Leading Strategies Change at Davita

Project: Leading Strategies change at DaVita: The Integration of the Gambro Acquisition Course: MGT 215 Submitted: 7thDecember, 2011 Acknowledgement †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦7 Introduction†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. 8 Synopsis†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦9-20 Conclusion†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 23 Bibliography†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. 24 Acknowledgement I would like to thank God fo r the strength he gave me to do this course. It was a challenge but through it all he brought me to the end of twelve weeks of studies.I would like to thank Mr. Veron Johnson for the patience and time he took to impart his knowledge to me. Thanks to everyone who assisted in any way. Introduction DaVita Inc. , a FORTUNE 500 company, is  a leading provider of kidney care in the United States, delivering dialysis services to patients with chronic kidney failure and end stage renal disease. DaVita strives to improve patients’ quality of life innovating clinical care, and by offering integrated treatment plans, personalized care teams and convenient health-management services.As of  September 30, 2011, DaVita operated or provided administrative services at 1,777 dialysis facilities, serving approximately 138,000 patients. DaVita supports numerous programs dedicated to creating positive, sustainable change in communities around the world. DaVita Medical Mission Statement: †Å"To be the Provider, Partner and Employer of Choice We are becoming the greatest dialysis company the world has ever seen through our commitment DaVita Medical Mission Statement: â€Å"To be the Provider, Partner and Employer of Choice We are becoming the greatest dialysis company the world has ever seen through ur commitment to upholding our Mission and Values every day, in everything we our Mission and Values every day, in DaVita Medical Mission Statement: â€Å"To be the Provider, Partner and Employer of Choice We are becoming the greatest dialysis company the world has ever seen through our commitment to upholding our Mission and Values every day, in everything we wed† Synopsis Total Renal Care (TRC) a company founded by Victor Chatiel in 1994, offered renal services. One of his strategies was to apply strict business principles and reap rewards upon entering the traditionally non-profit domain of Kidney Dialysis centers.He focused on growth through acquisition through the 1990’s. Unfortunately, chatiel and his team failed to integrate their acquisition leading to some operational incoherence. Firstly, there was no uniformity to a critical patient data form used to record and monitor patient care during dialysis. Secondly, there was little standardization in reporting work methods across centers, this absence made routine management activities, such as transferring personnel and patient across, much more difficult if not impossible.Thirdly, cash flow issues created serious problems like operational weakness in insurance reimbursements – a critical problem for a company whose revenue was entirely dependent on it. Insurers and government would frequently question charges and demand additional documentation. They would occasionally unilaterally reduce the reimbursement amount and delay payment until they received answers to queries and requested documentation.Finally, senior’s executives paid very little attention to the dialysis centers themselves, which were seen more as an avenue of corporate growth where patient and caregivers were economic units in a bigger financial structure. This headquarters- centric, financially oriented operating culture did not win friends among the health care practioners who worked hard in the field to deliver quality care. In 1999 Total Renal Care (TRC) ran into severe financial difficulties. The board of directors turned to Kent Thiry, who worked at another dialysis center in 1997.Kent Thiry is a Harvard MBA graduate and an ex-brain consultant. Before accepting the job offer he reached out to a set of people who had been with him in his previous dialysis venture, people whom he trusted, liked and respected. He recruited Harlan clever, to be the chief technology officer, David Barry to be COO (chief operating officer) and Doug Vlchek to lead the organizational change and culture building efforts. When he came to lead the company October of 1999, the organization was in a mess . It had financial operational regulatory and moral difficulties. They were technically bankrupt, and being investigated by SEC, they were sued by shareholders, had turnovers at twice our current level, was almost out of cash and in general, wasn’t the happiest of place. †(Thiry) Thiry and his colleagues begin assessing the talent in the company, moving people who could not perform and hiring people who could â€Å"get stuff done† (GSD remained a popular acronym in the company; being considered â€Å"good at GSD† was the highest compliment a teammate could receive) persons were sent to the billing office, to work on collections and to fix the cash flow problem.In May 2000 more than 400 clinic managers, plus people from corporate headquarters assembled in Phoenix Arizona, for the first of what has become an annual ,corporate-wide meeting. At this first meeting suggestions for a new name for the company were presented. The company’s teammates, the boa rd of directors and senior management collectively voted to chose the new name â€Å"DaVita† which in Italian phrase which means â€Å"to give life or he/she gives life. † At this meeting groups discussed, debated and voted on proposal for the core values and a mission statement was presented.A few persons were sent to Tacoma’s billing office to work on billing and collections and to fix cash flow problems. The situation became severe when the government stopped paying DaVita for laboratory tests because of records and document issues. The company had to decide what to do with the patients whose lab tests were not being reimbursed, however the company decided to continue performing tests that it felt were essential in delivery of care and to appeal the decision to an administrative law judge to attempt to obtain the denied funds. Four (4) years later after winning successive judgments, the government paid them over $90 million.The issue of outstanding debt was d ealt with under much constraint. The banks wanted the company to sell parts of the business to honor debts. The management group did not buckle, and after long and difficult discussions, the loans were restructured and financial penalties for default were discontinued. Eventually the company sold the dialysis centers that were outside the United States to direct it focused in a geographically area. In the area of technology, the chief information officer introduced an automated patient registration and to incorporate all the clinical records and activities, an electric file cabinet was also created.It was the first step to standardize the paper-based system used to keep track of patient care in the various centers. Continuous improvement and teammate education was critical at this point, so a change process was initiated using continuous quality improvement (CQI). Each center manager attended these training sessions and was expected to train their own staff at the various centers in quality improvement techniques. They were on the road to a new philosophy where patients care was delivered and where most DaVita teammates work were important to the company’s success.To emphasize the importance of the centers, Thiry and his senior manager â€Å"adopt† a center and drop by occasionally. They later replaced the adopt-a-center program with the practice of having everyone hired in or promoted to the vice president level or above go through â€Å"Reality 101†, which entailed spending a week in a center helping to do the day-to- day-work. DaVita’s strategy was characterized by their attention to detail; they took painstaking attention to operational details and compliance with government regulations.Also managing financial outcomes rested largely on small but important behaviors and decisions. One such activity was carefully using supplies to avoid waste and maintaining appropriate stock levels so that inventory costs were unnecessarily high , yet avoiding emergency ordering. Another was achieving good clinical outcomes, it was important to take care while putting the patient on the machine, monitoring the treatment as it was occurring and taking the patient off the machine at the end of the session.The final strategy which was used was employees attraction and retention, this was important because turnovers was costly, entailing finding replacement people and possibly paying overtime labor rate if a center was temporarily short- staff. There strategy can be characterized in organization development and change as leading and managing change where after they diagnosed the causes of the problem, management took a leading role in implementing the change. They created a vision, develop a political support, manage the transition and sustained the momentum. With the increased focus and attention to perational detail, the commitment of the company’s teammates and the bank negotiation behind it, DaVita embarked on a rema rkable transformation in its performance. Achieving great financial result and was consistent over the years in improvements in clinical outcomes and reduction in turnover. The organizational culture at DaVita was a result of what Thiry call â€Å"purposeful action† that â€Å"articulated and demonstrated† what a company could be. His approach took the form of a clear concise mission- that was quickly turned into a song. He then got his colleagues to come to consensus on core values, he also use benchmark questions.Employees became teammates and if they â€Å"cross the bridge† of believing the company could be special, they become â€Å"citizen of the village† (not the company) with Thiry as â€Å"mayor. †A general synergy of teammates and executives brought the organizational change concept to life. A closer look at DaVita’s culture and leadership showed that the management team’s focus had been on creating a strong and positive valu e-based organization where levels of the organization had an emotional commitment to its success. The foundation was Mission and Values, created at the first meeting in 2000 and now widely practiced throughout the company.To the management team, the company’s rebirth strategy was based on the belief that they had to create something larger than themselves in order to be successful. DaVita offered a comprehensive benefit and pay package that was somewhat unusual for a company that had a reasonably large number of relatively low-paid, hourly employees. Pay was pegged against competitive benchmarks. There was a broad- based profit-sharing program that covered virtually all team members, based on the idea of sharing the village’s good times and success with all citizens.There were also benefits that provided people an opportunity to invest in professional and personal growth. Health and welfare benefits included a comprehensive package of medical, dental and vision benefit s, extended illness leave, both short-term and long-term disability insurance, life insurance and flexible spending account to set aside pre-tax dollars for health or childcare expenses, and an employee assistance program Another incentive offered by DaVita to encourage the teammates to be fully involved in their work and to be present in the company, not just physically but also emotionally was â€Å"we are here awards. This was a $1000 in vacation expenses given to a randomly selected non-exempt teammate who had perfect attendance during a 90 – day period. There was also the â€Å"shining star award,† for people who not only perform their job with exceptional proficiency but who also exemplified the DaVita’s values and who contributed to the well-being of the team. DaVita have many training program within the organization to assist teammates in their development.DaVita University started within a year of Thiry arrival in the company and offers program in cont inuous quality improvement (a two day program required for newly hired facility administrators, managers and vice presidents that had not taken the class previously) presentation skills, leadership development, team skills and programs for vice presidents. There are also numerous courses on clinical subjects. Two of the most important programs that reach the people directly or indirectly were the DaVita Academy (more recently called Academy 11) and a program called F.A. S. T (Facility Training Administrator Survival Training) Academy11 was a newer program attended by all teammates from a specific region, designed to â€Å"take facility performance to the next level by fostering mutual accountability amongst the team. † By emphasizing how to hold difficult and honest conversations among the teams to resolve interpersonal issues, the course fostered better and more productive interaction. It also contained numerous team building activities and joint planning for operational imp rovement at the facilities. F. A. S.T (Facility Training Administrator Survival Training) is a five day program taken by all new clinic managers. The program consist of training in managerial skills such as time management, communication, providing coaching and feedback to team members, and interviewing, as well as material on DaVita culture ( DaVita Way and One for All). The company integrated programs to give back to the community; they introduced a program â€Å"one for all, all for one. † This program the DaVita village Network is where teammates make contributions and the company matched this with its profit.These funds were used to assist persons in the communities where centers are located who use their services and have difficulties in meeting their financial obligations. In 2005, Thiry and his senior executive team met to discuss the next step the company should take to continue its organizational development and strategies evolution. Their special focused was how to manage several looming challenges because they were just in the process of completing a $3. 1 billion purchase of Gambro, a large competitor. The acquisition would nearly double its size from 700 to more than 1200 dialysis centers and from 13, 000 to 25,000 people.As such it would cement its position as the second largest Kidney Dialysis centers in the United States. Their task immediately entailed integrating Gambro into the DaVita’s way of managing and its culture. Gambro was significantly more hierarchical and formal than DaVita, and did not have a strong people- oriented culture. Gambro had purchased Vivara in 1997 , a small publicly traded dialysis company led and transformed by Thiry during the 1990’s, now as leader of the combined organization, his goal is to be respectful of Gambro, its people and its capabilities, while maintaining DaVita’s unique culture and way of management.Gambro is a global medical technology company and a leader in developing, ma nufacturing and supplying products and therapies for Kidney and Liver dialysis, Myeloma Kidney Therapy, and other extracorporeal therapies for Chronic and Acute patients. Kidney (renal) dialysis was the world’s first extracorporeal therapy (i. e. a therapy that treats organ failure outside the body). Dialysis saves the lives of a growing number of patients every year, and innovation in the field is essential.The only current alternative to renal dialysis – kidney transplantation – is not an available option for most patients, due to a shortage of donor organs. Dialysis technology is now being developed for new applications such as liver dialysis and an emerging field of other extracorporeal therapies, to remove different fluids and toxins from chronically and acutely ill patients. For decades, Gambro has been first to market many groundbreaking innovations. By designing and delivering solutions to dialysis clinics and intensive care units, they offer not just im proved treatment quality, but also improved efficiency.Gambro was founded in 1964, and had 8 000 employees, production facilities in 9 countries, and sales in more than 100 countries. Their purpose and culture unified as a company and remind us as individuals of how we can make a difference for patients and their families. Customer focus  was always strived to exceed customer expectations and they keep patient safety and quality as a key priority. They hold themselves accountable to their customers, team members and partners by delivering on their commitments. People are the biggest asset of the company and teamwork is important for success.They conducted business in an ethical manner with courage to do the right thing and continuously seek ways to improve their business. The Gambro Healthcare acquisition is the largest acquisition we have made to date. There is a risk that, due to the size of the acquisition, we will be unable to integrate Gambro Healthcare into our operations as effectively as we have with prior acquisitions, which would result in fewer benefits to us from the acquisition than currently anticipated as well as increased costs.The integration of the Gambro Healthcare operations will require implementation of appropriate operations, management and financial reporting systems and controls as well as integration of the clinical policies and procedures of both companies, all of which could have a material adverse impact on our revenues and operating results. In addition, it requires the focused attention of our management team, including a significant commitment of their time and resources. The need for management to focus on integration matters could have a material and adverse impact on our revenues and operating results.I would advice Thiry to design a team to lead in managing the integration. This team should include the (COO) the chief operational officer, the chief technology officer and the structure design manager. I would share the effe ctive change management program with him, which include four phases. The first is to motivating change this includes creating the readiness for change among organization members and helping to address the resistance to change. The second would be creating a vision in providing a purpose and reason for change and describe the desired state.The third would be developing a political support for change where there can be powerful individuals and groups that can either block or promote change, they you need to gain their support. The fourth would be managing the transition from the current state to the desired future state and finally you should sustain the momentum for change so that it will be carried to completion. The team should relate to individuals, interpersonal relations and group dynamics. The individual approach should be aimed at coaching and training.Coaching attempts to improve one’s ability to set and meet goals and improve interpersonal relations. Training and deve lopment aimed at transferring knowledge and skills to individuals. Interpersonal and group process approach includes process consultation, third party intervention and team building. Process consultation help group members understand, diagnose and improve behavior, the third party intervention focus directly on dysfunctional interpersonal conflict and team building is aimed at doth helping teams perform its tasks better and at satisfying ndividual needs. The first 100 days action plan should include recommendation for the organizational structure the organization should implement. The new structure and action plan need to be communicated to the organization. The design team will conduct its initial activities in a relatively easy manner and follow it by implementing a monitoring, correcting and evaluation process. As the plan is implemented new information, changes in the environment and other issues will arise that required adaptation and adjustment.The team is charged with the mon itoring implementation by collecting implementation feedback to find out if the plan is working. The data collected would be analyzed and if they are feasible would be implemented. To preserve the DaVita’s culture I would suggest training in the various program areas such of team building, communication skills and clinical areas. DaVita has Academy11 for all teammates to improve team building amongst workers. It hast F. A. S.T a program for 5 days in the various management skills and also DaVita University for quality improvement for newly hired managers DaVita’s culture and leadership showed that the management team’s focus had been on creating a strong and positive value-based organization where levels of the organization had an emotional commitment to its success. Their mission â€Å"to be the provider, partner and employer of choice† had made an impact on the organization and the core value had kept them in second place in the dialysis industry.Their financial position has been exceptional over the years Mission Statement Kent Thiry Conclusion I have learned a lot about Kidney Dialysis and the time and patience that caregivers give to save a life on a daily basis. DaVita’s team led by Kent Thiry made the organization a village community rather than a company and in doing so working became a part of their life style. I realized that an organization with a strong culture can be a leading company. Bibliography Organizational Development and change 8th Edition by Cummings & Worley The internet

