Literature critique Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Literature critique - Essay Example authors get across that the failure to communicate has been shown to be at the root of 60% of events reported to the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organization. Reports from coroners also suggest that error in communication tends to lead to the death of a patient. The title gets straight to the point, informing the audience of the importance of the study. There are ten authors, three as observers, three as analysts, and the other four had roles that were not obvious. The abstract provides the reader with the background, methods, and results of the study. They state a clear objective, nevertheless a rationale is not given at this stage. Also supplied is an overview and summary of the results. The authors have provided a short informative and understandable background of the topic supported by evidences and statistics, including literature and ethnographic findings suggest that the current weaknesses in communication in the operating room may derive form a lack of standardization and team integration. The writers anticipate that a carefully adapted checklist system could promote safer, more effective communication in the operation room team. The literature review was merely a summary, not a review. The aim of the study was to define common communication failures. Some details of participating in the study were included along with an explanation of the data collected, the methods used to record data as well as the procedures for data analysis. According to Taylor and Bodgan (1998) the research design in this study was clearly appropriate to address the research aims. The researchers provide enough details regarding ethical issues. They made it clear that they had taken the necessary approval from the ethical board of the hospital. According to Silverman (2001), ethical issues come first before many other factors in studying subjects on humans. The researchers have explained that 94 team members participated from anesthesia, surgery, and nursing

The Many Types of Anxiety Disorders Essay Example for Free

The Many Types of Anxiety Disorders Essay There are many different types of anxiety disorders which can vary from obsessive compulsive disorder, Post traumatic-stress disorder and the many different types of phobias. Even though there are many different types of anxiety disorders they all are mostly built off the same emotion of anxiety or excessive nervousness. Although we all may feel nervous when put into an uncomfortable position and get nervous or anxious, those with the disorder go through a completely different set of emotions. Just to touch basis in depth on a few different disorders, here are a few types of anxiety disorders along with what they are and how it affects the person. * Generalized anxiety disorder: this anxiety affects the person by making him/her worry about life in general, with no real reason to be worried. People with this type of anxiety disorder tend to always expect disaster and can’t help but to worry about family, money, work and or school. Medication is known to help people who tend to have a lot of difficulty coping with everyday life. It’s known that most that are medicated for generalized anxiety disorder starts off on a low dosage and then works to be taken completely off. Another form of treatment is cognitive behavioral therapy. Which is the person learns about what types things sparks or triggers the effects of their anxiety. This type of therapy is known to help patients not worry so much. Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). This type of anxiety disorder is known to follow someone after they have experienced a traumatic event (sexual assault, unexpected death of loved one, past war experience) People who have this disorder tend to have thoughts or memories of the traumatic event. It is also well known that people with this disorder tend to become â€Å"emotionally numb† Symptoms: * Difficulty falling or staying asleep * Avoiding people, places, things or situations that remind them of the event * Suffer from flashbacks, hallucinations amp; nightmares * Difficulty concentrating Rapid breathing * Muscle tension Treatment: * Medications such as antidepressants. Psychotherapy is used to help patients learn ways to control or manage symptoms and or develop ways of coping with the disorder. * Exposure therapy: has the patient re live the past traumatic event, this is known the help the patient overcome their past and current worries and fears. There are many other different types of anxiety disorders that vary in effects (long term and short term), what the person deals with on a daily basis, along with many different types of treatments. All anxiety disorders are similar and dissimilar within many ways and can really vary from person to person.

Social Contract Theory and the Nature of Society, Rules and Morality Es

Social Contract Theory and the Nature of Society, Rules and Morality Social contract theory is a philosophy about the nature of morality and the origins of society. Its adherents believe â€Å"social organization rests on a contract or compact which the people have made among themselves† (Reese, 533). This concept was first articulated by the Sophists, who said societies are not natural occurrences but rather the result of a consensus of people (Reese 533). Plato expresses these ideas in The Republic when he says that society is created to meet human needs (Encyclopedia 1). Various other philosophers, including Thomas Aquinas, William of Ockham, Marsilius of Padua, and Richard Hooker, incorporated the concept of a social contract in their applications to political theory (Encyclopedia 1). None of these philosophers, however, made the social contract their primary focus. They included the theory as just one component of their main philosophies. It wasn’t until much later that social contract theory was developed as a unique and sep arate philosophy. The 17th Century British...

Group Research Paper- Online Platforms Essay

According to Thompson virtual team is any task-focused group that meets without all members necessarily being physically present or working at the same time (Thompson, 2011 p.). According to the article, The Knowledge Advantage of Virtual Teams Processes Supporting Knowledge Synergy, it has been previously argued that virtual teams emerged as a new organizational form of ‘working together apart’. However, their novelty has been attributed to the use of technologically advanced communications rather than to their organizational properties (Ratcheva, 2008). Therefore, we can see the importance of having a good platform the Ford Company Virtual Team Communication. As a team, we review five online platforms of our choice that we believed could be used for Ford Company virtual team to communicate with their worldwide divisions. The team came together and created a grading platform based on the following six criteria: Technology Features Offered, Design and Customization, Security and Access for (Global/Region Capabilities), Viewing and Moving Content, Accessibility and User Friendly. Each criterion was out of five points for a total of 30 possible points. I believe that Ford Company should use the platform because the team considers all possible features when creating the grading platform. We review and discuss what features would be needed in order for a global team to function virtually without any difficulty. The following are the advantages and disadvantages of each of the online platforms that could be used by the virtual team and the team rating of each platform and the reasons for the ratings. Microsoft Outlook According to the official sites of Microsoft, Outlook is a personal information managers and the software is available as a part of the Microsoft Office. The software is used as an email application. It includes a calendar, task manager, contact manager, note taking, a journal, and web browsing (Microsoft Corporation.com/ Outlook). The article, Information overload, explains that Outlook does have powerful features, such as sharing of workgroup calendars, and as it is the standard, you will find add-on programs like NEO a brilliant application that organizes Outlook mailboxes the way they should have been by Microsoft, and makes searching so much easier. However, the article explains that Outlook can also be hazardous for your data because the PST files into which Outlook bundles email, appointments and contacts will corrupt once they grow beyond 2GB. The article explain that it can be repair, but you will lose at least some and if you are unlucky, all of your data. Therefore, Outloo k has it advantages and disadvantages. The Team rate outlook as the least favorite and it received an 18 out of 30 because Microsoft Outlook is great for email, calendar events, and sending documents. There is no chat feature or face-to-face option and it may be hazardous for your data. Since, Ford Motor Company need this platform for it virtual team to communicate with their worldwide divisions the team will need to used some time of chat, face-to-face options therefore Outlook is not the right choice for the company. Facebook According to the official website of Facebook, the company mission is to make the world more open and connected. In addition, the site explain that people use Facebook to stay connected with friends and family, to discover what’s going on in the world, and to share and express what matters to them (Facebook Newsroom Key-Fats, 2013). Facebook Platform enables developers to build social apps that enable people to connect with their friends, whether it is through playing a game, watching a movie, sharing their favorite restaurant, or listening to a song (Facebook Newsroom Platform, 2013). Based on the Team grading platform Facebook received an overall 19 out of 30. The Team found that Facebook is great for communication and maybe sharing documents but the site is not built for professional communication since there seems to always be hackers breaking into the system. Therefore, the team feels that for business communication Facebook cannot be trusted. According to the article, Contextual gaps: privacy issues on Facebook, Facebook present significant privacy issues for their users, the article analyze two of Facebooks’s features, Applications and News Feed Offline, it was found that contextual gaps are at the root of many of the sites’ privacy issues. In addition, the article explains that the application, which nearly invisibly shares not just a users’, but also a user’s friends’ information with third parties, clearly violates standard norms of information flow. Furthermore, the article concluded by saying that many of the privacy issues on Facebook are primarily design issues, which could be ameliorated by a n interface that made the flows of information more transparent to users (Hull, Lipford & Latulipe, 2011). Additionally, this article tiles, Facebook & Your Privacy. (cover story) explains that â€Å"Facebook collects and shares data in ways that the consumer is often unaware, such as third-party applications, links from other web resources, and facial recognition software for shared photographs. Threats posed by Facebook use include threats and harassment by other users, hacking, and monitoring of personal data by employers, college admissions, or insurers† ( 2012). Therefore, the team concluded that Facebook was not a viable option for Ford Motor Company team communication platform. LinkedIn According to the official’s sites of LinkedIn, LinkedIn is the social network for work professionals created by Reid Hoffman in 2002 and currently the network has about 161 million professionals worldwide. In addition, when individuals joined LinkedIn, they get access to people, jobs, news, updates, and insights that help them be great at what you do (LinkedIn about us, 2013). Based on the Team grading platform LinkedIn received an overall 22 out of 30. The reason for this is because LinkedIn is mostly for Job seekers and to connect with other professionals. According to this article, LinkedIn Corporation, The firm operates an online professional network designed to help members find jobs, connect with other professionals, and locate business opportunities (LinkedIn Corporation). Therefore, it does not have all the necessary tools needed for Ford Motor Company team communication. Microsoft SharePoint According to the article, Enhancing Project Management with Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007, Microsoft SharePoint is a technology platform that can be configured and customized to play a number of roles in an organization. The advantages of this platform are numerous because the software provides an environment for project management since a project manager can use the software to manage his team collaboration, control project documents, structure project workflow, manage risks, track project’s progress, or share information with the stakeholders (2010). In addition, as a company grows so does the amount documents the company has, therefore, it become difficult to keep track of the increase documents and their locations. SharePoint defeat this by allowing users to store and share files in a central site. The team rating of Microsoft SharePoint was 25 out of 30 it was the second favorite because of all the features it has. However, it true the software allows users to share documents but there is no interactive feature. Furthermore, the article The Disadvantages of Microsoft SharePoint 2007 as a Document Management System, explains, that â€Å"One of the key features most DMS/CMS systems offer are document level options like redaction and document mark-ups. SharePoint does not provide this functionality as it relies on its Microsoft Office suite for document manipulation† (Steward, 2008). Therefore, we can conclude that some of the key features needed for virtual communication is missing from this platform. Google According to the article, Datamonitor: Google Inc., Google has a wide portfolio of offerings, The company currently offers include search, operating systems and platforms, and enterprise products. It maintains a vast index of websites and other online content, and makes it available through Google.com, the company’s search engine, to anyone with an internet connection. In addition, the company’s application tools allow users to create, share, and communicate user-generated information. Some of Google’s applications products include Google Docs, Google Calendar, Gmail, Google Groups, Google Reader, Orkut, Blogger, Google Sites, and YouTube (2011). Furthermore, the article title, Google Voice, talks about a new software release in 2011 call Google Voice. This device is a hybrid phone/internet service. The article explains that what makes Google Voice worthwhile are all of the extra features namely voice mail, free SMS, free calls to anywhere in the U.S., cheap international calls, custom greetings, conference calling, call history, voice transcription to text, email and SMS notifications, the ability to hear who is calling before you pick up, the ability to block unwanted calls, the ability to record phone calls and store them online, the ability to forward, embed, or download voice mails, and the fact that all of these features are managed through an intuitive, centralized interface styled after Gmail that can be accessed from any computer, any telephone, or any mobile browser (Johnson, 2010). Therefore, the team gave Google 27 out of 30 because Google has a lot of features, the email platform has chat capabilities, share documents, photos, and videos, and requests via calendar. In addition, Google + feature allow video chat, and they all are available on mobile, PC, or tablet. That is the reasons that Google received the highest rating out of the five platforms, because it offers every features a virtual team possibly need. Conclusion Having a good platform for the Ford Company virtual team is very important in order the virtual team to succeed. Therefore, Group 1 has come up with a grading criterion that take under consideration all the features needed for a virtual team to success when it comes to a communication platforms. The group did a throughout evaluation of what is needed when communicating virtually and comes up with five platforms. Then each platforms went through a completely evaluation of the advantages and disadvantages. After a complete evaluation Google platform were found to be the best because of all the features it offer to it customer when it come to virtual communication.

