The cultural belief of hegemonic masculinity

The social conviction of domineering manliness Domineering manliness is a faith in presence of socially regulating perfect of male conduct that is described by propensity for male strength. Advocates of authoritative manliness hypothesis contend that domineering manliness isn't really the most predominant type of articulation in male in spite of the fact that it is the most socially embraced; continually adding to subordinate situation of ladies. Connell (2005) takes note of that domineering manliness is portrayed by aspiration, quality, drive and independence and contends that such attributes are supported in guys however not in females. As he would like to think, Donaldson (1993) contends that domineering manliness concerns the fear of and the departure from ladies; and perspectives it as a socially romanticized structure, an individual or aggregate venture and a key technique for men to subordinate ladies. It is rough, selective, uneasiness inciting, inside and progressively separated. Notwithstanding, Donaldson (1993) feature s that not all men practice it, albeit many profit by it. Moreover, it develops the most perilous things that mankind must substance with; it is flexible and fuses its own investigate, in spite of the fact that unwinding. This article talks about the idea of domineering manliness corresponding to sex and social change. Domineering Masculinity: Gender and Social Change The idea of domineering manliness is reprimanded for being encircled inside hetero-regulating origination of sexual orientation that essentializes male-female contrast and overlooks distinction and avoidance inside the sex classes (Trigiani 1999). The idea to a great extent lays sensibly on dichotomization of sex, which is natural versus sex, which is social, hence minimizing the body (Trigiani 1999). As per Cornnell (2005) domineering manliness is built comparable to subjected masculinities; particularly ladies in this manner there is no women's activist that is authoritative as in the predominant type of manliness is authoritative among men. Iacuone (2005) sees domineering manliness as the most widely recognized diagram for sexual orientation in Western culture as it directs how genuine men ought to act and the objectives they ought to seek to achieve through the manliness practice. It is an envisioned develop instead of a down to earth one, with just hardly any individuals having every one of its qualities, in spite of the fact that lion's share hold the standard with most noteworthy regard (Iacuone 2005). In accordance with domineering manliness characteristics, the personality of hetero man relies upon his aversion of subjected sex develops; thus Iacuone (2005) concedes that authoritative manliness sees ladies as articles, delineates them as servile and generally suitable for household obligations; just being an incentive to men in a sexual limit. The predominant manly culture impacts perspectives of development laborers, whereby domineering manliness recommends that men ought to be extreme, be sufficiently valiant to confront risk and to command over others. Such men just view social condition as a helpful spot for chance taking, with the greater part of them seeing ladies as sex objects who ought to be there to engage them and even grasp rape to ladies as worthy (Iacuone 2005). Be that as it may, a little segment of men attempt to oppose the impacts of authoritative manly culture in sex, particularly in settings where men challenge customary man centric relations with a point of improving womens government assistance (Iacuone 2005). Kimmel Amy (2008) see authoritative manliness as a social perfect of a genuine man, depicted by society as youthful, wedded, white, and protestant, urban, hetero, white of school training, great composition, stature, and weight and utilized. They contend that any male who doesn't have any of the portrayed character attributes ought to view himself as mediocre or dishonorable. Sexual orientation is an ever present power that characterizes every day conduct of individuals. Spade Valentine (2010) draw out the manliness differentiate among people as saw by society. They contend that as ladies move on from girlhood to womanhood and join blended sexual orientation bunches at work, in schools or play, their voices are frequently disregarded and subjected; they need to screen what they state, how they state it and how regularly they converse with guarantee that they don't rule on the grounds that their sex restrains their cooperation (Spade Valentine 2010). Gendered examples of conviction and conduct impact people groups lifestyle in every day personal connections, with loved ones. As per Spade Valentine (2010), contemplates shave uncovered that young ladies who violate into young men zone wind up being in the long run regarded by their male mates in the event that they are acceptable in customarily male exercises, while then again, young men are bothered and prodded when they attempt to take part in young ladies related exercises along these lines predominance of domineering manliness is kept up by denying young men access to young ladies exercises. Moreover, the strength of manliness is strengthened when young men are mocked on the grounds that they don't agree to society desires for domineering manliness; thus they neglect to be adequately prevailing. So as to adapt to pressure from the general public, Spade Valentine (2010) note that most men have figured out how to do the practices that keep up domineering manliness, while simultan eously stifling emotions and practices that may make them look ladylike. This shows the degree of servitude, dissatisfactions and dread experienced by men so as to keep up their domineering manliness status in the general public. In spite of these disappointments, authoritative manliness accompanies its advantages as it is kept up in a chain of importance that is acknowledged by just scarcely any men, with each other individual subjected to them; including ladies, poor white men, men of shading, gay men and men from cheapened ethnic and strict gatherings. This strength might be regulated in the structure of the circumstance. Authoritative manliness is upheld by sex job hypothesis, which advocates for individuals to gain from societys foundations to carry on in manners that are proper to their sex. As per Trigiani (1998), the sex job hypothesis sees men as forceful, reasonable, prevailing and objective while ladies are aloof, natural, compliant and emotional. The hypothesis further accept that culture esteems qualities of each sex similarly and that these qualities supplement each other in to bring out parity in the general public; whereby ladies are similarly as regarded for their inactivity as men are for their forcefulness (Trigiani 1998). In any case, Haenfler (2006) sees authoritative manliness as an arrangement of sexual orientation practice that lone exemplifies the right now acknowledged response to the issue of authenticity of man centric society, taken to ensure the predominant situation of men and the subordinate situation of ladies. Haenfler (2006) mourns that since late nineteenth century, th e social premise of manliness has been sabotaged and men scarcely comprehend being a man. Moreover, modernization, fast industrialization, urbanization and the ascent of organization has isolated young men from fathers and destabilized the male provider job. What's more, women's activists have tested predominant ideas of sex, making it a test for a youngster to make sense of how to take care of business in present day days (Haenfler 2006). Haenfler (2006) sees that the youthful mens current feelings of trepidation and proceeded with disintegration of male provider job may give a notable chance to men, both by and large and separately to dismiss the damaging and tight restricting meanings of manliness and like to make increasingly quiet and libertarian meanings of masculinity. In a culture that lauds manly shows of certainty, sexual ability, quality and force, men progressively feel uncertain, barren, feeble and frail henceforth they have frequently reacted to their disarray and sentiments of deficiency through restraint, responsive prohibition and getaway from the real world (Haenfler 2006). Haenfler (2006) sees that men who feel like they are losing power over their work and connections regularly practice extraordinary command over their own lives, wellness, liquor utilization and sexual cravings; thus turning out to be objects of restraint. They respond to emergency of domineering manliness by endeavoring to close la dies out of places of intensity and impact and break womens impact by withdrawing to male just social conduct (Haenfler 2006). Haenfler (2006) regrets that while domineering manliness may have its advantages to men as far as open status and manly benefits, it accompanies a cost as men regularly pay with unexpected weakness, shorter live and sincerely swallow their connections and experience the ill effects of mental misery. Different pundits of domineering manliness contend that authoritative masculinities don't relate to genuine existences of men, along these lines the hypothesis gives an obscure and loose record of social mental generation of male personalities. End All in all, authoritative manliness encapsulates men as unrivaled people and perspectives ladies as mediocre and agreeable animals, who should live at leniency of their male partners. It instructs men to sabotage and abuse ladies and individual men who are seen as sub-par. It esteems rivalry of chain of command, sexual ability and physical strength to the detriment of human nobility, dignity and significant serenity. Domineering masculinities regularly stifle their actual sentiments to abstain from looking female as they inside experience the ill effects of mental and passionate misery to satisfy the general public and live true to form. In any case, with expanding innovation and industrialization, domineering manliness is gradually losing its significance; with numerous ladies expecting the job of providers and ascending to administration positions the same number of youngsters become increasingly more scared of society characterized manly duties related with authoritative masculini ties.

MySQL Information Technology Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

MySQL Information Technology - Research Paper Example The database of MySQL empowers the clients to build up a structure of social database some place in the web-server in order to store data and do the vital processing. When contrasted and the Microsoft Access, MySQL encourages the clients by sorting out tables for them. Among different components, the PHP fills in as the inquiries. User’s structures assume the job of individual website pages that contain fields. A mix of every one of these highlights permits the client to create superb ventures upon web which are hard to make without the utilization of MySQL. â€Å"The SQL part of â€Å"MySQL† represents â€Å"Structured Query Language.† SQL is the most widely recognized normalized language used to get to databases and is characterized by the ANSI/ISO SQL Standard† (MySQL, 2011). Since the year 1986, SQL Standard has been developing. Today, clients can look over various forms of SQL. MySQL is completely unreservedly downloadable from the Internet and author ized by the GNU General Public License (GPL). GLP sets the guidelines for the utilization of MySQL in different circumstances. One of the most major components of MySQL that recognize it from the regular databases is its open source nature. Being open source, anyone can utilize and make changes in the MySQL programming. The source code can be changed according to the necessity of individual clients. In a lion's share of cases, when a client as of now has a website page or is getting one, PHP and MySQL are bolstered by the host. Servers which they are regularly connected with incorporate Linux. A client may look at the Dreamhost on the off chance that he needs to pick up the help of PHP and MySWL while getting his page. A few clients make some troublesome memories managing the MySQL database as a result of their absence of earlier communication with the WYSIWYG interface which is managed by the Microsoft Access. Consequently, when they need to create tables, they either use SQL State ments for it or there will be consequences, utilize some open source device that can be downloaded from the Internet. Such instruments are usually alluded to as the PHPMyAdmin. PHPMyAdmin gives the clients an easy to understand interface which makes it simple for them to create tables and forward their questions by giving the necessary data. This turns out to be especially advantageous for a client when he is worn out or wouldn't like to enjoy the lazy SQL Statements. MySQL is fundamentally extraordinary in its properties, qualities and utilizations from Microsoft Acess. After the formation of tables, it turns out to be anything but difficult to utilize MySQL. MySQL far surpasses Microsoft Access regarding both unwavering quality and speed. In a social database, information is kept in singular tables rather than one storeroom. This advances adaptability and improves the speed of the procedure. Microsoft Access isn't significantly more than an arrangement of work area database. Littl e associations can do with up to 20 clients of Microsoft Access at once, however hits upwards of 10000 every day require a substantially more proficient and more grounded framework that is given by MySQL. The tables in MySQL can utilize genuine information not at all like Microsoft Access. Need a book field that can hold more than four billion characters? Not an issue, simply utilize the LongText information type. Need the field to hold that numerous characters and be case-touchy? Simple, simply utilize the LongBlob information type. Need to store numbers from 0 to 18,446,744,073,709,551,615 (for those of you who are interested, that would be more than 18 Quintillion), at that point utilize the BigInt information type. In fact, 18 quintillion is a major whole number. (Blue Moose

