Determining The Minimum Inhibitory Concentration Biology Essay

Determining The Minimum Inhibitory Concentration Biology Essay The basic structure of penicillin.The first two steps in cell wall synthesis specifically the formation of acetylglucosamine to from peptidoglycan chains, cannot be inhibited by penicillin. However, in the final step where the crosslinking between peptidoglycan by side peptide chains, the penicillin inhibits this process. This is because penicillin has similar structure to the terminal D-alanine-D-alanine if the pentapeptide, which binds covalently to the active site of the transpeptidase enzyme (Gorbach et al., 2003). Chloramphenicol is another antibiotic and it has the ability to penetrate though cellular membranes and be easily in engagement with the bacteria colonising in human cells to allow its antimicrobial characteristics to take place. Chloramphenicol has a simple structure and the mechanism depends on the propanoeidol moiety and dichloracetamide chain. C:Usersctlee11Desktop12.jpg Figure 2.0: The basic structure of chloramphenicol.What chloramphenicol does is that it inhibits protein synthesis in bacteria, however nucleic acid synthesis in unaffected. Chloramphenicol binds reversibly to the larger 50S ribosome subunit of the 70S ribosome. This inhibits the protein synthesis by preventing aminioacyl-transfer RNA from attaching to the 50S binding site (Gorbach et al., 2003). However, it has been recorded that chloramphenicol affects the mitochondrial protein synthesis. This is because the mammalian mitochondrial protein has strong similarity to bacterial ribosome where both are of 70S, with the mitochondria of the bone marrow especially susceptible (Riviere Papich, 2009). Protein synthesis plays a major role in bacterial growth as there are various cofactors and enzymes needed for multiple metabolic pathways. Minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) is the minimum concentration of a drug which inhibits bacterial growth, but does not kill the microorganism. Minimum bacteriostatic concentration (MBC) is the minimum concentration of a drug which kills the bacterial and thus, no longer grows. AIMS This investigation was done to determine Minimum inhibitory Concentration (MIC) and the Minimum Bacteriocidal Concentration (MBC) of Penicillin and Chloramphenicol of Escherichia coli as well as; to determine the antibiotics sensitivity against the Staphylococcus aureus and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. METHODS AND MATERIALS The methods and materials are as per laboratory manual of Medical Microbiology BTH3722 of Monash University Semester Two, Year 2012 of pages 17 20. RESULTS SESSION/DAY ONE There are two sections to this investigation, where there is (i), the MIC and MBC determination of antibiotic Penicillin G and Chloramphenicol against Escherichia coli, and then there is (ii) antibiotics testing towards two microorganisms which are Staphylococcus aureus and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. In the determination of MIC, serial dilutions of antibiotics are done with known concentrations. Then, each tube containing different antibiotic concentration is the inoculated with bacterial culture and incubated overnight. This goes the same for the determination of MBC. Then, for each serial dilution of antibiotic, there would be two control tubes, one positive where the tube is inoculated with bacterial culture and the incubated without antibiotics and then, negative control where the tube is not inoculated but theres presence of antibiotics. For the antibiotic sensitivity testing, there are two Mast rings used and both of them are ready-made device that can simultaneously test for antibiotic susceptibility testing using 8 types of antibiotics. The Mast Rings used in this investigation is MAST M43 to test against MG8 culture: Staphylococcus aureus and MAST M14 to be used to test against MG53 culture: Pseudomonas aeruginosa. All these are done on the MHA plate using spread plate technique. SESSION/DAY TWO The MIC and MBC for each antibiotic type (Penicillin G and Chloramphenicol) is determined by observing the turbidity in the test tube. A turbid medium signifies for bacteria growth. Then all the tubes that are sterile are then poured into respective Trypticase Soy Broth (TSB) bottles including the tube that has the minimum positive bacteria growth to determine the MBC. These bottles are then incubated overnight. Results are on Table 1.0. For the antibiotic susceptibility testing, the annular radii of the clear zones are measured for each antibiotic type and these measurements are recorded. The measurements and interpretation are on Table 2.0 and Table 3.0. Tube Concentration of Antibiotics (c),  µg/ml Growth of Escherichia coli Penicillin G Chloramphenicol 1 125.00 + 2 62.50 + 3 31.25 + + 4 15.63 + + 5 7.81 + + 6 3.91 + + 7 1.95 + + 8 0.98 + + 9 0.49 + + 10 0.24 + + 11 0.12 + + 12 (+ CTRL) 0.00 + + 13 (- CTRL) 0.00 Table 1.0: The table below shows the results of the from the MIC determination of Penicillin G and Chloramphenicol on E. coli. In Table 1.0, it is shown that there are 13 tubes where the 12th and 13th are controls, 12th as the positive (+) and the 13th as negative (-). Positive control is the control which is inoculated without antibiotics and Negative control as the control which not inoculated. On the growth column, + signifies theres growth and thus turbidity in the tubes, while (-) signifies negative growth. It is also that has been determined that the MBC value is 125  µg/ml for Chloramphenicol. Table 2.0: The table below shows the annular radius that was measured form the MHA plate cultured with Pseudomonas aeruginosa using MAST Ring M43. MASTRING ANTIBIOTICS M43 Antibiotics