Accounts receivable management

The brand opened up a new facet of beauty care services that was associated more with market and state-of-the-art hospitals, where customers opted for these services under the supervision of doctors who had specialized in cosmetic surgeries/interventions. Would the differentiation between the first-time users of a beauty parlor and the loyal customers of a parlor offer insights that Kayak would find useful? Issues related to services management as well as customer value and customer loyalty were relevant to Kayak's competitive strategies.Although the customers of a beauty parlor could be demographically efferent from Kayak's customers, the commonality of the benefits related to the beauty services offered were the same. The challenge for Kayak was to use the insights from the customers in a related category of beauty parlor services in developing its category that did not face direct competition. etc Traditionally, beauty care products in India had been limited to herbs and homemade products. Only soaps, hair oil, shampoos, and talcum powder from the organized industry had been able to penetrate the Indian market.However, with a teddy increase in the awareness of hygiene and personal grooming across urban and rural India, several beauty and personal care categories gained momentum. In India, marketing activities generally involved popular celebrities, and traditionally highlighted aspects such as elimination of body odor and dandruff, improved oral health, and the prevention of infection. This further boosted the demand for beauty and personal care products. No The Indian beauty care industry grew rapidly in a few years with the penetration of premium beauty care products and services.The rising disposable income and the hanging lifestyles of Indians led to a boom in the beauty and personal care industries. The India skin care industry, for instance, was forecast to grow at 9% compounded annual growth rate (CARR) during 2009-2014. 1 Major fast-moving consumer g oods brands such as Hindustan Milliner Limited (HULL) and Procter and Gamble (P&G) aggressively expanded their product portfolios, distribution networks, and marketing activities in this segment. With the proliferation of beauty and personal care categories and brands, customer awareness of the different types of products and brands increased.The consumption of beauty products and services mimed to have experienced significant growth. 2 The emergence of brands such as Marco's Kayak Skin Clinic, Lake Beauty Salon, BLOC, Shania Hussein Herbals, Covariance's Limited, Green Trends, Keen, and Jawed Habit Hair & Beauty POOH) could be attributed to this trend. The boom was evident: HULL was opening up a new Lake salon almost every week, and GHB had grown from 37 parlors in Staying ahead of the game: How companies are adapting to the changing face of beauty, Euro monitor, November 2010, http://www. Remuneration. Mom/staying-ahead- of-the-game-how-companies-are-adapting-to-the-changing-face- of-beauty/report, accessed October 3, 2011. 2 Beauty business set to boom, http://economists. Initiatives. Com/news/news-by- industry/cons-products/fashion-/-cosmetics-/]leery/beauty-business-set-to-boom/ artilleries/8921457. SMS, accessed on July 1 2, 2011. S. Rammers Kumar, Anode Deja and Seed Hussein prepared this case for class discussion. This case is not intended to serve as an endorsement, source of primary data, or to show effective or inefficient handling of decision or business processes.Copyright 2012 by the Indian Institute of Management Bangor. No part of the publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means – electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise (including internet) – without the permission of Indian Institute of Management Bangor. This document is authorized for use only by SANDY SANDWICH at MDI Management Development until November 2013. Copying or posting is an infringement of copyright. [email  protect ed] Harvard. Deed or 617. 783. 7860. Exploring Category Benefits for Brand Building: Kayak and the Beauty Care Market Page 2 of 9 2006 to 225 by the end of 2010.The boom in the Indian beauty market was also able to attract large multinationals, such as Jean-Claude Beguine with annual revenues of ever 150 million Euros, to set up parlors in India. 3 The predominantly unrecognized, locally run beauty parlor market was being replaced by branded chains such as Lake, which was changing the face of this industry in the country. These branded beauty parlors were the leaders in a new era of trained parlor personnel. They offered services based on global insights and professional products that incorporated the latest international technologies.KAYAK SKIN CLINIC The approximately INNER 7,000-core (1 core = 10 million) organized and unrecognized hair and beauty industry was growing at a CARR of 35%. The industry was estimated to reach a potential business of INNER 30,000 core by 2015. Personal hygiene products (soaps and shower products), hair care and skin care products, color cosmetics, and fragrances were the key segments in the Indian beauty care industry (Exhibit 1). The skin care segment was relatively smaller than the personal care segment. The anti- aging cream segment alone, which was only 2% of the skin care market, had been growing at a rate of 90%.The increasing number of educated and working women in the corporate world was a major driver for this rapid growth. What made this industry even more fascinating was that even with the high growth rate, the Indian market was largely untapped, compared to other developing markets. In comparison, a developing country such as China spent ten times more on skin care, six times more on cosmetics, and twice more on hair care on a per capita basis (Exhibit 1). It is also worth noting that India had the highest percentage of women in the age group of 25-44 years, which was the key segment for the beauty industry. These fig ures and facts indicate the huge unrealized potential of the Indian market. Given the vast attention of beauty care services in the country, customer perception about the value related to the delivery of services, customer loyalty, and brand perception were important from the perspective of any branded or unbranded offering in this category. In December 2002, after conducting extensive research, Marino identified an emerging need in the market that translated to an aspiration to look and feel good.On furthering this understanding with the customers, a more focused need that was still untapped was identified: that of having flawless skin that looked good naturally. Thus, the first Kayak Skin Clinic was launched with the single-minded objective of delivering flawless skin solutions customized to Indian skin using the latest technology. In 2011, Kayak had opened 81 clinics spread across 26 cities in India, 18 highly successful clinics in the Middle East, and 2 clinics at Dacha in Bangl adesh. In May 2010, Kayak acquired the aesthetics business of the Singapore-based Dermal Ark Asia Pacific Pete.Ltd. (Dermal Ark). The company expanded its portfolio with the launch of more services such as lip enhancement as well as fairness and hair removal services. Kayak Skin Clinic had a number of services and solutions such as skin beauty, skin concerns, laser hair reduction, and anti-aging. Their product range included over 40 skin, hair, and body products for women and men. Kayak offered 360 degree skin care solutions that included advice on proper diet and exercise regimens. All the services offered at Kayak Skin Clinic were designed and supervised by a team of over 250 dermatologists.The services were carried out by certified skin practitioners who had undergone more than 300 hours of training. The services were US FDA-approved and tested in-house, and conformed to the highest international quality standards. All the services were competitively priced, starting from INNER 1 ,250. Kayak had over 600,000 satisfied customers. Kayak conducted frequent in-house training programs for its skin practitioners and dermatologists. Once in six months, Kayak held training-UCM-refresher courses for its staff to keep them up-to-date with the latest skin care techniques that were available internationally.Its team of dermatologists also participated in the in-house Continuing Medical Education (CAME) program, where international doctors met to discuss various trends in the field of skin care. Beauty bet: JOB plans to set up shop in India, http://economists. Initiatives. Com/ beauty-bet-]CB-plans-to-set-up-shop-India/artilleries/1773980. SMS, accessed on July 122011. 4 Outlook personal care industry: An Indian perspective, Data Strategic Management Group, http://www. Test. Com/download/article/Personal_Care_Chemicals. UDF, accessed on September 12, 2011. Page 3 of 9 PHILOSOPHY OF KAYAK 5 Kayak was divided into six service verticals, namely, Skin beauty, Skin concerns, Hair- free, Anti-aging, Bridal, and Kayak Men. Unlike other retailers, Kayak had not adopted the franchisee model. The company owned each of its clinics, because Kayak Skin Clinic believed in providing consistent services across the country. The philosophy at Kayak was governed by the single value of placing the customer first at all times. The word â€Å"Kayak† in Sanskrit meant â€Å"body. Kayak was all about personal confidence through expert skin care that seamlessly blended looking good with feeling good about one's inner and outer selves at all times. The emphasis, therefore, was on highly customized and personalized services that were best suited for the Indian skin. The services were provided in a state-of-the-art clinic with a Zen-like ambiance. The core values of Kayak Skin Clinic were: Customer First: Spirit of Partnership: Keeping the customer in focus and partnering to deliver skin care solutions.Doing what was in the best interests of the customer; business in terests would follow. Openness: Allowing diversity of opinion by listening to members without bias. Sharing information both good and bad, and having a sense of trust and respect for each other. Ownership: Having a â€Å"my Kayak† mind-set. What would I do if I were the owner of the business? Displaying seamless behavior across the organization when necessary, rather than drawing boundaries of unction's/grades in the interest of the organization. Exhibit 3 presents some of Kayak's print advertisements.They give an idea of how Kayak tried to differentiate itself from regular beauty parlors by consistently emphasizing its technology, the expertise of its dermatologists and skin experts, and so on. Kayak Skin Clinic could be called a chain of cosmetic dermatology clinics. It was a pioneer and thought leader in the skin care services space in the country. It offered its clients tailor-made, result-oriented, safe, non-surgical skin solutions, with the latest and most suitable tech nology available in the world. These services were impolitely administered by dermatologists.Any beauty or skin care brand/service could be considered as competition for Kayak. One of their biggest competitors would be individual doctors and dermatologists who offered one or two specialized services. It was in this context that Kayak needed to use the commonality of the category benefits to develop its brand, especially among loyal customers. KAYAK'S APPROACH TO OBTAIN INSIGHTS ABOUT THE CATEGORY BENEFITS In an emerging market such as India, personal and beauty care has attracted the attention of consumers in several ways. There have been several products and services in this sphere.One recent addition to this category is the services of Kayak that is medically anchored. It is interesting to find that in several markets and product/service categories, consumers prefer a range of offerings or delivery mechanisms to obtain the benefits of the category. For example, for urban transport , there are two-wheelers and four-wheelers; for hair care, there are hair oils and creams; for knowing the time, there are both watches and mobile phones; and for skin care there are creams, lotions, soaps and gels, and cosmetic surgeries.Beauty care has evolved in India from making use of homemade products to obtaining the revives of well-known brands. Although socioeconomic status and chirography's of consumer groups may influence the type of offering/delivery mechanism, the case is written from the viewpoint of the marketer who would like to learn about consumer loyalty through a substitute in the category. Kayak's services and beauty parlor services are meant for different types of consumer segments.Kayak, being at a stage in the market where it does not face much of direct competition owing to the emerging nature of the category, the brand would like to know if there can be lessons earn from a service that is related to its services. For example, the hospitality aspects, ambian ce, response of the service providers to the needs of the consumer (in this instance, consumers in the beauty care segment) and what differentiates a loyal consumer from a new consumer are dimensions that are common to both Kayak's services and beauty parlors: they may vary in their styles and approaches. Kayak Culture, Kayak Philosophy, www. Clinician. Com, accessed on September 13, 2011. Note: Additional information about Kayak Skin Clinic was provided by Grammar Sahara and. Audit Chad of Kayak Skin Clinic. Page 4 of 9 What should a â€Å"self-concept†-centered service category in a market do to obtain inputs in a category that has evolved little? The case's survey was triggered by such a question and beauty parlor services were selected for the purpose. This point can be illustrated as follows.Benefits of beauty care Self-concept of the customer Self-concept of the consumer Beauty-based services Dimensions of customer loyalty Beauty parlors Kayak's services (new offerings forming a subcategory) Differentiation between new and loyal consumers Dimensions of loyalty Insights Differentiation between new for Kayak ND loyal customers METHODOLOGY OF STUDY The objective of the study was to compare the value perception of first-time customers and loyal customers of beauty parlors in order to obtain category insights that Kayak could use.We were interested in finding out how an emerging category (technology-based beauty care in the consumer market and not in the conventional medical market) in an emerging market without direct competition can obtain insights from a related category (beauty parlors) that offers the same core benefit of beauty care. This context (emerging category, related category with the same core infinite as the emerging category and the emerging market in the Indian context) was a unique one and the case focused on a learning that would be useful to Kayak in terms of understanding the behavior of â€Å"first-time† consumers and loyal consumers.The value perception needs to be built around the customers' experiences of the service at the service provider's premises. The questionnaire had a scale related to several components of the service experience as shown in the three sections of Exhibit 2. Responses were collected from the residents of three Indian cities, namely, Bangor, Hydrated, and Delhi. The data collection was done in June and July 2011. Data from 50 first-time customers and 50 loyal customers of beauty services were collected.