Stroke Example

Stroke Example Stroke â€" Essay Example > Critical Review of Traditional Herbal Medicine as Pharmacological Stroke Treatment to Address Evidence-based Medical PracticeTreating stroke is an age-old clinical and pharmacological predicament in the health care and medical profession, coupled with the dearth of ground-breaking and evident-based medicine treatment and approach that resulted in people’s continued search for answers. However, embracing which one to choose as a more viable pharmacological solution in treating stroke has varying degree of contradictory views, particularly in using either both conventional or alternative or complementary medicine. Interest in traditional medicine surged in recent years, backed by an even more accelerating number of observational and anecdotal experience being accumulated over the last 1,000 years. Traditional medicine is defined by the World Health Organization (WHO) as “health practices, approaches, knowledge and beliefs incorporating plant, animal and mineral based medicines, spiritual therapies, manual techniques and exercise … to treat diagnose and prevent illnesses or maintain well-being. ” Traditional forms of medicine make use of herbs and acupuncture (holistic treatment approach) when it gets clues of an internal imbalance to achieve body harmony, which is unlike the Western medicine, which focuses only on the disease. In researches chosen for this report, one of the studies evidenced how herbal or traditional medicines helped improve microcirculation in the brain of a patient; it also helps protect against ischemic reperfusion injury, possess neuroprotective properties and inhibit apoptosis, thus justifying their use in stroke patients. Similar yet at times contradictory findings would be revealed in the studies explored, but might be the information needed to resolve and address issues that demand attention. Prospect for Evidence-based medicine treatment, where derive. To understand the concept of evidence-based medicine, it is said it is be st to postpone any attempt to define it until we inspect and look into the theories in making clinical judgment and decision-making. In an article published by the Journal of Emergency Primary Health Care (JEPHC) about its survey of theories related to judgment and decision-making, its author Ramon Shaban tried to construct a well-thought out definition of the terms judgment and decision-making in the context of medical practice, but to no avail, citing a universally-accepted definition of judgment or decision-making in this context has not been arrived at. One of the criticisms often hurled against clinical judgment and decision-making is the propensity of some practitioners to rely not on scientifically or statistically-based information but on trial and error and unpredictability; and medicine which should harbor on exactness were kept on bay as medical practitioners rely on their intuition. Until two decades ago, a new movement, now known as evidence-based emerged, more in res ponse to the floundering of our society’s overburdened medical health and care system, according to “A Study a Day keeps the Doctor Away, ” an article written by Leyla Kokmen in the politically-charged Utne Reader magazine (Sept-Oct 2007). As evidence-based movement work aim for a just and responsible practice of the medical profession, specially of pharmacological treatment of disease like stroke, we attempted to look into the issues used in the various theories to make a sound and logical clinical judgment and decision-making. With evidence-based medical movement, regard to patients who are asked more and more to get more responsibility in paying for their solicited health services are put in premium. As should be the case, patients must be informed if they are presented with health care choices that were employed with little or no scientific evidence, so they can opt for more invasive and expensive treatments because more often than not, these remedy do more harm than goo d.

The Spiritual Dimension Of Person And Environment - 887 Words

The Spiritual Dimension of person and environment: Perspectives from Social Work and Traditional Knowledge is a passage published in the International Social Work Journal written by Michael K. Zapf, professor of Social Work at the University of Calgary. In this particular article, Michael Zapf, discuses how important a spiritual perspective is within the field of Social Work. To begin with, he describes the concept of spirituality in social work, with a little bit of history lesson. Then he provides an example of how it could look from Aboriginal social work, and directions of how professionals can incorporate it. All throughout history spirituality and religion has been frowned upon within the field of secular social work. The biggest factor for this was the separation of church and state. Unless mentioned by the client, Social Workers have never really been allowed to discuss the topic of religion. Even when the client brought it up, however, it tended to be ignored. Zapf, however, states that in recent literature there has been â€Å"a renewed interest in spirituality and social work† (Zapf). He continues that this view is due to â€Å" ‘a longing for profound and meaningful connections to each other, to ourselves, and to something greater than ourselves’ that has arisen because the western mindset of individualism and materialism has ruined the environment and destroyed community. He sees evidence of ‘growing spiritual longing’ in social work practitioners, in clients and inShow MoreRelatedDimensions of Health Essay686 Words   |  3 PagesDefinitions of the dimensions of health Humans have been around for many centuries. In this century, we are growing more aware of the negative effects illness and stress have on the human body. We are also becoming aware of the necessary steps needed to be healthy and accomplish a longer life span. With the ever-growing number of diseases around the human population, it is imperative that humans realize the importance of being healthy. People believe health is attained by just eating healthy foodsRead MoreSocial Work : An Organization928 Words   |  4 Pagesanalytical approaches is the biopsychosocial spiritual framework, as it considers several aspects of the individual s life. Hutchison (2015) notes that this framework can be thought of three separate, yet, very important dimensions. The biopsychosocial spiritual model initially arose with the focus on the psychological and social dimension. Hutchison (2015) states that a person s psychological state, such as self perception and emotional state, and social environment, such as community and culture, willRead MoreAnalysis Of Kate Chopins Two Portraits946 Words   |  4 Pagesall the women in the convent. Chopin incorporates many features like dimensionalism and environment to draw a contrast between the two Albertas. As it is the authors intention to examine contrary states of innocence and experience to show the ways that society divides women rather than uniting them. When examining the differences between the two Albertas, its important to examine each of their environments growing up. Like so many women, Alberta the Wonton is the victim of neglect and abuseRead MoreHow I View And Interact With The World Shapes My World View1160 Words   |  5 Pagesbelieve that the various human dimensions are interrelated. It is impossible to separate out the physical from the psychological or spiritual, as they are interdependent. A change in one aspect acts as a causative agent in the others. This aspect of this worldviews frames my practice when I acknowledge that my patient is much more than a set of vital signs and a physical assessment. In each interaction, I strive to ascertain my patient’s psychological and spiritual deficits and attend to these needsRead MoreThe Life Of Ancient Egyptian Religion847 Words   |  4 Pageseternal life in traditional Egypt is associated with the sun that always rose up to give renewal and vigor on a daily basi s. Ancient Egyptians considered the afterlife as an ideal dimension in its peace, delight, and bliss. There were no hardships, rivalry or any negative emotions in the spiritual realm. The dimension was referred to commonly as the Field of Offerings or the Field of Rushes. The heavenly place was complete with its own version of the river Nile and was composed of two fields. TheRead MoreResearch On Burial Practices And The M Ä€ Ori818 Words   |  4 Pageswe can achieve this by returning to some of the tikanga practices and principles passed down by our tÃ… «puna (taonga tuku iho). 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Not only the education was operated with a business-like model but also the positivistic culture of academe conditions faculty and students to separate personal values from disciplinary content, coupled with associated notions that the spiritual dimensionRead MoreWhat is the Definition of Health?939 Words   |  4 Pagesphysical and mental functioning. The state of health is then the degree to which these functions are in equilibrium with the physical, biological, and social environment (Lock, 2001). Merriam Webster Dictionary defines health as â€Å"the condition of being sound in body, mind, or spirit,† (Merriam Webster Dictionary).Various aspects or dimensions can b e identified with the term, therefore making it difficult to identify something as â€Å"completely healthy.† It has been taught that when mental, emotionalRead MoreAddiction Is Prevalent Within The Current Society. People1632 Words   |  7 Pagesaddiction. If an addiction to something is heritable within a family, it is often than to the new generation. There are many factors that play a role in addictions. The BPS Plus model includes biological, psychological, social, cultural and spiritual dimensions to help understand addiction. In this essay, I will be focusing on the addiction to alcohol and how it effects the lives of alcoholics, using examples from the movie Bad Santa, course readings and the BPS Plus model. In the movie Bad SantaRead MorePsychology Is The Study Of People s Minds And Behaviors1710 Words   |  7 Pagesand ethics. The dimensions of health and their characteristics, mental and social health, comparing and contrasting internal and external factors of self-esteem and self-efficiency. Anxiety disorder, what it is, how common it is, and signs symptoms and treatments. Destiny, free will, fate, decisions, values, integrity, moral, and ethics what they are and examples, how values and decisions effect our school lives and morals and ethics and how they affect our home lives. Dimensions of health and their

What Are VB.Net Resources and How Are They Used

After Visual Basic students learn all about loops and conditional statements and subroutines, one of the next things that they often ask is, How do I add a bitmap, a .wav file, a custom cursor, or some other special effect? One answer is resource files. When you add a resource file to your project, its integrated for maximum execution speed and minimum hassle when packaging and deploying your application. Using resource files isnt the only way to include files in a VB project, but it has real advantages. For example, you could include a bitmap in a PictureBox control or use the mciSendString Win32 API.   Microsoft defines a resource as any nonexecutable data that is logically deployed with an application. The easiest way to manage resource files in your project is to select the Resources tab in the project properties. You bring this up by double-clicking My Project in Solution Explorer or in your project properties under the Project menu item. Types of Resource Files StringsImages  IconsAudioFilesOther Resource Files Simplify Globalization Using resource files adds another advantage: better globalization. Resources are normally included in your main assembly, but .NET also lets you package resources into satellite assemblies. This way, you accomplish better globalization because you include only the satellite assemblies that are needed. Microsoft gave each language dialect a code. For example, the American dialect of English is indicated by the string en-US, and the Swiss dialect of French is indicated by fr-CH. These codes identify the satellite assemblies that contain culture-specific resource files. When an application runs, Windows automatically uses the resources contained in the satellite assembly with the culture determined from Windows settings. VB.Net Add Resource Files Because resources are a property of the solution in VB.Net, you access them just like other properties: by name using the My.Resources object. To illustrate, examine this application  designed to display icons for Aristotles four elements: air, earth, fire,  and water. First, you need to add the icons. Select the Resources tab from your Project Properties. Add icons by choosing Add Existing File  from the Add Resources drop-down menu. After a resource is added, the new code looks like this: Private Sub RadioButton1_CheckedChanged( ...Handles MyBase.LoadButton1.Image My.Resources.EARTH.ToBitmapButton1.Text EarthEnd Sub Embedding With Visual Studio If youre using Visual Studio, you can embed resources directly into your project assembly. These steps add an image directly to your project: Right-click the project in the Solution Explorer. Click Add and  then click Add Existing Item.Browse to your image file and click Open.Display the properties for the image that was just added.Set the Build Action property to Embedded Resource. You can then use the bitmap directly in code like this (where the bitmap was the third one, index number 2 in the assembly). Dim res() As String GetType(Form1).Assembly.GetManifestResourceNames()PictureBox1.Image New System.Drawing.Bitmap( _GetType(Form1).Assembly.GetManifestResourceStream(res(2))) Although these resources are embedded as binary data directly in the main assembly or in satellite assembly files, when you build your project in Visual Studio, theyre referenced by an XML-based file format that uses the extension .resx. For example, heres a snippet from the .resx file you just created: assembly aliasSystem.Windows.Forms nameSystem.Windows.Forms,Version2.0.0.0, Cultureneutral, PublicKeyTokenb77a5c561934e089 /data nameAIRtypeSystem.Resources.ResXFileRef,System.Windows.Formsvalue..\Resources\CLOUD.ICO;System.Drawing.Icon,System.Drawing, Version2.0.0.0,Cultureneutral,PublicKeyTokenb03f5f7f11d50a3a/value/data Because they are just text XML files, a .resx file cant be used directly by a .NET framework application. It has to be converted to a binary .resources file, adding it to your application. This job is accomplished by a utility program named Resgen.exe. You might want to do this to create the satellite assemblies for globalization. You have to run resgen.exe from a command prompt. Source Resources Overview. Microsoft, 2015.