Abbreviation Annular Radius Sensitivity PG Penicillin G 0 R CD Clindamycin 1 R GM Gentamycin 10 S FC Fusidic Acid 20 S E Erythromycin 0 R TM Trimetroprim 0 R SMX Sulphamethoxazole 0 R T Tetracyclin 0 R The general rule is that if the annular radii are more than 6mm in length, then the bacteria are susceptible to that particular antibiotic. However, if the annular radii are 6mm or less than, it is considered resistant to the particular antibiotics. Table 3.0: The table below shows the annular radius that was measured form the MHA plate cultured with Staphylococcus aureus tested using MAST Ring M14. MASTRING ANTIBIOTICS M14 Antibiotics Abbreviation Annular Radius Sensitivity AP Ampicillin 0 R KF Cephalothin 1 R CO Colistin Sulphate 7 S GM Gentamycin 8 S S Streptomycin 8 S ST Sulphatriad 1 R T Tetracyclin 0 R TS Cotrimoxazole 0 R The general rule is that if the annular radii are more than 6mm in length, then the bacteria are susceptible to that particular antibiotic. However, if the annular radii are 6mm or less than, it is considered resistant to the particular antibiotics. DISCUSSION The MIC and MBC value of penicillin G cannot be determined as at all concentrations of the serial dilutions, the bacteria is resistant to the Penicillin G (PG) even from the concentration of 125  µg/ml. This is because there was growth observed from the turbidity of all the serial dilution tubes. However for the antibiotic Chloramphenicol, the MIC is at 31.25  µg/ml while the MBC is at 62.6  µg/ml. At these concentrations, in treating infections that are E. coli related, a rather heavy dosage of PG is needed to be administered. Thus, PG is not really effective in killing E. coli. Besides, the MBC value is always expected to be higher than the MIC value is higher dosage is needed to kill a microorganism (Prescott et al., 2005). As it has been previously mentioned, PG targets the peptidoglycan structure of the cell wall. If the bacteria were able to resist PG, it would be because that the bacteria have a mechanism to counter such actions. True enough, E. coli could be resistant t o PG because it could produce beta-lactamase that inactivates penicillin (Sorbo Marshall, 2006). Beta-lactamase which is also known as penicillinase, acts by hydrolysing the CO-N bond in the beta lactam ring of the penicillin molecule and then the amidase group cleaves the CO-NH bond found within the side chain and the six amino acid groups of penicillic acid group of the penicillin molecule (English et al., 1960). However, not only E. coli is not the only one bacteria that possesses the beta-lactamase gene which can caused by the fact that certain bacteria passed on their DNA to another bacteria during conjugation, or from a virus to a bacteria during transduction or also that the bacteria can take in foreign DNA from their surroundings (Karp, 2009). In the antibiotic testing on the bacteria lawn, it is found that the Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) is less resistant than Pseudomonas aeruginosa (P. aeruginosa) as S. aureus is susceptible to three kinds of antibiotics (susceptible: CO, GM and S; resistant: AP, KF, ST, T and TS) compared to P. aeruginosa which is susceptible to two types (susceptible: GM and FC; resistant: PG, CD, SMX, T and EM). The reason P. aeruginosa is so particularly so resistant is to most of the modern antibiotics is because of its intrinsic resistance that arises from the permeability and secondary resistance mechanisms such as energy-dependent multidrug efflux and chromosomally encoded periplasmic ÃŽÂ ²-lactamase. At such level of natural resistance, mutational resistance to most classes of antibiotics can readily arise (Hancock Speert, 2000). For instance, the resistance of P. aeruginosa towards PG is because of de-repression of chromosomal ÃŽÂ ²-lactamase and also the overexpression of the MexA B-OprM multidrug efflux pump due to a NalB mutation. Specific plasmid-mediated ÃŽÂ ²-lactamases also infer that the resistance to PG could be a form of introduction of foreign DNA from surroundings or via conjugation with other bacteria (Hancock Speert, 2000). As for S. aureus, the bacteria is resistant towards ampicillin and that would probably due to the act that most strains of S. aureus are able to produce ÃŽÂ ²-lactamase to breakdown the beta-lactam ring of the penicillin-derivate antibiotics. CONCLUSION The MIC and MBC values are important in determining the correct dosage of antibiotics that is supposed to be administered to the patient. However, E. coli was particularly resistant to Penicillin G and thus, was unable to produce any MBC or MIC values. In such cases, an AST can be ran first before testing E. coli against its susceptible drug for MIC and MBC values. IX. REFERENCES English, A.R., McBride, T. J. and Huang, H. T. (1960). Microbial Resistance to penicillin as related to penicillinase or penicillin acylase activity, Proceedings of the Society or  Experimental  Biology and  Medicine, Vol. 104, pp. 547 549. Gorbach, S.L., Barlett, J.G. and Blacklow, N.R. (2003).Treatment of Infectious Disease, Infectious Disease, Lippincott Williams Wilkins, pp. 184 186. Hancock, R. E. W. and Speert, D. P. (2009). Antibiotic Resistance in Pseudomonas aeruginosa: mechanisms and impact on treatment, Drug Resistance Updates, 3, pp. 247 255. Karp, G. (2009). The Growing Problem of Antibiotic Resistance, Cell and Molecular Biology: Concepts and Experiments, John Wiley Sons, pp. 105 106. Riviere, J.E. and Papich, M. G. (2009). Chemotherapy of Microbial Diseases, Veterinary Pharmacology and Therapeutics, John Wiley Sons, pp. 944 946. Sorbo, L. D. and Marshall, J.C. (2006) Antibiotic Resistance in the Intensive Care Unit, Intensive Care Medicine: Annual Update 2006, Springer, pp. 582 583.

