Mktg577 – Week 6 Case Study

I. Statement of the Problem The analysis is based on the merger and acquisition between E. T Kearney and EDS. E. T Kearney is the largest management consulting group while EDS is a technology firm. The company’s merged to form a new defining entity that could combine the synergies of both firms in the quest for improved efficiency. The merger created a cultural shock which created problems that are associated with organizational culture change . In this paper, we analyze the merger and acquisition as well as the recommendations for better performance of the newly created entity. II. Summary of the FactsThe acquisition of the management consulting firm A. T Kearney by an information technology firm EDS marked a significant move by such a technology firm in acquiring one of the best management firms in the corporate world. EDS bought A. T Kearney for a total of $300 million in liquid cash and contingency payments as well as a stock incentive provision of seven million shares. Th e total amount was more than $600 million. The merger between the two firms was good as a result of the synergetic as well as complimentary industry, geographic as well as functional strength. The acquisition of A.T Kearney by EDS was one of EDS grand vision of becoming a â€Å"Defining Entity†. III. Analysis An analysis of the case reveals that the merger and acquisition greatly impacts organizational performance and organizational culture. Our analysis covers the effects of mergers and acquisition on an organizational performance, success factors in M&A as well as organizational culture change and resistance that take place in a merger and acquisition. The strategies of a successful M& A For A. T Kearney by EDS to merge successfully, there is a need for the process to be conducted smoothly. From the A. T Kearney by EDS case, we ealized that the integration of the firms that has been acquired should be carried out as an ongoing process that must be initiated prior to the clo sing of the deal. During this period of acquisition negotiation as well as its subjection to regulatory review, the management of the companies that are involved in the merger must work together in drawing up a clear and proper integration strategy. Ravenscraft and Scherer (1987) indicated that even if a thorough investigation is carried out before the merger, some of the problems might never reveal themselves until at such a time that the deal has already been done.The integration management of the new entity must be appropriately recognized as a very distinct business function having an experienced manager who is especially appointed to oversee the integration process. Should uncomfortable changes such as restructuring and layoff be necessary, it is crucial that the management of the newly formed entity to announce as well as implement these as soon as possible. This is necessary in order to avoid resistance to organizational change. The aim of such swiftness is to avoid the vario us uncertainties as well as anxieties that may demoralize the company’s workforce in the newly formed entity.Another important lesson that we can learn from this case is that it is important to integrate both the practical as well as business of the company’s workforce as well as their cultures. An optimal strategy is the one that involves the degree to which the cultural difference can exist between the various organizations can retain their own culture as well as identity as indicated by Appelbaum et al (2000). The merger between the two companies created synergies as well as completely new services like CoSourcing.Cultural shock is noted in the study to be one of the main challenges that could have resulted as a result of the acquisition. A. T Kearney feared that there would be a mass exodus of most of its excellent and professional staff. The potential loss of clients was also envisioned. Organization culture is a term that is used to refer to the collection of val ues, policies ,beliefs and attitudes is an important as well as critical element of all organizations (Mullins,2010). Armstrong (2009) indicated that change is the only thing which is constant in any organization.The work of Kotter (1990) however noted that organizations are in a state of constant flux. The fact that organizational change is inevitable is a constant element of all organizations that seek to adapt to new challenges as well as approaches (Mullins,2010). The significance of organizational change is captured by Sloan (1967) when he indicated that market situations like the dynamic nature of the product and services coupled with the dynamic nature of the market itself can bring down a given business entity if the given entity is not ready for the culture change.The work of Kanter (1992) defined organizational change as the behavior of the organization to a certain degree or another. Organizational change has strategic and structural consequences within a given organizati on. This is because it involves the process of dismantling as well a restructuring of the various structures within a given organization. Several problems can arise due to organizational change (Czerniawska,2005). Organizational change is a very critical and yet very inevitable process ofan organization’s structure. It can create a lot of pressure from the workers as well as management as a result of fear of the unknown.Senior and Fleming (2006 ) noted that organizational change may affect the general operations of the company as well as business functions. The forces that result in organizational change The work of Mullins (2010) indicated that there are several factors that can trigger organizational change. Thy may include uncertainty in the corporate economics, competition as well as globalization. The work of Kanter (1999) identified certain factors that may trigger organizational change. They include; information technology, globalization as well as consolidation all of which are relevant in this case.One of the major arguments for mergers and acquisitions is the notion that â€Å"synergies† do exist, allowing the two firms to work more effectively as one than they would when separate. Such synergies enables the firms to fully exploit economies of scale, rule out the duplication of activities, share managerial expertise, and raise larger revenues (Ravenscraft and Scherer 1987). Unfortunately, research depicts that the foreseen gains often fail to materialise after a merger (Hughes 1989). ‘Horizontal' mergers (between organizations operating at the same level, in the same industry) can be motivated by the quest of dominating their industry.In theory, bodies like Britain's Competition Commission should not allow any tie-up that may bring about monopoly capable of misusing its powers. However, the decision to prevent such acquisitions and mergers are always controversial and politicized. Different authors have claimed that mergers are un likely to effect monopolies even in the absence of such rules and laws, as there is lack of attestment that mergers have led to increased concentration of market power (George, 1989), though there can be exceptions within certain industries (Ravenscraft and Scherer, 1987).In given instances, companies have derived tax advantages from mergers and acquisitions. This has however been  Ã‚  disputed by Auerbauch and Reishus, (1988), who argued that tax considerations do not play an active role in encouraging companies to merge. Corporations on the other hand pursue mergers and acquisitions as a means of diversification, allowing them to explore new markets and distribute their risks. A firm may also seek to acquire another in belief that its target is undervalued, and therefore a†bargain† good enough to generate high returns for the acquiring firm’s shareholders.These acquisitions are encouraged by desires to build empires parent firms's managers (Ravenscraft and Sch erer, 1987). Most of the time , acquisitions fail to generate returns for the acquiring company due to the fact that they bought it at a price higher than its value. Having been over-enthusiastic while buying, the  Ã‚  buyer may later discover that the premium paid during  Ã‚  the acquisition for the shares (winner's curse) eliminates all advantages made from the acquisition (Henry, 2002).However, it must be noted that even a deal that is financially sound may turn out to be disastrous, if it is implemented in a means that does not take into account the organization’s staff and the difference in corporate civilizations. Extreme contrasts may exist in the attitudes and values of the two firms, specifically if the emerging partnership is international. A merger or acquisition becomes a stressful process for the people involved: retrenchments, reorganization, and the imposition of a new corporate culture and identity brings about uncertainty, anxiety and hatred amongst a com pany's staff (Appelbaum et al,  Ã‚  2000).Research has proven that a firm's productivity may drop by 25 to 50 percent  Ã‚  during a large-scale change; demoralization of the firm’s workers is the main reason for this (Tetenbaum, 1999). The companies’ attention are often paid to short term legal and financial goals rather than the implication of such mergers and acquisitions on corporate identity and communication, factors that may eventually prove to be important in the long run due to their effect on the workforce's morale and productivity (Balmer and Dinnie,  Ã‚  1999)Huczynski and Buchanan (2001) indicated that organizational change can greatly affect organizational performance. It might however be necessary to change the culture of agiven firm in order to enhance its performance. It is therefore necessary for the process of organizational change to be managed well as well as controlled so as to realize the results that are desired (Hayes,2007). The reality of an organizational change is noted by Calvello & Seamon (1995) to be very painful since might cause resistance and lower the morale of the employees. IV. RecommendationsIn order for the change process to be seamlessly smooth, EDS must involve itself in changing the culture of the organization in a continuous and yet overlapping fashion. The resilience of the employees must be fostered. The company must therefore concentrate its efforts in the the creation and fostering of resilience of the employees. It should therefore create acultural neutral zone. This is to say that some time must be set aside to allow the workers to effectively focus their synergies so that they may effectively cope with the organizational changes as well as uncertainties.The other alternative is change leadership. The newly created entity within EDS must embrace the process of change leadership and acknowledge it as a important element of organizational success. The most crucial element that an organizational leader can supplement in ana changing organization are conviction, confidence and passion as noted by Kanter (2009). The change process must be incremental. Strategies for a successful merger and acquisition Tetenbaum (1999 presented seven strategies that can be employed for a successful merger and acquisition to be realized.They included a close involvement of the human resource managers in the process of acquisition. The building of an oreganizational capacity through the paying of close attention to the process of employee retention as well as recruitment, ensuring that the process of integration is properly focused on the effect that is desired, careful management of the cultural integration, quick completion of the acquisition process, effective communication as well as the development of a clear and yet standardized plan of integration. V. ConclusionThe merger between A. T Kearney and EDS is a clear example of the importance of proper management of organizational culture chang e. It is therefore crucial for merger and acquisitions to be carried out with a consideration of the possible culture shock that may affect the level of organizational performance. References Appelbaum, Steven H. , Gandell, Joy, Jobin, Francois, Proper, Shay, and Yortis, Harry (2000), â€Å"Anatomy of a merger: behavior of organizational factors and processes throughout the pre- during- post-stages†,  Management Decision, Vol. 8, Numbers 9 and 10 Balmer, John M. T. , and Dinnie, Keith (1999), â€Å"Corporate identity and corporate communications: the antidote to merger madness†,  Corporate Communications: An International Journal, Vol. 4 Number 4 1999. Calvello, Mike and Seamon, Dan. (1995). Change Management Through Transition Teams: The Carolina Power & Light Solution. Performance Improvement, v34 n4 pp 16-19. Czerniawska, F. (2005). From bottlenecks to blackberries: How the relationship between organisations and individual is changing. Managing consultancies org anisation. , 8-16. George, Kenneth (1989), â€Å"Do we need a merger policy? â€Å". In  Mergers and Merger Policy Henry, David (2002), â€Å"Mergers: Why Most Big Deals Don't Pay Off†,  Business Week, October 14, 2002. Huczynski, A. and Buchanan, D. (2001) Organizational Behaviour. 4th ed. England: Prentice Hall. Kanter, R. M. (2009). Supercorp: How Vanguard Companies Create Innovation, Profits, Growth, and Social Good. New York: Crown Business. Kanter, R. M. , Stein, B. A. and Jick, T. D. (1992). The Challenge of Organizational Change. New York: Free Press Mullins, L. J. 2010) Management & Organizational Behavior: 9th Ed. U. S. A. : Pearson Prentice Hall Ravenscraft, David J. & Scherer, F. M. (1987),  Mergers, Sell-offs and Economic Efficiency. Washington, DC: The Brookings Institution. Senior, B. and Fleming, J. (2006) Organizational Change (3rd edn), Essex, Pearson Sloan,AP. (1967). My years in General Motors Taylor Cos, Jr. (1994) Cultural Diversity in Organizati ons: U. S. A. : Berrett- Koehler Publishers, Inc. Tetenbaum, Tony J. (1999), â€Å"Beating the odds of merger and acquisition failure: seven key practices that improve the chance for expected