Strategic Direction And Global Security Essay - 1618 Words

The general capabilities required by the Joint Force in 2025 will be a global surveillance and strike (GSS) network, increased naval and air investments and ensuring cyber technology outpaces adversaries. Based on the current U.S. strategic direction and global security environment these capabilities are necessary. Satellites and cyber technology will be part of the design of the GSS system. The U.S. military will be able to strike quickly and remain engaged for increased periods while additional forces move to the area of concern using the GSS system. Increased Navy and Air investments in submarines, ships, aircraft, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV’s) and unmanned underwater vehicles (UUV’s) is critical. The Navy and Air Force allows us to project power to areas of the world far from our base of operations. Air power also enables us to provide support for ground forces while providing deterrence and denial of enemy forces. Cyber investments and security are critical beca use cyber technology will increasingly be the engine that runs our future military and allows us to attack adversary’s cyber networks and infrastructure. The U.S. Army will see a reduction in tactical armor units while the U.S. Marine Corps remains at the current level of equipment and personnel. After each capability are associated Risk. The GSS network will be a vital piece for rebalancing the force in 2025. It is a network tracking and control system designed to help deploy and control unmannedShow MoreRelatedStrategic Direction And Global Security Environment1648 Words   |  7 Pagesto U.S. national interests. The services must invest in systems that maintain strategic deterrence, infrastructure that supports power projection and operational concepts that advance wide spectrum operations in order to support diplomacy and national security. This essay will begin with providing a brief synopsis of the strategic documents, which form the guidance used to analyze and develop Joint Force 2025 strategic capabilities. A discussion of Joint Force 2025 general capability requirementsRead MoreStrategic Challenges And The Global Security Environment873 Words   |  4 Pagescurrent strategic challenges and the global security environment. This paper proposes that the Joint Force of 2025 must focus on its competitive advantages and it must curtail ineffective and expensive programs to preserve its ground forces capability to provide deterrence and defeat capabilities critical to our National Strategic Objectives. To support this position, this paper first articulates the emerging threats to U.S. National Interests and compares them to the key strategic direction of publishedRead MoreThe Problem Of Total Joint Force1604 Words   |  7 Pagesinclude hybrid and near peer competitors trying to tip the balance in the global security e nvironment. In addition, as the Department of Defense (DOD) learned from past wars while its resources reduce, the total JF 2025 must adapt and become more agile in countering these emerging threats. The DOD has provided the strategic and military guidance along with associated posturing statements for the complementary capabilities of strategic adaptability and agility that will enable the rebalancing of the totalRead MoreStrategic Challenges And The Global Security Environment819 Words   |  4 Pages(JF25) considering the current strategic challenges and the global security environment. This paper proposes that the JF25 focus on its competitive advantages and curtail ineffective and expensive programs to preserve its ground forces’ capability to provide deterrence and defeat capabilities critical to our National Strategic Objectives. To support this position, this paper articulates the emerging threats to U.S. National Interests and highlights the key strategic direction of published Department ofRead MoreManagement Of Information Systems ( Mis )1431 Words   |  6 Pagescertain goal. In order to manage the systems, strategic direction is critical in tracing the strategic goals of any organization. Careful crafting of investments in the global IT offers Microsoft an opportune to have increased control as well enhanced coordination. In addition, this has enabled the organization to have access to global markets. On the other hand, it presents challenges to the management in engineering the global systems. Introduction Global business impacts in a significant way on managementRead MoreNational Strategic Guidance And The Global Security Environment1605 Words   |  7 PagesGeneral Dempsey articulated the United States military is the premier global military with a decisive military advantage but dominance just doesn’t happen necessitating the United States military to maintain the decisive edge. Dempsey’s statement is the catalyst for the premise of Joint Force 2025 in which the United States military embarks upon a transition and rebalance to address a wide continuum of emerging threats to our nation’s national interests in the foreseeable future. Dempsey correctlyRead MoreThe Department Of Defense ( Dod )1538 Words   |  7 Pages2020 necessary to adjust the force based on current strategic direction and fiscal constraints is a smaller, efficient, adaptable and integrated joint force. The 2014 Quadrennial Defense Review (QDR) emphasizes US military forces will evolve and re main modern, capable, and ready while accepting some increased risk through force reductions. Rebalancing will require innovative approaches and solutions to protect the homeland, build global security, project power, and win decisively with a leaner forceRead MoreGlobal Intelligence Case Study1071 Words   |  5 PagesThe emerging global power recognizes the imperative and the most efficient way to corner the AI industry growth is by investing in education and cultivating talent – which is an ever growing problem for the United States. Technology giants within the United States are continually hammering the issue of immigration reform and its impact on recruiting technology geniuses. Google CEO predicts that China will reach AI parity with the United States within in the next five years. And, he warned that AmericaRead MoreU.s. Joint Forces And The Strategic Direction1677 Words   |  7 PagesThe United States will only be able to rebalance the Joint Force in 2025 if ade quate resources are available. Even with adequate funding, combatant commanders will experience considerable challenges operating in the global security environment. The current strategic direction has prompted a shift of military resources to the Asia-Pacific. This trend will continue. Additionally, globalization, cyber-attacks and advances in technology will further challenge the Joint Forces in the next ten years .Read MoreCountering Global Threats On U.s. National Interests Essay1390 Words   |  6 Pagesthe current U.S. Joint Force strategic capabilities. This rebalancing requires a widening of our current engineering and technological capabilities as relates to our adversaries capabilities while simultaneously enhancing our land force deterrent capability in order to project U.S. power worldwide. This paper will discuss pressing future challenges, and how Joint Force 2025 must prepare for them. Based on our current strategic direction and today’s global security environment, discussion will

