...3: CASE STUDY REPORT 1. Introduction Valve Corporation was formed by two former Microsoft employees who are Gabe Newell and Mike Harrington in 1996. At the beginning, they were based in Kirkland, Washington and were a Limited Liable Company (L.L.C) (Giantbomb, 2013). Valve is an American video game development and digital distribution that allocated in Bellevue, Washington. Valve had created six games series in the future years which are Half-Life (1998), Team Fortress (1999), Portal (2007), Counter-Strike (1999), Left 4 Dead (2008) and Day of Defeat (2005). Since Valve Corporation is found, it has expanded both in scope and commercial value. Valve Corporation had been received few award since 2008. On 2008, Valve Corporation announced the acquisition of Turtle Rock Studios. While on 2010, Valve won The Escapist Magazine’s March Mayhem tournament for the best developer of 2010. In 2012, the company acquired Star Filled Studios, a two-man gaming company to open a San Francisco office. In 2013, Valve decides to stop the operation as it was decided to make some benefit for future arrangement. Valve is formed as a company which have around 300 employees but no managers or bosses at all to operate whole company (Suddath, 2012). Hence, this report is written to discuss the organisational culture and organisational structure of valve. The two discussion topic is to be analysed after introduce background and information of Valve Corporation. 2. 3. Analysis ...
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...Valve’s Distribution Strategy: Introduction: Digital game distribution is the simplest, cheapest, most convenient way to sell games and has been possible for a decade. “Digital distribution accounts for 24% of [game] sales in the US, up from 20% in 2009” and is more profitable to game companies over physical sales (Okalow a, 2012). You may ask yourself: why are there still physical retailers if digital distribution is so much better? This is one of many problems in the current game retail industry we will be exploring. The Steam Client is a digital game retailer and a multiplayer and communications platform created by Valve Corporation in 2003. Steam has over 1500 games available and over 54 million active users and is estimated to control roughly 70% of the digital game market. Steam will be the future of game retail and it is positioning itself perfectly to do so. This paper will discuss the current state of the game industry and how and why it has gotten there. From there it will focus on how games are sold today and how retailers are positioning themselves for the future. Lastly the paper will dissect the Steam client and all it has to offer; specifically comparing it to current physical and digital retailers. As technology goes digital, entertainment media seems to be stuck in the physical past; at least for the time being. This is changing rapidly as more and more gamers are realizing the benefits of digital distribution. DFC Intelligence is forecasting that...
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...E-Business Valve Corporation and Steam Chédiny Clément International Business School 5 Content Summary Executive summary: 3 Introduction: 5 Company background: 6 Innovative strategy: 8 Business processes: 10 Business model: 11 Technologies adopted: 15 Conclusion: 17 Sources: 18 Executive summary: It is clearly going to be “cliché”, but as most part of guys, I like Video Games. Being a soldier, killing the bad guys, or being the new star of European soccer fields scoring in the final of the UEFA Champions League, every men “normally” constituted has dreamed at least once to be in that situation, and video games can procure that kind of excitement. This is the reason why I choose to make my final e-business assignment on video games. Concerning my choice for the company, for me it was obvious to choose Steam. In my point of view, they have been the precursor of many things in e-business, or at least they were one of the first that used “e-novations”. Through the years, they have succeeded in being one of the most important company in this sector. Many factors have to be pointed out. First, the fact that they have created one of the best games ever made which is Half-Life. It allows them to have a world-wide recognition. Secondly, the Valve platforms, with its large numbre of games available, the exchange of data and information between players and users, have made them the first online retailer for video games. But...
