually becomes full-scale war, ending with the arrival of the naval officer who rescued them. Tough I still wonder if they were really saved, considering the atomic war which, at that time was still raging around the globe. The book begins by introducing the two of the characters - Ralph and Piggy. Ralph finds a conch (a shell shaped in such a way that when blown it will sound) and blows it, summoning the rest of the boys, who were on the aeroplane and survived the crash. Last to arrive are the choir, who are described as a "black catterpillar moving along the beach." On closer examination is is found that there is a wide variance in the age of the boys, from about 6 to 12 years of age. From here on in the book the younger boys are simply referred to as the "littluns" and the older boys as "bigguns" although the younger children are referred to more collectively in the story. Ralph is elected chief of the group and his first action is for Jack, Simon and himself to go on a scout to check if the island is really and island or is attached to anything else, they find that it is an island and return to the rest of the boys. It is decided at the meeting held by Ralph that people should only be allowed to speak at meetings if they have possession of the conch, thus giving the conch a special power to the boys. It is also decided that the choir should become hunters for food, with Jack (the choir leader) in charge of them. Above all this though is the importance of a fire being lit and staying alight night and day for a ship to see and hopefully rescue them. At this point a small boy comes forward and tells the boys that he saw a monster which he calls a "beastie" in the woods.

Glaxo Pakistan

Table of Contents INTRODUCTION As per Jim Collins, *â€Å"V*ery few have a capability of going from Good to Great†. Many companies strive to be the best in the market. Most never succeed. Many do so only temporarily and subsequently lose their position through misunderstanding how they got there and what is needed to stay there. http://www. roi-ally. com/BPE_vol1. htm Therefore in order to maintain the business position and to identify its future needs, one requires an accurate analysis of the reality of the business situation and determine its financial health. This is rather complicated yet necessary for keeping one’s financial affairs clean and sustains the organization’s growth. Recognizing the importance of the above subject matter, I choose topic 8 for my research report i. e. â€Å"An analysis of the financial situation of your choice of organization. † The company selected for this purpose is *â€Å"*GlaxoSmithKline Pakistan Limited*†*, also referred to as â€Å"GSK† or â€Å"The Company†. REASON FOR CHOOSING THE TOPIC Topic selection is based on a number of factors which derived me towards selecting this topic for my thesis in comparison to other topics specified in research and analysis project guidelines. Following are the few reasons for choosing the said topic: Relevance to the Current profession: While working in the Financial Advisory Services Department of Deloitte Pakistan, I got various opportunities to explore different sectors and industries. This has equipped me with strong interpretational and analytical skills which helped me to work effectively on the said topic. Future Assistance: The pharmaceutical industry provides a lot of financial analysis opportunities because of the complexity of its operation. This complicated structure enabled me to better understand and practically apply theoretical knowledge and be better equipped to undertake financial analysis in my future career. Importance in ACCA: Financial analysis is one of the most important topics tested in ACCA examinations. I personally feel that it is an interesting topic which has a practical application. Moreover, it enabled me to utilize my IT skills and the knowledge that I gained from my studies. COMPANY AND SECTOR Industry: Pakistan has a very vibrant and forward looking Pharma Industry. It has about 500 pharmaceutical manufacturing units including those operated by 25 multinationals present in the country. It has shown progressive growth over the last one decade and now meets around 70% of the country's demand of Finished Medicine. The industry has invested substantially to upgrade itself in the last few years and today majority of the industry is following Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP), in accordance with the domestic as well as international Guidance. The industry has the capacity to manufacture a variety of product ranging from simple pills to sophisticated Biotech, Oncology and Value Added Generic compounds. http://www. ppma. org. pk/ The Company: History: There are four major companies in the history of GSK: Burroughs Wellcome & Company, Glaxo Laboratories, Beecham and SmithKline and French. GlaxoSmithKline Pakistan Limited was created on January 1st 2002 through the merger of the aforementioned companies operating separately in Pakistan. Today GSK is standing as one of the largest pharmaceutical company of the world. Business: As a leading international pharmaceutical company, GSK is dedicated towards global healthcare and believes it to be ethically important and a key to its business success. GSK Pakistan’s primary activities are manufacturing, import, export and marketing of research-based pharmaceutical and consumer healthcare products. It operates mainly in two industry segments: Pharmaceuticals (prescription drugs and vaccines) and consumer healthcare (over-the-counter- medicines, oral care and nutritional care). Market Share: GSK Pakistan limited holds a major market share in terms of products, asset base, revenue and innovation. It produces 5 brands among the 10 top brands of the pharmaceutical products in the market. It is the 1st company in Pakistan’s pharmaceutical industry which reached the revenue of Rs 10 Billion and currently holds 18. 33% of the total volume of the pharmaceutical product traded in Pakistan. Products: GSK has a large products portfolio ranging from tablets, toothpaste, inhalers to complex capsules, in over 28,000 different pack sizes and presentations. Principally GSK produces antibiotics, respiratory, dermatological, gastro-intestinal, metabolic, analgesics, central nervous system (CNS) products and vaccines. AIMS AND OBJECTIVES Objectives and milestones are of crucial importance for any activity and are the core of its success, or failure. Setting an objective before initiating the project provides the required directions and assists in anticipating its result. This report aims to evaluate and assess the financial & business position of GlaxoSmithKline Pakistan Limited for financial year ended December 30, 2008. This will be achieved by the following three key tools: Vertical Analysis It deals with the most sophisticated technique for analyzing the financial statements which is ratio analysis, also known as trend analysis. This analysis will be conducted to compare GSK's current year performance with its previous periods under four broad categories i. e. Profitability, Short Term Solvency, Liquidity and Efficiency, Long Term Solvency and stability & Market ratios. Within each category different ratios would be calculated depending upon their significance and appropriateness. Horizontal Analysis For a more meaningful and judicious picture of the entity’s position it is compared with its competitor within the industry. Through this horizontal or competitor analysis, GSK’s current year performance is judge against its major competitor Sanofi Aventis. This analysis is conducted by the use of financial ratios in the same four broad categories. Business Analysis Business analysis is a well-established means of thinking critically about an entity, its resources and its environment. This analysis aims to evaluate GSK’s performance not only from the financial perspective but its business as a whole. This will be achieved by the use of technique namely â€Å"SWOT (Strength, Weaknesses, and Opportunities & Threat) analysis† and by conducting a general analysis of business highlighting its major performance area. Future Prospects: This report will also highlight the company’s future objective and strategies and assess its alignment with GSK’s vision and purpose of existence. INFORMATION GATHERING ‘Information is a source of learning. But unless it is organized, processed, and available to the right people in a format for decision making, it is a burden, not a benefit’. William Pollard Any course of action that generates a successive message can be considered as a source of information. Information can be gathered from virtually anywhere but ideal information is that, which when used, adds value. Keeping this in mind, I exploited the most appropriate and authentic information sources. The major sources used to gather the information are: Annual