The Effect of Knowledge Management

Question: Discuss about the The Effect of Knowledge Management . Answer: Introduction Presently, with the increase of the public awareness regarding the importance of health insurance, the demand for the health insurance services has increased. The customer base in the health insurance companies is growing. The scenario is same also in Australia. As per the current statistics, the annual growth rate of the Australian health insurance sector is 6.4% and the revenue in the last financial year was $24 billion (Miller and Hayward 2017). The reports on the health insurance sector have disclosed that the health insurance companies are coming with new schemes to insure the health of the people in a better way (Keleher 2016). Due to the demand in the health insurance services and introduction of new schemes, the health insurance companies in Australia require maintaining huge number of data related to customers preferences, customers personal data and other information. This research proposal will particularly focus on the area of knowledge management and its impact on the service quality of the health insurance firms in Australia. During this research proposal it will be clear that how the main research study will be proceed. In order to conduct the study in more concise manner, the concentration will be made on a particular private health insurance company Medibank, Australia. Medibank is one of the most popular private health insurance service providing companies in Australia. The company is currently covering 29.1% of the market in Australia. The aim of the study will be identifying and analyzing the effect of knowledge management practices on service delivery quality in private health insurance firms. As per the current scenario, many people in Australia have complained that they are not getting proper service from the health insurance companies within the required time. This type of problem may be occurring due to the improper knowledge management system in the companies. However, the companies have not mentioned anything about the problems in their knowledge management systems (Pradhan et al. 2016). Therefore, the main problem area that the study will face is identifying the loopholes in the current knowledge management techniques that are affecting the service quality of the health insurance firms in Australia. Literature review Identifying the concept of knowledge management and its benefits According to Rundi (2016), knowledge management is a systematic procedure through which the business organizations manage their information and other knowledge resources. In the other words, Wang and Wang (2016) has described knowledge management as the process of managing the data and information that includes three basic activities capturing the information, distributing the information to different users and effectively using the information by the users within the company. Inkinen and Inkinen (2016) noted that the concept of knowledge management came to existence in 1990. The main reason behind introducing such concept was to organize and manage the information of the companies in an effective manner. At this current scenario, most of the business organizations especially the large organizations have implemented the knowledge management systems within their operational systems. Wang and Yang (2016) mentioned that the organizations implement the knowledge management system so tha t they can enjoy the benefits of it. The benefits of knowledge management are mentioned below: Better decision making The use of proper knowledge management system helps the business organizations taking better decision within less time. In the process of knowledge management, the information and data are kept in a systematic procedure and at the same time, the knowledge management system keeps only the useful data (Hughes and Gosney 2016). Therefore, while taking any decision, management can easily access the information and they do not need extra time for extracting the useful part from the entire information and data set. Hence, the decision making process become easy and effective. Improve the service quality The knowledge management system in a business organization especially the service providing organization helps providing better services to the customers. In the knowledge management system, the companies can keep the information of the customers in a systematic manner (Tseng 2016). Due to that, when the customers ask for the services related to their previous transactions, the companies can easily provide the required service. For example, if in a telecommunication service providing company, a customer asks for the calling details or recharge related details, then through the knowledge management system, the company can easily provide the information to the customer (Obeidat et al. 2016). Reducing time and cost The use of knowledge management system can reduce the use of time and cost in the organizations. If the organizations maintain their information and data through knowledge management system, then they do not require providing extra time and effort to identify the relevant data and information (Obeidat et al. 2016). No manual handling is required. Hence, the time and cost get reduced. Avoiding the risk of losing the data and information The knowledge management system maintain the data and information in a technical way. No manual data and information management is required in this system. Hence, the risk of losing the important data and information can be avoided easily (Jennex, Smolnik and Croasdell 2016). Identifying the limitations in knowledge management system Knowledge management is very useful tool in todays business scenario. However, this useful tool also has some limitations, due to which the business organizations face different challenges while using the knowledge management system. The limitations of knowledge management system are as follows: The knowledge management system in a company is not able to provide any clue about the future performance or outcome of the company (Al-Busaidi and Olfman 2017). Due to this, the usability of the knowledge management system is limited. There is a risk of data and information loses due to the problem of the system failure. The knowledge management systems in the companies are based on the technology (Tseng 2016). Therefore, sometimes, due to the technological failure, the knowledge management systems of the companies do not work properly and the data and information may be lost due to that. If this happens, the company may face huge problem. Knowledge management system is based on advanced technology. This means, the companies must appoint knowledgeable and skilled personnel for operating the knowledge management system. If any time, the responsible person is absent in the organization, then he whole system suffers (Inkinen and Inkinen 2016). Moreover, the employees, who do not have enough experience of using knowledge management system, also face difficulties for using the system. Implementing the knowledge management system within the company requires investing high amount of money at the initial phase. At the same time, the maintenance of knowledge management also requires much investment (Jennex, Smolnik and Croasdell 2016). Therefore, for the small and medium size companies, it is not at all possible to enjoy the knowledge management system. Analyzing the relationship between the knowledge management system and performance of the company The above discussion and analysis has clearly shown that knowledge management system of a company has several benefits, but the system is not flawless. However, Obeidat et al. (2016) mentioned that the good quality knowledge management system positively influence the performance standard of the companies. Jennex, Smolnik and Croasdell (2016) on the other hand commented that the knowledge management system in a company has direct impact on four different elements or aspects of the company and these are process, people, performance and products. Implementation of proper knowledge management system enhances the process effectiveness and efficiency. The organization requires less time for processing the input to desired output. For example, in the large banks like, National Australia Bank, the entire system depends on the knowledge management (Nationalaustraliabank.com 2017). Due to this system, the management of National Australia Bank can take right decision within minimum time. This means, due to the knowledge management system, the entire process within the organization becomes smoother. At the same time, as the works in the company is done within a minimum timeframe, the cost of the company is also reduced. This means, the performance of the company is improved. The implementation of the knowledge management system also improves the quality of the people within the company. The employees can improve their learning through this system. Along with that, the advanced knowledge management system makes the employees more flexible and gives job satisfactions to them (Al-Busaidi and Olfman 2017). Hence, the performance standard of each employees as well as entire organization is improved. However, in this context, Wang and Yang (2016) argued that the employees of the organization can be flexible if they know the how to use the system, otherwise, it may occur high cost to the company. Rundi (2016) noted that the implementation of the knowledge management system can improve the service or product quality of the business. If the example of National Australia Bank is considered, then it can be said, as the organization runs its business through the knowledge management system, the employees of the bank has the access of the customers data and information at all time. Therefore, if a customer asks for any service at any time, the employees can provide that. This means, the service quality becomes improved. However, Obeidat et al. (2016) argued that is any data is lost due to the system failure and then knowledge management system can negatively affect the service quality of the company. On the contrary, Tseng (2016) stated that the system failure canbe avoided through proper maintenance. Moreover, as the process, people and service or products are improved, the performance of the company automatically improves. Research questions The questions based on which the research will be carried on are as under: Why the knowledge management system is important at present business context? How knowledge management system helped Medibank improving its service quality? What are the major challenges faced by Medibank due to the use of knowledge management? How the companies can improve their knowledge management system further? Hypotheses H0: The knowledge management system has no positive relationship with the service quality of the organization. H1: The knowledge management system has direct positive relationship with the service quality of the organization. Research methodology This research will be based on a specific methodology that will include specific philosophy, approach and design of the research. The philosophy, approach and design are the bases of a research project. While conducting this particular research, it will be necessary selecting the specific philosophy, approach and design from the available group of philosophy, approach and design. Among all of the three research philosophies that are positivism, realism and interpretivism, the study will prefer to choose positivism. The positivism philosophy will help the research analyzing the data following the quantitative data analysis method (Baskerville and Wood-Harper 2016). The approach of the research will be the deductive approach, which will help completing the study successfully within minimum possible time (Wright et al. 2016). At the same time, the deductive approach is very effective for conducting the study by setting the research hypotheses in the beginning. The design of the research will be based on the descriptive research design, which is effective for conducting the detailed analysis during the study (Stanek, Babkin and Zubov 2016). This detailed analysis can be done based on available literature and theories. Project plan Activities Week 1 Week 2 Week 3 Week 4 Week 5 Week 6 Week 7 Week 8 Week 9 Week 10 Week 11 Week 12 Week 13 Week 14 Selecting the topic of the research Setting aim, questions and hypotheses of the research Reviewing the existing literature Selection of the methodology for the research Initiating the primary data collection Conducting the analysis of the primary data Identifying the results of the analysis Deriving the conclusion of the study Providing appropriate recommendations Final draft preparation Table 1: Gantt chart (Source: Created by author) Research process Every research project must have a systematic flow, so that the aim can be achieved successfully within the required time (Robson and McCartan 2016). The process of this particular research will start with the topic selection and along with that setting the aim, questions and hypotheses of the study. The second step of the study will be literature review. In this stage, the research will gather the information from the previous literature. The third step will be the selection of proper methodology. In this step, the philosophy, approach and design of the research will be selected. At the same time, the data collection and analysis methods will be also decided. The next step will be data collection and analysis. In this step, the research will gather the primary data from the relevant sources and will analyze those through valid data analysis techniques. After that the research will derive the conclusion by identifying to what extent the findings of the research have provided answers to the questions and lastly, the recommendations will be provided. Data collection and analysis methods Data collection is one of the essential parts of a research. The success of a research highly depends on the quality of the data that it collects. This particular research will collect primary and secondary data, so that the study can be done accurately. The primary data will be collected by conducting survey as well as interviews. The sample for the survey will be selected from the employees of Medibank. The sample will be gathered by using the probability sampling method. The sample size is expected to be 90 for the survey of the study. On the other side, the sample for the interview will be selected from the managers of Medibank. The expected sample for the interview is 4 managers. The sample will be selected by following the non-probability sampling method. The required secondary data will be gathered from the journals, articles and different websites. After gathering the data, the research will require analyzing those collected data through proper data analysis methods. The data collected through survey will be analyzed by using the quantitative data analysis method. This particular method will help analyzing the huge quantity of survey data very easily through mathematical analysis method (Gray and Malins 2016). On the other side, the data collected by the interview, will be analyzed using the qualitative method of data analysis. This method will help analyzing the data in detailed manner (Carter et al. 2016). Expected outcomes This research will aim to identify and analyze the impact of knowledge management on the service delivery of the health insurance firms. It is expected that the study will be able to identify how the knowledge management is used by the current health insurance companies in Australia. At the same time, it is also expected that the study will focus on the challenges of the knowledge management system in a particular health insurance company like, Medibank. After identifying the challenges, the study will be able to identify how these challenges are negatively impacting the service quality of the company. Moreover, the study is expected to analyze the overall efficiency of the knowledge management system in respect to the health insurance company in Australia. Conclusion This proposal has identified that knowledge management system is very useful at the current business context. The use of knowledge management may improve the performance standard of the business organizations. At the same time, the knowledge management system also improves the efficiency of the employees. However, this system has also some limitations for which the performance quality of the companies may be negatively affected. Reference list: Al-Busaidi, K.A. and Olfman, L., 2017. Knowledge Sharing Through Inter-organizational Knowledge Sharing Systems.VINE Journal of Information and Knowledge Management Systems,47(1). Baskerville, R.L. and Wood-Harper, A.T., 2016. A critical perspective on action research as a method for information systems research. InEnacting Research Methods in Information Systems: Volume 2(pp. 169-190). Springer International Publishing. Carter, E., Temming, L., Akin, J., Fowler, S., Macones, G., Colditz, G. and Tuuli, M., 2016. Centering Healthcare Quantitative Research.The CenteringPregnancy Model: The Power of Group Health Care,61(5), p.275. Gray, C. and Malins, J., 2016.Visualizing research: A guide to the research process in art and design. Routledge. Hughes, C. and Gosney, M.W., 2016. Human Resource Development as a Knowledge Management System: The Importance of Bridging the Scholar-Practitioner Gap. InBridging the Scholar-Practitioner Gap in Human Resources Development(pp. 1-19). IGI Global. Inkinen, H. and Inkinen, H., 2016. Review of empirical research on knowledge management practices and firm performance.Journal of knowledge management,20(2), pp.230-257. Jennex, M.E., Smolnik, S. and Croasdell, D., 2016, January. The search for knowledge management success. InSystem Sciences (HICSS), 2016 49th Hawaii International Conference on(pp. 4202-4211). IEEE. Keleher, H., 2016. The private health sector and private health insurance.Understanding the Australian Health Care System, p.35. Miller, P. and Hayward, D., 2017. Social policy generosityat a time of fiscal austerity: The strange case of Australias National Disability Insurance Scheme.Critical Social Policy,37(1), pp.128-147. Nationalaustraliabank.com. 2017. National Australia Bank - International Branches. [online] Available at: https://www.nationalaustraliabank.com [Accessed 7 Feb. 2017]. Obeidat, B.Y., Hashem, L., Alansari, I., Tarhini, A. and Al-Salti, Z., 2016. The effect of knowledge management uses on total quality management practices: A theoretical perspective.Journal of Management and strategy,7(4), p.18. Obeidat, B.Y., Obeidat, B.Y., Al-Suradi, M.M., Al-Suradi, M.M., Masadeh, R.E., Masadeh, R.E., Tarhini, A. and Tarhini, A., 2016. The impact of knowledge management on innovation: An empirical study on Jordanian consultancy firms.Management Research Review,39(10), pp.1214-1238. Pradhan, R.P., Arvin, B.M., Norman, N.R., Nair, M. and Hall, J.H., 2016. Insurance penetration and economic growth nexus: cross-country evidence from ASEAN.Research in International Business and Finance,36, pp.447-458. Robson, C. and McCartan, K., 2016.Real world research. John Wiley Sons. Rundi, A., 2016. Knowledge Management System.The Innovation Tools Handbook, Volume 1: Organizational and Operational Tools, Methods, and Techniques that Every Innovator Must Know, p.207. Stanek, J., Babkin, E. and Zubov, M., 2016. A new approach to configurable primary data collection.Computer Methods and Programs in Biomedicine,133, pp.169-181. Tseng, S.M., 2016. Knowledge management capability, customer relationship management, and service quality.Journal of Enterprise Information Management,29(2), pp.202-221. Wang, M.H. and Yang, T.Y., 2016. Investigating the success of knowledge management: An empirical study of small-and medium-sized enterprises.Asia Pacific Management Review,21(2), pp.79-91. Wang, Y.M. and Wang, Y.C., 2016. Determinants of firms' knowledge management system implementation: An empirical study.Computers in Human Behavior,64, pp.829-842. Wright, A.L., Wahoush, O., Ballantyne, M., Gabel, C. and Jack, S.M., 2016. Qualitative Health Research Involving Indigenous Peoples: Culturally Appropriate Data Collection Methods.The Qualitative Report,21(12), pp.2230-2245.

American Revoution essays

American Revoution essays At the time that the Stamp act was repealed, the Declaratory Act was introduced to the colonists. The Act stated that Parliament had complete and total authority over the colonies. It said that Parliament had the power to make laws to govern the colonies, to tax them, and rule the colonies the same way as England. When the colonists found out about the Act, they were outraged. The sugar act was the first act after the French Indian war, which was in place to gain money back after the heavy costs of the French Indian war. Unlike other Acts hence forth the sugar act was strictly enforced. Even though England had obtain new land the American colonist were not able to settle in these new spaces because the British thought that there were too many natural resources. They British did not want the Americas to become to rich. Parliament levied a tax on legal and commercial documents as well as printed material such as newspapers and pamphlets, all of which had to carry a special stamp. If your document did not have the special stamp you could be fined or jailed. The money collected went directly to England. The British government still needed money from the colonist. Because the colonists were upset of the stamp act, they sent Benjamin Franklin to plead their case. He told Parliament that the colonists opposed it because it was an internal but would accept external tax. The British then placed a tax on lead, glass, paper, paint, and tea. This enraged colonist, so intern they did Advertised that British Red coats unlawfully attacked and killed innocent Americans. This only added to the hatred to the British who were being taunted for months this was know as The Boston Massacre. ...