Multi-state E.coli Outbreak

A person having diarrhea with loose stools greater than 3 bowel movements in a day with or without abdominal cramps, who is a resident of Michigan, having onset of symptoms between the 15th of June and 15th of July and the   stool cultures yielding E.coli 157:H7. (Lautenbach, E., 2008).   (Multistate Outbreak of E.coli O157:H7 Infection, 2008)It is an infection leading to severe abdominal cramps and bloody diarrhea. Non bloody diarrhea can also occur, or it may also be that the patient will have no symptomatic complaints. The causative organism is E.coli O157:H7 which has an incubation period of 3 to 8 days with a median of 3-4 days. (Lautenbach, E. 2008).   . In people in extremes of age groups I.e. elderly and children under 5 years of age, the infection can also lead to complications like Hemolytic uremic syndrome.AdvantagesBy including a lab test as criteria for case confirmation, the specificity of the case definition increases hence the power of the test increases and so do the chances to detect the source.DisadvantagesInvestigation: by making lab investigations like stool cultures and PFGE a criterion, people who had the symptoms but were not able to visit the doctor were not counted as having the disease, hence the sensitivity of the definition decreased.By only taking residents of Michigan into consideration, people who were visitors and might have got infected were excluded from the count.Slight alterations could be made to the case definition.Proposed Case DefinitionA person having diarrhea with loose stools greater than 3 bowel movements in a day with or without abdominal cramps. The person may be a resident or may have visited Michigan a week prior to having onset of symptoms between the 15th of June and 15th of July. A person with clinically compatible picture who is epidemiologically linked with a confirmed case of E.coli infection. The stool cultures yielding E.coli 157:H7.The lab testing requirement still has to remains, to ensure specifi city and power of the definition.Comparison between age groups:In the Michigan outbreak, it was noted that more than twice as many females were infected as were males. People in age groups of 20-39 and 40-59 were reported most frequent cases in the Michigan outbreak. Food net on the other hand reported nation wide distribution of cases almost equally in males and females, i.e. 162 to 178 respectively. They also documented that largest segmented of population infected in 1997 was in the age group of 1-9 years.This pattern shows that in the Michigan outbreak, the source most probably started with some sort of interaction between source and the adult females of age between 20-59years.  Inquiry about diseaseE.coli infection is mainly an oral-fecal transmission pathway. Hence poorly chlorinated water, unpasteurized milk are common fluid sources. Uncooked or improperly cooked beef another forms of meat are another likely source of transmission. Vegetables directly from farms or stores, which are not properly washed, like lettuce, spinach alfalfa etc are another source of infection. (Escherichia coli O157:H7, 2005).   Exposure to farm animals, or contact with infected people are also risk factors. In the United States infected children in daycare centers also a major source of spread. So questions pertaining to contact and handling of the above stated risk factors should be asked.Source of the outbreak according to the currently present evidence is alfalfa sprouts. Contaminated alfalfa seeds initially caused the outbreak and then the infection easily spread through person to person transfer. The leading hypothesis is that contaminated alfalfa sprouts or seeds of alfalfa sprouts were the initial cause of the outbreak.People who consumed these foods in the area of Michigan got infected with E.coli O157:H7 and then the infection were further transferred to other people with whom they came into contact.REFFERENCES:Escherichia coli O157:H7 (2005). Division of Bacteria l and Mycotic Diseases, Center for Disease Control and Prevention. Retrieved March 6, 2008, from http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dbmd/diseaseinfo/escherichiacoli_t.htmLautenbach, E. (2008).   Outbreak Investigation: Discussion Group. Pennsylvania department of health. Retrieved March 6, 2008, from http://www.dsf.health.state.pa.us/health/lib/health/Outbreak_Investigation.ppt.Multistate Outbreak of E.coli O157:H7 Infection, (2008). Foodsafety.net  Retrieved March 6, 2008, from http://www.foodsafetynet.info/NEHA/EpiSlides/Ecoli_122803.ppt.   

Early Neolithic Civilizations essays

Early Neolithic Civilizations essays I believe that humans have always sought control over our lives, environments, and the people around us. The Neolithic revolution enabled people to increase their control over these factors. Though it was likely unconscious at first, humans began to select the plants and animals that they interacted with. Once people realized that the plants and animals were changing because of that interaction, it was only a short leap to begin deliberate attempts at change. Dogs were once of the first domesticated animals, and evidence for this can be found in all parts of the world. In southwest Asia and North America, evidence for domestication is found as far back as 11,000 years ago. All dogs are descended from various types of wolves. It is likely that humans accidentally became involved with the predators, but once they realized their usefulness, humans began to actively search out and artificially select for wolves that were different. They would likely have chosen those who were less aggressive, differently colored, and larger or smaller. Thus began the evolution of the dog into it many varied forms of today (Feder 438-440). In southwest Asia - the Middle East, cereal crops went through a similar process 9,000 ya by the Natufians. Wheat is a plant common to this area, and two domesticated varieties emmer and einkorn have been dated to more than 10,000 years ago (456). The wild wheat had two problems that had to be dealt with. First, that rachis of a wheat plant (where the seeds attach to the plant) becomes brittle and breaks very easily when the seeds become ripe. In the wild, this allows the seeds to be easily carried off by winds or animals, allowing for the spread of the plant. Also, the kernel is encased by a glume that is very tough, and requires much grinding to remove and make edible. As humans began to work with these plants, they would naturally utilize the plants with tougher rachis because these woul...