Operations Strategy Essay

The statement that â€Å"operations strategy is the total pattern of decisions which shape the long term capabilities of any type of operation and their contribution to overall strategy, through the reconciliation of market requirements with operations resources†, is true. First, define the words operations strategy, and operations strategy. Operations is what a company â€Å"does†. It is how it delivers its products or services to its customer. Operations is the case of a company’s business i. e. hatever that is, for example hospitality companies offer service, manufacturing companies make products, stockholders, purchase, store and distribute, which retailers procure, stock and supply the public with the goods. This definition can be applied to almost any organization. Strategy is a deliberate search for a plan of action that will develop a business’s distinctive competence and compound it. Organizations strategy describes how it intends to create value for its shareholders, customers, and the citizens. Operations strategy consists of a sequence of decisions that over time enables the business unit to achieve a desired operations, structure, infrastructure and set of specific capabilities in support of the competitive priorities. Operations strategy is concerned with matching characteristics of operations function with the requirements of the market in order to fulfill needs of the business. A proper approach of this process requires not only understanding of the ideas and methods used to develop operations systems but also knowledge of the techniques and principles involved in its implementation. Implementation requires knowledge of operations system and policies including those that relate to resource planning and activity control, quality, motivation and organization of people, performance metrics and continuous improvement. Operations strategy has several components that range from structure decision, categories to others. Decision strategies includes such things as capacity, which defines the size of the organization. Facilities available in the business unit also forms part of the structural decision categories of the operations strategy. Vertical integration is another aspect of the structural decision category. Technological trends in the organization is also part of the structural decision category. Infrastructural decision categories includes things like work place, organization, information and control systems. The conditions of the work place affect the infrastructure of the business unit. Information and control systems defines the infrastructure of the organization. Capabilities are also a component of operations. Each business has unique capabilities. For example a firm A may have the capability of providing higher levels of services than firm B. Competition priories are also part of the components of operations strategy. In this category cost is an important aspect and determines the competitiveness of a business organization. The other aspect in this category is quality. Here higher performance decisions are made and also maintaining consistence in quality. Time is also critical and on it emphasis is on fast delivery, on-time delivery of services and products and also the development sped. Flexibility is another aspect in the category of competitive priorities. There should be customization of services and also volume flexibility meaning that the business unit should be ready to serve even increased volume of clients. Operations is what a company does to achieve a set of four objectives. These are increasing customer satisfaction, increasing financial performance, increasing employee satisfactions and creating value for the citizens. Customer satisfactions levels is determined by the levels an quality of services, the value for their money, the speed of service, the behavior of the service staff, the atmosphere and theme of service. Customer satisfaction leads to increase in business hence margins go up. Financial performance as mentioned above depends on the sales volumes that depend on customer satisfaction. This is determined by checking the profit margins and the costs involved in doing a business. The task of the business is to gain more margins while minimizing the costs. Employee satisfaction results from the way the employees are treated by management. This treatment is based on the nature o work being performed and also the way the workers are enumerated. Employees’ satisfaction depends on levels of motivation that they get at the work place i. . being given challenging job tasks, being rewarded for excellent performance etc. Businesses should also create value for the citizens and this is mainly through practicing social responsibility. This involves giving back something to the community as an appreciation for benefits derived from doing business in that community. Example of this include building hospitals, homes for orphans and supporting other disadvantaged people in the community. It is through the operations of work done in the various functions or departments in a business unit that the above objectives can be met. There are three levels of strategy in an organization. These are the corporate level, business or divisional level and operations the functions level. Operations strategy ultimately contribute to the overall strategy key functional areas with an organization include the finance, human resources, marketing, product development among others. In each category there are several challenges encountered in achieving and maintaining a suitable operations strategy. Marketing of hospitability services is complicated by several features or characteristics of services marketing. First the services are intangible meaning that they cannot be displayed for customers. There the market has to use great skills to convince a customer to buy the service. The aspect of inseparability of services also complicates the marketing task. This means that the services also produced and consumed simultaneously. The other characteristic of services marketing is perishability meaning that services are perishable if not used at the time they are available e. g. a hotel room goes wasted if it is not used on a particular night. Variability is another characteristic of services. A service given to a guest in a restaurant may vary with similar service provided to the guest by another employee at the same restaurant. In the case of Wynn Macau’s casino and resort that is to open September this year the general manger of Wynn Resort Macau confessed that they faced some challenges in their marketing plan. First, they want to set up a gaming facility yet it is illegal to advertise and promote gaming in China. To counter this situation the company is trying to hook up customers with high growing levels of disposable income and who travel a lot. It is targeting people living on the eastern seaboard of China who represent 80% of Chinas wealth belt. Another challenge is that Macau receives few people from the western countries (who are more interested in gaming) Macau being a one-day trip market poses another challenge for marketers. This will call for targeting of people with high spending power. Another challenge facing the marketing staff as they try to develop operations strategy is the aspect of seasonality of the hospitability business. In this case you find different approaches being used at different times of the year. There is also the problem of money laundering in Macau among the agents poses yet another challenge. For this problem, Wynn Macau has created their own investigation team to look at the matter. In Macau most gaming revenues come from the VIP market yet, Wynn Macau is targeting the mass market. This means more marketing is to be done to attract the mass market in the gaming business. The finance function is also faced with several challenges in the hospitability industry. Finance department is involved in looking for or designing ways of getting money to do business. It is also involved in establishing the way revenue is generated or not generated in the organization. Finance function makes investment and diversification decision. Challenges may arise when a business opts to do diversity its operations in that you may find that revenue contribution from one kind of business e. g. gaming may differ from place to place. In the case of Macau, it is believed that the non-gaming assets are going to change the hotel chains penetration into the market. This will be finding more people interested in gambling and other activities that go together. Organizations have different ways of financing business. Among these is ploughing back some of the profits realized and this may conflict with the shareholders who want to be paid their dividends. These banks which fund hotels and other hospitability organizations sometimes ask for high interest in loans and give conditions that are too hard to abide by. These problems bring challenges to the hospitability businesses when they require funds for more investments. Other challenges like disperanities in revenues from similar businesses at different parts of the world also comes as a challenge to organization. It becomes difficult to predict the expected revenue fro the whole business chain. The issue of cost doing business varying in different parts of the world poses challenges to organizations wishing to go global. As in the case with Wynn Macau, the staff needs is not uniform. Higher-skilled workers are asking for more wages thus filling more pressure on the organization. It is also evident that the staff needs vary for those of the skilled employees to those of that at the introductory level who need to be trained. Salary scales are also different in different part of the world. As in the case of Wynn Macau, salaries in China are higher than is the case in Las Vegas and this has some financial implications. With increase in business more employees will be required thus building more pressure for wages. Although, diversification has succeeded for some organizations, it also involves a lot of risk taking. This is so because the organizations are venturing in unfamiliar grounds hence being in a position to face many challenges. The challenges may include issues of recession in such part of the country and also political instability, which can affect the financial well being of the business. Some examples of successful diversifications in the hospitability industry include that of Hilton hotels co-operation that went into a merger with the Grand casinos. In this case the Grand Casinos were given an excellent strategies opportunity to diversify their operations. Product development in hospitality industry means the process of coming up with new products or services. This has impacts on operations strategy in that, it is through the process new products and service come into being and helps in raising the customer’s satisfaction. New services or products development serves as a challenge to the employees hence raise their motivation. Challenges common in this function include lack of resources i. e. both material and human resources. Failure by management to encourage or recognize employee’s ideas may act as a hindrance to the development of new services or products. Another challenge comes from the customers who are not familiar with unusual quality of services. These customers are likely to avoid the services hence keeping the business low in terms of sales volumes. New products and services may sometime help in increasing customer satisfaction by giving a variety of services/products to the customer. The new products and services may also possess higher quality than similar services and products. Maintaining the new set standards may prove to difficult and expensive since it may call for more training of the staff. Another challenge facing product/service development is that some customers could be alienated by an unusual quality of service. This is due to conservations among some clients meaning they will be unwilling to accept new products. The human resources in any organization form the backbone to its success. Operations strategy poses a key challenge due to its symbiotic dependence on the organization structure. The organization is made up of human beings who are living things aggregating the skills complexities and the drivers of the people within them (the organization). These aspects impact and constrain operations strategy. In many cases organizations evolve rather than being designed and changes become adaptation of the former structure without revisiting the underlying strategy and operations (Schroeder Roger 1989). Comparing recruiting and training of workers in has Vegas and Macau you find that these processes are not different. Although these processes may not differ for two locations, culture differences pose major challenges for Wynn Macau Resorts and any other gaming companies planning to operate in Macau. Human resource recruiting has gone online with many applications for jobs at Wynn Macau being generated from an online service. This is a new trend which may mean that those who have started using it will benefit by getting a large pool of applicants and get the best candidates. Those who fail to adopt this may not benefit from getting high quality staff. Training materials for people in foreign places with different languages have to be translated into language of the targeted group. There are also hiring and work differences between different places in different parts in the world e. g. Las Vegas and Macau. This is a challenge for Hospitality Company like Wynn Macau which is planning to offer its services in the two different places of the world. Another challenge facing hiring of staff for a company like Wynn Macau is Chinese government’s tough immigration rules. This means neatly all management and staff at Wynn Macau will be Chinese. In some countries there no industrial or trade unions and this is a challenge to the human resources welfare. Although there may be strong governmental regulations related to employment, employees in such places are likely to be treated unfairly in organizations. Employee performance in a place with culture they are not used to may be another challenge facing the human resources function. As for Wynn Macau and Hilton Hotels Corporation venturing into overseas business, the way they perform in a different setting is critical to their survival in such places. This means they have to put a lot of efforts in staffing and training of their staff to cope up with challenges associated with the new locations. Another challenge facing human resources for Wynn Macau is the fact that workers are not used to working in hotels offering the level of service Wynn customers expect. Were it not for the Chinese government’s tough immigration policy, the company could import professionals who are familiar with the level of service of Wynn customers. Motivation of staff is one of the roles of human resource management; motivation among the staff can be achieved through giving challenging tasks, employee recognition for good work done, good enumeration among other things. Highly motivated employees will perform their duties well which in turn leads to high customer satisfaction. Employees being human beings can do a very bad job if they are not motivated. Keeping the employees highly motivated is a challenge to the organization since motivation comes as a result of mixing several variables (Schroeder Roger 1989). Employee turn-over is the other critical challenge to the human resources function in any business unit. Lack of motivation is the main reason for employee turn-over in organizations. Employee retention is an operation strategy that relates to the human resources function and therefore organization should endeavor to satisfy their employees and ultimately retain them. Remember employees are the implementers of any strategy in the organization and as such they should be rated as the most important component of the organization. Operations process also includes the functions of the purchasing and supplies department. This department is expected to develop and sustain supplier relationships. Companies enjoy significant competitive advantage from their established networks of superb supplier relationships. The objective is to lower the total â€Å"cost ownership† i. e. the cost of acquiring goods, materials and services. Challenges facing the purchasing and supplies function include competition in business. A business organization competing with another may go to the supplier of the latter and get a better deal for materials from the same supplier thus affecting supply to the former business organization. Instability of prices for materials and services poses some challenges to the purchasing and supplies function of the organization. Capacity is another dimension to the operations strategy. It entails growth as needed through additional business units, but capacity added carefully. An example of building a business capacity is that of McDonald’s that planned to add more stores its chain. The challenge is that increasing the capacity should be done carefully and in a calculated manner otherwise it may end up adding costs of business without or with little margins being recognized. Process/informative technology is a new age in business organization are forms an important part of its functions. Strategies relating to this include having a high degree of understanding of the latest advances in it (process/information technology). Another strategy for process information technology is that organizations seek to be leaders in IT in their specific industry. Challenges could include high costs of acquisition and maintenance of the information systems. IT is also viewed by conservative people as way of reducing staff from organizations and as such it is likely to face resistance from some employees. In the hospitality industries introduction of automated machines is a challenge in that it affects the â€Å"human† aspect of service. Customers prefer to be served by people and thus be able to enjoy the human contact created by the employee’s presence. Another dimension of operations strategy is the vertical integration. This focuses on partnership arrangements with other organizations. It also focuses on maintaining long-term relationship with suppliers in order to promote innovation and quality improvement. Some organizations may fear partnering with the others thinking that the other organization has intentions of â€Å"stealing: their business ideas. Operations strategy can be evaluated using two different approaches. One is checking its internal and external consistency. It entails consistency between the operations strategy and overall business strategy, between operations strategy and other functional strategies within the business among decision categories that make up operations strategy, and between operations strategy and business environment (resource available, competitive behavior, government restraints). The other approach to operations strategy evaluation is looking at contribution to competitive advantage. It involves making trade-offs explicit, and enabling operations to set priorities that enhance competitive advantage. It also involves directing attention to opportunities that complement the business strategy. The other thing is promoting clarity regarding the operations strategy throughout the business unit to realize its potential. Lastly it involves providing operations capabilities that will be required business in the future. Conclusion Looking at the operations strategy along the various dimensions discussed in this paper, it can be concluded that they are support the operations mission and ultimately contribute to the overall business strategy of the organization. This is so because all aspects of the operations strategy work together in a complex mix to give the overall results expected by an organization.

The Effects of Substrate Concentration, Reaction Time and Enzyme Concentration on Enzyme Reactions

