Code of Ethics of Goldman Sachs’

Title:The effectiveness of Goldman Sachs’ code of ethics Date:17 October 2012 To:CEO, Lloyd C. Blankfein Introduction The code of ethics  is adopted by organizations to assist members in understanding the difference between ‘right' and ‘wrong' and in applying that understanding to their decisions. An effective code of ethics should also help to delineate the proper procedures to determine whether a violation of the code of ethics has occurred and, if so, what remedies should be imposed.After reviewing the company’s code of ethics, we found that it has well established the concept of business ethics and the company’s objective, and also several kinds of encouragement to promote the ethical business behavior effectively. The company’s code of ethics, however, is not practical enough for implementation as the content is too general and vague, and there are not enough guidelines and regulations to help the staff to detect or solve the ethical iss ues. What makes the Code of Ethics Effective: According to the code of ethics, the employees are encouraged to expose any misconducts or unethical issues in the company.The company has also established a certain department, the Global Compliance Division or Legal Department, as the platform for reporting any violation of the code, and it also helps the employees to identify and escalate potential ethical issues. Meanwhile, the company has also set up the Non-Retaliation Policy which strictly prohibits the retaliation against anyone who reports in good faith a possible violation of the Code. Under those policies and procedures, the employees will feel easy to voice out if they found something going in the wrong track.What makes the Code of Ethics Ineffective: The code of ethics of the company consists a large portion of text about the general code of ethics which is applied to every individual unit, but it emphasis less on the code for investment banking industry, such as insider dea ling, money laundering, outside business activities and relationship and other potential conflict of interest, and staff’s personal financial affairs. Without any detailed case illustration for each of the particular issues, employees may feel hard to follow the code.This imposes potential risks for employees to make unethical transactions unknowingly. Moreover, the code does not strictly restrict the actions of personal conflicts of interest but are allowed if approved by the firm that may violate the independence of professional. Audit firm prohibited any conflicts of interest which had been stated clearly on the statement. Auditors, for example, are prohibited to accept any favors which violate the professional. Another weakness of the code is that it omits the implementation and administration policies.There are no content how the company supervises the implementation of the code, what the company do if the code is found to be not effective, how long the company reviews t he code and so on. Also, the code illustrates that the company take a passive role on discovering the ethical issues. The code requires employees take their own initiatives to report any unethical issues. However, it is not guaranteed that all employees are going to follow the code. There is a risk of undisclosed misconduct by employees if the company does not investigate in it. Improvement The code of ethics specifically focuses on banking industry.Take Bank of America’s code as an example. Although it is impossible to define every action that could be reasonably interpreted as a conflict of interest, company also defines several potential conflicts of interest as examples with a brief description so that everyone can have an idea on conflict of interest. In addition, the code has stated employees should conduct their financial affairs responsibly and keep their business expenses in order. The bank is prohibited money laundering and economic sanctions which have also mention ed in the code. Those are helpful to provide a clear picture to staff on what they should conduct.It is good practice to have the way reporting the misconduct issue, but company is still played as passive role. And also it may be biases if the issue is examined by internal staff from other departments. To be independence, establishing Committees involved external individual or professional to monitor and investigate the misconducts and unethical issues, and the committees may directly notify the Board of Director. Company’s code of ethics can be introduced during the orientation. Each new employee may be requested to complete a set of ethical questions after the introduction to ensure everyone understand this code.The failure may be requested to attend another ethical course to recap the important sections. One of global investment bank, Greenhill & Co holds information and training sessions to promote compliance with the laws, rules and regulations that affect their business . Conclusion: It is appreciated that the company put effort on setting the code of ethics. The above suggestions are given to your kindly consideration as it is good for the company to review the code once again in order to maintain high standard of integrity.