Effectiveness and Impact of Virtual Teams Essay

Technology is consistently evolving and impacting many organizations worldwide. It has changed many aspects in the workplace, including work styles, communication, and teamwork. Communication has been transformed into the ways of the virtual world, directly affecting group dynamics. Organizations often form teams of employees to serve a variety of purposes and reach goals in a more effective manner than independent work. Teams used to work strictly through face-to-face interactions, but with growing technology, virtual teams have been created and are used fairly often. â€Å"A virtual team is any team whose member interactions are mediated by time, distance, and technology. The core feature is not the technology, but that the team works together on a task while physically separated. Group members can communicate through e-mail, voice mail, video conferencing, electronic bulletin boards, and intranets.† (Levi, 2007, p. 258) Many research studies have been done to assess the effectiveness of virtual teams, examining the positive and negative aspects. This literature review is aimed to analyze several articles where researchers have explored many components of virtual teams and their impact. Vroman and Kovacich (2002) wrote an article that analyzed â€Å"the interactions of a virtual interdisciplinary team.† They explain computer-mediated communication (CMC) to be the basis of virtual teams, which they then compare to face-to-face teams. They examined the Interdisciplinary Training for Health Care for Rural Areas (ITHCRA) project, which is a team comprised of many different types of health professionals (e.g. clinical psychologist, nurse practitioner, nutritionist, etc.) The team’s ultimate goal was to develop an interdisciplinary health care curriculum, solely using CMC. ITHCRA functioned the same as any other team working together would, and faced the same challenges and developmental processes (forming, storming, norming, performing, and transforming). They additionally had to learn the ways of the new communication technology, which was an obstacle for many of the group members. The developmental process of the virtual team was similar to that of a face-to-face team, however, a number of differences were found. The forming phase was very  typical for team development. Team building and norm development took precedent of the project tasks initially. They had met face-to-face once, and after looking at their communication after this occurred, it was obvious they had formed social relationships and were more committed. This raised the question: what would have happened if the face-to-face meeting did not take place? It may have been more effective to have two groups in this study so comparisons could be made (e.g. one group solely virtual, the other group allowed 1-3 face-to-face meetings). It is hard to determine whether certain aspects of team development would have taken place without the opportunity to see their team members in a more personal way. Storming took place as well, which is when teams face certain conflicts. There were no apparent differences for this development in the virtual team. Norming, performing, and transforming phases of development all contributed to the team’s success and helped them complete their tasks and reach their goals. Vroman and Kovacich (2002) provided a good analysis of ITHCRA and the ways in which it was successful and where the members were challenged. They portrayed virtual teams as being more convenient, effective, and less time consuming when completing tasks. However, it allows for less personal contact and can be more difficult for some to communicate and fulfill the expectations of the group project. It may have been more effective to have ITHCRA communicate solely through CMC and compare them to a team with the same tasks and goals, but who communicated through a combination of CMC and face-to-face meetings. More valid results would be accessible to draw more accurate conclusions. It was interesting to use a interdisciplinary team, however, it may have acted as another variable besides CMC, which would then alter the results. Kirkman, Rosen, Tesluk, and Gibson (2004) conducted a research study on the impact of team empowerment on virtual team performance. â€Å"Team empowerment is defined as increased task motivation that is due to team members’ collective, positive assessments of their organizational tasks (Kirkman & Rosen, 2002). They examined team empowerment through the teams potency, meaningfulness, autonomy, and impact to determine its’ impact on process improvement and customer satisfaction. Kirkman et al. (2004) studied a service organization that utilized high technology and frequently formed virtual teams to complete the company’s tasks and goals. Each team member had different roles within the organization and was separated from each  other geographically. The researchers moderated the effects of face-to-face meetings to examine the relationship between team empowerment and both process improvement and customer satisaction. Kirkman et al. (2004) used surveys, observation, a team empowerment measure they had created, and customer satisfaction and process improvement scorecards to test their hypotheses, which were that 1. Team empowerment will have a positive relation to virtual team process improvement, 2. Team empowerment will have a positive relation to virtual team customer satisfaction, and 3. The number of team’s face-to-face meetings will alter the relationship between team empowerment and process improvement (the fewer face-to-face meetings the stronger the relationship), and 4. The number of team’s face-to-face meetings will alter the relationship between team empowerment and customer satisfaction (the fewer face-to-face meetings the stronger the relationship). Their results indicated support for hypotheses one, two, and three, but did not support the fourth hypothesis. The researchers produced a well-designed study with significant, meaningful results that help contribute to the understanding of virtual teams. They operationally defined all of the terms and measures to provide an equal understanding for everyone. It seems that virtual teams have many positive characteristics that are more effective compared to the common face-to-face teams. With the rising technology, virtual teams may become the norm as researchers continue to understand their components and wire them for optimal success. Montoya-Weiss, Massey, and Song (2001) wrote an article on the findings of their research study. They â€Å"examined the effects of temporal coordination on virtual teams supported by an asynchronous communication technology.† They measured the mechanism â€Å"process structure† to determine the relationship between conflict management behavior and virtual team performance. They measured conflict management individually for each team member through a questionnaire they created. They defined their dependent variable, virtual team performance, as â€Å"the quality of the team rationale used to support the team decision.† They examined the range, depth, and organization for each team decision. Lastly, they observed and analyzed all communication among the virtual team. Montoya-Weiss et al. (2001) had five hypotheses total, which were tested through statistical analysis. They predicted that for all conflict management behaviors, a positive interaction would result.

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System Evaluation Paper - Essay Example The retailing industry is one of the dominant users of POS terminals. The POS unit handles the sales to clients and other functions such as inventory control, purchasing, as well as storage of sales information for reporting purposes. Retail Point of Sales typically incorporates components such as all-in-one workstations, back office servers, barcode scanners, cash drawers, check readers, graphical customer displays, handheld data collection devices, keyboards, label printers, monitors, pole displays, receipt printers, signature capture devices, time clocks, and weight scales. The implemented comprehensive POS system has additional components such as payroll time clocks and customer preference databases (Green, 2012). Thus, the system removed the need for the retail business to invest in separate systems for such purposes. Prior to the implementation of POS, the retail business (a sporting goods store) encountered problems in card processing, managing cash transactions, and inventory management since the business was using an electronic cash register to record sales. The retail business encountered problems such as the inventory not matching the tallies and some sales going unrecorded. It was against this backdrop that the managers of the retail business decided to purchase and install a point of sale system complete with both hardware and software components. The implementation of POS systems rested on the analysis of several factors such as reliability, downtime, standardization, checkout, and compactness. The POS system avails efficient and accurate calculations when clients are purchasing goods. In addition, the system enhances sales and productivity, besides minimizing the number of operators and time waiting when purchasing commodities. The costs associated with the implemented POS system include cost of

Canadian defence at the onset of the Battle of Hong Kong, 1941 Essay

Canadian defence at the onset of the Battle of Hong Kong, 1941 - Essay Example Having gained much of China the Japanese next targeted HongKong. The war between China and Japan was, therefore, a cause for the attack of HongKong since Japan was stretching its rule further from its boundaries. The HongKonginvasions took the world by storm and the speedy retaliation of the allies to support HongKong was marshalled. The Japanese invasion of Hong Kong finally happened in December 1941 (Tsang, 119). It was of the wars that led to World War II. The Japanese army invaded Hong Kong, which was under the British. The Japanese had not stated clearly, why they would to attack HongKong and had not notified the British. TheBritishwere not prepared for the war since it was a surprise attack. The forces in Hong Kong were the Indians, Canadians and British forces. The main resistance to the Japanese forces was the local troops in Hong Kong, and they were no march for the invaders. The invasion overwhelmed the Indian, British and Canadian forces, who were part of the Commonwealth forces. They were outnumbered, and therefore they would not have defended the island under the British protectorate. The leader of the troops was Sir Robert Brooke. He had under his command few British troops. He thought that the troops on the ground would reduce the time that the Japanese would take to complete take over HongKong. Since HongKong was under the British protectorate there,a decision to change adds reinforcement to the forces at HongKong. Winston Churchill was the premier of Britain at the time of the attack on Hong Kong. He decided to add more troops, which had not been the case since initially they had recommended few troops. He had envisioned an imminent defeat should the Japanese attack the island(Barman, C. & Barman, R., 94). The then British premier, WinstonChurchill, decided to send a contingent of the British Army to ensure that reinforcements would be available should there be an attack. The Chinese had control of

Volatile Organic Compounds in School Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Volatile Organic Compounds in School - Essay Example VOCs, as the name suggests are carbon compounds that lend themselves to becoming gases or vapors with relative ease. As such they are emitted in the surrounding environment. VOCs contain not just carbon, but a host of other common elements present in such compounds, including the following: sulfur, oxygen, hydrogen, bromine, nitrogen, fluorine (US National Library of Medicine). The relative ease with which they are released into the atmosphere is attributed to the low boiling points of VOCs, pegged at below 100 degrees Celsius, lending them to be easily released into the atmosphere as gases. Many of the VOCs in the environment are said to be manufactured by man, as chemicals that are in use in manufacturing. Paints, refrigerants, pharmaceutical chemicals, adhesives, products derived from petroleum, and several other products require VOCs for their manufacture. Most often they are located in urban areas, making up the constituents of agents for dry cleaning, thinners for paint, solven ts, and different kinds of fuels (US Geological Survey) The literature further notes that in urban places, VOCs are of greater concentration, and within that urban setting, VOC concentrations are almost always of greater magnitude in enclosed indoor environments as compared to outside environments, where VOCs tend to disperse into the greater atmosphere (United States Environmental Protection Agency). Meanwhile, the adverse health effects of short-run and long-run exposure to VOCs are well documented in the literature. They include asthma symptoms being aggravated, dizziness, skin, nose, eyes and throat irritation, vomiting, cancer, impairment of the nervous system, and damage to internal organs, notably the liver and the kidney. Differing VOC types also have other specific adverse effects on human health. Benzene, a common VOC, is of special focus among health experts, for their prevalence, and for their known highly carcinogenic properties (Minnesota Department of Health; US Natio nal Library of Medicine). II. Volatile Organic Compounds - Prevalence VOCs are more prevalent than is sometimes acknowledged, owing to their presence in a wide variety of manufactured products, and the wide use of such manufactured products in urban environments. This puts an increased risk of toxic harm to human beings living in urban areas. The list in the Introduction is non-exhaustive, and to it can be added a large number of products that people may or may not already associate with VOCs: furnishings for buildings, materials for buildings, printers and copiers present in the office, copy paper not containing carbon, correction fluid, adhesives, glues, markers, solutions used in photography, pesticides, materials used for cleaning, strippers of paint, lacquers and other paints (United States Environmental Protection Agency). In the home, meanwhile, it is hard to avoid VOCs as well, largely because they are incorporated into many of the products that are vital to the maintenance of households. As already mentioned above, materials that are used to make houses contain VOCs, which later escape into the air, both indoors and into the greater outside environment. Cosmetic products of all kinds, materials used by hobbyists of all kinds, waxes, paints, and the varnishings commonly applied to home furniture all contain volatile organic compounds. Of course all sorts of fuels vital to maintaining homes all contain volat