Reports The most reliable source of information is the company’s annual report. These not only contain financial statements of an entity but also other information of current and future scenarios which helps in evaluating its performance. Annual Reports of GSK for December 2008 and 2007 and its competitor Sanofi Aventis for the December 2008 were obtained from their websites. Meetings Several informal meetings were conducted with the management of GSK regarding its business and financial stance. I also managed to have meeting with senior associates at Deloitte who had an experience of conducting audit of Abbott Laboratories (Pakistan) Limited. They provided me guidance to conduct the business analysis and industry knowledge, to facilitate me in achieving my goals effectively. Internet Internet proved to be one of the strongest sources which enhanced the frequency and quality of information gathered during the project. The official website of GlaxoSmithKline Pakistan Limited (http//:www. gsk. com. pk) assisted to assemble constructive information for its better understanding which helped in scrutinizing the company’s financial performance. Additionally, different quotes and definitions were gathered from Google Search Engine. Articles The Article published in Student Accountant by ACCA, â€Å"How to Approach Performance Appraisal Questions? by Steve Scott from May 2006 issue, helped in the interpretation of the financial position of GlaxoSmithKline Pakistan Limited. ACCA Study Texts The study texts of ACCA Paper F7 and P2, P3, CAT Paper T6 published by BPP and FTC, were the helpful resources in gathering definitions and interpretations of ratios and conducting business analysis. Financial Analysis Financial analysis is an aspect of the overall business fina ncial position that involves examining historical and competitor data to gain information about the current and future financial health of a company. ttp://www. enotes. com/small-business-encyclopedia/financial-analysis Comparison with the prior periods (Vertical analysis) and with the competitor (horizontal analysis) in the form of ratios assists an organization in taking appropriate measures for improving its financial credibility. Vertical Analysis: Trend or vertical analysis is an aspect of technical analysis that evaluates the current performance of the company using the past data. It is based on the idea that what has happened in the past gives traders an idea of what will happen in the future. ttp://www. investopedia. com/. This analysis is done under four broad ratio categories discussed below: Profitability Ratios: RETURN ON CAPITAL EMPLOYED (ROCE): The primary measure of profitability is normally considered to be ROCE. It is the ratio which measures the relationship betwee n the sizes of the profit figure relevant to size of the business. (Student Accountant – May 2006) ROCE of the company has reached at a level of 36. 84% in 2008, which is a growth of 4% from 2007 32. 89% that had reduced by 2. 29% compare to 2006 (35. 18%). This increase in 2008 was mainly due to the rise in net profit of 17% in comparison to FY 2007. Whereas, in the year 2007, the increase in noncurrent liabilities by 40. 65% (in comparison to 2006) caused a decline in its ROCE. {draw:frame} GROSS PROFIT MARGIN (GP %): The gross profit margin ratio tells us the profit a business makes on its cost of sales. GP% of GSK was 28. 77% in the year 2008 which demonstrated a downward trend, since the recorded margin in the year 2007 was 37. 25% and 38. 33% in 2006 respectively. Despite of the rise in the sales revenue by 26% in 2008, GSK’s GP% has decreased. This was due to the drastic increase in its cost of sales by 43. 38% over 2007 (which was particularly due to the rise in raw material & commodities prices), whereas there was no consequent increase in its sales prices (because of no increase in drug prices sanctioned by the government since 2001). The same reason was observed in the year 2007 which squeezed its GP% by 1. 08% over 2006, regardless of the increase in its net sales by 5. 6%. {draw:frame} NET POFIT MARGIN (NP %): â€Å"A change in the net profit margin is a measure of how well a company has controlled its overheads†. Student Accountant- May 2006) NP% of GSK has shown a declining trend by an average of approximately 1% per year during the three years periods. It was 15. 74% in 2007 but decreased to 14. 59% in the year 2008. However, this reduction was not in the same proportion as of gross profit, due to the increase in other operating income by 100. 15% (which is 65. 46% of the net profit) and tighter control of company on its expenses during the year. In the year 2007 the NP% decreased by 0. 76% from 16. 50 in 2006, nonetheless indicating no major variation. {draw:frame} ASSET TURNOVER: The asset utilization ratio (sales/net assets) shows how efficiently the assets are being used to generate sales. (ACCA P3 BPP Study Text) Asset turnover of GSK was 1. 26 times in 2008, which was an increase of 22% from 2007. This was due to an increase in sales by 26% from 2007 and the raise in fixed assets by 4. 54% (which was because of the capital investment of 646 million made by the company, the major portion of which was spend on facility improvement, rationalization and upgrading its plant) that resulted in the improvement of its assets turnover. However, in the year 2007 it declined by 3% from 1. 7 times in 2006 to 1. 04 times, which was due to the increase in total assets by 7. 63%. {draw:frame} RETURN ON EQUITY (ROE): ROE is the amount of net income returned as a percentage of shareholders equity. It measures an entity’s profitability by revealing how much profit a company generates with the money shareholders have invested. http://www. investopedia. com/ ROE of GSK was 23. 4% in the year 2008 that was 2. 82% higher than 2007, which was because of the boost of 17. 04% in its net profits figure. In the financial year 2007, it slightly dropped by 1. 32% from 22. 9% in 2006 to 20. 58%. The issued common stock (Bonus Shares) in FY 2007 resulted in its equity enlargement by 7. 7% over 2006, consequently decelerating its ROE. {draw:frame} Short Term Solvency, Liquidity and Efficiency: CURRENT RATIO: Current ratio measures a company's ability to pay its short-term obligations. www. investopedia. com The current ratio of GSK was 4. 22:1 in 2006 further declining to 4. 27:1 and 4. 11:1 in 2007 and 2008 respectively. Although there have been a raise in current assets by 5. 98% but current liabilities are increased in a greater proportion i. e. y 10% during 2008, thus decelerating GSK’s current ratio by 4% from 2007. Whereas, the decrease of 15% from 2006 to 2007 in current ratio was due to 3. 3% rise in the company’s current liabilities. A lthough there have been no drastic changes in current assets figure over the three year period, however, it comprises almost 34% of cash and bank balance, signaling towards ineffective cash management. {draw:frame} QUICK RATIO: The quick ratio measures the company's ability to meet its short-term obligations with its most liquid assets. It shows better liquidity position than current ratio. ww. investopedia. com The quick ratio of GSK has decreased from 3. 13 in FY 2006 to 2. 98 in FY 2007 to 2. 31 in FY 2008. In the year 2008 GSK’s quick ratio has declined in a greater proportion than its current ratio, indicating cash being stuck in stock in trade which can be seen by an increase of 53% in stock in trade figure over 2007. This implies the company has made high investment in less liquid assets which resulted in the increase of its cash operating cycle. Therefore there is a need to restrain any further increase in its inventory level. In the year 2007, inventory only increased by 7%, indicating no substantial change. {draw:frame} ACCOUNTS RECEIVABLE COLLECTION PERIOD (In Days): It is a measure of the average number of days that a company takes to collect revenue from its customers after a sale has been made. www. investopedia. com Account receivable collection period of GSK had radically increased from 4 days in the year 2007 to 27 days in 2008, which was caused by 770% increase in its accounts receivables (mainly because of high receivable on government tenders) over 2007. Although, this resulted in the augmented sales turnover but it also raised doubtful debt provision from 2. 9 million in 2007 to 4. 6 million in 2008. However, no significant rise was observed in receivable collection period days of 3. 06 days in FY06 from FY07. {draw:frame} ACCOUNTS PAYABLE PAYMENT PERIOD (In Days): It is used to calculate the average number of days that a business takes to pay off its creditors. www. investopedia. com Account payable days of GSK have decreased by 22 days from 93 days in FY 2007 to 71 days in FY 2008. This sudden decline was due to the increase of 43. 8% in cost of goods sold, which is fairly less in comparison to the 9. 