Protected Meal Time Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Protected Meal Time - Essay Example Since the professionals are to be included in the initiative, for example, the doctors, nurses, physicians, and the cooks are the two major professionals whose contribution to the initiative is very important and would facilitate the implementation. Application of Gibbs’ Model and PDCA Cycle In this analysis, the Gibbs reflective model has been use to describe the problem, the feel about the problem, an evaluation of the experience, analyzing the situation whether it makes sense, concise conclusion, finally taking the most appropriate action. It is important that in reflecting about the practice, one is expected to relate the situation at hand to the future of the career and its value. In fact, this becomes an evidence based approach that might to yield the intended results. In addition to the Gibbs model, the initiative would employ the use of the PDCA cycle in terms of service improvement, where the plan-do-check-action is adhered to, throughout the implementation. As would be depicted in the subsequent chapters, the project would be planned, done according to the required procedures, checked consistently and appropriate actions taken to make sure that the implementation becomes successful. ... The intention of the protected meal time program is to give the patient adequate time to relax as they have their meals (Council of Europe Resolution, 2003, p.8). In this approach, the major event that makes me support the launch of this noble initiative is that it helps to solve the great problem that is witnessed among some doctors. There is a group of doctors who do not carry out their routine ward checks in time. Therefore, they end up carrying out the same duty during inappropriate times, which are meant for meals. This happens because the doctors start their routine late, and lunch time find them still moving around the wards. They do not stop to provide the patients with sufficient time to enjoy their meals. Moreover, what used to happen in the hospitals were shocking since these doctors are fond of continuing with their work even without considerations that the patients have the right to eat, that is, they need ample time to enjoy their meals. The meal time has to be specific to minimize confusion and some patients going without food. The food must be properly chewed since the sick people have weak digestive system. The impact of the doctors’ actions is not alien, that is, the food would automatically get cold and since they are not allowed to reheat the food at the end of the exercise, it becomes extremely difficult for the patients to enjoy the meals and this is not a good thing since it poses a serious threat of the patient’s starvation. Therefore, it is necessary to have an action plan that is geared towards establishing the protected meals time. In fact, the protected meals time program has also been supported by various health professionals across the globe (NHS Estates in

Prcis from Aristotle's De Generatione et Corruptione II.9 (335b8) Assignment

Prcis from Aristotle's De Generatione et Corruptione II.9 (335b8) - Assignment Example Knowledge is seen as an essential component in one’s life. In addition, Aristotle believes that there are some things that exist in the sensible world and have essential natures. He continues to add that there are things which exist in the sensible world that cannot be otherwise plus acquiring knowledge of the things is possible. Aristotle simple brings the essence of acquiring knowledge of the unknown which exist in the sensible world. A good example of this could be the knowledge of the soul which is discussed in his Phaedo. Concerning Aristotle’s Phaedo, its sole purpose was to talk about the human soul. According to Aristotle, the soul is regarded as immortal. He argues that the soul before it started to live in a human body at birth, meant it came from somewhere, and after death, will also have to go somewhere. This correlation brought to him coming up with the possibilities of two worlds existing separate from each other. He refers one of the worlds as a world of sensible particulars and the other, the world of form. The world of sensible particulars as discussed by Aristotle contains objects that can be touched and have sense. He adds that they include living things with souls like plants, animals and man. In addition, the world of form contains aspects that exist in objects. Aristotle also refers to forms as universal aspects. He adds that the soul is in between these two worlds since he argues that the soul existed before birth and would return to where it came from after death. He continues by saying that when one is alive, the soul is trapped in one’s body and by so living