Be Our Guest

Be Our Guest, Inc. Case Analysis Page 1 INDEX 1. Key success factors & company performance†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. 3 2. Bank perspective regarding the performance†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. 7 3. Bank financing perspective at the end of 1998†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. 10 4. Management perspective regarding the bank financing†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. 13 5. Exhibit 1 – Annual Income Statements (1994-1997)†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦17 6. Exhibit 2 – Annual Balance Sheets (1994-1997)†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢ € ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. 18 7. Exhibit 3 – Quarterly Income Statements 1997†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. 19 8. Exhibit 4 – Quarterly Balance Sheets 1997†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦20 9. Exhibit 5 – Forecasting†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦21 10. Exhibit 6 – Annual Ratios†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. 22 11. Exhibit 7 – Quarterly Ratios†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. 23 Tudor Team Five Page 2 1. What are the key success factors in this equipment rental business? How has the company performed the past few years? Key Success Factors Five of the key success factors are as follows: First, the locat ion of the business is ideal for handling several projects at once. This is due to their central Boston location. The ability to handle everal projects at once gives the company a competitive edge and allows them to attain a performance as close to the full potential of the company as possible. Second, the company’s leaders have been successful in networking to primary and secondary clients. This has aided in growing a business that is based on a foundation of good company/client relationships. These strong relationships have led to significant repeat customers as a strong basis of the company’s revenue. Fostering these relationships throughout the years of the company’s existence has also led to sustained revenue growth year after year. This revenue growth is shown in the financials and, using the Compound Annual Growth Rate, it can be seen that this growth in revenue has been 14. 26% from 1994 to 1997. Third, the executive management is well experienced in the hospitality industry as well as other industries that relate to the successful operation of a business. Stephen Lizio was involved in the food and wine business prior to founding Be Our Guest in 1983. Al Lovata was previously a banker and began his relationship with Be Our Guest as a financial consultant, later joining the organization full-time as the Chief Executive Officer. Lizio and Lovata together form a foundation of strong knowledge of the hospitality Tudor Team Five Page 3 business and the vital knowledge of finance, thus giving the business a core of understanding both its industry and how to manage the money coming into the company. Simone Williamson was brought on to the team and comes from years of experience in the food service business. She also came to the company with strong networking connections in the catering industry in Boston, which further reinforces the second success factor described above. This management team is made up of members that complement ach other’s strengths, as well as provide the necessary skill sets for running a successful business. The fourth key success factor is that the company identified its business plan early on and held its course throughout the years without deviation to business expansions that would have resulted in higher profits but fewer turnovers. This can be seen in the company’s analys is of the potential of The executive team determined that this entering the tent rental market. market, though highly profitable, would result in time delays and longer turnovers and would split their core business. The team recognised that this split could result in lower profitability and splintering of the core business structure. Rather than expand into a low profit margin business â€Å"tents†, in which the management lacks market expertise, they chose to stick to their initial business plan and focus on their key strengths rather than deviate from the company's set fundamentals. This example illustrates that the company followed its original business plan and complied with its mission and vision from the beginning without deviation. In doing so, the company built a strong foundation and upheld the strength of that foundation. The fifth key success factor identified here is the high quality of service as well as the high quality of the rental equipment provided to clients. The executive team recognised early that they could compete in either price or Tudor Team Five Page 4 quality, and the team chose to compete in quality. Part of this high quality service is seen in the company’s dedication to its clients through its willingness to deliver only one table on short notice if a client is in need. Through high quality service, the company has upheld its networking connections to clients by building strong relationships. This high quality service combined with high quality rental equipment products has allowed the company to obtain a competitive edge over its competition, keep that competitive advantage, and foster strong company/client relationships throughout the years. How has the company performed the past few years? Viewpoint – Independent perspective Be Our Guest, Inc. originated in 1983 and is still thriving in a very competitive and volatile industry 14 years later. Over the past few years the company has shown significant growth. We see that Annual sales revenues have consistently risen from 1994 to 1997 with a Compounded Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 14. 26%. 1997 was an impressive year for the company with a 22. 7% increase in revenues. Gross Margins were very consistent year over year for 1994 through 1997. Gross margins for 1994, 1995, 1996 and 1997 were 53. 9%, 49%, 52. 63% and 55. 5%, respectively. Be Our Guest, Inc. is doing a solid job of keeping the Costs of Revenue in line with the Sales Revenue. It is a positive sign to see this growth, because we can be assured that the company is staying competitive, while not completely giving in to the pricing crunch. Annual Sales Revenue has a strong CAGR, but it is important and concerning to note that the CAGR of total Operating Expenses is higher. It is about 5% higher and this is very important, because Be Our Guest needs to stay in control of its expenses. Tudor Team Five Page 5 The high and increasing Operating expenses are cutting into the Operating margins, which also cuts into the bottom line. Be Our Guest’s balance sheet shows good signs of liquidity. Current Ratios for the past four years have remained above 1 proving that the company can handle its current liabilities. The current ratios are not extremely high (19941. 7, 1995- 2. 17, 1996- 1. 15 and 1997- 1. 16), but they can cover the current liabilities. It is important to note that the company is operating on a thin line because the current assets are barely covering the current liabilities. This is particularly unpleasant because we are dealing with a company operating in a seasonal business. It is a concern that the curren t ratio slightly eroded after 1995, and this is primarily due to Be Our Guest converting the bank line into long term debt in 1995. The current ratio in 1995 is an outlier, because 2. 