Medical errors Article Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Medical errors - Article Example Medical errors are inclusive of errors which are committed by medical care individuals as well as any other form of system errors. According to the Institute of Medicine (IOM), other definitions put forward on the description of medical errors include: â€Å"error of execution†, â€Å"error of planning† (Freisen, Farquhar and Hughes, n.d). The causes for medical errors are quite a number. Medical errors that are caused by medical personnel could be as a result of: lack of proper communication between the health care personnel; lack of proper communication between the patient (s) and the health care personnel; irresponsibility by the medical personnel in terms of prescriptions and dosages; handing out drugs over the counter without a sound doctor analysis; wrong drug administration; lack of following the mandated patient care policies. Communication is quite essential in a health care facility. In the event that there is a communication gap between the health care person nel, then problems are likely to occur. Lack of proper communication is likely to happen while writing out patients’ results or even while packaging or labelling drugs by their names and dosages. That is; a drug could be labelled wrongly and this could be interpreted differently by another medical personnel. A communication deficit could also occur between a patient (s) and the health care personnel. An example of such a situation is when the patient is describing their symptoms to the health care personnel. As a result, the words and expressions being used by the medical care expert could not actually be exactly what the patient is referring to. At that instance, a communication error occurs and this will in turn lead to wrong drug and dosage administration. Over the counter drugs (OTC) and prescriptions have also been known to cause fatal medical errors – this is due to the reason that the personnel responsible could be lacking adequate knowledge and experience in pr oviding ample analysis of the symptoms that the patient has. As a result, they could either give the wrong drugs to the patient or provide an under-dose or an over-dose of the medicine. Following the mandated hospital policies and procedures is very essential. These policies and procedures include: providing organisation orientation to new medical staff, providing medical education to patients and ensuring that medical training is done effectively. The benefit of carrying out all these tasks is that they will reduce the total numbers of medical errors that occur. For example, if the health care facility acquires new equipment, the staff should be trained on how to properly use the equipment so as to alienate the possibility of system errors. In addition to that, patient education should be provided so as to educate them with information on how they could also avoid being victims of unwanted medical errors. In a 1993 to 1998 medical study that was conducted by FDA (2013), the results revealed that the most regular form of medical error was as a result of recklessness while giving out prescriptions and medical dosages - This accounted for 41%. The same study revealed that the other forms of personnel medical errors included: wrong drug administration that answered for 16% while the use of wrong drug

