Corporate Financial Analysis Of Pfizer Finance Essay

Corporate Financial Analysis Of Pfizer Finance Essay Pfizer, is the worlds largest research-based pharmaceutical company, founded in 1849. The company is headquartered in Midtown Manhattan, New York, with its research headquarters in Groton, Connecticut. Ian Read is the president and CEO of Pfizer. And other important officers are these following people. (Table 1) The Company manages its operations through five segments: Primary Care; Specialty Care and Oncology; Established Products and Emerging Markets; Animal Health and Consumer Healthcare, and Nutrition. The Companys diversified global healthcare portfolio includes human and animal biologic, small molecule medicines and vaccines, as well as nutritional and consumer healthcare products. Pfizer produces many house hold famous medicine like Lipitor, Viagra and Celebrex. Pfizer has 103,700 employees and in No. 81 of Carbon Disclosure Rating. And here are some important data. (Table 2)In the highly competitive pharmaceutical industry, Pfizer has these main competitors: Ankur Drugs and Pharma Ltd. and Bayer. 1.2 Analyst Coverage 1.2.1 Analyst Opinion This table (1.1) shows the analyst opinion to recommendation trends. We can see strong buy and buy both have a high score while the other three have a very low score. It suggests that investors to buy this stock but do not suggest long-term hold. 1.2. 2 Analyst Estimate Here these two tables show the analyst estimate on Pfizer. They are just a part of the analyst estimate. Earnings history (1.2) shows that the difference between EPS Estimate and EPS actual is very small. So the estimate was quite accurate. 1.2.3 Price Target Summary The recent stock price of PFE is about $22.56. This price is a little lower than the price target in table (1.3). It does not mean it is not good. At least this price is higher than its low target. Pfizers stock is not bad and still have chance to perform better. 1.3 Analysis of Pfizers financial statements 1.3.1 Balance Sheet Analysis In general, the total amount of the assets of Pfizer decreased from 212.949 million (in 2009) to 188.002 million (in 2011). This may because Pfizer wanted to give up unattractive investments and focused on its innovation core. Total liabilities decreased continuously. It indicates Pfizers ability of repayment of debt was not bad. Current liabilities decreased 1.98% from 2010 to 2011 and 23.1% from 2009 to 2010. Changes of total liabilities were similar. On stockholders equity, its total number also decreased as the result of its decrease of total assets. Due to the decrease in total assets, the stockholders equity decreased 6.4% from 2011 to 2010 and 2.4% from 2010 to 2009. (Graph 1) We can calculate Debt-Equity Ratio, Current Ratio, and Quick Ratio in 3 years. (Table 3) As we can see from the table 1, Pfizers financial situation in 2011 was not bad. 1.3.2 Income Statement Analysis In 2011, total revenue was 67.425 million, a 0.54% increase over 2010 and a 36.85% increase over 2009. Operating income in 2011 was 12.762 million and net income was 10.009 million, both of them increased. Gross profit was not very obvious but we can find a sharp increase from 2009 to 2010. (Graph 2) In 2011, ratio of gross profit and total revenue was 77.63%. Operating expenses of total revenue proportion in three years were around 60%. It shows Pfizers ability of controlling in operating expenses was better in 2010 and 2009. (Table 4) Graph 3 shows that changes in gross margin, operating margin, net profit margin, ROA and ROE. The companys operating conditions were very stable. (Graph 3) 1.3.3 Cash Flow Analysis Here is a table shows that three years cash flows of three kinds of activities. (Table 3) In 2009, cash flows from operating activities were 16.587 million and in 2010. If investing activities cant bring enough money to make up cash outflows, cash flows from investing activities would be negative. In 2011, Pfizers cash flows from investing activities were 2.2 million. Pfizers investments were effective and they created a positive cash flow and can create profit. (Table 4) Generally speaking, the larger the cash flows from financing activities the more pressure of debt the company will be faced with. We can see in 2010 and 2011, Pfizers was under huge pressure. All in all, Pfizer has a good financial situation. 