17 do not accurately represent the company. The quick ratio is the same as the current ratio for Be Our Guest because they do not have inventory for all of the rental equipment is under property and equipment. They display a good working capital position as well, which is another measure of liquidity. Cash position is a concern for we can see in 1994 and 1997 that they actually had an Overdraft, and for 1995 and 1996 cash is not very high. However, this company is in an industry that is more of a receivables business, so the cash position is not a high concern, especially given that it is covering the current liabilities. Since this is a receivables business it is important to look at the Receivables Turnover ratio, and we find that this is quite consistent, however when comparing to the Payables Turnover ratio we see that they are paying out more quickly than they are receiving, which is a problem. In 1995 they are paying out twice on average before collecting. Be Our Guest needs to focus on getting its receivables in a more timely manner. Tudor Team Five Page 6 2. As the bank loan officer, Anne Granger, how would you view this company? What concerns might you have about the business and the lending elationship? What factors provide a source of comfort when considering the credit risk? Anne will look at Be Our Guest, Inc. with both an annual and quarterly perspective really focusing in on the company’s liquidity, leverage and how they will match up to the covenant ratios established. The company is liquid, but it is not extremely liquid. Be Our Guest, Inc. is barely covering the current liabil ities, and from a banks perspective we would want to see that there are not any concerns in this area. If the company is to become insolvent, we want to be able to get our outstanding balance back. We know that Q1 is the worst quarter for the company, and you can see that for Q1 1997 the company displays a current ratio of . 88, which is simply not good, and means that during that quarter they did not have the ability to pay all current liabilities, therefore having to access the line of credit during this quarter. Q1 is also the hardest month for this company to retain its receivables, which can sometimes be the cause for liquidity problems. The top line growth is great to see, especially in the competitive space that the company operates in, but we also need to examine the rest of the income statement. It is concerning to see the Operating Profit Margin as well as the Interest Coverage Ratio declining year over year. Operating Profit Margin shrinking is a negative because it indicates that the company is not controlling its operating expenses. Interest Coverage Ratio is especially concerning because this ratio indicates the ease of paying the interest on the outstanding debt, and Be Our Guest, Inc. may struggle paying the interest down the road if the ratio continues to decline. Note that the company is currently fully capable of paying for the interest on an annual and quarterly Tudor Team Five Page 7 basis, but the trend downward will be noticed. Be Our Guest, Inc. relies on debt to build the business as you can see from the long term debt to equity ratios. However, the ratios are fairly consistent and it drops down to . 43 in 1997. The company is more than capable to cover the interest of this debt as noted earlier. Cash Flow is being adversely affected due to the abnormally large increase (56%) in G during 1997. According to the footnote on page 4 of the case, a company the size of Be Our Guest should have G sales in 1997 closer to $565,718 rather than the $840,718 that was reported. The bank will keep a particular eye on Cash Flow/Debt Service Ratio and Debt/Tangible Net Worth Ratio along with the bottom line, since the covenants include requirements regarding these. The covenants require the Cash Flow/Debt Service ratio to not be less than 1/25:1, and the company is in line with this covenant on an annual basis. However, the company does not satisfy this covenant when looking at the quarterly figures. Debt/Tangible Net Worth cannot be greater than 2. 00:1, and Be Our Guest, Inc. satisfies this covenant on an annual and quarterly basis. According to the covenants, the company can’t incur two consecutive quarters of net losses; nor incur a net loss for any fiscal year. The company did incur a loss in Q1 1997, but followed with a strong Q2 net profit, so the company is in compliance with this covenant as well. Be Our Guest, Inc. is in a seasonal industry, which is a concern, but even more of a concern is the company’s inability to produce projections. We understand that projections may not be extremely accurate, but it is possible to project through the use of confidence intervals. The bank becomes a little more comfortable with the seasonality because they feel that Al Lovata (former Banker) is aware of the risks associated and has a handle on them. Tudor Team Five Page 8 The balance sheet is decent, but it is not incredibly strong because it is barely covering the current liabilities. As a banker we would also be concerned about the customer makeup. Be Our Guest, Inc. relies heavily on two particular customers (Customer A and B), which make up over 21% of the company’s sales. These two customers make up 1/5 of the company’s budget, and I would like to know if the company has any backup plans in case they lost either of these customers and has performed the due diligence required to make sure its major customers are not insolvency risks themselves. Other than these top two customers, it appears that the customer base is spread out appropriately. The strong covenants in place are a source of comfort for the bank. Not only do they have strong covenants, but the bank also has virtually all of the company’s assets pledged and the shareholders guarantee the loan. Given that this is an S Corporation, the shareholders’ personal assets would be safe, but since these shareholders guaranteed the loan, the bank can go after the personal assets of the shareholders. Be Our Guest, Inc. is not a start-up company, and it has been in operation since 1983, so there is a level of comfort knowing that this company has been around for over 10 years and has been remotely successful during this time as well. It has great management in place who each contributes strong and complimentary experiences along with a level of expertise. This company is focused and driven to provide the best service they can within the industry, and they have been rewarded for it with the 1997 Small Business Firm of the Year. While Be Our Guest may not be the greatest risk, there are provisions in place and aspects of the company that make Be Our Guest an acceptable risk for the bank. Tudor Team Five Page 9 3. How much total bank financing will the company need at the end of 1998, including both the short-term borrowing under the bank credit line and the outstanding amount of the term loan? For convenience, assume that 1998 sales are $3,000,000. ) In order to estimate how much total bank financing the company will need at the end of 1998, there are two possible ways of forecasting the financial results in terms of balance sheet and income statement. The analysis must take into account the highly unpredictable, seasonal nature of the business. Due to this seasonality, there is high level of uncertainty whichever forecasting method is applied. The first method is to estimate the future income statement based on a trend or horizontal analysis. In this specific case, a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) for each item on the income statement was calculated for the years 1994-1997. With regards to revenue, $3,000,000 for 1998 was accounted for in the calculation. This analysis shows an increase in G due to the unusual increase in G the previous year (1996-1997) affecting the CAGR in 1998. Consequently, the income statement shows a loss in the Net Earnings when applying this method. The second method is to calculate the costs of revenue based on the percentage impact of each item of cost on the total revenue in 1997 (vertical analysis). This analysis, according to us, seems more logical in itself and also leads to a much more positive outlook for 1998 (Net Earnings of $99,408). The result would be sustainable for the business. Two more steps are necessary to forecast the financing needs for the year 1998: Tudor Team Five Page 10 The first step is repayment of the line of credit for the short-term liabilities ($140,000+$3,498). The second step is better management of the seasonality, especially for quarters 1 and 4 which are the most risky quarters for the business. Given that Net Earnings are around $68,096, the line of credit needs to cover the difference ($75,402). Taking into consideration the seasonality, calculated as operating cash