Financing and Structuring Health Care

Health of a person is very vital. All people would do anything to maintain a good health. This explains the reason why people invest in health insurance. Basically the health insurances in the U. S. takes three forms are three. They include; Health Maintenance Organizations, Point-of-Service plans and Preferred Provider Organizations (Health insurance Overview, 2009). The Health Maintenance Organizations (HMOs) can be described as prepaid health policies.The holders of these policies are required to pay fixed premiums each month which covers the holder together with his or her family by offering physicians visit, emergency care and laboratory checks along with other therapeutic services. It entails a wide infirmary exposure, has a huge association of pharmaceutical stores. HMOs involve contractual agreement between the covered parties through doctors to access treatment services. It is not mandatory that one pays co-insurable. The only payment required is a small co-payment every tim e you visit the healthcare center.An example is $10 physician’s appointment fee and $25 emergency section cure fee. Any of the mentioned services in the contract does not require the procedures of filling forms. All that is required to access any service in the hospital is a HMO card. The insurance policy offers preventive measures like immunizations, mammograms, check ups and so on. The only disadvantage it has is the long bureaucratic procedures before accessing the service (Health insurance Overview, 2009). Point-Of-Service plans (POS) calls for the holder to identify personal doctor from an association of sources.The holder can outsource from the association but in such a case the benefits will be reduced. Selecting a personal doctor of Personal Care Physician from the network saves the company some money. The third type of health insurance is the Preferred Provider organization (PPOs). It is a blend of Health Maintenance Organizations and Fee-for service. They resemble H MO on the limitation of health centers and doctors choice in the approved list. The figure must fall within the agreed range. For your bills to be paid all you need is to hand in your card. It is mandatory to pay co-insurance as well as selecting a personal doctor.A vast majority of them offer preventive care services such as immunizations, doctor appointments besides mammograms. In case you consult a doctor outside the plan, one has to fill a form and the coverage is partial leaving the lager portion on you. The filling of forms involves only the cases that were handled by doctors outside the plan (Health insurance Overview, 2009). 2. Describe the three methods for categorizing health insurance in the U. S. One of the major methods of categorizing health insurance is through the Indemnity plans or reimbursement plans.In this category the plan compensates the health expenses no matter the provider used. Though there are restrictions on the amount to be compensated, they do vary with the type of policy. To settle on the amount to be compensated, three common methods are used in the Indemnity plan. These include Indemnity, repayment of definite charges and repayment of a certain percentage of genuine charges. Another method is through the Managed Care Plan. Unlike the indemnity plan, this involves the three major kinds of managed care plans mentioned earlier.These are Health-Maintenance-Organization, Preferred-Provider-Organization and Point-Of-Service Plans. All of the above mentioned plans involve an agreement amid the insurer and a wellbeing provider’s network. Economic incentives are given to the insured to persuade them utilize the networks of providers who are selected in a formal process. 3. Identify the three types of managed care plans and give the pros and cons of each for the health care provider, insurer, and patient. Managed care plan is a wellbeing liberation scheme that combine the economic and deliverance of health-care.It is applicable to different kinds of health-care insurance policies. The majority widespread managed care plans are; Preferred-Provider-Organizations, Health-Maintenance-Organizations and Point-of-Service plans. PPOs try to settle the therapeutic costs by involving provider networks that contract at low reimbursement charges. They are required to have utilization analysis among other necessities. Clients have the freedom to choose the medical provider they wish to but incur extra cost if their choice falls outside the network. HMOs encompass provider network and PCP as caretakers.PCP handles the hospital admission of the client as well as appointments with medical practitioners. Some though use open policy that allows the client the choice of a personal doctor in the provider network without a recommendation. A vast majority of HMOs use the compensation to persuade providers economize on the cost. The policies may involve contractual agreements between doctors within the society or from the provider networks. The last but not least is the POS that provides members the chance to opt providers beyond the network. Clients who choose providers within the HMO network incur reduced cost that those with external providers.The policy may also give a chance to provide a PCP to handle the intra-network examinations but with no recommendation for the exterior services. 4. Describe the impact of managed care on both the Medicare and Medicaid programs. The 2003 Medicare Modernization Act initiated a most important revolution to hold and transform personal health plans. It is very important that managers should consider the reason behind these routes because the programs have deviated and evaluate forecast for accomplishment in the Medicare Advantage commencement.The wavering that face the Medicare managed care promotion designated a large discrepancy amid the relative harmony of controlled Medicaid programs within a similar period of time. The two managed care were discovered about two dec ades ago to improve the declining public programs. Since their initial implementation, there has been significant improvement in the field of interest. References Health Insurance Overview. (2009) Types of Health Insurance. Retrieved July 24, 2010,from http://www. healthinsuranceoverview. com/types-of-health- insurance. html