94% rise in trade and other payables. However, in FY 2007 the 7% increase in COGS was in proportion to the 6. 25% raise in trade and other payables, resulting in no considerable change in the year 2007 in comparison to 94 days of its preceding year 2006. {draw:frame} Long Term Solvency and stability Ratios: GEARING (Long Term Debt / Equity): Gearing is a general term describing a financial ratio which compares some form of owner's equity (or capital) to borrowed funds. It is a measure of financial leverage, demonstrating the degree to which a firm's activities are funded by owner's funds versus creditor's funds. Financial gearing ratio of GSK is not significantly important as it has remained below 1% in the 3 year period from 2006 to 2008. Gearing ratio for FY 2008 and FY 2007 is 0. 25% and 0. 29%, which are relatively better in comparison to 0. 88% for the financial year 2006. This indicates that the company is highly dependent on its internal cash flow generation system and holds a stable financial position. Therefore, it currently and subsequently would have no problem to borrow funds but at present, it does not seem to rely on the strategy of generating finance through debt. {draw:frame} INTEREST COVER: It is a ratio that indicates how many times a company can cover its interest charges on a pretax basis. Failing to meet these obligations could force a company into bankruptcy. www. investopedia. com Interest cover of GSK had declined by 191 times being at 40. 05 times in FY 2008 in comparison to 231. 18 times in FY 2007 which was an increase of 93. 92 times in comparison to 137. 5 times in FY 2006. One of the major reasons for this drastic decline in the interest cover in 2008 is because of the rise in financial charges of GSK, which rose because of the foreign exchange losses occurred during the year by the company. This depicts an inefficient FOREX risk management for importing of raw material and exports of its products. While in the year 2007 exchange losses are apparently low comp ared to the other two years. {draw:frame} Market Ratio: EARNING PER SHARE (EPS): EPS is 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. www. investopedia. com EPS of GSK had increased from 9. 79 per share in 2007 to 11. 46 per share in FY 2008, but it was lower as compared to 12. 19 per share of 2006. The increase in the current year (FY 2008) is due to vigorous 17. 04% increase in net profit in comparison to the profit of FY 2007; however no further shares issue was made during the year. Whereas, the decline in FY 2007 was due to the issue of common shares (bonus shares) which expanded the company’s common stock by 25% but net profit remained almost same as of FY 2006. draw:frame} PRICE EARNING RATIO (P/E): A valuation ratio of a company's current share price compared to its per-share earnings. It is calculated as: Market Value/ share divided by Earning per share. www. investopedia. com P/E ratio of GSK has decreased by 13. 03 to 6. 63 in the FY 2008 compare to the FY 2007, but in 2007 it increased by 19. 66 compared to the 12. 81 of FY 20 06. The decrease observed in the year 2008 was because of the undervalued share price and improvement in the EPS during the year. The market price of the share in Dec 2008 was Rs. 75. 9 (Dec07: Rs. 192. 4) and the earning per share was Rs. 1. 46 (Dec07: Rs. 9. 79). The low P/E ratio will result in the high expectations of investors for the potential rise in share prices. The stock prices were generally low due to economic recession in the country and fragile moves of the investors at the stock exchange. The increase in P/E ratio during 2007 was due to decrease in EPS by 20% over 2006. {draw:frame} DIVIDEND PAYOUT RATIO (DPO): Dividend payout ratio is the percentage of earnings paid to shareholders as dividends. www. investopedia. com Dividend payout ratio of the company is depicting a growing trend. Its DPO in the FY 2008 reached to 82. % from 76. 6% in FY 2007, i. e. approximately an increase of 6%. This was due to a raise in net profit by 17%, consequently meeting its investorâ₠¬â„¢s expectation. Whilst the payout ratio of GSK indicates that it was able cover 65. 6% of the total profit in FY 2006. However GSK retained 23. 4% and 32. 4% of its net profits in the year 2007 and 2006 respectively, since heavy capital expenditure was incurred within these two years, which was financed by its retained earnings. {draw:frame} Horizontal Analysis: Knowing your customer is critical, but knowing your competition can be even more valuable. Better knowledge of rivals proffers a legitimate source of competitive advantage, horizontal analysis commonly known as competitor analysis is used for that purpose. This analysis tends to evaluate the entity’s standing in comparison to the other companies within the industry. It is not vital that the companies within the same industry are direct competitors (which can be seen in the case of GSK & Sanofi Aventis hereinafter referred to as SA); even then they would be expected to broadly demonstrate similar performance, in terms of growth. (ACCAP3). The Horizontal analysis of GSK is done within the same categories of trend analysis. Profitability Ratios: Profitability ratios of GSK are better than that of SA. The huge difference in the profit margin of these two corporations is due to the difference in their size. Gross profit margin of the GSK is 28. 77%, which is 4. 48% better than that of SA. GSK’s vast product range allows it to purchase and produce in bulk, hence reducing its overall cost. On the other hand, SA manufactures low volumes of products which increase its ordering cost and consequently raise its cost of production. Net profit margin of GSK is 14. 9% while that of SA is 0. 88% in the FY 2008. This difference of 13. 71% indicates that excessive non production cost of SA is squeezing its net profit. As a consequence low ROCE of SA of 15. 36% is witnessed in comparison to GSK’s 36. 84%. SA’s asset turnover of 1. 46 times indicates that it has utilized its assets 0. 2 times more efficiently than G SK to generate sales revenue. Short Term Solvency, Liquidity and Efficiency: The current ratio of GSK for FY 2008 is 4. 11 and of SA is 0. 98. Since SA’s current ratio is less than 1, it is can lead to the difficulty in fulfilling its short term obligations. SA’s liquidity problems can be witnessed from its short term borrowings covering 48% of the total Current Liabilities. Conversely, Current ratio of GSK is high showing signs of over capitalization. Additionally, cash and bank balances of GSK are 34 % of its total current assets which indicates weak working capital management. Quick Ratio of SA and GSK is 0. 2 and 2. 25 respectively. This enormous difference from the current ratios of these companies highlights the possibility of investment in assets which are less liquid. The inventory (stock in trade) of the SA is almost 62% of its total current assets while GSK holds around 44% of its current assets. SA has kept a stringent control over its working capital while GSK’s policy seems much more relaxed with its creditors and Debtors. These relaxed terms could be one of the reasons which helped GSK in increasing its Sales revenue by 26% in FY 2008 from FY 2007. SA, in contrast, has less receivable collection days and increased payable payment days. Hence SA is better at controlling its cash conversion. Long Term Solvency and stability Ratios: Both the companies hold stable positions in the context of long term solvency. Gearing ratios are not significant as these are less than 1% in both the companies. Interest cover of 40. 05 times shows a sound financial position. Finance cost occurred by GSK mainly consist of the foreign exchange losses borne by the company in importing the raw material. While SA has interest cover of 0. 51 times due to the high finance cost on short term borrowing. Market Ratios: The huge difference in EPS of GSK and SA is due to their different profitability position. Moreover GSK has a high payout ratio of approximately 83% as compared to 35. 28% of SA. NAV of SA is 2. 5 times higher than GSK particularly due to the high number of equity shares (common stock) issued, which is also reflected in its share price. SA currently has a share price of Rs. 211 and GSK’s shares are of Rs. 75. 94/share respectively. SA’s P/E ratio of 53. 18 indicates low earnings and high market price of its shares. This is a source of concern indicating that its shares are overvalued. Conversely, GSK’s P/E ratio of 6. 