in the sensible world. Souls according to Aristotle are regarded as sensible things by being particular in contrast to forms which are universal. Aristotle depicts the souls as the first actuality of any natural body and got the potential of having life. The catch will be that the soul has to occupy a body with organs in order for life to exist. In addition, th e soul cannot exist without immorality. Aristotle insists that the soul may leave a body when dead and remains in the world, wonders until when it gets another body to live. In the world of forms, Aristotle rejected Plato’s theory of forms that stated that properties like beauty are generally abstract universal entities which exist totally independent of the objects. Instead, Aristotle argues that forms cannot exist apart from objects since they are intrinsic to them. However, when he discusses art, Aristotle rejects this theory. He instead adds that artists try to capture idealized universal forms. The nature of universals in Aristotle's philosophy therefore hinges on his view of natural kinds. Aristotle basically transformed Plato's forms to "formal causes", the essence or blueprints of individual things. Concerning the â€Å"formal† causes, Aristotle argues forms are powerless in explaining why things change or die since they cannot alter or move physical objects of sensation. He adds that forms may not be of importance in explaining how we get knowledge of particular things. This he supports by arguing that one cannot get knowledge of a substance before getting knowledge of the substance in it. Aristotle also argues forms could not explain the existence of particular objects. Aristotle basically refutes his teacher’s teachings and comes with his own perspective of what cause are. Therefore according to Aris

The Basis for Public Health Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

The Basis for Public Health - Essay Example There is an estimated 16 million orphans. Aids has marched across the US killing more people than all the wars put together including World War II. This paper will discuss efforts to control this epidemic as well as other public health issues. Aids was first identified in the United States in 1981. It is now in all sections of society. More than 1 million people are living with aids in the US and more than 1/2 million have died. Statistics show that 44% are African American, 35% are white, and 19% are Latino. Men make up 75% of adults and adolescents. There are an estimated 3,792 children under the age of 13 who have AIDS. The majority of them acquired HIV from their mothers. There has begun to be a dramatic drop in the numbers of deaths and infections with combination antiretroviral therapy being used more widespread. Accurate surveillance does not take place in the US and the CDC recommends that the US find a way to do a better job of this. Therefore many of the statistics mentioned may be higher. There is also a delay in the diagnosis and the actual reporting of the disease causing a delay in treatment in this country (cdc.org) Nurses in Zambia have been working together with Norwegian nurses to create a program which includes workplace facilitators that assist with HIV/AIDS training. These facilitators help the nurses get the information out faster and to more patients and families (Jefferson, 2006). The ZNA is also partnering with the Ministry of Health to help prevent aids transfer from mother to infants. They have worked with Boehringer-Ingelheim to help provide free testing to pregnant nurses and other health workers to prevent the transmission of aids to their babies. The program is working well enough that they will be expanding this program to include healthcare workers families (Oulton, 2004). The nurses in this country contract the virus often but if they are treated, they can continue to treat the public and protect their children. Switzerland had a controversial program which they have been very successful with. Their belief was that they needed to increase condom use in the country, reduce discrimination for those that have the virus and address injectible drug abuse problems. They provided condoms for free and gave syringes to those that brought a dirty one to trade. They have been very successful in reducing the numbers of new aids cases in their country (Jefferson, 2006). The Global Aids Alliance attempts to attack the link to social justice and poverty as well as gender equality. Their goals have been to treat the people, educate the people and protect the children. They hope to get antivirals to as many people as possible. Education is key but the virus is moving so fast that they must treat as many as possible to try to stop it. Here in the United States, there are many attempts at decreasing the numbers of infected and treating those that are. The Walk for AIDs campaign was very successful this year providing research money. Some cities such as San Francisco provide syringes and condoms in their attempt to reduce the numbers of aids cases locally. Poverty and homelessness in the United States is often part of this epidemic as well as so many others. One method of diagnosis and treatment might be a mobile clinic in the largest homeless areas in each city. Testing as well as treatment could be