Managing Project End-Date and Resource Allocation Essay Example for Free

Managing Project End-Date and Resource Allocation Essay Project management is one of the most effective means by which to manage and control just about any project. Construction management, Information Technology, Engineering are just a few of the many fields that are positively complimented and capable of utilizing project management to benefit processes from beginning to end as well as providing a platform for inclusion of all team members and an excellent level of communication to keep shareholders, corporate boards fully informed about a project. In addition, it provides the Project Manager with a means to â€Å"overview† the status of the project without having to micromanage team members, and allows them the freedom and flexibility to utilize their talents. Project also points out weaknesses in the project and team members as well. So, the following areas will be points of discussion: 1.General project management practices. 2.Allocation of resources. 3.Resolution of over allocated resources. General Project Management Practices All projects begin with a plan to get the work done. From there the project manager applies â€Å"best practices† based on his/her interaction with the owner, shareholders, and project team. On occasion there may be a tendency to â€Å"jump† right into the project without proper planning, but considerable time and money can be saved as well as increase in quality of the project. (Karim, 2011) So the following aspects to be included in the project definition would be: 1.Project overview, objectives, and scope. 2.Assumptions about the project, risks, and approach. 3.Organization, getting shareholders to approve and buy-in to and approve the project by signing the signature page for the project document. 4.The initial cost, duration and front end efforts are important even though they are just the â€Å"best guess† estimates that can change throughout the life of the project. Regardless of what occurs in the project, it is imperative that the project manager pay close attention as the project progresses. His/her quick actions are what will help the project to successful or unsuccessful for that matter. So, the importance of resource allocation is key here. Allocation of Resources Allocating resources on the front end of a project is also a lesson in estimating a â€Å"best guess† for the project. However, as the project manager more closely reviews the different aspects of the project allocated resources whether they be first, second, or third iteration (if any exist) will be pointed out by PM software such as MS Project. Its correct use will allow over allocation to be corrected which in some cases may bring the project in earlier and under budget. (de Sousa) In my analysis, the Huntsville Plant Project will not be ready by June 2012. In fact, it appears that the project will be extended to completion to take place at July 6, 2012 according to the project schedule. The approximate duration of the project is 64 weeks from the planning phase through final phase of distribution. To allow the project to complete on or closest to the project finish date, the over allocated resources could be used to bring the project closer to the approximate completion date of June 30, 2012. (Gido Clements, 2011) esolution of Over-Allocation of Resources A few examples from the Huntsville of over allocation are: 1.Item # 8 (Establishing Building Concept) is scheduled for 11 days, but could be reduced to 6 days ending on 5/8/11 which would decrease the lag by 5 days allowing item # 9 ( Create Building Design) to perhaps begin on 5/10/11. I chose to allow one day of lag in the event of inclement weather which most always throws a damper on most business behavior/activities. In this case, creating the building design can begin 5/11/11 and run through 5/14/11 with 2 days of lag remaining. 2.Item # 3 (Select Architect) could also be streamlined to 4 days instead of 11 days. 3.Item # 12 (Obtain Permits and Approvals) could be shortened by moving the start date to 5/15/11 to get the required approval from the municipal planning commission in a more timely fashion to keep the project on track. So, (Site Prep) could begin closer to 6/24/11 4.Item # 19 (Procure Equipment) could be shortened by one month to 10/11/11 giving 30 days lag. The Huntsville project shows over allocation of resources during the months of April, May, June, and July of 2011. However, careful review of the Resources Worksheet, Resource Graph, and Network Diagram will allow you to make the best use of project resources. The Team Planner can be used to clearly see work resources, and tasks can be dragged to make required adjustments. So, the allocation a resources is very important and should be done carefully, and reviewed often to help with the project final completion dates, avoid cost overruns, and be successful. While there is no such thing as the â€Å"perfect† project, we can certainly determine problem areas and resolve them before they affect the project negatively. Resources Karim, S. (2011, July 20). Best practices in project management or better practice?. Retrieved from http://blogs.pmi.org/blog/voices_on_project_management/2011/07/best-practices-in-project-mana.html de Sousa, S. (n.d.). My PM Expert. Retrieved from http://www.my-project-management-expert.com/project-management-resource-allocation.html Gido, J., Clements, J. P. (2011). Successful Project Management . (5th ed., pp. 216-219). Mason, Ohio: South-Western Cengage Learning. DOI: www.cengage.com

The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde :: Free Essay Writer

The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde Robert Louis Stevenson in â€Å"The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde† is telling us that we fear the knowledge of our duality so we keep silent. We are afraid of the truth, about ourselves, so we stay quiet. Everyone has a part of himself or herself that they don’t reveal to anyone. We are afraid to show it but when it comes out we’d rather not talk about it. The author shows knowledge as a very important thing. â€Å"Now I shall know you again,† said Mr. Utterson. â€Å"It may be useful.† This quote is said when Mr. Utterson meets Mr. Hyde for the first time. Another quote that proves this is â€Å"I wish to see or hear no more of Dr. Jekyll.† Lanyon said this after he had seen Mr. Hyde turn into Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Utterson was asking him questions about Dr. Jekyll. â€Å" Lanyon, you remember your vows: what follows is under the seal of our profession...† Lanyon is about to find out about Dr. Jekyll’s secret. Another pattern that the author shows as being important is fear. Mr. Utterson and Mr. Enfield were walking together and seen Dr. Jekyll in his house. They were talking to him when all of a sudden he started to change into Mr. Hyde. When they saw this they looked at each other, both were pale and had an answering horror in their eyes. â€Å" I am afraid, I think there has been foul play.† Poole says this when he goes and talks to Mr. Utterson about Dr. Jekyll. Also when Mr. Utterson and Poole want to talk to Dr. Jekyll and ask for him but find out that Mr. Hyde is inside they swing an axe at his door. They hear a â€Å" dismal screech, as of mere animal terror.† Another way fear is shown is when Lanyon saw Mr. Hyde turn into Dr. Jekyll. â€Å"O God and O God again and again.† Lanyon said this after what he saw. Another major pattern is duality. You can see duality through out the whole book. One example is Mr. Utterson and Mr. Enfield. Mr. Utterson is very popular around town. He is also involved with the town. On the other hand Mr. Enfield was always quiet and didn’t do anything around the town. But they were always together. Another example is Dr.