1.4 Summary of Pfizers Challenges 2011 was generally a good year for Pfizer, Inc. Revenues increased 1%, Net income also had significant gains. However, the company still faces diverse challenges from many aspects, which can have a long term impact on Pfizers performance. U.S. Healthcare Legislation Enacted Since 2010 It brought two negative influences: 1. A $648 million reduction to Revenues, related to higher, extended and expanded rebate provisions and the Medicare coverage gap discount provision. 2. An extra $248 million expense in informational, sales and administrative, related to the fee payable charged by the federal government. Loss of Expiration of Intellectual Property Rights It can be an adverse factor and decline total revenues. When the patent protection has expired, Pfizer loses exclusivity on these products and generic pharmaceutical manufacturers can produce similar products and sell them for a lower price. Problems in Productivity and Regulatory Environment Pfizer devoted significant resources to research and development; these activities involve a high risk and may take many years to transfer research achievements into products. Besides, there is no assurance that the development of any particular product will achieve desired clinical success, be approved by regulators and commercially. If Pfizer failed, sunk costs lost, which can be a huge loss. 1.4.4 Pfizer is Under Pressures of Pricing and Access Governments, healthcare organizations and other payer groups implement price controls and require price cuts in order to pay less in purchasing Pfizers products. There were government regulated price reductions for certain products beginning in 2011. Whats more, health insurance and social welfare plans continue to limit access to some of Pfizers medicines by setting restrictions in the increased use of generics. 1.4.5 Challenges from Poor Macroeconomic Environment We believe that with high unemployment rate and increases in co-pays, patients tend to buy generics, delay treatments, skip doses or use less effective treatments to reduce costs. During 2011, portions of the revenues are exposed to fluctuations in foreign exchange rate. Pfizer need to seek appropriate management in foreign exchange rate risk as it operates in multiple foreign currencies 2. Stock Price Analysis 2.1 Track Pfizers Stock Price in the Last 3 Years 2.1.1 2009(Graph 4) We can find that the stock price continued going down from Jan. to Mar. However, it went up until the end of the year. Stock price in Mar is the lowest all the year and the stock price at the beginning of the year and the end of the year are almost the highest. The highest is nearly $19, and the lowest is less than $12. 2.1.2 2010(Graph 5) The chart show us that the stock price in 2010. Generally speaking, the stock price went down from Jan to Jul. We can see the stock price in Jul is the lowest number throughout the year, and it was 14.14 dollars per unit. After Jul, the stock price gradually rose. But between Aug and Sep, the stock price experienced a decline within a narrow range. This circumstance also happened between Nov and Dec. The highest price occurred in Jan, and it was 20.00 dollars per unit. 2.1.3 2011(Graph 6) It seems that the chart of 2011 was a little complex. From Jan to Jun the general momentum of the stock price was up though a few small declines. From Jun to Aug, the number experienced a decline by a large margin after Aug, the statistics generally rose up though some declines. The highest price was 21.83 dollar per unit in Dec, and the lowest price was in Aug, and the number was 16.66 dollar per unit. 2.2 Calculate Stock Price of the Company To calculate the stock price of the company, I will use the formula EPSÃÆ'-P/E=P. EPS=NI/ SO. I will calculate the stock price of the company in 2012. (Graph 7) 1. Highest and lowest PE Ratio in 2009 are 14.79 and 11.45, so the average ratio is 13.12. 2. The 2 ratios in 2010 are 23.52 and 13.58, so the average is 18.55. 3. The 2 ratios in 2011 are 19.34 and 12.28, so the average ratio is 15.81. (Graph 8) The EPS in 2009, 2010 and 2011 are 1.235, 1.205, 1.255. According to P=EPSÃÆ'-P/E, stock price in 2009, 2010, 2011 are 16.20 ¼Ã…’22.35 ¼Ã…’19.84. 