Consulting For Nursing Informatics Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Consulting For Nursing Informatics - Assignment Example In current times the traditional manual handling of information has been replaced by the automated handling of information collection, collation, distribution using computers and information technology tools giving rise to the discipline of informatics, which applied to healthcare is health informatics. Health informatics integrates several fields like Informatics, Nursing, Medical, Dental, Pharmaceutical, and Social and Consumer health, each being a specialty with overlap in some roles and tasks, but with the single objective of providing improved healthcare. There are several categories of trained personnel as applied to functions and tasks of nurses in health informatics: ‘informatics nurses’ have tasks in healthcare, ‘nursing informatics’ have tasks in informatics, and ‘informatics nurse specialists’ have higher knowledge and specialized skills, and have roles in higher functions. Consulting in the area of nursing informatics requires a lead ership position, a person who can plan, advice and execute nursing informatics projects under complex situations of overall healthcare informatics. Thus nursing consultant has the role in leading, planning, development, integration, maintenance, overall management, besides regular skill up gradation through training, management of systems and resources, and a system which through its performance expresses the value of nurses in the system of healthcare. The consultant in nursing informatics should also cover the tasks of change management, and interface and coordinate with people across the organization from nurses to clinical departments across the healthcare system. Besides, consulting should also include coordination with service vendors for IT, identify problems and provide solutions, advise on up gradation of systems, and implement systems consistency with professional standards.

Contemporary Issues of Management Accounting Essay Example for Free

Contemporary Issues of Management Accounting Essay This allows the opportunity for them to hone their skills and abilities at a constant rate while offering numerous benefits to the company. These benefits manifest themselves in employee loyalty, low turnover costs and fulfilment of company goals. Figure 6: JIT Model * Some Key Elements of JIT: 1. Stabilize and level the MPS with uniform plant loading (heijunka in Japanese): create a uniform load on all work centers through constant daily production and mixed model assembly (produce roughly the same mix of products each day, using a repeating sequence if several products are produced on the same line). Meet demand fluctuations through enditem inventory rather than through fluctuations in production level. Use of a stable production schedule also permits the use of backflushing to manage inventory: an end item’s bill of materials is periodically exploded to calculate the usage quantities of the various components that were used to make the item, eliminating the need to collect detailed usage information on the shop floor. 2. Reduce or eliminate setup times: aim for single digit setup times (less than 10 minutes) or onetouch setup this can be done through better planning, process redesign, and product redesign. 3. Reduce lot sizes (manufacturing and purchase): reducing setup times allows economical production of smaller lots; close cooperation with suppliers is necessary to achieve reductions in order lot sizes for purchased items, since this will require more frequent deliveries. 4. Reduce lead times (production and delivery): production lead times can be reduced by moving work stations closer together, applying group technology and cellular manufacturing concepts, reducing queue length (reducing the number of jobs waiting to be processed at a given machine), and improving the coordination and cooperation between successive processes; delivery lead times can be reduced through close cooperation with suppliers, possibly by inducing suppliers to locate closer to the factory.

Overcoming the Barrier Essay -- Analysis, Helen Reddy

Overcoming the Barrier Helen Reddy in I am a Woman sings, â€Å"You can bend but never break me, 'cause it only serves to make me, More determined to achieve my final goal, And I come back even stronger.† In the plays Antigone, by Sophocles, and A Doll’s House, by Henrik Ibsen, two strong women are restricted by the time and society in which they live. In Antigone, the main character, Antigone from Thebes, is faced with a choice of following the laws of man, or the laws of the gods in burying her deceased brother. She felt that her choice was right even with the penalties it costs her, while arguing with the king who felt his way or no way. As the play progressed, it seemed that the more Creon, the king, and Antigone argued, the more confident in the choice she made she became. In A Doll’s House, Nora was a woman who cared deeply about her husband who would soon be faced with death if not sent to a warmer climate. Unheard of from a woman, Nora took a money loan from the bank without s aying a word to her husband, Torvald. Using a corrupted lawyer, Krogstad, gave easy access for blackmail which could end her marriage if revealed. During the times in which these plays were written, the relationship between a man and woman is definitely patriarchal. Men have major dominance and the woman just follows. It was believed that a woman was to have no opinion nor be smart enough to have their own opinion. In both plays, Sophocles and Ibsen show how controlled yet bold, women had to be in society through demonstration of submission to men, the expectations placed upon a woman, and their search for a voice. There is a saying that all habits start in the household and that is no exception for the way woman are treated. Whether it’s a husband or... ...oldly demonstrate the strength and power women needed to become their own person. With barriers blocking the path, the choices each woman had to face was like an obstacle course. By being undermined by the opposite sex, females were not given much thought unless the subject had to do with the raising of children and up keeping of a household. Being a part of society came with expectations of how a family should look and act, especially for the women who are merely â€Å"dolls† for men to control. Therefore, having to surrender to the male influence, society’s pressure, and the quest for identity, women still are able to stand firm and strong in the end. Over many years women have come a long way with rights and responsibilities but it was no walk in the park. It has been a curvy road and there are still more hills to come but with a positive light shinning at the end.

The Persistence of Memory

Looking at the picture The Persistence of Memory by Salvador Dali, people can see an abstract aesthetic deep within. The landscapes associated with his childhood have become an inspiration for his paintings. When he grew up, Dali still spent his time to painting the Catalonia’s landscape elaborately. Completed in 1931, The Persistence of Memory became one of his well-known paintings. This famous artwork is called â€Å"Dali ‘s hand painted dream photographs†, and it is simultaneously read as a painting depicting landscape, still life, and self-portrait. As I find curious in this abstract, I use many researches in reference book and Internet in order to look for the meaning of this picture so far. One interesting idea is about the melting watches that inspire randomly. In one hot August afternoon in 1931, as Dali was having lunch on his work bench, suddenly an idea of paranoiac hallucinations came to his mind. He took his pencil and slid under a bit of Camembert cheese, which was softer by the heating of summer weather, and started drawing. Dali came up with an idea about the melting watches as the main subject. These soft melting watches convey Dali’s primary philosophy about the â€Å"softness† and the â€Å"hardness†. The melting watches are one symbol that is commonly associated with Salvador Dali's Surrealism. They are literally meant to show the irrelevance of time. According to the Wikipedia website, one famous art history professor named Dawn Ades wrote, â€Å"The soft watches are an unconscious symbol of the relativity of space and time, a Surrealist meditation on the collapse of our notions of a fixed cosmic order. In addition, there are some interesting subjects appearing in this painting such as the craggy rocks of Catalonia spreading out further away. This is the place where he grew up, and also indeed the association with his painting The Persistence of Memory. It shows a typical Dalinian landscape with his beloved Cape Creus (a peninsula and a headland located at Mediterranean) in the background. In the foreground, there is an orange clock at the bottom l eft of the painting, which is covered in ants. Beside, the figure in the middle of the painting can be recognized as a human figure in a dream state that Dali uses to represent himself, as the artwork became a self-portrait, maybe. Looking closely as the details, we see the abstract form has one closed eye with curvy eyelashes, as it falls into a dream state. The melting clock laid on top symbolizes the passing time experienced in a dream. The bottom left of a painting usually is a death spot; people perceive a painting by reading the focus elements, then following the direction it points too. Sometimes leads to death point. But in this picture, the plate is oval to top right, leading the viewers up back to the watches that can make viewers focus on the foreground. As the technique of drawing, the painting presents a linear perspective. The tree, the table, the clocks stand out in the foreground, but they are colored with a darker color. This lets the bright yellow cliffs and the blue water shinning in the background as it helps to emphasize the landscape of Dali’s childhood. The contrast of bright and dark color also creates the intensity of â€Å"real† and imagination of the â€Å"composition† Well, in my opinion, I perceive things rights at this part because dark color means dark reality, and bright color means dreamy, but in this picture is the opposite. Dark color is unrealistic world; bright color may be his memory on the beautiful land. His reality now is dark and shallow that represents the watch is the time has passed in his life. As the choices of color, this artwork has used a bright white and blue in the top left hand corner and then fading up into the darkness. There is an orange clock in the bottom left hand corner sticks out of the brown and black foreground. The cool colors include the sky, and three melting watches that are harmony with the rest of landscape’s color. This painting represents a linear perspective. The objects in front of the piece, the tree, the clocks, the table stand out more than the objects that the artist wants the viewers to notice like the mountain, the sky, the ocean, and the rocks in the background. Even though they are the main points in this painting, they are less of focusing than the melting clocks in the foreground. Dali interpretation gives much confusion for critics and art lovers. Partly because Dali’s work is to convey a concept of two different sides: real and imagination. For example, The Persistence of Memory is a landscape painting produced based on the landscape that Dali saw in his childhood. In the background is a beach with sand and water, rock and cliffs. These details represent real subjects in life. Yet, in the foreground, there are some melting watches and an unrecognizable figure sliding over the rocks in the center of the painting. The melting watches and the strange figure can be seen as products of his imagination, and the cliffs which is a place in Catalonia depicts Dali’s childhood memory. The Persistence of Memory is named itself. It resembles for Port Lligat, the home of Salvador Dali. He tried to expose his hometown with sand, beach, branch tree, rock and cliff. Still, there are many interpretations in this painting. Some we can understand, others are hard to explain. Perhaps the images of the melting watches are really nothing more than the ideas that Dali was inspired by the Camembert cheese melt in a warm sunny day. As I find Dali’s artwork intriguing and repulsive, his painting looks really realistic, creative, and stunning. He was the person that could put the photorealistic images on a canvas. His style noted as a Surrealist, which was influenced by famous psychologist who led him to explore his fears and fantasies, or possible, a crazy idea. This is the reason I choose his artwork because through them, he brings me a new concept that looks abnormal at firs but then really intense as I discover deepen into its meanings. Salvador Dali was a great artist, a man who is not ashamed to show his feeling. Through The Persistence of Memory, I felt like it is a perfect example for Dali’s style, very surrealist and realistic. No matter what is said about the painting, this work has stood the test of time as it has a great influence on pop culture today. Salvador Dali has become an icon for a generation that is interested in the abstract and distortion of reality.