63, highlights that its shares are currently undervalued. Business Analysis The business performance analysis of GSK will be carried out using SWOT analysis and by general discussion of its business practices. SWOT SWOT analysis is fundamentally about discovering what a company does well, how it could improve, whether it is making the most out of the available opportunities and whether there are any changes in the market that call for corresponding changes in the business. http://www. bnet. com/2410-13240_23-66478. html Strengths The largest pharmaceutical company in Pakistan. The first company in Pakistan’s pharmaceutical industry that crossed Rs 10 billion sales mark. Produces 269 varieties of products, out of which Augmentin, Amoxil, Panadol, Ventolin and Ampiclox are among the top 10 pharmaceutical Rx products of Pakistan. The sales revenue of Augmentin and Amoxil reached to PKR2bn and PKR1bn in 2008. Betnovate is its leading brand by volume. Segment leadership in antibiotics, respiratory products, anti-malaria, gastrointestinal (GI), derma and hepatitis products, vaccines and anti helmentic medicaments. Stood at 1st position in poster competition of â€Å"International Clinical Operations, Community of Practice Meetings†. Awarded with corporate philanthropic award certificate in 2008 by Pakistan Centre for Philanthropy. Contributes to social welfare by running various charitable programs with leading NGO’s in Pakistan such as Pakistan National Forum, National Children Human Development on women’s health, concern for Children trust and the trust for health and medical sciences. Awarded as â€Å"Best place to work-2008† by a leading HR consultancy in association with Pakistan Society for Human Resource Management. Committed to innovation by developing medicines through its global R effort. Weaknesses Due to high cost of importing raw material for medicines, GSK faces strong competition from low-cost generic equivalents. Ineffective foreign exchange currency contracts resulted in the increase of exchange losses (financial charges) for the current year. Strict labor laws and a corporate income tax rate, makes it difficult for GSK to operate. Weak cash management. Opportunities: Potential for growth in the domestic market. Sector modernization initiatives will create expansion opportunities. Cut of import duties were made by the government on Pharmaceutical products. This will increase the import of products and motivate foreign involvement in respect of the investment, raw material purchase and technology transfer. Prospective increase in exports of medicines is possible as currently, Pakistan is ranked among the top eight leading exporters of herbal medicine. Threats: Significant counterfeit drug industry. Domestic patent law is below international standards. Illegal copying, counterfeiting and law enforcement is continuing to present significant problems for the international pharmaceutical companies operating in Pakistan. Rising numbers of generics is a major barrier to multinational investment. Increasing inflationary trends without consequent increases in the prices of drugs. Exposed to foreign exchange currency risk as the company is highly dependent on import of raw materials. Slow registration process for approving new formulae for medicine thus hampering its access. More about GSK: The Vision: â€Å"The opportunity to make a difference to the lives of billions of people† GSK states that they are aware of the work they do to improve the quality of people’s lives. It takes pride in this and is committed to produce products that benefit patients. It is committed towards improving and implementing the healthcare programs in Pakistan, particularly the area of preventive healthcare and vaccines remains essential and explicit. GSK is the world’s leading developer and manufacturer of vaccines. In order to evaluate the alignment of company’s activities with its vision, I have conducted the business analysis under the following heads: Market Eminence: GSK has always remained a strong wing of the pharmaceutical industry of Pakistan. It has managed to maintain a consistent growth in demand of different vaccines, antibiotics, dermatology, gastro intestinal & cardio vascular portfolios. GSK has a wide distribution network, it sell its products to wholesale drug distributors, hospitals, government entities and other institutions, hence covering almost the whole pharmaceutical market. It produces 7 out of 20 top brands in the pharmaceutical industry of the country. It was as awarded â€Å"The most preferred pharmaceutical company† of the year. It is the market leader of pharmaceutical industry of Pakistan. Quality Management: Quality in the Pharmaceutical industry is of significant importance. Due to the sensitive nature of industry, strict quality parameters are set by the regulatory bodies for pharmaceutical companies. GSK is one of the few companies which not only follow the quality standard set locally but also practice international quality standards. It was reward with the prestigious â€Å"Corporate Excellence Award† by Management Association of Pakistan (MAP). This was presented after independent evaluation of quality of management practices followed by GSK including corporate governance practices, marketing planning, production, R, corporate social responsibility and remarkable financial performance. GSK has always set high quality standards in the industry. It has recently introduced quality management system and is conducting workshops for its successful implementation. It has also installed one of the fastest tube filling and cartooning machines for its production efficiency and is continually advancing towards improvement in product’s quality and productivity. Research & Developments: GlaxoSmithKline, Pakistan (GSKP) Limited is the largest research-based pharmaceutical company in the country and the second largest in the world. It has recently conducted 19 Phase-II and III studies in therapeutic areas of Oncology, Neurosciences, Psychiatry, Metabolic and Hematology. It got 1st Position in poster competition in â€Å"International Clinical Operations, Community of Practice Meeting† held in Bangkok. Its R department’s 10 team members were presented with â€Å"Gold Awards† and Certificate of Recognition by CMD. It spends globally around US $ 14 million on research and development each day. The Company has consistently launched new products. † Sensodyne Total Care† and â€Å"Sensodyne Gentle Mouthwash† launched with unique formulation are its recent addition. Overall, it has supported the Pharma industry of by introducing low cost and quality pharmaceutical products. Employee’s Development: GSK is well known for being one of the most preferred employers. It has been awarded as â€Å"Best place to work† in 2008 by a leading HR consultancy in association with Pakistan Society for Human Resource Management. International Day of Disability was celebrated at GSK, showing its strong believes in equal opportunity employment. Its HR team recently launched a new initiative titled â€Å"Mentoring†, which provides guidance and assistance for developing talent. It also conducted a learning fair in 4 major cities of Pakistan, which offers a diverse range of courses for employees’ development and learning exposure. In order to promote and give a chance to new talent, its HR team visited 14 Universities during its recruitment process. Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR): GSK believes that corporate social responsibility is an integral and embedded part of its business. It is sincerely involved in the community work and in various charitable projects in Pakistan and around the world. It works under the context of various health, women and child development, education, and relief programmers’ at grass root level. In 2008 GSK has been rewarded with a corporate philanthropy award in recognition of its support for the social development causes in Pakistan. It is the major corporate donor for numerous NGOs and also a member of the National Commission for Human Development (NCHD). As a movement to its corporate social responsibility GSK Pakistan has introduced 1st of its kind, value health card. The card will be issued solely on the prescription of doctors, for those who cannot afford pharmaceutical products at their standard retail prices. Environment, Health and Safety (EHS) Environment, health and safety are major concerns for GSK. It continually works towards improving people’s health and safety and for developing environment friendly products. It has received Environment Excellence Award (AEEA 2008) and EHS Excellence Awards in recognition to its good environmental practices. It has installed low-cost engineering solution (glove box), which reduced OEL level by 40%. Business Continuity Plan desktop exercise was also conducted at all of its sites. CONCLUSION: GSK leads the industry in terms of value, volume and market shares. It has managed to improve the quality of human life along with showing consistency and stability in its overall business growth. This report’s objective, to assess the financial and business position of GSK, was achieved in four key areas. This report aims to analyze the financial and business position of GSK