2.3 Assessment of the Current Stock Price According to the Income statement, PFE has earnings per share of 1.27, the average P/E is $17.81, estimate a value of PFE using P/E as a valuation multiple. Thus, P=$1.27*17.80=$22.6060B It assumes that PFE will have similar future risk. Assuming NVS is comparable to PFE in term of its underlying business NVS has earnings per share of $3.55, the average P/E is $15.39, under the same assumption, P=$3.55*15.39=$54.6345B. Compare to the two major competitors, PFE share price is relatively low. According to Income Statement, PFE has EBITDA of $27.56B and has an enterprise value to EBITDA multiple of $6.71, shares outstanding of 7.54B and debt of $38.96B Enterprise value would be V=$27.56B*6.71=$184.9276, estimate PFEs share price: P=(184.9276-38.96)/7.54=$19.2361. As this estimation is based on enterprise value, it is more reliable than the first one. It is overvalued obviously when its stock price being $22.66 per share. Similarly, NVS has EBITDA of $17.05, enterprise value to EBITDA multiple of 8.81, shares outstanding of $2.42 and debt of $24.59. NVS share price would be: P=(17.05*8.81-24.59)/2.42=$51.9093 As Comparables only provide information regarding the value of a firm relative to other firms in the comparison set, using multiples will not help us determine if an entire industry is overvalued. According to the research, PFE share price is much less than NVS, I would suggest that PFE is relatively less deserving investment. According to the Balance Sheet, dividend paid is $6.234. , it is easy to get the dividend paid annually: Div=$6.234/7.54=$0.8268 The share price is $22.66, suppose investors hope the constant dividend growth model would based on a 4% growth rate, we would estimate a stock price of P=0.8268/(0.4811-0.04)=$1.8744 We can calculate the growth rate: g=r-Div/P=0.4811-o.8268/22.66=1.16%. Investors would feel disappointed if invest in PFE as the growth rate is relative lower than he/her expectations. 2.4 Value of Pfizers Stock Price Compared with Competitors From statistics online, we can know that the 52week range of Pfizer is 16.63-23.3, Roches is 115.1-169.2, and Eli Lilys is 33.75-42.03. Obviously, the stock price of Roche changes the most, the changed absolute amount of 54.1. A risk lover may prefer this kind of stock because it can change by a larger scale, and if we can seek this opportunity well, huge profits can be achieved. Compared with Roche, Pfizer stock has a large advantage. The change scope of Pfizer stock is not big, which indicates that it is relatively stable, and a risk-averse may prefer this kind stock. The perceived benefit of any gain is outweighed by the perceived cost of an equivalent loss. Most people are risk-averse, so Pfizer stock has an excellent competitive advantage and suitable to hold for a long time. Besides, to compare the value of the stock price, analyzing the P/E ratio is the most traditional method. Pfizer earned $1.24 per share last year and the stock is trading at 22.38, so the stock has a P/E ratio of approximately 18.05-to-1.Similarly, the P/E ratio of Roche is 15.04, the P/E ratio of Eli Lily and Company is 10.7. Generally, the lower the P/E ratio, the better value the stock represents. Thus, in this case Pfizer is less competitive than his competitor, Roche and Eli Lily and Company. 2.5 Beta of Pfizer and Comparison with Its Competitors The beta of Pfizer is 0.64, the beta of Roche is 0.66, and the beta of Eli Lily and Company is 0.37. Beta is a risk index, can be used to measure fluctuation of one stock price relative to the whole stock market. The bigger the absolute amount, the larger the change of profit .The stock of Pfizer and its competitors, Roche and Eli Lily and Company, all can be regarded as low risk stocks. 3. Summary 3.1 Major Developments of Pfizer during 1Q of 2012 During the 1st quarter of 2012, Pfizers revenues were $15.4 billion, a decline of 7% compared with $16.5 billion in the year-ago quarter and the unfavorable impact of foreign exchange of $57 million, or less than 1%. Established products unit revenues increased 17% in comparison with prior year period, obviously driven by recent launches of generic versions of some products. Revenues of Lipitor were $383 million, which made a great contribution to the company. In addition, revenues were positively influenced by the entry of multi-source generic competition in the U.S. Emerging markets unit revenues grew 9% due to continued demand growth in China, Russia and Mexico. In animal health unit, revenues increased 6%, primarily due to the purchase of King Pharmaceuticals. Nutrition unit revenues gained 8%, created by making benefits from the launch of successful new products, increased marketing activities and overall strength in emerging markets, especially China. Pfizers first-quarter 2012 financial performance is pleased; however, it still faces fierce competition from other companies. Pfizer need to focus its problems in exclusivity and financial management. 