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...Pump & Valve Industry – Overview & Opportunities About Singhi Advisors Your Partners in Growth . . . Private & Confidential Singhi Advisors Advantage Singhi Two Decades of delivering Success… Full service Investment bank with strong capabilities in M&A, PE & India Entry Strategy Many Services…One Goal MERGERS & ACQUISITIONS INDIA ENTRY STRATEGY PRIVATE EQUITY One of the top ten Investment Bankers and winner of the M&A Atlas Awards – Deal of the Year 2011, ACQ Global Award 2009 for ‘Corporate and M&A Advisory firm of the year-India’ o Co po ate a d & dv so y o t e yea da Multi–dimensional focus, covering all major sectors and industries Current focus with mid market and growing Corporates, while having strong relationships with top business houses in the country E Experienced & S bl M i d Stable Management, l di leading a team of >35 f 35 professionals, 70% of the team averaging 6+ years with Singhi Strong relationship and confidence from existing clients with 60% repeat business and 80% strike rate Live relationship with >250 Corporates, resulting in >800 ve e at o s p w t 50 Co po ates, esu t g 800 completed assignments. CORPORATE RESTRUCTURING DEBT SYNDICATION CORPORATE ADVISORY Global Reach Exclusive Indian Member of “Mergers-Alliance”, a leading international network of independent Investment Banking Firms and Corporate Finance advisory firms offering seamless services on mid-market transactions With the successful closure of more than 90 transactions...
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...knowing what to do when no one’s there telling you what to do FIRST EDITION 2012 Table of Contents Preface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . vii How to Use This Book . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . viii Part 1: Welcome to Valve . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Your First Day Valve Facts That Matter Welcome to Flatland Part 2: Settling In . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 Dedicated to the families of all Valve employees. Thank you for helping us make such an incredible place. Your First Month What to Work On Why do I need to pick my own projects?, But how do I decide which things to work on?, How do I find out what projects are under way?, Short-term vs. long term goals, What about all the things that I’m not getting done?, How does Valve decide what to work on? Can I be included the next time Valve is deciding X? Teams, Hours, and the Office Cabals, Team leads, Structure happens, Hours, The office Risks What if I screw up?, But what if we ALL screw up? Part 3: How Am I Doing? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25 Your Peers and Your Performance Peer reviews, Stack ranking (and compensation) ...
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...he term mitral valve prolapse was coined by J. Michael Criley in 1966 and gained acceptance over the other descriptor of "billowing" of the mitral valve, as first described by John Brereton Barlow. This is why it is also referred to as Barlow’s Syndrome. Mitral valve prolapse, or MVP, is defined as a valvular heart disorder in which one or both mitral valve flaps close incompletely during systole usually producing either a click or murmur and sometimes produces minor mitral regurgitation. Both the anterior and posterior leaflets are composed of three layers of tissue: the atrialis, fibrosa, and spongiosa. Patients with classic mitral valve prolapse have excess connective tissue that thickens the spongiosa and separates collagen bundles in the fibrosa. This weakens the leaflets and adjacent tissue, resulting in increased leaflet area and elongation of the chordae tendineae. Although mitral valve prolapse is a lifelong disorder, many people with this condition never have symptoms. When diagnosed, people may be surprised to learn that they have a heart condition. When signs and symptoms do occur, it's typically because of mitral regurgitation. Mitral valve prolapse symptoms can vary widely from one person to another. They tend to be mild, develop gradually and may include arrhythmia, dizziness or lightheadedness, difficulty breathing or shortness of breath, often when lying flat or during physical activity, fatigue, coughing, and chest pain that’s not caused by a heart attack...
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...Mitral Valve Prolapse Michele Tolliver Body Systems, LRC Class #1 October 7, 2014 The flow of blood through the heart is controlled by four valves. If any are not working correctly, blood cannot flow or be pumped effectively to the heart. The four valves are: the tricuspid, pulmonary semilunar, mitral, and aortic semilunar. There are many abnormalities or defects that can affect their operation and in this paper, I will discuss the most common one which is a “mitral valve prolapse.” A valvular prolapse is an abnormal protrusion of a heart valve that causes the valve to not close completely. It is also known as “click murmur syndrome” and “Barlow’s syndrome” and is more prevalent in women than men. It has a strong hereditary tendency and rheumatic fever that is common worldwide is responsible for many cases of damaged heart valves. Between 1 in every 100 and 1 in every 200 people have a mitral valve prolapse. A normal valve consists of two thin leaflets, located between the left atrium and left ventricle of the heart. It controls blood flow on the left side of your heart and it works like a one-way gate. When the chambers squeeze normally, the leaflets close snugly and prevent the backflow of blood from the ventricle into the atrium. When the chambers relax, the leaflets open to allow oxygenated blood from the lungs to fill the left ventricle. In patients with a mitral valve prolapse (MVP), the leaflets flop backwards, or prolapse, into the left atrium, allowing...
