Efficacy of Oral Exfoliative Cytology in Diabetes Mellitus

Efficacy of Oral Exfoliative Cytology in Diabetes Mellitus EFFICACY OF ORAL EXFOLIATIVE CYTOLOGY IN DIABETES MELLITUS PATIENTS-A LIGHT MICROSCOPIC CONFOCAL MICROSCOPIC STUDY Abstract Introduction: Diabetes Mellitus has become a global problem. By monitoring the health status of these individuals, diabetic complications leading to morbidity can be prevented. Aim: We aimed to analyze alterations in the morphology and cytomorphometry of buccal epithelial cells of Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus patients using oral exfoliative cytology technique and determine its importance in public health screening, diagnosis and monitoring of diabetes mellitus. Material Methods: The study was carried out in 100 Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus patients and 30 healthy individuals. Smears were taken from the right buccal mucosa and stained by the Papanicolaou technique. Staining with Acridine orange was carried out to view qualitative changes with confocal laser scanning microscope (LSM-510 Meta).The cytomorphometry was evaluated using IMAGE PRO PLUS 5.5 software with Evolution L.C camera. All findings were statistically analyzed. Results: The results showed that with increase in fasting plasma glucose levels, there is significant increase in nuclear area, decrease in cytoplasmic area, and increase in nuclear cytoplasmic ratio (P Conclusion: In the present study, we found significant alterations in the cytomorphometry and cytomorphology of buccal epithelial cells of Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus patients. This study supports and extends the view that these cellular changes can alert the clinician to the possibility of diabetes and aid in monitoring of diabetes throughout the lifetime of the patient. Keywords: Confocal laser scanning microscope; Cytomorphometry; Diabetes mellitus; Oral exfoliative cytology. Introduction Diabetes mellitus (DM) is not a single disease entity but rather a group of metabolic disorders sharing the common underlying feature of hyperglycemia. Hyperglycemia results from defects in insulin secretion, insulin action or both. The chronic hyperglycemia and resultant metabolic deregulation of carbohydrate, fat and protein may be associated with secondary damage in multiple organ systems, especially the kidneys, eyes, nerves and blood vessels.1Recent estimates indicate that the number of people with DM in 2010 is 285 million and is expected to be 438 million in 2030. The global prevalence rate is 6.6% in 2010 and is expected to rise to 7.8% in 2030.2 India leads the world with largest number of diabetic subjects earning the dubious distinction of being termed the â€Å"diabetes capital of the world†. According to the Diabetes Atlas 2009 published by the International Diabetes Federation, the total number of people with diabetes in India is 50.8 million and is expected to rise to 87 million in 2030.3 It can no longer be considered a disease of affluent nation alone, it has become a global problem, a major epidemic of the twentieth century, and one which shows no sign of abating. 3 DM is the leading cause of end-stage renal disease, adult-onset blindness and traumatic lower extremity amputations. The prevalence of DM is increasing sharply in the developing world as more people adopt a sedentary lifestyle, with India and China being the largest contributors to the world’s diabetic load.2 Oral Exfoliative cytology is a relatively simple and non-invasive clinical technique which has the potential to be developed as a routine investigation for screening of DM. It can be used chair-side during routine dental examination.4The various alterations in the cytomorphology of the oral mucosa in diabetes and characterization of these changes give clinicians a more accurate image of what really happens during diabetes. So in our study, the cytomorphometric and cytomorphologic changes were compared according to the different glucose levels of diabetes. In addition to light microscope, we used confocal laser scanning microscope, to ascertain the various cytomorphologic changes seen under light microscope. It is possible that the degree of cellular change depends on the progression of diabetes. Hence the present study was undertaken as this research area has received little attention to date. Materials Methods Selection of subjects: The study was carried out in Type 2 DM patients attending the diabetic outpatient department of General Medicine of Sri Ramachandra University, Chennai, India. These patients were under regular monitoring of blood sugar levels and subsequent treatment. The experimental group included 100 Type 2 DM patients and the control group consisted of 30 healthy individuals free of any systemic diseases with clinically normal oral mucosa. Study groups: The entire study sample was grouped for statistical analysis, based on the recent Fasting Plasma Glucose (FPG) levels as follows: Group I: FPG 110-150mg/dl; Group II: FPG 150-200mg/dl; Group III: FPG >200mg/dl; Control: FPGExclusion criteria: Individuals with habit of tobacco use in any form, habitual alcohol intake, any other systemic illness, clinically evident nutritional deficiencies like anemia, presence of oral sepsis were excluded