The Alltel Pavilion Case Strategy and Cvp Analysis free essay sample

Based on an actual entertainment pavilion, the case develops many factors unique to a service business and illustrates how pavilion management can use CVP analysis to determine which artists to attract and what kinds of contracts to have with these performers. The Pavilion has two types of customers (paying ticket holders and free ticket holders) and earns profits from three types of revenues (ticket revenues, concession revenues, and parking fees). The case requires you to identify the best strategy for different types of artists, conduct cost-volume-profit analyses, consider the strategic issues related to operating leverage and how this affects the choice of performer and contract, and assess pricing strategies. O ne day in early November, Pam Berg, Manager of the ALLTEL Pavilion, was reviewing the operating results for the year just completed in preparation for the executive board meeting the following Friday. While the year ended in the black, she was disappointed that the ALLTEL Pavilion failed to earn the budgeted profit goal. We will write a custom essay sample on The Alltel Pavilion Case: Strategy and Cvp Analysis or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page This was the second year since Ms. Berg assumed the manager’s position at the ALLTEL Pavilion. After the somewhat disappointing first year, she was determined to exceed the budgeted profit in the coming year. While not all events developed exactly as expected at the time of preparing the budget for the year, there were no major surprises during the year. Yet, the operating results are below the budgeted goal. In addition, Pam was frustrated by the lack of clear guidelines for contract negotiations with artists, for setting ticket prices, and in dealing with unexpected low ticket sales for certain concerts. THE ALLTEL PAVILION FOR LIVE ENTERTAINMENT The ALLTEL Pavilion in Raleigh, North Carolina (http://www. alltelpavilion. com/) is an outdoor amphitheater that provides live concerts to the public from April through October each year, hosting as many as half a million patrons a year. The seven-month season usually hosts an average of 40 concerts, and 12 year-round staff plan and manage each season. SFX Entertainment Inc. (http://sfxyes. liveonline. net/) operates the pavilion. SFX is one of the largest diversified promoters, producers, and venue operators for live entertainment events in the United States. It has 71 venues either directly owned or operated under lease or exclusive booking arrangements in 29 of the top 50 U. S. markets, including 14 amphitheaters or pavilions in 9 of the top 10 markets. Edward Blocher is a Professor at The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and Kung H. Chen is a Professor at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln. 555 556 Blocher and Chen ALLTEL Pavilion wants to be the nightlife for the Triangle (Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill, NC) and eastern North Carolina, and one of the most beautiful, technologically advanced, and successful amphitheaters in the world. It features the most modern state-of-the-art acoustics and video of any facility of its kind. In the last few years, ALLTEL Pavilion staged shows by the Dave Matthews Band, Alan Jackson, Brooks Dunn, Toby Keith, Santana, Tim McGraw, Aerosmith, James Taylor, Jimmy Buffett, and many other national, regional, and local artists. The Pavilion claims, â€Å"There isn’t a bad seat in the house. Whether you choose to spread a blanket on our gently sloping festival lawn or select a reserved seat in our pavilion seating area, you are guaranteed a great view of the action on the stage† (ALLTEL Pavilion website). Exhibit 1 shows the stage and seating of the amphitheater. History/Development The city of Raleigh and Pace Entertainment Company of Houston, Texas jointly built the ALLTEL Pavilion in 1991. Pace Entertainment and Cellar Door Inc. of Raleigh, NC had the initial contract to manage the Pavilion. Hardee’s Food Systems, Inc. of Rocky Mount, NC, the original sponsor of the amphitheater, paid an annual fee to carry its name and logo on all signs and ads regarding the amphitheater. On February 3, 1999 ALLTEL Corp (http://tel. com) became the title sponsor for the amphitheater. The demand for the outdoor facility came about because the rapidly