Innovation and The Sustainable Organisation Individual written Essay

Innovation and The Sustainable Organisation Individual written assignment - Essay Example cance to these aspects, this paper intends to explain the green technologies strategized by Toyota along with a literature review on the stated area of research. This paper also deals with fruitful ranking of the industry compared to its rivals from the global market based on the sales of the company. Toyota is currently reputed as among the most competitive business, which provides variety of vehicles with new models linked but entirely differentiated on dimension of financial services. The company is much credited for its ability to meet the needs of the customers, which has also empowered its competitive advantages, brewing talented employees valuing their innovative ideas. In its recent endeavors, Toyota has implemented an advanced set of green technologies for improving the lifestyle of the customers by providing them better eco-friendly services. The products produced by Toyota are also preferred for their good quality and new design approach, without compromising the comfort needs of its customers. Overall, these features help in grabbing the attention of customers (Deeppa & et. al., 2012). A major feature providing differentiating advantages to Toyota products is its use of green environmental technologies that also display the responsible attitude of the company towards its stakeholders. The company is also attaining competitive advantages by providing vehicles or cars based on the lifestyle choices of the modern environment and the market structure. Green technologies are thus required for the economic development of the company as well as to attain competitive advantages through greater sustainability of the products (Deeppa & et. al., 2012). Green technologies applied by Toyota also involve durable and comfortable designs, innovations and greater viability of the products that has significantly contributed to the overall development of the company. In accordance with several subject areas, green technologies can be identified as environmental science,

Alice in Wonderland Essay Example for Free

Alice in Wonderland Essay As the Cheshire-Cat appears and sits on a limb of a tree with his grinning face while Alice is walking in the forest he explains to her that everyone in wonderland is mad even Alice, which is why she is there. Alice did not agree with the Cheshire-Cat but continued on her way to see the March Hare anyways. Being mad or crazy does not always make a person bad. In fact the Cheshire-Cat was right, all the people in Wonderland were indeed mad and they were all there for that reason. In every classic story there are good characters versus bad characters. In the book, Alice in Wonderland written by Lewis Carroll, there is no exception. The characters Alice, the White Rabbit, and the Cheshire-Cat are all positive characters in the story and the Queen of Hearts is the villain or the negative character in Wonderland. Positive characters can be identified in the story of Alice in Wonderland by their personalities and how each character interacts with one another. Lewis Carroll only made one distinctive negative character and the rest he made either positive characters or characters that are Just in the middle. Most of the characters in the ook are middle characters that do not have a good or bad sense of personality. Negative characters can be identified by color and personality as well. The Queen of Hearts for instance is represented by the color red with represents fury and anger. That describes the Queen perfectly. Alice is a positive character in the story of Alice in Wonderland. She is the main character of the story. Lewis Carroll does a good Job of portraying Alice as a young curious and well mannered lady. Youth and innocence can describe Alice as a positive character. Throughout the whole story Alice gets onfused quit easily when talking to the other people in Wonderland, the Mad Hatter and the Caterpillar especially. Although she is in an obscure and crazy world, Alice keeps her cool for the most part and tries to keep her senses. In the world of Wonderland, however, being sane is mad, which allows Alice to fit right in with the others (From Alice on Stage). The White Rabbit was made to contrast Alice in every way. He is timid, old, punctual, and often nervous. The White Rabbit can be seen as a positive character because he is white in color, also because he is somewhat helpful. Although he is shy and nervous he does not do anything that would make him be considered a negative character. I would say he is somewhat of a mediator, neither positive nor negative. The White Rabbit is significant in the story of Alice in Wonderland in order to understand Alice more (From Alice on Stage). Most unique of them all is the Cheshire-Cat. When Alice first comes across the Cheshire-Cat he is in the house of the Duchess and is grinning very widely. From the way he is first described I thought that he was going to be a negative character in the story. His grin seemed some what villainous and because he was mysterious led to the conclusion he was a negative character. After the book goes on the Cheshire-Cat is very calm and sensible in the mad world of Wonderland. He helps Alice when she need someone to talk to and when she has questions about Wonderland. The Cheshire-Cat is the most knowledgeable about Wonderland and fits right in when it comes to craziness (Spark Notes from Alice in Wonderland). Queen of Hearts. Some of the other characters have their moments of rudeness or snappy ways but none of them can be identified as complete negative characters esides the Queen of Hearts. When we first meet the Queen she comes into the yard yelling orders at everyone and being very rude. From the beginning you can tell that the Queen has anger and fury within her. Because she is red in color she can be identified as negative. Red usually has a bad connotation and is usually associated with anger and fire or fury. She makes irrational decisions, most of them affecting everyone but herself. Everyone in her court is afraid of her because she is known for prosecuting and beheading anything and anyone who gets in her way (From Alice on Stage). Of all the characters in Alice in Wonderland the Queen of Hearts and Alice are the most significant. I would not say that in this story there is a hero or villain, but Just positive and negative characters. A lot of the characters in the story were middle characters that had no sense of good or bad, they were Just mad. Everyone in Wonderland was mad, including Alice, that is why she ended up in Wonderland. Lewis Carroll defined each character using their personalities. The Queen of Hearts impatient, loud, and obnoxious and Alice is curious, sensible, and has a sense of uperiority.