Serotiny and the Serotinous Cone

Serotiny and the Serotinous Cone Some tree species delay seed fall because their cones are dependent on a brief blast of heat to release seed. This dependency on heat during the seed production cycle is called serotiny and becomes a heat trigger for seed drop that may take decades to occur. Natural fire has to happen to complete the seed cycle. Although serotiny is primarily caused by fire, there are other seed release triggers that may work in tandem including periodic excess moisture, conditions of increased solar heat, atmospheric drying and parent plant death. Trees that have a serotinous tenancy in North America include some species of conifers including pine, spruce, cypress and sequoia. Serotinous trees in the southern hemisphere include some angiosperms like eucalyptus in fire-prone parts of Australia and South Africa. The Process of Serotiny Most trees drop their seeds during and just after the ripening period. Serotinous trees store their seeds in the canopy via cones or pods and wait for an environmental trigger. This is the process of serotiny. Desert shrubs and succulent plants depend on periodic rainfall for seed drop but the most common trigger for serotinous trees is periodic fire. Natural periodic fires occur globally, and on average, between 50 to 150 years. With naturally occurring periodic lightning fires over millions of years, trees evolved and developed the ability to resist high heat and eventually began using that heat in their reproduction cycle. The adaptation of thick and flame-resistant bark insulated the trees internal cells to direct flame and used the rising indirect heat from fire on cones to drop seed. In serotinous conifers, mature cone scales are naturally sealed shut with resin. Most (but not all) seeds stay in the canopy until the cones are heated to 122-140 degrees Fahrenheit (50 to 60 degrees Celsius). This heat melts the resin adhesive, the cone scales open to expose the seed that then drop or drift after several days to a burned but cool planting bed. These seeds actually do best on the burnt soil available to them. The site provides reduced competition, increased light, warmth and a short term increase of nutrients in the ash. The Canopy Advantage Seed storage in the canopy uses the advantage of height and breeze to distribute seed at the appropriate time onto a good, clear seedbed in satiating quantities enough for seed-eating critters. This masting effect increases the predator seed food supply to overabundance. With this abundance of newly added seed along with adequate germination rates, more seedlings than necessary will grow when moisture and temperature conditions are seasonally average or better. It is interesting to note that there are seeds that drop annually and are not a part of the heat-induced crop. This seed leakage seems to be a natural insurance policy against rare seed failures when conditions are adverse just after a burn and result in a full crop failure. What is Pyriscence? Pyriscence is often a word misused for serotiny. Pyriscence is not as much a heat-induced method for plant seed release, as it is an organisms adaptation to a fire-prone environment. It is the ecology of an environment where natural fires are common and where post-fire conditions offer the best seed germination and seedling survival rates for the adaptive species. A great example of pyriscence can be found in a southeastern United States longleaf pine forest ecosystem. This once large habitat is shrinking in size as fire is more and more excluded as land use patterns have changed. Although Pinus palustris is not a serotinous conifer, it has evolved to survive by producing seedlings that go through a protective grass stage. The initial shoot bursts in a brief bushy growth spurt and just as suddenly stops most top growth. Over the next few years, longleaf develops a significant tap root along with dense needle tufts. A compensating resumption of fast growth returns to the pine sapling around age seven.

Sample Short Answer Response for College Admissions

Sample Short Answer Response for College Admissions Many colleges and universities ask an applicant to write a brief essay that elaborates on a high school extracurricular activity or work experience. This might be a supplement for the Common Application or a part of the schools own application. The majority of students choose to focus on extracurriculars, but Joel makes the unusual decision to focus on a rather unglamorous job, working at Burger King. Joels Short Essay on His Work Experience For the past year I have worked part-time at Burger King. Its a job I picked up to help pay for my class trip to Germany. The job is what youd expect -   Im on my feet the whole time assembling burgers, squirting ketchup, and cooking fries. The pace can be frantic at times, and the pay is low. My friends who come into the restaurant make fun of me. The job is neither strengthening my calculus skills nor improving my writing ability. However, I have been surprised by the relationships Ive developed with my coworkers. Some are high school students like me, but others are twice my age working full time and struggling to support their families. When I applied to Burger King I simply wanted a paycheck, but I now am grateful for the opportunities Ive had to build friendships with and learn from people very different from me. Critique of Joels Short Answer Response Joel takes a risk in his short answer response because he describes a job that isnt something most people (often wrongly) would want to highlight. However, Joel makes a couple moves in his response to make it effective. First, he manages to slip in his reason for taking this job -   he wants to travel to Germany. The fact that he is willing to work hard to have this travel experience shows a level of motivation and global interest that should impress the admissions officers. The writing itself is clear and free of errors, and the essay comes in at 833  characters/150 words - the maximum limit for Joels essay prompt. With extremely short essays like this,  the recommended essay   length  should be close to the upper limit. You have so little space to say something meaningful that you should take advantage of the space you have. Had Joels essay had a 250-word limit, he could have provided some more details about the people with whom he worked, and expand upon the lesson he learned from the experience. When it comes to Joels job, he doesnt try to present it as something it isnt. In a somewhat humorous way, he describes the nature of his Burger King employment. Joel is clearly not trying to impress the admissions folks with the job itself. What Joel does reveal, however, is that even the most mundane job can have its own rewards, and that a job is often defined by coworkers more than by the duties of the job itself. Joel doesnt have space in the short answer to explain exactly what he has learned from his coworkers, but we leave his response with the feeling that Joel is someone who is open-minded and can get along with and learn from people different from himself. He is also someone who is willing to work hard for his goals. These are qualities that will be attractive to a college. A Final Word on Short Answer Essays Dont underestimate the importance of the shorter essays a college or university requires as part of their application. While the main Common Application essay is certainly important, it is common - youre submitting that same essay for every school that uses the Common Application. The supplemental essays address specific issues of interest to the specific college. If you fail to follow the best practices for these short essays, you will likely fail to convince the college that your interest is sincere. Work hard to avoid common short answer mistakes. For another example of a good short answer, Christie does a good job in her essay on her love of running. Dougs essay on a business he started, on the other hand, strikes the wrong tone and could end up hurting his application.

Project finance of power plant Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4250 words

Project finance of power plant - Essay Example Emerging markets have also employed the concept3. For instance, a company may want to undertake some oil exploration and extraction. The process is very expensive. The company may convince several sources to finance its project, with an agreement that upon finding the oil and extracting it, they will have a share of the proceeds. Repayment is therefore based on the success of the project and the future cash flow determines the amounts each source gets4. The principal participants project financing transaction include both national and international banks; national and international sponsors; government banks; capital markets; amongst others. The company seeking financing for the project will usually formulate a proposal that it presents to the various participants. Based on the strength of the project proposal, the company will get the funding subject to repayment terms. The terms are not fixed. They depend on the bargaining power of each of the contracting party5. The risk factor in such an arrangement is evident. The creditors lend the company undertaking the project the money not having a clear picture of whether or not they will get repaid6. They undertake a risk analysis that informs their decision to come aboard. We shall look at project financing, how it works, the risk involved and how lawyers go about addressing the risk issues and cushioning their clients from loss as much as possible. Given the complexity of a project financing transaction, the number of players involved and their nature and the amount of money invested, the risk is very high. There is need to effectively manage the risk to ensure every party is cushioned from possible losses that may arise as a result of an unforeseen circumstance. Heinz-Peter Berg provides a 7 steps risk management procedure.7 Establishing goals and context: In this step, the environment of the project is reviewed to

Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 14

Case Study Example This can be attained well through the gathering of information from the various departments, evaluating it and ensuring a consultative decision and communicates in good time through the use the best communication method that is not prone to distortion. Having this in place, the business is good to go and the manager only comes in to monitor internal as well as external factors that threaten the progress of the business and to give a way forward to curb them effectively. As a manager, Bill has all these power to execute to show his effectiveness in managerial skills in his new post. An organization cannot move forward without people working together to achieve the set goals and objectives. High employee turnover can greatly affect businesses and can lead to low productivity levels. Under-motivated employees tend to be unhappy with their job. They always feel overworked, under-appreciated and poorly paid and in turn. These can eventually lead to negative attitude and behavior towards work like those that were witnessed in Sally at her place of work. For the management to tactfully deal with her case, she should be informed of the organization’s mission and target to be achieved in the best way through the use of better communication skills to avoid misconception of the management’s intention. She should be given a brief job description to help her know what is expected of her and what she is accountable of. Sally should get motivated by simply being allowed to contribute and bring new ideas for improvement to the table and to have input in the whol e process. This brings a sense of ownership in the business. She should get enrichment in form of skill-building and training through workshops to let her work independently with less supervision. For Bill to prove performance, he should focus on the workforce productivity that ensures that employees work more efficiently and effectively to have the

Analysis of a Production chain Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

Analysis of a Production chain - Essay Example The stages are however not exhaustive. In spite of the goodness of the resultant globalisation due to spreading of the production chain across the globe, it renders labour a face-less force thus lacking in ethics and human values which are important ingredients for motivation. The objective of this paper is to examine what production chain is and how it has transformed over the years within the context of globalisation. The outline of the analysis will be definition of the supply chain, its components, and the production chain as one of them. An industry will be studied for the purpose of learning how a production chain will operate. Further, the purpose of the supply chain and how globalisation has impacted the production chain and the emerging ethical issues will also be examined. Supply chain describes or portrays the logistic flow of materials from front end to back end of a firm. At the front-end is the raw material supplier and at the back-end is the customer. In between, there are manufacturing, transportation and distribution. . The supply chain management aims at a seamless flow of materials through these links so that maximum efficiency is achieved through what is known as logistics. Supply chain has much to do with its management rather than knowing what the supply chain is since the links have been there ever since businesses started. Only it has now been scientifically stated as links mainly for the purpose of their management. As stated, it starts with raw material supplier who supplies material to the manufacturing firm which in turn transfers the manufactured product to the transporters known as logistical support who ultimately delivers it to the consumer through wholesaler and retailer. These are entities playing integral roles in supply chain of the manufacturer in the chain. For him, it is the flow of materials from front-end i.e the raw material supplier and back-end, i.e the consumer. In reality it is not as