Effects of Big Business Subsidies on Local Economies

Julian Diaz Eco 212 Tax breaks Big Business Subsidies Across the nation corporations have realized that they hold the fundamental building block to the growth of their revenues, and economic growth of small economies. Claiming that merely their presence are the key to fixing local economies. Politicians are willing to funnel, in some cases, millions of dollars from taxpayers pockets and into the wallets of corporations to set up shop in their town. Corporations with capital and willingness to invest are waiting around for the highest bidder, our bidders being the local governments attempting to find a way to a better local economy .These techniques are essentially paying the corporation to set up shop in their local economies. Local governments need to realized that big business as effective as it is in creating new jobs in the short run and stimulating the economy on a macroeconomic scale, are not benefiting the local economy in the long run and some cases short run. In order to tru ly understand the whys and wherefores for big business’ to not receive local government subsidies, a look into the negative effects of these business on the local economies, and how these subsidies should be allocated to maximize the positive growth of a local town are essential.The use of tax incentives to lure in big business may seem appealing at first but there are both short and long run negative effects, allowing these tax incentives to continue is not benefiting the economy just the large corporations who do not reallocate these resources into the local economy, and what do local governments and economies really see as a result of these tax subsidies. â€Å"Traditional economic development approaches have focused on trying to fill the bath tub while neglecting to plug the drain.An increasing number of communities are now seeking ways to â€Å"plug the drain† and limit the dollars that leak out of their local economy†1 Corporations are misleading governmen t officials with ideas centered around the creation of jobs and economic growth, what they happened to leave out during negotiations are the negative effects that big retailers have on the local economy. The past success of our nation’s economy has been driven by the ability to have free competition among business, a free market allows for the allocation of labor, and prices based upon demand.Major national retail chains and small businesses do share the need to consume in order to operate. However, the economic impact of small business to a local economy triumph that of the national chain stores. A study performed by the Maine Center for Economic Development consumption of small business benefit the local economy compared for every 100 dollars spent by a business how it impacted the local economy. â€Å"MECEP’s analysis found that in general every $100 spent at locally owned businesses generates an additional $58 in local impact. By comparison, $100 spent at a repres entative national chain store generates $33 in local impact.Stated differently, MECEP found that money spent at local businesses generates as much as a 76% greater return to the local economy than money spent at national chains. † This data was collected from 350 small business in the Portland area. The reason for such a higher effect being produced from the small business is derived from the fact that the goods they purchase are from other locally owned business. Government officials who feel that luring in these big businesses with tax incentives will benefit the economy need to find a way to improve local businesses first and â€Å"plug† the drain.Let’s assume that our local economy is like a city’s economy, if they allowed a major corporation to step in and open up shop, and increase sales revenue by 50 % wouldn’t that sound great. Add in the creation of new jobs for this economy, even better. However, where are the revenues from this increased sales going? They are not benefiting the government or local citizens because those sales taxes will at best be the break even cost of luring the big business with tax incentive.Once a major store opens like Wal-Mart there is are diminishing incentives to open up other location anywhere near original location as to not over infiltrate the market and split revenues while doubling operating costs. So now, where is this money that is being made going? Sure, some of it is being reintroduced into our economy through wages, however wages make up such a minute percentage of their revenues. Money is flowing out of the local economy and directed to be invested elsewhere, leaving the government breaking even small business losing revenue from decreased sales and lower product prices.A small study performed in salt lake city analyzed â€Å"Fifteen retailers and seven restaurateurs, all independent and locally-owned, participated in the local survey. Collectively, these retailers return a tota l of 52. 0% of all revenue to the local economy while these restaurateurs return 78. 6%†. The study although analyzed on a small scale did show that national chains and big business drive money out of the local economy. Some may argue for â€Å"Creative Destruction† arguing that although in the short run Wal-Mart may close out some stores in direct competition that those storefronts will be filled again.However, with a store like Wal-Mart which offers goods varying from groceries to electronics to lawn and garden, the available markets available to fill those closed out stores cannot make up for the amount of markets which have been driven out of the local economy. How many restaurants, ice cream parlors can a city have before that market infiltrated? Wal-Mart makes up about 1% of all retail employment in the country. There is no doubt that they contribute to overall employment in the country, however the effects of Wal-Mart openings to local governments are far from be neficial.A study performed at the institute for the study of labor found that â€Å"because Wal-Mart stores employ an average of 360 workers, this suggests that for every new retail job created by Wal-Mart, 1. 4 jobs are lost as existing businesses downsize or close. † The researcher took all biases into account including labor growth rate before Wal-Mart arrived. When Wal-Mart opens a new location they force small business in the closer area to have to down size reducing their workers, lower prices, and cutting back on possible investments. So for every job created by Wal-Mart 1. are lost that small business could have provided. The 1. 4 jobs would be how many jobs would have been available if Wal-Mart did not open up shop. Allowing government officials to give subsidies to these large business is an obscured vision of a positive future. Small business make up a large portion of sales revenues and impact the local economy stronger than Wal-Mart. The use of Tax subsidies to h elp encourage economic growth has been seen to stimulate short run economies; however the long run effects of these subsidies are far different.Currently in the region of St. Louis 5. 8 billion dollars have already been committed to economic development incentive programs. These programs offer subsidies to big businesses and chain stores to come in and help induce economic growth. The regional effects of these tax incentives resulted in an 17 year span an annual growth of employment of only . 8 percent from 1990-2000, however 2000-2007 only saw a . 2 percent growth in jobs, the loss in growth was due to the new introduction of tax incentives targeted towards reeling in big business.This introduction of retail chain subsidies shifted the placement of workers, losing 35,000 workers in the manufacturing industry and creating 200,000 jobs in the service industry. The average goods producing worker makes 55,000 dollars a year however the average service worker only makes 40,000 so this c reated significant decrease in the wages of the workers. A report compiled by the East West Government council stated: â€Å"One of the intended goals of the use of tax incentives at the municipal level is to increase taxable sales or sales tax revenues.Due to the substantial investment in retail development in the region, an increase in taxable sales would be expected, but the regional total taxable sales increased only moderately from 1993 to 2000 and remained relatively flat through 2007† Some may argue that the effects of the tax subsidies will be able to create enough big business support by creating more jobs across the area and that the crowding out effect would allow there to be more jobs than there was before. In a good amount of cases we did see this.Studies showed that some areas the big business were able to create jobs for those who lost them in small business. Although they were able to cover the amount of jobs, this did not benefit the economy by closing out co mpetition, offering lower paying jobs, finding more loopholes to not pay taxes, this does not benefit the area’s economy. When is it enough? Have we forgotten about Detroit and Pennsylvania. There will come a time when government subsides will have allowed the market to be infiltrated by big business and rule out small business. In Detroit for xample a city where a significantly large portion of workers, were employed in the automobile industry, when they industry left there was no backbone for the economy to support itself. All Detroit ever knew was big business manufacturing, without those large manufactures keeping jobs the economy will be in the whole. Imagine a stock portfolio would you invest all your money into one asset, when the number one rule is to diversify to limit the risk of a huge downfall? Local governments need to fix struggling economies from the inside out, not inversely.By allowing small businesses to receive tax incentives further growing the money spent locally as a result of small business buying operating goods from one another, by not subsidizing big businesses governments can insure a larger effect of economic growth by reducing the economic leakage which is occurring in so many regions, and lastly we can see real larger marginal returns on tax subsidies, the amount that is spent on big business subsidies is largely inflated from governments bidding for the big business to come to them, could be spent on growing inside out.The effects of local governments subsidizing big business to induce economic growth are misleading and unproductive to the overall long-term growth of an economy. ——————————————– [ 1 ]. Garrett Martin Amar Patel, â€Å"Going Local,† Quantifying the Economic Impacts of Buying from Locally Owned Businesses in Portland,Maine (2011), Economic Study, 10-18-2012 . [ 2 ]. Civic Economics, â€Å"Indie Ima pact Study Series,† The Civic Economics of Retail (2012), 10/18/2012 . 3 ]. SOBEL, BY ANDREA M. DEAN AND RUSSELL S. â€Å"Has Wal-Mart Buried † Does Small Business Decline When Wal-Mart Enters the Market (2008): 8 pp. 10-18-2012 . [ 4 ]. David Neumark /Junfu Zhang /Stephen Ciccarella, â€Å"The Effects of Wal-Mart on Local Labor Markets,† 1 (2007), 101/18/2011 . [ 5 ]. East West Gateway: Coucil of Governments, (An Assessment of the Effectiveness and Fiscal Impacts of the Use of Development Incentives in the St. Louis Region), 10-18-2012 .

Impact of Personal Finance on UK Housing Market Essay

Impact of Personal Finance on UK Housing Market - Essay Example The measurement concept is vital in understanding the future prospects of the housing market because it provides a rough estimate of the income and the disposable income of the household and the tenants. In UK, the residual income concept is used for estimating the monthly disposable income, after the payment of the monthly mortgage system. The affordability factor is largely triggered by the average income of the household individuals and tenant owners by computing ratio. However, huge crisis was seen in both the household and rental category during 1999 to 2003 due to factors like low income of the individuals, legal inability to purchase the housing property, instability in the tenure of security ownership and also the highly geared financial exposure caused by the price variations. Therefore, it is observed that the UK housing prices was largely affected by the hike in the customer prices and the household incomes (Macgregor, Lizieri and Ball, 2008).The UK housing price grew by 4 7 percent, consumer price by 12 percent and household sector by 33 percent during the tenure 1996 to 2003 (Macgregor, Lizieri and Ball, 2008). The high income elasticity of the individuals with respect to the increase in the price valuation of the household property is responsible for the growth in housing market. The level of mortgage debts on the household balance sheet which is relative to the disposable income of the consumers is also a major factor for the development in the housing market (Poon and Garratt, 2012). During the tenure 2000 to 2003, the growth in the housing market depicted variability and stability in the varying rates of the price... This report stresses that in UK, the procurement of the housing facility is largely facilitated by the financial risk and the structural pattern of the housing market. Apart from the traditional banks, UK housing market is financed largely by the large amount of investors from other countries. The requirements for the strong growth in the UK housing market were largely dependent on the pricing of the residential and non-residential property. The UK housing market then consisted of submarkets and the quantitative analysis was the most common method to determine the market issues and segmentation. The UK housing market consists of owner, rental and industrial owners and the affordability concept is measured through econometric concept. This essay makes a conclusion that the housing scheme not only helped in decreasing the housing prices but also increased the repossession in the rental property land. The decrease was also due to the fact that the lenders were asked to pay only the capital sum at the end of the repayment term and tenure. The government has also increased the process of facilitation of the housing loans which have increased and doubled up to 15 percent in the last tenure. It is also observed form the graph that the government’s mortgage guarantee scheme of  £12 billion helped in stoking the bubble to a large extent. With the emergence of the Household Guarantee scheme proposed by the UK government, an increase in the supply of the individual and rental property was witnessed in the following areas.

Discussion board Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 1

Discussion board - Assignment Example Women should be allowed to exercise equal rights and societal privileges as men in all spheres of life. They should also be enlightened to use their numbers to end gender discrimination. Title IX is a federal law in the United States of America that prohibits gender or sex discrimination in education and learning institutions. The law lies under the umbrella of the Educational Amendments Act of 1972. According to this law, no person in the US should be excluded from active participation, denied the benefits or discriminated on the basis of sex in any educational program or activity receiving federal assistance. The law forbids denial of university services such as financial assistance, admissions, counseling and academic advice plus housing among others to individuals on the basis of sex. According to Simon (2005), the department of education has been mandated by law to oversee the implementation and enforcement of this provision. The court handles complaints from the students who suffer discrimination and offers disciplinary actions against the offending institution. The department is also in a position to conduct assessments of compliance in an educational institu tion with the aim of enforcing the law even when no complaint has been raised. Although the establishment was well intended, some intended consequences arose. First, there was a shift of discrimination and inequality from the favor of men as was before to disfavor of the men. Secondly, the amount of funds being used to expand the women’s collegiate sports is far more than that being used on men. This is not right and does not amount to equality. Thirdly, the provision that athletes per gender in an institution be proportional to the students per gender does not take into account the aspect of free participation and revenue generation. Therefore, the unintended consequence is that the law discriminates against men as it tries to reduce

CRITIQUE OF QUANTITATIVE ARTICLE Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