Ageing and Disability in New Zealand

Ageing and Disability in New Zealand History of Ageing in New Zealand On a National level during the 1860s there were charitable institutions set up by charitable aid boards to help older people in New Zealand. But prior to the 1880’s, the New Zealand government did not have health or welfare policies aimed towards older people. Mortality rates then were high than it is today. The service delivery for aged care in New Zealand historically developed on a regional basis causing variable differences in the type of delivery and services for the health of older people. In 1885 the Hospitals and Charitable Institutions Act made a policy that distinguishes the connections between ageing , illness and impairment which led to ageing becoming a medical terminology. Then in 1889 the first publicly provided pension was created and called a pension for â€Å" persons of good character† that were aged 65 and above. It was seen as a better alternative than the exiting â€Å"civil list† which relied on grace and favour which meant that only a few people will be able to get it. This reform was made to recognize the contributions of Maori and Pakeha in the land wars and this was handled mostly on a Regional level where government handled the funding , the local courts decided the eligibility and the post office sent out the payments. This strengthened the institutionalisation as the best way to care for the elderly and 65 was the statutory age for for retirement and pension has become a source of income which also led for ageing to be assessed medically for an older person to be eligible for support. Nationalisation for the welfare of the elderly was realised with the creation and passing of the Social Security Act of 1939, by this time New Zealand was world renowned for it’s advanced social welfare policies including old-age pension. It introduced free healthcare services to the elderly and and provided a wide range of welfare benefits. The establishment of the act made it less restrictive for older people to receive their pensions and medical benefits. The Act introduced a concept that every New Zealand citizen had a right to an appropriate standard of living and that it was the responsibility of the community to make certain that every member is safe against the pitfalls of a struggling economy from which the people cannot protect themselves. It was thought of as a solution that will end poverty in New Zealand. It had three main objectives: as a substitute for the existing system of non-contributory pension system and change it to a monetary benefits system where its ci tizens would be contributing according to their means and could take from according to what they need; to provide a nationalised superannuation or pension; and to start a universal system for the delivery of medical care benefits. In 1949 subsidies and grants was offered to religious and welfare organizations to build and run rest homes which resulted in the growth of services available for older people in particular to residential care. In 1955 the Advisory Committee on the Care of the Aged was established but changes were still far from being made as the care for the elderly is still focused on medical issues so it remained institutionalized. But in the 1960s, subsidies increased to help for the care of the elderly and it was recognised that support in the community level was needed. The 1970s and 80s saw the change in funding for elderly care and it moved away from charitable and voluntary to the private sector which led to more than 30% increase in the number of licensed rest homes in the country. The Geriatric Hospital Special Assistance Scheme was introduced, this scheme allowed hospital boards to put patients seeking public care into private ones and by the end of 1985 81% of patients in Auckland’s elderly population was under the GHSAS. In 1993 the Regional Health Authorities was established and introduced a division between the health care providers and purchasers. Funding was separated into acute and chronic care. The RHA contracted with public providers regarding acute care, rehabilitation and clinical services and religious or welfare while chronic care was contracted to private providers. This saw a marked in increase in the establishment of rest homes reaching up to 460% in some areas. In 2002 a new certification system saw the deregulation of the aged care industry and allowed facilities to develop their own staffing ratio. This year the Health of Older People Strategy was drafted, the strategy sets out a program to refocus health and support services to meet the needs of older people in the current and future situations. It is designed to be a guide to providers, planners and funders of health support services in the integration of the continuum of care. This ensures that the right services are provided at the right time in the right place by the right provider. This calls on everyone in the health industry to work together in the interest of providing quality health services for older people. Policies , Strategies and Funding New Zealand’s Health of Older People Strategy outlines policies, strategies, guidelines and how funding will be provided in the care of older people. The strategy has eight core objectives: Older people and their family/whanau are able to make well-informed choices on their options for a healthy living, healthcare and their support needs. Quality health and disability support programmes will be integrated around the needs of older people and they will be helped by policy and service planning. 3. The funding and service delivery will provide promotion of prompt access to a quality integrated and disability support services for older people, their family or their carers. 4. The health and well being of older people will be promoted through programmes and health initiatives. Older people will have access to primary and community based health services that will promote and improve their health and functioning. Access to health services in a timely mainly to improve and maitain the health of the older people. Integration of general hospital services with any community based care and support. Older people that has high and complex health and disability needs shall be given access to flexible, prompt and well coordinated services and living options that will take into consideration the needs of their family and carers. The Ministry of Health and the District Health Boards is responsible for implementing the Health of Older People Strategy. The District Health Boards need to implement these strategies by 2010 and each of the District Health Boards will need to determine on when and how these strategies will be implemented. A few number of DHBs, especially those with a high number of older people in their population have already began and established working groups to plan and develop integration of all services for older people. They work closely with the Ministry of Health to ensure that continuum of care for the elderly is achieved. The Ministry of Health will be the monitor to the DHBs progress in implementing the Health for Older People Strategy against the plans they have set out on a yearly basis. They will also initiate a review of the progress every three years that will coincide with the status reports for the implementation of the Positive Ageing Strategy from the Ministry of Social Develo pment. The Ministry will also undertake three-yearly reviews of progress to coincide with Ministry of Social Development status reports on implementing the Positive Ageing Strategy. The Ministry of Health will provide advice to the government on future funding for older people’s health and disability support services including the level of public funding and individual contributions and incentives for clients and service providers. The Ministry of Health is the one undertaking the responsibility of heading three funding projects to contribute to this strategy. 2.2 Terminology for older people Older people Aged 65 years and over and where superannuation or pension starts Baby boomers refers to people who were born after World War 1 and World War 2 where there was a marked increase in births per year Ageism the negative stereotype or discrimination against people of older age Age Discrimination the unfair and unequal treatment of people on the basis of age. Gerontology is the study of social, psychological and biological aspects of ageing Geriatrics the study of diseases in older people Elderly advanced beyond middle age Senior a person who is more advanced in life Attitudes , Stereotypes and Barriers Towards Older People In general people have negative views and attitudes towards older people. Like ageism which can be defined as systematic way of stereotyping and discriminating against people just because they are considered of old age. They are typically stereotyped as frail, weak, ill, that they are suffering from mental health issues and mental deterioration, they are poor and dependent, they are called senile and ancient, elderly are thought to have no sexual desires . On the other hand some people view old people as people living in extravagant lifestyles and that they just take from the welfare of the state. In addition to this since old people have benefits that they can get from the government especially special services from the health and welfare sector people see old people as a burden to society. These stereotypes are in fact in direct contrast to the reality that in fact the majority of older people are leading fit, healthy and independent lives. It is said indirect forms of discrimination, such as barriers to access of services where older people are not being prioritized when they are accessing some form of service like for example wanting to have a phone line connected, inadequate transportation as a form of structural barriers where elderly does not have access to convenient ways of transportation, waiting in emergency or outpatient departments in hospitals and community services that are underfunded and frequent. There are cultural barriers in meeting health needs like for example for the Maori, they perceive health in a holistic approach and they have the four cornerstones of Maori health that includes the mind, the spirit, the body and the family, and they believe in the practice of rangoa or traditional Maori medicine, often times this becomes a barrier because health care providers does not take this into consideration and therefore Maori are not able to access health services because they believe that Pakeha does no t understand how to treat them. Financial barriers are also experienced by the elderly especially if they have no family to support them and they have no savings to use. Another type of barrier is the communication barrier wherein the younger generation does not understand how to deal with the older people. It is often that some practices that were not done in the past are being accepted today , like for example male carers caring for female elderly, this causes a barrier in providing care for them. The Governments Positive Ageing priorities are outlined where the The Minister for Senior Citizens has identified three priority areas that are linked to the goals of the New Zealand Positive Ageing Strategy which are : Securing employment opportunities for mature workers where they are given flexible working hours Encouraging a change in attitudes towards ageing and older people by promoting intergenerational programmes and to reinforce the important contributions of older people to society The protection of rights and interests of older people by raising awareness of the abuse of the elderly and the prevention of neglect The New Zealand Positive Ageing Strategy helps promote and reduce barriers experienced by older people. They also improve services that older people can access. They have Ten Goals which are: 1. Income provide adequate income for older people 2. Health fair, prompt and accessible health services for older people 3. Housing provide an affordable and proper options for housing to older people 4. Transport provide transport services that older people can afford and have adequate access to 5. Ageing in the community older people can be safe and secure as they age within the community 6. Cultural diversity older people are given choices that are appropriate for cultural diversity in the community 7. Rural services when accessing services in the rural communities , it will ensure that older people are not disadvantaged 8. Positive attitudes to ensure and propagate awareness so people of all ages have a positive attitude towards ageing and older people. 9. Employment opportunities it aims to eliminate ageism and promote work opportunities that have flexible work hours for older people. 10. Personal growth and opportunities to increase opportunities for personal growth for the older people Up to today even if there are strategies and programs being rolled out by the government to increase awareness about understanding people with old age but because of these negative attitudes, stereotypes and barriers older people perceive that they are denied to participate in making decisions about their life and their health. Elder abuse in the form of physical, verbal , emotional and neglect is common in the home and in residential facilities because of the wrong way people think about the elderly. 2.3 Service provisions and access frameworks Older people find it hard to cope on their own especially if they do not have any family to support them. The Ministry of Health along with other agencies has service provisions and access frameworks that older people can utilise to help maintain their independence and quality in life, be able to stay in their own home as long as they can, and to be able to participate in their respective communities. Support services are funded and can be accessed through District Health Boards and these services are supplied by the Ministry of Health Disability Support Services, DHBs and Accident Compensation Corporation that usually hires a private contractor to provide services. These services include assistance with personal cares, household support, support for the older persons carer and support with equipments that older people may need to help with their safety at home. To be able to access these support services an older person must be a New Zealand citizen or resident who is eligible to re ceive publicly funded health services and they must meet the criteria after needs assessment. Older people who wish to access the services can coordinate with their local DHBs to be able to assessed on what support they are eligible for. The Ministry of Social Development also has service provisions and frameworks that are put in place to benefit older people like: Providing policy advice , research on retirement income and advice on a whole range of issues that affects the older people Promoting positive ageing Providing income security for veterans Administer SuperGold Card, Community Services Card and Residential Care Subsidy Provide funding for services that reduces the occurrence of elder abuse and neglect 2.4 References Auckland District Health Board. (2013). Health of Older People. Retrieved from http://www.adhb.govt.nz/planningandfunding/health%20of%20older%20people.htm Ministry of Social Development. (2007). Older People. Retrieved from http://www.msd.govt.nz/about-msd-and-our-work/publications-resources/corporate/statement-of-intent/2007/older-people.html Ministry of Social Development. (2001). Positive Ageing Goals and Key Actions. Retrieved from http://www.msd.govt.nz/about-msd-and-our-work/publications-resources/planning-strategy/positive-ageing/goals-and-actions.html Ministry of Health. (2013). What can you expect from home support services. Retrieved from http://www.health.govt.nz/your-health/services-and-support/health-care-services/services-older-people/support-services-older-people/what-you-can-expect-home-support-services Ministry of Health. (2014). Health of Older People. Retrieved from http://www.health.govt.nz/our-work/life-stages/health-older-people Ministry of Health. (2002). Health of Older People Strategy. Retrieved from http://www.health.govt.nz/publication/health-older-people-strategy New Plymouth District Council. (2010). Positive Ageing Strategy. Retrieved from http://www.newplymouthnz.com/CouncilDocuments/PlansAndStrategies/PositiveAgeingStrategy.htm#nz Oregon Department of Human Services. (n.d.). Myths and Stereotypes of Aging. Retrieved from www.oregon.gov/dhs/apd-dd-training/EQC Training Documents/Myths and Stereotypes of Aging.pdf Jaqueline Villaflores Civil ID 13161001