Portfolio Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Portfolio Management - Essay Example The strategies on the other hand demands awareness of the market conditions and stock volatilities to decide on the investment strategies in order to maximize the returns. Since risk in investments is unavoidable, the management of portfolio helps to mitigate the risk with appropriate investment strategies. The various investment strategies for formation of a portfolio are given below. Diversification The investment in assets is characterized by risk and return. These are two types of risk, namely the systematic risk and the unsystematic risk. The systematic risks are the risks that appear due to uncertainties in the market condition. The unsystematic risks are due to the fluctuation of the performance of individual companies. The diversification strategy is used in portfolio investments in order to reduce the unsystematic risk. Through the formation of a portfolio containing investments on a wide range of assets reduce the risk of the overall portfolio due to positive and negative e ffects of the individual assets. The diversification strategy helps to obtain optimum return through diversification of risk. ... stematic market risk could not be mitigated, the use of non-correlating assets helps to reduce the overall risk of the portfolio with the optimization of returns. Leap Puts and other Option The use of Put options and the Long Term Equity Anticipation securities are alternative investment strategies adopted by the investor. There may be cases where the returns of the portfolio have increased in short period of time and is likely to fall due to market volatility. However, there may be anticipations of future rise of returns. The objective behind adoption of this strategy is to secure the higher returns obtained and at the same time not withdraw from the position of investment. The use of Put options enables the investor to enter into a contract of selling the security at a particular price on a future date. Thus the investor could hold on to their investments without allowing the gains achieved to be depleted. The LEAP Puts are used as long term investment strategies with the same obje ctive. Stop Losses This is another investment strategy in order to protect the portfolio from the risk of fall in the value of shares. The use of stop losses means that the stock would be automatically sold if the price of the share falls to the pre-fixed value of stop losses. The use of stop losses sells the low performing shares and provides an impulse to the investor to investment in shares that could replace the sold share in the portfolio. Dividends The use of information on dividend payments by the companies form part of the investment strategies. Especially in cases of market downturn, the information on dividend is used by risk-averse investors and an important to hedge their portfolio. The dividends paid by the companies are interpreted by the investors as indicators of strong

Summary and Insights on Selected Bible Passages Essay

Summary and Insights on Selected Bible Passages - Essay Example To begin with, the 2nd Book of Samuel is an account of significant events in David’s reign as King. In Chapter 5, he was proclaimed the anointed ruler by God. God hides when he conveys his messages to David. He uses Nathan, a prophet to be his messenger. Nathan relayed to David the messages of God sent in his dreams. One of the most significant events ever recorded in this Book is when God established his covenant with David by detailing His promises as follows:   Ã¢â‚¬Å"†¦I have cut you off all your enemies from before you. Now I will make your name great, like the names of the greatest men on earth. And I will provide a place for my people of Israel and will plant them so that they can have a home of their own and no longer be disturbed. The Lord declares to you that the Lord Himself will establish a house for you. When your days are over and you rest with your fathers, I will raise your offspring to succeed you, who will come from your own body, and I will establish his kingdom† (Holy Bible New International Version, 2 Sam 7: 9-12).   In other words, for winning God’s favor, David, as written in Chapter 7, received great fame, fortune and successes in all the endeavors he took including victories in all the battles he fought. At the onset, it was also disclosed that God requested David through Nathan to build a house of cedar for the Ark of the Covenant which was then housed in a tent.On Chapter 11, the dark side of King David was revealed.  

Research Methods Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Research Methods - Essay Example Consumers are having a great experience of being able to shop anywhere, anytime and with any device and this have resulted in retail shop owners to be challenged with respect to their sales and footfall as many are in favour of online shopping. The key question that the research paper is set to answer is how is the increasing amount of online retailers affecting the footfall in retail shops and sales? Research Problem How does online shopping affect retail business?   Hypotheses i. Increased online retailers and shopping has both substitution and complementarity effects on traditional in-store retail shops. ii. Increased online shopping reduces footfall in retail shops and sales. Online retailers have the capability to replace traditional retail stores/shops. Today, technological advancements have resulted in changes in the way operations are carried out in the business world, how and where people work, shop as well as the lifestyles of different people across the globe. Various su ccessful research attempts have been made to explain the impacts of technology on how and where people work and how this affects their travel trends. Most recent developments have focused on e-shopping/online shopping/online retailers due to its unparalleled proliferation. A 2007 US research by InternetRetailer.com (2008) revealed that the number of online shoppers in the country had increased with their estimated spending rising by a 19 percent margin as well, recording a figure in the regions of 136 billion US dollars in 2007. Despite this increment, online shopping accounted for only 4 percent of the country’s total retail sales. Another Netherlands research showed similar trends with respect to online sales; increasing from just below 200 million Euros in 1999 to just above 1.5 billion Euros in 2004 (Farag, 2006). Online buying could be dominant in certain specific future markets like digital assets. In essence, online shopping could be a substitute for traditional shops. For the purposes of this research, the use of the term online shopping refers to online retailers as well as online searching or rather product information search, unless stated otherwise. Literature Review Many studies have been conducted in the technology field with respect to e-shopping yet little empirical studies exist that relate to e-shopping and the number of shoppers entering traditional shops on a given business day and or the sales made by traditional retail shops. In the context of e-shopping, Mokhtarian (2004) reveals that substitution refers to the replacement of the physical trip to traditional shopping stores with online transactions. Furthermore, the concept of complementarity emerges with respect to information search where e-shopping results in the emergence of new demands for trips to traditional stores. Another research conducted by Anderson, Chatterjee and Lakshmanan (2003) revealed that online shopping does not change the number of people visiting a store, in stead it alters the trips’ characteristics, for instance chaining and timing. According to a study by Sim and Koi (2002) involving a sample of 175 online shoppers from Singapore, 12 percent reduced their trips to traditional stores. Another duo of researchers found that some users of the internet in the Knoxville metropolitan region of the United States had reduced their travel trips to traditional stores. A study by Weltevreden and Van Rietbergen (2007) in the

Summary and Insights on Selected Bible Passages Essay

Summary and Insights on Selected Bible Passages - Essay Example To begin with, the 2nd Book of Samuel is an account of significant events in David’s reign as King. In Chapter 5, he was proclaimed the anointed ruler by God. God hides when he conveys his messages to David. He uses Nathan, a prophet to be his messenger. Nathan relayed to David the messages of God sent in his dreams. One of the most significant events ever recorded in this Book is when God established his covenant with David by detailing His promises as follows:   Ã¢â‚¬Å"†¦I have cut you off all your enemies from before you. Now I will make your name great, like the names of the greatest men on earth. And I will provide a place for my people of Israel and will plant them so that they can have a home of their own and no longer be disturbed. The Lord declares to you that the Lord Himself will establish a house for you. When your days are over and you rest with your fathers, I will raise your offspring to succeed you, who will come from your own body, and I will establish his kingdom† (Holy Bible New International Version, 2 Sam 7: 9-12).   In other words, for winning God’s favor, David, as written in Chapter 7, received great fame, fortune and successes in all the endeavors he took including victories in all the battles he fought. At the onset, it was also disclosed that God requested David through Nathan to build a house of cedar for the Ark of the Covenant which was then housed in a tent.On Chapter 11, the dark side of King David was revealed.  

N a response no longer than one page single-spaced, describe any Essay

N a response no longer than one page single-spaced, describe any obstacle(s) that you had to overcome to reach your senior year - Essay Example Since we were used to a very lavish lifestyle full of luxury, we faced difficulties because we had to cut our spending on everything from the electricity bills to eating out and shopping designer clothes. This was a huge change for all of us especially for me and this made me very much frustrated. When I entered high school, we did not have enough money to pay for my school but I was adamant that I wanted to continue my studies in the same school. Luckily, I came across an ad in the newspaper which was looking for a writer. I immediately applied for the job and got a call after a few days after which I was employed and I started working from home using my laptop. In this way, I was also able to earn money for my school fees and I also didn’t have to quit my studies.1 Work Cited Montez, Michele., & Vogler, Christopher. The Writers Journey: Mythic Structure for Writers. 3rd Edn. Michael Wiese Productions, 2007.

Intrinsic and Extrinsic Motivation Essay Example for Free

Intrinsic and Extrinsic Motivation Essay As we’ve already learned, â€Å"motivation† entails trying to find out why people act the way they do (Brophy, 1998). Recalling on it, â€Å"motives† are specific forces that strengthen and direct behavior toward solving a problem or realization of a goal (Brophy, 1998). â€Å"Motives† differ from each other according to kind, for instance, hunger, thirst, etc; according to intensity, for instance, more hungry than thirsty; according to origin, for instance, biologically-based as against experience-based (Brophy, 1998). It may also be different in terms of being internal or external and the degree to which a person is aware of them (Brophy, 1998). For instance, employees who go on strike may do so because they adhere to some moral principles or â€Å"instrinsic motivation†; or because they would like to ask for a salary increase or â€Å"extrinsic motivation† (Brophy, 1998). â€Å"Intrinsic motivation† is concerned with motives based on one’s own internal needs and desires while â€Å"extrinsic motivation† involves positive or negative external rewards that affect behavior (Brophy, 1998). Another aspect that may differ the â€Å"extrinsic motivation† and â€Å"intrinsic motivation† is the fact that in â€Å"extrinsic motivation†, â€Å"it focuses people on the reward instead of the action† while this is not the case in â€Å"intrinsic motivation† (Morris et.al. , 2005). That’s why if the rewards are stopped, the action/behavior also will (Morris et. al. , 2005). To compare or contrast â€Å"intrinsic and extrinsic motivation† further, let’s a look at some more examples: When an individual knows that a reward will be given as a consequence of what he or she is about to do, which actually fits the technical definition of â€Å"extrinsic motivation† then he or she is most likely to carry it out (Morris et. al. , 2005). Another example is when an individual does things not because he or she has or needs to but because he or she wants to (Morris et. al. , 2005). The fact that the individual does it and that it is rewarding in itself for the individual then what he or she is doing is the exact definition of the technical term â€Å"intrinsic motivation† (Morris et. al. , 2005). References Brophy, J. (1998). Motivation. Burr Ridge, IL: McGraw-Hill. Morris, C. G. Maisto, A. A. (2005). Psychology: An Introduction, 12th Ed. New York: Prentice-Hall.