Company Analysis: Wal-Mart Essay

Wal-mart Stores Inc is a United States based company started in 1962 in Arkansas. The company has grown exponentially to open branches in many parts of the world. It operates in three formats: United States based segment, abroad/international segment, and Sam’s Club. Through the three segments, the company owns and runs stores (retail and discount), chains of supermarkets and supercentres, and websites affiliated with the company. In those stores and supermarkets, one can buy foodstuffs, beverages, dairy products, and meat, among many other foodstuffs, electronics, accessories, cloth ware, and many other things. More than retail, the company offers financial services through banks and electronic payments. The company’s retail units are estimated to be around 10,800 all spread in about 27 countries all over the world. Wal-mart Stores Inc. has been listed in top 10 of the world’s 500 biggest companies by Forbes (Fishman 16). An analysis of the company reveals that it is growing remarkably well in spite of the turbulent economic times being experienced in America and many parts of Europe. Corporate and business strategy formulated by the company have enabled it transcend many challenges that have littered its path of progress. This paper will identify the company’s current mission and review its strategies and objectives. The financial status of the company will be analyzed by using financial rations, income data, and balanced sheet data. Additionally, internal strengths and weaknesses will be analyzed using SWOT model. External opportunities and threats will be analyzed using PESTEL and Porter’s five forces model analysis. Based on those analyses, the mission and strategies of the company will be revised. Corporate and business strategies that will enable the company achieve its mission and objectives will be developed and discussed, and appropriate recommendations made. Actions needed to implement the strategies that will be formulated will be outlined. Appropriate long term objectives in areas of marketing, human resources, finance, operations, and information systems will be developed. The results expected will be specified including pro forma financial statements. Lastly, procedural recommendations will be made for strategy review and evaluation. Specific measures to be utilized will be documented. Mission, Objectives, and Strategies Wall-mart growth in recent years has seen it overtake other companies to become the biggest retailer in the world. With a customer base exceeding 200 million customers annually and over 2. 5 million employees, the company’s sales are expected to surpass the $2 billion achieved in 2012 (Roberts, Bryan, & Natalie 14). Low prices and provision of high quality customer care service continue to be the drivers of the company’s growth. The strategies have revolved around attracting and retaining customers by low pricing and great customer care services. The low pricing is achieved by constant pressure on suppliers to lower their prices and redesign all services and products. The company’s mission is summarized in one sentence, â€Å"Save people money so they could live better† (Roberts, Bryan, & Natalie 34). Their objective is thus to lower the prices of their commodities so that customers are happy and satisfied. The low price strategy is premised on the knowledge that large volumes dispensed at a low price will compensate for the lowered price. By putting customers first, the company has survived tough economic times. Through its management strategy, transitions have been achieved efficiently. In recent years, the company has formulated a public affairs strategy that is meant to help it penetrate new markets, in the United States and Internationally. Political climate inevitably determines the success of a company. For that reason, Wall-mart has commissioned a political action committee that is tasked with the responsibility of networking with politicians that will help the company realize its goals in various places around the world. The company has short and long term objectives geared towards maintaining growth. The objectives are aligned to the strategy of low price and customer satisfaction. In the short term, Wall-mart intends to achieve a 95% level of customer satisfaction. In the long term, the company plans to stock all kind of merchandise for diverse customers retailing at low prices. In 2012, Wall-mart launched five central strategies for growth (Roberts, Bryan, & Natalie 24). The first strategy, developing our people, recognizes the supremacy of customers and empowered employees in any business venture. It aims to develop existing talent within the company by use of development programmes. The company also seeks to recruit new talents that are exceptional so as to remain competitive. Towards this strategy, the company plans to partner with Walton Institute and enhance its leadership series so as to produce the next generation of leaders for the company. There are plans to improve diversity and inclusivity in the hiring process. The company has thus committed to champion affirmative action by hiring women and other marginalized groups and investing in their career development. The second strategy is driving the productivity loop. The company aims to lower operation cost so that prices can be reduced further. The third strategy, labeled Wining in Global ecommerce seeks to harness the power of information technology in driving growth. The launch of @WalmartLabs is the precursor to this strategy and there are plans to replicate it in other countries such as Britain and Canada. With a growing online population, the company plans to expand its presence in social media so as to reach as many people as possible. The fourth strategy involves reinvigoration of the customer-centered culture. The growth of the company has been driven by the company and as indicated earlier, there is a strategy to hit a 95% customer satisfaction. The last strategy is directed towards retention of legitimacy and maintaining a good relationship with the society and community around the company’s premises and beyond. Dubbed Leading on social and environment issues, the strategy will drive Wall-marts corporate social responsibility activities. Through philanthropy, educational support, and women empowerment, the company intends to promote and maintain its corporate integrity.