from the study. After selection of the patient, informed consent was obtained and the p rocedure was carried out. In addition, the biochemical hematological measurements were carried out to exclude anemia other systemic disease. Smear collection and preparation: Patients were asked to rinse their mouth to remove any debris. Following this, with a gentle scraping motion, cells were scraped from clinically normal appearing right buccal mucosa. The scrapings were then evenly smeared onto the glass slide and immersed in 95% isopropyl alcohol in a coplin jar, for half an hour. Staining technique: Smears from all the samples were stained by the Papanicolaou technique (PAP).For few samples two smears were taken from the same site, one stained using PAP and other using Acridine orange(AO), a fluorescent dye, to view with confocal laser scanning microscope. In cases with very high plasma glucose levels smear was stained with Periodic Acid Schiff (PAS) technique to assess presence of candida. Cytomorphometric assessment: The cytomorphometric analysis was done using IMAGE PRO PLUS 5.5 software with Evolution L.C camera. In each of the PAP stained slide, ten fields were chosen by systematic sampling in a step wise manner, moving from left to right and then down and across in order to avoid measuring the same cells again. Cells with clearly defined cellular outlines were only chosen those that were clumped, overlapped or folded were excluded for analysis. The cells were projected on to the monitor via the camera at 40x magnification and images were captured. In the software main menu, the function ‘Measurement mode’ was selected and the icon specifying ‘polygon’ was enabled to analyze the area of interest. The nuclear area (NA) and cytoplasmic area (CA) were obtained by drawing around the nuclear and cell boundaries using the cursor. The areas were recorded in square microns. The nuclear cytoplasmic ratio (N/C) was calculated for all the cells. The various parameters calculated were by the Image analysis software thereby reducing the subjective error. Cytomorphologic assessment: The PAP PAS stained slides were viewed under light microscope whereas the AO stained slides were viewed under confocal laser scanning microscope (LSM-510 meta).Morphologic assessment included inflammatory component, cell degeneration, micronuclei, binucleation, intracytoplasmic inclusion, candida, keratinization, intracytoplasmic microorganisms any other changes. Results On comparison of the cytomorphometry between the various study groups, the results showed a significant increase in the NA N/C ratio (p Discussion DM has become a global problem. It is not a disease but a metabolic disorder. Early detection and subsequent monitoring of this disorder will definitely improve the health of individuals suffering from diabetes. By monitoring the health status of the individuals, diabetic complications leading to morbidity can be prevented, thus producing a healthy society. In the present study we aimed to analyze alterations in the morphology and cytomorphometry of buccal mucosal cells of Type 2 diabetics using exfoliative cytology technique and determine its importance in public health screening and monitoring of DM. The study showed a significant steady increase in NA with increase in blood sugar level (Figure1) from control group (Mean NA-51.03 µm2) to the diabetic Group III (Mean NA-81.21  µm2). This finding concurs with other previously reported studies who reported a significant increase in NA in diabetic patients.5-7 However all these studies did not categorize the patients based on the blood glucose levels. Similar studies using cytomorphometry have been done to analyze the effect of alcohol, tobacco, radiotherapy on buccal mucosa. 8-12 Nucleus contains the genomic DNA, histones and several proteins. The nuclear size can therefore be altered by change in the content of DNA or proteins. There is usually twice as much protein as DNA in a nucleus.13 Hyperglycemia induces a compensatory increase in insulin secretion which in turn causes increase in protein formation. Insulin has several mitogenic functions, including initiation of DNA synthesis in certain cells. These may account for the i ncrease in NA seen in diabetes patients.14 Our study revealed a decrease in CA with increase in blood sugar level i.e.GroupIII mean CA was 2270.63  µm 2 and control mean CA was 2771.6  µm2 (Figure1). This finding is contradictory to studies by Alberti et al 5 and Shareef et al6 who found that CA did not show any significant difference in diabetics and Hassan et al7 who reported a significant increase in CA. However this finding concurs with Prasad et al15 who reported increase in cell diameter and cytoplasmic diameter with increase in glycemic status. Ogden et al10 have reported a similar reduction in cell diameter in patients with habit of alcoholism. The reduction in CA in our study could be due to the dehydrated condition of the diabetics. Increased blood glucose causes dehydration, polyuria polydipsia, intracellular extracellular dehydration. Glucose does not diffuse easily through the pores of the cell membrane causing an increase in osmotic pressure. This increase in osmotic pressure in extracellular fluid causes o smotic transfer of water out of the