growing city of Raleigh lacked a major entertainment complex. In the late 1980s Pace Entertainment and the city of Raleigh came to an agreement to build the facility. The city of Raleigh would own the land while Pace Entertainment would own the facility and assume sole operations of the facility; Cellar Door would do the booking for all the concerts. Pace Entertainment would pay income taxes on earnings from the use of the facility. In 1998, SFX Entertainment Inc. acquired Pace Entertainment Inc. The amphitheater facility and its employees became part of SFX Entertainment Inc. Also, in 1999 SFX Entertainment Inc. acquired Cellar Door Inc. and merged with Clear Channel Communications Inc. , one of the largest owners of radio stations in the country. This move brought together both worlds of the entertainment business. While the company has diverse holdings, the philosophy of SFX is â€Å"One Company, One Mission. † Many companies that are now owned by SFX were at one time bitter rivals in the concertpromoting business. These companies now maintain good working relationships within SFX. A key goal for SFX is for the net operating income of each of its holdings, including the ALLTEL Pavilion, to grow 5 percent each year. The Pavilion competes with the RBC Center (http://www. rbccenter. com) at North Carolina State University in Raleigh (NCSU), the Dean Smith Activities Center (http://tarheelblue. ocsn. com/genrel/ 092301aad. html) at The University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill, NC (UNC), and the Verizon Wireless Amphitheater in Charlotte, NC (http://www. verizonwirelessamphitheater. com/charlotte/), among others. In contrast to the facilities at NCSU and UNC that offer only indoor events, the Pavilion offers outdoor as well as sheltered seating for its events. Marketing, Operations, and Accounting When the marketing department plans a promotion for an upcoming event, it coordinates with the sales department to see if there is a conflict in sponsorship. Marketing also coordinates with the operations department to effectively manage the activities on show days. Finally, the budget of each department (sales, marketing, and operations) is reviewed by the accounting department, which provides overall financial anagement of the project. Bringing Concerts to Reality A concert becomes reality in many steps. First, a group or performer with an interest in performing at ALLTEL will discuss with Cellar Door, Inc. and the Pavilion the possibility of performing at Issues in Accounting Education, November 2004 The ALLTEL Pavilion Case: Strategy and CVP Analysis 557 the Pavilion, and look at the open dates. Upon reaching an agreement, Cellar Door, on behalf of the Pavilion, signs a contract with the booking agent for the performer. A time is specified for gate openings, and once the gate is opened the show is underway. The job of the staff during a concert is to make sure every customer of the ALLTEL Pavilion has a pleasant experience and that the mission of the company is clearly seen by everyone that â€Å"a concert †¦ it’s better live. † Clean Sweep Inc. of Raleigh handles the cleanup after a show. Key Business Issues Marketing has an important role in the success of the ALLTEL Pavilion, but marketing expenditures are carefully watched. For every show, the marketing budget is limited to $20,000. For many shows it is difficult to stay within the budget, since the Pavilion serves a five-market region consisting of Raleigh-Durham, Fayetteville, Wilmington, Greensboro, and the Carolina Coast. Most of the marketing budget is spent on advertising with radio, TV, and print media in the designated regions. Prior to developing advertising plans, the marketing staff analyzes ticket sales geographically over the five-market region. It is important to know the demographics of the five regions and compare them with the profile for each performer. The more ALLTEL Pavilion can know about the fans, the more they know where to spend the $20,000. SFX develops measures of performance and profitability for each advertising media, by region. This type of analysis is important to the ALLTEL Pavilion because increased ticket sales, through effective advertising, not only affect ticket revenues, but also revenues from parking, merchandise, and concessions. It is also important because of the increased cost of advertising. The advertising rates