Facts of the Pre-Historic Predator Hyaenodon

Facts of the Pre-Historic Predator Hyaenodon Name: Hyaenodon (Greek for hyena tooth); pronounced hi-YAY-no-don Habitat: Plains of North America, Eurasia, and Africa Historical Epoch: Late Eocene-Early Miocene (40-20 million years ago) Size and Weight: Varies by species; about one to five feet long and five to 100 pounds Diet: Meat Distinguishing Characteristics: Slender legs; large head; long, narrow, tooth-studded snout About Hyaenodon The unusually long persistence of Hyaenodon in the fossil recordvarious specimens of this prehistoric carnivore have been found in sediments dating from 40 million to 20 million years ago, all the way from the Eocene to the early Miocene epochscan be explained by the fact that this genus comprised a large number of species, which ranged widely in size and enjoyed a nearly worldwide distribution. The largest species of Hyaenodon, H. gigas, was about the size of a wolf, and probably led a predatory wolf-like lifestyle (supplemented with hyena-like scavenging of dead carcasses), while the smallest species, the appropriately named H. microdon, was only about the size of a house cat. You might assume that Hyaenodon was directly ancestral to modern wolves and hyenas, but youd be wrong: the hyena tooth was a prime example of a creodont, a family of carnivorous mammals that arose about 10 million years after the dinosaurs went extinct and went extinct themselves about 20 million years ago, leaving no direct descendants (one of the biggest creodonts was the amusingly named Sarkastodon). The fact that Hyaenodon, with its four slender legs and narrow snout, so closely resembled modern meat-eaters can be chalked up to convergent evolution, the tendency for creatures in similar ecosystems to develop similar appearances and lifestyles. (However, bear in mind that this creodont didnt much resemble modern hyenas, except for the shape of some of its teeth!) Part of what made Hyaenodon such a formidable predator was its almost comically oversized jaws, which had to be supported by extra layers of musculature near the top of this creodonts neck. Like roughly contemporary bone-crushing dogs (to which it was only distantly related), Hyaenodon would likely snap the neck of its prey with a single bite, and then use the slicing teeth in the back of its jaws to grind down the carcass into smaller (and easier to handle) mouthfuls of flesh. (Hyaenodon was also equipped with an extra-long palate, which allowed this mammal to continue breathing comfortably as it dug into its meal.) What Happened to Hyaenodon? What could have edged Hyaenodon out of the spotlight, after millions of years of dominance? Thebone-crushing dogs referenced above are possible culprits: these megafauna mammals (typified by Amphicyon, the bear dog) were every bit as lethal, bite-wise, as Hyaenodon, but they were also better adapted for hunting scurrying herbivores across the wide plains of the later Cenozoic Era. One can imagine a pack of hungry Amphicyons denying a Hyaeonodon its recently killed prey, thus leading, over thousands and millions of years, to the eventual extinction of this otherwise well-adapted predator.

Business Law - Questions Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Business Law - Questions - Assignment Example When an offer is made to the offeree, he can either accept or put down the offer made to him, if he accepts the offer, this means that the second element of the contract recognized as acceptance have been completed. If a contract has to be recognized as valid, it should contain the third element recognized as consideration. Consideration is the term assigned to a promise or a factor on which bargaining takes place, consideration is offered by the offerror and whether to accept the consideration or reject it or bargain on it is entirely in the hands of the offeree. Another important element of a contract is intention; the people involved in creation of a legal contract should have the intention of creating a legal contract and not just an agreement that has not been legally created. The last element of a contract is the certainty of the contract, this means that the contract should be concise and clear in nature so it can be enforced. Increase in the use of internet to conduct transac tion between the sellers and the buyers gave way for the creation of a distance contract. A distance contract is referred to a contract in which the buyer and the seller or the parties involved in the contract have never physically been in each other’s presence since the start of the contract till the end of the contract. For examples: a distance contract is created when parties are involved in selling and purchasing of goods and services over the internet through different means such as email, telephone calls and faxes. In this kind of contract, the seller or merchandiser is required to provide any information to the purchaser that might influence his purchasing decision, once the to be purchaser has accepted the information, the seller is required to provide the same details in written form, the merchandise has to be delivered to the purchaser within thirty days and if the purchaser wants he can cancel the contract with seven days of the date of delivery. For example, in Th ornton v. Shoe Parking case, the customer experienced injury in the parking area because of negligence caused by the defendant, the customer received the ticket of car parking after he had installed his money in the ticket machine, the terms and conditions that applied to the car parking area were stated on the ticket and the customer was not informed about the terms before he purchased the ticket, thus, the term of no exclusion of liability in case of personal injuries caused due to negligence was rejected as according to the distance contract, all information is to be provided before the purchase decision is made (Beale, 1990, p.337). Expressed terms refer to those stipulations and circumstances that are mentioned in the contact at the most specific level and are accepted by the parties involved in the creation of that particular contract, these terms can be in verbal, as well as written, form. For example, in the case of Bannerman V White, the purchaser had entered a contract wit h the seller on the terms that the hops he was purchasing were to be used to prepare beer and should not be treated with sulphur, the seller had assured him that they were not treated with sulphur, but they were actually treated with sulphur when the purchaser received them, thus, the seller was in breach of contract as the contract clearly stated that hops

Employing Strategy in a Competitive Environment Essay - 1

Employing Strategy in a Competitive Environment - Essay Example Campaigns for efficiency of national transport systems advocate for mass public means of transport as a preferred way of reducing losses and costs, posing a major threat to private transport services (Cooper, Mundy, & Nelson 2010). Unforeseen eventualities in the infrastructure and national and global economy continue to pose a threat to the transport since antiquity. Complex innovations across the infrastructure needs imply that a compromise calls for a great deal of investment to rectify the challenge. The level of damage that the multi-billion dollar industry suffers during eventualities is irreparable in the modern day, exposing the customers and the company to serious losses. As an illustration, the recent trends of extreme weather are serious challenges to the maintenance of the integrity of transport infrastructure such as roads, so the reliance on such transport services becomes risky in this era of efficient business practices (McSherry, 2002). In addition, the volatility of the global economy and the uncertainties it brings to corporate strategy options exposes the York Trans Rove to unpredictable market threats. Service and fleet portfolio at York Trans Rove elevates the company as a daring participant in the New York market, where many players would not find it easy to enter. Having entered the market as a small scale player and navigating through the competitive space with its current portfolio – these actions demonstrate resilience and conviction to market participation (Loh, 1997). In terms of this internal belief for undisputed possibilities, the company has established a strong foundation to challenge such giant players as Enterprise Rent-A-Car Corporation. The concept of operating as a small company focused only on growth prospects as opposed to a huge company considering downgrading operations under a particular pressure presents York Trans Rove with a