The Effects of Substrate Concentration, Reaction Time and Enzyme Concentration on Enzyme Reactions Corey von Ellm-St. Croix Rachael Kwan ID#: 20427841 Matthew Hrycyshyn & Saeideh Mayanloo Biol 130L, Section 017 Wednesday, 9:30am-12:20pm, 151 November 09, 2011 A living system controls its activity through enzymes. Enzymes are made from hundreds or even thousands of amino acids connected in a very unique and specific order. Almost all enzymes are proteins, except for ribozymes. The chain of amino acids then folds into a unique shape. That shape not only allows the enzyme to carry out specific chemical reactions but to act as a very efficient catalyst. The enzyme speeds that reaction up tremendously. Each enzyme reacts with one specific reactant called a substrate that will form its products. The purpose of the experiments is to determine the effects of substrate concentration, reaction time and enzyme concentration on the direction of an enzyme reaction. Amylase is a digestive enzyme found in both the saliva and the small intestine. Salivary amylase is a hydrolytic reaction that breaks down starch molecules by systematically breaking off the maltose molecules from the ends of starch chains. The maltose is further broken down by another enzyme. Phosphorylase is an enzyme that systematically removes glucose molecules by consumes phosphoric acid to break the beta-1-4-glucosidic bonds in starch. The interaction of phosphate with the glucosidic bond results in the formation of glucose-1-phosphate and the loss of a chain unit in starch. In the reverse reaction the glucose part of glucose-1-phosphate is added as a new chain unit and phosphate is set free. This reversible enzymatic polymerization occurs with little change in free energy and therefor the reaction may choose to go either way. Iodine Test is a test for the presence of starch in which the sample turns blue-black in color when a few drops of potassium iodide solution are placed on the sample. A negative iodine test is when the reaction remains yellow in colour. It is the reaction between iodine and the coiled polymer of glucose known as amylase in starch that causes the colour change. The reaction occurs when straight amylase chains form helices in which the iodine can pass inside. Glycogen also receives a colour change because it is a glucose polymer as well but its structure differentiates from starch which therefore forms a brown colour change. The iodine test does not work for mono or disaccharides because they are too small to capture the iodine. The Benedict’s test is used to detect the presence of reducing sugars. Reducing sugars are sugars with a free aldehyde or ketone group. The free reactive carbonyl group allows all monosaccharides to be reducing sugars. The same goes for disaccharides as some also contain the free reactive carbonyl group. The colour of precipitate formed when the Benedict’s test acquires a positive result depends on the concentration of reducing sugars present. A green colour change indicates that few reducing sugars are present. Orange indicates a higher concentration, red an even higher concentration and brown is the highest concentration colour change. A negative test for reducing sugar occurs when the Benedict’s solution remains its blue colour. Materials and Method Materials and Method found in 1119 BIOL 130, Department of Biology 2011 Cell Biology Laboratory Manual. University of Waterloo, Waterloo. Fall 2011. p. 37-42. The procedure of the lab did not differ from that in the lab manual. Results Salivary Amylase Iodine test: Table 1 Test Tube Number| Results Through Experimentation| Control | 1 (10% salivary amylase solution) | Yellow | Negative | 2 (5% salivary amylase solution)| Yellow| Negative | 3 (2% salivary amylase solution)| Yelllow| Negative | 4 (1% salivary amylase soluti on)| Yellow| Negative| 5 (1% starch suspension)| Blue-Black| Positive| Table1: The table above represent the first iodine test done. Shows components of each test tube as well as the results and positive or negative control. Dilutions were done using tap water (may contain other molecules). Corresponds to steps 5 through 10. Benedict’s test: Table 2 Test Tube Number| Results Through Experimentation| Control| 1 (10% salivary amylase solution) | Brown-orange precipitate| Positive| 2 (5% salivary amylase solution)| Green precipitate | Positive| 3 (2% salivary amylase solution)| Blue | Negative| 4 (1% salivary amylase solution)| Blue| Negative| 5 (1% starch suspension)| Blue| Negative| Table 2: The table above represent the first Benedict’s test done. Shows components of each test tube as well as the results and positive or negative control. Each of the above test tubes contains 4ml Benedict’s solution and were boiled for 5 minutes when determining results and are related to steps 5 through 10. Iodine test: Table 3 Test Tubes| Number of Drops Till Negative| Time Interval| Time| 9+14 (1% salivary amylase solution)| 13 | 60 seconds| 13*60= 780 seconds| 8+13 (2% salivary amylase solution)| 12| 30 seconds| 12*30= 360 seconds| 7+12 (5% salivary amylase solution)| 10| 15 seconds| 10*15= 150 seconds| 6+11 (10% salivary amylase solution)| 18| 5 seconds| 18*5= 90 seconds | 10+15 (water)| (Always positive)| N/A| N/A| Table 3: The table above represents the time it took to reach endpoint. Shows components of each test tube, number of drops, time interval between drops and time to reach endpoint. Each of the above test tubes contains 2ml – 1% starch suspension and 2ml McIlvaine’s buffer. The above test tubes were placed in a warm bath at 37 degrees Celsius and pertain to steps 11-18. Benedict’s test: Table 4 Test tube| Results through experimentation| Control| 20 (water)| blue| negative| 9 (1% salivary amylase solution)| 1/3 brown -2/3 blue| Positive| 18 (2% salivary amylase solution)| 1/3 brown -2/3 blue| Positive| 17 (5% salivary amylase solution)| 1/3 brown -2/3 blue| Positive| 16(10% salivary amylase solution)| 1/3 brown -2/3 blue| Positive| Table 4: The table above represents the search for reducing sugars after endpoint. Each of the above test tubes contains 4ml Benedict’s solution and were boiled for 5 minutes when determining results and are related to steps 18-2 0. Phosphorylase Composition of test tubes: Table 5 TEST TUBE NUMBER | CONTAINS| One| 1. 5ml of 0. 01M glucose + 1 drop of 0. % starch suspension| Two| 1. 5 of 0. 01M glucose-1-phosphate+ 1 drop of 0. 2% starch suspension| Three| 1. 5 of 0. 01M glucose-1-phosphate| Four| 1. 5 of 0. 01M glucose-1-phosphate+ 1 drop of 0. 2% starch suspension| Five| 1. 5 of 0. 01M glucose-1-phosphate + 0. 5ml of 0. 2M potassium phosphate+ 1 drop of 0. 2% starch suspension| Six| 0. 5ml of 0. 2M potassium phosphate + 1. 5ml of 0. 2% starch suspension| Seven| 0. 5ml of 0. 2M potassium phosphate+ 1. 5ml of 0. 2% starch suspension| Eight| 4ml Boiled phosphorylase | Table 5: The above table represent the solutions present in the test tubes 1-8 from steps 2-10 Iodine test: Table 6 Test tube| Results through experimentation| Control| 1| Yellow | Negative | 2| Yellow| Negative| 3| Yellow| Negative| 4| Yellow| Negative| 5| Yellow| Negative| 6| Blue-black| Positive| 7| Blue-black| Positive | Table 6: Search for starch within test tubes 1-7. Shows components of each test tube as well as the results and positive or negative control. Composition of test tubes : Table 7 TEST TUBE NUMBER | CONTAINS| One| 1. 5ml of 0. 01M glucose + 1 drop of 0. 2% starch suspension + 2ml phosphorylase| Two| 1. 5 of 0. 01M glucose-1-phosphate+ 1 drop of 0. 2% starch suspension+ 2ml phosphorylase| Three| 1. of 0. 01M glucose-1-phosphate+ 2ml phosphorylase| Four| 1. 5 of 0. 01M glucose-1-phosphate+ 1 drop of 0. 2% starch suspension + 2ml boiled phosphorylase| Five| 1. 5 of 0. 01M glucose-1-phosphate + 0. 5ml of 0. 2M potassium phosphate+ 1 drop of 0. 2% starch suspension+ 2ml phosphorylase| Six| 0. 5ml of 0. 2M potassium phosphate + 1. 5ml of 0. 2% starch suspension+ 2ml phosphorylase| Sev en| 0. 5ml of 0. 2M potassium phosphate+ 1. 5ml of 0. 