flow (refer to case – covenants), there should be no liquidity problems year-end 1998. The cash flow available at the end of 1998 completely covers the losses in Q1 and Q4. The company should keep the line of credit, because debt is incurred upon the credit line only when used. The management, however, should only use the credit line when absolutely necessary. Finally, the company should convert approximately $75,000 of the $140,000 of the line of credit into long-term debt because it will cost less in terms of interest. In addition, the company should increase the long-term debt accordingly (based on the strategy regarding future investments; see answer to question 4). Assuming that the long-term loan is amortised in a constant manner, with approximately 25% payoff per year as â€Å"current instalment of term note†, shown to be the same figure as 1997 ($75,268) which is calculated based on the term note payable less current instalment of $168,043 for 1998. Tudor Team Five Page 11 Proposed here is a two-step approach for financing the investment: The first step is to obtain another long-term loan of $200,000 to change and improve the phone and IT systems. This will lead to a better position to judge the current market needs to revise and produce a strong strategy for the business in terms of efficiency, profitability and long-term outlook. Once this step is accomplished, by 1999, the company should obtain yet another long-term loan. Regarding the possibility of an acquisition, if Be Our Guest makes an acquisition, it can do so through a leveraged-buyout. Therefore, taking on the debt of the company being acquired and funding the other part of the acquisition by selling part of the equity of Be Our Guest (Following the financial restructuring and the increase in efficiency the value of the stock will increase). Asking for a loan for an acquisition today would not be reasonable, nor is it likely that the bank would agree to issue the loan. Currently, the financial ratios of the company do not justify an acquisition. Therefore, starting off with a smaller loan to improve the company running in terms of efficiency and infrastructure will be of greater value. In total the company should take the following long-term loans: $75,000 (line of credit converted into long-term loan) $200,000 (investment) $168,000 (outstanding long-term loan) Total long-term loans in the Balance Sheet by end of 1998: $443,000 As already mentioned before, the line of credit should remain available at the same level as before ($140,000) since it is only paid for if used (expected 1998: fully available). Tudor Team Five Page 12 4. What should Al Lovata and Simone Williamson ask for when talking with the bank? If the company needs additional bank financing, should the increase be provided by an increase in the credit line, or should the size of the term loan be increased to meet the need? Should they ask for some relaxation or change in the loan covenants, particularly the personal guarantees that they have provided at the bank’s request? Al Lovata and Simone Wiliamson should approach Anne Granger in a confident way. Be Our Guest’s balance sheet is fairly strong and fairly liquid, the income statement shows signs of growth and the company is generally doing well. Hence Be Our Guest can take a confident stand to discuss the covenants openly with the bank in order to reach some relaxation on the strict terms. They need to work with the bank to: *lower the rate *review the requirements of personal guarantees for the loan Be our Guest Inc. can consider the possibility of going to another bank if State Street holds their ground on these strict covenants Considering the current and past status of the balance sheets and income statements it is realistic to assume that Be Our Guest, Inc. would not have much difficulty to find a new lender who would agree on different, more relaxed terms of covenants. The company mainly needs the line of credit to finance the seasonal effects of Q1, which could be reduced by a solid growth or expansion plan or merely revising the company’s HR strategy regarding the full-time staff during Q1. Tudor Team Five Page 13 For example, they could reduce the staff’s hours, which would keep them on a full-time employment base but would reduce the G costs for this particular quarter; or they could put the full-time staff on a strategic rotation plan which incorporates the poor business of quarter 1 but leaves options in case of unexpected business in this time period which would also reduce the general G costs and still leave the company in a good position to handle short-term notice business. Regarding the interest for outstanding borrowings on the credit line as well as the interest for the long-term loan, it has been reliably covered and there is no immediate reason to believe that this will change. Any future increase of the long-term loan to drive the growth of the company in terms of business expansion or increasing assets can only be interpreted in a positive way seeing that the revenues have shown to increase with all previous growth-measures. State Street bank should recognise the company’s solid management foundations and the well-going business over the past years and keep their good standing with Be Our Guest, Inc. Lovata and Williamson want to be prepared for future growth. The way to growth has been identified in two possible options, completing an acquisition or expanding their product line. Both of these strategies need to be supported by a consistent long term plan in order to finance their investment needs. Pertaining to this reason, for funding their growth they should ask the bank to extend their long term lend (clearly cheaper than a revolving credit) and moreover ask to re-negotiate the interest rate (too high especially to be a â€Å"prime rate†). Additionally each growth plan in the first few years needs patience and flexibility in terms of managing losses, therefore it would be crucial to review Tudor Team Five Page 14 at least part of the current covenants, like prohibiting two consecutive quarters of net losses and avoiding a net loss for any fiscal year. Taking into account that they are in a good financial position and that the extra money they would need is for future expansions and growth of the company, refinancing its existing debt to obtain better terms, could be quite reasonable. Moreover the company has a fairly strong balance sheet and profitable growth, so it has plenty of bargaining power to negotiate a better deal with the bank. The only negative item is given by the decrease in the last 4 years of the â€Å"net income†, but again it is an issue suggested by a covenant (distribute more than 50% of the earnings to the principals). It is probably the most useless and most dangerous of the list as it is leading the owners to distribute the profit thereby increasing the G costs. Definitely, another crucial aspect is about liquidity pain, especially for an already seasoned business as that of â€Å"Be Our Guest†. In this case they should consider converting some of their revolving credit to term debt (cheaper) making line of credit available, which is currently fully used (coherently to the 1998 expected cash position, answer 3). In this sense the best deal for â€Å"Be Our Guest† might be to invest in a business that generates revenue during current slow seasons and eases the firm's reliance on credit for working capital. Thus even if the tents business could be apparently external to the â€Å"Be Our Guest† business model this business expansion should be taken into consideration. It is not only a new source of profit but will also enable profits for the current business in the slow seasons (tents are mainly set off in the rainy and cold seasons like fall and winter). However, they should be able to distinguish between long term debt and short term line of credit, using the first one for investments and the second one to manage liquidity pain periods. Tudor Team Five Page 15 Leaving aside its convenience in general, the nature of the long-term debt, makes the development of the financial plan easier by providing the exact future payment scheme. On the contrary the line of credit