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...Heart Valve Surgery Once a valve problem has been diagnosed and surgery scheduled, you’ll have some things to do. Some preparations will help make your surgery go smoothly. Some will help you get set up for your return home from the hospital. And others will help you feel more at ease. Your doctor will talk with you about the risks. Write down all your questions in advance so you don’t forget to ask them. The Week Before Surgery Steps you take before your surgery can help make both the surgery and recovery go smoothly. Follow your doctor’s instructions. • Ask your doctor about scheduling any dental work you might need. Dental work could let bacteria into your bloodstream, which can cause infection on a new valve. • Give your doctor a list of every medication you take, including supplements and over-the-counter products. Your doctor may have you stop taking some of them or start taking others before surgery. • If you smoke, quit right away. You will do better during and after surgery. • Arrange for an adult family member or friend to drive you home from the hospital. Have a helper available for your first week or two at home. • Prepare and freeze food or arrange to have food brought in while you recover. • Make adjustments around your home to simplify movements, such as reducing the need to climb stairs. The Day Before Surgery • You may be asked to wash with special soap the night before surgery. The morning of surgery, don’t use deodorant, lotion, or perfume. • Don’t...
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....………………………………………………………………………………………….. 12 Problems and Solutions …………………………………………………………………………………………… 12 Works Cited ………………………………………...…………………………………………………………………………... 14 Introduction Gabe Newell, a Harvard drop out, began working for Microsoft in 1983. Newell spent thirteen years at Microsoft and emerged as a “Microsoft Millionaire.” Newell and his co-worker Mike Harrington left Microsoft in 1996 to begin their own company. The inspiration came from another former Microsoft employee named Michael Abrash. Abrash departed Microsoft to assist in creating the video game Quake at ID Software. In 1996, Newell and Harrington signed an LLC contract and founded the private company, Valve Corporation. Valve started off as purely a video game development company. By 1998, Valve had completed their first game titled Half-Life. Half-Life won over 50 game of the year awards and is considered one of...
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...Health Essay Bicuspid aortic valve disease is a condition regarding one of the main valves in the heart. It is fairly rare disease that only occurs in 1-2% of people. It is twice as common in males then in females. What happens is two of the aortic leaflets fuse during development resulting in a valve that is bicuspid instead tricuspid. It can easily go undetected for years until adulthood. This is because even with this disease the valve can function correctly for a while. Eventually though symptoms will show. These can show as murmurs or other malfunctions. It is usually inherited and develops when an infant matures. In some cases no action besides monitoring is needed. People with BAV usually become tired faster than people with normal function. It can be diagnosed in several different ways. Future predictions can be made with genetic counseling to determine the chances of a baby getting it. Also, a MRI can detect this in adults if symptoms are noticed. In very rare cases if left unchecked death is possible. In most though it is detected and necessary actions are taken. Treatment for this disease is available and is very effective. Patients with BAV should be monitored by a cardiologist. At some point for some a valve replacement is necessary. This is now become a much safer procedure than before. The heart surgery is performed by a specially trained cardiac surgeon. Drugs can be administered to control blood pressure also. Lifestyle changes that help...
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...Heart Valve Replacements: Requirements and Evolution Advanced Structural Aspects of Biomaterials Fall 2013 Sonia Travaglini 1 , Hao Ji 1 , Yangxin Chen 1 , Sofia Cafaggi 2 , Britta Berg-Johansen 2 C215 & 2 BioE C222 Advanced Structural Aspects of Biomaterials University of California, Berkeley 1 ME Table of Contents TABLE OF CONTENTS --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- II 1. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 2. ANALYSIS OF STRUCTURAL FUNCTION & REQUIREMENTS OF THE DEVICE ------------------------------ 2 2.1 HEART VALVE DYNAMICS ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2 2.2 HEART VALVE HEMODYNAMICS ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 2 2.4 MATERIAL PROPERTY REQUIREMENTS ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 3 2.5 BI-LEAFLET HEART VALVES ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 3 3. DESIGN & MATERIAL EVOLUTION ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 4 3.1 DEVICE DESIGN -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 4...