Read below Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Read below - Essay Example Such a status quo does not behove for a peaceful resolution of the issue of Taiwanese sovereignty or the Chinese ‘One China Policy’. Changes that have occurred in China in the last two decades that have the potential to propel it to the forefront in world economics and politics create a platform for China to be more accommodative to a peaceful resolution to the irritants that exist between it and Taiwan. Recent events, like the historic visits of the Head of State of Taiwan to mainland China add to the potential for. It is against this backdrop that the author lays down a possible political solution to the vexing issues of China’s insistence on only one China and the autonomy aspirations of China. The political solution suggested by the author is the â€Å"Greater China Union†, wherein the one China policy of mainland China is accepted on one hand and some of the autonomy aspirations of Taiwan are conceded by China. By worldwide acceptance of the fait accompli of a single state of China, the pride of China remains unaffected, which would find acceptance to the more realistic politicians in Beijing and also derive the benefit of concessions on autonomy aspirations of Taiwan. The author also lays out the status of Taiwan within the â€Å"Greater China Union† concept. The â€Å"Greater China Concept† calls for an asymmetric relationship between that of the federated state (Taiwan) and a greater larger federate power (China). The asymmetry lies in Taiwan maintaining greater internal autonomy and giving up some of its international autonomy in the potential Union of the two federations. The first element in the potential union is the demilitarization of Taiwan under international guarantees on the similar lines of the Finland-Aland model, already a real precedent in existence. The Aland Islands are demilitarized under international guarantees and Finland looks after the foreign affairs of the Aland

Integrating Professional Engineering Experience - Analyse different Essay

Integrating Professional Engineering Experience - Analyse different managerial techniques to improve an engineering managerial e - Essay Example My professional counterpart, ASM Smith, agreed that our equipment SMEs would liaise with one another to ensure that all systems were in proper working order before making the equipment transfer. This type of inspection is common practice. However, lack of proper planning and the development of a workable operational strategy for the project ultimately led to conflict, uncertainty and replication of roles that should have been coordinated more efficiently to avoid duplicitous job roles. This essay examines a variety of different managerial techniques that could have improved the scenario illustrated by the reflective log so as to improve the managerial environment. Drawing on management theory and reflective learning theory, the essay provides a foundation for a more efficient and productive project management system whilst also challenging the concept of reflective learning. ... Both of the ranking professionals involved in the scenario believed that tasks associated with the project would be best handled utilising our own inspection and job coordination strategies. The informality of our original discussions about the project led to a breakdown of knowledge transfer that would have made the situation more efficient and scheduled according to a set timeline for completion. The bureaucratic and highly centralised structure of the military served as a catalyst for attitudes that involved self-protectionism, concern over reputation, and a highly political environment which complicated effective communications and coordination of resources and talent. In very political environments with this type of vertical structure, lack of transparency, lack of open communications, and self-protectionism tend to alienate other members of the organisation. A phenomenon referred to as a lack of psychological safety is created in this environment, leading to hazy communications systems and where members of the organisation become afraid to offer solutions and speak up (Terrell 1989). This is what occurred in the scenario, which ultimately led to frustration and a lack of motivation to be more forthcoming about establishing a more formal project management system. The political dynamics of our organisation also led to untrusting relationships whilst ASM Smith was concerned about protecting the reputation and senior-level perceived competency about following procedures and generally his role as an efficient manager and leader. Furthermore, since ASM Smith and myself had little professional experience working co-dependently, there was not the