in the Raleigh-Durham region are comparable to the rates in Washington, D. C. The rates are up 200 percent over the last five years, while the budgets per show are only up 15 percent over this time. The cost of the performing artist has also increased dramatically. The average fee for an artist is approximately $160,000. Some artists are paid on a fixed-fee basis, while others are paid on a per capita basis. Generally, the most popular artists seek a per capita contract because they are confident of a high level of attendance. In contrast, the artist paid a fixed-fee is guaranteed the same fee whether 100 or 20,000 people attend (the capacity of the Pavilion is approximately 20,000 attendance). On average, the total number of paid tickets per fixed-fee concert is 7,000. The role of marketing and advertising is especially important for fixed-fee shows. One method the Pavilion uses in addition to advertising is to distribute â€Å"comp† tickets (comp tickets are free tickets distributed throughout the community) to build interest in the Pavilion that will later be realized in paying customers. Comp customers also bring in revenue for parking, concessions, and merchandise sales. In a fixed-fee concert, the number of comp tickets is approximately 25 percent of the number of paying tickets, while a per capita show has no more than 2. 5 percent. Because of the increasing cost of the performing artists, ALLTEL Pavilion tries to reduce nonartist costs. Nonartist costs at ALLTEL Pavilion include expenses for sales, marketing, parking, security, concessions, and merchandise. Since assuming the manager position, Pam has developed several avenues to reduce nonartist costs and/or increase revenues and profits, including reducing expenses, having the parking service pass out flyers for upcoming events, trading â€Å"comp† tickets for online spots in the radio industry, and giving local businesses tickets in exchange for advertising on their premises. Revenues, Costs, and Flash Report for the KFBS Allstars Concert Exhibit 2 is a mock flash report for an illustrative fixed-fee show, the KFBS Allstars. A flash report is a projection of costs and revenues for a scheduled concert. The guarantee/talent cost ($160,635) is the amount the KFBS Allstars are guaranteed for the show. Projected sales is the number of projected paying ticket holders, while the â€Å"drop count† is total attendance, including both Issues in Accounting Education, November 2004 558 Blocher and Chen paid and comp tickets. Setting ticket price is often done together with the performer, taking into consideration SFX’s national and regional pricing policies, prices of comparable venues, and the Pavilion’s desired profit for the concert. Pam uses the flash report to plan potential concerts and to evaluate the success of concerts already presented. The report shows the variety of revenues and costs for a concert, and the projected profit for the concert. The flash report projects total revenues including ticket sales, parking, food, and merchandise based on per capita (drop count) rates. Ticket sales are in four ticket categories: A seats and B seats are regular price tickets for the reserved and lawn seating sections respectively; C and D seats are promotional (discount) price tickets for reserved and lawn seating, respectively. Other revenues include per capita facility charges paid by the sponsoring corporation for naming rights (based on paid ticket holders) and a per capita service charge paid by the performer for food, transportation, and other services. Not included are the annual lease payments for VIP seats at $10,000 per year. Patrons to the VIP seats also have to pay the ticket price of A-level seats. Reserved and lawn seating areas are shown in Exhibit 1. The parking, food concession, and merchandise operations are outsourced to other service providers, so the direct costs for parking, merchandise and concessions are determined based on contracts with the service providers that include both a percentage (10 percent) of applicable revenues and a fixed fee. Operating expenses include an allocation of the total of fixed production and operations costs for the season, the advertising expenses for the KFBS Allstars event, and other variable expenses. These are then added to the direct costs for concessions, merchandise, parking, and insurance to determine total operating expenses. REQUIRED How would you describe the competitive strategy of the ALLTEL Pavilion? Given the firm’s strategy, what are the critical success factors for the Pavilion to achieve its goal of continuous annual growth in operating income? 