over the three year period from 2006 to 2008. In the context of aforementioned objectives this report concludes: Business: GSK‘s overall business performance is in line with its mission and is contributing towards its strategic objective. Due to its presence in the country since 1955, it has managed to build strong business foundation and is able to maintain consistent growth in the market. It has excelled in the field of Research and Development by introducing new products covering various generics, ensuring employees satisfaction by providing better environment to work, expanding its operation through empowerment of diverse product portfolio, contributing towards corporate social responsibility by capturing tasks; to work for the social health and safety, education and environment friendliness and most importantly being profitable, depicts its strong businesses practices. Financial Trend: GSK Pakistan has managed to give better financial results in the current year 2008 as compared to the FY 2007, which identifies its financial stability and further growth prospects. Even though the returns (ROCE & ROE) in the current year have improved but its profit margins (GP% & NP %) have depicted a declining trend, which was a result of raise in its revenue expenditure (COGS, Admin, S and Financial expenses). However it can be witnessed that the company has remained focused on continuous improvement in its business processes and sustained its investment in its product & promotion to offset the negative impact on margins through productivity improvement and sales growth. Although the company was not able to perform well in the year 2007 in comparison to its preceding year 2006, but it was able still able to deliver a stable financial performance having no major threats. This decrease in its financial position during the year was mainly due to the increase in inflation and depreciation in rupee that affected its operating margin negatively. Moreover the capital expenditure made during the year caused a decline in its profitability ratios, but its benefit will be obtained in the later years. The company has always provided sound investment returns which can be seen by consistent growth in its payout ratio. In the year 2007, GSK announce bonus issue of 1:4 when it declared lower dividends, thus retaining its investor’s confidence and being a reliable company for all of its stakeholders. Competitor’s Comparison: Due to its larger asset base, vast product portfolio, global presence and skilled research & development function GSK has a natural edge over its competitor Sanofi Aventis. Overall GSK’s financial performance is better than its competitor in the FY 2008. Almost all of the ratios calculated under the four broad heads, shows that GSK is giving better returns and incurring less cost. Profitability ratios of the GSK show a better picture than that of Sanofi Aventis, with the exception of Asset efficiency which shows a better utilization of assets by Sanofi to generate revenues. Liquidity position of both the companies is stable apart from the huge investments that were stuck in the stock in trade. Higher EPS and low P/E ratio of GSK shows that there is a potential for rise in its share price of the Company, in comparison to the overvalued shares of SA resulted in high P/E ratio. Future Prospects: The company can be seen as being committed to respond to the challenges of the operating environment and continues to seek opportunities to drive growth in its existing portfolio. It has a good pipeline of innovative new medicines together with the sustained availability of existing products. However, the pharmaceutical industry, in which GSK exists, has ample of barriers such as high inflationary environment without general price relief, which makes it difficult to manage its business operations. The company has a great potential for growth, but its sustained success depends on the industry’s regulatory environment, that should be able to balance the interest of the company with the need of affordable healthcare. APPENDIcES APPENDIX 1: BALANCE SHEETS (GSK) {draw:frame} APPENDIX 2: PROFIT & LOSS STATEMENTS (GSK) {draw:frame} APPENDIX 3: BALANCE SHEETS (SA) draw:frame} APPENDIX 4: PROFIT & LOSS STATEMENTS (SA) {draw:frame} APPENDIX 4: RATIOS FORMULAE {draw:frame} APPENDIX 5: RATIOS CALCULATIONS {draw:frame} Key Skill Statement Skill and Learning Statement is the testimonial which includes the compilation of key factors learned during the course this project. This part of report includes following: What did you learn from the meetings with your project mentor, includ ing the presentation that you gave to your project mentor? How well do you think that you have answered your research question(s)? How have you demonstrated your interpersonal and communication skills during the project work? How has undertaking the RAP helped you in your accountancy studies and/or current employment role? Choosing a Mentor In accordance with the guidelines, I was required to hold three meetings with my mentor. Working as a trainee in one of the big four audit firms, made the task of locating a mentor quite easy. Mr. Qayam Karim Maknojia (ACA from Institute of Chartered Accountant of Pakistan), Manager in Financial Advisory Services at Deloitte Touche Tomastu, agreed to occupy the role of my mentor. I choose Mr. Qayam as my mentor because of his vast knowledge and experience in the field of advisory and audit. Meetings Planning all the meetings before hand ensured their smooth running, and enable maximum to be achieved in the shortest time. Meeting 1 Due to time constraint and workload, first meeting took place at 7 pm, Wednesday 16th September, 2009 at our client’s office. In order to get most out of the 1st meeting, I had performed all the background work and shortlisted two topics, topic 8 and Topic 20 for the purpose of this report. I also selected the potential organizations that I was willing to use for each respective topic, but before making the final decision I decided to consult Mr. Qayam. After discussing number of issues like learning potential and merits of each topic I decided to underpin my research report on Topic 8, business and financial analysis of an organization over a three year period. We also discussed the potential sources of information which I could use for the purpose of this report. Due to workload, Mr. Qayam told me that we will hold the next meeting after finalizing the client and asked me to mail him the agenda and progress of the report one week before the meeting. Meeting 2 Second meeting took place at the 6:30 pm, after office hours, at Deloitte Karachi Office on Thursday 29th October, 2009. As requested by Mr. Qayam, I e-mailed him the agenda, my uncompleted report and excel generated worksheet one week before the meeting. By then my report consisted of interpretation ratios of the Company and business evaluation aspects with initial data in bullet points that I was going to use. Mr. Qayam assessed the work that I had performed and pointed out weaknesses and lack of reasoning in my interpretation. He also suggested that I should incorporate a competitor analysis so that a complete financial overview is covered in the report. Furthermore, he also pointed the fact that, it was not feasible to use business model as the data required for them are hard to come by. Instead, he recommended me to take some specific aspect of the company’s operations and evaluate their alignment with its vision and strategic objectives. We concluded the meeting and my mentor told me to take as much time as I want, because the deadline for the submission of the report is too far. He asked me to mail him final draft report once I have completed it. Meeting 3 The last meeting was held in the conference room of Deloitte Pakistan’s Karachi office on Wednesday, 25th November, 2009. I had mailed the final draft report to my mentor around 15 days before the meeting. After receiving his acknowledgment, I prepared presentation on Microsoft PowerPoint 2007 slides to give it a more professional look. I consulted my seniors, as how to make and delivery good quality presentation. Keeping the guidance provided by my seniors in mind, I prepared and rehearsed my presentation several times. I was a bit shaky at the start of the meeting, but my confidence level grew as I proceeded. After the presentation question answer session took place, which was most exciting as my colleagues and mentor tried to challenge my research by asking numerous questions. I was glad that I had prepared myself for this, although I was not able to answer 100% of the questions asked, my mentor and colleagues were satisfied with the work I had performed and effort I gave in preparing this report. Assessment of the Presentation The presentation took place in front of my mentor and my office colleagues. It took me nearly two days