Active Chemical Ingredients in Topical First Aid Treatments

Active Chemical Ingredients in Topical First Aid Treatments AN INVESTIGATION ON THE EFFECTIVENESS OF THE ACTIVE CHEMICAL INGREDIENTS IN TOPICAL FIRST AID TREATMENTS AGAINST STAPHYLOCOCCUS AUREUS. Aim The aim of this investigation is to experimentally determine which first aid product and its active ingredients are most effective against Staphylococcus aureus, and to establish how and why the chemical compounds of the active ingredients in each product affected the results. Introduction The idea for this exploration was developed as a result of an experiment and study that were conducted and taught in my medical microbiology class. The specific lesson that caught my interest was focused on the skin flora as well as infection causing bacteria. This, combined with the lab about the effects of specific antibiotics on bacteria as well as my considerable experience with first aid and disaster response skills led me to think about the importance of antibiotics for medication and treatments. I decided that my investigation would concentrate on topical first aid products against the occasionally pathogenic bacteria, Staphylococcus aureus, a member of the skin flora. My choice to pick a ubiquitous bacterium was because I wanted to focus on the more practical implementations of the investigation and could evaluate for myself which first aid product would be most useful in real world applications. Background    This investigation requires background information about the biochemistry or mechanisms of action in specific compounds and the Kirby-Bauer test. These are described below. Kirby-Bauer Test The Kirby-Bauer test or disk diffusion tests allows for scientists to test the antibiotic sensitivity of bacteria. A disk is impregnated with a substance and placed on a petri dish and a zone of inhibition or inhibition zone appears after days or hours after incubation. The inhibition zone represents the area in which the bacteria has stopped growing or has been killed by the antibiotic. The size of the inhibition zone indicates the effectiveness of the antibiotic (the larger the diameter of the zone of inhibition the more effective the substance is). Mechanism of Action in Compounds This investigation focuses on five specific compounds which are active first aid antiseptic or antibiotic ingredients in the products that will be tested. These compounds are: benzalkonium chloride, triclosan, bacitracin zinc, polymyxin B sulfate, and neomycin sulfate. This information will be sectioned into Part A, B, C, D, and E. Part A: Benzalkonium Chloride Benzalkonium chloride is a member of the quaternary ammonium compounds (QACs) which are also known as cationic agents/surfactants. Furthermore, quaternary ammonium compounds have positively charged structures. Thus, the cationic zone of benzalkonium chloride disrupts the intermolecular attractions/electrostatic interactions of the negatively charged cell components, destroys the outer membrane, and ultimately kills the pathogen. Part B: Triclosan Triclosan works to inhibit bacterial growth through its mechanomolecular energy. This mechanomolecular energy is as a result of the ether single-bond rotations on the central oxygen atom. Subsequently, the rapid and fluctuating vibratory movements of the bonds in the molecule disrupt bacterial membranes which easily allow the chemical compound to enter the cells membrane. Once triclosan enters the cell membrane, it binds and blocks the active sites of the enoyl-acyl carrier-protein reductase enzyme (ENR) thus preventing the process of fatty acid synthesis. This fatty acid process is critical for building the pathogens cell membrane and its other vital functions necessary for processes like reproduction. Furthermore, at extremely low concentrations, triclosan can develop into a crystalline form by ring stacking, thus interfering with essential enzymes including the nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NADH) coenzyme of bacteria. Figure 1: Figure 1 visualizes the two benzene rings and the central oxygen atom in the Triclosan compound. Part C: Bacitracin Zinc Bacitracin has antimicrobial activity primarily because of its ability to bind to divalent metal ions, in this case the Zn ²Ã‚ Ã‚ º cation, resulting in bacitracin zinc. The Zn ²Ã‚ Ã‚ º ion forms a ternary 1:1:1 antibiotic-metal-lipid complex. This means that the divalent metal ion complex can tightly bind to the lipid C‚†¦Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã¢â‚¬ ¦-isoprenyl pyrophosphate molecules of the cell, acting like a bridge between the pyrophosphate and bacitracin zinc. Once the C‚†¦Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã¢â‚¬ ¦-isoprenyl pyrophosphate has been compromised due to its inability to dephosphorylate or remove its phosphate (PO43ˆ’) through the pyrophosphatase enzyme and hydrolysis process, the pyrophosphate can no longer transport lipids into the cell-wall. Subsequently, this inhibits the process of cell-wall synthesis and results in the weakening of the cell wall and ultimately leads to bacterial death. Part D: Polymyxin B Sulfate The mechanism of action of polymyxin B sulfate is similar to that of benzalkonium chloride, in that it is also classified as a cationic surfactant. Therefore, like benzalkonium chloride, polymyxin B sulfate alters the external membrane of bacterial cells. Additionally, because of its positively charged amino group in the cyclic peptide region in the compound, it has an electrostatic attraction for the negatively charged lipopolysaccharide layer of bacterial cells and binds to these specific sites. Once these sites have been compromised, the outer membrane of the bacterial cell becomes destabilized and weakened. Figure 2: Figure 2 visualizes the amino group and cyclic peptide region of polymyxin B sulfate which is the primary mechanism of antimicrobial action within the compound. Part E: Neomycin Sulfate Neomycin sulfate is classified as an aminoglycoside antibiotic which means it has an amino group (-NH‚‚) attached to derivatives of sugar called glycosides. Aminoglycosides are highly positive in charge due to the presence of amino groups and have a high electrostatic attraction for the negatively charged outer surface of bacteria. This electrostatic interaction disrupts the membrane of the bacteria due to the displacement of Mg ²Ã‚ Ã‚ º and Ca ²Ã‚ Ã‚ º bridges and creates temporary openings in the bacterial cell membrane. Subsequently, this process causes intracellular content leakage and further increases the antibiotic intake in the bacteria. Additionally, rRNA molecules of bacteria are highly negative in charge because of the presence of phosphate groups. This negative charge has an electrostatic attraction with the positively charged antibiotic and allows the aminoglycoside to easily bind to the rRNA of the bacteria and thereafter inhibits the process of protei n synthesis leading to bacterial cell death. Prediction The initial prediction is that NEOSPORIN ® Original Ointment will be the most effective compared to Bactine Spray and CVS Health Instant First Aid Spray because it is a triple antibiotic and has a greater variety of active ingredients that can kill bacteria. Experimental Procedure and Methodology Variables The independent variables for this experiment are the different first aid products because each product should influence the dependent variable (diameter of inhibition zone). The dependent variable is the size of the inhibition zones because the length depends on what first aid product is used. The controls of the investigation are the incubation time, petri dish, Staphylococcus aureus, method of inoculation, the incubator, and the amount of each drug because they are variables that are kept constant throughout each trial and for each product tested. It is important to maintain the controls throughout all trials so that measurements can be as consistent as possible. Safety and Environmental Ethics It is important to keep in mind the risks and safety precautions before attempting this experiment. These risks include residual bacterial contamination on the skin and burning. It is highly advised to wear gloves or rubber insulator gloves when needed and to wash hands frequently throughout the experiment. Additionally, an environmental ethical consideration must be taken in account because experimenting with antibacterial products can contribute to antibacterial resistance. However, the effects would be negligible due to the small scale size of the experiment. Materials 125 ml of Agar Absorbent bibulous paper Hole puncher Sharpie Ruler (with millimeters) Gloves 12 Petri dishes Incubator @34  °C; set at 4.5 12 strips of Parafilm Forceps Tweezers Large beaker Hot plate Rubber insulator gloves Bunsen burner Strikers Inoculating loop Staphylococcus aureus NEOSPORIN ® Original Ointment Bactine Spray CVS Health Instant First Aid Spray Procedure Heat up 125 ml of agar in a beaker filled with water on a hotplate and wait until the agar is clear all the way through. Use forceps and rubber insulator gloves to remove the