2% starch suspension + 2ml boiled phosphorylase| Table 7: The above table represent the solutions present in the test tubes 1-7 from steps 11-12 Iodine Test: Table 8 Time Interval| test tube 1| Test tube 2| Test tube 3| Test tube 4| Test tube 5| Test tube 6| Test tube 7| 10:28-10:32| yellow| Very faint blue-black| yellow| yellow| yellow| Faint blue-black| Blue black| 10:32-10:36| yellow| Blue black| yellow| yellow| yellow| Very faint blue-black| Blue black| 10:36-10:39| yellow| Blue black| yellow| yellow| yellow| Faint blue black| Blue black| 10:39-10:42| yellow| Blue black| yellow| yellow| yellow| Faint blue black| Blue black| 10:42-10:46| yellow| Blue black| yellow| yellow| yellow| Blue black| Blue black| 10:46-10:49| yellow| Blue black| Very faint blue black| yellow| yellow| Blue black| Blue black| 10:49-10:52| Yellow| Blue black| Faint blue black| Yellow| yellow| Blue black| Blue black| 10:52-10:55| Yellow| Blue black| Blue black| Yellow| Yellow| Blue black| Blue black| 10:55-10:58| Yellow| Blue black| Blue black| Yellow| Yellow| Blue black| Blue black| 10:58-10:42| yellow| Blue black| Blue black| yellow| Yellow| Blue black| Blue black| Table 8: Test for the presence and synthesis of starch. Contains the time interval from when the previous test had ended to termination of current test and the reaction result of test tubes 1-7. Figure1: above; represent the time it took each salivary amylase concentration to reach endpoint (when test for starch became negative. Discussion: Salivary Amylase The Iodine test’s control is the presence of starch. If starch is presence then the control is positive resulting in a blue-black colour change. The first iodine test or if you refer to table 1, gave a positive result for only test tube 5 which contained 1% starch suspension. Clearly starch is present based on just the component of the solution. A negative control in an iodine test will result in maintenance of the yellow colour of iodine. According to table one the test tubes containing 10% salivary amylase solution, 5% salivary amylase solution, 2% salivary amylase solution and 1% salivary amylase solution resulted in a negative control result. This is due to the fact that all that is present is the enzyme salivary amylase and water and therefore no starch. The Benedict’s test control is the presence of reducing sugars (sugars with a free aldehyde or ketone group). If a reducing sugar is present then a positive control reaction will occur. A positive control reaction is when a colour of the blue Benedict’s solution turns green, orange, red or brown after boiling. Each colour represents the concentration of reducing sugars present, green being the lowest and brown the highest. Referring back to table 2, test tubes 1 and 2 resulted in a positive control reaction. Even though test tubes 1 and 2 contained only salivary amylase the tap water used to dilute the amylase solution may contain some starch which would in turn become maltose a reducing sugar. The 10% salivary amylase (test tube 1) resulted in an orange colour change due to the fact that a higher enzyme concentration would more likely produce enough reducing sugars to result in an orange colour change. The 5 % salivary amylase (test tube 2) resulted in a green colour change which describes a low concentration of reducing sugars. This makes sense as a lower enzyme concentration would result in less reducing sugar being made through the enzymatic reaction between starch and amylase. A negative control reaction for the Benedict’s test occurs when the Benedict’s blue solution remains the same. Referring back to table 2 test tubes 3, 4 and 5 resulted in a negative control reaction. This may be due to the fact that the enzyme concentration were too low to produce enough reducing sugars from the starch found in the tap water to warrant a colour change. The starch (substrate) would for a substrate-enzyme complex with salivary amylase to produce maltose and salivary amylase. In conclusion enzyme concentration does play a factor in the speed of an enzymatic reaction. The results of Table 3, the second iodine test performed, is used to determine when the starch added with the different concentrations of salivary amylase has reached its endpoint and has been fully hydrolysed into maltose. The endpoint has been reached once the iodine test gives a negative control result which occurs once no starch or very few is present. According to the experimental data presented in table 3 enzyme concentrations again played a role in the speed of the reaction. 10% salivary amylase took 90 seconds where as 1% salivary amylase took 780 seconds. The starch (substrate) would for a substrate-enzyme complex with salivary amylase to produce maltose and salivary amylase. Test tube 10 + 15 will result in a positive control reaction all the time because it is comprised of water and starch. With no salivary amylase enzymes starch will always be present which is the positive control in an iodine test. A trend was found that as the salivary concentrations were halved the time to reach endpoint was doubled, leading me to believe an inverse proportionality to be present between enzyme concentration and time to reach end point. Table 4 was another Benedict’s test performed after the each combination of test tube had reached its endpoint. The positive result in a Benedict’s test occurs once a green, orange, red or brown colour change occurs because of the presence of reducing sugars. Test tubes 16-19, containing the different concentrations of salivary amylase, resulted in a positive control reaction because the starch (substrate) would for a substrate-enzyme complex with salivary amylase to produce maltose and salivary amylase and due to the fact that maltose is a reducing sugar which happens to be the control for a Benedict’s test, a positive control reaction will occur. The negative control reaction for a Benedict’s test is when the Benedict’s solution remains blue signifying the absence of reducing sugars. According to table 4, test tube 20 only contained water and the starch suspension with no amylase present a substrate-enzyme complex will not form which will not result in a reducing sugar. Phosphorylase Table 6 is another iodine test. The positive control reaction for an iodine test is when the solution turns blue-black. The experimental data given in table 6 shows that test tubes 6 and 7 gave a positive reaction for starch because of the 1. 5 ml of 0. 2% starch found in solution. The negative control reaction is when the solution remains the colour of iodine, yellow. Test tube 1 through 5 gave negative result because they either do not contain any starch in solution or the amount of starch present is too little (starch primer) and must be in presence of phosphorylase to synthesis a larger starch chain that can be reacted with the iodine test to provide a positive result. Table 8 is once again another iodine test. With the addition of phosphorylase some of the test tubes that gave a negative result in the previous iodine test (table 6) may now give a positive result because of the ability of the reaction between phosphoric acid and glucose to from glucose-1-phosphate and one less glucose unit in starch chain to go in either direction. Therefore a test tube with a starch primer may use the phosphorylase to synthesis into a starch chain. The same is for the solution that gave a positive reaction may turn negative in the presence of phosphorylase to form a starch primer and glucose-1-phosphate. Referring to table 8 the test tubes that resulted in a positive control reaction were 2,3,6 and 7. Because test tubes 6 and 7 were already gave positive results in previous iodine test (table 6) and did the same in this iodine test can only mean that a synthesis of a larger starch chain had occurred or the starch chain had not removed enough glucose bonds to result in a negative iodine control result. In test tube 7 the phosphorylase was boiled which would denature the enzyme so that it could not perform its task and therefore phosphorolysis could not take place and therefore test tube 7 would have to remain a positive control result. Test tubes 2 and 3 were primarily negative in previous iodine test but resulted in a positive control result when the enzyme phosphorylase was added. Table shows that over time both solutions grew more intense in colour signifying the synthesis of a longer starch chain. Test tube 2 had the starch primer and glucose-1-phosphate to start with and therefore took less time to give a positive control result. Test tube 3 did not contain the starch primer and I believe should not have given a positive control result. Test tube 3 did however contain the glucose-1-phosphate and perhaps may have started its own starch chain. This may have been done by having a glucose-1-phosphate and the glucose form a substrate-enzyme complex to give phosphoric acid and a larger glucose chain. The negative results were test tubes 1, 4 and 5 each contained the starch primer. Test tube 1 contained glucose but phosphorylase does not react with single glucose molecule and therefore test tube 1 will always give a negative control result. Test tube 4 used boiled phosphorylase and therefore the denatured enzyme would not be able to perform function which would result in an always negative control result. Test tube 5 had the right condition but perhaps never moved in one direction of the enzymatic reaction for too long resulting in a starch primer being present the whole time though it may have had potential to yield a positive control reaction. This shows that temperature do affect an enzyme. A buffer was also used in the reaction to allow for the proper pH levels to be obtained and therefore pH levels also affect enzymes. Overall throughout the experiment it was determined that substrate concentrations, reaction time and enzyme concentration effect the direction of an enzyme reaction. Reference Pelter, W. M. , McQuade, J. (2005). Brewing Science in the Chemistry Laboratory: A â€Å"Mashing† Investigation of Starch and Carbohydrates. Journal of Chemical Education, 82(12), 1811-1812. Ophardt, E. C. , (2003). Role of Enzymes in Biochemical Reactions. Virtual Chembook, Retrieved November 06, 2011, from Elmhurst College, http://www. elmhurst. edu/~chm/vchembook/570enzymes. html. Hall, I. (2008). Benedict's Test for Reducing Sugars. Retrieved November 06, 2011, from Ohio University, http://www. biosci. ohiou. edu/introbioslab/Bios170/170_2/benedict. htm