Drug Testing of Employees is Ethical Essays

Drug Testing of Employees is Ethical Essays Drug Testing of Employees is Ethical Paper Drug Testing of Employees is Ethical Paper â€Å"The term drug testing refers to the analysis of biological material to detect drugs or their metabolites in the body. Urine tests are most common in the UK, but saliva, sweat and hair can be tested. For alcohol, breath tests are most common. Drug testing at work takes a variety of forms, including pre-employment testing, random testing of employees and post-accident testing. † (Drug testing in the workplace: Summary conclusions of the Independent Inquiry into Drug Testing at Work) Drugs are a source to damage one’s life, through the misuse of drugs one can be indulged in many heinous activities. Heroine, hashish, etc. and nearly all the items used in cigarettes, cigars are drugs. Drugs are a source to indulge a strong and healthy man into a world of depression and tiredness. A man or a person who is a drug addict feels very depressed and he is often a patient of hypertension. Drug addicts also feel inferior or superior and that is the reason why half percent of the drug addicts are patients of superiority or inferiority complexion. According to the opinions of many analysts, companies even high schools should organize drug testing campaigns so that beside asking good care of drug addicts they could also save people who could get harm from the rising number of drug patients in the esteemed organization. The leftist or the people who are against this activity suggest that an employee or a student who is a drug addict feels ashamed when he is tested in front of many people. First Argument My first argument in this regard is that the employer and the respected institution have the right to test their employees to save the prestige of their organization. People who are drug addicts often do use drugs in their workplace, which is also harmful for other employees joined with the organization. â€Å"Most U. S. states sanction some sort of drug testing in the workplace, but many dont regulate it much. In these states, employers may legally ask you to drop your drawers and urinate in a vial, for any reason or no reason at all. They dont need a warrant or even probable cause, as they do to legally justify violating your other rights. † (Drug Testing in the Workplace) One person who is neglected after being may time doubtful has many severe and negative impacts on other normal people and soon a sudden change in their behavior is noticed. Companies usually do this to save their other employees from the destruction of drugs so that workplace sanity should also be maintained. â€Å"Employee drug testing programs help protect the health and safety of all employees, and mitigate the costs associated with having drug abusers on the payroll. They provide early identification, and the ability to refer employees with substance abuse problems for treatment. The integration of drug screening procedures with appropriate drug education and treatment programs is proving not only to be an effective way of managing substance abuse, but also a valuable tool in achieving positive employee relations, delivering significant cost savings, and providing corporations with a competitive advantages. † (Employee Drug Testing. Drug Testing Company. Workplace Drug testing. Avitar Inc. ) Second Argument My second argument in this regard is an employee’s health. â€Å"There was a time in the United States when your business was also your bosss business. At the turn of the century, company snooping was pervasive and privacy almost nonexistent. Your boss had the right to know whom you lived with, what you drank, whether you went to church, or to what political groups you belonged. † (Drug testing in the Workplace lectlaw. com/files/emp02. htm) As it is well said that health is wealth, it is. Besides maintaining a better and a peaceful workplace environment it is also a tough job to take care of the health of employees. When employees get towards drugs they start to go towards a world where there is nothing except depression and frustration. Their behavior with all the people in their surroundings start to differ in many ways and in this type they gradually lose all their contacts. It is too late when they come out from this disastrous activity known as drug taking. Employees also face great loss not only from their job but also from their homes. They do not get the required comfort which a person requires in his or hers home because every day drug taking and everyday dose also depresses the people in the surroundings but the most worse impact of this activity is on the family members with which the person is living because the people have to face many other people. Besides that they have to tackle many more problems, which appear from this one worse habit of drug taking. Many people have been fired or suspended from their employments just because this disastrous habit of drug taking. After prolonged period of unemployment the person who is facing distress and disturbance from everywhere tries to commit suicide and even succeeds in its mission but those people never think of what their families have to face. Third Aargument My third argument is that through this approach of employees, the esteemed organizations in which they are working have a great negative impact on their image. Besides that they have to face a lot of financial losses just because the drugs dealing and drugs addiction in the office premises. People who are against this activity of testing employees for drugs ask the question that why companies do drug tests of their employees as it is unethical and one may feel very afraid and frightened during this testing process. The answer to this question is very simple that when employers of a company are unaware of what their employees are doing, these companies may loss their reputations as well as have to bear great damages and losses. For example, if one day a company gets a police raid and there some of the employees are caught during drug addiction then the whole blame would be put onto the organization that they should have kept a check and balance on their employees. After receiving numerous complaints for drugs use, many governments of the western countries have implemented a law that the firms should be prior responsible for taking the drug test of all of the employees which are working under their kind consideration. This will reduce the drug cases and all of the terminology that is creating misuse of drugs in the working or professional environment. Through, the drug testing, employees and employer both can lead happy professional and personal lives, as everyone in this world requires a life free of depression and tiredness. Objections of First Argument A drug addict can hurt many people in many ways. Drug addicts according to a research not only hurt people physically but they have great impacts on other people’s minds when they hurt them mentally or emotionally. When a drug addict is unconscious at its workplace he can answer the simplest question very badly and sometimes they even reveal the secrets or domestic problems of their close colleagues, which results in misunderstandings. â€Å"In order to receive the benefits of the law, employers must implement a comprehensive policy and must adhere to specific collection, testing, and confidentiality procedures. † (State Law) However if a person who secures a high post in the company is a drug addict then it would be of a great loss to the company for the person when not in his or hers real senses will behave madly with people and all the clients who come to visit the companies and see the efforts made by the employees in maintaining all sorts of disciplinary environment. In this regard many analysts and researchers term workplace drug test a good and positive thinking and this should be implemented in all countries, which do not have this law in their respected organizations. Analysts further suggest that employees should be medically, mentally and physically checked once in a month so that if their medical reports have any sorts of discrepancy in them they could be terminated immediately and the firm should be saved from any kind of blurred image. Firms have the right to suspend any of their employees but when they have any prove against the respected employee. According to a web research in many countries especially the European and the American countries. The European and American countries have laws implemented on them by the state governments that every employee should be checked before he or she should be employed in the organization. Objections of Second Argument Drugs not only destroy the mental capabilities but they have a so strong grip that if their grip tightens and tightens, nobody would be able to come back from the blunder of drugs addiction, and if he or she will not commit suicide to run away from the responsibilities, drugs will take away their prestigious life and then they would be saying good bye to the drugs at their last breaths. â€Å"Employee drug testing programs help protect the health and safety of all employees, and mitigate the costs associated with having drug abusers on the payroll. They provide early identification, and the ability to refer employees with substance abuse problems for treatment. The integration of drug screening procedures with appropriate drug education and treatment programs is proving not only to be an effective way of managing substance abuse, but also a valuable tool in achieving positive employee relations, delivering significant cost savings, and providing corporations with a competitive advantage. † (Employee drug testing Avitar Inc. ) According to the second argument it has been proven through strong proves that employees who are drug addicts face great loss from everywhere if they are physically and mentally ill just because they enter the blunder known as drug addiction. Employees who use drugs definitely suffer in the workplaces as well as in all phases of their lives. Their minds would be in their control and can’t take quick and effective decisions. This eventually led to the losses of the companies as their mental capabilities have been reduced immensely due to the drugs use. Thus, it can be fair to say that drugs use is a loss for both the employee and the employer. Objections of Third Argument Through this act of the employees’ companies go into a great loss and lose not only their prestigious image but also they have to pay fines to the court, and often their licenses are also cancelled. â€Å"Employee drug testing is unfortunately one of the most controversial and troublesome issues facing American employers. Rising employee turnover, absenteeism, tardiness, on-the-job accidents, health benefit utilization and costs, workers compensation claims, inventory shrinkage and employee theft, lowered productivity, and workplace violence are problems directly attributable to substance abuse. Employer concern and action are equally warranted these problems cost to the U. S. workplace well over $110 billion each and every year. † (Employee drug testing Avitar Inc. ) Drugs use in the workplace or drugs trafficking in a workplace is not an ethical as well legal activity. It is vital to control these activities in the workplaces but this drug testing could backlash the companies in the form suspension or cancellation of their licenses – they might suffer with heavy fines. This could be a very difficult decision for companies to go for drug testing because of the aforementioned reason. This problem can be handled by the company’s internal strong policies or counseling with that employee. Don’t take any legal action or severe action against the employee as it might lead to the court that could lead to cancellation of licenses and heavy fines as well as loss of the entire company’s reputation. Thus, always avoid law suits and legal actions against your employees, especially in drugs cases as it could put the company in a big trouble. Conclusion According to latest research and thesis based upon facts one thing has been cleared that through one disastrous habit of an employee the firm or the reputable company goes into great damage. Companies have to face a loss of their clients, havoc and violence at their workplace, through this activity many other people in the surroundings of the company environment get ill or mentally sick because of some other people who adopt the immature habit of drug addiction. â€Å"Seven anti-drug-testing laws were enacted in the late 1980s. Since that time, no anti-drug-testing laws have been enacted at the state level (Puerto Rico did adopt one), and two of the original seven anti-drug-testing laws have been repealed and replaced with a pro-drug-testing law ( Iowa) or modified significantly and acceptably ( Montana). † (Jackson Lewis States Enact Mostly Pro-testing Workplace Drug Laws) Drug addiction is something, which destroys a person from everywhere. For the employer and the employee it creates great problems as the employee gets rid of its job or employment and later on he ends his life by himself or herself or drugs end his or hers life but the employer has to face many things besides that such as loss of huge sum of amount and court proceedings as well as a spot on the company’s name. Besides that entire drug testing of employees, it is termed legal from the side of the government and it is ethical too because it is better to end those disastrous and harmful activities than to end one’s life and creating problems for other people. Drug Testing in the Workplace http://jobsearchtech. about. com/od/laborlaws/l/aa090301. htm Accessed, June 9, 2007 Drug testing in the workplace:Summary conclusions of the Independent Inquiry into Drug Testing at Work jrf. org. uk/knowledge/findings/foundations/694. asp Accessed, June 9, 2007 Drug testing and employee monitoring: Directgov Employment direct. gov. uk/en/Employment/Employees/HealthAndSafetyAtWork/DG_10026594 Accessed, June 9, 2007 Drug Testing in the Workplace lectlaw. com/files/emp02. htm Accessed, June 9, 2007 Employee drug testing Avitar Inc. avitarinc. com/Drug_Testing/employee-drug-testing. cfm Accessed, June 9, 2007 Accessed, June 9, 2007 Employee Drug Testing. Drug Testing Company. Workplace Drug testing. Avitar Inc. avitarinc. com/ Accessed, June 9, 2007 Jackson Lewis States Enact Mostly Pro-testing Workplace Drug Laws jacksonlewis. com/legalupdates/article. cfm? aid=929 Accessed, June 9, 2007 State Law dol. gov/asp/programs/drugs/said/StateLaw. asp? id=786 Accessed, June 9, 2007