CRITIQUE OF QUANTITATIVE ARTICLE - Essay Example The Research Purpose/Objectives This paper seeks to investigate the role of clinical preceptors in enhancing socialization and professional training to nursing students. Besides, the paper seeks to develop critical skills among nursing students. In summary, this research explores the role, responsibilities, and importance of preceptors in clinical education and training. The role of preceptors and other clinical expert in respect with the baccalaureate nursing programmes should not be over-looked as they facilitate the transition process in nursing (Rogan, 2009). Finally, this research aims at establishing the level of qualifications and nature of preparations accorded to preceptors in this challenging but life changing society. The level of preparation that the receptors receive is fundamental in determining their effectiveness and professional standards. The Research Questions This research seeks answer the following research questions: i. Are the preceptors’ level of educat ion and training sufficient enough to enhance their interpersonal and professional skill? ii. Are the preceptor nurse effective in facilitating the transition process of the student nurse to professional standards are required of them? iii. Is the socialization process during the transition effective and skilful? iv. Other than facilitating the transition process, what other responsibilities are preptor nurses charged with? Informed Consent and Ethical Considerations The study made various efforts to fulfill the informed consent and ethical considerations requirement for any valid research. First, the researcher obtained an approval from the relevant institutional review board, which commissioned the undertaking of the study (Rogan, 2009). This gave an authority and authenticity to the study being undertaken, allowing the researcher to access the desired information more easily. The second informed consent consideration made, was to obtain an approval from the hospitals from which t he participants were recruited, making it official that the study had been approved by those institutions. The researcher included a letter that stated the purpose of the study, which made the participants respond to the research with great ease, since they were fully aware of the objectives for which the study was being undertaken (Rogan, 2009). Finally, to preserve the confidentiality of the participants, the completed instruments of study bore no identifiers, which is consistent with the ethical consideration for research information privacy. Description of the Research Design The study applied a case study research design, where the study concentrated on answering the research questions, based on the data obtained from two midsized hospitals (Rogan, 2009). The first hospital was an academic medical center, where it would be easy to find nursing students integrated into the institutions, as they work hand-in-hand with the employed receptor nurses. The second hospital was a privat e facility, which was most appropriate in presenting the real picture of the perception of the nurses towards BSN student preceptor-ship, as opposed to the academic center, where there is a high likelihood of constant and consistent nurse to BSN student relationship. Considering that the nature of the study was relatively new, prompting further studies into the s only concentrate on a few areas and a small sample population, just to create an insight into the nature of the percep

Reflective learning Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Reflective learning - Essay Example In our class, I realized that I am a combined leaner -- visual and kinesthetic/tactile -- through learning styles modality preference inventory. When I study, I prefer writing and reading than listening. Also, I really prefer to take notes with diagrams and tables; hence, I expected I am a visual learner. However, I did not know I am a kinesthetic/tactile leaner. Come to think of it, I usually use my hands when describing things and I have to write and write to memorize. Also, I like rewriting to organize what I learned in class. In our class, I had a chance to observe that my classmates are also different types of learners. Some of them already knew what type they are and other didn’t know about it. I realize that it is indeed important to grasp what my learning style is. It is definitely helpful in efficient learning. As a teacher, it is important to find out what kind of style my students have as well, because students would have different learning style like we do. In addi tion, after finding out, I would have to prepare teaching method for my students. If there are many students, of course it might be difficult to satisfy each student’s learning style. However, I - as a teacher – must figure out what the best teaching is to fit all kinds of learning

Vodafone industry Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Vodafone industry - Essay Example This paper is an analysis of Vodafone products and services from the past and a comparison with the products and services it offers in the present scenario. Vodafone is a UK based company which started its operations in 1983. It was the start of telecommunication technologies. In the year 1985 Vodafone launched the first National Network in UK. This was first generation technology of the telecommunication sector in which mobiles were installed in cars and used car’s battery as energy sources. Vodafone was one of those who got the first movers advantage in this sector. Vodafone dealt with the challenges of 1G technology with the help of Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) technology. It was a digital system. It launched its first GSM network in 1991. 2G technology enabled transmission of data along with voice over the mobile network whereas Wireless application protocol (WAP) made internet based services accessible with mobiles. Vodafone Group Plc is operating in more than 39 countries. It has a strong customer base of approximately 155 million customers. It has expanded its services from telecommunications to mobile har dware and internet communications. It has expanded itself with the changing communication requirements of its customers. Its efforts are directed towards meeting all kind personal or official communication needs of its customers. Mobile is always at the heart of what we do, but now we are moving into integrated mobile and PC communication services. We are doing that in two ways – wirelessly through 3G and HSDPA (High-Speed Download Packet Access), but also using fixed line broadband services like DSL (Digital Subscriber Line). (Vodafone.com, 2007) In the year 2001 it became the first in the world to offer 3G roaming calls to its customers between Japan and Spain. It introduced Short Messaging services in the same year which enabled customers to

Evolution of Integrated Marketing Communications Essay

Evolution of Integrated Marketing Communications - Essay Example Imus Brothers Coffee, distributed by Fred and his radio disc jockey brother Don Imus mail order Company, makes ground coffee and has targeted heavy users in the past. The company is now considering, however, switching to targeting college students, a target segment that is comprised largely of people who have just started to drink coffee and dont consume anywhere near as much as the heavy users. What are the disadvantages of the heavy-user strategy? What is the term used to describe the college students the company is considering targeting? What are the advantages of targeting this college student segment? Heavy users are more conscious about the quality of the coffee and are often choosy about what they want. They may be put off by some small mistake and have a negative image of the brand and may also lead to negative word of mouth among other heavy users. The company is targeting an emerging market which is untapped when it comes to coffee and this could mean that they could have a new segment to enter and achieve. This market development and would lead to increased market share and growth in sales. 3. You are the marketing manager for a mail-order company that ships spices from all over the world to customers across the globe. Given a choice between access to a mailing list and access to a marketing database, which would you choose? What are the advantages of your choice? Be as specific as possible. Marketing database would be a more efficient choice as it would be diverse and dense.

How Personal Can Ethics Get Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 1

How Personal Can Ethics Get - Essay Example She faced a dilemma, outweighed her options, made a choice, and based it, solely, on her personal situation. She ended up not enriching her organization’s ethics. On the other hand, her boss acted on his personal preference. He, too, faced a dilemma, made clearly unethical choice and kept acting on it. Therefore, he not only did not help develop ethics in his organization, he compromised its integrity. In this particular case individual differences and preferences proved to be more important than ethics. Here, the ethical principles were not enforced from the leadership level, or followed by the individuals within the organization. I see organizational ethics as a two way road. On the road, a car, driven by a manager, is heading to meet the other car, driven by an employee. The manager is supposed to give the employee a set of instructions how to deal with ethical questions. Unfortunately, in this case, they never meet. In recent years, with the discovery of unethical business practices in several big and â€Å"prominent† companies, the public started looking more closely into how business is conducted. The focus of this new interest became the ethics in business organizations and how ethical guidelines are followed. We perceive ethics as simply distinguishing right from wrong. On the organizational level this means treating employees and business partners fairly, and leaving no doubt or room for questions about implementation of organizational policies on ethics. Many organizations do have policies and procedures in place to guide individuals in confronting and resolving ethical dilemmas. But, often times that is not enough. What is needed is overall organizational culture in which top management leadership, by clear example, leads everyone else within the organization in navigating the rough waters of ethics. After all, managers and other leaders are the ones facing dilemmas more frequently than