Free Trade Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words - 1

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The role of the management in organizational Behavior Essay

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Snow White Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Snow White - Essay Example He worked continuously for two years and resulted in eighty four wonderful scenes (Watts 186). The concept artist Albert Hurter was responsible for the design of this film. Everythnig had to be approved by him prior to being used in the film. There were other artists involved as well; for instance Ferdinand Hovarth, responsible for more of the darker scenes of the film, and Gustaf Tenggren who had more of a European style to his work. The latter was more of a colour stylist and he had the responsibility of determining the kind of environment every scene was supposed to have. Besides that his artistic capabilities were put to test through designing posters and press book. Another important artist of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs was Joe Grant, responsible for desiging the Queen’s Witch form. The Disney organisation had to make sure that the audience found the film realistic; the atmosphere, objects, backgrounds – everything was supposed to look real rather than fake. I t was to look make-believe. Therefore, the team worked hard for this and put personality in every character of the film; their style of talking, walking, the way they showed their facial characteristics, and gestured and so on. Works Cited Watts, Steven.

Marketing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words - 23

Marketing - Essay Example These uncontrollable elements often decide how an organisation operates - countries have different demographic attributes, tax structures, political and legal environments. Apple Inc. is one such orgabisation that has worked hard to create an image of a people oriented company and thus it has been a top priority for the company to identify with the masses and create a community (Weiss A., 2005). Challenges are immense for a global company – it faces issues like foreign exchange rate fluctuations, unstable government, shifting borders, corruption and counterfeiting. In spite of this it is a prerogative for the companies to internationalize their operations. They need to go closer to the markets they serve and take local factors of production into consideration. Multinational organisations have definite marketing objectives in mind when they venture into operations. The biggest queries center around their choice of country (which is determined by the competitive advantage, market attractiveness and risk associated with the nation), the mode of entry (different modes differ on the level of profit potential, risk, control and most importantly, commitment), and finally, the way in which the company adapts its marketing program to the local specifications. Before going into the details of Globalisation, Localisation and Glocalisation, it may be beneficial to understand how a company is faced with the challenge of adapting its marketing campaign – which involves the product(s), the marketing communication, the distribution format that the company adopts and the price at which the company decides to sell. Straight extension, product adaptation or product inventions are the strategically poised options open to the firm on the product front. It basically deals with the decision of the company to go with its existing portfolio,