to structure and prepare the presentation. After that, I rehearsed the number of times alone to build confidence. The day before the meeting, I gave this presentation in front of my friends, who are MBA professionals so that they can point out any weakness in my communication. At the start of the meeting I distributed, handouts consisting of ratios, competitor analysis and summary of the business performance of the Company. The meeting progressed smoothly throughout the presentation. As I have already informed the listeners that a question answer session will take place after the presentation is over, no interruption occurred in between. In the introduction phase, it was quite clear that most of my colleagues didn’t possess any prior knowledge of GSK Pakistan Limited, so they took a keen interest in the topic. During the Q & A session numbers of questions were asked by my colleagues challenging my research. Most of the questions related to the financial aspects of the Company, like why I chose that particular competitor. Most exciting questions were asked by my mentor, which focused on the business performance and which widen my horizon of analyzing the business. Overall the presentation was effective. I was able to deliver the presentation in the allocated time, although question answer session went longer than I had hoped. After the presentation my overall efforts were appreciated by my colleagues and mentor. Presentation Outline {draw:frame} {draw:frame} {draw:frame} {draw:frame} {draw:frame} {draw:frame} {draw:frame} {draw:frame} {draw:frame} {draw:frame} {draw:frame} {draw:frame} draw:frame} {draw:frame} {draw:frame} {draw:frame} {draw:frame} {draw:frame} Questioning Questioning is a vital element of effective communication based on any medium. It enhances understanding, searches for clarification and opinions. There are two basic types of questions: Open questions such as; what†¦? Who†¦? Where†¦? The responses they require are in broad terms. Open questions can further be classif ied in to probing questions and leading questions. Closed question defines a parameter which limits the response of the questioned individual to choices like ‘Yes or No. During the three meeting Questioning formed a significant part of the communication. Through this me and my mentor developed ideas and structured my thoughts which helped me in completing my report. During the question answer session both open and close ended question were asked by the audience, which tested my knowledge rigorously and helped me identifying weakness in the communication process. However, Questioning was two way process. Numerous open ended questions were asked by me, in order to gain better understanding of the work I had to perform and whether I was on the right track or not. Listening As communication are a two way process between sender and a receiver. Listening is the act of decoding the information being received and it forms a fundamental part of a communication process. Listening is as important a characteristic as questioning. Every communication process is open to noise and distortion and the meaning of the message being delivered is altered or lost if they are present. The first meeting held was open to frequent physical noises and distractions. One of my weaknesses that came into light during the 1st meeting was that, I found out to be an impatient listener. I interrupted Mr. Qayam at numerous times when I did not agree with his opinions. Learning from the 1st meeting other meetings were arranged and timed to avoid interruption. I started to become more patient and listened to my mentor with full concentration and noted down questions which I asked after he has concluded. During my 3rd meeting I noticed that some of the audience members were not listening effectively as they asked question which have already be answered during the course of my presentation. Self Evaluation {draw:g} Overall communication process consists of a sender, transmitting a message to the receiver through a communication medium. The process of communication is incomplete and/or ineffective until it is confirmed via feedback, that the receiver understood the intended message. The communication between me and my mentor could be seen by the above communication model. During the course of my project, the overall interaction with my mentor was quite effective. We were able to decode each other’s message easily and were able to communicate our thoughts properly. Perhaps, one of the reasons for effective communication was the informal relation with him, which allowed me to ask questions without being reluctant. I have used number of channels to communicate with my mentor, E-mail being the most effective medium after face to face conversation. The interaction with my colleagues during the presentation was not effective. Reason for which could be that I was not able to generate their interest. Due to this I had to repeat things over and over again. I was also asked questions, answers for which were already given in the presentation further implying that communication flow was hampered. Being an ACCA Affiliate and recruited recently, as a trainee consultant in Deloitte Pakistan, requirement for sound evaluation and interpretational skills are essential. During the course of this project, it had not only strengthened my academic knowledge I acquired before and furnished my interpretational and data mining skills, but also helped me into developing presentational skills which I lacked. Significant portion of the analysis of GSK was performed using ratio/trend analysis over a three year period ended 2008. In order for the assessment to be systematic and logical these ratios were broken into 4 broad categories so that proper attention would be given to each section and no major area was overlooked. To give a more meaning evaluation of the Company’s financial performance, I also incorporated, as guided by my mentor, a horizontal or competitor analysis of GSK with Sanofi Aventis. Performing business analysis of GSK was a difficult task, as this analysis required qualitative data in addition to the quantitative data about the Company. After carefully evaluating how to assess the business performance of a company I came to the conclusion that it was not feasible to use business evaluation models for the analyses of GSK as significant internal data was required. I discussed different operations for the company, evaluated whether’ they aligned with its vision and strategic objectives. Furthermore, I also used a corporate appraisal technique called SWOT analysis. In order to make my findings easy to understand for my mentor, I decided to use as minimum figures as I could and instead relied upon using graphs and interpreting data as a percentage. Microsoft Office was extensively used for this and by the end of this research project I was able to navigate around and use advance level options of its applications with ease. According to me, this research and analysis report contains a sound financial and business analysis of GSK Pakistan and fulfills the requirement to Topic of 8 of BSc. guidelines with ease. References Printed Material ACCA Study Text (2008/09) Paper F9 Financial Management. Kaplan Publishing Foulks Lynch ACCA Study Text (2008/09) Paper F7 (INT) Financial Reporting. Kaplan Publishing Foulks Lynch ACCA Study Text (2008/09) Paper P2 (INT) Corporate Reporting. BPP Learning Media Ltd ACCA Study Text (2008/09) Paper P3 Business Analysis. BPP Learning Media Ltd Annual Report (2006), Glaxo SmithKline. Annual Report (2007), Glaxo SmithKline. Annual Report (2008), Glaxo SmithKline. Electronic and Other Material Types BNET. SWOT Analysis: http://www. bnet. com/2410-13240_23-66478. html (Visited 05th November 2009) Financial Analysis http://www. enotes. com/small-business-encyclopedia/financial-analysis (Visited 05th November 2009) Introduction http://www. roi-ally. com/BPE_vol1. htm (Visited 05th November 2009) Industry http://www. ppma. org. pk/ (Visited 05th November 2009) Investopedia. Vertical Analysis: http://www. investopedia. com/terms/v/vertical_analysis. asp (Visited 05th November 2009) Investopedia. Return on Equity: http://www. investopedia. com/terms/r/returnonequity. asp (Visited 05th November 2009) Investopedia. Current Ratio: http://www. investopedia. com/terms/c/currentratio. asp (Visited 05th November 2009) Investopedia. Quick Ratio: http://www. investopedia. com/terms/q/quickratio. asp (Visited 05th November 2009) Investopedia. Accounts Recievable Collection Period: http://www. investopedia. com/terms/a/average_collection_period. asp (Visited 05th November 2009) Investopedia. Accounts Payable Payment Period: http://www. investopedia. com/terms/a/accountspayableturnoverratio. asp (Visited 05th November 2009) Investopedia. Interest Cover: http://www. investopedia. com/terms/i/interestcoverageratio. asp (Visited 05th November 2009) Investopedia. Earning Per Share: http://www. investopedia. com/terms/e/eps. asp (Visited 05th November 2009) Investopedia. Dividend Payout Ratio: http://www. investopedia. com/terms/d/dividendpayoutratio. asp (Visited 05th November 2009) William Pollard. Quote (Visited 07th November) http://thinkexist. com/quotation/information_is_a_source_of_learning-but_unless_it/226524. html BIBLIOGRAPHY Electronic and Other Material Types Competitor Websites Novartis Pharma: http://www. novartis. com (Visited 05th November 2009) Sanofi-Aventis: http://www. anofi-aventis. com. pk (Visited 05th November 2009) Regulators/ Governments Websites Karachi Stock Exchange: http://www. kse. com. pk (Visited 15th November 2009) Pakistan Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Association: http://www. ppma. org. pk (Visited 12th November 2009) Newspaper Websites Business Recorder’s website: http://www. brecorder. com (Visited many times) Dawn’s website: http://www. dawn. com (Visited many times) The Financial Daily webs ite: http://www. thefinancialdaily. com (Visited many times)