3.2 Summary of All We Have Learnt About Pfizer Pfizer is better than others. It could be name recognition, innovation, market share or any other attributes that makes a company stand out from the herd. From what has been discussed, we may draw the conclusion that there are three ideas to contribute the success of Pfizer. Innovation creates success and being innovative in your business is one of the keys to being successful. Innovation is the introduction of new processes, new ways of doing things and revolutionizing how things have been accomplished previously. The most surprising thing is Pfizer cannot research an influential drug independently in the past 10 years of 20 century. Although it invested huge amount of money in R D, it seems more like a marketing company. Throughout Pfizers development in recent years, its success can be summed up that use the advantage of large-scale and well-capitalized to strengthen the ability in value chain in marketing. Through buying mature technology, products and combination new companies, building alliance with competitors to consolidate its market share. Giving full play to the enthusiasm of its medical representatives, integrating the advantages of its marketing network, and enhancing core competitiveness, thus achieve a leading position in the industry. In conclusion, Pfizer is a rare example of successful combination of R D and marketing strategies in international pharmaceutical companies. 3.3 Should We Buy Pfizers Stock or Not Pfizer has a good ability in finance, improved control in operation. For big investors, I would recommend Pfizer, which requires low risk, stable growing dividends, and long term return. Despite Pfizer stock price is relative lower than its competitors, big investors can gain large amount of cash by purchasing large amount of shares. However, I will not recommend Pfizer to retail investors. It would not be wise to invest in a company which may take years to transfer research investments into product profits. Higher return indicates higher risk; it would be too risky for retail investors to take the gamble. Quick money never stays too long. Appendices Table 1: Table 2: Table 3: 2011 2010 2009 Debt-Equity Ratio 0.563 0.550 0.577 Current Ratio 2.057 2.131 1.657 Quick Ratio 1.780 1.842 1.323 Table 4: 2011 2010 2009 Operating activities 20,240,000 11,454,000 16,587,000 Investing activities 2,200,000 (492,000) (31,272,000) Financing activities (20,607,000) (11,174,000) 14,481,000 Graph 1: Graph 2: Graph 3: Graph 4: Graph 5: Graph 6: Graph 7: Graph 8: Tables: (1.1) (1.2) (1.3)

Microeconomics in my Life

The role of microeconomics in every person’s life is enormous; therefore, it is very important to study it. The objects of microeconomics surround us all the time. Microeconomics studies the aspects of functioning of all companies, and we deal with various companies throughout our lives. I shop for food and clothes in stores, go to movie theaters to see popular movies, buy stationary at Home Depot, transfer funds through banks. All of these companies function according to certain laws, which are all studied in microeconomics. My favorite brand of car is Toyota, and microeconomics is able to determine what the most efficient volume of production for the company is. It is able to give the managers an answer to the question of what the most efficient combination of their resources should be, i.e., how many employees they should employ, how many materials they should get from suppliers and many other issues. We constantly have to go shopping, and deal with prices which are established according to supply and demand, cost of production and other factors. Whenever the price of tomatoes in the store goes to the roof, we usually see a note in the store that the crops in Florida turned out not as large as it was predicted or that the hurricanes destroyed all of the crops. Even though the same tomatoes cost half the price just a short time ago, we realize that the law of supply and demand has been efficiently applied here. The demand for tomatoes remained the same, but the supply decreased dramatically and thus prices were destined to increase. I also deal with the concept of elasticity all of the time. Companies never make discounts on products the demand for which is inelastic because the volume of sales is going to remain stable anyway. Therefore, there is usually