Personal Goals Essay Example for Free

Personal Goals Essay Setting goals should not be just for school assignments but should be part of one’s everyday life. Developing goals gives people something to strive toward and allows an individual to keep going forward in life. Without goals, it is very easy to give up when things get rough. According to Bishop, Carter and Kravitis (2011), â€Å"Setting goals involves defining what an individual is aiming for in both long-term and short-term time frames. Long-term goals are broader objective an individual wants to achieve over a long period, perhaps a year or more. Short-term goals are smaller steps that move an individual toward a long-term goal, making it manageable and achievable, piece by piece (p. 98). Smart Goals is a tool that helps to focus and create effective goals. Smart Goals is an acronym that consists of five steps: Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, and Time frame (Carter, Bishop, Kravits, 2011). Examples of using these acronyms for writing this paper are Specific – by receiving a B grade in every nursing class, Measurable – by completing each class for a step closer to receiving a degree, Attainable – by commitment and many hours of study, Relevant – achieving a B grade is not unrealistic with commitment and determination; the goal is to think positive and know that I can achieve anything, and Time frame – every five weeks completing a class. The following are the specifics of my personal and professional short and long-term goals along with the challenges in achieving them. Short-Term Personal Goals One of my short-term personal goals is to control my overspending. Most of my overspending is a result of depression, hence the compulsive purchases. The way I deal with depression is to go out and buy things. It makes me feel good for the moment but when I get the bill I become depressed and stressed. I believe in dealing with this issue will allow me a sense of peace. Since, I started back to school, there is no better time to start on this goal because attending school and studying is a tremendous distraction that will take up a majority of my time. My boyfriend manages his money very well and pays off all his credit cards every month and has no debt. I decided that I will have him help manage all my credit cards and bills to achieve my goal. The next step will be to cut up my credit cards and keep one for an emergency. Another strategy I am going to use, the days go out with my friends I will make them aware of my goal and solicit their help to keep me on track. When I am about to buy something, I will have them remind me about my goal of getting out of credit card debt. My milestone for this goal is one week to get the above strategies in effect. Long-Term Personal Goals One of my long-term personal goals is to pay-off all my credit cards. The first thing I need to do is to create a picture of how much debt and recurring bills I have in a month. This involves adding up all my credit card debt to see how much I owe, adding the monthly minimum payments, and adding up all my monthly recurring expenses: i.e. car loan, car insurance (divided by six), gas Family Fitness fees, ATT bill, and groceries. The next step is to add up all my income in a month. From here I can subtract the minimum amount due on all my credit cards and recurring bills from my income with an outcome of my maximum monthly income. With this result, I will decide how much more I want to contribute to paying down my highest interest rate credit card first, putting some away in my savings account for unexpected emergencies, and some for a little pleasure. The next step is to decide a realistic milestone to achieve this goal. I am giving myself one and a half years, my expected graduation date, so I have a clean slate to start paying off my school loan. To keep myself on track to my target date, I am starting an expense log that will allow me to monitor exactly where my money is going. By doing this I should be able to adjust my numbers to meet my goal. Another way to achieve this goal is by staying in school believe it or not. If I am in school and studying a majority of my time, I will have less time to go out and spend money. By doing and implementing all the above, I will be on my way to being debt free by the time I graduate. Short-Term Professional Goal One of my short-term professional goals is to complete the HCS/301 class with at least a B grade. My milestone achievement date is set for two weeks. To reach this goal I am taking several courses of action. The first is to manage my time. Managing my time will be challenging to say the least. I will be juggling my time between work, school, keeping up my home and spending a little time with my longtime boyfriend and dog. Oh wait, I forgot to list time to sleep. To do this, I will write down how many hours of work and commuting time I do each week (average 56 hours), time for boyfriend, dog, and home management (17 hours), and. time for school (39 hours). With my learning challenges, 39 hours per week is enough time for school. Another course of action is to form a study/support group. This group will help in discussions on schoolwork, to reinforce the in class material, and to discover different ways of doing and thinking regarding school assignments. A third way to achieve this goal is to take advantage of all the resources available at University of Phoenix. This would include using the university library, disability services, technical services, and taking workshops just to name a few. By consuming all these resources, I am sure it will reduce the amount of time and stress it takes me to complete each assignment. Long-Term Professional Goals One of my long-term professional goals is to obtain a Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) degree. Working as a Registered Nurse (RN), I have experienced many roadblocks in obtaining another job and have fought going back to school for the past year. I finally have come to the realization that to make myself more employable in today’s job market that a RN with a BSN degree has a distinct advantage over a candidate with only an AA degree. According to Williams (n.d., p. 1), a study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, and reported by the American Association of Colleges of Nursing, â€Å"surgical patients treated by greater percentage of nurses holding Bachelor’s Degrees had a survival advantage† over those patients who did not have nurses with BSN. It was also reported that there has been a 10% increase in nurses with BSN degrees, and this increase in BSN-prepared RNs has decreased the risk of patient death by approximately five percent.† a BSN will give me more credibility, put me in a position of higher demand, increase my opportunities, and in a position to obtain higher pay. I have already started toward this goal by enrolling at University of in their BSN program will take one and a half years to complete the curriculum. As mention previously, I plan to succeed academically by continuing with my study/support groups, staying organized, continuing using resources at University of Phoenix, and completing each course in a the curriculum with at least a B grade. Challenges Everyone will face challenges and roadblocks throughout their lifetime. What sets up apart is how deal with them. If one allows it, challenges can stop us from achieving our goals. The major challenge I am facing at this time starting University of Phoenix is my negative thinking. I do not want to go back to school but have to out of necessity to keep my job. My negative thinking is due to my learning disabilities some of which are a lack of skills in reading and writing that seem to be a requirement in obtaining a BSN degree. Adding all these challenges together greatly contributes to my lack of confidence. A good support group at school and home is easing my negativity. Conclusion In conclusion, this paper was about personal and professional short and long-term goals. With each one, I discussed strategies on low to achieve each goal and the expected milestone for each. Reaching each milestone is empowering, to know that we are one step closer to achieving the next goal (Morisano, 2008). From researching on the subject of goals, when settling on goals, one should have positive outcome expectations regarding their ability to actually achieve these goals or they are unlikely to be highly motivated in following through with goal-relevant behavior (Williams, n.d., para 1). The importance of setting goals is that it gives me something I to have. When a goal is achieved, it gives me a little self- satisfaction and more confidence that I can achieve anything that I put my mind to if I have a clear vision of what I want. References Bishop, J., Carter, C., Kravits, S.L. (2011). Keys to Effective Learning. Study Skills and Habits for Success (6th ed.). Morisano, D. (2008). Personal goal setting in university students: Effects on academic achievement, executive functioning, personality, and mood. McGill University (Canada)). ProQuest Dissertations and Theses, 235. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/762858991?accountid=35812. (762858991). Williams, M. (n.d.). Is a BSN important? Nurses Speak Out. Retrieved from http://www.workingnurse.com/articles/Is-a-BSN-Important-Nurses-Speak-Out

Working with a team on a project Essay Example for Free

Working with a team on a project Essay Teamwork is usually considered an important factor especially in a workplace. However, sometimes working in a team creates difficulties in achieving the objective of a certain project that the team is assigned. (Dyer, 1995) In any teamwork conflicts are likely to arise which relate to a specific job or project that is either being done in the company or outside the company. Some members may be dishonest to their colleagues especially on sensitive issues that touch the all group. In the team that I was taking part in I encountered negative experiences that were brought about due to individual characters. The problem with the team was the failure to reach a consensus on very important issues. It was caused by a few members who were either not patient or are just more action –oriented than others in their natural being because they are likely to exert pressure on the other members to accept their decision. This group of members was making decisions too quickly for the rest of the members which is contrary to the principles of meaningful teamwork. Good decisions are usually achieved over a common understanding by majority of the members and a unanimous agreement on the matter, but some team mates did not acknowledge that. At the same time some team members used personality to undermine others, even to the extended of undermining the team leader who was leading the team. This became a problem and the team could not achieve its targets. These differences became so critical that they kept being addressed daily; In the long run they lead into a breakdown of individual relationships which affected their productivity in general and stalled the project completely, we never went on with the project. Reference: Dyer, W. G. (1995): Team building: current issues and new alternatives. 3rd Ed. Pearson Education POD

Pop Quiz about God: Religion in the Public School System Essay

One of the fundamental influences on childhood development is the religion the child is raised into. Religion has been engrained into American culture since its inception. However, religion has decayed in modern day America, and this fear of a Godless America has encouraged some people to desire religion be taught in public education. â€Å"For better and for worse, religious convictions play a central role in shaping events in America and throughout the world.† (Haynes, 9) Even though religion teaches morals, the importance of community, and many people credit their religion for their success, the belief of separation of church and state is a valid argument. What is the role of religion in a child’s life when it comes to schooling? Religion cannot be taught in the American public school system. Spirituality has always had a special contribution in every society and in every culture. However, many societies today have an increasing number of atheists. The atheist belief is simply that there is no God of any kind. This conviction frightens people of many different religions because they believe a person without God is a person without religion. In their minds without religion a person does not have morals. This fallacy that a person needs God to be moral is the reason why people fear that America is on a declining spiral. Although, it can be said that many people today are less moral than in past generations, the easy target to attack is the rise in atheism. However, the real culprit is religious ignorance. â€Å"The Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life released the first nationwide survey of American religious knowledge, based on interviews with 3,412 adults who answered 32 questions on the Bible and the world's religions. Not surprising... ...ls: A Joint Statement of Current Law. Apr. 1995. Web. 26 Apr. 2012. . Sealey, John A. Religion in Schools: A Philosophical Examination. Vol. 9. [Lund]: CWK Gleerup, 1982. Print. Studia Philosophiae Religionis. Simpson, Kevin. "Federal Guidelines for Religious Expression in Public Schools." Religion in Public Schools. 24 Apr. 200. Web. 14 Apr. 2012. . VanderMey, Randall, Verne Meyer, John V. Rys, Patrick Sebranek, William Coyle, and Joe Law. The Glendale College Writer and Research Guide. 3rd ed. Mason: Cengage, 2009. Print. Zhao, Emmeline. "Arizona Proposal To Teach 'Bible' In Public Schools Becomes Law." The Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, 19 Apr. 2012. Web. 24 Apr. 2012. .

The Bull Moose :: Moose

The Bull Moose "The Bull Moose" is a poem by one of the great Canadian poets, Alden Nowlan. It is a finely crafted poem by a very talented poet. It reminds us how far away from Nature the lives of ordinary men and women have strayed. This is something common to all of us who live so much our lives in buildings and who so rarely experience Nature in its raw form. Nowlan creates powerful layers of images, and contrasts them in a way to make us feel just how damaging to our minds and souls this separation from Nature has been. His poem is Romantic in the way it tries to remind us of how far we have fallen and how hollow our idea of progress is. Indeed, Nowlan suggests that we may be more of a beast than the moose. The moose presents a picture of strength to the reader. I think he is searching for a place to die, but it can be seen that he still seems very powerful in the way he comes "lurching" and "stumbling" in such a powerful way, until he reaches the edge of his world, and the beginning of our world, at the "pole-fenced pasture." A crowd composed of men, women, and children seems to have materialized out of thin air. These are the representatives of civilized life, and they are uniformly marked by insensitivity and ignorance in the way in which they treat the moose. The people can't seem to understand that the moose is not the same kind of animal as their domesticated cattle, or their pet collie, or the gelded moose they remember having seen. They suffer from a severe kind of blindness which cannot recognize the deeper significance of this moose which has come to them from "the purple mist of the trees" as if he were some kind of mystical being full of ancient truths. The scene quickly dev elops into a pageant of obscenity as some of the men "pry open his jaws with bottles" and then "pour beer down his throat." The moose's crown of thistles is a symbol which serves to remind us of the unjustified suffering of Christ. In this way it makes us see our fellow humans in a revolting light as they proceed toward the humiliation and execution of one of the "lords of life."