Patriarchy in Shyam Selvadurai’s Pigs Can’t Fly Essay -- Shyam Selvadu

Patriarchy in Shyam Selvadurai’s Pigs Can’t Fly Woman is not born: she is made. She becomes the symbol of this and that: mother of the earth, slut of the universe and in the making, her humanity is destroyed. ~Andrea Dworkin Patriarchy is a universal system in which women are dominated. Women, in continents as diverse as Iran and China, have been subjugated through social measures such as female circumcision and bound feet. Yet as Andrea Dworkin so neatly stated, subjugation often takes more devious forms, through the stereotyping of gender roles, attempts to â€Å"fix† women by stereotyping them as spineless â€Å"natural homemakers† or monstrous hideous figures and thereby justifying patriarchy as through stereotyping men as having more initiative and intelligence. This devious method of subjugating women is similarly reproduced in Shyam Selvandurai’s â€Å"Pigs Can’t Fly†. Although it is ostensibly about a boy’s childhood, I believe that it reinforces patriarchy through the skilful use of characterization, filters, narrators and setting. Before explicating my argument, I would like to clarify a few key terms I have borrowed mostly from Seymour Chatman in analyzing the story. The only exception, characterization, is E.M. Forster’s concept of round and flat characters where flat characters are predictable because they are dominated by a single trait unlike round characters with multiple, sometimes conflicting traits dominating their personality. Filter, here, is used to denote what is commonly known as a character’s point of view. Narrator-characters are characters that function as characters and narrators or otherwise known as first person narrators. It is fascinating to note that the narrator and filter through whom the story u... ...chal constructions of â€Å"correct† female and male behaviour by appealing to natural laws (â€Å"Because the sky is so high and pigs can’t fly†). Arjie’s unhappiness, however, shows implicit criticism of patriarchy as it cannot satisfy him. It is therefore evident that â€Å"Pigs Can’t Fly† is not a simple story about a child’s growing up process. Its adept use of various elements of discourse pushes it beyond a simple narrative into the realm of a mature narrative whose ambiguous meanings (over its support for patriarchy) mirrors a world of uncertainty with no absolutes governing. The story’s refusal to pigeonhole itself is for me, a source of beauty and complexity. Works Cited Selvadurai, Shyam. "Pigs Can't Fly." Funny Boy. New York: Vintage, 1995: 1-40. Chatman, Seymour. Story and Discourse: Narrative Structure in Fiction and Film. Ithaca, N.Y.: Cornell UP, 1978. Patriarchy in Shyam Selvadurai’s Pigs Can’t Fly Essay -- Shyam Selvadu Patriarchy in Shyam Selvadurai’s Pigs Can’t Fly Woman is not born: she is made. She becomes the symbol of this and that: mother of the earth, slut of the universe and in the making, her humanity is destroyed. ~Andrea Dworkin Patriarchy is a universal system in which women are dominated. Women, in continents as diverse as Iran and China, have been subjugated through social measures such as female circumcision and bound feet. Yet as Andrea Dworkin so neatly stated, subjugation often takes more devious forms, through the stereotyping of gender roles, attempts to â€Å"fix† women by stereotyping them as spineless â€Å"natural homemakers† or monstrous hideous figures and thereby justifying patriarchy as through stereotyping men as having more initiative and intelligence. This devious method of subjugating women is similarly reproduced in Shyam Selvandurai’s â€Å"Pigs Can’t Fly†. Although it is ostensibly about a boy’s childhood, I believe that it reinforces patriarchy through the skilful use of characterization, filters, narrators and setting. Before explicating my argument, I would like to clarify a few key terms I have borrowed mostly from Seymour Chatman in analyzing the story. The only exception, characterization, is E.M. Forster’s concept of round and flat characters where flat characters are predictable because they are dominated by a single trait unlike round characters with multiple, sometimes conflicting traits dominating their personality. Filter, here, is used to denote what is commonly known as a character’s point of view. Narrator-characters are characters that function as characters and narrators or otherwise known as first person narrators. It is fascinating to note that the narrator and filter through whom the story u... ...chal constructions of â€Å"correct† female and male behaviour by appealing to natural laws (â€Å"Because the sky is so high and pigs can’t fly†). Arjie’s unhappiness, however, shows implicit criticism of patriarchy as it cannot satisfy him. It is therefore evident that â€Å"Pigs Can’t Fly† is not a simple story about a child’s growing up process. Its adept use of various elements of discourse pushes it beyond a simple narrative into the realm of a mature narrative whose ambiguous meanings (over its support for patriarchy) mirrors a world of uncertainty with no absolutes governing. The story’s refusal to pigeonhole itself is for me, a source of beauty and complexity. Works Cited Selvadurai, Shyam. "Pigs Can't Fly." Funny Boy. New York: Vintage, 1995: 1-40. Chatman, Seymour. Story and Discourse: Narrative Structure in Fiction and Film. Ithaca, N.Y.: Cornell UP, 1978.

Humour in The Tempest :: essays research papers

Act II Scene I has been written as a humorous scene. It is meant to be funny and light-hearted. Although a modern day audience may not laugh out loud, the humour, itself, is very obvious. Alonzo thinks that his son, Ferdinand, is dead and one of his servants/Lords, Gonzalo, is trying to comfort him, but not succeeding. Sebastian and Antonio, basically mock Gonzalo and everything he says. Gon: When every grief is entertain’d that’s offer’d Comes to the entertainer – Seb: A dollar Gon: Dolour comes to him indeed†¦ Gonzalo is trying to tell the king not to grieve too much or something will come to the entertainer of grief, but before he can say what, Sebastian interrupts with â€Å"A dollar†. This is relevant because Sebastian pretended to take the term ‘entertainer’ literally. However, Gonzalo interprets what Sebastian said as dolour, which means sorrow. To make this even more humorous, Shakespeare has made Sebastian tell Gonzalo, outright, that he has taken what he said in the wrong way. The second attempt at humour in this scene is Antonio and Sebastian talking to each other about Gonzalo not shutting up. After a short silence, they bet on who will be the next person to speak. Ant: Which, of he or Adrian, for a good wager, first Begins to crow? Seb: The old cock Ant: The cockerel * * * * (Seb & Ant settle on the bet) Adr: Though this island seem to be desert, - Ant: Ha, ha, ha! Seb: So: you’re paid. I personally found this humorous because there is no ASIDE used, which means they are not even trying to be discreet about their mockery. The third attempt at humour is when Gonzalo is trying to be optimistic by talking about how fresh his clothes are. Of course, Sebastian and Antonio see this as another opportunity to mock Gonzalo. We, as the audience, know that Ariel made all of their clothes fresh after the ship was caught in the tempest. We therefore know that Gonzalo is actually telling the truth. Gon: That our garments being, as they were, drenched In the sea, hold, notwithstanding their freshness And glosses being rather new-dyed than stained

Antimicrobial Assay Worksheet

University of Phoenix Material Antimicrobial Assay Worksheet Review the image and refer to Ch. 26 of Brock Biology of Microorganisms to answer the following questions. [pic] Adapted from The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, by Islands in the Sea, 2002. Answer the following in 100 to 200 words each: 1. What does this picture represent? To what is the area around the disks proportional?This picture represents an antimicrobial agent susceptibility assay by using the disc diffusion technique. The test measures the antimicrobial activity, by determining the smallest amount of agent necessary to inhibit the growth of a specific test organism, this value is the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC). The MIC expresses the lowest concentration of agent that completely inhibits the growth of the test organism (Madigan, Martinko, Stahl,  & Clark, 2012).The areas around the disks are the zone of inhibition, which are â€Å"proportional to the amount of antimicrobial agent add ed to the disc, the solubility of the agent, the diffusion coefficient, and the overall effectiveness of the agent† (Madigan, Martinko, Stahl,  & Clark, 2012, p. 763). 2. Which letter disk has the least potent antibiotic? Why? Which has the most? How do you know? Letter F disc has the least potent antibiotic because the zone of inhibition is not present with indicates that the antimicrobial agent is not an affective inhibitor of the test organism.Letter D disc has the greatest potent antibiotic because the agent is quite an affective inhibitor of the test organism. This agent creates a proportionally large zone of inhibition, which is greater than other test agents are. 3. Refer to Figure 26. 10 of Brock Biology of Microorganisms. What has happened in the minimum inhibitory concentration tube? Approximately, what is the bacterial concentration in that tube? In the minimum inhibitory concentration tube, the agent inhibits the growth of the test organism.This level of inhibiti on varies with certain factors to include the incubation conditions, culture medium, test organism, incubation time, and composition of the culture (Madigan, Martinko, Stahl,  & Clark, 2012). The bacterial concentration is approximately the same in the tube that contains the minimum inhibitory concentration level of antimicrobial agent because the agent inhibits the growth of the test organism. Reference Madigan, M. T. , Martinko, J. M. , Stahl, D. A. , & Clark, D. P. (2012). Brock biology of microorganisms (13th ed. ). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson.