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...Do Bioprosthetic Heart Valves Pose a Greater Risk than Mechanical Heart Valves in the Development of Infective Endocarditis? Prosthetic heart valves are, undoubtedly, one of the most profound innovations to be introduced into the medical community. In 1961 the Starr-Edwards ball and cage mitral valve became the first commercially available mechanical heart valve. In 1969, the Bjork-Shiley tilting disk valve emerged, which was then followed by the St. Jude Medical bi-leaflet valve in 1977. In addition to the creation of mechanical valves, bioprosthetic valves were also being developed; and in1968 the Hancock and Carpentier-Edwards porcine mitral valve became a popular alternative to the mechanical valve (Wheatley and Will, 2005, p.1). Over the...
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...Paper Summary – Week 6 Sutherland et al. (2005 Circulation) “From Stem Cells to Viable Autologous Semilunar Heart Valve.” Results of heart valve replacement surgery are complicated by the morbidity associated with lifelong anticoagulation of mechanical valves and the limited durability of bioprostheses. This problem may be addressed by providing living, autologous biological structures which do not require anticoagulation, yet retain the capacity to remodel and repair, obviating the need for late valve replacement. Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) were isolated from ovine bone marrow and characterized by their morphology and antigen expression through immunocytochemistry (using the avidinbiotin-peroxidase method with monoclonal anti-vimentin, anti-α-SMA, and anti-von Willebrand factor primary antibodies), flow cytometry, and capacity to differentiate into multiple cell lineages. Adipocytes were stained with oil-red O, and the mineral was stained with silver by the method of von Kossa. A biodegradable scaffold was developed and characterized by its tensile strength and stiffness as a function of time in cell-conditioned medium, and was evaluated by using needle punching. Autologous semilunar heart valves were created in vitro using MSCs and the biodegradable scaffold and were implanted into the pulmonary position of sheep on cardiopulmonary bypass, and were evaluated by echocardiography at implantation and after 4 months in vivo, explanted (at 4 and 8 months), and examined by...
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...Thornal Coachman Dr. Brent Financial Policy Flinder Valves and Controls Outline I. Statement of the Problem II. Alternative Solutions III. Analysis of Alternatives IV. Final Recommendations V. Appendix I. Statement of the Problem Bill Flinders’ FVC was an outgrowth of a small company organized in 1980 for engineering and developmental work on an experimental heat-exchanger product. In 1987, as soon as the product was bought to the commercial stage, Flinder Valves and Controls Inc. was organized to acquire the properties, both owned and leased, of the engineering corporation. FVC had come to RSE’s attention with the FVC’s disclosure of a U.S. government contract. RSE manufactured a broad range of products including advanced industrial components as well as chains, cables, nuts and bolts, castings and forgings, and other similar products. During the early part of 2008, a series of group meetings had taken place between Tom Eliot and Bill Flinder and their respective advisers. It seemed clear to both parties that both FVC and RSE could profit from the merger. Eliot had persuaded RSE’s board that the company should follow a policy of focused diversification, which would be achieved by an aggressive growth-by-acquisition program designed to create opportunities and entries into more dynamic markets than the ones RSE then served. FVC received various proposals from 1998 on, but none reached the stage of working out an agreement...
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...Boswell Plumbing Products Boswell Plumbing Products produces a variety of valves, connectors, and fixtures used in commercial and residential plumbing applications. Recently a senior manager walked into the cost accounting department and asked Nick Somner to tell her the cost of the D45 valve. Nick quickly replied, “why do you want to know?” Noticing that the manager appeared somewhat startled by this question, he explained, “The cost information you need depends on the decision you’re going to make. You might be thinking of increasing a scheduled production run of 3000 D45s by 100 units or scheduling an additional production run, or you might even be thinking of dropping the product. For each of these decisions, the cost information that you need is different.” Required Using the concept of incremental analysis, expand on Nick’s response of “Why do you want to know?” What cost information would be relevant to a decision to drop the product that would not be relevant to a decision to increase a production run by 100 units? According to the text, incremental analysis is the appropriate way to approach the solution to all business problems. It involves the calculation of the difference in revenue and the difference in cost between decision alternatives. The difference in revenue is the incremental revenue of one alternative over another, whereas the difference in cost is the incremental cost of one alternative over another. If an alternative yields an incremental...
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