hardly a chance for me to get such products for a lower price. However, I am always a good shopper when it comes to products with high elasticity because companies decrease their prices on such items from time to time to attract more customers. For example, there is always a chance to buy some clothes on sale. I deal with the concept of utility all of the time in my life as well. Some of the products have a high level of utility for me, and I am going to buy them at any price because I am simply unable to live without them. For example, DVD’s of my favorite movies are extremely valuable for me, and I am ready to pay any money to be able to see my favorite actor or actress. At the same time, some items have a very low utility for me, and only low price on such items is able to attract me. I am the type of person who always judges products by their utility for me and not by how fashionable they are. Like every person, I am forced to deal with various market forms, such as perfect competition, monopoly, oligopoly, or monopolistic competition. In most cases, I see the market of monopolistic competition because there are very many items with slightly different features. The market of the United States has very many companies which produce similar items but try to attract consumers by unique features and by efficient advertising. For example, there are very many producers of cars in the United States. There are also many multinational companies based in the United States which produce cars, for example, Japanese Toyota, Korean Honda and many others. They all produce cars which have quite similar features. All of these manufacturers come up with various models of cars so that they can attract people who like sports cars, who have children, who need to travel in the mountains, or who need fuel-efficient cars. Every manufacturer tries to come up with some unique feature which competitors do not have. To some extent, it is very good for me as a consumer because competitors are fighting for customers and thus they constantly introduce new great deals for us. I am able to fight the model of the car which I want and perhaps even get it at a lower price. I also often deal with oligopolistic competitors. The market of providers of wireless phones is not as large as the car market. There are some major players in it, and I have to choose among the most powerful of them. It was very challenging for me to decide whether to use the services of T-Mobile or Verizon, but I finally made a choice for Verizon. Oligopolistic competitors can be very difficult for analysis because they usually make different steps according to the steps of their competitors. Since there are very few competitors in the market, it is very important for oligopolists to bring their actions in accordance with the actions of the competitors. Oligopolists also often sign various agreements with one another in order to control the market. For example, I often see that when T-Mobile introduces new offers, Verizon follows this company with very similar offers. Since I am a consumer, the knowledge of microeconomics can greatly help me to take a choice in different type of the market. Another concept of microeconomics which I am destined to face is externalities. I often read in newspapers how government does its best to take care of various kinds of externalities. I know many plants which pollute water and atmosphere, and in my opinion, it is very good that government makes such companies pay higher taxes or install purifying systems in order to eliminate the impact of its pollution. In conclusion, it is necessary to say that microeconomics is one of the disciplines the concepts of which can be seen everywhere. The knowledge of these concepts helps me to make smarter choices in life and understand different phenomena better. All of the consumer decisions are being made on the micro level, and that is why it is very important for every person to have a deep knowledge of microeconomic concepts. Bibliography. Baumol, William J., John Panzar, and Robert Willig. Contestable Markets and the Theory of Industry Structure, New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich. 1982. Campbell R. McConnell, Stanley L. Brue. Economics: Principles, Problems, and Policies. Eleventh Edition. 1996. Curwen Peter, Else Peter. Principles of Microeconomics. Unwin Hyman. 1990. Cullis, J. G. and Jones, P. R. Microeconomics and the public economy: a defence of Leviathan Oxford: Basil Blackwell. 1987.