Natural Science :: essays research papers

Ever since the first dinosaur fossil was unearthed by Robert Plot in 1676, dinosaur fever has infected almost everyone. Dinosaurs captivate us not only because of the enormous size that some of them attained, but because of their extraordinary diversity. Encompassing such astonishing creatures as the fearsome Tyrannosaurus rex, the majestic Triceratops and the cunning raptors, dinosaurs are truly fascinating. From such fascination many questions arise. How were the dinosaurs able to survive for such a long period of time? Why did they become so large? Just what was their everyday existence like? These questions have puzzled scientists for years. But by looking at fossils, paleontologists have been able to learn much about the dinosaurs. They can infer the appearance of these creatures in life-like detail as they existed millions of years ago. They can investigate their diet. And they can find out about the way dinosaurs interacted both among themselves and with their environment. Despite the frequent media attention given to discoveries of dinosaur bones, especially skulls, the truth is that such fossils are rare, much rarer than fossils of most plants and invertebrate animals. Thus, although bones are of great interest, if we had no other evidence, we would have a much less accurate picture of the dinosaurs than we in fact possess. How, then, has it been possible to learn so much about these terrible lizards when we have so few bones to study? The answer lies in trace fossils. As the name implies, a trace fossil is a "trace" of an ancient organism such as a footprints, a tooth or bite mark, or a coprolite. Footprints and tooth marks, yes, but coprolites? As any paleontologist will tell you, a coprolite is a piece of fossilized dung. Why would anyone study fossilized dung? Well, if you really want to know, you would do well to ask Karen Chin, visiting scientist with the U.S. Geological Survey, Menlo Park, CA, who is the world's foremost expert on dinosaur dung. Chin is considered a rising star of paleontology. At Montana State, she studied under the prominent and controversial John Horner. Now she is hitting the lecture circuit, explaining to enthused audiences around the nation the importance of dino dung. From the University of California, Santa Barbara, Ph.D. in hand, Chin took up the seemingly unusual notion of studying the fecal remains of Triceratops and other herbivorous dinosaurs. Soon, however, she was diverted by a project beyond her chosen area of study.

Giving Credit Essay

Abstract In this assignment we compare the lives of two men that created inventions that changed the world we live in. Throughout their careers and success’ they had hurdles to jump and become innovative thinkers to create futures in their challenging industry. Great men and thinkers can move mountains and open paths to new industries. Giving Credit Where Credit Is Due As entrepreneurs in a growing world of technology and change Andy Grove and Michael Dell pioneered the industry. They were innovators, visionaries and industry leaders in their fields. Andy Grove envisioned change to create faster and more productive ways to utilize the way we process information. As an immigrant he passed through the walls of terror in his home country of Hungry which was facing many issues of destruction that the Nazi’s enforced. He fled to the United States in the 1960’s to create a better life and future for himself. Andy established a small company that he called Intel which created an immense new future for the computer technology. His contributions awarded him the esteem acknowledgement as Time Magazine’s person of the year. He pursued his dreams as all inventors to create products and progress in the ever-changing need for new technology. Andy Grove created the chip and the microprocessor that allowed information to be processed much faster and smaller in size. Mr. Dell also an inventor at an early age set up a laboratory in his dorm room while attending college to create his personal computer. His success with the personal computer caught on quick because he used a direct theory to include his customer in the structure of his product. Michael Dell believed that understanding his customer’s needs and issues would enable Dell to create good competitive products. He believed that cutting the middlemen out of the sales market would allow him that advantage. With that direct approach Dell was able to endure many obstacles as well as the recession that created market crashes in the early 2000’s. (Krames, Jeffrey A. What the Best CEOs Know: 7 Exceptional Leaders and Their Lessons for Transforming Any Business) Both Andy Grove and Michael Dell endured much criticism from competitors  because of their business approach and products and business logic. Mr. Grove instilled paranoia in his corporate CEOs so that they could become fearful of being caught off guard. Mr. Dell used his customers to create standards that would give him the leading edge over his competitors. Both were accused of manipulating the industry and deceiving the product consumers. Intel was accused of creating an inferior product that put fear into the consumer to believe the chips that were being used would create disastrous failures to the products who endorsed his chip. Dell had a simple approach to create sales and marketing by lowering the cost of his product by cutting out the middlemen which made him more competitive and viable to sustain the economic downfalls. His competitors accused him of lowering his cost so as to drive the market sales away from the non profitable companies. Both Mr. Grove and Mr. Dell used simple methods to approach the needs and creativity of the growing markets. Andy Grove made sure that being too comfortable with the products that his company offered just wasn’t going to be enough. He looked ahead to keep creating new products that would soon be replaced by a growing need for better technology. Mr. Dell never doubted his approach to keep his overhead down and modeled his success on a customer based product. He believed creating his product for the customers rather than just offering his product without realizing their valuable input. Their similarities are based on what the customer and technology needs to sustain a profitable and sustainable future. They share innovative ideas in product development and customer based satisfaction. They differed by the way each approached the markets, Intel needed to create a superior product sooner and more often to keep up with changing technologies. Dell used the customer to create products based on the user need. Each approached their core values of business and what works for them to create value and sustainability. Dell had the market share by using the internet to generate sales through machine to machine based sales and conserved his manpower to keep the cost of his product low. Intel spent many hours of research and product development to create new and innovative ground breaking products that led the industry standards. Mr. Grove believed that being complacent would drive him out of the industry and eventually close the doors. He encouraged his CEOs to listen to his sales team to find out the needs of the customers Andy Grove referred to those individuals as â€Å"Cassandra’s† that would pass on valuable customer feedback. His pushes to create paranoia made Intel strong and create rather than become comfortable because Grove feared that waiting for the market to fail made Intel week. Mr. Dell believed that his customers gave him the strength to survive and customize his business to their needs. Dell never overstocked and always built their product to order. Dell realized that over burdening their inventory would devastate their ability to keep costs down. Dell learned from their mistakes like the Olympic brand which compromised the need of customers and their ability to utilize technology threatened the Dell line of products. Dell made efforts to speak to the public and hear what they had to say and put that information into their products. (Krames, Jeffrey A. What the Best CEOs Know: 7 Exceptional Leaders and Their Lessons for Transforming Any Business) Both of these pioneers created a wealth of knowledge and bridged the technology industry to what is today. Innovation is the foundation of the industry and creating new and exciting products that can be user friendly and affordable make profits. Both of these two companies are very profitable and determined to create intelligent and appealing industries. The changing markets constantly demand new and better technologies that will enable us to accelerate computer speeds and retain more memory without absorbing higher prices and engineering. References American Psychological Association. 2010). Publication manual of the American Psychological Association (6th ed.). Washington, DC: Author. (Krames, Jeffrey A. What the Best CEOs Know: 7 Exceptional Leaders and Their Lessons for Transforming Any Business)

HSP3M Essay: Nature vs. Nurture Essay

Your essay must have a well-defined and debatable thesis. Your position on the topic must be consistent and clear. An argumentative essay does not merely assert an opinion; it presents an argument, and that argument must be supported by data, verifiable facts, and historical references, all of which must be from nonbiased sources. In addition to your assigned readings, you must have a minimum of three additional sources. Only one source from the Internet is permitted. All Internet sources must be nonbiased from a reputable website. A source that fails to meet this criterion will be rejected. Format: The essay must follow proper essay style and structure. Introductory Paragraph †¢Introduce the topic to the reader †¢Present a clear, precise thesis statement †¢Briefly outline the 3 main criteria used to prove your thesis †¢A closing sentence Body Paragraphs †¢Topic sentence which clearly introduces on of the criteria that you briefly outlined in your introduction †¢Use specific evidence to support your first proof †¢Follow the point-proof-commentary model †¢Explicitly connect your commentary to your thesis statement †¢A closing/transition sentence Conclusion †¢Briefly outline the three criteria that were used in each body paragraph †¢Restate your thesis †¢Provide your reader with some additional point to consider †¢Do not introduce new material Works Cited †¢Refer to your class notes and your student agenda †¢You need to include a minimum of seven sources †¢You are permitted to use only one source from the Internet †¢Failure to submit a Works Cited page will be considered an act of academic dishonesty and you will receive a mark of zero. Style Your essay should be between 1000 and 1200 words. Your essay must be typed and double-spaced using 12 pt. Times New Roman font. Page margins must be standard. Failure to meet this criterion could result in a mark of zero. I do not want a title page. Instead, in the upper left hand corner of the first page, write your name, the date, the course code, and your instructor’s name. You must submit the attached rubric with your final essay. Assigned Readings â€Å"The Boy Who Was Raised As A Girl† â€Å"My Genes Made Me Do It† â€Å"Major Personality Study Finds That Traits Are Mostly Inherited† â€Å"A Flawed Warmed – Over Idea† Due Date: Tuesday, October 27th