is extremely useful to manage liquidity pain periods but should be paid back quickly or converted in term loan. Finally while refinanced bank loans for now may be adequate to finance the company, it may not be enough for future plans and therefore curb the expansion (current debt/tangible worth ratio is already higher than 1). They should consider a different way of raising funds e. g. from selling equity. Reviewing the personal guarantees is fundamental in order to attract new investor and to manage the company differently. Be Our Guest was created as a business idea and for many years ran more like a family business but now it is a profitable firm that should be managed in terms of efficiency and profitability. This leads to two necessary actions: one by the State Bank, to get rid of the covenant including the personal guarantee of the loan by the management; and second by Be Our Guest, Inc. to review their company status. In terms of the State Bank, it will be essential to convince Anne Granger to remove the covenant regarding the guarantee for the long-term loan. From the point of view of the management of Be our Guest, Inc. they need to review their company status. Only when they successfully separate the business from the family-business approach on which terms Be Our Guest, Inc. as founded, they can attract future investors. Tudor Team Five Page 16 Exhibit 1 – Annual Income Statements (1994-1997) Tudor Team Five Page 17 Exhibit 2 – Annual Balance Sheets (1994-1997) Tudor Team Five Page 18 Exhibit 3 – Quarterly Income Statements 1997 Tudor Team Five Page 19 Exhibit 4 – Quarterly Balance Sheets 1997 Tudor Team Five Page 20 Exhibit 5 – Forecasting Tudor Team Five Page 21 Exhibit 6 – Annual Ratios Tudor Team Five Page 22 Exhibit 7 – Quarterly Ratios Tudor Team Five Page 23

TerraCog

Terracotta management failed to respond to competition in its market. Although competitor introduced a new GAPS with satellite imagery to the market, Terracotta team dismissed the threat and decided not to take a responsive action. However, quickly the new GAPS succeed and gained a significant market share. Eventually, Terracotta president decided to pursue a development of a directly competing product, and named the project Aerial. Unfortunately, the projected high costs of this project questioned its profitability and doubt its wisdom.The key managers of the company were not able to decide whether to execute the project or not, and Emma Richardson, the new executive vice-president, needed to push the group toward a decision. The analysis we have done indicates that Terracotta case is an outcome of two major problems. The first problem is the existence of a poor decision making process, and the second is the lack of departmental cooperation and harmony. Alternative Courses of Action : We believe that Richardson should postpone the launch of Aerial, and focus on creating a more efficient decision making process and increasing departmental cooperation.Since time is crucial in this case, we see a need to decrease the time of decision making process and re-defining communication channels between the departments. We also argue that the size of this team as well as the fact that the teammates came from four different departments created complex communication channels that slowed down decision making. In this case, small groups can undertake better the urgent tasks. Hence, we think that Richardson should break the complex process of launching a new product into micro-processes.We believe that by brainstorming with the heads of every department separately, defining criteria and performance tankards, and listening to each team's requirements and reservations, Richardson will be able to clarify for the teams their importance to the company and motivate them to act toward the company's goal. Commitment to a common goal is more easily achieved if the number of team members is small (Essentials for an Effective Team, To keep the work on track and to increase departmental cooperation, 2006).Richardson should conduct update meetings every other week with all the departments' heads. The agenda of these wide department meetings should be clear and exclude decisions making. The different decisions should be made within smaller groups that include only the relevant teams. To increase harmony among the departments, Richardson can open department wide meetings with a short speech about similar past experiences of the company to remind the teams how they worked well together and performed successfully when they cooperated.Recalling past experiences may increase sense of belonging and help to put the big picture in mind before discussing current issues. Moreover, Richardson can invite the teams' mangers to have lunch together before department wide meetings. So cializing with each other right before getting to business can cool things down, ease the tension, and increase departmental cooperation. We believe that if the heads of the different departments will understand the importance and the needs of other departments, working together will become easier and more efficient.Another way to increase departmental cooperation is by sharing information on the processes each department went through. For example, while discussing the price of a new product, Tony could provide specific details regarding production's costs to explain why further lowering of costs is impossible. While this alternative might be time consuming, sharing information can help the teams to understand better the different points of view of the different departments. Recommended Course of Action: We believe that a combination of the alternatives above would be the best way to address the situation in this case.First, we recommend postponing the launch of the current prototyp e. Launching Aerial on its current form will damage the company's reputation and can lead the company to a big loss. We assume that if Aerial wont provide its users a significant advantage, customers wouldn't pay more than the Bird's price to buy it. Second, in order to accelerate the decision making process, Richardson should redesign the current communication channels in the company. Decisions need to be made in smaller teams, and wide department meetings need to be designated for updates only.Third, to increase departmental cooperation and harmony, Richardson should establish a process of sharing information between the departments. Furthermore, structuring time for socializing can ease the stress and increase harmony among the departments. We believe that this alternative course of action will lead to minimum damage in Terracotta position, ND allow the company to improve its productivity and ability to respond faster to competition in the future. Implementation: First, Richardso n should invite all the people who were present in the last two meetings to announce her decision.This meeting should be friendly and short, and most important, clear and motivating. Richardson should open the meeting with demonstrating an appreciation for the hard work done by all the departments. Then, the announcement of her decision to postpone the launch of Aerial should be followed by a short explanation about the upcoming changes: From now on, once a week, every department should email a rife description of the progress they made at the past week to the entire company.This weekly update emails will enable an efficient way to share information between the departments. In addition, wide department meetings will take place every other week, and once a month these meetings will include a friendly lunch prior to the meeting. After the meeting, Richardson should meet with the heads of design and development department. In this meeting, they need to agree and define the requirements to develop a product that is superior to the Birds, on minimum costs and time, and draw a realistic schedule to move forward.Now, when the new product is in its first stages of creation, and there is a general idea of what specifications and characteristics it will have, as well as an expected time for launching, Richardson should meet with the UP of Sales, to create marketing plan for the new product. The production team will work alone