Durkheim and Social Fact Essay

Emile Durkheim’s â€Å"The Rules of Sociological Method† posits the existence of various ‘social facts’ which, according to him, should be the scope of all sociological study and discourse. Durkheim’s discourse defines social facts as, †¦a category of facts with very distinctive characteristics: it consists of ways of acting, thinking and feeling, external to the individual, and endowed with a power of coercion, by reason of which they control him. (Durkheim 3) Thus the three main features of social facts are surfaced; as being external to the individual, emanating from a general and higher level than the individual and that these coerce or force an individual to act in accordance to them for the purpose of control. These facts, according to Durkheim, must be considered things, which he defines as realities that may be observed and classified. These things are posited to exist on the level of society, completely outside the realm of the individual and are used to control a person’s thoughts, actions and feeling from being otherwise. Should a person refuse to submit to this coercion, he would find himself the object of negative reactions ranging from ridicule, isolation or even concrete punishment or sanction. The implications of this definition initially cast sociology’s field of study as all-encompassing, referring to all realities and processes of human life and behavior, thus Durkheim seeks to clarify and establish the meaning of the descriptor ‘social’ as opposed to other adjectives such as ‘biological’, psychological’ and ‘philosophical’. Each individual drinks, sleeps, eats, reasons; and it is society’s interest that these functions be exercised in an orderly manner. If then, all these facts are counted as â€Å"social† facts, sociology would have no subject matter exclusively its own, and its domain would be confused with biology and psychology. (Durkheim 1) As mentioned above, Durkheim perceives the social fact as the scope of sociological study, and uses other fields of study to show what sociology should underscore. Biological facts and study deal with characteristics of the physical body of a person and are therefore not social, since the need to follow these facts (such as sleeping, eating and breathing) emanate from the physiological needs of an organism to survive. Psychological study deals with thought processes and phenomena that occur within an individual’s consciousness. Durkheim posits that ‘social’ facts emanate not from one person’s consciousness nor from a person’s physiological needs, but from the level of society itself, â€Å"†¦ this term [social] fits them quite well, for it is clear that, since their source is not the individual, their substratum can be no other than society. † (Durkheim 3) Another implication of his definition is that social facts exist only with the presence of social institutions which enforce them and create them. For Durkheim, it is imperative to clarify that in most cases a social institution exists with the social fact, but it must not be thought that for a social fact to exist, a social institution must be present to have created it. Rather, the reverse of the causation is in place. Social facts create social institutions which enforce and perpetuate them, but there are also other social facts which do not require the presence of an institution to sanction them. Durkheim defines such deinstitutionalized social facts as ‘social currents’, â€Å"They come to each one of us from without and carry us away in spite of ourselves. † (4) He uses the example of crowd euphoria and feeling to illustrate these. Social facts are further classified into the ‘normal’ and the ‘pathological’. Durkheim classifies social facts under these two categories in order to illustrate the coercive nature of social facts and how society has been shaped to perpetuate and enforce them. Normal social facts refer to â€Å"those which conform to given standards† while pathological social facts refer to â€Å"those which ‘ought’ to be different† (Durkheim 47). Normal social facts are those most widely occurring in the society in question and function in such a way that their presence maintains social order and accepted social life. Durkheim further posited that for a social fact to be considered normal, it would contribute to the health of a society, as mentioned earlier, it maintains accepted social processes, it promotes and is naturally coherent with accepted social norms. The vague nature of this definition and its subjectivity was borne from Durkheim’s goal of trying to contextualize and take into consideration the diversity of social life across different cultures and societies. This implies the existence of facts that are produced to control people to act in accordance to accepted norms and values, and the existence of facts whose purpose is to illustrate what is a deviation from the previously-mentioned accepted norms and values. The characteristic of social facts that posits a force that coerces people to adhere to them is what required Durkheim to make this categorization. He defined social facts as things, as realities, and thus he would seek to define the normal and the abnormal things and realities that