American Right

The movement of the American people that effected change during the American civil rights years is the African American civil rights movement of 1955 to 1968. This normally refers to reform movement in United States that had the aim of abolishing the ongoing racial discrimination of the African Americans. This is the period particularly in between 1954-1968 that covers the phases of movements in the south.By the year 1966 the black power movement had emerged that lasted approximately in between 1966 to 1975, this movements had grown in large sizes and had realized the need for civil right movement to include political and economic self sufficiency, racial dignity and freedom from the on going white authority. There are many scholars who term the movements as the second reconstruction, meaning that the period of reconstruction after civil war. In 19th century, the democratically controlled states that were mainly located at the south passed laws that were racially discriminating.It wa s not particularly I the south, but also in other regions of the United States, the racial discrimination and violence that aimed at the African Americans. The period is also called the nadir of American race relations sometimes; this is because the hired, appointed and the elected government officials began to permit or allow discrimination the united states of Louisiana, Texas, Mississippi, florid, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Arkansas, Alabama, Tennessee, Kansas and Oklahoma. The permitted or required acts and levels of discriminations against the African Americans mostly fell in the following four categories:1. Racial segregation that was upheld by United States supreme courts decisions in Plessey versus Fergusson in the year 1896. That was legally allowed by the southern states and many other local governments that were outside the south. 2. Voter suppression in most of the southern states. 3. Discrimination against the economic and social opportunities or the resou rces in the whole of the United States. 4. Mass racial acts of violence and private work of violence that was aimed to the African Americans, all these acts were seldom hindered and often encouraged the government official of the United States.Jim Crow was the name given to the combination of the southern states that were actively committed to the racial discrimination. The regime of Jim Crow in the southern states remained nearly intact up to the near the beginning of 1950s and greatly contributed to the great migration. The great migration was a solid northward flow of the African Americans forwards. The situation, in terms of racial discrimination, for the African Americans was some how better for those who did not live in the south. The civil rights movements that came before 1955 normally confronted African Americans discrimination using various strategies.Some of the strategies were lobbying and litigation efforts by organization that were traditional such as the National Asso ciation for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). The greatest achievement of this traditional association was the lawful victory in brown versus board of education (1954) that overruled the separate and installed equal legal doctrine and was derived from Plessey, this made separation and segregation lawfully unallowable but there was rare or no practical example from the equal legal doctrine.The browns victory made the private citizen very invigorated but there was a lot of frustration because there were no immediate practical effects. This further led to rejection of the legal approaches as a mean of ending the racial discrimination, but still there was great resistance by the proponents of voter suppression and those of racial segregation. In defiance, there was adoption of a combination of strategies of direct actions that was called civil disobedience that was a non violent, these actions brought about a lot of crisis between the practitioners and the government authoritie s.The state, federal authorities and the local authorities had often to respond instantly to the crisis and the results were favoring of the practitioners in many situations. Civil disobedience forms included: 1. Boycotts, the most successful boycott were the 1955-1956 Montgomery bus boycott in Alabama. 2. sit –ins, the most influential sit-in was the North Carolina Greensboro sit – in of 1965 3. Marches, the 1965 Selma to Montgomery marches of Alabama are one of the notable marches.The noted achievements of the civil right movements includes the 1957 civil right act, though it was minor, it was the earliest anti discriminatory law established since reconstruction, the 1964 civil rights act that banned the discrimination in public accommodation and employment practices, the 1965 voting right act that changes the united states immigration policy and the 1968 civil rights act that made it illegal in discrimination in rental or sale of housing REFERENCES Juan Williams, (1 988) Eyes on the Prize: America's civil rights years 1954-1965, Penguin books publishers, US

How Frankenstein and Blade Runner Essay

Science is the most important tool in the progression and maturation of society and its values. Both Mary Shelly and Ridley Scott create characters pushing the boundaries of scientific exploration and understanding and in doing so they reveal flaws and shortcomings in the upheld values of the time. The narratives of Frankenstein and Blade Runner are linked strongly to their context with important messages or warnings within them. At the time of Shelly’s writing the ‘Age of Enlightenment’ was coming to an end, after years of threatening nature with its unrelenting attitude toward scientific endeavour at any cost. Scott addresses the dangers of globalised consumerism which brings as much bad as it does good, in Blade Runner its spread and influence has a strangle hold on Earth. The Industrial Revolution, borne from Enlightenment ideology saw a fast progression in production technology; this meant that more things could be made faster. These improvements saw for the first time in history, sustained growth in incomes and population, however the cost of the period fell entirely on the environment. The Enlightenment values left no room for consideration of the negative effects it was having on nature; destruction of habitat through logging and mining, waterway and air pollution, the conquest and victory of man over his environment was all that was important. In Frankenstein, Shelly created the creature to reveal the true effects. Victor Frankenstein’s creature was horrific; its own father could not bear to look upon it, â€Å"its unearthly ugliness rendered it almost too ugly for human eyes†. Frankenstein, in his scientific endeavours had created the Industrial Revolution’s ugly child – put on show by Shelly to demonstrate the undesirable and harmful effects of the Industrial Revolution. The creature can be seen as a metaphor for the reality of the Industrial Revolution, and its repulsive form shows its true cost, in doing so challenges its benefits. In Blade Runner Tyrell has created the Replicants as moneymaking products purely for commerce. He tells Deckard, â€Å"Commerce is our goal here at Tyrell†, and through this model he has accrued unquestionable global power through technological advances. The ‘life’ Tyrell has created in the Replicants is turned into a commodity, this is accepted by society in Ridley Scott’s dystopian world of globalisation and greedy pursuit of profit. This world Scott has created is the epitome of fears in the 1970s and 80s of consumerism and what it could change the world into. Tyrell embodies the worst extreme of consumerism, where everything is seen as a potential source of money and power; the viewer is introduced to this consumerism-worst-case-scenario in the opening scene. Hellish flames rise out of heavy industry factories and low diegetic music that jars and screeches creating in an uneasy and uncomfortable atmosphere for the viewer, intended highlight the bad place that this future world is. The central values of this new world act to highlight to the emerging problems in the 1980s world Scott was living in. The Enlightenment Era saw the relentless pursuit of science and knowledge, exploration and conquest, which is reflected perfectly in two characters – Victor Frankenstein and Robert Walton. Both are in the forefront of their disciplines, both are pushing the boundaries and both are forced to end their pursuits to save their own lives. The change in attitude they experience is due to the realisation that their values and reasoning are incorrect and if continued will damage themselves and the people around them. It can be argued that Frankenstein does not actually change his views, however he is forced to concede his mission as the ship he is on returns home, i. e. the times are changing him. This is a direct parallel with the shift in societal values that was occurring around the time of Shelly’s writing, and it can be argued that this text played a role in influencing that change. Enlightenment gave way to Romanticism due to the realisation of its destructive power, and the damage it had been causing as it progressed. Walton, an explorer with sights set firmly on finding a North-West passage for the purpose of personal fame, glory and immortalising his name. Exploration for the sake of exploration – a mission destined to fail, because there was no real need, no purpose and lack of emotion attached to it. Victor was successful in his mission; ‘to create life’, which he did with reason, rationality and a scientific mind, the perfect Enlightenment scientist. However his process was void of any emotion. He worked alone, long hours and lack of human companionship induced a craze in which he blindly worked until he was finished, upon completion he saw the horror that he had created and it did nothing but bring misery to his life from then on. The Enlightenment Era values lacking in emotion failed and gave way to Romanticism, which was fundamentally based on strong feelings and irrational emotion as society recognised their importance. Both characters had goals; their processes of reaching them were flawed by the lack of emotion and as a result, ultimately failed. In this way these characters challenge the values of their context. Scott, through the character Eldon Tyrell and Roy Batty shows the importance of maintaining the best qualities of humanity and to loose them would be at the peril of the human race. Pursuit of science without remorse is common to both texts and in Blade Runner it is shown in Tyrell, who is portrayed as removed from reality because of his work. He has very limited human interaction as he has surrounded himself with Replicants who serve him although he shows no attachment to them. Scott shows through Tyrell that with the overtaking of technology and without relationships, humanity is lost. Roy Batty, a Replicant, rises from being a robot to becoming human in a display of supreme compassion and forgiveness when he saves Deckard from falling off a building. In this, the climactic scene of the film, Roy turns from a savage animal, howling and wiping blood across his face into the hero of the story. The chase ends as Deckard is left clinging on to the side of a building, and Roy chooses to catch him as he falls and pull him to safety. For this act, in the eyes of the viewer he ‘achieves’ human status. This notion is backed up by the soft lighting illuminating his face accompanied by a soundtrack of peaceful diegetic music. Also, the on screen subversion of Roy and Deckard’s apparent humanity, camera shots cut between a high angle close up shot looking down on Deckard and a low angle close up looking up at the angelic Roy, firmly placing Roy as better than Deckard. In these two individuals Scott shows importance of the key human qualities of compassion and forgiveness. In Scott’s context these values were becoming increasingly important as nuclear weapons were being added to he arsenal of many countries and the alarming amount of the destruction and devastation they could bring in the hands of a remorseless and uncompassionate leader. Tyrell embodies the values of society at the time, driven by consumerism and greed, and reveals their flaws contrary to Roy, who as a Replicant is seen as lower than human, however, he challenges this and proves it to be incorrect. The rational processes that are integral to the Enlightenment values, are demonstrated most clearly when Victor is putting together his creature. But, it is these processes that clearly show flaws in their own philosophy. As an Enlightenment Era scientist, Victor has all of nature at his disposal, to experiment and conduct tests on however he likes. His deeds show this; the torture of animals in order to discover the â€Å"inner workings of the natural world†, without remorse he digs up countless corpses in the night in search of ‘perfect’ body parts to put together and form his creature. The problems in this approach to science are evident in the cruelty and horrific acts that its moral code condones. These acts have been committed without emotional or human attachment, values that are fundamental in Romantic ideals. In describing these events and directly attributing them to Enlightenment ways, Shelly describes the realisation society is coming to that its values must change. In staying true to the scientific values of the time, Frankenstein exposes their flaws and as a result unwittingly challenges them. A collective character in Blade Runner are the Replicants, as synthetic humans they display similar character traits and can be seen as one ‘race’. The science and technology behind the Replicants has advanced to the point where they have been created as sentient beings, the newest models even have their own manufactured memories. However, giving them their own rational thought has brought danger. They became aware of their exploitation and on the new world we hear of a ‘bloody revolution’ where Replicants had tried to gain independence, resulting in loss of human and Replicant life on a large scale. The technology inside the Replicants and its development had been allowed to progress unchecked to the stage where it caused harm to the human race. In this way Scott is highlighting the possible dangers of allowing boundaries of science to be pushed without fully understanding the effect it will have on the environment, animals or the human population. This reflects the contextual fears brought about by the recent 3 Mile Island nuclear accident. Here nuclear power draws a parallel with the Replicants – progressing from assisting humans to harming them. In this way Blade Runner can be seen as a cautionary tale warning of the dangers of allowing science to progress faster than human understanding of its true capabilities. As a character, the Replicants are the epitome of scientific progress pushed passed its breaking point, bringing bloodshed and loss of life. Their ‘Bloody Revolution’ is the ultimate challenge of the values in the 2019 world Scott has created. Both Mary Shelly and Ridley Scott create characters that reflect the values of their contexts and also characters that embody new and changing ideals, these characters and their actions work to highlight a problem with societal values or to show the good in them. Both texts have a strong science base, Victor at the forefront of medical technology and Tyrell at the forefront of robotics and synthetic life, this allows them to push boundaries and create situations where the authors can ask questions of, reveal problems with and challenge societies’ values. As science and technology progresses, so will the need for humanity to evolve to incorporate it into daily life. Blade Runner and Frankenstein show the importance of maintaining a strong sense of humanity, in all of its imperfect forms, as societies and worldviews adapt and develop alongside technology.