Telling the Truth - Atonement + Poems Essay Example for Free

Telling the Truth Atonement + Poems Essay The concept of telling the truth is a complex idea. The truth can vary based on an individual’s perspective and may be distorted by experience and misunderstanding. It is a creeping assumption of the modern world that there are things more important that the truth. The truth may also be covered up because it is difficult for people to cope with. These ideas are explored in Joe Wright’s film Atonement and the Poems ‘Homecoming’ by Bruce Dawe and ‘Mirror’ by Sylvia Plath. All texts are post modernism texts. In Joe Wright’s film Atonement the idea of the truth depends on an individual’s perspective is explored. The truth is many-sided and everyone’s perception of what they believe to be the truth may be different. In the fountain scene it expresses how Briony and Cecilia’s perspective are completely opposite yet they both saw the series of events that took place. The window acts as a barrier to Briony understanding of the truth. Robbie’s stance and the way Cecilia is standing after she jumps out of the fountain makes Cecilia look vulnerable. It makes it seems as though Robbie is forcing her to do what he wants. Briony thinks that Robbie has some sort of power of her sister, this is where she starts to think badly of Robbie. This is especially evident when he yells stop and hold out his arm to prevent her from stepping on the bits of vase, but to Briony it just looks forceful. This scene clearly demonstrates how Briony creates a whole different perspective on what was happening down at the fountain in relation to the reality of the situation. Due to Cecilia’s frustration and anger it makes it appear as though she was being forced. The non-diegetic sounds during this scene are effective as they help to create an suspenseful and tense atmosphere. In Briony’s shot there is faint music playing in the background as well as the constant buzz of the bee. In doing this the director has created a sense of suspense to the lead up of Briony seeing too much and having to turn around. Cecilia’s shot on the other hand has no music playing, the director has made it silent except for sound effects such as the splash of the water as she jumps in but there is very little dialogue, the dialogue said has a tone of anger and frustration. The fountain scene it validates that the truth depends on an individual’s perspective and that the truth can be many-faceted. Similarly in, ‘Mirror’ by Sylvia Plath also advocates that there is no right truth as everyone considered the truth to be different to another based on perspective. Sylvia Plath was constrained by societal expectations of gender roles, causing her to lose her identity and youth this influenced the writing of this poem. This poem is from the viewpoint of the mirror with the use of personification. This is evident especially in the use of the mirror â€Å"meditates on† this implies that the mirror which is an inanimate object has the ability to think. The mirror has no preconceptions and doesn’t change what It shows based on its understanding of who you are or what you have done, it just shows the complete truth. When the mirror transforms to a lake which is able to still show reflections like a mirror. Because the woman is looking into a lake and not the mirror, the woman must bend over to see the reflection of her face. Hoping to see something deeper by searching the depths of the lake into the waters below. She also turns to the moonlight and candles to try and see a new reflection. The lake seems upset that the woman is rewarding it for its faithful reflection by becoming more distressed. She shows her distress by physically disturbing the lake similar to Cecilia at the fountain. The woman is unhappy of how she has grown old this is similar to how Briony is unhappy of how she had done as a younger girl. Plath has told the poem from the perspectives of the mirror and the lake instead of from the woman. This is due to the fact that people have different perspectives but the mirror and lake on the other hand has no preconceptions and shows the unchanged truth. In Joe Wright’s film Atonement it suggests that the truth can be difficult to reveal or face. In the bedside scene it expresses how telling the truth can appear to be unsettling and scary for one to face. Briony clearly demonstrates her regret for what she had done in her past and what the result of being sent to war can end up. Watching the soldier die in front of her makes her realise that this could be Robbie and she would have been the one responsible for not only Robbie’s health but the impact that it could have upon her sister and Robbie’s family. When Briony was a child she was raised in a high class family sheltered from the horrific truth of war as she has a sanitised perception. Once she becomes a nurse her eyes are opened to the full impact of what her lie that she had told when she was younger. Briony is told to talk to one of the patients that is in a serious condition, that is unable to speak English. The injured soldier seems to think that he knows Briony but she knows that he is just mistaken her for someone else. When he asks her to loosen the bandages around his head, she loosens them and is faced with the full extent of his wound and gets blood on her face which contributes to her realisation that her perception was completely off and she feels guilty for the mistake she had made in her past. When she walks down the hallway at the hospital and the lights turn on one by one this is a use of imagery symbolising that she is entering a new frame of mind. The director has used suspense building with the reoccurring typewriter non-diegetic track. As the lights come on there is a loud flickering sound this also adds to the effectiveness of the scene making it evident that she is thinking but the flickering is loud enough to disturb her thoughts. The poem â€Å"Homecoming† by Australian anti-war poet Bruce Dawe backs up the idea that the truth can be difficult to deal with by reflecting the concerns of war. In this poem it describes to the reader the tragedies of war, the return of the dead bodies of the soldiers from the Vietnam War and the lack of respect that they received. The title ‘Homecoming’ is ironic as usually a homecoming is heartfelt and joyful but in this the return is related to death, mourning and loss. References to bodies in â€Å"green plastic bags†, shows the lack of individuality that the soldiers received. Although these soldiers have made the crucial sacrifice by giving up their lives, the fact that they got little recognition for this emphasises how war is dehumanising. The lack of full stops express that the war was continuous and that there was no time to stop and relax. Dawe ultimately wants to expose the brutal truth in contrast to what people thought. With the use of imagery throughout, Dawe is able to establish the pointlessness of war and clarifying the misconceptions those may have had on the war. This relates to how Briony in Atonement has the false understanding or knowledge of war, not knowing what she has sent Robbie into. Dawe uses aural and visual poetic techniques and is able to provoke sympathy, by manipulating the audience to reflect upon his own views towards war. Similarly what Briony does in making up the end of the story of her sister and Robbie in how she believed the event of war was, this was until she became a nurse and the real truth of war was unveiled. The concept of telling the truth has been enhanced through the study of the film Atonement and the poems â€Å"Homecoming† and â€Å"Mirror†. Each individual has their own perception on what they believe the truth to be. In Atonement Briony has a different perspective than Cecilia which results in conflict and hiding the truth as she is too scared to face it. â€Å"Homecoming† reflects the idea that people prefer to deny or ignore the truth. ‘Mirror’ and ‘Homecoming’ show that the truth can be frightening or unbearable and therefore difficult to share. This then shows how the truth is dependent on the individual’s perspective.

Greek tragedy Essay Example for Free

Greek tragedy Essay A view from the bridge is a powerful play about two immigrants that cross the American border from Italy, illegally. The play is set in the nineteen thirties to the nineteen fifties right after the Second World War. It also has striking similarities with Greek tragedy, being linear and having a chorus, or narrator (Alfieri). Eddie, the tragic protagonist has a fatal flaw (his improper love of, and almost obsession with, Catherine) and the final climax at the end of the play is another feature of this style. Alfieri plays a huge part in maintaining the audiences dramatic interest; he is like the chorus in a Greek tragedy always reminding the audience of the tragedy. He holds the play together without actually taking much part in the action, however his real job is to unfold the play to the audience, he influences our audience and keeps us hooked onto the play, as though it was a cliff-hanger, the audience, including me, believe Alfieri because he is a lawyer and he knows the most. The bridge represents Alfieri, he is a link between Italians and Americans, Eddie and Rodolpho, he has equal opinions on them both and does not take sides; he is very un-bias. It seems that Alfieri is drowned in stress and needs someone to talk to that is why he talks to the audience at certain intervals of the play. Its also as though Alfieri is retelling the play as he mostly speaks in past tense. Alfieri really begins to introduce drama to the play in his chat with Eddie before the boxing scene; this is a really tense conversation between them both as Eddie starts to reveal his true feelings for Catherine without realising himself. You also begin to realise how easily the situation is flowing when Alfieri redeems himself powerless to stop anything from happening. Alfieri makes us feel as though there will be a terrible ending, I watched it coming, step after step, this makes the audience feel as though there will be a violent ending. This creates dramatic irony as we know something the characters dont; also building tension and suspense the longer we wait for the dramatic climax of the play. Eddie Carbone plays the largest part in creating drama before the end of act one, he creates conflict and reveals his hate for Rodolpho. On the other hand Marco develops his understanding that Eddie doesnt approve of Rodolphos feelings for Catherine. Eddie likes to assert himself as the alpha male, and a man in Eddies eyes is a hard working, physically strong family man, and Marco has all of these features, he is working hard to support his family and when he lifts the chair that Eddie cannot, this shows that Marco is physically strong, and it seems Eddie respects Marco, but sees him as a threat to his position in the Carbone family. Eddie also finds other ways to create drama in the scene. Lemons are green is the small contribution that Rodolpho makes to the conversation between Marco and Eddie, Eddies reply towards Rodolpho, I know lemons are green, for Christ sake is quite vicious and makes it quite obvious he doesnt like Rodolpho and makes it quite awkward for Marco to talk to Eddie as though nothing is wrong. This adds some tension to the scene. Also, Eddie begins to imply that Rodolpho aint right, this quite obviously means that Eddie think Rodolpho is gay when really he is just looking for any excuse for Catherine not to be with him. During the long talk about Rodolphos skills and attributes Eddie says But if I could cook, if I could sing, if I could make dresses, I wouldnt be on the water-front and I would be like in a dress store. In the actual play Eddie repeats the first sentence three times, as though an obvious attempt to stress to his family that he aint right. You can tell this by what he says after I would be like in a dress store, this is blatantly a womans job however cooking, singing and dancing was considered gay in the 1950s. You can see that Marco is unimpressed by what Eddie is trying to imply. [Uneasily]. This stage direction proves that Marcos reaction to what he has implied about his brother is negative and he is uneasy to talk to Eddie at all, or that he knows what is coming when Eddie asks What do you say, Marco, we go to the bouts next Saturday night. You never seen a fight, did you? Eddies mind is also quite obviously filled with violence and hatred, and it is blatant that he purposely wants Rodolpho to fight because he asks him after having the opportunity to ask his brother first. This also creates tension in the scene as we know what it is all building up too and we are eager to see how it unfolds. Furthermore, during the fight Eddie says to Rodolpho It also seems that Eddies sexual jealousy has coloured his thoughts as he chooses to insult Marco by implying that his wife is cheating whilst he works in America, this is a very tense moment as we are unaware of how Marco will react to this comment and how this may affect his relationship with Eddie, this furthermore builds tension in the scene. Eddie also feels betrayed by Catherine, he has raised her as his own and he treats her like his daughter, he feels that by Catherine wanting to marry Rodolpho and living her own life that she is being ungrateful for all that he has done for her. He feels that Catherine owes him a living. All the way during the boxing scene, you get this vivid sense of pressure building up in Eddie. It seems to me that Eddie offers Rodolpho to a boxing match to release his anger after watching him and Catherine dance to a very symbolic song, paper doll. When Eddie first asks Rodolpho to dance, strong tension is built within the audience, because we have already been hinted by Alfieri that something bad is going to happen, and this is the ideal moment for this to happen. Eddie says to Rodolpho, Come on kid, you cant hurt me. This is ironic because although Rodolpho may not possess the strength to physically hurt Eddie, his is causing him mass amounts of emotional pain, just sharing feelings with Catherine. The stage directions also have a huge effect in this part of the play, He has bent the rolled paper and it suddenly tears in two. This tells the audience that Eddie has had enough of Rodolpho, and that all his anger and true feelings for Catherine are boiling over. Also this hints to the Audience that something bad is about to happen, because Eddie twisting the newspaper in two pieces shows that it has all become too much for him and he has to let his anger out. This creates dramatic tension within the audience as we wait for something to happen. The way Catherine acts towards Eddie could have triggered this sudden outburst; normally Catherine is really obedient towards Eddie and does what he says, she sees him as her father and him his daughter.