cells explaining the reduction in CA.16 The comparison of N/C ratio between control and experiment groups showed a steady increase in N/C ratio (from Control-0.0188 to Group III-0.0369) with increasing blood glucose levels(Figure1) .This may be due to a real increase in NA and decrease in CA in diabetic patients, rather than just a deviation from normal. This finding concurs with Rivera et al17 and Prasad et al15 who also reported increase in N/C ratio. In the qualitative changes we found that micronuclei (MN) was present in 44 cases which was statistically significant (p=0.018). MN are known biomarkers of genome damage and has been studied in buccal cell systems. They provide a convenient and reliable index of both chromosome breakage and chromosome loss.MN is found in cells that have completed nuclear division.MN was judged according to criteria by Tolbert et al. 18 Another biomarker of genome damage is nuclear bud formation which was also visualized but not statistically analyzed.16 The nuclear bud has the same morphology and staining properties as the nucleus, however, its diameter may range from a half to a quarter of that of the main nucleus. Hyperglycemia results in formation of Advanced Glycation End products (AGE), endothelial nitric oxide synthase uncoupling, activation of protein kinase C activation of polyol pathway. This in turn causes activation of reactive oxygen species which results in induction of oxidative stress . Oxidative stress is an imbalance between the production of reactive oxygen species and the biological systems ability to readily detoxify the reactive intermediates or to repair the resulting damage. The effects of oxidative stress depend upon the size of these changes, wherein a cell can overcome small perturbations and regain its original state. However, more severe oxidative stress can cause cell death and even moderate oxidation can trigger apoptosis, while more intense stresses may cause necrosis. Oxidative stress has been found to cause genomic damage in DM. 19 This supports the observation of MN in diabetic patients. Few other studies also showed increase in MN in lymphocyte cultures of type 2 diabetics.20, 21 This is the first reported study in which an attempt has been made to study qualitative changes of buccal smear using confocal microscopy. The use of fluorescence dye (Acridine Orange) and visualization under confocal laser scanning microscope enhanced the demonstration of nuclei and micronuclei. They also helped to avoid false positive results. Statistical analysis revealed that cell degeneration was present in 44 cases out of 100 cases. It was statistically significant (p=0.05) implying that increase in blood glucose level leads to oxidative stress and showed increase in degeneration and necrosis. The various qualitative changes included karyorrhexis, pyknosis, apoptosis chromatin abnormalities. Previous studies by Alberti et al5 Shareef et al6 also demonstrated qualitative changes of karyorrhexis. Another significant qualitative change found was the presence of keratinization. This finding is in accordance with an earlier study by Zimmermann et al22 who stated that endocrine dis orders like DM had increased keratinized cell count in the buccal mucosa. The increase in this keratinization may be a compensation for decreased salivary flow.5 Binucleation was present in 45 cases out of 100 but showed no statistically significant result. The significance of these binucleate cells is unknown, but they are probably indicative of failed cytokinesis following the last nuclear division in the basal cell layer. Studies by Alberti et al5 and Shareef et al6 also showed similar findings of binucleation. Increased number of polymorphonuclear leukocytes was observed in the experiment group than chronic inflammatory cells. Increase in inflammation could be due to decreased salivary flow found in diabetics owing to hypofunction of the salivary glands. Hassan et al7 in their study found that incidence of inflammation was higher in diabetic smears. Figure2 Figure3 shows the various qualitative changes viewed under light microscope and confocal microscope. Conclusion: From our study, we could conclude that diabetes produces significant alterations in the cytomorphometry and cytomorphology of buccal epithelial cells. The use of confocal laser scanning microscopy demonstrated qualitative changes with higher resolution and clarity and helped in reducing the possibility of recording false positive and/or false negative observations. Clinical significance: Exfoliative cytology is helpful in diabetic patients who have aversion and fear to needle pricks as it is painless and can be carried out regularly .The minimal time and ease of the procedure is beneficial in mass screening and public health awareness programme. They also aid in monitoring of diabetes mellitus throughout the lifetime of the patient, thereby decreasing the morbidity and preventing long term complications. Acknowledgements Authors would like to thank the Central Research Facility Department of General Medicine of Sri Ramachandra University, Chennai. We would also like to thank the lab assistant Department of Oral pathology and statistician for their valuable help in the study. No conflict of interest. No source of funding.