America Must Not Close Abortion Clinics :: Pro Choice Abortion

America Must Not Close Abortion Clinics In 1973, the Supreme Court’s decision made it possible for women to get safe, legal abortions from well-trained medical surgeons, and therefore led to dramatic decreases in pregnancy-related injury and death (â€Å"abortion†). Now there is a new proposal to close abortion clinics. This proposal takes away the privacy rights of American women that are guaranteed by our Constitution. By closing abortion clinics the government is not only taking away women’s rights, but is also punishing those whom want to exercise their right to have an abortion. Abortion clinics allow thousands of women every year to have abortions. Having the abortion should be woman’s personal choice. By closing these clinics, there will be no providers to perform the operation, so the choice has already been made for them. Closing the clinics will increase the barriers of having an abortion. When there are too many obstacles, the right to make their own choice is taken away from them. In 1973 the American Supreme Court ruled that Americans’ right to privacy included: â€Å"the right of a woman to decide whether to have children, and the right of a woman and her doctor to make that decision without state interference† (â€Å"abortion†). The Constitution says we have a right to privacy, so taking away a woman’s chance to make decisions about her own body violates that right. The American Civil Liberties Union defends the Constitution and peoples’ rights. ACLU has protected the rights of abortion for women, and in recent years has argued mayor cases opposing restrictions that deny woman access to reproductive health care (â€Å"ACLU†). Policy 263 states: â€Å"The ACLU holds that every woman, as a matter of her right to the enjoyment of life, liberty, and privacy, should be free to determine whether and when to bear children.†(The American Civil Liberties Union) The closure of abortion clinics will be done with the purpose to reduce the number of abortions. This raises the question whether this will be an effective method or not. Before 1973 abortions were illegal yet the number of women who sought abortions did not decrease (â€Å"abortion†). Before 1973 many thousands of women died or suffered serious medical problems after attempting to perform their own abortions, or going to untrained doctors who performed cheap abortions with uncivilized methods or in unsanitary conditions (The Abortion Law Homepage.). If clinics are closed, women will still continue to attempt, and succeed, in ending unwanted pregnancies just like before 1973.

The Channel on Lake Winona :: Lakes Personal Narratives Wyoming Essays

The Channel on Lake Winona There is a small town called Boulder that is located in the backcountry of Wyoming. This spot is one of my family’s favorite vacation sites. My grandparents have built a log cabin back there and we visit it every summer. Along with visiting my grandparents, we spend a week backpacking in the mountains of the Wind River Range. Back in this area there are tons of lakes to camp by and fish. However, in order to reach the first lake you have to hike an enormous seven miles, but we take the easy way out, we horseback ride in. We horseback ride into one of the furthest spots and have the people drop us off, and from then on it is up to us to hike to further points and to hike out. Throughout the hiking trips we see many different lakes and see tons of backcountry. However, there is one favorite spot that I love to go to and that is the channel on Lake Winona. Lake Winona is most definitely not one of the prettiest lakes, but it has much meaning to me. There is a little spot that is one of my favorites to go and sit at and cast out to fish. In order to get to this spot you have to do a bit of non-trail hiking. You have to climb over downed logs and walk through shrubs and climb over the top of massive rocks. But once you finally reached this treasured spot, you have reached the channel of Lake Winona. There is a little grove in one of the rocks that bases right up against the water that almost resembles a built in chair. That is where I love to sit. As I begin to sit down, I see a fish jump out of the water and back down in. It happens in a blink of the eye that you almost do not even see the fish; all you see is the round ring that is left on the top of the water by the fish. As I sit there I look all around and notice all of the beautiful scenery that I have to observe.

Vonnegut social commentary in cats cradle Essays -- essays research pa

  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Social Commentary in Vonnegut’s Cat’s Cradle   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Kurt Vonnegut’s science fiction novel, Cat’s Cradle, is chocked full of social commentary, satirical humor, and an overall pessimistic view on American Society. Through the fictional religion Bokononism Vonnegut introduces us to John, a young man who is writing a book about the day the atomic bomb was dropped. His research led him to the late Dr. Felix Hoenikker, a brilliant scientist who was deemed the â€Å"father of the atomic bomb.† Anxious to learn more about Hoenikker from his surviving children, John followed them to the impecunious island of San Lorenzo. In San Lorenzo John was introduced to Bokononism, the dominant (yet illegal) religion of the island; which among its many bizarre features, openly proclaimed that it was a total lie. While on the island, John also learned more about Ice Nine, the final project that Hoenikker created. Ice Nine ( a simple rearrangement of water molecules) had the ability to freeze instantly any body of w ater, due to a complex crystalline formation. Although the ice was to be Hoenikker’s great gift to the military to freeze swamps during battle, so they could move troops more efficiently; it ended up being a creation more fatal than the atomic bomb itself. Subsequently John's adventures came to a harsh, if strangely appropriate end caused by the selfishness of human nature. The moral of the story, laced with deception, ignorance, self-indulgence, and control is that life is entirely worthless and fails to serve a purpose. Yet, the comic relief and vivacity of the novel gives it power and charm, curiously contrasted with its depressing meaning.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In the beginning of the novel, the reader is introduced to the deceased Felix Hoenikker, a man who was full of curiosity and had an uncanny regard for everything scientific. Not only was he the father of the atomic bomb, but shortly before his death he created the destructive Ice Nine. With the ability to freeze anything liquid it was essentially the end of the world, should it get into the wrong hands. Although the original intention of the water derived destructor was to help soldiers solidify swampy muck when fighting wars, so they could easily get through was... ...uous activities he took part in at Jack’s Hobby Shop. Throughout the book, Frank is described as a quiet loner, someone who was out of the social realms of normal teenage life. Frank said â€Å"...but they didn’t know what really went on there. They would have been really surprised, especially the girls-- in they’d found out what really went on. The girls didn’t think I knew anything about girls.† (201, Vonnegut). When John asked him what he really was doing there, Frank simply said, â€Å"I was screwing Jack’s wife all day.† (Vonnegut, 201). This was Vonnegut’s way of using satire and irony to show that people make skewed judgments on others based on nothing more than what they want to believe.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In conclusion, Cat’s Cradle is a fabulously constructed book, filled with sarcasm, wit, irony, and satire to express Vonnegut’s personal views on Human Society. Although it ends with the destruction of the world from the lethal Ice Nine, the book is somewhat redeemed by its humorous anecdotes, and clever allusions. Vonnegut successfully portrayed his pessimistic views of our society, and opened the reader up to a completely new way of thinking in terms of human nature.