Effect of Bicarbonate Supplement on Kidney Function

Effect of Bicarbonate Supplement on Kidney Function Bicarbonate Supplementation Slows Progression of CKD and Improves Nutritional Status Ione de Brito-Ashurst, Mira Varagunam, Martin J. Raftery, and Muhammad M. Yaqoob  Lay Abstract Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is the long-term damage of the kidney. Symptoms only start presenting when the disease is progressing towards the advanced stages. It is a disease of the elderly population, and with the UK’s ageing population, cases are likely to increase in the near future. Metabolic acidosis (MA) is a common complication of CKD and treating this has been thought to slow down the decline in kidney function. Bicarbonate supplementation has previously been used as an experimental treatment on rat models to correct the MA but results have been inconclusive. There is also a lack of long-term trials investigating the effect on humans. The results showed bicarbonate supplementation was beneficial to kidney function and nutritional status of patients, while causing minimal side effects. More clinical trials need to be performed to consolidate these findings and to look at alternative treatment regimens before being implemented into clinical practice. Background Information and Rationale for Carrying Out the Work Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is the long-term decline in kidney function. It is defined as kidney damage resulting in a GFR ≠¤ 60 mL/min/1.73m2 for more than 3 months, or kidney damage for more than 3 months with evidence of structural or functional abnormalities, with GFR not necessarily reduced (1). In advanced stages it can lead to metabolic acidosis (MA) due to a decreased tubular bicarbonate secretion, which has been known to cause protein catabolism and increased insulin resistance (2), and impaired ammonium excretion (3). The lesser stages of CKD are quite common in communities but ESRD is quite rare in populations. CKD is a disease of the elderly with around 30-40% of the population > 75 years having CKD at stages 3-5 (1). It is usually asymptomatic until the later stages of the disease and during ESDR, the only possible life supporting treatments are transplantation or dialysis (4). Obesity is associated with an increased risk of CKD by over 2.5 times (5). With obesity, type 2 diabetes and hypertension all on the rise (6-8) , there is likely to be a boom in the number of CKD cases within the next couple of decades. There is clearly a need to address this future burden on the healthcare system. Correction of MA in dialysis patients has shown to slow down protein degradation in a small number of short term clinical trials (9, 10). Studies on rat models have shown inconsistent evidence where MA has been shown to slow down progression of renal failure (11). Due to the short term nature of these studies, there has been inadequate evidence on the impact of renal function. There have been very few studies investigating the correction of MA in CKD in humans and also the lack of long term studies of the effect on pre-dialysis patients, which were the main motives for carrying out this study. Approaches to the Question and Key Results The research question raised was whether bicarbonate supplementation to patients with MA in CKD could slow its progression and improve nutritional status. A single-centre, open-label, randomised, parallel-group study was carried out to investigate this question. The inclusion and exclusion criteria were stated explicitly. 134 eligible patients were randomly assigned to either routine standard care or oral sodium bicarbonate tablets 600mg TID which was increased as necessary to maintain bicarbonate ≠¥ 23mmol/L. The treatment assignment procedure was done by an external statistician and involved block stratification, then randomisation carried out within each stratum of men, women, diabetics and non-diabetics. This method helped to balance each of the patients’ covariates and ensured adequate concealment. As a result, 67 patients were assigned to the control group and 67 patients to the treatment group. To reach a power of 90% which would allow an absolute difference of 30% to be detected, 63 patients in each group would have to be studied, but to allow for non-compliance, this was increased to 67. Calculation of statistical power ensured a large enough sample size. The 2 groups had similar baseline characteristics (Table 1) and ap art from the bicarbonate supplementation, they were both treated equally. Patients were followed up every 2 months for 2 years for the primary outcome measurements while nutritional assessments were carried out at 0, 6, 12, 18 and 24 months by a single dietician. All patients were able to be analysed with none of the patients being lost to follow up or discontinuing the intervention, however 5 withdrew before receiving the treatment. Intention to treat analysis was performed. The investigators, statisticians and the single dietician were blinded to the initial group assignment as they were directly involved in assessing the outcomes, but since the trial was open-label, it suggests that patients and external clinicians were not. The outcomes were focused on the research question and were measured in a standard way. The primary outcomes were the decline in renal function, the number of patients with rapid progression of renal failure, and the development of ESRD that required dialysis. After 12 months, the rate in decline of CrCl was lower in the treatment group at 1.88 ml/min per 1.73 m2 (95% [CI] 0.39 to 4.15 ml/min per 1.73 m2) than the control group at 5.93 ml/min per 1.73 m2 (95% confidence interval [CI] 4.19 to 7.76 ml/min per 1.73 m2) (P Secondary outcomes were measurements of changes in normalized protein nitrogen appearance (nPNA), dietary protein intake (DPI), serum albumin and mid-arm muscle circumference (MAMC) to identify the nutritional status of patients. Results showed an increase in DPI (P Likely Impact of Research Outcome The fact that there was both a slowdown of the decline in kidney function and a reduction in the number of patients progressing to ESRD is clinically beneficial. However, the confidence interval for the treatment group is quite large (0.39 to 4.15 ml/min per 1.73 m2) and the upper limit is close to overlapping with the confidence interval of the control group at the lower limit (4.19 to 7.76 ml/min per 1.73 m2) for the rate in decline of CrCl. Statistically, the treatment may only offer a marginal improvement over the control, but the bicarbonate supplementation clearly does offer some benefit to stage 4 CKD patients. There are also significant nutritional benefits to CKD patients. Poor nutrition leads to protein energy wasting (PEW) and a low serum albumin which increase morbidity and mortality in dialysis patients (12), but this can be easily reduced with bicarbonate supplementation. The patients studied in this trial are not 100% representative of the population. This trial had to exclude 30 out of 184 potential subjects due to eligibility criteria. The exclusion criteria included morbid obesity, congestive heart failure, chronic sepsis, malignant diseases, cognitive impairment or uncontrolled hypertension so findings will not apply to patients that fall into these categories, however the findings will be important for the majority of patients with CKD. The trial was only a single centre study on patients at the Royal London Hospital in the East End of London. The demographic in this area of London is likely to vary from demographics in other parts of London and the UK. I think all the outcomes of interest to the patient were considered before the trial. Side effects of worsening hypertension and oedema that required an increase in therapy and loop diuretics respectively were minimal (Table 3). Blood pressures rose and oedema worsened more in the treatment group but these were not statistically significant (P=0.17 and P=0.5). The single main issue was that 6.5% of subjects experienced a bad taste taking the tablet of the sodium bicarbonate, which was then switched to a powder form. In the long term I think this trial will form the basis of a future change in clinical practice. The change will not be immediate as this is the first RCT on pre-ESRD patients with MA and more clinical trials need to be carried out in this area, with a subsequent systematic review and meta-analysis. Overall, the bicarbonate supplementation does offer an advantage over standard treatment, and the fact that bicarbonate itself is simple and very cheap to source and produce with minimal side effects also works in its favour. Future Work and Conclusion There are some changes I would make to the trial. The confidence interval for the treatment group is quite large (0.39 to 4.15 ml/min per 1.73 m2) and the upper limit is close to overlapping with the confidence interval of the control group at the lower limit (4.19 to 7.76 ml/min per 1.73 m2) for the rate in decline of CrCl. So statistically, the treatment may only offer a marginal improvement over the control. In order to achieve a more precise CI, a larger sample size could be used, and a multi-centre trial could be conducted so that the findings can be applied to a wider population. I think the accuracy of the outcomes would also benefit from the use of a placebo and double-blinding. This study focused only on patients in stage 4 CKD. While these patients are likely to experience MA, it may also be beneficial to study the effect on patients in stage 3 CKD. Patients especially in stage 3b CKD (GFR 30-44 mL/min) are at risk of slipping into the stage 4 category and bicarbonate supplementation has potential to act as a preventative treatment. The serum bicarbonate level in the treatment group was maintained at 23 mmol/L or greater. There was no upper limit for the bicarbonate level and considering that the normal range of serum bicarbonate is 22-28 mmol/L, we can see that the trial looked at the lower end of the reference range. I think a future clinical trial should look at the effect of bicarbonate supplementation on stage 4 CKD patients when serum bicarbonate is controlled within a middle range of 24-26 mmol/L and at the upper end range of 26-28 mmol/L. It is encouraging to see that there have been more RCTs investigating the positive outcomes of bicarbonate supplementation on CKD (13-15), however further investigations still need to be carried out to reach an optimal and definitive treatment plan. References 1.Barratt J, Topham PD, Harris KPG. Nephrology. Oxford: Oxford University Press; 2009. 2.Kopple JD, Kalantar-Zadeh K, Mehrotra R. Risks of chronic metabolic acidosis in patients with chronic kidney disease. Kidney Int Suppl. 2005(95):S21-7. 3.Bailey JL. Metabolic acidosis: an unrecognized cause of morbidity in the patient with chronic kidney disease. Kidney Int Suppl. 2005(96):S15-23. 4.Smart NA, Dieberg G, Ladhani M, Titus T. Early referral to specialist nephrology services for preventing the progression to endà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ stage kidney disease. 2009. 5.MacLaughlin HL, Hall WL, Sanders TA, Macdougall IC. Risk for chronic kidney disease increases with obesity: Health Survey for England 2010. Public Health Nutr2010. p. 1-6. 6.Klahr S, Morrissey J. Progression of chronic renal disease. Am J Kidney Dis. 2003;41(3 Suppl 1):S3-7. 7.Shaw JE, Sicree RA, Zimmet PZ. Global estimates of the prevalence of diabetes for 2010 and 2030. Diabetes Res Clin Pract. 2010;87(1):4-14. 8.Guh DP, Zhang W, Bansback N, Amarsi Z, Birmingham CL, Anis AH. The incidence of co-morbidities related to obesity and overweight: A systematic review and meta-analysis. BMC Public Health. 2009;9(1):88. 9.Graham KA, Reaich D, Channon SM, Downie S, Goodship TH. Correction of acidosis in hemodialysis decreases whole-body protein degradation. J Am Soc Nephrol. 1997;8(4):632-7. 10.Williams AJ, Dittmer ID, McArley A, Clarke J. High bicarbonate dialysate in haemodialysis patients: effects on acidosis and nutritional status. Nephrol Dial Transplant. 1997;12(12):2633-7. 11.Jara A, Felsenfeld AJ, Bover J, Kleeman CR. Chronic metabolic acidosis in azotemic rats on a high-phosphate diet halts the progression of renal disease. Kidney Int. 2000;58(3):1023-32. 12.Lowrie EG, Lew NL. Death risk in hemodialysis patients: the predictive value of commonly measured variables and an evaluation of death rate differences between facilities. Am J Kidney Dis. 1990;15(5):458-82. 13.Kovesdy CP. Metabolic acidosis and kidney disease: does bicarbonate therapy slow the progression of CKD? 2012. 14.Abramowitz MK, Melamed ML, Bauer C, Raff AC, Hostetter TH. Effects of oral sodium bicarbonate in patients with CKD. Clin J Am Soc Nephrol. 2013;8(5):714-20. 15.Gaggl M, Cejka D, Plischke M, Heinze G, Fraunschiel M, Schmidt A, et al. Effect of oral sodium bicarbonate supplementation on progression of chronic kidney disease in patients with chronic metabolic acidosis: study protocol for a randomized controlled trial (SoBic-Study). Trials. 2013;14:196.

Elephant Man :: essays papers

Elephant Man The Elephant Man, written by Bernard Pomerance, is a play about identity. It is a play about a man who is deformed, but constantly trying to live life as an ordinary person. The play begins with John Merrick, also known as the Elephant Man, performing in a carnival freak show in order to make a minute amount of money for living expenses. In Scene VI, Even on the Niger and Ceylon, Not This, Treves brings in Miss Sandwich to become Merricks nurse. He explains to her that he has been let down so far by the other nurses he has introduced to Merrick. He prepares her for the sight of Merrick so that she will not react harshly when she sees him. Ironically she says, â€Å"Appearances do not daunt me.† Treves then offers her the opportunity to see Merrick for the first time and bring him his lunch. When laying eyes on Merrick, she becomes frazzled and bolts from the room, throwing the lunch tray into Treves arms. When Treves goes to speak to Miss Sandwich she states that no one will do the job. This scene contributes to the other scenes of the play because it is a prime example of how people react when meeting Merrick. Merrick struggles with trying to fit in mostly because of his low self-esteem as a result of the cruel reactions of people. People do not give him a chance and get to know him well enough to see the kind and gentle personality traits of John Merrick, all they see is his physical deformities and that alone scares them away. As the play goes on, people begin to look past his deformities and see that he is a true genuine person who has feelings like themselves. Merrick is given the chance to raise his self-esteem when he meets Mrs. Kendal. She is an actress who walks in with a smile on her face and is capable of sustaining the smile. She talks to him as if he is a human being and not a freak. She introduces many members of the elite class to John Merrick and they all react just as she did, looking beyond physical characteristics to the person he is inside.