agar out of the beaker. Pour about the same amount of agar in each petri dish and wait until the agar sets (5-10 minutes). Use isolated Staphylococcus aureus and a heated and then cooled inoculating loop to carefully swab the culture into the 12 petri dishes. Make sure to go in a zigzag motion and cover all areas. Label each petri dish #1-#3: NEOSPORIN ® Original Ointment #4-#6: Bactine Spray #7-#9: CVS Health Instant First Aid Spray #10-#12: Control Punch at least 12 holes into absorbent bibulous paper. Soak the disks with each of the drug solutions. Use tweezers that have been heated up and cooled down with water to minimize bacterial contamination. Additionally, each time a different product is being impregnated into the disks, reheat and cool the tweezers to minimize cross-product contamination. Place three disks containing NEOSPORIN ® Original Ointment in petri dishes #1, #2, and #3. Place three disks containing Bactine Spray in petri dishes #4, #5, #6. Place three disks containing CVS Health Instant First Aid Spray in petri dishes #7, #8, #9. Leave the remaining three petri dishes with no disks in order to show that the petri dishes have pure cultures of Staphylococcus aureus. Use parafilm to seal all the petri dishes. Flip over all petri dishes and place in incubator at 34  °C on the 4.5 setting (the optimal temperature and conditions for bacterial growth) Measure the diameter of the inhibition zones (including the disk) 48 hours post inoculation with a ruler (in mm) and record data. Repeat all steps for Trial 2 and Trial 3 making sure all conditions are maintained. Results Product Name Table 1: Recorded Length of Inhibition Zones on Staphylococcus aureusà ¡Ã‚ µÃ†â€™ Trial 1  ± 0.5 mm Trial 2  ± 0.5 mm Trial 3  ± 0.5 mm Mean  ± 0.5 mmà ¡Ã‚ µÃ¢â‚¬ ¡ NEOSPORIN ® Original Ointment 14.0 17.0 16.0 15.4 14.0 16.0 18.0 12.0 16.0 16.0 Bactine Spray 12.0 16.0 18.0 16.3 16.0 17.0 18.0 16.0 14.0 20.0 CVS Health Instant First Aid Spray 7.0 0.0 8.0 5.2 0.0 8.0 8.0 0.0 7.0 9.0 a- Diameter of zone of inhibition (mm) including disk diameter of 6mm b- Average diameter of inhibition zone after 3 trials for each product *The values that were found to have 0.0mm were petri dishes that had no zone of inhibition *Controls were not included as they only served to show that the petri dishes had pure samples of Staphylococcus aureus and are irrelevant to be included in the processed data Conclusion and Evaluation The objective of the experiment was to investigate the effectiveness of the active chemical ingredients in topical first aid treatments against Staphylococcus aureus. The initial aims of the investigation have been reached. The results of the experiment have suggested that Bactine Spray is the most effective against Staphylococcus aureus followed by NEOSPORIN ® Original Ointment then CVS Health Instant First Aid Spray. Thus, the initial prediction was incorrect. Bactine Spray contained 0.13% of benzalkonium chloride and in this investigation had an average length of 16.3 mm for its zone of inhibition (Table 1). According to a study done by Ali Fazlara (a member of the Department of Food Hygiene at Shahid Chamran University) and Maryam Ekhtelat (a researcher at Shahid Chamran University in the Department of Microbiology) found that because Staphylococcus aureus has a highly negative charge on its cell wall due to its slight anionic teichoic acids and peptidoglycan molecules, it allows for the cationic benzalkonium chloride to bind easily to specficically Staphylococcus aureus cell wall and thus block the active sites for essential enzymes to undergo their normal biochemical reactions for the bacterial cell. Therefore, benzalkonium chloride should theoretically be highly effective against Staphylococcus aureus. The data collected seems to support this and underpins the known fact that benzalkonium chloride is bacteriostatic (a chemical agent t hat stops bacteria from reproducing) at low concentrations. The investigation also suggests that NEOSPORIN ® Original Ointment was the second most effective against Staphylococcus aureus compared with the Bactine Spray and CVS Health Instant First Aid Spray. The active ingredients within this first aid product are bacitracin zinc (400 units), neomycin sulfate (3.5mg), and polymyxin B sulfate (5,000 units). NEOSPORIN ® Original Ointment resulted in an average zone of inhibition diameter of 15.4 mm, as shown in Table 1. The possible reason for why NEOSPORIN ® Original Ointment was not as effective against Staphylococcus aureus in this investigation is because of antibacterial resistance to some or all of the active ingredients by the bacteria. Studies have proposed that the isolate primarily found in the United States called USA300 methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), has been