are placed under the domain of what are considered ‘social’. If social facts exist outside the individual and are imposed upon him, what of the phenomenon that occur which are deviations from the norm, how are these to be explained as sociological when they do not adhere to society? Pathological social facts are therefore things or realities that occur in less cases than the normal social facts to show that these things are what are considered ‘abnormal’ or have some form of ‘morbidity’ that characterizes them as deviations. Durkheim compared this analogy with physiological studies, which first deal with a healthy, ‘normal’ human body and then would study the ‘abnormalities’ of the body, the possible symptoms and causes of sickness or ‘morbidity’. As the physiologist studies diseases within the human body, so does a sociologist study the pathological or ‘morbid’ phenomenon that occurs outside the individual’s consciousness. Another argument that Durkheim presents in defining the normal social fact is that ‘normal’ phenomena are often present not because of social norms and values but because of logical necessity. He argues that normal facts differ across species, but these facts are present mostly because the species has to adapt to its environment and are necessary (Durkheim 60) Rejecting other definitions of normal facts, Durkheim posited that normal facts are relative to the specific species in question during a specific time in its evolutional phase. Normal facts are therefore not permanent nor are they universal. He emphasizes this because of his previous statements that because of the normalcy and frequency of these facts they are attributed to be superior in nature. Durkheim decides what constitutes ‘normal’ social facts by evaluating the causal conditions that govern a certain fact. If, at a certain point in the society’s development, the social fact is acceptable, then the fact is normal. An example would be the practice of a girl asking a boy to engage in a social, romantic relationship with her. In these modern times, this is considered a normal fact because of the rise of female empowerment and liberalism. However, if this social fact was to be classified during the Renaissance period, it would have been classified as abnormal, because women did not enjoy empowerment or the same power they enjoy today. A social fact’s nature is intrinsic to society’s norms and causal functions that create it at a certain point in time, and not with the wideness of occurrence or moral acceptability. Durkheim takes into account how social facts may change their nature as normal and pathological over time, especially through the process of evolution, â€Å"After having established by observation that a particular fact is general, he will go back to the conditions which determined this generality in the past and will then investigate whether these conditions are still given in the present or if, on contrary they have changed. † (Durkheim 61) Contention between the two types of social fact and the rough definition that Durkheim posited may be seen in the presence of crime within a society. Crime, at first glance would be characterized as a pathological social fact, as it would feature morbidity and abnormality. This is a common perception that all criminologists would adhere to. However, crime is posited by Durkheim as a normal social fact. Durkheim showed that crime is present in all societies but in different forms, as normal and pathological facts differ across societies and evolutionary phases (65). He further stated that even in societies where crime rate is high and incidences rampant, a change may occur depending on the future state of the society which will lessen the rate of normalcy of crime (66). Crime for Durkheim is separate and different from criminal behavior and criminal acts, since these are able to be explained on levels other than on the societal. Thus Durkheim posited that the act of doing a criminal deed is not what is normal, but the presence of crime within society which is normal (67). The presence of deviations from the norm may be seen in all societies, but since the act in itself is brought about by psychological reasons and other factors that may be apparent on the individual level, criminal behavior may be part sociological and part psychological. Crime is posited to be variant and subjective across cultures and societies, and is always present no matter how rigid the norms in a society are. Crime is defined in a society based on the norms and values it holds in importance. Durkheim’s ‘collective conscience’ that governs society is what is held responsible for defining the criminal act. Again, in an effort to take into account the diversity of societies, Durkheim posits crime as subjective and dependent on social norms, with the level of tolerance of the society in question dictating what is considered crime and what is considered aberrant or curious behavior worthy or mere ridicule and oddity. Crime is always present in any society no matter how ordered and rigid it is, but with the higher control present in a society, the level of the sophistication of crime and the intricacy and effort used in committing a criminal act increases as