The relationship between effective feedback and customer satisfaction

The relationship between effective feedback and customer satisfaction Executive Summary The following paper is a thought experiment, a work in progress that is unfolding as I observe today’s dynamic industries struggle to exploit multiple avenues to respond to customer complains. The objective of this study is to evaluate the effects of feedback system as one of the mechanism that supports functional element of organizational climate.Advertising We will write a custom assessment sample on The relationship between effective feedback and customer satisfaction specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More The study methodology uses a trail group consisting of 35 members from the United States, Philadelphia region dispersed across a variety of demographic location and environments to determine how companies A, B and C quickly respond to their complains. The trial attempted to measure how fast companies A,B, C effectiveness responded to customers’ complains in relation to their defective devices in service industry perspective, and to evaluate the collective processes and outcomes. To effectively measure feedback system performance and satisfaction, the study uses variables that included technical-customer support, action orientation, phone-based technical support and information exchange. Changes in subject cognition were assessed using a series of conceptual model to measure reliability of the results obtained. Results of this study did however demonstrate that companies that engaged in feedback system and actively involved in strategic activities that requires introduction of innovative products and outreach program that mitigate customer problems before they occur reported high returns. Our conclusive results reveal that all the variables that related to feedback system positively linked to customer satisfaction. This study provides evidence of a relationship between effective feedback system in relation to solving customers’ complains and customer satisfaction. Introductio n Feedback system remains to be the most significant factor of organisational climate in resolving customer complains. For example, majority of computer companies in the United States continued to expand their products through implementation of effective and up to date feedback system.Advertising Looking for assessment on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Since many companies are thriving to survive through the competitive markets, many new and efficient products are such as iPod, Mac, iPhone are being introduced to the markets everyday. These products are reported to be widely successful due to the organisations’ communication system. This requires the organisation to implement effective feedback system with eminent good customer support that quickly responds to customers complains (Kaplan, 2006). The three companies assessment results present us an investigative framework to examine extend to which service firm utilises customer satisfaction data obtained from formal feedback mechanism. The essay further explores the effectiveness of feedback system using a questionnaire methodology to find out the relationship between overall feedback and customer satisfaction in computer companies in the United States (Fred, 2001): Fox, 2004). Literature Review Feedback system Lately, the three companies have been using feedback system for paying out customers with defective machines. For example, one of the Company’s products â€Å"iMac† was widely reported for to be giving clients problems and the company responded by giving 15% refund bonuses to all faulty 27 inch iMac in the UK and was also reported to extend $300 apologies to all its aggrieved customers in the US. In resolving the issue, the company responded quickly by offering free repairs to all the affected machines and launched a support page where it described how minor problems could be resolved and the re sulting warranty extension for each affected machine. The company also reimbursed customers who used their own money to repair the faulty machines and advised them take their drives to official company repair channels (Moore Knight, 2010; O’Reilly Anderson, 1980). Technical Customer Support The three service companies in our investigative analysis ranged top in customer satisfaction with phone-based technical support, communication, face-to-face communication, email communication, and information exchange in the American Consumer Satisfaction index (ASCI) in the second quarter of 2009. These companies were credited for offering the best technical customer satisfaction service within the Personal Computers category with a base score of 77 on a 100 point scale and earned 83 points in the second quarter of 2006. Business analysts have argued that the companies’ ability to focus on product innovation and customer satisfaction has won the company loyal customers compared to other PC vendors. Quality of customer service is always the determining factor for success of any company and not its products, and the three companies for this case have gained tremendously from such strategy. Van Amburg, the managing director of the American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI) argues that customers from other service providers were very frustrated with company’s customer service despite the quality of its PC hence loss of loyal customers and the services continued to deteriorate as years went by (Moore Knight 2010; Keizer 2009; Szmigin, 2003).Advertising We will write a custom assessment sample on The relationship between effective feedback and customer satisfaction specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More In ensuring quality satisfaction in information collection, the companies launched Consumer Privacy Policy that ensures the collection, use and disclosure of personal information regarding customer issues are k ept at optimum security. The company pledges to safeguard personal information collected when visiting the company’s website, purchase of products and services and when a customer calls the sales team or support associates. Personal information collected here is aimed at helping the company deliver higher customer service and provide convenient access to company’s products and services (Apple, 2010; Levitan, 2004; Prasaad, 2009). The companies were reported to collect personal information in various occasions such as 1). Phone conversations with customer service representative and for this case, customer’s complains regarding downloading software updates or purchasing products may be collected 2). When customers interact with a service provider, information such as names, phone number, mailing address may be collected 3). Personal information may also be collected for market research purposes for example a client may be asked how often their use their computer a nd where they use it at. 4). Information regarding faulty devices was also collected on company’s website, iTune stores and MobileMe stores. The company then uses the data improve products and determine how best to provide useful information (Apple, 2010; Hewlett-Packard Development Company, 2010). The companies were said to partner with other service vendors such as MobileMe and iTunes stores to help in collection of information by requiring customers to customer’s to create an â€Å"phone company ID† before purchase of products. The ID is strategy is designed to help customers have easier access to web services and saves them time since they don’t have to give their personal information when requesting for services. The procedure requires creation of personal profiles by adding the name, phone number, email address or credit card number together with a suitable password that will be used to access the profile. Once the signing up procedure is completed, the customer is allocated personal ID and a password that the system generates automatically. Therefore next time the customer enters the website to re-purchases products is welcomed by personal greetings by mentioning his name and is able to access up to date information regarding the product purchased which can be used wherever the client goes (Apple, 2010).Advertising Looking for assessment on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Action Orientation Companies are increasing exposed to intense pressure to deliver and better their feedback system. The intense competition requires companies to employ full array of management skills, ranging from managing people to communication. The end results are then used for analysis to help managers polish their skills. Here, action orientation packages, strategies and tools and timely guidelines are implemented to help managers and public relation representatives improve on their skills (Harvard Business Review, 2004; Purde, 2008). Phone-Based Technical Support The three companies were ranked among the best service providers in customer satisfaction with phone-based technical support hence the reason for using their data for analysis. Telephone conversations have always been regarded as traditional feedback system tools that improve customer loyalty. Due to the increased competition in service industries, economic pressures continue to squeeze these companies to ensure cus tomer satisfaction has reached peak point. Since majority of customer service professionals engage most of their time resolving customers’ issues and problems rather than engaging in proactive customer support, Levitan (2004) proposes the companies to try and reach the customer before they become frustrated and dissatisfied with automated calls. In addition, companies are required to be more involved in strategic strategies that involve introduction of innovative products and outreach program that mitigate customer problems before they occur (Herington Jacquot, 2005; Galindo et al, 2009, p.2839; Bettman, 2005). Information Exchange Cookies These companies admit to using cookies on its website as a strategy of keeping statistics on what parts of the websites are most hit and how much time clients spend on the website for purposes of product improvement. Secondly, cookies help in tracking the effectiveness of online advertising and for studying online traffic patterns. Thirdly , when personal details like the IP address is tracked, cookies may be used to customise customers’ experiences by offering services that can be found within the client’s location. For example, when a customer visits the sales website, support representatives lets the visitor register their name by signing up so that they can be referred by name next time they visit the website and even offered the opportunity to choose the country and language they wish to shop in hence increasing their online experience (Apple, 2010). Information collected Internet from log flies such as Protocal address is used for market surveys and indirect marketing purposes. Email is also considered as an effective marketing strategy if used appropriately. These companies for this case send emails to clients with â€Å"click-through URL† that links customers to the company’s products when clicked through. When the customer links through various links, cookies enable the company det ermine particular group’s interest and the effectiveness of customer’s feedback system (Apple, 2010; Dell, 2010). Pixel Tags Pixel tags are embedded graphics designed to provide reports on customer activities which help companies improve their services, keep track opened emails to avoid future spamming and keep customers up to date with software downloads and new company products (Apple, 2010). Publicly displayed information is public The three companies in our analysis used public information posted in chat rooms and bulletin boards as a feedback mechanism to improve their services, however, it claims to hold no responsibility for any misuse of such information by third parties. In a statement, Apple (2010) states that companies may help us process information, extend credit, fulfil customer orders, deliver products to you, manage and enhance customer data, provide customer service, assess your interest in our products and services, or conduct customer research or sat isfaction surveys (online). The companies are therefore delegated the responsibility of ensuring clients’ personal information kept in accordance to company’s policies of confidentiality (Apple, 2010). Methodology This study involved a secondary analysis of an existing data set developed from questionnaires of members in the Philadelphia region. The trail group consisted of 35 members from three computer companies across United States were dispersed across a variety of demographic location and environments to determine how fast companies A, B and C responded to their technical complains in relation their satisfaction. The trial attempted to measure the effectiveness of feedback system, and to evaluate the collective process and outcomes of customer satisfaction using conceptual model. Consumers participated in the surveys by calling, emailing and information exchange to reach the company’s customer support. Using survey data and call statistics from the three se rvice companies, the customers were required to complete a survey about their support experience and then pass the information to three interviewers. The interviewers were trained to the effective data collection methods of collecting timely and actionable feedback system that will positively impact customer service quality. The research relied on quantitative methods that focused on ascertaining feedback system tools employed by companies in their every day interactions. The independent variable in this study was feedback intervention as a key strategy to resolving customer complains. Table 1 provides more detailed analysis of participants’ feedback in relation to services they received from the three service companies. During the interview, each participant identified six functional deficits that most affected the companies’ functional performance in resolving their problems. The question was phrased as; â€Å"To what extent do you agree or disagree with the followi ng statements according to your computer service provider?† Participants rescored each problem area during the test administrations as indicated in table 1. The research uses quantitative tools that involve Statistical Package for Social Sciences in recording actual evidence and records. The quantitative technique used here will confirm the hypothesis and the relationship between the chosen variables. Questionnaires were chosen as our quantitative tool to collect data. It contained six multiple choice questions. The first questions were chosen on the three companies data based on products and services. The six questionnaire questions were aimed at measuring customer’s perception regarding their experiences with their service provider companies and the results were recorded using a five-point scale that ranged from 1 for â€Å"strongly disagree† to 5 for â€Å"strongly agree†. TABLE 1: Frequency of performance deficit from companies A, B and C performance m easures (N=35) Categories derived from deficits identified by Participants Frequency Percentages Strongly Disagree Disagree Neither Agree Strongly Agree Do I get through customer representatives by phone 5 25 1 2 3 4 5 Does companies A,B,C follow through the problems 1 5 1 2 3 4 5 Does your company offer repair services for free 3 15 2 2 3 4 5 Does the company performing routine activities of faulty devices 1 5 1 2 3 4 5 Do I feel supported when I have technical problems 5 25 1 2 3 4 5 Does the company remember customer problems and faces 6 30 1 2 3 4 5 Participants Thirty five customers aged 18 to 55 consisting of both male and female from Philadelphia region were voluntarily recruited for the study. All participants were required to have purchased the company’s products and used them for a period of not less than one year. Participants were unaware of the experimental hypothesis before the experiment. To participate, volunteers needed to have forwarded a t echnical problem to the customer support department and to have lived in the community for the same period. Conceptual Framework The research builds on conceptual framework to focus on in our methodology and data analysis. The results however show a strong relationship between effective feedback system and customer satisfaction in companies. The study proposed three hypotheses which included; Action orientation is positively related to feedback system Technical-customer support is positively related to feedback system Information exchange is positively related to feedback system Phone-based support is positively related to feedback system Data Analysis and Findings Companies spend huge portions of their earnings to manage their corporate image. And in many cases, the image of how people perceive the company in terms of customer satisfaction is given top priority. Customer service has of lately been considered as â€Å"industry buzzword† and companies that don’t give their customers quality services are starting to loose customer every fortnight. It’s actually difficult to measure customer satisfaction if companies are instead hiring public relation representatives to cover up their problems. To measure the feedback system in relations to customer satisfaction, the research sifted through personal surveys and previous studies as well as real life experiences of customers, to come up three best service companies and 10 sample questionnaires for customer service (Inside CRM Editors, 2010, p.1). Data of this survey were analysed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) software (version 13). Mean, medium, mode, standard deviation and variance were used to test the hypothesis to determine the relationship between effective feedback system and customer satisfaction and its variables (technical customer support, phone based technical support, action orientation and information exchange) in computer companies. Feedback Syste m Technical Customer Support Phone-based Technical Support Action orientation Information Exchange N Valid 35 35 35 35 35 Missing 0 0 0 0 0 Mean 24.28 4.83 4.01 6.02 5.76 Median 26.06 3 4 6 4 Mode 31a 5 5 7 5 Std. Deviation 5.401 .796 3.321 4.650 2.092 Variance 45.398 .005 1.181 1.008 1.80 Minimum 3 4 4 4 4 Maximum 36 3 5 5 5 The summary shows that there are 35 valid responses entered in the software (n=35). According to Moore Knight (2010), customers found it easier to reach agent in 2009 than it was in the previous year. On phone conversations, customers reported satisfaction as there were less connectivity problems with automated calls compared to the previous years. These company changes positively related to customer satisfaction since there was an increase of 9% with agent services and a 17% improvement in customer satisfaction in automated calls. The rising levels of customer satisfaction in these companies demonstrated the correlation between effective feedback system and service customer satisfaction. When complex consumer electronics become defective, customer often need fast, confident, effective and friendly support (Lumbue, 2008). Discussion and Recommendation One of the companies with defective software products was reported to extended its repair period for the affected Macs three years from the date of purchase, which is indeed a very good customer service any company could offer its clients since many extends up to the warrant period. This strategy will instantly regain the trust of iPhone users hence more sales of their products. The companies should also look into giving away unlimited online storage, this way clients will be able to take advantage of MobileMe services and the cost of providing this support will come down. For instance if the company gave customers free storage amount of 30GB and maybe charge a reasonable fee of $5 a year, in the long run the company would be benefiting from low cost of providing suppor t. Lastly, the company should open up user feedback and blogging on MobileMe devices so that users could make suggestions for improvements. To improve the quality of telephone conversations, companies should try and reach customers before they become frustrated and dissatisfied with automated calls. Companies are required to be more involved in strategic strategies that involve introduction of innovative products and outreach program that mitigate customer problems before they occur (Etherington, 2010; Purdue, 2008). Conclusion The study proves that companies must understand the importance of feedback system and how to leads to customer satisfaction. Other forms of data collection that includes technical customer support, phone based technical support, action orientation and information exchanges are all effective feedback systems which must be utilized to reach the overall organisational success. The study demonstrated the ability of simple mechanisms such as effective feedback sys tem affect customer satisfaction contrary to the past scholars concerns on history, ethnography, or ritual studies. Quality of customer service is always the determining factor for success of any company and not its products, and the three companies for this case have gained tremendously from such strategy. Due to the increased competition in service industries, economic downturns continue to pressure companies to ensure customer satisfaction reaches peak point. Since majority of customer service professionals engage most of their time resolving customers’ issues and problems rather than engaging in proactive customer support, companies should try and reach customers before they become frustrated and dissatisfied with automated calls. References Apple.(2010). Apple Customer Privacy Policy. Available at; apple.com/legal/privacy/. Acessed april 14, 2010 Bettman. R. (2005). Next deal. Psychology and Marketing, June. Dell. (2010). Service Information. Available at; http://support .dell.com/support/topics/global.aspx/support/my_systems_info/details. Etherington, D. (2010). Apple admits MacBook hard drives defective, offers free repair program. Available at; http://theappleblog.com/2010/02/17/apple-admits-macbook-hard-drives-defective-offers-free-repair-program/. Fox, E. (2004). American Marketing Association. Journal of Marketing Research, February, 1 Fred, W. (2001). Customer intimacy-pick your partner, shape your culture, win  together. New Delhi:Prentice Hall. Galindo, E. S., Santos, W., Maciel, P., Galdino, S. (2009). Synthetic workload generation for capacity planning for virtual server environment. IEEE  International Conference on Systems, October, 2837-2842. Harvard Business Review. (2004). Face-to-Face communication for clarity and  impacts: The results-driven managers series. Available at; http://hbr.org/product/face-to-face-communications-for-clarity-and-impact/an/3477-PBK-ENG?Ntt=Ram+Charan. Herington, D., Jacquot, B. (2005). The HP virtua l server environment: Making the  adaptive enterprise vision a reality in your Datacenter. New Jersey: Prentice Hall. Hewlett-Packard Development Company. (2010). Overcoming the no. 1 challenge in  data center transformation. Available at; http://h20338.www2.hp.com/enterprise/us/en/messaging/feature-sftwr-datacenter-bsa.html. Inside CRM Editors (2010). The 10 Best (and Worst) Companies for Customer Service. Focus, 1-2. Kaplan, B. (2006). Delivering customer service in a time of crisis. CRM Today,  January. Keizer, G. (2009). Apple tops annual customer satisfaction survey, but lead shrinks.  Computer World. Available at; computerworld.com/s/article/9136758/Apple_tops_annual_customer_satisfaction_survey_but_lead_shrinks. Levitan, B. (2004). Improving customer loyalty through proactive communication.  Consumer Interaction Solutions. Available at; tmcnet.com/call-center/0204/0204crm1.htm. Lumbue, R. (2008). Effective communication, perceived service quality, customer satisfact ion and international reputation. Uganda Scholarly, 1-300 Moore, Charles Knight, Dan. Apple Retains Lead in Customer Satisfaction, iMac  Screen Problem Resolved, 64 GB for Mac Pro and More. Available at; http://lowendmac.com/newsrev/10mnr/0212.html#2. O’Reilly, C. Anderson, J. (1980). Trust and the Communication of Performance Appraisal Information: The Effect of Feedback on Performance and Satisfaction. Human Communication Research, 6, 290-298. Prasaad, S. (2009). Establishing successful customer relationships through effective communication: An Indian perspective. Marketing and Management Communication, 64, 1-71 Purdue, G. (2008). Inside Mobile: How Apple MobileMe can Improve Its data sychronisation and data-sharing service. eWEEK.com, August, 1 Szmigin, I. (2003). Understanding the Consumer. New Delhi: Response Books.