2. Complete two selected cost-volume-profit analyses for the show illustrated in Exhibit 2, the KFBS Allstars: a) How many tickets must the ALLTEL Pavilion sell to break even? ) How many tickets must ALLTEL sell to earn $30,000 operating income after taxes, assuming a 40 percent tax rate? 3. What should be the average ticket price for the KFBS concert if the fixed-pay fee is $200,000 and the Pavilion expects to sell 7,000 tickets and wants to earn $30,000 after 40 percent in taxes? 4. Negotiating the fee for the KFBS Allstars: fixed-pay or per capita contracts? a) What is the maximum fixed fee that the Pavilion can pay the KFBS Allstars if the Pavilion wants to earn $45,000 after 40 percent tax and expects the show to have an average ticket price of $22. 12? Assume the show is expected to draw 6,000 paying ticket holders. b) What is the maximum fixed fee that the Pavilion can pay the KFBS Allstars if the Pavilion wants to earn $45,000 after 40 percent tax and expects the show to have an average ticket price of $22. 12? Assume, including 25 percent comp tickets, the show is expected to be a sell-out. c) Independent of (a) and (b), what is the maximum per capita fee that the Pavilion can pay the KFBS Allstars, whose concert is expected to be a sellout, if the Pavilion wants to earn $180,000 after 40 percent tax from an average ticket price of $22. 2 per ticket? 5. What role does CVP analysis and operating leverage play in contract negotiations with different types of performers (fixed-fee or per capita)? 1. Issues in Accounting Education, November 2004 The ALLTEL Pavilion Case: Strategy and CVP Analysis 559 EXHIBIT 1 ALLTEL Pavilion Stage and Seating The Pavilion can accommodate 20,000 fans with 7,000 reserved seats directly in front of th e stage (covered seating in sections 1 through 9 and VIP seating) and another 13,000 on the spacious lawn. It has 78 theater-style VIP boxes that can accommodate 4, 6, or 8 people. In addition to positioning for prime viewing, patrons in VIP boxes also enjoy amenities such as wait staff service at their seats, personalized parking, and exclusive membership to the VIP Bar Grill. Directly in front of sections 4, 5, 8, and 9 is seating with an elevated floor that provides excellent views of the stage for patrons with disabilities and additional seating for the hearing or visually impaired. Lawn Seating Reserved, Covered Seating Issues in Accounting Education, November 2004 560 Blocher and Chen EXHIBIT 2 Flash Report for the KFBS Allstars Concert ARTIST NAME ACTIVITY/EVENT NUMBER EVENT MONTH EVENT DATE Projected Sales (Number of Seats) A Seats B Seats C Seats D Seats TOTAL Number of Seats Projected Ticket Price A Seats B Seats C Seats D Seats PROJECTED NET AFTER TAX ADMISSIONS AVG TIX PRICE NET OF TAX PER PAYING PATRON TALENT % GUARANTEE/TALENT COSTS NUMBER OF PERFORMANCES DROP COUNT (includes comp tickets) Other Ticket-Related Revenue FACILITY CHARGE Per capita SERVICE CHARGE Per capita REVENUE FROM TICKETING Per capita ANCILLARY REVENUES PARKING Per capita FOOD CONCESSION Per capita MERCHANDISE Per capita RENTALS REVENUE FROM ANCILLARIES Per capita TOTAL REVENUE Per capita The KFBS Allstars 10310001 7 7/31/04 2,778 2,845 1,747 881 8,251 $36. 29 $22. 22 $11. 31 $ 4. 92 $182,479 $22. 12 88. 03% $160,635 1 10,349 $24,010 $2. 91 $16,172 $1. 96 $222,673 $26. 99 $19,767 $1. 91 $79,273 $7. 66 $36,428 $3. 52 $0. 00 $135,468 $13. 09 $358,141 $34. 61 (continued on next page) Issues in Accounting Education, November 2004 The ALLTEL Pa vilion Case: Strategy and CVP Analysis 561 EXHIBIT 2 (continued) Other Direct Costs PARKING CONTRACT CONCESSION CONTRACT MERCHANDISE CONTRACT TOTAL DIRECT COSTS Per capita PERCENT OF SALES TOTAL REVENUE (from above) TOTAL DIRECT COSTS (from above) GROSS PROFIT Operating Expenses TOTAL PRODUCTION EXPENSE TOTAL OPERATIONS EXPENSE TOTAL OTHER VAR. EXPENSE TOTAL ADVERTISING EXPENSE TOTAL OPERATING EXP Per capita PERCENT OF SALES OPERATING INCOME Per capita PERCENT OF SALES Detail: Other Concert Variable Expense Insurance Expense per person COGS—Concession per person COGS—Merchandise Inventory per person COGS—Parking per person Other Variable Concert Expense per person TOTAL OTHER VARIABLE EXPENSE $0. 17 $0. 35 $1. 12 $0. 08 $0. 02 $14,323 $4,448 $43,356 $17,826 $226,265 $21. 86 63. 2% $358,141 $226,265 $131,876 $15,506 $14,991 $14,323 $20,030 $64,850 $6. 27 18. 1% $67,026 $6. 48 18. 7% Issues in Accounting Education, November 2004