NSAID Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs

NSAID Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs 1. Introduction 1.1 Ibuprofen, a Non-steroidal Anti-inflammatory Drug (NSAID) Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) are one of the most commonly used and therapeutically effective groups of drugs in the medicinal field. They suppress inflammation in a similar way as steroids. They are also better than steroids in such a way that they cause less side effects of sedation, addiction and respiratory depression. NSAIDs act by inhibiting cyclooxygenase (COX) enzymes, COX-1 and COX-2. This type of inhibition results in reduced productions of precursors such as thromboxane, prostaglandin and leukotriene that are involved in the inflammatory pathways. NSAIDs are poorly water-soluble drugs (Hassan et al., 2009). Often, they are microencapsulated using the emulsion solvent diffusion method (Leo et al., 2000) to modify and retard drug release from pharmaceutical dosage form. Further, encapsulation of NSAIDs into polymeric nanoparticles, followed by their encapsulation into polymeric microparticles has proved to reduce the release rate and suppress the undesired initial burst. For instance, Ibuprofen-loaded PCL (Poly-epsilon-caprolactone) nanoparticles inside ethylcellulose/Eudragit RS polymeric microparticles was successfully encapsulated, which effectively exhibited a control of both the release rate and burst effect (Hassan et al., 2009; Socha et al., 2007). Ibuprofen, an NSAID, was selected as the model drug in this study. The low solubility (0.03-2.5mg/ml) (Khang et al., 2007) and short plasma half-life of approximately 2 hours of Ibuprofen makes it an ideal choice to prepare a controlled release dosage form. Ibuprofen is commonly used to relieve the symptoms of mild and moderate pain and inflammation in conditions such as migraine, dental pain, dysmennorhea, headaches, back pain, muscular pain, rheumatic pain, cold and flu symptoms. Also, it is used to treat chronic diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis in which a controlled release dosage form is desired for symptom relief (Leo et al., 2000). Although parenteral Ibuprofen formulation has been produced recently, there is no controlled release dosage form available in the pharmaceutical market. Considering that Ibuprofen is a anti-inflammatory agent used widely, this study of preparation of a biodegradable and controlled release parenteral Ibuprofen dosage form, based on nanoparticles will definitely of great interest. For example, the intraarticular administration of Ibuprofen would offer an effective management of chronic rheumatoid arthritis. Also, it will serve an alternative to corticosteroid administration to avoid the devastating side effects (Hassan et al., 2009; Fernandez-Carballido et al., 2004). Besides, two types of parenteral formulations of Ibuprofen are now available in the pharmaceutical market. One of them is Pedea which is used for the therapy of ductus arteriosus in preterm newborns (Hassan et al., 2009, Aranda and Thomas, 2006). Its use in human pre-mature newborns was also demonstrated to be able to improve the cerebral blood flow regulation and potentially offer some degree of neuroprotection (Aranda and Thomas, 2006). It is a normal aqueous solution dosage form which is injected into the bloodstream, allowing fast therapeutic activity. Another parenteral Ibuprofen formulation is marketed by Cumberland Pharmaceuticals recently– the injectable ibuprofen formulation named Caldolor which is used for the treatment of pain and fever. Caldolor has also proved to have the advantage of reducing pain and fever significantly within 30 minutes. Although rapid attainment of therapeutic effect can be achieved, the short plasma half-life of Ibuprofen would have resulted in frequent administration in order to maintain plasma therapeutic levels. For instance Caldolor needs to be administered intravenously every 6 hours in order to maintain efficient plasma therapeutic levels. Therefore, controlled drug delivery systems would be a better yet excellent alternative to multiple injections. And, in such case, polymeric nanoparticles will be the best candidate for parenteral drug delivery. This polymeric nanoparticulate drug delivery system would be potentially used to increase bioavailability, provide prolonged therapeutic plasma levels and reduce administration frequency. 1.2 Controlled Drug Delivery and Drug Targetting To deliver drugs from the administration site to the target site, a delivery system is needed as drugs could not deliver by themselves (Davis and Illum, 1998; Bala et al., 2004). An ideal drug delivery system will possess both the properties of targeting and controlling the drug release (Thassu et al., 2007). Targeting ensures high effectiveness of the drug and at the same time reduces the possible devastating side effects that may be experienced. This is particularly beneficial when dealing with drugs for instance, drugs used in cancer therapy to ensure that only affected cancer cells but not healthy cells are killed (Brannon-Peppas and Blanchette, 2004). The reduction of side effects can also be attained through controlled release dosing systems. This study will focus on the parenteral controlled-release dosage forms. 1.2.1 Rationale for Parenteral Controlled-release Drug Delivery Parenteral controlled-release dosage forms have been proved to be useful for treating disease (Kydonieus, 1992). However, there is no single controlled-release technology that has proved to be effective in treating disease because of the diversity of drug properties, dosing levels, treatment durations as well as patient acceptability and cost. Therefore, an excellent controlled release technology is needed to be selected for each drug and associated disease treatment. The distribution of drug in the body after parenteral administration well depends entirely on the physicochemical properties of the drug. Conventional drug delivery is typically illustrated by drug administered via bolus injection, in which the most of the therapeutic agents in the drug are released immediately after the administration, causing a rapid increase of the plasma drug concentration levels (Uhrich et al., 1999). Drug concentration is then seen to fluctuate between the side effect level and the minimum therapeutic level, resulting in alternate periods of toxicity and ineffectiveness (Stevanovic and Uskokovic, 2009). As a consequence, higher dosage drug is needed to be administered repeatedly to maintain the therapeutic drug concentration at steady state level. Problems, hence, arise as multiple injections are not favoured by most patients. Therefore, in order to improve efficacy, patient compliance and convenience, a controlled-release parenteral dosage forms that can last for longer period of time after a single administration will be more beneficial. This controlled release over an extended time is also of great benefits for drugs that are rapidly metabolized and eliminated from the body after administration. This is because controlled release maintains drug concentration at steady state level for a sufficient duration at the target sites, where the rate of drug release is equivalent to the rate of drug elimination, thus keeping the drug concentration within the ideal therapeutic window as well as avoiding substantial fluctuations. As a result, frequent injections can be avoided. 1.3 Nanotechnology for Controlled Drug Delivery In the endeavour to design a parenteral controlled release dosage form, a number of drug delivery systems, such as emulsions, micelles, liposomes and nanoparticles have been developed (Kydonieus, 1992; Hassan et al., 2009). In fact, injectable, biodegradable nanosphere products are the most recent technology developed for parenteral controlled-release dosage forms. This termed nanoparticulate drug delivery system, which comprises of colloidal particles of nanosize range, provides a suitable mean of delivering not only small molecular weight drugs but also macromolecules such as hormones, proteins, peptides and nucleic acids (Bala et al., 2004; Panyam and Labhasetwar, 2003). Furthermore, the nanoparticulate drug delivery system evidences the successful development of the nanotechnology. The prefix â€Å"nano† is derived from the Greek word dwarf (Thassu et al., 2007). One nanometer (nm) is equivalent to one-billionth of a meter. Materials in the nanometer size range can have substantial properties compared with the same materials at a larger size, for instance materials in the micrometer size range (Hans and Lowman, 2002). The term â€Å"nanotechnology† was coined in 1974 by Norio Taniguchi, a professor of the Tokyo Science University, Japan to describe materials in nanometers (Kydonieu, 1992). In recent years, nanotechnology has gained much attention that there has been an increasing investment trend from governments and private sector business in many parts of the world to expand research in nanoscale science and technology. Generally, nanotechnology means any technology performed on a nanoscale that involves both science and engineering (Bhushan, 2004). It encompasses the manufacture and application of biological, chemical and physical systems at scales that range from individual atoms or molecules to nanoscale dimensions. Also, it integrates the resulting nanostructures into larger systems (Bhushan, 2004). Controlled drug delivery nanotechnology has become one of the most advancing areas of science that contributes to human health care. This field of pharmaceutical technology has grown and expanded rapidly these days. And it is believed that such delivery system will definitely bring abundant advantages compared to conventional drug delivery system. 