Alternatives for the decision regarding the high lead found in the whistles Essay

The situation of determining how to handle the recently discovered high lead content in the large whistles order is a difficult one that will in some way affect the company. Three alternatives have been made to allow options for this decision. Alternative 1: Say nothing; allow the whistles shipment to go without notifying the customer. Alternative 2: Replace the customer’s order by providing whistles that meet the appropriate company standards. Alternative 3: Contact the customer and explain the situation, offer them a discount for on the whistles that are lower than the company standard. Decision Process The process for choosing the three alternatives began by identifying the decision to be made. The decision at hand is what to do with the information discovered about the order of whistles going to a school in South America. This is a big decision that will affect the company in each alternative. The next step of the process is listing options possible for the situation, and then studying those options by listing advantages and disadvantages of each. Then the decision was made by choosing the best overall solution for the decision. And lastly the decision was evaluated to determine if the results were what was expected. The three options for this decision are listed above; say nothing to the customer, replace the order, or try to make a deal for the customer. Each option is motivated by a result that will benefit the company financially, ethically, or a mixture of both. The idea behind the alternative 1 decision was to save money upfront and not bother with order changes and other inconveniences for the company. In studying this option the advantage of this would be to save money and time for the company. The disadvantage would be a possibly unhappy customer, an unethical move which could make employees see the company as being unfair; giving a poor product that could be hazardous to children. The legal ramifications of this alternative would be risky if the a child became ill from the use of the whistles and the company was blamed, sued, etc. The idea behind the alternative 2 decision was to replace the customers order with whistles that are not potentially hazardous and meets the company standards. The advantage of this option is not putting the company in an unethical situation of trying to pass products that are under par for high quality. This will help set a standard of ethics in the company that could motivate employees to do good work. The disadvantage of this option is that it will cost the company $100,000. The financial loss could take a long time to recover from, the positive influence on employees won’t immediately compensate for the loss. There would not be a legal issue with this option. The idea behind the alternative 3 decision was to try and contact the customer and explain the situation and let them decide if they would like the whistles replaced or to take the hazardous whistles at a discount. The advantage of this alternative is that the customer could decide to keep the original whistles which would still save the company a considerable amount of money cutting the losses to a much smaller amount. Also it would show that the company had the customer’s best interest in mind. The disadvantage of this option is that it could reflect negatively on the company still because we can’t really determine how the customer will feel about the whistles that are potentially hazardous. They customer might think that the company is trying to cut corners and save themselves money. This would be bad for future business. Legally the customer would probably not try and sue the company, but there is still the potential issue of the company being reported as manufactur ing products with too high of a lead content. This would kill the company’s reputation and the customer relationships of other clients. Recommendation Alternative 2 is the recommended decision; replacing the customer’s order by providing whistles that meet the appropriate company standards. This decision was made by both ethical and financial decisions. Ethically this alternative is the most appropriate. The customer contacted the company to provide a product to be used in the South American schools. It would be unethical to provide the customer with a product that is below the company and country standards even though they are not violating the South American standard. The customer chose this company over a foreign company to give a quality and safe product. This recommendation will positively affect the company because they will possibly become more favorable in the eyes of the customer, with the possibility of more business in the future from them and their business relations. This option was chosen not only for company recognition, but also to save children from a potentially hazardous experience. This option will be a great cost to the company, but the positive experience from both the customer and employees. By creating a culture of â€Å"wanting to do what is right† will help future sales and the company will gradually earn the loss in funds back over time. Customer relationships Considering the outcome on the customer relationship is an important part of the decision making process. We have to ask ourselves how will the customer feel about our decision, how will it influence them and how will it influence the company? By choosing alternative 2, to replace the whistles, the company will look favorably to the customer, being the school buying the whistles. Though the company will merely be providing the product that was originally agreed upon for the initial sale, the customer will realize that the company is sacrificing to replace the whistles and they will go away with a positive relationship with the company. This experience is sure to foster future business from the customer because of the positive experience they experienced. They will also be more likely to recommend the company to their peers and the company could gain substantial business from the experience. The children who would be ultimately affected by the quality of the whistles will feel good about receiving a quality, non-hazardous product, and the parents of the children will be grateful knowing that the company behaved ethically. This could also create future business for the company by providing the children and parents with a positive experience from the company. The company employees will see the standard of ethics portrayed by the company and it will reflect in their work. By giving an example of a high ethical standard it is likely that employees will take greater pride in their work which will affect the company in a positive way. The company’s decision will affect multiple stages of people, their feelings, thoughts, and behaviors will help the company in the long run to regain the loss taken from replacing the whistles. The financial gains will be gradual yet immeasurable in the long run of creating a company with a superior ethical standard. Social Responsibility In a corporation, social responsibility is behaving ethically as individual workers and together as a company to be sensitive toward social, cultural, economic and environmental issues. This means that the company doesn’t always do what’s best for its self but rather do what is best for their environment, customers, employees, culture, etc. Social responsibility is a big part of the decision making process because decisions made by the company not only affect the company alone, it affects employees, the economy, the customers, and the environment. These decisions and methods are important when considering long-term business operations. The decision making process for the situation had many factors involved. The most noticeable factor was the cost of replacing the lower quality whistles with a product that is up to the company’s standard and isn’t potentially hazardous. There was multiple ways of looking the problem; ignoring it, saving the company money and hoping there was not issues with the product, or there was the option to replace the product with something the company could be proud of, a product that had no hazards for use by children, and doing what was appropriate ethically for the situation. Social responsibility played a major part in the decision to use alternative 2 and replace the order with whistles that didn’t have high amounts of lead. The choice to do what is best for the customer, environment, and the kids of the schools outweighed the option to save the company time and money.

Healthcare Difference Between Us and India

Health Care in the United States is described as the â€Å"cottage industry† it has been fragmented at the national, state, community and practice levels. There is not one single entity or set of policies guiding the health care system; Furthermore, this fragile primary care system is on the verge of collapse according to the Commonwealth Fund Commission. (A. Shih, 2008) The fragmentation of our delivery system is a fundamental contributor to the poor overall performance of the U. S. health care system.In our fragmented system: * patients and families navigate unassisted across different providers and care settings, fostering frustrating and dangerous patient experiences; * poor communication and lack of clear accountability for a patient among multiple providers lead to medical errors, waste, and duplication; * the absence of peer accountability, quality improvement infrastructure, and clinical information systems foster poor overall quality of care; and * high-cost, intensiv e medical intervention is rewarded over higher-value primary care, including preventive medicine and the management of chronic illness.No single policy will fix the fragmentation of our health care system. Rather, a comprehensive approach is required—one that might lead progressively to greater organization and better performance. The following strategies were recommended: (A. Shih, 2008) * Payment reform. Provider payment reform offers the opportunity to stimulate greater organization as well as higher performance. The predominant fee-for-service payment system fuels the fragmentation of our delivery system.We recommend that payers move away from fee-for-service toward bundled payment systems that reward coordinated, high-value care. In addition, we recommend expanding pay-for-performance programs to reward high-quality, patient-centered care. The more organization in delivery systems, the more feasible these payment reforms become (Exhibit ES-1). These payment reforms also could spur organization, since they reward optimal care over the continuum of services. Specifically, we believe that: Patient incentives. Patients should be given incentives to choose to receive care from high-quality, high-value delivery systems. This requires performance measurement systems that adequately distinguish among delivery systems. * Regulatory changes. The regulatory environment should be modified to facilitate clinical integration among providers. * Accreditation. There should be accreditation programs that focus on the six attributes of an ideal delivery system we have identified.Payers and consumers should be encouraged to base decisions on payment and provider networks on such information, in tandem with performance measurement data. * Provider training. Current training programs for physicians and other health professionals do not adequately prepare providers to practice in an organized delivery system or team-based environment. Provider training programs should b e required to teach systems-based skills and competencies, including population health, and be encouraged to include clinical training in organized delivery systems. Government infrastructure support.We recognize that in certain regions or for specific populations, formal organized delivery systems may not develop on their own. In such instances, we propose that the government play a greater role in facilitating or establishing the infrastructure for an organized delivery system, for example through assistance in establishing care coordination networks, care management services, after-hours coverage, health information technology, and performance improvement activities. Health information technology. Health information technology provides critical infrastructure for an organized delivery system. Providers should be required to implement and utilize certified electronic health records that meet functionality, interoperability, and security standards, and to participate in health info rmation exchange across providers and care settings within five yearsThese do not necessarily mean it will fix the health care system as we know it, but could generate, a better understand on what is expected of the United States as a whole, when the Medicare and Medicaid system is done away with, those born in the late 60’s to 2000’s will probably not benefit from the Medicare or Social Security system, when they reach the age of 65, Why you might ask, because the way the economy is going these systems will be obsolete in the future, while the Government is trying to build a better ntity, they will probably in fact, not accomplish this, it is my understanding that they will be doing away with the Medicaid program by the year 2012, this will be a great burden to those who are currently on this, If the Government could make it easier for those who can’t afford insurance to acquire commercial insurance at a lesser cost, then the majority would be get these types o f insurances, (ex Cigna, Humana, Aetna, BCBS, United Healthcare)I work in the medical field, I see daily the abuse some of these patients are taking from the Government in regards to their medical care, one month they have the insurance, the next they are on what is called â€Å"Share of Cost†,(SOC) this is just like an HMO or PPO, you have a deductable to reach every month, the only problems is, these patients do not have any money to pay, so they have to go to the local Hospital, to get their SOC covered, the patient see’s is as a convenience while the Hospitals sees it as a nuisance. Our fragmented health care delivery system delivers poor-quality, high-cost care. We cannot achieve a higher-performing health system without reorganization at the practice, community, state, and national levels.This report focuses on the community level, for which we have identified six attributes of an ideal delivery system. Our vision of health care delivery is not out of reach; some delivery systems have achieved these attributes, and they have done so in a variety of ways. We can no longer afford, nor should we tolerate, the outcomes of our fragmented health care system. We need to move away from a cottage industry in which providers have no relationship with, or accountability to, one another. Though we acknowledge that creating a more organized delivery system will be difficult, the recommendations put forth in this report offer a concrete approach to stimulate greater organization for higher performance. (A. Shih, 2008)In India, Primary Health Centers (PHCs) are the cornerstone of rural healthcare; a first port of call for the sick and an effective referral system; in addition to being the main focus of social and economic development of the community. It forms the first level of contact and a link between individuals and the national health system; bringing healthcare delivery as close as possible to where people live and work. (Patel, 2005) Primary healt hcare services substantially affects the general health of a population, however many factors undermine the quality and efficiency of primary healthcare services in developing countries. In India, although there are many reasons for poor PHC performance, almost all of them stem from weak stewardship of the sector, which produces a poor incentive framework.The World Health Organization (WHO) specifically points out that to some extent, the deterioration in health status is attributed to inadequacies in PHC implementation, neglecting the wider factors that have been responsible for this deterioration such as lack of political commitment, inadequate allocation of financial resources to PHCs and stagnation of inter-sectoral strategies and community participation. The main ones being bureaucratic approach to healthcare provision, lack of accountability and responsiveness to the general public and incongruence between available funding and commitments. The current PHC structure is extreme ly rigid, making it unable to respond effectively to local realities and needs. For instance, the number of ANMs per PHC is the same throughout the country despite the fact that some states have twice the fertility level of others.Moreover, political interference in the location of health facilities often results in an irrational distribution of PHCs and sub-centers. Government health departments are focused on implementing government norms, paying salaries, ensuring the minimum facilities are available rather than measuring health system performance or health outcomes. Further, the public health system is managed and overseen by District Health Officers. Although they are qualified doctors, they have barely any training in public health management; strengthening the capacity for public health management at the district and taluk level is crucial to improving public sector performance. Patel, 2005) Primary, secondary, generalist and specialist care, all have important and inclusive roles in the healthcare system and should be used to create a comprehensive and integrated model; one that combines universalism and economic realism with the objective of providing coverage for all. (Patel, 2005)| | The majority of these countries are trying to make it better for all to achieve the best health care entity possible; we are trying to make sure that everyone is covered by insurance.REFERENCES A. Shih, K. Davis, S. Schoenbaum, A. Gauthier, R. Nuzum, and D. McCarthy, Organizing the U. S. Health Care Delivery System for High Performance, The Commonwealth Fund, August 2008 (A. Shih, 2008) Express Healthcare Mgmt. Business Publications Division, Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd. , Express Towers, 1st floor, Nariman Point, Mumbai 400 021 (Patel, 2005)