Walt Disney: Swot, Pestel and Porter Analysis

SUBJECT:Walt Disney: SWOT, PESTEL and Porter analysis Introduction2 Pestel analysis2 Political factors2 Economic factors3 Social factors3 Technological factors4 Environmental factors4 Porter’s Five forces model5 New entrants5 Buyers5 Substitutes6 Suppliers6 Competitors6 Swot analysis7 Strengths7 Weaknesses8 Opportunities9 Improvement of customer relations strategy9 Advertising Growth9 Differentiation9 The further introduction of ICT technologies9 Superior market segmentation10 Threats10 Economic conditions10 Winnie the Pooh trial10 Stakeholder analysis11 Conclusion12 references13 Appendix i – Portfolio vs core competence perspectives14 Introduction Walt Disney is a developer, producer and worldwide distributor of feature films and television programs, cable network programming and character-based merchandise. Besides, its theme parks are the most popular in the world. The current forces in the market create certain challenges for future success of the company’s development. The presents analysis starts with the discussion of current environmental and industry factors. This analysis produces the holistic view of the macro factors that affect the industry players and the company. The second step comes to the analysis of the business environment competitive environment and the way the company develops and maintains its competitive advantage. This analysis creates a picture of internal capabilities of the companies. Basing on the evaluation of external and internal factors the analysis of strengths and weaknesses is delivered. It creates a framework for devising possible strategic intent of the company and identifies possible vulnerable points that can affect the feasibility of the strategy. Basing on the analysis of the environmental factors and company’s capabilities the paper reviews current opportunities and threats. Pestel analysis According to Grant (1998), in order to identify the key success factors and the company’s opportunities and threats it is important to study environmental factors that effect the firm’s strategy on the industrial level. To do this, PESTEL analytical tool is applied. Political factors Political and legal factors influence the development of the industry. These factors shape the rules of competition, operational costs (minimum wage, safety requirements and consumer law) and the presence of various lobby groups. The important political factor is local legislations regarding foreign ownership, cross-ownership and concentration. For example, Chinese government limits foreign ownership to 49%, when the right to control directly a subsidiary requires 51% of ownership. It means that a company shall look for potential partners to form joint ventures or strategic alliances. Hill (2002) points out these market entry options translate into the reduced control of the subsidiary’s activities. Economic factors The economic factor has a crucial importance for the industry development. According to Mintel report (2003) the theme parks and consumer goods are the most dependant on the economic factors. For instance, US and European markets were recently strongly affected with recent economical downturns. The reason for such the influence is the relationship between the economic cycle and the growth of PDI. As Hill shows (2002) the PDI positively affects consumer confidence in economic health and their capability to buy entertainment products. Thus, the healthier the state of a country the higher will be the growth of a consumer market and its corresponding value. The company's theme parks and resorts are vulnerable to exchange rate fluctuations, travel industry trends, changes in available leisure time, oil and transportation prices and weather patterns. Social factors The demand trends are shaped by the following major factors: demographic shifts, attitudes and beliefs and fashion cycles. Demographic shifts create different niche markets; whereas fashion cycles together with attitudes formation create necessary growth for the market. For instance, changing lifestyles as a result of influences from other countries and cultures, various media, create new expectations and requirements for the content of media sources. Various products of the company as character-based merchandise and producer/distributors of children's audio and film-related products strongly depend on social factors as seasonal purchasing behaviour and the popularity of animated releases which determine the life cycle of particular products and their return of investment potential. Technological factors Technological factors affect the way industry players compete. The introduction of improved technological solutions allows the companies to reduce cost of operations, increase the manufacturing capacity and quality. Besides, the further R&D development allows the introduction of new products that can potentially break the markets of existing products (Bradley, 1995). The developments of new IT technologies introduce new media delivery solutions and change the architecture certain companies’ value chain (Chaffey, 2002). Environmental factors The environmental factors directly impact the travel industry trends. The weather conditions in France and Japan determine the profitability of theme parks. The better the weather conditions the higher is the number of visitors. Environmental factors play an important part in the success of the business as it affect input manufacturing capacity. Without proper yield a company will be unable to meet the existing market demand, creating a strong opportunity for its competitors. Porter’s Five forces model The following model shows the macro analysis of the business conditions under which Walt Disney operates. Adopted from Porter (1990) New entrants The deregulated state of the market provides certain opportunities for new entrants to start the business. The company operates in a mature market, divided between existing large companies. The continuous change of life style preferences create various opportunities for the media content. The advertising, film-making, character-based merchandise and theme parks areas have serious entry barriers, especially for small players, as the existing brands have strong reputation, develop economies of scale and continuously invest in new technologies. Buyers The global operations, especially on the U. S. and Asian-Pacific markets shows that consumers have a very strong bargaining power. Strong competition between global and regional niche players and constant change of preferences for various content significantly reduce life cycles of various products. Substitutes Internet, other types of media create serious substitute threats to current media distribution channels. According to Mintel report (2003) the further increase of Internet proliferation with vast electronic media opportunities create is likely to reduce drastically the use of hard copy products. Suppliers The scale of operations, the size of the company and highly recognised strong brand identity provide the company with bargaining power against local and global suppliers. Competitors The company competes with such powerful competitors as AOL Time Warner Inc. , Viacom Inc. , The News Inc, Comcast Corp. , Canal + etc. The presence of powerful competitors with established brands create a threat of intense price wars and poses s strong requirement for product differentiation. The other important feature of the media industry is a continuous shift of competitors’ market power. This notion takes place as the result of various strategic alliances and industry consolidation. For instance, the merge of Time Warner with America Online Inc. created powerful internal capabilities. If they were met with market demand, it would have boosted the company’s profit margin. The other threat goes from the continuous development of The News Inc. which uses very aggressive expansion strategy. It plays a â€Å"gatekeeper† role in the development of digital broadcasting and has already been developing long-term technical capabilities to build its internet presence. At the same time, the global media industry is very fragmented due to various cultural differences. Thus, the permanent change of consumer trends and the market fragmentation create a lot of niche markets. Today, the major theatre for fierce competition is US and EU markets. The company has to compete with other entertainment companies, broadcasters and content providers, who pursue very aggressive customer-switching strategies. Swot analysis According to Wit & Meyer (1998) the analysis of capabilities shall focus on the analysis of â€Å"core competence† or â€Å"portfolio† assessment (see Appendix I). Applying this table to the case of Walt Disney it must be admitted, that the global nature of operations and high intensity of competitive environment create importance for using both types of analysis. Strengths From the core competence perspective, one of the main strengths of Walt Disney’s strategy is a capability of fast and intensive transfer of operational capabilities across the markets, which allow the company to benefit from learning curve, operational and other cost reduction benefits. The other important capability is the ability to develop new innovative solutions to meet changing demand. The development of Mission: SPACE is the good example of the application of latest digital technologies to enhance the entertainment experience of theme park visitors (Datamonitor, 2004). From the portfolio perspective, the company’s strength is in its experience of international operations. According to Bennet (1999) the development of local knowledge along with learning curve might create potential synergies over different strategic business units. The other strength is a diversified portfolio. Walt Disney is involved in various areas of the media distribution, including television and cable, book publishing and filmed entertainment, character merchandise and internet content delivery. The company's wide-ranging interests protect it somewhat from the effects of adverse market conditions in any one of the sectors within which it operates. Its presence in a large number of markets gives the company a more balanced and stable portfolio of assets, and therefore a more secure business. The diversity of the media portfolio creates a strong advertising potential. The company operates with six domestic sports channels, reaching 85 million viewers, and has several brand extensions including ESPN Radio, which is the largest radio sports network in the US. Its A Television Networks, featuring cultural and entertainment programming such as The History Channel, reach 77 million homes. Lifetime Television is devoted to women's lifestyle programming and reaches 83 million cable subscribers. Its Toon Disney channel, targeted at 2-11 year olds, is available in 26 million homes and began carrying advertising in 2000. Disney's SoapNet channel was also launched in 2000, and now reaches more than 18 million homes (Datamonitor, 2004). Weaknesses One of the strong weaknesses of the company is the dependence of theme park distribution on seasonal component. All of Disney's theme parks and associated operations are open all year round. However, there are extreme fluctuations in park attendance and resort occupancy, caused by the nature and patterns of vacations. Peak attendance and occupancy occur during the school holidays in summer, early-winter and spring. These fluctuations cause natural operational difficulties, but also make the business more vulnerable