Jollibee Case Study Essay

1. Introduction Anil K. Gupta and Vijay Govindarajan argue in their article, â€Å"Knowledge flows and the structure of control within multinational corporations†, that mainly all previous research on strategic control within multinational companies (MNCs) has paid attention to why these choose to go abroad. They instead argue that for successful offshore business, one must understand how communication flows within the different sub-units of the organization. As Jollibee Foods Corporation considers whether they should establish a fourth store in Hong Kong, it faces several challenges. One of the main challenges regards knowledge transfer between its Filipino facilities and the newly established ones abroad. It is therefore relevant to look at the following research question: What consequences does the current â€Å"strategic control over its subsidiaries† have on the knowledge transfer between the Jollibee headquarters on the Philippines and the offshore Jollibee Food plants in Hong Kong? In answering the research question, we will start by explaining the framework of Gupta & Govindarajan’s (1991) on different kinds of subsidiaries, with attention paid to knowledge transfer and their related control instruments. Further we will examine what kind of challenges Jollibee Foods Corporation is facing with its expansion to Hong Kong. Finally, the above analysis will provide us with information about the existing opportunities on the Chinese market and will enable us to suggest a reconstruction of the offshore business in Hong Kong to make it more successful. Jollibee meets several tasks in their offshoring project, but due to space limitation there will in this paper only be focus on two selected challenges, the challenges of adjusting to Chinese taste and their management structure. 2. Jollibee Foods Construction and its strategic control over its subsidiary in Hong-Kong Gupta and Govindarajan (1991) proposed that there exists a certain association between different types of subsidiary units and the strategic corporate control of that subsidiary. They defined four ideal types as; Implementor, Global innovator, Integrated Player and Local Innovator, based on the amount of knowledge that flows and the direction of this knowledge, between the subsidiary and the rest of the MNC. Upon Tingzon ´s arrival the main strategy of the offshore business has been â€Å"flag planting†. Flag planting aims at establishing a presence in each market before competitors, and so, emphasizing at implementing customer expectation, influencing taste and building brand (case p. 11). The initial plan in Hong Kong has been to become one of the major players in the market fast. The previous international strategy meant that the subsidiaries in Hong Kong functioned as implementors. An implementor is characterized by a high degree of knowledge inflow from the headquarters but with a low degree of knowledge outflow; hence mainly applying the strategy used in the parent company without any local adaption (Gupta and Govindarajan 1991). Functioning as an implementor has meant that the established Hong Kong stores have not been engaged in any knowledge creation, but simply followed instructions from the Filipino headquarters. Furthermore one can argue that Jollibee’s approach to Hong Kong has been to primarily implement the already existing practices from the Philippines. For example, the menu offered in Hong Kong is almost the same as the Filipino one, knowledge of what to sell has simply been brought in from headquarter (case page. 12) Further evidence arguing for that the Hong Kong subsidiary has been operating like an implementor can be seen in the management transfer of the CEO’s brother-in-law, from the parent company to the Hong Kong subsidiary (case page 12). In addition, the store-level managers were all Filipino while little crew were Chinese and staffing problems consequently grew. To solve the problem the Manila based Franchise Service Manager worked continuously with Hong Kong for more than six months, without success. In 1997 a dispute over discipline between the four Chinese Managers, and the five Filipino Managers, resulted in the Chinese Managers leaving Jollibee with only Filipino crew left (page 12). This points towards the subsidiaries in Hong Kong adapting the characteristic of an implementor, e.g. pure inflow of knowledge from the parent company and little outflow of knowledge from the Hong Kong subsidiary. Furthermore is the overall â€Å"flag planting† strategy of Jollibee very i ndicative of the skewed power balance between Jollibee and its subsidiaries. 3. Organizational Challenges Jollibee experienced the internal challenges of organizational culture clash between its implemented Filipino workers and the Chinese staff. Furthermore the implementation of the international menu was not as successful as expected (case p. 13). The strategy of focusing on Filipino expatriates in new markets, might has helped Jollibee’s entry to the Hong-Kong market, since they already had a distinguished costumer group of Filipinos. But as Tingzon asks in the case â€Å"might we risk boxing ourselves into a Filipino niche that prevents us from growing enough to support operations in each country?† (case p. 11). We found that the expatriate-led strategy have prevented further expansion of the company on the Hong Kong market. This is due to the local knowledge that resides in Chinese workers and managers are not exploited when only employing Filipino managers. As stated above, in the early entry into the Hong Kong market, Jollibee did also employ Chinese managers but due to their sole implementation of inflows from headquarters, clashes arose between the Chinese and the Filipino managers. Furthermore one major challenge to successfully establish a fourth store and gain more market share is to adapt the prevailing menu to the Chinese taste. The main challenge for Jollibee now is how to realize, and best use, the knowledge that resides in Chinese workers. 