Food Lion Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Food Lion - Research Paper Example verseas; currently being represented in over 70 countries and seeking to integrate with the Midwestern and Western markets of grocery retail; rather than forever being attributed to the southeast/mid Atlantic region. The mission statement of Food Lion reads as follows: â€Å"Food Lions mission is to ensure that we remain the low price leader in the supermarket industry without compromising quality or customer satisfaction† (Delhaize, n.d.). Naturally, in order to achieve this goal, it is necessary for the human resources Department/organization to ensure that the needs of employees are met, a culture is defined, and effective policies which relate to this mission statement can be trained on and affected. Rather than understanding Food Lion’s mission statement as something of a separate issue to human resources, it must be understood and appreciated that human resources are integral in seeking to accomplish the goals that the mission statement sets forward. Assess the common HR challenges facing this organization (e.g., high turn-over, low wages, lack of skilled workers, etc.). Recommend an HR strategy you would implement to overcome the challenges assessed.   The core problem that Food Lion faces is the fact that it primarily hires low wage earners that have very few marketable skills. As a direct result of this, Food Lion experiences an extraordinarily high turnover rate; as individuals soon a look for other jobs that are more lucrative based upon the skills and valuable work experience that have gained while working at Food Lion. This extends not only to individuals responsible for inventory control, customer relations, and warehouse work, it encompasses the full gamut of logistics and supply that the Food Lion brand leverages each and every day as a function of encouraging further profitability. However, rather than coming to accept the fact that Food Lion is due to continually experienced high turnover rates from these low-wage earners, there are human

Case Analysis Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 3

Analysis - Case Study Example Even more importantly, however, is the fact that a business will face innumerable set-backs, and passion is required to keep up drive in the face of failure. 3. Though this can often lead entrepreneurs down the wrong path, perhaps someone should have thought to ask why no one was monetizing these sporting events in ANY way. Furthermore, if people get to watch professional sports on TV, will they pay for amateur sport commentary? People tend to be very unwilling to pay for media that is usually ad supported. 4. I think that the basic business model of YouCastr was flawed, which means saving it would have taken a basic re-thinking of how things were done. One possibility: monetize through inserting ads in the broadcast, more like other traditional sports media. 1. There are a number of reasons that this company was successful – one of which was certainly a bit of luck – they hit on a formula that people didn’t just like, but loved. They never would have had the chance to get lucky, however, without persistence – persistence that came from a love of what they do. Their love for game making was apparent – doing it first as a hobby, entering into contests, and then making a remarkable 51 relatively unsuccessful games before the launch of angry birds. 2. Part of it is good design – the game features bright, funny characters that are enjoyable to play with, a funny name, and game play that encourages people to play frequently and not put it down. More important, however, is probably that people picked it up and made it go â€Å"viral† – it was at the right place at the right time, and tickled people to the point that they showed their friends. 3. I think that, given something I was enjoying doing, I definitely would have been able to hang in there. The trick is that one must realize that rejection and

Cross Cultural Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Cross Cultural Management - Essay Example Cultural intelligence was described by Creque & Gooden (2011, p. 143) as a set of skills, from fundamental to advanced, which allow a person to demonstrate effectiveness in transferring social skills from a particular cultural context to the another. Cultural intelligence is indeed critical in business especially for a manager dealing with people from different cultural backgrounds. In international business, managers are called upon to relate with partners from different countries and therefore cultural intelligence is needed for good working relations and successful interaction among partners. In light of this, cultural intelligence would be an important to the manager of Global Alliance Company to work with the different cultural backgrounds and enhances their functioning within a particular setting. Culturally Intelligent Persons Triandis (2006, p. 20) outlines various things that an intelligent persons should do. He asserts that a culturally intelligent person should suspended j udgments until he acquires adequate information beyond the ethnicity of the other person given that personality attributes like idiocentrism-allocentrism have to be considered (Triandis, 2006, p. 20). A practical example to explain this is a situation in which during the first meeting with international business partners, they may have low negotiation skills and therefore want they point to be taken. However, it would be wrong to argue that people from his ethic group behave that way but it would be wise to try and explore the personality of the person. Failure to do this would negatively affect future relations with people from this group. Trandis (2006, p. 23) explains that an intelligent person seeks training to overcome ethnocentrism. He notes that an intelligent person seeks cognitive, behavioral and affective training. An example of training for a person involved in international business would be to seek from the internet the cultural behaviors of people with whom you anticip ate to interact with from available literature and the internet. The other aspect described by Triandis (2006, p. 24) of intelligent person is that they are able to tolerate different organizational attributes. An example of this is a person who is transferred to a new company where they have to report everything to the manager in the evening although at his previous posting each employee enjoyed autonomy. An intelligent person would be able to adapt to this changes. Although Triandis outlines the various things that an intelligent person should do, he fails to list tools for measuring cultural intelligence. The challenges in developing tools for measuring cultural intelligence is on whether the tools will be able to meet he quality standards in terms of reliability and validity (Tung & Verbeke, 2010, p. 1259). The other challenge is determining the most appropriate research questions in a given context (Tung & Verbeke, 2010, p. 1259). CQ as a Functional Tool Management of any given organization usually use various tools in order to achieve the set organization tools. However, not all tools achieve similar purpose because some of them fail to be functional. It is important to know if a tool works or not. One of the management tools that most organizations use is cultural intelligence (CQ). Ward and colleagues have attempted to explain CQ whereby they have come out critiquing it as a functional tool. They argue that, to date, CQ has

Computers in Society Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Computers in Society - Essay Example These fives ways include; 1. Social networking -- many people belong to at least one social networking group like LinkedIn, Facebook or Twitter and they are actively talking to their friends and business associates about this election; you can even find this information on MySpace. 2. YouTube -- because YouTube has the ability to replay in video anything you want to replay, a viewer can find any speech that was given from the beginning of the 2008 campaign by any candidate necessary. 3. Network Journalism Sites -- any of the networks have full coverage of the debates and places like MSNBC will have a replay of all the debates, commentary and other information about the candidates as they happen. You can replay any of this information at any time. 5. Text messaging -- Mozes is one of many text messaging websites where an individual can go and create their own list of keywords. People who sign up to receive information from them can receive broadcasts about many different things. Some people are predicting that this is one way that candidates can set up broadcasts that allow people to know their schedules or to send out specific messages. Since both the Democratic and the Republican party already send out specific messages via phone, this will be another technology that can allow more information to get through to voters. According to Guy Kawasaki (2008) the Internet will have the most impact on the presidential election because it allows everyone to educate themselves about the candidates and what they are saying. They can read news, listen to the various debates and make up their own minds about how to vote. This also allows many different people to voice their opinions and opinions influence others. According to Kawasaki, "Much like radio for Roosevelt and TV for JFK, the 2008 race for the White House will be determined by candidates’ abilities to connect with and galvanize supporters online" (p. 25). Some people will