Introduction to China

Introduction to China Topic: Experience (Likes and dislikes) in China 2011/2012 Introduction I have been in China for more than two years. Early experiences in China and current experiences have a lot of differences. Early days I had so many funny experiences. I am going to start my paper with the funniest experiences. Here it is. When I was coming to China my friends told me that when you meet Chinese people they will say you You should reply the same. Then they will ask you You should reply One day I met a Chinese guy. He told me . I replied the same. Then he asked me I replied And the guy stared at me strangely. At that time I did not know why, but now I know. Another day I went to a restaurant to have my lunch. When I was coming back I met someone and he also greeted me . I replied so. Then he asked me I thought he was asking me whether I have taken my meal or not. So, as usual I said Then he thought for a while and said â€Å"yes, yes I know where the Chifanle country is. It is in Africa, isn’t it? † I said â€Å"No, it was in restaurant† because I thought he asked me where I had my lunch. It was totally a mess. Still now when I remember this I burst out laughing. My likes and dislikes about China: People in the same situation can describe an object positively or negatively due to difference in perception. So, what can be liked by one may be not by another one. However, as I am asked to provide some of my likes and dislikes in china, I am providing it from my perception. My objective is neither to hurt nor to please anyone. If someone is glad to hear my likes it is my pleasure and if someone is hurt I am extremely sorry. My likes * I like the helping tendency of Chinese people. When I came to china I was in trouble in the beginning. I did not find anybody with whom I can speak in English and be understood. But I was really astonished that they were trying to find some way to help me. I was really happy to see the helping tendency. * I like that China has successfully converted its large population into manpower. From an economic point of view, this is one of the major reasons the country have the fastest growing economy in the world. Labor here unlike in the western world is cheap coupled with the availability of technology. Chinese people are hard working in comparison to people in other countries. As I believe that industry is the key to success, so I admire them. * I like Chinese food though most of my classmates complain that Chinese food is spicy. Actually in my country we also eat spicy food. So, I have no problem with spicy food. * China’s natural scenery is unique and famous as one of the most beautiful on the earth. I like the natural scener y of china especially the hills and mountains of china. I also visited some places in china. It’s really wonderful. My Dislikes * I have not yet become fully used to the weather of Wuhan. After coming here I experienced too hot and too cold but it is difficult to tolerate. * I do not like the way Chinese boys and girls fall in love and their frequent change of love. Falling in love is divine and maintaining it is also same, but many are not concerned about maintaining. * Finally I do not like the way the drivers drive cars in China. Most drivers are reckless and won’t give pedestrians chance to cross. I see drivers breaking the traffic rules. Concluding thought China has more ethnic groups and population and has a long enriched history of civilization. If we observe the culture of china and that of my country we see many similarities, and many dissimilarities are also found as well. I respect all the cultural activities of my country as well as China. Before coming to China I was not aware of many of the things that I mentioned in my likes about China and its culture. As the time is passing I am gathering more and more experience about China and its Culture. Now, I like China more and more.

Why Crowdsourcing Sometimes Works for Writers

Why Crowdsourcing Sometimes Works for Writers Years ago when someone needed a writer, that person went through a marketing firm or relied on queries received after a call for submissions. In today’s â€Å"sharing economy,† writers can be found on the Internet easily, alongside people offering to design a company’s logo for $5 and manage entire marketing campaigns for $20. Unfortunately, this has led professionals to assume that the sharing economy is for amateurs. As someone who earned half her income last year through Elance, I’m here to tell you that professional writers do have a place in crowdsourcing. Businesses of all sizes use these sites to find talent and some of those businesses are eager to pay professional rates. If you’ve dismissed crowdsourcing as a way to supplement your freelance writing income, here are three reasons to reconsider: It’s a Great Supplement Even the busiest freelancer has slumps. One week your inbox is full of assignments and the next, you’re wondering if you’ll ever work again. Crowdsourcing gives you an option when it feels like all the editors have flown off to a tropical island somewhere. You can place a few proposals and maybe land an assignment or two. A couple of those assignments may even lead to ongoing work. The cost to join these sites and start bidding on jobs is minimal, so the only real cost is the time you’ll put into searching through all the requests for bids. Experts Can Be Choosers Before you sign up and begin searching for jobs, be aware that if you command a high per-word rate, you must learn to be selective. You’ve probably already discovered how to identify the low payers through their use of terms like, â€Å"Great opportunity to build your portfolio† and, â€Å"We don’t have a big budget, but we promise plenty of work.† Many of your proposals may be met with complete silence. But if you’re willing to put in the time, you can find clients who will pay your rate. Finding Your Niche Many freelancers learn that having a niche allows them to set themselves apart from others. Medical writers can command top dollar, as can those willing to write about science and technology. In the crowdsourcing arena, you’ll likely find that postings for articles and blogs are highly competitive, which means clients can pay ridiculously low rates. However, clients are willing to pay far more for important content, and you’ll discover that you can bid top rates for landing page content, sales copy, and press releases. Focus on these areas and you’ll avoid wasting time bidding on jobs requesting 20 articles about wedding dresses. Due to the competitive nature of crowdsourcing, many freelancers quickly get frustrated with the work required to successfully bid on jobs. However, when funds are low and jobs are scarce, crowdsourcing can provide a valuable source of income and possibly lead to regular, reasonable-paying, maybe even long-term work. If you’re ready to get started with crowdsourcing, here are some of the best sites to find writing gigs: Elance Guru Outsource PeoplePerHour Freelancer

The Trial of Mary Winkler