Happy moment in my life Essay

Social networks are becoming increasingly important in higher education as the format of course delivery changes to include hybrid and online models, and as the social network offers students a way to stay in touch, creating face-to-face like conversations and other interactions away from the physical classroom. From this perspective, social networks are particularly important for adult learners who often have complex, busy schedules that may not enable them to participate in face-to-face events at their institutions of choice, or may prohibit them from participating during â€Å"regular† classroom hours. Online social media participation can happen anytime, anywhere, and fills the need of adult or distance (or both) students to feel connected to their classmates, their instructors, and their institutions. My experience teaching both face-to-face and online courses with and without the use of social networks has shown me how valuable they can be to overall student engagement. In both cases, before turning to using a social network (in my case, Yammer) as a web course space, I tried using other formats for student engagement such as blogs, wikis, and forums. I found that the â€Å"chatty† nature of social networks made a big difference in the kind of student participation I saw and the length, depth, and consistency of student-to-student and group-to-group (many-to-many) interactions that occurred in my courses. Read more: Essay About  Happiest Moments in Life Social networks most closely resemble what happens in face-to-face discussions, and therefore resulted in the students feeling more committed, engaged, and known to each other and the course, as well as (potentially) to the institution. Other factors contributing to the increased engagement with the use of social networks are: (1) The low learning curve: Most people are familiar with Facebook, and can therefore easily adopt any similar social network without feeling burdened by having to learn anything new; (2) Familiar faces: The use of a photograph alongside the students and professors or administrators postings goes a long way to heighten a sense of familiarity. Often I found students knew each other and me from the social network so well that when we finally met in person, it felt very familiar; (

Care Plan Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 1

Care Plan - Assignment Example self in the planning and resolution process to bring about awareness of his present condition and how to go about making lifestyle changes to resolve the painful issues and restore good health. By involving the patient in the clinical process, the care rendered would be less stressful because the patient would make better adjustments where food, hygiene and other activities were concerned. The symptoms experienced by the patient were severe spasms of pain in the umbilical area accompanied by nausea, and feelings of warmth, sweat and vomiting. From these symptoms, the diagnosis drawn was that the patient suffered from gastroenteritis. The delivery of care was customized according to the needs of the patient in order to ensure better adjustment and better health outcomes. The format used for this clinical case was SOAP (Subjective, Objective, Assessment and Plan) format in order to arrive at the right diagnosis. Subjective data such as the health issues of the patient, the background he came from, occupational and financial status, substance abuse, emotional stability and information of other social activities was collected through dialogue with the patient and other friends and members of his family. Subjective data included that the patient was a male 60 years of age and was a retired school teacher with a Master’s degree in education. He and his wife live off a state teacher’s pension, though his wife continues to work at a grocery store. They have two children, a son and daughter who do not live with them. He is also covered by health insurance. He is a sociable individual because he showed inclination of wanting to involve himself in community work. He denies substance abuse but admits to drinking wine and eating fast foods on a regular basis. His primary complaint was that he had acute pain around the umbilical region accompanied by nausea, queasiness, sweating and a fee ling of vomiting and these symptoms prevailed for the past 24 hours before his visit

LEGAL ADVICE Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

LEGAL ADVICE - Research Paper Example Continuously, the healthcare costs trend of the university has been on the increase at a rate of between 10-15% yearly. Though this is economically tenable given the current economic environment, a steering committee was formed to form a five-year initiative to lead the organization for another five year term period. Based on the aforementioned gap and prioritization analyses, as well as our learning from benchmark studies, it is intended that the following areas will receive priority over the next five years. Between Years, One and Two MHCI has to plan to undertake the following initiatives: 1. Development and implementation of a comprehensive communications plan to move people to action around health improvement 2. Annual offering of free, confidential wellness assessments for regular, active UM faculty and staff, including a health questionnaire and wellness screening 3. Provision of wellness assessment participation incentives for eligible faculty and staff 4. Post health questio nnaire follow?up and referral to helpful programs and health coaching designed to help individuals reduce their health risks and/or maintain their low?risk status 5. Implementation and evaluation of population?based wellness programs such as Active U, healthy eating, online tools related to ergonomics and mental and emotional health 6. Analysis of the alignment and integration of MHealthy programs with UM health care benefit offerings 7. Analysis and implementation of innovative programs designed to improve the value of health care in Michigan and beyond From Years, Three through five a shift in the initiative planning strategies will take a different form as follows: 1. Continued provision of wellness assessments and incentives (wellness screenings to be provided in years three and five) 2. Detailed program analysis to determine impact on health improvement, culture change and cost containment strategies 3. Additional strategic program planning based on outcomes from detailed progr am analysis 4. Continued analysis of the alignment and integration of MHealthy programs with UM health care benefit offerings 5. Lastly, we will ensure continued analysis and implementation of innovation programs for effectiveness and efficiency in the organization. The recommendations in the development of the initiatives are considered a business imperative as well as the right thing to do. It is essential to the overall well?being of the University and its employees to improve health and at the same time, slow the growth in health care costs. Elements of administrative laws and their relevance to the upcoming initiative This branch of the laws includes the laws and the principles of law, which will lead to the administration, and the regulation of MHCI. Such elements include those that will enable the organization perform multiple tasks to their target clients and the citizens at large with regard to the required regulatory frameworks. Such elements of the law include the resourc e protection elements, transport regulation elements, the food and health protection elements of the law. Because not all administrative law systems are the same, it is imperative for an individual to have knowledge of the political, historical, social, and economic context of the system of a particular state to fully understand its administrative law. In most systems, a state’

Chinese History Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Chinese History - Essay Example Chinese semi-colonialism was viewed as both a historical moment mainly specified in relation to European and more generally international capitalist political, economic, and cultural projects in the modern era and as a trope for domination, violation, and resistance. Dominance in semi-colonial China was doubly articulated. It stood, on the one hand, for imperialism’s power to limit the sovereignty of the Chinese state and, thereby, advance its own interests. On the other hand, it stood for the power exercised by the indigenous elite over the productive classes. Violation was inherent in both of these forms of dominance since they came to be articulated along similar ideological lines in early twentieth century. Another cause for violation was caused by lack of hegemony. The lack of hegemony is the most understandable and obvious in the case of imperialism, since its formal power was limited and partial. Indeed, the Chinese semicolonialism was treated as a political and concept which denoted a constellation of interventions, institutions, practices, and policies through which foreign imperialists had to establish beneficial positions and semiautonomous operations. They had no interest of ruling but to explore the country economically. The established positions ranged from aggression and equal treaties to spheres of influence and semicolonial agencies like the customs bureau. The result was something more than a mere advantageous position, especially in certain sectors of the economy. By the end of 1920, foreigners had taken control of 99 percent if Chinese iron ore, 76 percent of the coal, 92 percent of the railways, and 73 percent of the steam tonnage on the Yangzi. Despite the disintegrating effects of semicolonialism, it led to the rise of several objective conditions and created more room for developing its capitalist production. The destruction of the Chinese natural economy gave rise to commodity market for