Marks And Spencer Plc Commerce Essay

Get downing in UK as a penny shop in 1880s, Michael Marks and Top Spencer started the company we know today as Marks and Spencer plc. Simon Marks, the boy of Michael Marks took over the running of the concern and introduced the nucleus principals of the concern. The nucleus principals, which remained unchanged for most of their history, included the usage of simple monetary value policies, first-class quality of merchandises under the â€Å" St. Michael † trade name name, promoting and working with the providers straight to guarantee their procedures were modern and of the highest criterions and better the concern in efficiency and besides by organizing close relationships between the employees and the clients. By runing with a centralized distribution system and holding control over the full procedure, enabled to them have the same quality and make consistent shop experiences. This besides meant that the local shops were unable to run into the demands, as the directors were restricted in their powers. The powers seemed to be concentrated to the CEOs, who were besides the chair of the board of members. Sir Richard Greenbury, known for his strong sentiment and about allergic reaction to bad intelligence ran the company from 1988 to 1999. The jobs started in 1998, when the portion monetary values were hit badly, and the company was get bying with lifting costs due to the their trust on expensive providers in Britain ( while it seemed every other rival was outsourcing to Asia ) , increased competition in the market sections they were present and the traditional bureaucratic direction. After his surrender, the new CEO Peter Salsbury did small and lasted merely a twelvemonth, before being succeeded by Luc Vandervelde in 2000. Until his going in 2004, he made important alterations such as a new construct of â€Å" shop in shop † , recognition card fecilities, trueness plans, â€Å" Simple Food † trade name and the â€Å" Per Una † joint venture. However he excessively held the place of both the CEO and the chair. These alterations little consequence in the stock market, and many companies, who were their rivals were seeking to take over the company. Their commands were fought away and besides meant the debut of a new caput, Rose Stuart. Rose, made several more alterations, the most celebrated being the 11-point strategic program based their nucleus values of quality, service, trust and value for money. He made several cuts to halt blowing money, better efficiency and besides doing ascents in the shops. The public presentation was good, and in 2008, Ross officially took over the function of chair ( he was already the CEO ) , and despite being controversial. 2009 proved to be a twelvemonth of slow growing for the company, and this caused relationships between the board and the investors to go rancid. Ross, announced his connotations to step down as the CEO, nevertheless he would retain the place of Chair until 2011.Theory and constructsThe instance survey is based around alteration direction and the schemes involved. Every company faces alterations, and must do them to run into the demands of the concern. Many factors can convey about this alteration and influence it. The writers ( Witcher & A ; Chau 2010 ) depict one such model as the PESTEL model. It consists of: Political affairs such as the influence from the authorities, Economic factors that are caused due to affairs related to cost incurred, Social factors which are the alterations that are related to the alterations in the society, Technological factors which involve alterations in the engineerings that are invented and proficient alterations made in procedures, Environmental factors which are caused by environmental events or considerations of environmental impact, and in conclusion Legal factors which are alterations in the legal institutes and models. Harmonizing to the writer ( Henry 2008 ) the alteration influences can besides be described by the â€Å" Porter ‘s five forces model † , which can demo the success or failure of a merchandise or service. The five forces are: menace to new entrants, the bargaining power of the purchasers, the bargaining power of the providers, the menace of replacement merchandises and services and in conclusion the strength of the competition among the rivals in the market. These forces can be examined to measure the whether the company will be able to vie in the market, and put its resources. These factors have all influenced M & A ; S plc to do alterations. To do these alterations nevertheless a proper direction is required. The company can take many paths to recognize the alterations, and many attacks can be taken to implement the alterations. These are detailed in the subdivisions that follow.Aims of the assignmentThe aims of the assignment are to: Analyse the strategic paths taken by the company. Identifying the nucleus competences of M & A ; S plc. Analyze and discourse the types of alteration direction used in M & A ; S plc.II. Beginnings of competitory advantages of M & A ; S and routes takenCompetitive advantages of M & A ; S plcDegree centigrades: UsersuserDesktop ew.PNG Figure: Strategic Clock The archer scheme clock is used to do an analysis of the place of a company with its rivals. From the writers ( Needle 2010 ) and ( Thomson & A ; Baden-Fuller 2010 ) we understand that, the â€Å" Strategic Clock † is set against two factors, the â€Å" Perceived Value of the merchandise to the consumer † and the â€Å" Price † . It came from an earlier stiff theoretical account, by Michael Porter, which was seen as deficient. Companies can be analyzed utilizing this theoretical account, falling non merely in a peculiar section, but taking a assorted way. In the clock we can see, the low priced, low added value, which is focal point on supplying basic merchandises and minimal pricing. From at that place, we see the low priced, which is for companies supplying merchandises that are cheaper discrepancies of similar merchandises offered by their rivals. The intercrossed way is taken to set supply both a distinction factor and a low monetary value factor, which is me rely possible with high volume gross revenues. The distinction way is for merchandises which are offered merely to supply distinction, and the focussed distinction way allows the company to bear down higher by offering different, advanced and merchandises which are merely available from them. On the other side of the clock we see that hazardous, monopoly pricing and loss of market portion, which are all bad for the company, unless under extreme fortunes where the company has a monopoly over the merchandise. These schemes combine to organize of import factors to see in order for bettering the place of the company in the market. The paths taken by Marks and Spencer are based on the loanblend and distinction of its merchandises to acquire a competitory advantage in the market. These allow the company to be: Loanblend: The Company provides merchandises which are merchandises in a sensible cost, but due to its repute and the long history of attending to inside informations, the company is able to portray a higher sensed value for the merchandise. For this ground they are able to construct a trueness from the clients. Differentiation: In this path the company is supplying the client with a higher sensed value for the merchandises. They increase the borders of the merchandises and have been making so for some clip, basking higher net income borders. This distinction is based on the many factors harmonizing to ( Obitz 2009 ) such as image distinction which allows for the trade name image to distinguish their merchandises in the market utilizing the company ‘s image. Support distinction is where the company provides the clients with convenient and advanced services such as shopping hours, price reductions, shop layout etc. Quality Differentiation is where the company differentiates its merchandises based on the quality. This has been achieved by proper trading which is controlled by the company, the attending to inside informations of the demands of the merchandises and invention. And in conclusion the design distinction where the importance is to maintain it different and advanced in the marke t.CompetencesThe nucleus competences of M & A ; S plc can be identified as: The trade name is known for quality. This is one of the chief competences, which provide them with extra value from their rivals. From the early yearss, the company has been able to concentrate and command the quality of the merchandises it sells in the shops, from design, production and distribution. This allows for the merchandises at their shops to be of the highest quality and design. The merchandises of the company are known for their value for money. Although they are more expensive than their rivals, they are able to maintain the monetary values at a degree that is justified by the quality they provide. This can be important when competition with rivals who provide lower cost merchandises. The trade name of the company has been present in the market for a long clip. Therefore it is good known by about everyone. Due to this, they can vie with new trade names that are non so good known in the market, and hence demands to pass more money in advertisement. The company ‘s direction has ever been a closely knit clump. The work civilization at the company, being closely related to the clients can intend that the client service is better. This is of import to supplying the clients with a great shop experience. Other rivals might non be able to supply the same degree of client satisfaction. The company has been spread outing and is present in many states, with many shops. The shops are able to supply entree to many clients. This is an advantage for the company, in contrast with some of their rivals who do n't hold such a immense planetary range.III. Type of alteration employed by M & A ; SChange direction is an of import portion of any organisation. ( Harrington 2006 ) argues that, clients demand betterment and alteration in merchandises invariably, maintaining up to which requires the changeless focal point of any company to guarantee they run into these demands in an effectual and efficient manner. In add-on to this, the gait of alteration is increasing as the population of the universe is increasing. While points out that there are two ways in which alteration can be done. There are different types of alteration. The writer ( Martin 2003 ) point out these alterations as: Incremental Change: This type of alteration is when the company makes alterations as the demand for them rises. The demand comes from the consumers and is met in a uninterrupted manner. To enable this sort of alteration it is of import for the people involved to do accurate Hells about the types and graduated table of the alteration that is required and meets all the demands. Measure Change: This type of alteration effects the full organisation, and involves doing important alterations in one or many countries within the organisation at one spell. The alterations have a Domino consequence, which means that alteration made in one portion normally causes alterations to other parts of the organisation. For illustration, the company can present a wholly new merchandise or service in the market, which would intend a important alteration from its yesteryear. Transformational alteration: This involves the complete alteration of one concern procedure or the full concern as a whole. This is a radical alteration, which means a wholly different set of individuality and process. The alteration is deep and involves everyone in the company. An illustration of this type of alteration is a amalgamation between two companies that provide the same services, to organize a new company ( like in the recent instance of two Bankss in Oman, unifying into one ) . The alterations made in M & A ; S have been fundamentally incremental. Throughout their history, they have been doing alterations on a regular footing as the demand presented itself. For illustration, when the demand in the market appeared for betterment in engineering use such as recognition cards, the company made those alterations. Even more, when the company was confronting challenges and concern from the investors, the top direction was changed to let them to run into the demands as a company. In times of alterations in the market, and client demand for better merchandises, the company introduced the trueness card strategies, recognition card strategies and such. It would non be incorrect to state that they have failed to even run into the incremental alteration demands. However, they have besides made some measure alterations. During the term of Philip Green as CEO, the company closed down many shop, acquired Per Una trade name, cancelled many nutrient merchandises, and restricted their direction to do it more efficient. These were important alterations that were introduced to better the company and caused the first growing in gross revenues since two old ages prior. The company has yet to do transformational alterations, and they are right in making so. One of the cardinal competences of the company is its trade name value, which has been a symbol of quality and invention. Changing this would do a important strain to its fiscal stableness and besides do it to be at a disadvantage in the competitory market.IV. DecisionM & A ; S plc has had to do important alterations in their history. Organizations have to do strategic alterations due to the many factors that can be defined utilizing models such as PESTEL and Porter ‘s five forces. These alterations have to be managed decently to be effectual. As such, companies take waies, as M & A ; S did, to supplying their merchandises and being competitory in the market. Furthermore they have made these alterations in an incremental and few in a transformational mode to run into the demands of the consumers. We have been able to analyse and understand strategic alteration direction. Change is necessary for any concern, and of import for any organisation to win.V. MentionsHarrington, HJ 2006, Change Management Excellence: The Art of Excelling in Change Management, Paton Press. Henry, A 2008, Understanding Strategic Management, Oxford University Press. Martin, V 2003, Leading Change in Health and Social Care, 1st edn, Routledge. Needle, D 2010, Business in Context: An Introduction to Business and Its Environment, 5th edn, South Western Educational Publishing. Obitz, C 2009, Supermarket distinction in the UK: A theoretical and empirical probe, Diplomica Verlag. Thomson, N & A ; Baden-Fuller, C 2010, Basic Strategy in Context: European text and instances, 1st edn, John Wiley & A ; Sons. Witcher, BJ & A ; Chau, VS 2010, Strategic Management: Principles and Practice, CL Business Press.