Free Essays on Homers Odyssey: Religion and Death :: Homer Odyssey Essays

Religion and Death in Homer's Odyssey      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   How does the Ancient Greek beliefs of religion and death differ with the view of other cultural groups?   Death, the way it is represented in Homer's book, The Odyssey, is always caused by human error.   Whether their death was caused by greed, selfishness, or just being curious, many people died in The Odyssey.   Still, the question of what happens after we die remains.   Many religions have different beliefs of religious ideas from the Ancient Greeks.   Afterlife, is a belief where the comparisons among religions become extremely close. The Greek beliefs of gods and death are different from the modern day beliefs of other religions such as Judaism and Ancient Egyptian beliefs.      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   For example,   The Odyssey begins with a scene containing a conversation among the gods.   The goddess Athena, goddess of war and wisdom, is discussing the matter of Odysseus with Zeus, the head god and god of sky (Homer 10).   Of course these are not the only Greek gods and goddesses. Other examples of Greek gods and goddesses are Apollo, god of music, poetry, medicine, archery, and young unmarried men and Hestes, goddess of the home. As you can see, the Greeks believed in many gods unlike the people of the Jewish fate who believed in one god.   The Jewish god does not have an emblem that which it is represented by.   The belief is that the god is represented by everything.   For example, members of the Jewish religion believe god is everywhere, in everything, and represented by everything they do.   Another example of the religious differences is how Ancient Egyptians believed in idol gods which are gods represented in statues. Ancient Greek beliefs are different from those of other societies because of differences between how gods are represented in Judaism and Ancient Egyptian beliefs.      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Equally important are the Ancient Greek views of death.   Death caused by human error is widespread throughout the book.   Human error is encountered in each one of Odysseus's adventures on his return home.   The Kyklopes represented the greediness, selfishness, and uncilvilization of Odysseus's men.   Odysseus fell asleep and his men unleashed a bag of bad winds, throwing them off path (Homer 315).   Skylla and Kharybdis was a representation of death from nature when Odysseus's men stopped rowing and six of the men were killed.

A balanced approach Essay

It is our main concern to keep children safe from harm. Doing this can be very hard, as at the same time we need to encourage children and young people to experience risk and challenges. If we try to remove all risks from children’s lives we could be restricting their learning experiences. Some risks obviously need to be avoided, otherwise we wouldn’t be competent in our role of caring for children and young people. Obviously the risks we allow children and young people to take should be appropriate to age, needs and ability, and a balanced approach should apply. We should not be excessively risk adverse and encourage children to have more independence, therefore creating more confidence. By allowing children to use and access certain equipment such as a trim trail or climbing frame, and giving them rules and boundaries to follow whilst using the equipment allows them to take certain risks without taking excessive risks. See more: The Issues Concerning Identity Theft Essay The children that I work with understand that when they are allowed access to the trim trail, they must follow the rules. There have been instances when children have not followed the rules and then have ended up with minor injuries from falling. Children now know that if the rules are not followed they will be removed from the activity on that occasion. However, by allowing children and young people to take certain risks, we must also remember to avoid excessive risk taking, for example, we should encourage children not to swing on chairs, and always demonstrate to children and young people how to use equipment correctly, i.e. scissors. It is very important your children and young people to be given the opportunity to take risks and challenges in order for them to develop a sense of self awareness. They need to understand the importance of potential risks to themselves and others around them. Children need to be encouraged to think about what risks may arise and how they can be avoi ded, and how they may impact on others and themselves.