4. Altering the Strategy for the Hong Kong Subsidiary From the above section we can conclude that there exists several challenges of how the subsidiary in Hong Kong has previously been structured, for example has one of the sub-franchisees tried to suggest changes to the menu. To be able to attract more local costumers he proposed low fat chicken and Chinese tea, as he sensed a demand for these products among the Chinese people (case p. 12). He has tried to implement these changes for several of months but has not yet received a go-ahead from the headquarters. This indicates that Jollibee mainly sees its subsidiaries as implementors, without any outflow of local knowledge to the other subsidiaries. But for Jollibee to succeed in opening a fourth store and increase its market share on the Hong Kong market, reconstruction and adaption to the local market is crucial. The top management saw a high profit potential in Hong Kong, and therefore urged Tingzon to open the fourth store. But as the profit potential is high, the competition in Hong Kong for similar food companies, such as McDonalds, is also very intense. Jollibee Food Construction does not have the competitive advantage of a first mover and is not alone on the market. For example has their main competitor, McDonald’s, both stronger brand recognition in the Hong Kong market and they are stronger financially. Hence Jollibee has to take on a different subsidiary strategy than the â€Å"implementor†, in order to success (Hymer p. 61). With this in mind the strategy of the Hong Kong sub-division can become a successful sub-division if it adapts the characteristics of a local innovator instead of trying to be an implementor, with both low inflow and outflow of knowledge. One main challenge for Jollibee is to attract more local employees and as Gupta and Govindarajan’s proposition 3 states; under norms and administrative rationality will the composition of the top-management for the specific subsidiary consist of mainly locals if the division acts as a local innovator (Gupta and Govindarajan 1991). As an implementor has the possibility for autonomous initiative been low while it as a local innovator exists space to adapt to the local environment, e.g. for Jollibee to take on a more Chinese menu. 5. Conclusion In conclusion, as Jollibee decide whether or not to establish one more store in Hong Kong, they have to look over their strategic control over its subsidiaries. As examined above, the company has mainly viewed their subsidiaries as implementors. We found this international strategy insufficient, and that it hindered them to fully exploit the market potential in Hong Kong. The prevailing challenges for Jollibee now is how to realize and best use the knowledge that resides in Chinese workers. Due to limitations of the paper, it is only a fraction of possible explanations that have been highlighted and these revolve primarily around the importance of increasing the local engagement in the Hong Kong subsidiary, and increase the local innovation towards more local taste. Hence we argue for Jollibee’s subsidiaries in Hong Kong to adapt towards a local innovator role. 6. Bibliography Case: Bartlett, C. A. (2001). Jollibee Foods Corporation (A): International Expansion. Harvard Business School Gupta, A.K.,Govindarajan, V. (1991). Knowledge flows and the structure of control within multinational corporations. Academy of Management, Review 16(4) 768-792 Gupta, A.K., Govindarajan, V. (2000). Knowledge flows within multinational corporations. Strategic Management Journal 21, pp. 473-496. letto-Gilles, G. (2005). â€Å"Hymer ´s seminal work†, in Part III Modern Theories in Transnational Corporations and International Production. Academic Books, Copenhagen Business School. Published by Edward Elgar Publishing, Inc. Schlegelmilch, B., Ambos, B., Chini, T. (2003/4). Are you ready to learn from your offshore affiliates? European Business Forum, 16

Pump and Dump: The Rancid Rules of the New Economy Essay

                  Mr. CEO was very efficient when he requested a report on the study of organizational culture in the company. The shared knowledge in an organization concerning the rules, norms and values that shape the attitude, and the behaviors of the organization’s employees are termed as the organizational culture. Organization culture has its components in the business that helps the culture to be successful in its functioning. In addition, organization should have a strong culture and try its best ways to maintain the culture of efficiency in the organization business performance. An organization also develops different steps to ensure that the newcomers in the group will easily fate themselves in the organization culture. The study of organizational culture and change is discussed based on the theories in chapter14 of Wolf of Wall Street video.                  In this chapter, corporate culture has a number of facets that are derived from its definition, the key one being culture; that is the shared knowledge among the associates of the organization (Cameron11). Employees learn about the most vital aspects of the shared experience through other employees of the association. Moreover, culture being a common knowledge amongst the employees, this shows that members of the organization indeed understands and have a degree of consensus on the definition of culture. The second facet of the organizational culture is that culture informs the employees about the rules, norms, and values surrounding the organization and also helps the employees to answer some questions concerning the organization for instance; what kind of behaviors are appropriate or inappropriate at the workplace?                     The last facet of organizational culture is that it natures and reinforces confident employees attitude and acts by creating a structure of control over all the employees in the organization(Tillman18).Organizations have three chief components concerning their culture, and they include; observable relics, adopted values, and fundamental underlying notion. Group culture components are usually compared with the theory of an onion since some components are readily visible and apparent; these are denoted to be the skin of the onion since people can observe and make their understanding of the organization. While the other components that are inside the organization remains to be a mystery and are referred to be the inner part of the onion since it is until they peel off the cover in order to gauge the values and assumption that are beneath the organization.                  The first component that is the observable artifacts is manifested by the culture of the organization that the employees can easily see or talk about on their own. The artifacts supply the signals that are interpreted by the employees in order to gauge their personal behavior when working. In addition, the artifacts provide primary means of transmitting to the organization culture to its workforce. Artifacts are of different types that include; symbols that conveys the message to the people, physical structure; that are the buildings in the association and designs of the internal office. The last type of the artifacts is the rituals that are planned on weekly routines and practiced in the organization.                   