Jada Garrison Essays - Hashtags, World Wide Web, Computing

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How Lobbying works

How Lobbying works In the United States, lobbyists work on behalf of big companies or the public. The lobbying process usually assumes two categories, the indirect and the direct kind. Direct lobbying involves â€Å"meeting a politician and providing him/her with details relating to a law or a bill that is under vote† (Nownes 14).Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on How Lobbying works? specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Indirect lobbying can also be referred to as grassroots lobbying and it involves influencing the politicians’ votes by changing public opinion. Public members then contact their representatives and inform them about their acquired opinions on the issue under discussion. Lobbyists usually come into contact with both legislators and their aides. During the lobbying process, lobbyists advocate for interests that might be affected by changes in legislation. The main purpose of lobbying is to employ checks and balanc es to the law making process. The status of a lobbyist is not the same as that of an ordinary voter because while a voter has only one vote, a lobbyist has the power to influence politicians directly. In addition, lobbyists usually have access to a lot of money and this gives them immense influence. Lobbying activities do not depend on which party is in power. Lobbyists have the ability to work against party policies and manifestos. The independent nature of lobbying makes it a good tool of democracy. The lobbying process is enshrined in the constitution through the First amendment. This Amendment gives the people â€Å"the right to petition the government for a redress of grievances† (Nownes 34). This right is enjoyed by individuals, professionals, nons of lobbying activities might include a campaign spearheaded by oil companies that are interested in convincing the Congress to amend oil-drilling rules, a campaign by software companies that seek to convince the Congress to t ighten copyright laws, and a campaign by a humanitarian society that wants the government to increase the welfare budget. On the other hand, indirect lobbying involves trying to appeal to an elected official’s electorate. Indirect lobbying might involve sending letters to voters explaining a certain issue and then asking them to contact their representatives. In addition, lobbyists might address rallies or public forums that urge citizens to sway their politicians’ opinion on a certain issue.Advertising Looking for essay on political sciences? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Nowadays, lobbying is often marred by controversy. Lobbyists are viewed by most citizens as individuals who would stop at nothing to sway politicians even if the process involves corruption. For instance, a lobbyist by the name Jack Abramoff claimed to have spent over one million dollars in one year through politicians’ incen tives. Some people are of the view that the only way to eliminate corruption from lobbying is by abolishing it entirely. However, lobbying has proved useful in some instances and it is protected by the constitution. Lobbying has at times worked against the interests of citizens. During the Ford Pinto disaster, lobbyists made the situation worse by delaying the recall of the faulty vehicle models. This delay proved fatal because several innocent citizens lost their lives. Almost everyone can engage in lobbying because no certification is required before becoming a lobbyist. Lobbying is important to the country’s law making process. However, the process is often misused by politicians and big corporations. The solution to this misuse lies with the politicians. Politicians are still answerable to those who elect them to office. Therefore, being swayed by unscrupulous lobbyists might cost politicians their political careers. Nownes, Anthony. Total Lobbying: What Lobbyists Want ( and how they try to get it), New York, NY: Cambridge University Press, 2006. Print.