Definition of Semi-Auxiliaries and Semi-Modals

Definition of Semi-Auxiliaries and Semi-Modals In English grammar, a semi-auxiliary is a multi-word construction based on an auxiliary verb and having some of the same grammatical characteristics. Also known as a semi-modal or a lexical auxiliary. Semi-auxiliaries include be about to, be able to, be going to, be likely to, be supposed to, had better, have to, ought to, used to, and would rather. Some are followed by an infinitive; others by a zero infinitive. Geoffrey Leech et al. note that the semi-modals are probably the most cited cases of grammaticalization in the ongoing history of English. Among these, in turn, the protoypical, most indubitable cases of semi-modal status are BE going and HAVE to . . .. [T]he lexically independent verbs have and go have, over the centuries, gradually acquired an auxiliary-like function in construction with the infinitive to (Change in Contemporary English: A Grammatical Study, 2012). Also Known As:  semi-modal, quasi-modal, periphrastic modal, phrasal auxiliary, modal-like, modal idiom, lexical auxiliary Examples and Observations What you have become is the price you paid to get what you used to want.(Mignon McLaughlin, The Complete Neurotics Notebook. Castle Books, 1981)Women have got to make the world safe for men since men have made it so darned unsafe for women.(Lady Nancy Astor)We had better dispense with the personification of evil, because it leads, all too easily, to the most dangerous kind of war: religious war.(Konrad Lorenz, On Aggression, 1963)Girl, you look so good, someone ought to put you on a plate and sop you up with a biscuit.(Arsenio Hall as Reverend Brown in Coming to America, 1988)Reckon somebody oughta help the poor guy.(Nigel in Finding Nemo, 2003)A great teacher is supposed to show them there are other points of view besides their own.(Matthew Morrison as Will Schuester, The Substitute. Glee, 2010)Im shaking the dust of this crummy little town off my feet and Im going to see the world. Italy, Greece, the Parthenon, the Coliseum. Then Im going to go to college and see what they know, an d then Im going to build things. Im gonna build air fields. Im gonna build skyscrapers a hundred stories high. Im gonna build bridges a mile long.(George Bailey in Its a Wonderful Life [1946], adapted from the short story The Greatest Gift [1943] by Philip Van Doren Stern) Strings of Semi-Auxiliaries Only the first word in a semi-auxiliary is a true auxiliary, since only that word functions as an operator, for example in forming questions: Is Sandra going to apply for the job?Had I better eat now?Is Jennifer supposed to phone us today? The semi-auxiliaries may come together to make a long string of verbs: We seem to be going to have to keep on paying the full fee.They are likely to be about to start working on our project. (Sidney Greenbaum and Gerald Nelson, An Introduction to English Grammar, 3rd ed. Pearson, 2009) The Habitual Past With Used to The   past form of habitual aspect is often expressed by the semi-auxiliary used to: Your mother used to sleep like a log.People used to whitewash their ceilings.My father used to bath us six kids in front of the fire. These utterances describe situations that occurred habitually in the past.(Thomas Edward Payne, Understanding English Grammar: A Linguistic Introduction. Cambridge University Press, 2010) The Future With Going to The salient semantic and pragmatic features of going to which are generally underlined by grammarians are: - its relatively informal style with respect to will (Huddleston and Pullum, 2002: 211). The widespread use of gonna (as opposed to going to in conversation is often a marker of informality; and it certainly is in written texts when spelt that way. . . .;- its dual meaning of future fulfillment of present intention and future result of present cause (Quirk et al. 1985), which have often been summed up as its intentional meaning and its predictive meaning;- its tendency to be used to indicate the proximity of a future event unless there is a time adverbial or context indicating otherwise (Declerck 1991: 114). The fact that the structure is that of the present progressive form of the verb to go would seem to underline strongly its connection with the present (Williams 2002: 102). (Yiva Berglund and Christopher Williams, The Semantic Properties of Going to: Distribution Patterns in Four Subcorpora of the British National Corpus. Corpus Linguistics 25 Years On, ed. by Roberta Facchinetti. Rodopi, 2007) Markings for Tense and Person [S]ome of the semi-modals, like have to and be going to, can be marked for tense and person: - past tense:He had to call the police. (CONV)- third-person agreement:Maybe she has to grow up a bit more. (CONV) These semi-modals can sometimes co-occur with a central modal verb or another semi-modal.(Douglas Biber, Susan Conrad, and Geoffrey Leech, Longman Student Grammar of Spoken and Written English. Pearson, 2002)