on costs estimating for the new product, and the sales team in consultation with finance department will determine a pricing and develop a â€Å"go- to market† plan. Moreover, Richardson should set clear limits to the continuance of commitment to the project for every department.Determining what criteria and performance standards Justify continued investment in the project can help the team avoid escalation of commitment (Team Decision Making Pitfalls and Solutions, n. D). Whenever disagreements on to what level the teams should commit to a specific task will arose, they could refer to the performance's standards and make a decision accordingly. The process will be managed by Richardson from the top, and the heads of every department will make decisions that are relevant to their departments' areas of knowledge and responsibility, and report to Richardson, who ill manage the whole process. TerraCog Terracotta management failed to respond to competition in its market. Although competitor introduced a new GAPS with satellite imagery to the market, Terracotta team dismissed the threat and decided not to take a responsive action. However, quickly the new GAPS succeed and gained a significant market share. Eventually, Terracotta president decided to pursue a development of a directly competing product, and named the project Aerial. Unfortunately, the projected high costs of this project questioned its profitability and doubt its wisdom.The key managers of the company were not able to decide whether to execute the project or not, and Emma Richardson, the new executive vice-president, needed to push the group toward a decision. The analysis we have done indicates that Terracotta case is an outcome of two major problems. The first problem is the existence of a poor decision making process, and the second is the lack of departmental cooperation and harmony. Alternative Courses of Action : We believe that Richardson should postpone the launch of Aerial, and focus on creating a more efficient decision making process and increasing departmental cooperation.Since time is crucial in this case, we see a need to decrease the time of decision making process and re-defining communication channels between the departments. We also argue that the size of this team as well as the fact that the teammates came from four different departments created complex communication channels that slowed down decision making. In this case, small groups can undertake better the urgent tasks. Hence, we think that Richardson should break the complex process of launching a new product into micro-processes.We believe that by brainstorming with the heads of every department separately, defining criteria and performance tankards, and listening to each team's requirements and reservations, Richardson will be able to clarify for the teams their importance to the company and motivate them to act toward the company's goal. Commitment to a common goal is more easily achieved if the number of team members is small (Essentials for an Effective Team, To keep the work on track and to increase departmental cooperation, 2006).Richardson should conduct update meetings every other week with all the departments' heads. The agenda of these wide department meetings should be clear and exclude decisions making. The different decisions should be made within smaller groups that include only the relevant teams. To increase harmony among the departments, Richardson can open department wide meetings with a short speech about similar past experiences of the company to remind the teams how they worked well together and performed successfully when they cooperated.Recalling past experiences may increase sense of belonging and help to put the big picture in mind before discussing current issues. Moreover, Richardson can invite the teams' mangers to have lunch together before department wide meetings. So cializing with each other right before getting to business can cool things down, ease the tension, and increase departmental cooperation. We believe that if the heads of the different departments will understand the importance and the needs of other departments, working together will become easier and more efficient.Another way to increase departmental cooperation is by sharing information on the processes each department went through. For example, while discussing the price of a new product, Tony could provide specific details regarding production's costs to explain why further lowering of costs is impossible. While this alternative might be time consuming, sharing information can help the teams to understand better the different points of view of the different departments. Recommended Course of Action: We believe that a combination of the alternatives above would be the best way to address the situation in this case.First, we recommend postponing the launch of the current prototyp e. Launching Aerial on its current form will damage the company's reputation and can lead the company to a big loss. We assume that if Aerial wont provide its users a significant advantage, customers wouldn't pay more than the Bird's price to buy it. Second, in order to accelerate the decision making process, Richardson should redesign the current communication channels in the company. Decisions need to be made in smaller teams, and wide department meetings need to be designated for updates only.Third, to increase departmental cooperation and harmony, Richardson should establish a process of sharing information between the departments. Furthermore, structuring time for socializing can ease the stress and increase harmony among the departments. We believe that this alternative course of action will lead to minimum damage in Terracotta position, ND allow the company to improve its productivity and ability to respond faster to competition in the future. Implementation: First, Richardso n should invite all the people who were present in the last two meetings to announce her decision.This meeting should be friendly and short, and most important, clear and motivating. Richardson should open the meeting with demonstrating an appreciation for the hard work done by all the departments. Then, the announcement of her decision to postpone the launch of Aerial should be followed by a short explanation about the upcoming changes: From now on, once a week, every department should email a rife description of the progress they made at the past week to the entire company.This weekly update emails will enable an efficient way to share information between the departments. In addition, wide department meetings will take place every other week, and once a month these meetings will include a friendly lunch prior to the meeting. After the meeting, Richardson should meet with the heads of design and development department. In this meeting, they need to agree and define the requirements to develop a product that is superior to the Birds, on minimum costs and time, and draw a realistic schedule to move forward.Now, when the new product is in its first stages of creation, and there is a general idea of what specifications and characteristics it will have, as well as an expected time for launching, Richardson should meet with the UP of Sales, to create marketing plan for the new product. The production team will work alone on costs estimating for the new product, and the sales team in consultation with finance department will determine a pricing and develop a â€Å"go- to market† plan. Moreover, Richardson should set clear limits to the continuance of commitment to the project for every department.Determining what criteria and performance standards Justify continued investment in the project can help the team avoid escalation of commitment (Team Decision Making Pitfalls and Solutions, n. D). Whenever disagreements on to what level the teams should commit to a specific task will arose, they could refer to the performance's standards and make a decision accordingly. The process will be managed by Richardson from the top, and the heads of every department will make decisions that are relevant to their departments' areas of knowledge and responsibility, and report to Richardson, who ill manage the whole process.