How Neologisms Keep English Alive

How Neologisms Keep English Alive A neologism is a newly coined word, expression, or usage. Its also known as a coinage. Not all neologisms are entirely new. Some are new uses for old words, while others result from new combinations of existing words. They keep the English language alive and modern. A number of factors determine whether a neologism will stay around in the language. Rarely will a word enter common usage, said the writer Rod L. Evans in his 2012 book Tyrannosaurus Lex, unless it fairly clearly resembles other words.   What Qualities Help a New Word Survive? Susie Dent, in The Language Report: English on the Move, 2000-2007, discusses just what makes a new word successful and one that has a good chance of staying in use. In the 2000s (or the noughties,  oughties,  or  zips), a newly minted word has had an unprecedented opportunity to be heard beyond its original creator. With 24-hour media coverage, and the infinite space of the internet, the chain of ears and mouths has never been longer, and the repetition of a new word today takes a fraction of the time it would have taken 100, or even 50, years ago. If, then, only the smallest percentage of new words make it into current dictionaries, what are the determining factors in their success? Very roughly speaking, there are five primary contributors to the survival of a new word: usefulness, user-friendliness, exposure, the durability of the subject it describes, and its potential associations or extensions. If a new word  fulfills  these robust criteria it stands a very good chance of inclusion in the modern lexicon. When to Use Neologisms Heres some advice on when neologisms are useful from The Economist Style Guide from 2010. Part of the strength and vitality of English is its readiness to welcome  new words and  expressions and to accept new meanings for old words. Yet such meanings and uses often depart as quickly as they arrived. Before grabbing the latest usage, ask yourself a few questions. Is it likely to pass the test of time? If not, are you using it to show just how cool you are? Has it already become a clichà ©?  Does it do a job no other word or expression does just as well? Does it rob the language of a useful or well-liked meaning? Is it being adapted to make the writers prose sharper, crisper, more euphonious, easier to understand- in other words, better? Or to make it seem more  with  it (yes, that was cool once, just as cool is cool now), more pompous, more bureaucratic or more politically correct- in other words, worse? Should the English Language Banish Neologisms? Brander Matthews commented on the idea that evolutionary changes in language should be prohibited in his book Essays on English in 1921. Despite the exacerbated protests of the upholders of authority and tradition, a living language makes new words as these may be needed; it bestows novel meanings upon old words; it borrows words from foreign tongues; it modifies its usages to gain directness and to achieve speed. Often these novelties are  abhorrent, yet  they may win acceptance if they approve themselves to the majority. This irrepressible conflict between stability and mutation and between authority and independence can be observed at all epochs in the evolution of all languages, in Greek and in Latin in the past as well as in English and in French in the present. The belief that a language ought to be fixt, that is, made stable, or in other words, forbidden to modify itself in any way, was held by a host of scholars in the 17th and 18th centuries. They were more familiar with the dead languages, in which the vocabulary is closed and in which usage is petrified, than they were with the living languages, in which there is always incessant differentiation and unending extension. To fix a living language finally is an idle dream, and if could be brought about it would be a dire calamity. Luckily language is never in the exclusive control of scholars; it does not belong to them alone, as they are often inclined to believe; it belongs to all who have it as a mother-tongue.