The Trial of Mary Winkler Mary Winkler, 32, was convicted of voluntary manslaughter  for the shotgun shooting death of her husband, Matthew Winkler, in 2006 at their Fourth Street Church of Christ parsonage in Selmer, Tennessee. She was arrested the following day in Alabama, where she had taken the couples three young daughters. Latest Developments Mary Winkler Wants Daughters BackSept. 11, 2007A Tennessee woman who served only 67 days after she was convicted of shooting her minister husband is now petitioning the court to get her children back. The three daughters of Mary Winkler have been in the custody of her in-laws since she was arrested in March 2006. Previous Developments Mary Winkler Freed After 67 DaysAug. 14, 2007Mary Winkler has been freed from custody after serving only 67 days, most of which were spent in a mental health facility. She was released after undergoing about two months of treatment. Mary Winkler Sentenced to 210 DaysJune 8, 2007A Tennessee judge sentenced Mary Winkler to 210 days incarceration for her voluntary manslaughter conviction. Winkler will get credit for time she served in jail before she made bond, leaving only 60 days that she will actually be incarcerated. Convicted Pastors Wife Seeks New TrialJune 7, 2007Mary Winkler, the ministers wife convicted of manslaughter for his death, is seeking a new trial  before she has even been sentenced following her first trial. Defense attorneys filed motions last week seeking a new trial based on several rulings the judge made during her trial regarding testimony the jury was allowed to hear. Mary Winkler Guilty of Lesser ChargeApril 19, 2007A jury of ten women and two men found Mary Winkler guilty of voluntary manslaughter in the shotgun shooting death of her husband. Under state law, a conviction of voluntary manslaughter carries a sentence of three to six years, with parole possible after serving 30 percent of the sentence. Mary Winkler Says Shooting Was AccidentalApril 19, 2007Mary Winkler told the jury of a man much different from her husbands small-town preachers public image and said the shotgun accidentally went boom as she pointed it at him as he had done to her in the past. Mary Winkler: My Ugly Came OutApril 14, 2007Jurors in the murder trial of Mary Winkler got a glimpse of what may have driven her to shoot her minister husband. According to the defense, Winkler pointed the gun at Matthew Winkler, as he had pointed it at her before, to get him to talk about their problems. Jury Selection Begins for Ministers WifeApril 9, 2007Jury selection is scheduled to begin today in the murder trial of Mary Winkler. The trial could bring answers to the small Tennessee town of Selmer, where residents wonder what caused a quiet, demure preachers wife to kill. Trial Set April 9 for Pastors WifeFeb. 23, 2007The trial of Mary Winkler has been scheduled for April 9, a date agreed upon both prosecutors and defense attorneys. I think everyone is ready to get this tried, said Winklers defense attorney, Steve Farese Sr. Slain Ministers Wife Out on BailAug. 15, 2006Mary Winkler was released from jail on $750,000 bond. Her release was delayed for more than a week while the judge assessed the terms of her release and checked the reliability of the bonding company that posted her bail. Wife Killed Minister After Money ArgumentJune 6, 2006A Tennessee ministers wife told police that she shot him after they argued about finances then told him Im sorry as he lay dying in the bedroom of their home, according to testimony at a hearing requesting bond for her release from jail. Ministers Wife Indicted for MurderJune 12, 2006A substitute elementary school teacher and the wife of a minister who was found shot to death in the church parsonage has been indicted for first-degree murder, meaning that authorities believe that she planned to kill Matthew Winkler, 31. Pastors Wife Charged with First-Degree MurderMarch 24, 2006The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation has issued an arrest warrant on first-degree murder charges for Mary Winkler, the wife of Selmer, Tennessee pastor Matthew Winkler. Tennessee Pastor Slain, Family MissingMarch 22, 2006A Tennessee church pastor was found shot to death after he failed to show up for Wednesday night services and a statewide Amber Alert has been issued for his missing wife and three young daughters.

Public Relations - interview with a facility manager of the nursing Essay

Public Relations - interview with a facility manager of the nursing home - Essay Example So I presented myself in Mr. Russell's chamber in the nursing home. He appeared to be an amicable man of perfection and he answered all my questions with patience. According to Mr. Russell, Mother Mary Nursing Home was very small as its former infrastructure is concerned. There were just 20 beds and 2 chambers for doctors. Today the whole scenario presents above 200 beds and 15 private chambers for the doctors. Like any other nursing home or hospital there are both outdoor and indoor facilities. People can come for personal check ups by the physicians who attend the outdoor section. On the other hand, there are also facilities for the patients who are directly admitted in the nursing home. As a Facility Manager, it is Mr. Russell's duty to look after whether the patients are getting all the facilities for which the authority has promised to them. He mentions some of the facilities that are unique in this nursing home and he further adds that these unique features have helped the nursing home to ensure its popularity. First of all there is an insurance facility every patient, which is very rare in the nursing homes. The patient can apply for the insurance with a certain amount of money that has to be deposited in the nursing home bank. This also helps the patients to get facilities in case they are admitted in future. Insurances are also helpful if someone from their families is admitted there. Mother Mary Nursing Home keeps all the tracks of the past records of the patients who are admitted here. These computerized records are very helpful to the doctors in case someone is admitted again in the future. Physicians can get all the details about the medical history of the patient and this helps in the process of diagnosis. There is free breakfast in every morning for the patients and tea and coffee for the visitors. The nursing home authority makes it a point so that no issue regarding the hygiene of the patient can be raised. The foods are healthy and applicable for all the patients no matter what disease they are suffering from. There are also special arrangements for the patients whose conditions are more critical than the others. All the patients are kept in separate rooms and there is no dormitory in the nursing home where privacy of the patients may get disturbed. Attendants are very regular in their job. All the rooms are cleaned up from time to time. Hygiene is in the culture of the nursing home and this is why patients are highly satisfied with the kind of services they are provided with in this organization. Politeness and cooperative nature of the attendants is focused so that the patients never feel lonely in this building. This homelike situation is the main thing which has brought success to Mother Mary Nursing Home. When asked about the financial expenditure of the nursing home Mr. Russell clearly said that they always try that services from this organization should be within the reach of the middle class people who arrive here for treatment. Of course some of the bills may seem to be expensive to them but when someone looks back to the kind of atmosphere and extra facilities which he/she had

History Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 2

History - Research Paper Example The paper will illustrate the diverse relationship that exists between Europe and the world and the different historical events that have that occurred in different parts of the world involving Europe. The French are one of the most influential European members having colonized numerous parts in northern, central and eastern Africa. The colonial rule of the French has often been compared with American imperialism. The Americas were once owned by the Europeans themselves before decolonizing, with the United States doing this between 1776 and 1783. Haiti, South and Central America shortly followed the United States and gained their independence from European rule. The loss of control in these parts of the world led the Europeans to focus their sites on Asia and Africa as they were still looking to expand their empire. On the European conquest for Asia, Vietnam was occupied by the French in the year 1858, with an attack on D Nang and the French established full control over the country by the year 1897. The Europeans always looked for places that were of substantial basis and economic value and in the case of Vietnam; rubber was the main economic generator for the country. However, other Asian countries also deemed themselves powerful and the Japanese were able to invade Vietnam and before withdrawing from the country after the Hiroshima catastrophe. However, despite previous Japanese invasion, the French were unwilling to recognize Vietnam as an independent state and this led to a war in which the French army was defeated in 1954. External influence did not end after this war as the American also played a role in the governing of the country to the extent that there was a split between the anti communist and communist parts of the country. The involvement of the United States in and the formation of a partnership with the