Likelihood Ratio Positive And Positive Predictive Value Health Essay Essays

Likelihood Ratio Positive And Positive Predictive Value Health Essay Essays Likelihood Ratio Positive And Positive Predictive Value Health Essay Essay Likelihood Ratio Positive And Positive Predictive Value Health Essay Essay and allows the doctor to find the importance of a positive trial consequence. An alternate method of finding the post-test chance uses likelihood ratios. The likeliness ratio ( LR ) communicates the chance that a given trial consequence would happen in a patient with the mark disease compared to a patient without the disease. Unlike PPV, LR is non reliant on pre-test chance. A positive LR is calculated by sensitivity/ ( 1 specificity ) , whereas a negative LR is calculated by ( 1 sensitiveness ) /specificity. Using a likeliness ratio nomograph, the post-test chance can be rapidly determined utilizing the deliberate LR and pre-test chance. B ) Define and contrast analytic and descriptive experimental surveies ( 2 Markss ) Descriptive surveies are used to supply information on the forms of happening of a peculiar disease within the population, such as prevalence or incidence. They describe the distribution of exposure and result variables, and are of import in exciting hypotheses such as possible hazard factors for disease. Study types include cross-sectional surveies and clinical observations described in instance studies and case-series. Analytic surveies provided critical analysis of the relationship between two factors, the consequence of an intercession or exposure on an result. Within such surveies hypotheses can be tested utilizing observation or experimentation, comparing rate of results in control group to intercession or exposed group. Such surveies include randomised controlled tests, cohort surveies and case-control surveies. Q2. An research worker would wish to measure the association of goiter and decreased I consumption in a community-based instance control survey in Nigeria. Persons with goiter will be compared with controls. The survey was located in a low income country in Nigeria and those with goiters were largely low-income persons. The research workers were surprised to happen those with a low BMI were more likely to hold goitre. They conclude that a low BMI causes goiter. a ) Do you hold or differ with the research worker? Explain your reply in a few sentences ( 2 Markss ) I disagree. The survey investigated the association of goiter with decreased iodine consumption, yet concluded that a low BMI causes goiter. Bing an experimental survey missing any intercessions, it is hard to definitively set up causality. There is no suggestion that the survey adjusted for any confounding variables related to both BMI and the development of goiter, such as income degrees or age. Failure to set for normally associated factors hinders the disclosure of true associations. For illustration, it is wholly executable that low BMI and goiter are both results of exposure to nutritionally-deficient repasts afforded by those with low income. Further survey is required to measure if low BMI meets the Bradford Hill standards for causality of goiter, using the right analytical survey type, commanding confounding and extinguishing prejudice. B ) Explain in a few words what type of bias/error may be present ( 1 grade ) Recall prejudice. Reliance on callback may take to measurement prejudice, due to inaccurate remembrance or measuring of anterior iodine consumption by both topics and controls. Further to this, choice prejudice may be if the control population was non similar plenty to the instance population. Potentially high variableness, together with measuring prejudice, threatens the internal cogency of the survey. Q3. A survey to measure the association of diabetes and smoke compared a group of hospitalised persons with diabetes ( instances ) with a group of voluntary persons without diabetes ( controls ) who were full-time employees of the same infirmary where the instances were identified. The consequences from this survey reported, for the first clip in the literature, a strong association between diabetes and smoke. a ) What type of prejudice may be present? Why do you surmise the presence of the prejudice you have identified? ( 2 Markss ) Choice prejudice. The diabetics and non-diabetics are sourced from different population samples via differing choice methods. Volunteer prejudice and built-in fluctuation between the two groups may hold unwittingly influenced the strength of association reported. B ) The magnitude of this association is likely to be either over- or underestimated. Which do you believe is the instance, and