increasingly discovered to have been resistant to neomycin sulfate, bacitracin zinc, and polymyxin B sulfate. In this investigation, it can be suggested that CVS Health Instant First Aid Spray, with a concentration of 0.13% of triclosan was the least effective against Staphylococcus aureus. It resulted in an average zone of inhibition diameter of 5.2 mm according to Table 1. A possible conclusion that can be reached based on the results is the increasingly proven theory that Staphylococcus aureus has a progressively high antimicrobial resistance to triclosan. This is due in part because triclosan was the most common active ingredient in over the counter (OTC) products, which contributed greatly to Staphylococcus aureus antimicrobial resistance. As a matter of fact, the FDA banned triclosan on consumer antibacterial wash products because of the health related risks from bacterial resistance. However, some products still use triclosan because it banned to be used in soaps. These conclusions are incomplete and require improvements in order to thoroughly and further confirm the results and achieve consistent values. The addition of more trials would further eliminate any systematic errors that may have occurred such as error when impregnating disks with the products or cross-product contamination. Any instances of random error can be best alleviated by the use of a Vernier calliper (a measuring instrument that is used for measuring diameters) instead of a ruler. The use of a calliper to measure would contribute to higher precision and less measurement uncertainty. Extending the investigation to other normal bacterial skin flora would be interesting to see the extent of the effectiveness of Bactine Spray, NEOSPORIN ® Original Ointment, and CVS Health Instant First Aid Spray on different bacteria. Works Cited   Ã‚   Chittapragada, Maruthi, and Sarah Roberts. Aminoglycosides: Molecular Insights on the Recognition of RNA and Aminoglycoside Mimics. Perspectives in Medicinal Chemistry, 2009. www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2754922/. Accessed 15 Feb. 2017. Economou, Nicoleta J., et al. High-resolution crystal structure reveals molecular details of target recognition by bacitracin. 2013. www.pnas.org/content/110/35/14207.full.pdf. Accessed 13 Feb. 2017. Fazlara, Ali, and Maryam Ekhtelat. The Disinfectant Effects of Benzalkonium Chloride on Some Important Foodborne Pathogens. IDOSI, 2012. www.idosi.org/aejaes/jaes12(1)12/4.pdf. Accessed 16 Feb. 2017. Federal Drug Administration. FDA Issues Final Rule on Safety and Effectiveness of Antibacterial Soaps. U S Food and Drug Administration Home Page, 2 Sept. 2016, www.fda.gov/NewsEvents/Newsroom/PressAnnouncements/ucm517478.htm. Accessed 16 Feb. 2017. Kaya, Deniz. Quarternary Ammonium Compounds. 21 Jan. 2010, Accessed 9 Feb. 2017. Kling, Jim. Antibiotic Ointments May Fuel Resistance and Spread of MRSA. Medscape, 14 Sept. 2011, www.medscape.com/viewarticle/749666. Accessed 16 Feb. 2017. Maxka, Jim. Organic Chemistry Interactive Notes. Organic Chemistry, North Arizona University. Arizona. Reading. McDonnell, Gerald, and A. D. Russell. Antiseptics and Disinfectants: Activity, Action, and Resistance. Clinical Microbiology Reviews, 1999. www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC88911/. Accessed 9 Feb. 2017. Petersen, Richard C. Triclosan Antimicrobial Polymers. HHS Public Access, 2016. www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4893770/. Accessed 12 Feb. 2017. . Triclosan Computational Conformational Chemistry Analysis ForAntimicrobial Properties in Polymers. HHS Public Access, 2015. www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4394635/. Accessed 12 Feb. 2017. Polymxyin B Sulfate. Digital Photograph. Accessed 13 Feb. 2017. Pub Chem. Aerosporin | C56H100N16O17S PubChem. The PubChem Project, pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/compound/Polymyxin_B_sulfate#section=Related-Compounds. Accessed 13 Feb. 2017. Ramin Khajavi, Morteza Sattari and Ali Ashjaran, 2007. The Antimicrobial Effect of Benzalkonium Chloride on Some Pathogenic Microbes Observed on Fibers of Acrylic Carpet. Pakistan Journal of Biological Sciences, 10: 598-601. Stone, K. J., and Jack L. Strominger. Mechanism of Action of Bacitracin: Complexation with Metal Ion and C55-Isoprenyl Pyrophosphate. 1971. www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC389626/pdf/pnas00087-0326.pdf. Accessed 12 Feb. 2017. Tay, William M., et al. 1H NMR, Mechanism, and Mononuclear Oxidative Activity ofthe Antibiotic Metallopeptide Bacitracin: The Role of D-Glu-4,Interaction with Pyrophosphate Moiety, DNA Binding andCleavage, and Bioactivity. JACS Articles, 2010. Accessed 13 Feb. 2017. Unblok Bio Solutions. Ammonium. Unblok Bio-Fix, unblok.co/ammonium/. Accessed 9 Feb. 2017.