Decision-Making Model Paper - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 10 Words: 3037 Downloads: 3 Date added: 2017/06/26 Category Psychology Essay Type Argumentative essay Did you like this example? Decision-Making Model Paper Life is full of decisions. Some of them are trivial, like for example: should I choose this newspaper or another? Which kind of dish should I choose from the menu? Other decisions are hard to evaluate and vital, like for example: should I put my private life first or I should privilege professional aspects, should I take this new job opportunity to relocate somewhere else? Some decisions can affect many people, others only yourself. An appropriate decision making plays a major role in the success of any business management. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "Decision-Making Model Paper" essay for you Create order The success of the business and projects depends on the decision making quality of the management and leadership. Making good decisions is fundamental to obtain a good performance in organization. There are some decisions that can have huge consequences, which can change the organizational roles and the company operation processes. The daily choices that organizations have to take are always subject to variations, this is a continuous process of making reactions and consequences; a circle in which each person has a role. Without an appropriate and good decision making, leaders and managers are not able to achieve projects and business objectives. Good decision making is not an easy task for a manager, because there are many potential factors that can influence the decision making process, such as environmental, cultural, economic and physiological factors. One of the main impediments and barriers related to good decision making is the lack of information, because in decision makin g if a manager takes a decision based on an improper or insufficient data this can have an impact on the success of the decision. In addition, without having a proper information, managers are not able to take correct decisions. Moreover, due to lack of time and resources, managers are usually unable to collect appropriate and sufficient elements and this obviously contributes to make bad decisions. Lacking of availability of sufficient, reliable and proper information also implies an impact on managerà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s decision making. Another factor that may affect decision making is when managers have poor ideas. This is an impediment in a decision making situation because on the basis of poor arguments, managers will not take good decisions. Ideas play a major role in decision making, as on the basis of different ideas of a given problem managers take decisions related to the situation. In addition, if the idea is wrong the probability of succeeding is very low. For example, if a manager is looking for improving the profit, but is only focusing on cost reduction and cut expenses, this wonà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t work as he would expect in optimizing resources utilization and improving production in order to achieve higher profit. So, without good ideas and better solutions, managersà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ decision making is not effective for the business. The five steps of the decision making process that should be identified when facing a problem are: define the problem, generate and evaluate alternatives, decide course of action, implement the decision and evaluate the results. In this essay Ià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢m going to present two different decision-making approaches. Ià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢m also going to describe a decision that I made while working for a previous company using the five steps of the decision making process and Ià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ m going to highlight how critical thinking had an impact on that decision. The following model is a decision-making sc hema that I applied to reach a decision. FRAMING Clarify purpose and boundaries of the decision Gather information Identify who is affected by the decision Identify who is in charge to make the decision (an individual or a group) Identify what experience or knowledge is needed to make the decision Determine what information or resources are available on decision making process topic Define by when the decision needs to be made Communicate to affected parties who is in charge for decision making and the reasons for it DECIDING Define how the decision will be approved (consensus, voting, etc.) Use appropriate tools that support data gathering (affinity diagram, how-how, interrelationship digraph, fishbone, flowcharts) Make the decision through ideas and data integration, negotiation and ideas prioritization Identify who (individual or group) will implement the decision COMMUNICATING Summarize the rationale for the decision Communicate the decision, why it was done and the reasons for it IMPLEMENTING Define the steps in implementing the decision including completion timeframes Define the method to report when something is done and who will get the report EVALUATING Identify the process for assessing impact of decision We can define critical thinking as, The general term given to a wide range of cognitive skills and intellectual dispositions needed to effectively identify, analyze, and evaluate arguments and truth claims, to discover and overcome personal prejudices and biases, to formulate and present convincing reasons in support of conclusions, and to make reasonable, intelligent decisions about what to believe and what to do. In other words, critical thinking consists in being able to look at information critically. It implies asking questions about the information presented and then analyzing the answers. It means using the answers to create new ideas, solve problems, and make decisions. Critical thinking is imperative to making sound decisions using a decision-making modelà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ . This was an example of a quite simple decision that I had to take in occasion of company department restructuration, while working for the previous company. Top management decided to swap and merge a few d epartments that were reporting to several managers, this was done mainly to reduce staff costs and optimize project organization flows, as few roles and departments were overlapping. I was chosen as manager for supporting and à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“redesigningà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚  the new staff reorganization. I decided then to proceed step by step: The first one was to get acquainted with my team, the second was to involve managers of the other departments to understand if the teams were optimally organized, team activities, head counts, ongoing projects, internal problems, workflows etc. At the end of my analysis I had to revert top management with my findings on team organization, about what could be done in order to increase team efficiency and productivity, and I had to provide my hints on how to rearrange them. I decided then to use decision-making model to determine and evaluate what needed to be done, and if any organizational changes should to be done, if opt to merge departments with o thers, if hire or fire people. As part of the model framing process, I knew that I had to take the decisions alone and that this would potentially impact the company structure and business. However, I wanted to get the input also from the other managers, since they were more knowledgeable regarding the strengths of each team member and they were familiar with the dynamics, which tend to arise when working in groups. I did not want to inform, or announce, any implementation or changes too quickly to avoid any kind of shock, like having to report to a new boss or being relocated somewhere else or fired. In the deciding phase I met each individual manager for a face-to-face coffee break. I had previously prepared a list of questions that I was going to ask them, which I would cover during our conversation. I shared that my goal was to get to know each of them deeply and find out something more about their team, their feelings and thoughts about company businesses and activities. I also encouraged them to ask questions, in their turn. I questioned them about their perception concerning their position in the group, their development plans, and I requested them what they would have changed about the group if they were top managers. I spent about a week in order to be able to gather all the information through this process. I found out that the staff was organized fairly well, with a few exceptions, and the teams were working on almost the same topics (different resources from different teams were working on same topics waste of time/resources à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å" and this was happening mainly because teams were not communicating to each other, so people were not informed that they were working on the same projects). The overall outcome was anyway really good and I decided to make only two minor changes and a major one: I decided to move two teammates to different teams within the same group and to merge two teams in order to increase overall productivity and efficien cy and to establish weekly meetings among team managers to avoid any double activities and to let all of them share weekly updates and results. As part of the communication phase I referred my proposed changes to top management, that validated my decision and I shared rationale behind my organization changes with them. Changes were implemented while talking on a new project for the teams. I spoke with the impacted colleagues, communicating that I needed their specialized skill sets in their new groups. They showed to acknowledge the news well and they continued to be satisfied on their new teams. I went on keeping periodic one-to-one meetings with my staff and the other managers. During those meetings I had to assess the impact of my decisions. Another kind of decision that I had I had to take was about my career plan. I spent the last 2 years working within finance field and this has had a great impact in a lot of ways, both in my professional and private life. I have been able to create a pleasant environment with my colleagues and have appreciated my collaboration with the company. They used to say and believe that the fundamental aspect in your job activity to perceive a great passion on what you do and enjoy while doing it. I have been able to follow the advice and in fact I continue to improve myself in order to effectively perform my work. It isnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t easy to cope with the responsibility linked to making decisions within a company. Moreover making the right decision becomes even more painful when your own feelings are involved. Being in charge of international teams, my work implies examination and supervision of the work done by my teammates, work with different people across different continents, cultures, religions and ways of thinking. The job is not easy to do because there are people who will take it personally when you control some aspects of their work and their quality results. There are people, who answer à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“yes, I g ot ità ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ , even if they donà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t understand. Being involved in a few project reviews that include wide and complex projects is a very hard situation to manage, as my role sometimes involves decisions that may not be in favor of team mates. Moreover, it is sometimes hard understand their enrollment and support to the project tasks or their participation in different project aspects. I cannot avoid being deeply concerned with the situation and with its possible consequences in other people lifeà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s, because they have a personal direct report line and they know me. I still donà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t manage to accept the fact that some people could do things against the company without following assigned tasks. There are of course also decisions that need a proper judgement like when choosing between personal life and your work. A practical example is when you are faced with the problem of refusing an assignment because there is a family matters to attend. It might be the case that you choose to be absent from work in order to take some time for yourself. One of the hardest decisions that I had to take in these two years was about issuing an end contract review to one of my teammates. Thus part of my responsibility is to interview new candidates that will join my team and to monitor their results. One of them has been diagnosed with a mental disease and this was a piece of information they used against her. During her apparent ship she didnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t show any sign of her illness. In fact I had found her an efficient and effective collaborator, thanks to of her patience, intelligence, and as well as willingness on learning and improving her knowledge in the field. After three weeks, and in reason of my recommendation, to give her access to widen her learning experience within the company operativity, the Compliance Officer decided to introduce her in the operation team as junior assistant for a period of two months. D uring her training, I was informed by her line supervisor that she experienced sudden attack of hallucination. The news took me by surprise and deeply affected me because I didnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t suspect such a terrible truth. Human Resources wasnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t acquainted at all regarding her health problem and for this reason they were unable to communicate me the results of her background inquiries. I was asked by her line manager to conduct a thorough evaluation of her case and consequently to report my findings on her status to company top management. In reason of this insufficient investigation carried out by Human Resources, I found myself in the unpleasant situation of not knowing how to proceed on her present status with our HR Dept. Of course there is a labor law that has to be taken in consideration concerning company protection. Her school reports were good like her previous professional experience, but her disease generated doubts in me about her ability to perform her daily tasks and the impact of her illness on other co-workers. The decision has to be done before the apprentice ship period ends. Through assessment, I finally decided to recommend closing her contract with the company, because of the effect of her mental disease to the general team results, or like the impact that high workload and pressure will result on her disease. I had to set aside my empathy, in order to privilege the whole company. She couldnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t afford too much pressure on herself, she would have suffered much more and this might not be helpful for her case. The working environment within the company is extremely competitive, thus I continually check my results and evaluate to invest in further education. I trusted the management and I set aside too much of my private life for the company but unfortunately in the end I was deceived. This disappointment made me doubt about management effectiveness to support me in any further career development. As long as I love my job and colleagues I work with, I have to consider carefully all options and evaluate other future possible alternatives. My frustrations started when I requested the management to let me lead different team operations, in order to be able to concentrate on my academic studies and simultaneously experience new challenges, since operations are a very demanding area of the financial companies undertakings. Being a business oriented person, I feel the necessity to look for more challenges and as Ià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢m already in IT management since more than 10 years it no longer provides me the challenges and motivations I need. I thus asked the management to relocate me to other areas aiming to improve my skills in other ways. Unfortunately the request was refused and I was kept in the same position. Furthermore, my supervisor, our Chief Financial Officer resigned and a good percentage of his workload was transferred to me, without even opting for a promotion. I performed his functions as additional to mine, so at the end my job was involving multi-tasking activities. In a practical thinking environment, I was expecting a career advance or promotion, but unfortunately my request was put aside for more than three months. As a consequence Ià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢m unsatisfied with my current job position and, at the present moment while experiencing a serious doubt concerning the decision whether to stay or leave the group. Management choice not to support me in impeding me to pursue my education has been a great disappointment to me. I was unhappy with the way in which the Human Resources dept. managed the situation and left me no option but to resigned and abandon the company. The decision to continue to work for the same company is very difficult for me because I loved the job and the people. The company has been my second home, but in a professional perspective. I have the impression that I am no longer in the right place because I now experience discon tentment, which would greatly affect the quality of my work if I stayed. I have taken into considerations a lot of options and alternatives for my future. I have different sensations about my resignation, because in many ways I am afraid facing the many changes that this decision may lead to after resigning. These uncertain include dealing with new companies, new working context and groups or new bosses. Moreover the fact that I might not find a suitable job immediately has given me a frustrating feeling of inadequacy and incompetence. I have been working for years and now I realize that I could be forced to stay at home with nothing to do. This prospective frightens me a lot, because I cannot stand idleness, even for a short period of time. All of these uncurtains must be solved, otherwise I wonà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t realize that I can still get a lot of satisfaction from my business life. I am still young and there are so many open opportunities just waiting for me. Therefore, my dec ision has been taken: I am perfectly determined to accept à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“job-hunting challengeà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚  again. I believe in my skills and possibilities to pursue and find the à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“dream jobà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚  I am looking for. Consciously or unconsciously, decisions are taken daily, at work or at home. These decisions can involve and affects individuals, groups, or families. The more crucial a decision is, the more it requires thorough evaluation and critical thinking, counterbalancing the positive and negative issues it could lead too. Having a global picture is always good as it will help to become a good manager and improve the ability to make good decisions. A decision-making model is a good process to obtain optimum decisions. References: Critical Thinking (Bassham Irwin, Nardone Wallace) https://highered.mheducation.com/sites/0072879599/student_view0/chapter1/glossary.html