what makes you believe so? ( 1 grade ) Over-estimated. Volunteers in a survey are frequently more motivated and wellness witting than selected participants, particularly those enduring wellness complications that require hospital admittance. Furthermore, the voluntaries have regular workplace exposure to patients enduring the inauspicious effects of smoke. Therefore there is an increased likeliness of less tobacco users amongst the control group. degree Celsius ) What is the best, executable survey type you would look for to reply this type of research inquiry? ( 1 grade ) An origin cohort. This is best for analyzing the consequence of prognostic hazard factors ( such as smoking ) on an result ( diabetes ) , to clarify alterations in disease incidence, without prejudice. It is non executable to use a randomized controlled test, as it is non ethical to intentionally expose people to the wellness hazards of smoke. Q4. You have a patient who asks you if diminishing meat consumption and increasing the sum of dietetic fresh fruit and veggies will diminish their hereafter hazard of intestine malignant neoplastic disease. You search for and happen the undermentioned article a ) Write the chief survey inquiry addressed by this research paper, in your ain words. ( 1 grade ) Does ingestion of differing nutrient groups or dietetic forms alter the hazard for rectal malignant neoplastic disease in non-Hispanic White persons and African americans? B ) Convert this into the PICO format. ( 2 Markss ) Patient/Population Non-Hispanic Whites and African americans Intervention/Indicator ingestion of specific nutrient groups Comparison ingestion of specific dietetic forms Outcome altered hazard for rectal malignant neoplastic disease degree Celsius ) What is the clinical inquiry type? ( 1 grade ) Aetiology To place hazard factors in incidence of rectal malignant neoplastic disease vitamin D ) What is the survey design? ( 1 grade ) Case-control survey. vitamin E ) Identify and briefly discuss the specific characteristics of the 3 chief causes of prejudice in this survey. 100 words maximal ( 6 Markss ) The research workers acknowledge 3 chief causes of prejudice. First, utilizing the questionnaire format, they risk measurement mistake by sorting ingested nutrients into specific groups for choice, restricting weighting of peculiar nutrients in dietetic forms. Inadequate diverseness in nutrients listed contributes to this measuring prejudice. Second, trust on capable callback of nutrient ingested over the old 12 months poses a important concern for the truth of the survey, due to remember prejudice. Finally, the high Numberss of non-respondents rises inquiries about the being of differences in rectal malignant neoplastic disease hazard between participants and non-participants, implying choice prejudice. degree Fahrenheit ) The paper concludes that higher consumption of fruit, veggies and dairy were associated with reduced rectal malignant neoplastic disease in Caucasians. Discuss these consequences ( Table 2 ) in visible radiation of the 5 major points of the Bradford Hill standards for set uping causal relationships. 200 words maximal ( 10 Markss ) 1. Temporality To demo a clip relationship of alteration in rectal malignant neoplastic disease incidence over clip, the research workers requested callback of diet over the last 12 months. However, this failed to once and for all turn out that ingestion of the nutrient groups ever preceded the decrease in rectal malignant neoplastic disease incidence. 2. Consistency The survey decisions claimed to be by and large associated with similar consequences by different surveies or research workers, and referenced a few surveies back uping their decisions ( mentions 13 to 15 ) . However, this contrasted with the survey by Michels et Al, and without a far greater figure of surveies with comparable findings, consistence can non be established. 3. Strength of association Measurements for fruit, some veggies and dairy showed important decreases in the hazard of rectal malignant neoplastic disease, with odds ratios lt ; 1 back uping strong association ( statistical significance of P lt ; 0.05 ) . 4. Dose-response relationship Increasing degrees of consumption resulted in diminishing incidence for rectal malignant neoplastic disease, evidenced by diminishing odds ratios between groups Q1 to Q4. Evidence for causality requires increasing incidence of disease with increasing exposure but here an opposite relationship applies. 5. Biological plausibleness -It is plausible that nutrients rich in vitamins and fibre lessening the happening of rectal malignant neoplastic disease, as suggested by the research workers.