The other component is espoused values, which include beliefs, philosophies, and norms. These values are explicitly stated by the great organization of companies, for example of an espoused value is the one found in the corporate constitution of Calgary-based EnCana Corporation. The last component is the basic underlying assumption which are the fixed beliefs and attitudes that are ingrained in order for the employees to act upon them rather than basing their questions on validity of their behavior in a specified situation. The assumptions represent the deepest and the minimum visible part of the acquired knowledge, and it may not be apparent even to the organizational veterans.                   The chapter14 of this movie describes organizational culture through its components and its culture along various dimensions (Harrison23). Organizations culture is characterized by two theories that are solidarity and sociability. The degree in which group members think and act similarly is termed as solidarity while sociability represents how employees show friendship to one another. On these two dimensions, lower organization experience both dimensions in a fragmented culture whereby employees are distant and disconnected from approaching each other. While, on that organization that has cultures in which employees think similarly, but they are unfriendly to each other, this culture is considered to be mercenary cultures and the organization are likely to be so political in nature.In addition, there is networked culture whereby employees are friendly to each other but thinks differently and does their work personally. The last organization culture is th e communal culture in which the organizational is built of the friendly employees who have the same thoughts in their actions.                  Not all organizations have high culture although most of the organization seems to strive for one culture. A high culture exists when its employees agree with the way things are supposed to run the organization, and their behavior should be subsequent to that expectation. Indeed, a high culture plays a role to unite and gives directions to the employees. Weak cultures originate due to disagreement among the employees on matters of how things are supposed to be done. This shows that it has nothing that it can add to the unity of the employees or even direct their attitudes and doings.                  In accordance to the chapter14 of the video, a culture is tested when the founders of the organization and the original employees start to novice and hire fresh members (Robbins9). If these new employees fail to fit in the organization, the culture weakens or differentiates. Two theories that can conspire to keep the culture strong that is through attrition or socialization. For example, in ASA framework, states that potential members will be fascinated by the organization whose cultures matches their character. This means that the some potential job candidates would not smear due to perceived dearth of fit. On the other hand socialization that is defined as primary process through which employees learn the social knowledge that higher them the understanding and adoption of the organization culture. This knowledge aids the employee to adopt quickly and specialize in the organization culture more readily than other new members.                After cultures are established and maintained in an organization, they tend to persist over a long time until bad news concerning the culture may occur (Lewis46). The bad news can lead to the culture failing to fit in the organization. In order to change a culture, there is the primary process that involves three phases that include, unfreezing; initiative can be amended, and refreezing. These steps would be based on the problems associated with the culture for example, if it is about unfreezing, the issues concerning the customer’s complaints on the product quality should be checked since it may trigger awareness about the company’s culture problems.                In assumption, according to the Wolf of Wall Street, organization acquired knowledge extremely contributes to the efficiency and effectiveness of the organization. Organization culture theories aid the people to understand the organization since it conveys signals that are easily interpreted by the employees on their socialization. It would recommend that the company’s organizations to uphold their culture system since it equips the employees with excellent knowledge on their relationship with others in the workplace. References Cameron, Kim S, and Robert E. Quinn. Diagnosing and Changing Organizational Culture: Based on the Competing Values Framework. San Francisco, CA: Josser-Bass, 2011. Internet resource. Harrison, J R, and Glenn R. Carroll. Culture and Demography in Organizations. Princeton [u.a.: Princeton Univ. Press, 2006. Print. Lewis, Michael. Flash Boys: A Wall Street Revolt. , 2014. Print. Robbins, Stephen P, Aletta Odendaal, and G Roodt. Organisational Behaviour: Global and Southern African Perspectives. Cape Town: Pearson Education South Africa, 2003. Print. Tillman, Robert H, and Michael L. Indergaard. Pump and Dump: The Rancid Rules of the New Economy. New Brunswick, New Jersey: Rutgers Univ Press, 2008. Print. Source document

Financial Crisis Impact On Institutions And Markets