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National Curriulum Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

National Curriulum - Essay Example The strategy required that students be given one hour of literacy classes on a daily basis. In other words, they were supposed to engage in reading and writing classed at any one time. (The BBC, 2009) While the latter strategy may seem like a good thing, there are certain concerns that have been raised about this issue with regard to the curriculum and lesson planning issues. However, before looking into some of these arguments it is essential to understand that there have been some positive outcomes in this regard. First of all, the literacy national strategy has led to better teaching of literacy skills through incorporation into the curriculum. Many experts argue that this may be one of the most important skills to be learnt from school by students. Additionally, the process of balancing the national curriculum with the national strategy is that it necessitated a massive training program for teachers consequently, leading to better knowledge with regard to the process of reading and writing. Through the national literacy strategy, there was a need to change the curriculum so as to incorporate new teaching aspects. For example, it has been found that aspects such as grammar and phonics (which had been previously left out) are now being put into consideration. It should also be noted that through the process of balancing the national curriculum with the national strategy, there have been greater amounts of resources that have been dedicated to primary education in the United Kingdom. In fact, experts assert that numerous schools within the region have restored their libraries and now boast of plenty of books which are now at teachers' and children's disposal. On top of the latter, there are many situations in which teachers have had to include activities and games in the lesson planning process thus making education more colourful and interesting for children. (DFES, 2006) However, it is not just these positive outcomes that have emanated from the latter strategy. In fact, it is a proven fact that whenever there is a government led project within the education sector, certain unintended consequences must emanate from it. For instance it is a big challenge for teachers to balance between three of the following aspects School league tables Targets Tests In the process of balancing between the national curriculum and national strategies, teachers have found that most of their time and attention has been driven towards the issue of tests instead of other learning issues. This matter is further compounded by the fact that there are high stakes in those tests. Most of the time, parents want to find out how their children performed and they usually use this issue as a criterion for success. In the end, the individual who suffers is the child who finds that their mind must always be on the tests. Learning then becomes a boring process for them. It can therefore be asserted that the aims for which these two aspects i.e. the national curriculum and the national strategy were intended in accomplishing actually end being sidelined. (Department for Schools, children and families, 2008) Most of the time, curriculum implementation needs to be done in such a manner that it allows for greater flexibility in the teaching and the learning process. However, the literacy national strategy eliminated this aspect through its rigorous and one size fits all strategy. The taskforce appointed to implement this aspect

Approach to Care of Cancer Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Approach to Care of Cancer - Essay Example Many cancers are initially recognized and diagnosed through screening or because of the appearance of certain signs and symptoms. The common cancer diagnostic procedures include imaging through X-rays, CT scans, endoscopy, genetic testing, tumor biopsy, surgery and various laboratory tests like blood tests, urinalysis and tests for tumors makers. Tumor makers are either substances that the body makes in response to cancer cells or are released into the urine or bloodstream by cancer cells (Moscow and Cowan, 2007). Biopsy involves a histological examination of abnormal body cells by a pathologist. The tissue diagnosis done by the pathologist reveals the type of cell proliferating, genetic abnormalities, the histological grade of the cell and other features of the tumors. Blood tests are used to confirm the substances levels in the blood. They show how healthy a person is and whether an infection is present. It reveals the status of the kidney and levels of waste products like blood ur ea nitrogen/creatinine. Urinalysis reveals the components of urine and checks the presence of blood, drugs, proteins and other substances in urine. Genetic testing is important in identifying mutations, chromosomal changes and fusion genes, and possible genetic predisposition. Cancer staging involves finding out how much cancer is in the body and its location. It describes how far it has spread anatomically and groups patients with the same prognosis and treatment in one staging. Stage I cancers are small, localized and curable, stage II and II cancers are locally advanced and/or with local lymph node involvement while stage IV cancers are metastatic o inoperable cancers. Doctors should first establish the cancer stage for each particular patient because to some extent, treatment and prognosis depend on the cancer stage. They should highly utilize information on cancer staging to plan for the treatment and help to individual patients. Patients falling to the same staging could be of fered group support where possible to encourage compliance with treatment and alleviate psychological effects of diagnosis and treatments. Individual situations within a group should also be considered. Complications of cancer The first complication presented by cancer is that it might spread. The cancerous cells could invade and destroy other body organs rendering them dysfunctional. This requires the use of treatments that will destroy cancer cells and also prevent their spread. Other complications may be evident depending on the stage and type of the cancer. Systemic cancer is associated with neurologic complications which occur after routine chemotherapy. Brain metastases are the most prevalent of these and they manifest as altered mental status, headache, sensory loss, hemiparesis, impaired cognition and sensory, speech, visual, and gait disturbance. Lung cancer can result in heart diseases and breathing difficulties due to the presence of lumps or destruction of the air passag e and heart tissues. Pancreatic cancer is associated with complications like jaundice due to blocked bile duct, severe abdominal pain due pressed nerves and bowel obstruction due to pressed or blocked intestine. Blood loss and/or anemia as a result of damaged hemorrhaging tissues and weight loss resulting from frequent nausea, vomiting and loss of appetite are