as it relies heavily on a few key months. If economic downturns, poor weather or other outside influences occur during the crucial periods, the effect on annual results is magnified. The analysis of financial data for the last 10 years (www. hoovers. com) show that despite overall healthy growth f its sales and successful penetration into new markets, the company had very high operation costs and unbalanced cash flows along different SBUs. The financial figures show that only cable broadcasting and television create sound profit. The situation with filmed entertainment requires consideration regarding the future strategy of running this business area as the company’s certain failures seriously affected the profitability of this area. Opportunities Improvement of customer relation s strategy According to D’Agostino (2003) Walt Disney has a unique opportunity of developing strong customer relations strategy based on database marketing capabilities. It predicts that the introduction of these technologies will enable the company to target and tailor the media delivery to active and prospective customers. However various analysts strongly advise to find the balance between â€Å"being digital and human† (D’Agostino, 2003). Advertising Growth The analysis of social factors influence shows the strong impact of various social events on the content requirements. Various social events as summer holidays or adventure trips might create significant a potential for advertising growth what can bring great financial benefit. Differentiation The continuous change of global lifestyles and attitudes create niche markets for specific quality products. The ongoing diffusion of new technological solutions creates new possibilities to capture these markets. Thus the combination of these factors provides a feasible opportunity to expand. However, the success will strongly depend on the ability to react quickly to keep abreast of fast-changing market requirements. The further introduction of ICT technologies As Datamonitor (2003) recommends, the ICT technologies shall be further implemented in the business process. The further proliferation of broadband technologies on the EU market might create various opportunities for Walt Disney providing its extensive development of online applications. Besides, it will enable the company to exploit various internet media channels that will enable the company to use various e-marketing tools to create stronger relations with its customers.. Superior market segmentation The company has the opportunity to develop stronger demographic segmentation in order to anticipate the further market trends. The Mintel report (2003) shows that there are significant differences in preferences across different demographic and psychographic groups. Given the importance of content as a strong â€Å"pull† and differentiating factor, the further success might depend on the ability to spot the requirements of niche markets and meet them. Threats Economic conditions The Walt Disney’s media production and distribution indirectly dependent on advertising for their revenue. Changes in US, global or regional economic conditions may affect the advertising market for broadcast and cable television programming, which in turn may affect the volume of, and price for, the advertising on Walt Disney’s cable networks and shows and the volume of, and price for, the programming that the company is able to sell. Winnie the Pooh trial According to Datamonitor (2004) a one-billion-dollar lawsuit against Walt Disney over the cash generated by the Winnie the Pooh character is likely to finally go to trial in 2005. The case centres on the US marketing rights to he character, created by British author A. A. Milne and popularized by the Disney entertainment empire. Among the issues at stake, are revenues from computer software, DVDs and videotapes, merchandise that mostly comes in formats that came into being after the agreement was signed. Pooh revenues, said to be the most of any character that Disney markets, are estimated to be in the region of three billion to six billion dollars a year, and the lawsuit represents a considerable threat to the company's performance in the future. Stakeholder analysis Stakeholders are persons, groups or institutions with interests in a project or programme. According to McLarney (2002) there are two types of stakeholders: primary or key stakeholders, and secondary ones. Primary stakeholders are those ultimately affected, either positively (beneficiaries) or negatively (for example, those involuntarily resettled). Secondary stakeholders are the intermediaries in the aid delivery process. McLarney (2002) suggest that the group of primary stakeholders consist of shareholders, employees and customers. Shareholders Shareholders can be considered as one of the most influential type of primary stakeholders as they might exert direct or indirect control over the strategic action of the company. That is why one of the Disney's overriding objectives â€Å"is to create shareholder value by continuing to be the world's premier entertainment company from a creative, strategic, and financial standpoint†. Shareholders’ evaluation of the company’s current and future performance has a direct effect on the company’s stakes’ value. The recent bidding of Comcast Corporation for The Walt Disney Company (Business Week, 2004) exemplified the way market evaluation might determine the bidding process during the possible merging. This group expect the company to deliver consistent sound financial performance what will be a proof that the company can fulfil its mission’s objectives. Employees Employees have a direct influence over the quality of the business concept delivery. According to Drucker (1998) employee possess important tacit and explicit knowledge, which can significantly contribute to the learning capability of the company, especially during business process reengineering and continuous improvement activities. They expect to work for the socially responsible company, which is adherent to its mission and brand promise. They also expect certain degree of involvement in decision making, personal development and adequate performance appraisal. Customers Customers have a direct influence over company’s profitability. According to Kotler et al. (1999) the direction of customers’ attitude formation may determine the success and failure of particular goods or brand. Customers expect the company to deliver the quality promised by the brand, and communicated to them through various promotion mix activities. The issue of company’s social responsibility, especially in the case of Walt Disney is crucial, as the company is involved in character–based merchandise which is heavily dependant on the proliferation of specific image of particular characters. Conclusion The analysis of the current PESTEL factors identified the particular importance of socio-cultural, political and legal, economic, technological and environmental factors on the environment. All of these factors determine the success of operations. If socio-cultural and economic factors affect the demand patterns and vulnerability of strategic development, other factors create the conditions for value chain architecture. The review of environmental factors identified the opportunities to improve financial health, capitalize on the growth of advertising market and develop further ifferentiation using technological solutions. At the same time economic conditions and copyright issue create serious threats to the company. The analysis of five forces identified the strong power of buyers and the analysis of strategic capability defined the following strengths: diversified portfolio, fast and intensive transfer of operational capabilities and the experience of running the international oper ations. At the same time the current portfolio management and the dependence of certain business units on various external factors were defined as major weaknesses. The paper identified various feasible opportunities. The analysis of current capabilities along with the further development of technological solutions create strong case for the development of customer relations management based on database marketing techniques. Besides the company might pursue the development of new ICT technologies. The current success of Mission: SPACE attractions show vast market opportunities with regards to the introduction of new entertainment experience. The company may develop superior market segmentation. The high influence of social factor and the influence of fashion trends on market demand and product life cycles create the space for niche market strategies. The stakeholder analysis defined three types of key stakeholders, as shareholders, employees and customers, who might exert sufficient influence on the strategic development of the company. references Bennett, R. (1999) Corporate strategy – 2nd ed. – London: Financial Times Bradley F. (1999) International marketing strategy – 3rd edn. – Addison-Wesley Publishing Calton J. nd Kurland N. (1996) â€Å"A theory of stakeholder enabling: giving voice to an emerging postmodern praxis of organizational discourse†, Boje D. M. , Gephardt R. P. , Thatchenkey T. J. Postmodern Management and Organizational Theory – Sage, Thousand Oaks, CA. Chaffey D. (2002) E-business and e-commerce management : strategy, implementation and practice – Harlow : Financial Times Prentice Hall Datamonitor (2003) â€Å"Global media: Industry profile†, Datamonitor, June Datamonitor (2004) â€Å"Walt Disney: Company profile†, Datamonitor D’Agostino D. 2003) â€Å"Walt Disney World Resorts and CRM Strategy†, eWeek, 01/12 Drucker P. (1998) â€Å"Management’s new paradigms†, Forbes, 05/10. Grant, R. M. (1998) Contemporary strategy analysis: concepts, techniques, applications – 3rd ed. – Malden, Mass. ; Oxford: Blackwell Hill C. (2002) International business: competing in the global marketplace – 4th edn. – Irwin McGraw-Hill: London Kotler P. , Bowen J. , Mak J. (1999) Marketing for hospitality and tourism – 2nd edn. – Upper Saddle River: Prentice Hall Mintel (2003) â€Å"Leisure Business – UK†, Mintel International Group Limited, August Porter M. (1990) The competitive advantage of nations – London: Macmillan, Wit B. and Meyer R. (1998) Strategy: process, content, context: an international perspective – 2nd edn. – London : International Thomson Business Hoovers Online Official site – www. hoovers. com Appendix i – Portfolio vs core competence perspectives | |Portfolio |Core Competences | |Emphasis on |Responsiveness over synergy |Synergy over responsiveness |View of competition |Firms compete within a business |Corporations compete across business | |Competitive strategy at |Business level |Corporate level | |Key success factors |Responsiveness to business demands |Competence leverage | |Corporate composition |Potentially unrelated (diverse) |Shared competence base (focused) | |Mulitibusiness synergy |Cash flow optimization |Rapid competence building | |Primary task corporate centre |Capital allocation to SBU’s |Competence development & application | |Position of Business un its |Highly autonomous (independent) |Highly integrated (interdependent) | |Co-ordination between SBU’s |Low, incidental |High, structural | |Corporate control style |Setting financial objectives |Joint strategy development | |Diversification acquisitions |Simple to accommodate |Difficult to integrate | Adopted from Witt and Meyer (1998) ———————– Competitors High New entrants Low Buyers (bargaining power) High Substitutes High Suppliers