well, in relation to the difficulty in crime commission. Statistics may then be inferred by the student to be one concrete manifestation of a social fact because of its nature of describing trends and social phenomenon, but Durkheim posited otherwise. He posited that statistics is used to represent the ‘collective mind’ which is the sum of the individual cases that adhere to social facts, whether normal or pathological. Statistics is used to isolate these specific trends. Though individual cases no doubt have other mitigating biological and psychological factors for occurring, statistics provides a way to neutralize or eliminate the individualistic factors that may constitute the cases as not within the realm of sociology. Durkheim justifies the normalcy of crime in a given society by citing that there is not society where crime is not present. Criminal acts are always regarded with negative sentiments in any society (Durkheim 66). However, Durkheim showed that the presence of crime affirms the normal social facts, that it enforces the normal by existing as a source of punishment for its own commission. In a society that has the strictest and most rigid structure of rules and normal fact that must be adhered to at all times, crime is not entirely eliminated but actually more apparent, more frowned-upon and more heavily sanctioned. Thus, the presence of crime is considered normal and the commission of criminal acts is pathological. With all this said about the social fact, the idea of a ‘social system’ would create some contentions. Social facts are thought to emanate from the societal level through a collective consciousness, where the individual is forced to conform and adhere to. A social system would imply that the relationship between individuals and society would not be so linear and one-sided. A social system would imply that as society exerts a force on the individual, so does an individual upon society. Durkheim’s ‘collective consciousness’ would then be debunked as an illusion which is perpetuated in society. A systems framework for sociological study would then take into consideration the effect of individuals in society as social institutions and structures that are composed of individuals. Durkheim’s theory on social fact would then be debunked as emanating from an illusion and would lose its objectivity and its characteristic of being grounded on reality. Works Cited Durkheim, Emile. The Rules of Sociological Method. New York: The Free Press, 1938.

Essay on Images, Imagery, Symbols, and Symbolism in Macbeth

Imagery and Symbolism in Macbeth With its eye-opening plot and interesting cast of characters, William Shakespeare’s play, Macbeth is one of the greatest works one could ever read. But, above all, the aspect of the play is most impressive and overwhelming with imagery and symbolism that Shakespeare so brilliantly uses. Throughout the play, the author depicts various types of imagery and symbolism instances that, eventually, lead to the downfall of the main character, Macbeth. Instances of imagery and symbolism are seen throughout the play. Imagery and symbolism are unavoidable features in William Shakespeare’s Macbeth. One of the most prominent symbolic factors in the play is the presence of blood. It has been†¦show more content†¦No , this my hand will rather the multitudinous seas incarnadine , making the green one red.† Next, the image of blood is induced when Macbeth calls upon the â€Å"bloody and invisible hand† of night to help the murderers he has hired carry out their assassination of Banquo and his son , Fleance. Then , Macbeth realizes that â€Å"blood will have blood† and that his murderous plots will all come to and end with his death. Finally , at the end of the banquet scene , Macbeth confesses that he is â€Å"in blood , stepp’d in so far that , should wade no more , returning as tedious as to go o’er.† Through all these instances of blood symbolism and imagery , it is ob vious that â€Å"Macbeth is about blood.† (Muir , Pg. 271 ) Another form of symbolism used in the play is that of unnaturalness. Throughout the work, it is used in the constant referral to Macbeth’s crime of murder and emphasizes the fact it is not natural and , in turn , is a â€Å"convulsion of nature.† (Spurgeon , Pg. 20) Although powerful , the idea of unnaturalness occursShow MoreRelated Images, Imagery, Symbols, and Symbolism in Macbeth Essay610 Words   |  3 PagesImagery and Symbolism in Macbeth   Ã‚  Ã‚   In Macbeth, William Shakespeare uses extensive imagery and symbolism throughout the course of his play.   Shakespeare uses this imagery and symbolism so that the reader may gain a deeper understanding and feeling for the happenings of this tragedy.   This is further demonstrated by Shakespeares use of darkness in Macbeth.   As one of the more noticeable and important symbols, darkness represents many different elements in the play.   First and foremostRead MoreImagery of Blood, Light and Clothing in Macbeth by William Shakespeare540 Words   |  3 PagesImagery of Blood, Light and Clothing in Macbeth by William Shakespeare Imagery, the art of making images, the product of imagination (Merriam- Webster). 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