Financial Crisis Impact on Institutions and Markets The financial crisis, beginning in 2007, negatively impacted the stability of financial institutions and markets across the world. While there are many speculative causes of the financial crisis, dealings in subprime mortgages are considered the biggest culprit. As a result, those involved in subprime mortgages, such as lenders, investment banks, credit rating agencies and securities investors were among the first to feel the crisis’ ramifications. Moreover, adjustments made to lending stipulations and interest rates produced a housing bubble within the United States priming the market for an inevitable collapse. Once the housing bubble burst, the risk associated with subprime†¦show more content†¦government has instilled greater regulations, in an effort to prevent a crisis of this magnitude from happening again. Cause of the Financial Crisis The new millennium of the early 2000’s, brought forth a multitude of factors initiated by the financial industry and the United State government which unknowingly primed the economy for failure. In an effort to stimulate the economy and boost consumer spending, the United States Federal Reserve lowered interest rates to one percent after the dot-com bubble in 2000 and the September 11th terrorist attacks of 2001. In return, the value of real estate improved drastically, motivating home owners to refinance their loans, and potential owners to seek out loan approval. As banks began dealing with increased loan demand, they sought to lower loan qualification standards to meet the demand, helping banking institutions to supply loans to the masses (Li Li, 2012). Through reduced loan qualification standards and with an extended effort to maintain low credit standards, mortgage issuers substantially reduced the need for borrower down payments and viab le income documentation (Tiller, 2009). Consequently, unbeknownst to corporations involved, the uprising of subprime mortgages had initiated Subprime mortgages Once loan qualification standards decreased the issuance of subprime mortgage loans spread throughout the country. Subprime mortgages are defined by Funk Wagnall’s

Ptsd, The Price Of Freedom - 785 Words

PTSD, the Price of Freedom Freedom bears a heavy price. Many soldiers pay with their lives, while others relive the sights, sounds, and terror of combat. Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) affects thousands of American veterans each year. Is PTSD simply a weakness, or is it an epidemic? Though historically, the validity of PTSD has been argued, the pain is real, and there is a diagnosis to prove it. Combat-related PTSD stems from witnessing the suffering and death of others, and the exposure of destruction, personal danger, and injury. Heightened risk may also result from a soldier’s specific role in war. One study of Vietnam soldiers provides insight on potential risk factors, and reveals an unexpected contributor to the development of PTSD. This study suggests that those who suffered the worst cases of PTSD had sustained stressful and traumatic childhood abuse. The study examined two groups of Vietnam soldiers in an attempt to determine a predisposition for PTSD. The first group consisted of Vietnam soldiers who sought treatment for PTSD; the second group of Vietnam soldiers did not have PTSD. Veterans who were diagnosed with PTSD were shown to have higher rates of childhood abuse than veterans who did not have PTSD (Bremner, Southwick, Johnson, Yehuda, and Charney. 1993). PTSD has not always had an official diagnosis. Prior to the official diagnosis, there was a large gap in psychiatry. Physicians and other members of society regularly perceived those who sufferedShow MoreRelatedPtsd, The Price Of Freedom Essay903 Words   |  4 PagesPTSD, the Price of Freedom The freedoms Americans enjoy come at a price; brave military men and women often foot the bill. Many men and women pay with their lives; others relive sights, sounds, and terror of combat in the form of PTSD. There are several causes and risk factors for the development of PTSD. Combat-related PTSD appears slightly different than traditional PTSD. 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Finance and Par Value - 2445 Words

Chapter 14 1. Templeton Extended Care Facilities, Inc. is considering the acquisition of a chain of cemeteries for $410 million. Since the primary asset of this business is real estate, Templeton’s management has determined that they will be able to borrow the majority of the money needed to buy the business. The current owners have no debt financing but Templeton plans to borrow $320 million and invest only $90 million in equity in the acquisition. What weights should Templeton use in computing the WACC for this acquisition? 2. In August of 2009 the capital structure of the Emerson Electric Corporation (EMR) (measure in book and market values) appeared as follows: Thousands of dollars Book Values Market values Short- term debt†¦show more content†¦The dividends are expected to grow at a rate of 5.8% per year into the foreseeable future. The price of this stock is now $25.18. c. A bond that has a $1,000 par value and a coupon interest rate of 12.7%. A new issue would sell for $1,150 per bond and mature in 20 years. The firm’s tax rate is 34%. d. A preferred stock paying a 7.2% dividend on a $93 par value. If a new issue is offered, the shares would sell for $85.32 per share. 7. Salte Corporation is issuing new common stock at a market price of $27.24. Dividends last year were $1.47 and are expected to grow at an annual rate of 5.7% forever. What is Salte’s cost of common equity? 8. Falon Corporation is issuing new common stock at a market price of $27.04. Dividends last year were $1.34 and are expected to grow at an annual rate of 7.3% forever. What is Falon’s cost of common equity capital? 9. Temple-Midland, Inc. is issuing a $1,000 par value bond that pays 7. 8% annual interest and matures in 15 years. Investors are willing to pay $953 for the bond and Temple faces a tax rate of 34%. What is Temple’s after-tax cost of debt on the bond? 10. 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Information Security Risk Assessment Practices of Leading Organisation

Question: what are the best approaches for implementing information assurance principles? Where do you see the most areas for improvement to current protocols and policies? Answer: Introduction The risks towards the information systems have been existing since a long time either from malicious actions or from unintentional errors caused by users or from manmade causes or natural disasters. In the present times the organisations have turn into further liable to these kinds of hazards as the computers are further connected and therefore it has increased the interdependency and accessibility among a large number of users. Another factor which affects information security is the increase and spread of computer knowledge which has been tremendous and the number of people using computers has also grown their interests in the field of hacking which can be easily learnt via the internet. One of the main reasons for the need of information security is that because of the automation of most of the systems but lack of development in the security program management (Robert Huggett, Aleksey Poryadin, Peter