Teachers should give less homework Essay

Let’s imagine waking up super early in the morning, then making your way to a place that’s complete chaos, called School, then going through seven class periods, seven slow hours. Doing tons of work in classes working hard. So when the day is finally over you’re just ready to go home and relax, not to do stressful, super hard homework that you were given that day. I believe teachers should give less homework for many reasons. One being, us students get overwhelmed when we have too much homework. If homework for one class takes us 45 minutes up to an hour, imagine doing homework for all seven classes that you attend. Another reason being children would have more times for activities outside of school, such as sports, family time, or even academic activities outside of school, if they didn’t have so much homework to finish. High School kids don’t get as much sleep as they should because they are up doing countless amounts of homework for the maximum of seven classes, and if we aren’t doing homework were studying for a test or possibly even multiple tests we might have the following day. More work doesn’t mean necessarily mean more learning. Assigning more homework isn’t helping us students learn more, especially if it’s really overwhelming and we don’t understand how to do it, so we don’t. If teachers limited the quantity of how much homework we had, then they would receive better quality back, meaning if you assign us less homework/decrease how long the assignments are, and then you can expect us to do more quality work on what you do assign. Family time is valuable. We want to be able to truly spend time with our family members in the evenings, but we can’t accomplish that because homework takes up all that time we would have normally used. And, yes, I know that for lots of students it’s the TV that’s their companion at night instead of their parents. But that’s not how it is with all the students. There are definitely families out there who want to relax together in the evening but simply cannot do so because their child is entrenched with homework. Plus, the teachers could benefit from this as well. Less homework means less tracking and grading for teachers. If this were the only reason for giving less homework, then it would not be a very good one. But as it stands, there are lots of great reasons to give less homework, but those are some reasons why I believe teachers should give less homework.