Time Warner Merger Essays

AOL/Time Warner Merger Essays AOL/Time Warner Merger Essay AOL/Time Warner Merger Essay The merger of AOL and Time Warner was announced in January 2000 against the backdrop of a seeming technology revolution but prior to the bursting of the stock market bubble. Prior to Mid-March 2000, some of the bluest of blue chip companies feared marginalization by an upstart dot.com army. Today, however, every decision made in that era has been subject to the punitive scrutiny of hindsight. The AOL-Time Warner merger made a great deal of sense in the context of emerging competitive realities at the time and may prove to be a compelling combination as the Company moves forward and competes head-on with the likes of Microsoft. Both companies addressed perceived threats from externalities and bargaining problems. Nonetheless, it is clear that AOL gleaned the greatest lasting advantage from its choice of corporate strategies. The Time Warner Imperative At the time of the merger, Time Warner was the largest media firm in the world, having assembled an unparalleled portfolio of related assets, spanning both content and distribution. This was driven largely by two fundamental factors; first, the economics of the media industry dictate extracting multiple sources of rents from any given production, and second, media industry consolidation throughout the 1990s which saw large media firms largely internalize their distribution. However, with the rise of the Internet revolution, Time Warner was feeling pressure on a number of fronts: * A stagnating stock price as markets rewarded nimble, net-centric businesses, no matter how unproven; * Fragmentation of its audience, particularly to Internet media outlets, which it feared would sap it of the scale that provided leverage with advertisers; * Failure in a number of its own Internet ventures, feeding the fear that old economy companies truly were ill-equipped to succeed in the emerging e-conomy; * Rising costs of talent fueled by the exodus of executives seeking Internet riches. Against this backdrop, Time Warners agreement to link up with AOL seemed like a solid defensive move, guarding against the potential obsolescence of its resources by giving itself a stake in the Internet Revolution. It also held out tremendous offensive potential by giving the Company a new avenue to leverage its portfolio of competencies, namely the effective creation and distribution of content across multiple distribution channels; in this case AOLs 33 million subscribers. In the words of one analyst, Time Warner managed to acquire the Internet brand it had yet to build, thus enabling it to successfully overcome a major externality that was threatening its continued success. The AOL Imperative Throughout its history, AOL had leveraged joint ventures and partnerships as a means to grow and thrive. But competitive pressures were growing, and AOL, through its acquisition of Netscape and Compuserve, had begun to come more directly into competition with Microsoft, without the proprietary resources to win a fair fight. Additionally, and perhaps more importantly, despite AOLs dominant position as the number one Internet service provider, it only provided dial-up service, the growth of which was coming to a halt. Future subscriber growth required being able to provide broadband access, which provided much greater speed of connection and data transfer, enabling significantly richer functionality and significantly more profitable subscribers. AOL had succeeded on the basis of providing easy access to the Internet and simple, convenient, features such as email and instant messaging, that won early loyalty. However, the Internet was moving beyond its early beginnings, broadband was the key to the Internets future and AOL didnt possess sufficient unique content to compete as a dial-up provider. AOL also feared that it would be vulnerable to hold-up, or frozen out altogether, by those companies that had broadband capabilities. The merger with Time Warner allowed AOL to address its potential bargaining problems in two ways. First, it acquired a wealth of unique content that should give it significantly greater leverage vis-à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½-vis firms like Microsoft that was extracting a heavy toll for access to the desktop. Second, by acquiring the number two cable provider, it instantly guaranteed itself a future in broadband and immediate access to millions of potential subscribers, mitigating the hold-up problem. Cross-Pollination Hailed as one of the two world powers of interconnectivity, a major rationale behind the merger was to win control over the home network which Gerald Levin described as the final battlefield. The vision was to create a seamless platform that would give AOL TW scale and scope beyond any other media company in the world and allow it to promote [their] products and brands across all of its media properties. This would require the successful transfer of skills between the two companies. The companies would have to effectively share their combined knowledge of cross-selling, Time Warners skill in media creation, their respective distribution competencies (AOL online and Time Warner in broader media outlets), and finally lever AOLs success in establishing meaningful joint venture relations. Enter Microsoft From the first time that AOL had to negotiate with Microsoft for access to the desktop, it was inevitable that the two would eventually come to compete. What was probably much more difficult to envision was the breadth of different businesses in which Microsoft would become a competitor. Microsoft has an entrenched presence on what, until recently, was the only vehicle for accessing the Internet; the computer. But recognizing, as AOL does, the convergence of technologies in media and communication and the likely zero sum game for the home network, Microsofts key corporate strategy has been its ability to achieve coordination by creating or venturing with firms that provide complementary products or services. Despite being late to the Internet game, Microsoft has effectively leveraged its ubiquity in computing and its vast financial resources to build or invest in businesses that go head to head with AOL in almost every facet of its operations. Microsoft has established links with complementary companies that will enable it to remain the de facto operating standard even when computing and Internet functionality leave the desktop and migrate to such vehicles as the television or the phone. It has also increased its content and functionality in areas such as messaging, gaming, transaction facilitation, online music and video, ensuring that there is no substantial area of interest in which consumers can not find a Microsoft or Microsoft-enabled solution. The result of these activities is that Microsoft and AOL will continue to go toe-to-toe for control of the digital consumer until a winner emerges. AOL/Time Warner: Who won? Determining who won and who lost in the AOL-Time Warner merger is complicated by the choice of criteria used to determine victory. If a more formidable and sustainable competitor was created, did both Companies win? But ask any Time Warner shareholder who won and youll get an unambiguous answer; AOL. By most standards, its acquisition was a coup. Its true that the merger makes great strategic sense for the businesses in which both companies compete. But the fact that AOL acquired Time Warner with vastly inflated stock means that AOL shareholders partook in one of the great robberies of the Internet bubble. While the value of most Internet companies plummeted over the past three years, AOL shareholders had managed to acquire some of the most valuable old economy assets. Time Warner, on the other hand, has seen the value of its consideration decline substantially, at a time when its stable mix of businesses should have held up much better. Had Time Warner acquired AOL for 20-30% of AOLs market value in January 2000, it might have been viewed as one of the shrewdest mergers in recent memory. The circumstances of the two companies coming together, however, will leave a cloud over the Company until it begins to realize its great potential that was envisioned at the outset.