1.4 Natural and Synthetic Polymers in Pharmaceutical Systems Polymers are high molecular weight substances that are made up of repeating monomer units. In order to develop a successful nanoparticulate delivery system, it is essentially important to select an appropriate polymeric matrix. Polymers nanospheres employed to deliver drugs in a sustained release manner can be either biodegradable or non-biodegradable (Uhrich et al., 1999). The controlled release can be achieved by combining the biodegradable polymer with a drug so that the active agent is released from the system in a predesigned way. Despite the fact that controlled drug delivery has various advantages, the possible drawbacks cannot be overlooked: the undesirable by-products from degradation, potential toxicity or non-biocompatibility of the materials used, any surgery involved to remove or implant the system, the likehood of patient discomfort from the delivery device, and the higher cost involved compared with traditional pharmaceutical formulations (Stevanovic and Uskokovic, 200 9; Brannon-Peppas, 1997). Several polymers, including both natural and synthetic polymers have been investigated for formulating biodegradable polymeric nanoparticles. These include polylactide (PLA), polycaprolactone (PCL) and poly(lactide-co-glycolide) (PLGA), which are biodegradable and biocompatible. Among these polymers, PLGA is the most commonly used due to its biodegradability, biocompatibility as well as flexible degradation kinetics (Sahana et al., 2007). In fact, PLGA has been approved by FDA (Food and Drug Administration) for a number of clinical applications (Bhardwaj et al., 2005) such as synthetic resorbable sutures, surgical clips and other surgical implants (Kydonieus, 2005). 1.4.1 Poly(lactide-co-glycolide) (PLGA) as Polymers PLGA is a copolymer of PLA and PGA. It is synthesised by co-polymerisation of two different monomers, the cyclic dimmers of glycolic acid and lactic acid. During polymerisation, successive monomers of both glycolic and lactic acid are linked together by ester bonds, producing a linear polyester of PLGA. Different forms of PLGA can, thus, be yielded by altering the mixing ratio of lactide to glycolide used in the polymerisation process. A basic insight of physicochemical and biological properties of the PLGA polymer is vital as it allows the study of the mechanism and rate of drug release from the nanoshperes. PLGA degrades in vivo by hydrolytic cleavage of the ester linkage in the presence of water (Bala et al., 2004; Stevanovic and Uskokovic, 2009). However, the degradation process of polymers is affected by a number of factors. The polymer nature (polydispersity and copolymer composition), the degree of crystallinity, the glass transition temperature of the polymer, organic solvents, type and concentration of stabiliser used are all the common factors (Bala et al., 2004). The degradation profile of nanoparticulate systems, on the other hand, relies on the hydrophilicity of the polymer. The more hydrophilic the polymer, the higher its rate of degradation (Bala et al., 2004; Stevanovic and Uskokovic, 2009). In fact, the hydrophilicity of the polymer is determined by the crystalline to armorphous ratio, that is consecutively affected by the composition of the copolymer (Bala et al., 2004). Owing to the fact that lactide is more hydrophobic than glycolide, PLGA copolymers with high content of lactide units will be less hydrophilic, thus experiencing slower degradation process. For this reason, the rate of degradation and release profile of PLGA can be modified easily by varying the ratio of lactide to glycolide (Sahana et al., 2007). It is noted that PLGA copolymer with composition of 50:50 ratio shows the fastest degradability rate about 1-2 months in both in vitro and in vivo conditions (Stevanovic and Uskokovic, 2009; Nair and Laurencin, 2007). Extensi ve investigations were then carried out on different forms of PLGA by changing the ratio of lactide to glycolide. The results showed that the PLGA copolymers of 65:35, 77:25, and 88:15 lactide/glycolide ratios have progressively longer in vivo degradation times, with the 88:15 one lasting about 5-6 months in vivo (Bala et al., 2004; Jain, 2000). During the preparation of PLGA loaded nanoparticles in this study, lactide-rich copolymers will be of great interest in order to formulate a nanosphere with controlled release properties. PLGA is undoubtedly the ideal choice of polymer selected to be used in designing a controlled release nanoparcticulate delivery system. Because of its biodegradability, no surgical procedures are needed to remove the system when the drugs are depleted. Besides, it is degraded in vivo, by random, nonenzymatic, hydrolytic cleavage of ester linkages to toxicologically safe by-products (the original monomers- lactic and glycolic acid) that are either excreted renally or elimininated as carbon dioxide gas and water via Krebs cycle (Bala et al., 2004; Galindo-Rodriguez et al., 2005). Furthermore, PLGA has a glass transition temperature above physiological temperature (45-55 °C) that provides it adequate strength to be formulated as a successful controlled drug delivery system (Bala et al., 2004). Because PLGA have proved to be biocompatible and to have extensive toxicological documentation, their approvals for use in fabricating nanospheres will be less costly and more straightforward th an approvals of new polymers for fabrication in the pharmaceutical industry. For this reason, PLGA copolymers are selected as the colloidal carrier for parenteral controlled-release dosage forms in this study. 1.4.2 Therapeutic Uses of PLGA Polymers in Contemporary Clinical Formulations The use of the PLGA polymer for the development of new parenteral controlled drug delivery dosage forms appears to be very promising. Nanospheres with various release patterns can be prepared by altering the polymer species, molecular weight or monomer mixing ratio. FDA has approved PLGA for a number of medical applications. For instance, Lupron Depot ®, a controlled release formulation for treatment of advanced prostate cancer, was the first PLGA product cleared by FDA (Bala et al., 2004). The effective dose this formulation, which contains leuprolide acetate encapsulated in biodegradable microspheres of 75:25 lactide/glycolide polymer, was reduced 1/4 – 1/8 of that required in the conventional drug formulation (Sahana et al., 2007). Another successful development of controlled drug delivery systems includes anticancer drug, Doxorubicin formulated into PLGA nanoparticles, that exhibited controlled release over 1 month (Bala et al., 2004). In the following research work, Ibu profen loaded PLGA nanoparticles are intended to be prepared with a view to possess the identical desired controlled release properties. 1.4.3 Preparation of PLGA loaded nanoparticles Several approaches have been proposed for the preparation of PLGA nanoparticles. However, the choice of preparation method well depends on the type of the polymer and drug used, the intended use as well as the duration of the treatment. The standard procedures of emulsion-diffusion evaporation, salting-out and nanoprecipitation method are all widely used to prepare PLGA particles in the nanosize range. The first step of these methods often involves emulsification of a solution of drug in a solution of organic polymer (Stevanovic and Uskokovic, 2009). The dispersion formed is then processed in accordance with one of the aforestated methods. During both emulsion-diffusion evaporation and salting out approaches, the polymer PLGA is dissolved in an organic solvent such as chlorinated solvent, dichloromethane and chloroform, tetrahydrofuran, acetone or ethyl acetate. The mixed organic solution of both polymer and drug is later mixed with an aqueous solution containing both stabiliser and emulsifying agents. The emulsion formed is then exposed to a high-energy source for example an ultrasonic device, homogenizer or colloid mill to form a stable oil-in-water (o/w) emulsion. The organic solvent is later evaporated under reduced pressure or continuous stirring, resulting in the formation of fine dispersion of nanoparticles containing therapeutic drugs. Factors such as homogeniser stirring rate, concentration of polymer, presence of surfactants and stabilisers will influence the size of the particles formed (Bala et al., 2004; Stevanovic and Uskokovic, 2009). Therefore, it is important to standardise these parameters in order to produce particles of desired size range. The nanoprecipitation method, on the other hand, is based on the interfacial deposition of a polymer following displacement of a semi-polar solvent miscible with water from a lipophilic solution (Bala et al., 2004; Govender et al., 1999). The PLGA polymer and drug are then dissolved in a semi-polar water-miscible solvent, either acetonitrile or ethanol, forming the organic phase. The organic phase is then mixed with an aqueous solution containing stabiliser and stirred magnetically at room temperature to allow rapid solvent evaporation. The nanoparticles are finally purified using ultracentrifugation, ultrafiltration, gas chromatography, dialysis procedures to remove stabiliser residues or any free drug. This purification process must be carefully carried out to avoid any loss of biologically active ingredients. 1.5 Aims and Objectives Realising the benefits and importance of controlled drug release in clinical applications, the objective of the present study is to prepare and characterise Ibuprofen loaded PLGA nanoparticles for parenteral delivery, with a view to prolong the ibuprofen blood residence time after injection. The objective will be achieved by the following specific aims: 1. Preparation of Ibuprofen loaded PLGA nanoparticles. 2. Characterization of the nanoparticles for size, zeta potential, and entrapment efficiency. References Aranda JV, Thomas R, 2006. Systemic review: Intravenous Ibuprofen in preterm newborns. Elsevier: Seminar in Perinatology. Bala I, Hariharan S, Ravi Kumar MNV, 2004. 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