The evolution of Renaissance architecture between Palazzo and Villa Research Paper

The evolution of Renaissance architecture between Palazzo and Villa - Research Paper Example The Evolution of Renaissance Architecture between Palazzo and Villa: An Analysis between Palazzo Farnese (Rome) and Villa Farnesina (Trastevere) Royal Palaces, magnificent monuments have been built in ancient civilizations all over the world and thus they have been an inseparable part of any culture. They are the evidence of the glorious past of that respective culture. Palaces and monuments play a vital role in conveying the historical and political information of the region. They also depict the story of contemporary social, economic and religious system and focus on the social strata.They are also used to reinforce the primacy of contemporary political power. While describing the role of the palaces, Jessica Joyce Christie, Patricia Joan Sarro state, ' Palaces are more than just residence of the highest – ranking nobles. What distinguishes palaces from the elite residence is the symbolic function of palaces as political statements within their respective societies.' They fu rther state, ‘Palace architecture, including layout, position, and decoration of the palaces as well as their public (or sometimes exclusive) nature, reflects the structure of the political system in which the palaces exist.' The palaces and monuments are either monarchical or built by the elite class. The fundamental objective behind this architecture was to show off the social status of the family, the political power they gained, and their affluence. The palaces and fine architectural buildings are the status issue of the affluent people. Monuments and palaces are always built so that the common people should feel respect, fear about the might dynasty. They are like a strong social, economic and political fortifications built around noblemen and the influential people of the respective era. Because of the palaces and lavish architectural buildings, the bridge between affluent people and common people remain intact. Thus they preserve their social status. The palaces and vil las, built with extraordinary architectural structure, create a sense of pride for the possessor and envy to their rivals. Behind the constructions of almost all the monuments, the social, economical and political factors are majorly involved. These factors were involved in building and designing the two magnificent palaces in Renaissance period in Rome. They were Palazzo Farnese and Villa Farnesina. Keywords: Palazzo Farnese. Villa Farnesina, political, economic and social forces A thorough study of architecture gives a new insight to the cultural, political, economic and social study of the contemporary period, in which the architecture emerges. The style of architecture depicts the political transformations of the region. It narrates the story of economic and social transition. The style and design represent the money spent on building the monument, palace or any architecture. During the excavation process, the entire civilization can be explored with the help of the then excavat ed architecture and the best examples are the amazing architecture of the township of Indus civilization. The Egyptian Pyramids and palaces also represent the socio-eco-political forces. Through the architectural structure of Hawa Mahal in Jaipur in India for example, one can understand what political, economic and social purposes might have influenced the architecture. Hawa Mahal is an exquisite blend of Hindu and Muslim Architecture. It means that the political and social scenario was influenced by two of these dominating religions and there was a rivalry and fierce competition (sometime hatred) between the two religions. The blended architecture further reveals the story of the efforts of Hindu and Muslim kings to preserve their identity. Taj Mahal, one of the finest architectures of the world, depicts the exorbitant wealth and the absolute monarchical power of Emperor Shaha Jahaan and the entire Mughal Empire. Though the style, design of the Eastern architecture is different fro m that of Western Architecture, the political, econom

Organizational Design Analysis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Organizational Design Analysis - Essay Example From over 100 manufacturers for customers to choose from, Rock Auto is able to ship thousands of auto parts to every continent in the world, with the exception of APO/FPO addresses and Antarctica. Rock Auto is able to position themselves high above their competitors, by offering auto parts and applications for car models from the 1940’s to the newest models of cars. They also built their database using data obtained directly from the manufacturers, giving flexibility and variety to all customers. I had the opportunity to interview four employees: Senior level; Jim Taylor (President), Sandra Taylor (VP Customer Service) Midlevel; Serena Johnson (HR Manager), Lower level; Nicole Evans (CSR). As with any other business, they are in business to bring in a profit and fulfill the needs of customers searching for auto parts.   They are able to bring in high profits, due to the fact, they hold no inventory, and all merchandise is sent directly to the customer from one of their contr acted distributors. Rock Autos organizational philosophy stems from providing exceptional customer service, where responsiveness to the customer is a top priority. Their strategy has a long-term focus to earn customers trust and respecting customer’s time, maintaining a strict and high standard of excellence and no nonsense policy for all employees to adhere too. Rock Auto is a small organization with less than 100 employees. There are currently 97 employees total. Thirty-five are full-time, including senior management and 62 are part-time employees all mid to lower level. The CSR’s, manufacturers and its technology are the most important components to the company and its environment. The number of important components is large in relation to the company in its entirety. In regards to the technology and manufacturers, they can change very slowly as we have been working with some of the same manufacturers since our opening in 1999. Serena Johnson stated that their techn ology has not changed much as they use the internet, email and soft pads for all correspondence between their customers, shippers, distributors and manufacturers, we may upgrade to a higher level of internet speed, to ensure accuracy and efficiency. The company’s dominant technology is the computer systems and the internet. Jim Taylor stated, â€Å"We use email and e-commerce to transform our inputs, which would allow the customer to place an order, via email, our website or call one of our CRS’s. Once the order is placed, the CSR confirms the parts are available and our distributors ship the orders (outputs) to the customers.† All of the four agreed that they would characterize Rock Autos’ environment as certain. As all the information, from the results and alternatives in regards to decision making, is always made available to all employees. Two of the three interviewed stated that the company is flexible to respond to environmental changes and have bee n doing a great job. The other two seem to feel that the company is too rigid, in relation to its application of rules and procedures with the CSRs. The CRS are supposed to have ability for daily decision making related to their jobs, such as choice of schedule, vacation time, and sick leave and in relation to decisions concerning customers, such as credits, refunds and returns. Even though, Rock Auto provides a â€Å"trust system† in regards to employee time sheets, prior to receiving a paycheck, HR, will go over each time

A multi-Sensory Experience as a food critique Essay

A multi-Sensory Experience as a food critique - Essay Example They believe in the dress where one is well covered and they give utmost respect to the ladies and feel that she is the biggest responsibility of a man. They are more family oriented and they have a very close knit family. This is different from American culture. The dress sense of the host and waiters were also very ethnic and â€Å"Pathan† suits. The food served contains lot of spices and different herbs that are being added to get the flavour. Only some of the ingredients were described in their menu but not to a greater length. Their appetizers contains Hummus and meat, fried kibbi, sambusak, grilled cheese, Falafel, labneh, Makanek, Sojak, chicken tender etc. Salads contain Tabouli, House salad (Diced), Tahini house salad, Fatoush, Greek, Ceasar, Garden, Some special salad containing a mix of romain lettuce, cucumber, tomato, bell pepper, onion, mint and parsely with olive oil and lemon served with roasted pita bread. The sald had an option to add Chicken or Gyro. The salads were dressed with creamy garlic (as Arabic food contains lot of garlic paste), house dressing, ceasar and Ranch. Then the Menu also displayed â€Å"Entrees† encompassing beef kabob, Chicken kabob, Kafta kabob, Mixed Grill, Salmon kabob or blackened, Shrimp scampi, Fried Tilapia, Fried shrimp (as Arabic food contains lot of fried preprations), f ried seafood platter, chicken breast, Beef shawarma plate. The ingredients were not mentioned but the prepration showed that they will provide a meal as is is served with pita bread and House salad. Along with all these preparations the sides including spicy potato, yogurt cucumber, pickles, olives and tomato, fried cauliflower, basmati rice were also there. Major Arabic preparations go with rice and hence we also opted for the same. The â€Å"Manakeech† contains Halloum cheese, Ackawi cheese, Zaatar, Makanek, Soujouk and Labneh. These were served with the toppings of olives,