Robertson, 1998). In this report we are going to study the effects of risk assessment in a multinational oil company which has been managing its operations in over 30 countries with unpredictable levels of risks. The safety and security apprehensions are the main criteria in an automated oil company for the smooth conduction of business and therefore the risk assessment technique is the ideal process. The company engaged a comparatively rationalised, mostly qualitative procedure to evaluate IS hazard. A H.Q parallel risk management director, accountable for security threat valuations, remained the principal fact for the threat valuation program. The policy followed defined steps for scrutinising hypothetically harmful situations and concerned amount to of consistent devices, as well as software advanced intramural, to assemble and scrutinise data and produce statements. Initiation of the Risk Assesment: The assessment of the risks is processed according to the company policies before any important change in the facility or the processes after any instances of security breach has occurred or whenever any form of risk has been identified. The company guidelines has specified that the administrator of a project or sector of processes has to inform their regional security co-ordinator of the urgency of the security assessment. This notification is then again passed on to the central security co-ordinator. The main person responsible for the initiation of the task of risk assessment is the business manager but the central co coordinator too has the duty for routine reviews of the core financial plan and the venture papers in order to identify operational sections that might need a hazard evaluation (Jack L. Brock, 1999). Conveyance And Documentation Of The Assessment The risk assessment process is divided in three distinctive stages i.e. design and homework, risk valuation undertakings and report enhancement. Preparation and planning As a risk assessment notification is implemented the central co-ordinator with the senior executives in the organisation will develop a risk assessment implementation strategy. The plan has to be composed of the assessment of aims and the processes, size and composition of the teams and the information required for the conduction of the assessment. When the final plan is decided it has to be endorsed by the business unit. The risk assessment team constitutes of individuals from multiple disciplines and usually contains from 5 to 8 individuals. Sometimes the team also constitutes of outside individuals like consultants. The senior managers select the team with the approval of the central co-ordinator. The risk assessment leader should never be selected from the unit which is going to be assessed. Actually no specialist should be selected from the business unit which is in question and they can be only interviewed to gain vital information on the security issues. They are of vital impo rtance for the risk assessment, therefore developing their interview questions is a vital part of the planning and requires close co-ordination among the corporate unit manager and the chief controllers. All the individuals including the high-ranking executives to the safety experts and even the servicers are converse with (Executive Order 12958, 2000). For the guaranteeing that all forms of possible threats are considered in the assessment, the corporation has recognised a distinct business unit that fosters and supports the risk statistics for use by the whole corporation, including the risk valuation teams. This team is offered the duty of collecting the data from the internal and the external sources and hence create a point of departure risk report that classifies the probable coercions from the external agents or the insiders, as well as threats induced by the systems. Before the convening of the assessment activity the central coordinator provides each of the team members a package of the information which contains a copy of the agreeable execution plan , schedule of assessment, previous risk assessment report of the business unit if any, threat data, risk assessment methodology and the interview questions. These tools helps to reduce the amount of tools required for the training of the assessment team (Te Tari Taiwhenua, 201 4). Assessment activity The main emphasis of this stage is gathering and examining the data on the threats and the possible susceptibilities and the use of optional actions in order to reduce the vindication risks. The first step is to conduct interviews with the knowledgeable individuals of the business units. The interview answers help to cultivate circumstances of probable undesired and destructive events. As of this case an employee was struggling financially and therefore was forced to sell highly confidential information of the company to sell to the outsiders. Once the scenarios are created the job of the team is to rank the severity of the scenario, highest being the loss of life and lowest is the minor system or environmental damage categorised into four parts. The above scenario was a level 2 stating damage of exclusive information or foremost system or environmental mutilation (Risk Assessment Special Interest Group (SIG), 2012). Development of report After the team develops corrective actions, it prepares a report in form of an exit brief. This report will indicate the risk scenarios that need immediate attention and the one which can be implemented in the future. These recommendations are also monitored by the central co-ordinator until they have been fully implemented and thus the work of the risk assessment and mitigation is concluded for the business unit (Ming-Chang Lee, 2014). References Executive Order 12958. (2000, august 23). Retrieved from Classified National Security Information: https://www.dss.mil/seclib/eo12958.htm. Jack L. Brock. (1999). Information Security risk assessment practices of leading organisations. A Supplement to GAOs May 1998, 45. Ming-Chang Lee. (2014). International Journal of Computer Science Information Technology. Information Security Risk Analysis Methods and, 29-45. Risk Assessment Special Interest Group (SIG). (2012). security standard council. PCI DSS Risk Assessment, 23. Robert Huggett, Aleksey Poryadin, Peter Robertson. (1998). Environmental Risk Assessments of Oil and Gas Activities. A Report of the Oil and Gas Risk Assessment Subgroup of the Gore, 131. Te Tari Taiwhenua. (2014). risk assessment process. infrormation security, 22.