Analysis Of The Book 1984 By George Orwell - 1088 Words

1984 The book that I chose for my first book report was 1984 by George Orwell. The story begins by introducing a man named, Winston Smith, a simple man from the country known as Oceania. He lives in a small flat within London, on the Island known as Airstrip One. Winston is a part of the outer party, which is a part of the ruling party within Oceania, and is a low ranking member who works for the Ministry of Truth as a propaganda officer. The people of the ruling party are constantly being watched, and their actions and thoughts are under strict control by the government. Thoughts specifically are very important to the party and the thought police, a policing agency that analyzes individual’s thoughts, and are dedicated to controlling what party members think about. Winston makes a conscious choice to go against them by beginning his own personal journal and starts his journey of rebellion against the party. As a propaganda officer within the Ministry of Truth he works to control a ll information that circulates within Oceania. While working at the Ministry of Truth Winston encounters a man named O’Brien who interests him very much, and he begins to believe that he and O’Brien share similar views towards the party. As Winston continues to work and live in London he also begins to run into a dark-haired girl several times at work, and while he is wondering through the city. This peaks his interest and he soon becomes suspicious of this, because he believes she may be a spy orShow MoreRelatedAnalysis Of The Book 1984 By George Orwell1362 Words   |  6 PagesKathie Tejada Professor Antonio Tomà ¡s Guerrero Dà ­az COLI 214B 1984 This novel, 1984, is a dystopia and takes place in Oceania where people live in a totalitarian society. The author, George Orwell, wrote this as if he was looking into the future and what it was going to turn in to. This group of people, called The Party, have control over everything and everyone, and they have a leader, known as Big Brother, who is everywhere throughout the novel and the people look up to him. They invented a languageRead MoreAnalysis Of The Book 1984 By George Orwell1084 Words   |  5 Pages1984 was written by British author George Orwell. The main character is an average man by the name of Winston Smith. Winston does not agree with the ideals of the party; this gets him arrested by the thought police. 1984 proclaims what could happen if people just let the government do all their thinking for them. 1.In the world of 1984, what is considered orthodox is not the same as the actual world. In the book in order to be considered orthodox one must never question the party or have any individualRead MoreAnalysis Of The Book 1984 By George Orwell1493 Words   |  6 Pagessteadily bringing us closer to the world of Big Brother because the government has the ability to collect information from devices that are constantly being in use such as cell phones, televisions, and computers without our consent. In the book entitled 1984, George Orwell reveals how Oceania was a world where no one could be trusted; an action as simple as thinking was considered a violation of the law and you could be arrested for it. Individuals were living in a society where their own thoughts, evenRead MoreAnalysis Of The Book 1984 By George Orwell1288 Words   |  6 PagesControlled freedom Present day society is very much like society in the book 1984. Although, some of the procedures have diminished slightly, they still do exist, and are still current in today’s society. it’s a shame that most people fail to see that our â€Å"free† nation is actually still controlled. we are being manipulated in such a manner that we do not see by propaganda, media, lies, and yes even torture. Many citizens can say that here in America we are free nation or have freedom, but do weRead MoreAnalysis Of The Book 1984 By George Orwell968 Words   |  4 PagesThe book, 1984 by George Orwell, is about the external and internal conflicts that take place between the two main characters, Winston and Big Brother and how the two government ideas of Democracy and totalitarianism take place within the novel. Orwell wrote the novel around the idea of communism/totalitarianism and how society would be like if it were to take place. In Orwell’s mind democracy and comm unism created two main characters, Winston and Big Brother. Big Brother represents the idea ofRead MoreAnalysis Of The Book 1984 By George Orwell1029 Words   |  5 PagesThe novel 1984, written by George Orwell, depicts a horrendous future in which the citizens of the tyrannous state of Oceania live under unceasing surveillance. The mysterious character of Big Brother serves as the leader of this dystopian society while members of the Party work for total power over the general public. Telescreens are installed in every room for constant investigation, language is continuously modified, and extreme actions are made in order to achieve the end goal of absolute controlRead MoreAnalysis Of The Book 1984 By George Orwell1253 Words   |  6 Pagesno point of trying to live a regular life. In the book 1984 by George Orwell nearly everyone in the book is brainwashed and given a lot of false information. Winston and other characters only provide a little bit of hope. With a little bit of hope in the brainwashed world there is still absolutely no chance for any recovery unless the upper management screws up. This hope provides nearly no chance of humanity going back to normal. In the book, 1984, Big Brother is watching over everyone at all timesRead MoreAnalysis Of The Book 1984 By George Orwell2321 Words   |  10 Pagespossible crime, thoughtcrime. In the novel â€Å"1984†, by George Orwell, Winston Smith rebelles passively against the idea of living in a complete uniform world under Big Brother’s dreadful surveillance. Thought crime’s impact on the novel’s population is devastating, so much so that it is somewhat hard to picture today’s society in its place. The sad reality is that thoughtcrime does impact the lives of the people in today’s society to some extent as it does in the book. The level of punishment for such a crimeRead MoreAnalysis Of The Book 1984 By George Orwell1092 Words   |  5 Pages and opinio ns of its citizens; therefore removing the difference between state and society. The goal of a totalitarian government is to replace the existing society with a perfect one. In the novel â€Å"1984† by George Orwell, Big Brother is a dominant figure in the ways which he controls Oceania. Orwell portrays a society with a government that oversees and influences each facet of human life to the point that even having an unfaithful thought that is in disagreement with the law is forbidden. Big BrotherRead MoreAnalysis Of The Book 1984 By George Orwell930 Words   |  4 Pages The book 1984 was filled with constant rebellion from one individual known as Winston Smith who does not believe in the â€Å"Party† and would much rather join the â€Å"Brotherhood† where he can oppose the Party. While in Divergent, Beatrice Prior is loyal and compliant with her government until she learns that she is a rare type of human known as a divergent and poses a threat to her governme nt. These two stories while incredibly different have many similarities as well. Both stories are about people trying