The future of London Heathrow Airport Literature review

The future of London Heathrow Airport - Literature review Example Development of the motorway network and railway network increased accessibility of London to rest of cities of the country (Rodrigue 2013). London was made the focus for of all these networks. London became the main focus for international air travellers during the days of the war. London was surrounded by four airports, and Heathrow alone was used for handling of two thirds of air traffic. In times of rapid growth in 1960s transport planners reached a new approach of transport planning. Proposal was the expansion of Stansted airport, but due to strong opposition from people this plan was left uncompleted. Both, government and GLC, have supported the trends of transport planning, which have been not only considered inevitable but also desirable (Adams 1981). Atkin et al., (2009) focused on the departure system of the London Heathrow airport and founded that if the delay time for the aircraft awaiting take-off and running engines would result into a less usage of fuel as well as pollution benefits. They pointed out various constraints, applied to take off the schedules. Some physical changes at the airport can eliminate the impacts of constraints and increase the capacity for departure systems. Heathrow airport completed the 5th terminal in 2008 and second phase in year 2011. Expansion of airport too encompassed the refurbishment of terminals such as terminal 1, 3 and 4. A new air control traffic tower and terminal 5 stations were installed. Expansion also included the tunnels for the extension of Piccadilly line, Heathrow express and spur road from the M25. Air control tower was installed on the Heathrow airport in 2007, which presented the unobstructed view (Kable Intelligence System 2014). Cecil (2013) reported that Heathrow would be the fourth runway with a million of flights in a year. Expansion of Heathrow airport would result into a leading aviation Hub of Europe. However, development

Sailor Jerry Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Sailor Jerry - Essay Example Other than modernizing the tattooing industry, Sailor Jerry had a colorful and diverse life and career, which he balanced along with his love for tattooing (Levy 46,47,48). Sailor Jerry had developed an interest in tattooing and started practicing it ever since he was a teenager. The technique of tattooing used by him at that time was the hand-pricking method. Later on, he was taught how to use a tattoo machine by a Chicago tattooist named Tatts Thomas. Under Thomas’s training, Sailor Jerry would usually rehearse tattooing with a machine on drunken people who were brought to him. He kicked off his official career years later in Hawaii, where he opened his first tattoo parlor. Other than tattooing, Sailor Jerry also pursued the occupation of a dockworker in Hawaii, therefore adding some diversity to his life (Demelo 74). Having enlisted in the navy during World War II, Sailor Jerry also served as a merchant marine and so traveled to many places. He often tattooed people, especi ally sailors, at his ports of call. Having been to the Far East, and being exposed to tattoos on other sailors, he developed an interest in Asian imagery. This interest made him incorporate many Asian designs, such as dragons, into his art of tattooing. Besides this, Sailor Jerry was very protective of tattooing, and had a strong concern in developing it as an art form. Moreover, he believed that majority of the American tattooists were ‘greedy, talentless copycats’. As a result, he looked up and kept in touch with tattooists like Paul Rogers and Brooklyn Joe Lieber, who shared his opinion in improving the art of tattooing. Simultaneously, he spoke out against those who he saw as tainting the field through their sly business practices and lack of talent (Demelo 74). Sailor Jerry, on the other hand, seemed to have an excess of talent. A typical Sailor Jerry tattoo was distinguished from other tattoos by its bold and steadfast lines, along with an amazing attention to det ail. For instance, the riggings contained by his clipper ship tattoos were nautically accurate. However, it was only after he opened his last tattoo shop Chinatown, Honolulu that his fascination with the â€Å"Oriental style† of tattooing really flourished. During this time, he started a trade relationship with two tattooists (one was from Japan, while the other from Hong Kong), wherein he would trade American tattoo machines and needles for their advice and designs. From them, he learnt a lot about the ways Japanese used colors, shaded, and made use of the entire body as a canvas (Demelo 74; Sailorjerry.com). However, even though he incorporated some of the Japanese style of tattooing, the style Sailor Jerry used was completely unique. His art of tattooing consisted of the Japanese finger waves, wind bars, and full body tattoos which reflected the history and pop culture of America; the Spirit of ’76, the Alamo, General Custer at Little Big Horn, Rock of Ages, big bus ted mermaids, and many similar designs motivated by North American thinking. These designs were also different from the traditional American style (of unrelated and separate tattoos spread out on the body) because they were larger, fused, and custom made. The incorporation of Japanese styles in Sailor Jerry’s tattoos was sometimes criticized by patriotic Americans. However, Sailor Jerry’s success at improving the tattooing industry made up for

The future of London Heathrow Airport Literature review

The future of London Heathrow Airport - Literature review Example Development of the motorway network and railway network increased accessibility of London to rest of cities of the country (Rodrigue 2013). London was made the focus for of all these networks. London became the main focus for international air travellers during the days of the war. London was surrounded by four airports, and Heathrow alone was used for handling of two thirds of air traffic. In times of rapid growth in 1960s transport planners reached a new approach of transport planning. Proposal was the expansion of Stansted airport, but due to strong opposition from people this plan was left uncompleted. Both, government and GLC, have supported the trends of transport planning, which have been not only considered inevitable but also desirable (Adams 1981). Atkin et al., (2009) focused on the departure system of the London Heathrow airport and founded that if the delay time for the aircraft awaiting take-off and running engines would result into a less usage of fuel as well as pollution benefits. They pointed out various constraints, applied to take off the schedules. Some physical changes at the airport can eliminate the impacts of constraints and increase the capacity for departure systems. Heathrow airport completed the 5th terminal in 2008 and second phase in year 2011. Expansion of airport too encompassed the refurbishment of terminals such as terminal 1, 3 and 4. A new air control traffic tower and terminal 5 stations were installed. Expansion also included the tunnels for the extension of Piccadilly line, Heathrow express and spur road from the M25. Air control tower was installed on the Heathrow airport in 2007, which presented the unobstructed view (Kable Intelligence System 2014). Cecil (2013) reported that Heathrow would be the fourth runway with a million of flights in a year. Expansion of Heathrow airport would result into a leading aviation Hub of Europe. However, development

Is the Canadian Prime Minister, Stephen Harper too powerful Essay

Is the Canadian Prime Minister, Stephen Harper too powerful - Essay Example Harper's role as the prime minister of Canada grants him the ability to control the interactions of resources in foreign countries, for instance, aiding countries such as Israel in the past, and present. This not only which presents the image of wealthy, authoritative force that dramatically affects not only his home country but those countries outside of Canada.Harper's role as the prime minister of Canada grants him the ability to control the interactions of resources in foreign countries, for instance, aiding countries such as Israel in the past, and present. This not only which presents the image of wealthy, authoritative force that dramatically affects not only his home country but those countries outside of Canada.   Ultimately, power is everything to most people. It is every politician’s dream to yield power over others. Harper rose to power in 2006 when his party formed the government. In the 2011 elections, he formed a government which enjoys support in parliament. He controls both houses using his party, the conservative party. He is in no doubt powerful and yields immense power more than any other prime minister before him. He enjoys massive support in parliament since his party has more members than any other party. He is allowed to appoint senators and he recently made appointments that increased the number of conservatives in the Senate. This has made it easier for him to control the Senate. Harper is also a party leader.   He is the leader of the conservative party which gives him power because he is able to control policies and tactics within the party. Parliamentarians allied to the party are bound to party policies. Harper’s ability to control the ability has also empowered him. He is able to decide what the media says about him. Harper’s administration has the highest number of communication officials compared to any other administration before him.

Strategic Purchasing Essay Example for Free

Strategic Purchasing Essay Sustainable business growth and practices are taking a forward leap in to the globe. Almost every business now is planning to have a value chain through out their business. Strategic Purchasing is the key element to a sustainable growth of the business along the competitive edge. This study shows the importance of the Kraljic portfolio model that is to be put in to the actual usage, which would yield benefits of purchasing sophistication in terms of positioning and professionalism. Results showed that both positioning and professionalism are positively related to the greater usage of the model. Based on the analysis of a Dutch chemical company, the immense use of the portfolio model has been described and explored in strategic purchasing. The results have proved that when the model is tailored and elaborated it brings about an effective guidance in purchasing and supplier strategies. The case study also lists out the supplier strategies that are feasible. Thus it supports the fact by using the kraljic model that purchasing function does play a vital role and enable organizations to gain competitive advantage The Initial objective of strategic purchasing to procure materials amp; equipment’s, from the right origin, with the right quantity and of the right quality, through right time and cost (peter 1993). Strategic purchasing does play a vital role in an organization. To have a successful business venture purchasing has to be the core element responsible for a product’s quality, acceptability, price and reliability. Procurement system solely depends on the choice of suppliers, to ensure the delivery under any circumstances (John, Marton 2006). In few cases, DSM is locked in the partnering relationship due to necessity, might be cause of situations like monopolistic market. The only solution to this would be finding alternative suppliers through proper new development of suppliers. This solution will not be obtainable when the scenario is due to patents, another situation would be when the supplier does not want to involve really in co – development (Van Weele 2006). There is more likely for the partnership to change into the indolent and chances of being more relaxed in the relationship. Strategic partners should always be a supplier of world class. World-class suppliers are high performing, alert at all times and technically sound through sense of economy. This clearly depicts that strategic patterns will meet the benchmark externally with more satisfactory performance of price (Van Weele 2006). Decomplexing strategy and supplier development (2) must be pursed when the situation turns vice versa, that is when the partnerships show under achieving performance or patterns. Less complexity products when made, leads to alternative solutions within reach. Effectively, DSM wants itself always to be less dependent on non dependable and under achieving suppliers (Van Weele 2006). Importance of kraljic portfolio model is clearly understood when it is actually put into use and customizing of the same would enhance the solving capability of the strategic issues that are at hand. The portfolio model provides guidelines for a better supplier and purchasing strategies. This case study clearly suggests us the importance of placing commodities at different quadrants of the matrix to help in development of the purchasing strategies (Van Weele 2006).

Consider How Changes In Political Ideology Impact Social Work Essay

Consider How Changes In Political Ideology Impact Social Work Essay Social policy is about social well-being and its policies are designed to promote this, social well-being is for everyone and its to ensure that everyone gets treated impartially and according to their needs. This may include areas such as housing, education and social care. According to the HM Treasurys spending review 2010-11 the vast majority of money was spent on Welfare and Health this illustrates that these two sectors especially welfare are major factors within our society and are a priority. However some political ideology can have impact on social policy in regards to how money is spent and in what ways. Social welfare and policy is provided by the government and social policies are developed for the public and certain groups who need them. Social welfare on the other hand is given to people who are seen to be in need and may be seen as people who need a public service. Welfare services and healthcare are the key services in social policy. Social services and the healthcare system are in place and are provided to give a service to help aid with peoples well-being. For example these include people who are going through a crisis or serious personal issues to do with their health or personal lives. Social policy is incorporated with social welfare provision; social welfare provision is about the needs of the people. The government plays a big part in social welfare because they decide on what to spend on such as housing and education. Social Policy is made by the government which are made up of partys politicians and parties that deliberate and decide on how to manage the country and it s political needs. Politically speaking Social policies work together with employees of social welfare such as social workers as well as healthcare and the law. All these organisations help to make up social policy and work on and for the state. Local Government are councillors which have been locally elected for example a local MP and also local authorities, these may include people such as school governors and members of the community health councils, these selected people work together to govern and implement what key policies are needed locally, and these are tailored policies specifically for their local communities. The local government may make decisions on housing and other local factors such as developments that may be needed and transport. The private sector is made up of businesses individuals, local and central government who purchase welfare services such as private care homes and employ carers privately to care for service users. Social workers as well as the healthcar e workers are involved in social policy for the reason that they will be putting whatever is decided in social policy in practice. Central government is the political party who is elected nationally in the UK. At the last national election the conservative party were voted in with this came their own political ideology in running the country and many changes were made. Political Ideology is a range of ideas and thoughts which can range from social wellbeing to laws being made it is also beliefs on society and social welfare. This can come from a right left wing approach of thinking politically. This affects social policy and how social policy is approached because the decisions that is made effects peoples lives. For example when new labour was elected in 1997 its approach to social policy was a mix and right and left wing perspectives. The new right perspectives to social policy consist of views such as distinguishing between the deserving and underserving poor. What is known as the deserving poor are those who are thought to deserve to receive welfare, an example of this is someone being poor through no fault of their own, while an undeserving poor is someone who may be poor due to their laziness such as not wanting to work. The title of deserving and undeserving varies from one individual to another, this is because everyones circumstances are d ifferent therefore it is harder to determine who is deserves to receive benefits from who does not. The new right approach suggests that the welfare system was making people depend on benefits and making them lazy. This was also referred to as the nanny state, however those who are welfare such as single parent families struggle and what is given is actually only enough to live on because benefits are accessed on what the government believes is enough for individuals to live off. David Cameron the current Prime minister stated that he wanted to end the culture of entitlement and a bigger debate into welfare would be needed as the wrong signals were being sent out to unmarried and single parent families. This suggests even more cuts for those who are dependent on benefits as a way to get people off benefits and back into employment. Political ideology affects social work because these values affect practice. Ideas of political ideology shape practice and action, these actions can als o influence ideas of ideologues which respond to the environmental pressures which surround them. (Marquand 1996,6.) Marxist had the view that the welfare state was biased and favours the working class to prevent a revolution. For the modern day welfare state this couldnt be any truer as we have seen with the conservatives party that the biggest spending cuts have hit the poor the worst.it seems as though especially to those who are worse off, for example families who receive benefits such as tax credits etc. These are the people who are feeling the cuts the most while the rich have had far fewer cuts being made. Last year we saw that most of the changes being made were affecting the poor and working class the most, while the rich had their tax reduced. This is indeed an unfair change in regards to welfare because the changes seem to favour the rich more. The Guardian newspaper online reported that the poorest households would be hit the worst by benefits cuts, in reported government plans and the Department of Work and Pensions. It also stated that in a bid to save 3.1 billion working benefits wou ld rise to 1% hitting the poor hardest. The guardian online featured a letter by MP Michael Meacher who pointed out that the recent welfare benefits reports bill and its percentages on cuts leaving the rich richer by paying less percentages in tax while the unemployed receiving benefits such as the job seekers allowance were being cut. It also argued ministers had failed to realise that the 20% cut that was going to be imposed would work out as less money for people to live on. The cut was argued to be applied because it was seen to be unfair that those unemployed had had a 20% rise while the lowest paid only had a 10% pay rise. Even so those who are in less paid jobs are still financially better off than those on JSA, so again why are cuts being made to the poorest people in need. It was also pointed out that the richest that are on over  £3000 a year had their income tax cut to almost 3bn a year, also the very richest increased their income and wealth over the last year according to the Sunday Times Rich List. With cut s being made and bills rising how is people going to afford to eat and live? There is a struggle for the currently unemployed to get back in employment due to the lack of jobs. People are being pressured into either living a very poor life financially or working for wage which they may again struggle to live on and then being given a very low pension when they retire. This affects social work practice because more people will be in crisis and in a vulnerable state which may lead to intervention by professionals such as social workers being needed for well-being and support. The cuts to social care have seen only the ones who can afford to pay for care being able to receive care. The reason for this is budgets being cut for social care leaving those without financial security in need of support. According to ADASS in their budget survey (2011) councils were reducing their budgets by 991 million. They were also reducing their spending by 169 million for support for people. The implications and consequences of these cuts are that some council will have to make cutbacks to services in order to balance out their budgets. For those who cannot afford services this can serious implications as well as on impact on social work practice because of the intervention that may be needed. It also affects social work in the sense of how it is implicated as well as using the best methods for service users. According to this survey it increases more gaps within Social Care funding. The care and Support Bill 2012 abolished the local authorities right to remove a person in need from their homes. The reason for this could do with the cuts being made with in social care and as a way to save money have abolished this to save funding which would otherwise be spent on giving care to service users. The Just umbrella gives an insight into austerity the coalition and policy. The just umbrella pinpoints many actions the government at the moment and the way in which society is handled in regards to spending welfare etc. It also talks about the London riots and how they may have been an underlying factor as to why the riots took place. The riots stemmed from a man of ethnic minority who was shot and killed by the police, as a result the family wanted answers as to what happened and as to why their family member was shot. There was many speculation as to if the victim was armed or not or whether it was to do with racism. A peaceful march began by the family demanding answers which soon escalated to the riots. The riots were blamed on gang culture and people taking advantage of an unfortunate situation. However nothing of unfair treatments of people and tension between the youths and the police were addressed. The riots may have been a cry for help and that may have been the chance fo r many more deprived members of society to have their say. Also the riots may have been due to frustrations built up as well as other underlying social factors which were not addressed. Such as most of the people who were involved were part of less privileged communities who were worse off in terms of employment and housing. The finding s of the riot research found that over half 59% of rioters were from the 20% most deprived areas in the UK. The riots seem to have had much more of meaning than just that of the shooting of Mark Duggan. According to the Reading the riots report (2011) its findings were very interesting in regards to its contents. The study was to find out what have driven individuals in the riots and who were responsible of which came these findings of the analysis. 87% of the people who were interviewed out of 270 said that policing and tensions between the police and public were to blame because of the treatments they had from officers. This shows that policing and public frustrations were indeed key contributing factors as to why the riots happened. This combined with anger and frustrations in regards with the relationship between the police also added more fuel to the riots. The Blackwell companion to social work, social work and politics focuses on social work and ideology and the role in which social workers have. It argues that social workers have a power struggle with family and service users and these are due to political ideology and that social service and workers are political activists. Both the Just Umbrella the Backwell companion discuss changes and the state moving away from the neo-liberal economics in regards to Labour and Margaret Thatchers approach to politics. Both stated that the new right approach to social policy was focused on making the welfare state in particular better in regards for what works. However Blackwell argues that this gives room for politicians to pass difficult subjects to professionals to suggest solutions. The just umbrella also comments on what is known as the Big Society and that of the effects it has on society as well as the coalition policy. According to the Cabinet Office the big society is about giving more p ower to the people to help improve their lives, Transferring power from Whitehills to Local Communities. While the just umbrella recognises failings in the big Society and its local ideas, Blackwell points out ideology behind this and how it affects social work practice. It aims to put the point across that social work is heavily driven by politics and ideology. The social worker who claims to be above or beyond politics is one who has denied him or herself access to a set of conceptual tools which are directly necessary to a properly informed conduct in todays complex world of practice. What is exactly meant by this statement is that social workers cannot fulfil their full potential of practice without accepting they are a part of politics. Accepting this gives social workers the knowledge and power to practice effective service. This is a matter of opinion however because it takes away from the social workers individual core beliefs. If a social worker does not agree with some asp ects of political ideology this does not mean they do not have the tools to properly practice social work.