Media empire and cultural entrepeneurs Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Media empire and cultural entrepeneurs - Essay Example The point is that U.S. media has increasingly transformed into an institution, which undermines the fundamental principles of democracy, functioning in the interests of a narrow group, not the general public. To express this fast-changing picture, they should act through the established basic institutions; moreover, these institutions must be different. The most important institutions, which impact on the formation of our understanding of the real social world is very strong, are â€Å"newspapers, magazines, radio, television, books and movies† (Bagdikian, 1983). In view of the system, that our perception of the world is formed under the persistent influence of the likes and dislikes, it seems that it very important to write about them. The content of the information activities of the newspapers and television stations depends on considerations of purely commercial nature, which determine its constant focus on the interests of large business, advertisers, and how far it is fro m the satisfaction of genuine interests of the U.S. population, wishing to obtain objective and comprehensive information (Bagdikian, 1983). Currently, â€Å"there is the age of the convergence of music production, creation, distribution, exhibition and presentation† (Sen, 2010). The unknown musicians have a great power to become famous thanks to their fans and self-promotion. The modern Media Empire has transcended the traditional borders and now, being pushed by digital technologies; it brings in new musicians, creates new artists and unites a great army of fans with a high speed. Online Media Empire has become more democratic and there is a chance for everybody to become a full participant of it: â€Å"Music has been the force which could cut across cultures and transcend borders. With a huge push from the digital technology, music is zipping around the world at the speed of light bringing musicians, fans and cultures together† (Sen, 2010). In accordance with the wr iter in Wired magazine: â€Å"Dragged down by its own bulk and ripped apart by therebellious energy of the file-sharing revolution, the recording industry hit rock bottom. That was three years ago. Today signs of renewal are everywhere: amazing technologies, smart business models, even ringtones as hit singles. The best part? An explosion of creativity from artists and fans alike. Rock on† (Sen, 2010). An explosion of creativity from artists can be compared to cultural entrepreneurship. The musical industry brings in great profits and there is a need to eliminate stereotypes of the necessity of almighty parents and all other staff as integrative components of being famous. The newly created bands and artists have opposed to illegal file sharing downloads on the Internet. Nevertheless, a flow of illegal downloads has increased a popularity of unknown artists and it would be wrong to prevent young artists from self-promotion-free-of-charge. Music is a spirit of a modern life. I t is fast and over existent. It sounds from our IPhones and is an integrative part of the life of a modern citizen. The social networks and sites of free music â€Å"transcend some of the traditional barriers that the entrenched music industry implemented, consequently musicians and artists now feel free and unencumbered by institutional constraints. Artists and bands are now in a position to regain control† (Devitt, 2010). Therefore, it is at the artist’

Lord of the Flies Notes by William Golding Essay Example for Free

Lord of the Flies Notes by William Golding Essay The Setting A deserted island which is describe as a tropical paradise, and with a scar, a lagoon and a beach. It was shown by the appearance that the island was presented as beautiful as the garden of Eden. On the other hand, evilness and danger were hindered and were shown through different sentence throughout the chapters. B.The Plot †¢Exposition (Conflicts, confrontation, chaos) In the middle of a war, a plane with a group of British schoolboys was shot down over a deserted island. Two boys, Ralph and Piggy, found a conch shell, and Piggy suggested that it could be used as a horn to call for the other boys. Once all the boys were there, they decided to elect a leader. They chose Ralph as their leader, and Ralph appointed Jack to be in charge of the choir boys who would be hunting for food. Ralph thinks that they must light a fire by using Piggy’s glasses so to attract the attention of passing ships, hoping that someone would see the fire and save them. The boys succeed in making a fire, but it burned down quickly because no one was watching the fire. Jack thinks that Ralph shouldn’t be the leader and Jack forms a new tribe. †¢Climax The boys thought that there was a beast in a cave on the island, and none of them dared to go in to find out who or what the beast actually was. Simon was brave, and he found out that the true identity of the beast was actually a dead parachutist. He planned to run down to the beach to tell the rest of the boys, but he ran into the middle of Jack’s tribe’s gathering and they thought that Simon was the beast. They ended up killing Simon. The next morning, Piggy realized that Jack’s tribe had stolen his glasses, so Ralph and Piggy went to find Jack’s tribe and ask for the glasses back. But they refused and Roger rolled a boulder down a mountain and killed Piggy. †¢Resolution Ralph knew that Jack’s tribe would be finding him, hunting him down. So Jack told his tribe to light the entire forest with fire to scare Ralph out of his hiding place. When Ralph saw the fire, he immediately ran towards the beach and fell down because he was tired. Ralph looked up and saw a British naval officer. Ralph cries in the end because of his loss. C.The Characters Ralph One of the main characters / main protagonist Elected leader He was responsible of the well-being of all the other boys in the story ï  µHe the one and only boy who could still remain civilized and rational at the end of the story Piggy The smart one/ the most intelligent one His glasses is the key to making the fire Made fun of because of his weight and outlook The outsider Was killed by the stone Jack Leader of choir boys / hunters Main antagonist Longs for total power He is rival to Ralph and eventually declares himself as the chief Simon Knows the true identity of the beast Was killed Oddball of the group Roger and Maurice The hangman of Jack’s tribe Rogers Jacks lieutenant who has a sadistic streak. Maurice was Rogers henchman Kills Piggy Same and Eric / Samneric Twins Loyal Seemed to be the boys who breathed together and grinned together D.The Themes Civilization V.S. Slavery Ralph (Order) V.S. Jack (Wanting for power) Civilized, mannered, English boys V.S. Brutal, wild Loss of Innocence Boys were supposed to be innocent, but they were brutal Crowd Mentality Good and evil The conch group V.S the savages The boys V.S terrifying beast Attemps at rescue from a passing ship V.S imprisonment on the increasingly chaotic island E.Read the Introduction and answer the following questions: 1.How was the novel inspired by Coral Island? Both stories’ plots are about boys being stranded on a deserted island. In â€Å"Coral Island†, the author, R. M. Ballantyne, wrote his perspective of what British boys would do if they were stranded on an island. In the story, the three boys worked together. They built huts, hunted for food and explored the island. They were at first, primitive cast mates, but then evolved into civilized people. â€Å"Lord of the Flies† was inspired by the plot and idea of boys being stranded on an island, but William Golding wrote his own perspective of how he thought a group of civilized boys would react to being stranded on a deserted island. The difference is that in â€Å"Coral Island†, the boys became civilized people while in â€Å"Lord of the Flies†, the civilized boys became â€Å"monsters†. 2.Briefly describe the three parts of the novel For the first part, it’s mainly the background of how the boys got stranded  on the island and the election of their leader – Ralph. Ralph thinks that they should start a fire to get the attention of passing ships in order to rescue them from the island. The second part is mainly about Jack forming a tribe against Ralph and them killing Simon because they thought that he was the beast. But actually, Simon knew that the beast was actually a dead soldier, but he was killed because Jack’s tribe thought that he was the beast. The third part is mainly about how Jack’s tribe stole Piggy’s glasses to start the fire and how Roger rolled a boulder down the mountain, killing Piggy. And about how Jack’s tribe tried to kill Ralph by setting fire to the entire forest, but Ralph was rescued by a British Naval officer. 3.Briefly comment on the style in which the novel is written The author wrote the story in a very straight forward style. There weren’t too lengthy descriptions. The characters and objects in the story have symbolic meanings that show us the main theme of the story. This story is based on the author’s real – life experience with the cruelty and brutality of World War II.

Factors Impacting on Cardiovascular Surgery

Factors Impacting on Cardiovascular Surgery STUDY GOALS AND OBJECTIVES The goals of this study are to explore the different factors affecting cardiovascular surgery and the manufacture of cardiovascular devices, as well as to quantify the market for various segments of the cardiovascular device market. Cardiac surgery is increasing globally, with the contribution of macroeconomic factors such as aging populations, increasing rates of obesity, poor nutrition and other health stressors. In recent years, new technologies have been developed that make sophisticated therapies accessible for patients in previously underserved locations. Whether through disease, congenital defects or degradation of cardiac and vascular function with advancing age, the incidence of cardiovascular disease is growing dramatically, substantiating the continued growth in cardiovascular surgical procedures. REASONS FOR DOING THIS STUDY The American Heart Association, in its publication Heart Disease and Stroke Statistics, 2016 Update At-A-Glance, estimates that 98 million American adults will have one or more types of cardiovascular disease. Surgery represents the most effective therapy for advanced cardiovascular conditions. Recent innovations such as minimally invasive procedures, beating heart surgeries, ventricular assist devices and artificial hearts, replacement valves and treatments for hypertension such as renal denervation offer therapeutic options that result in shorter recovery times and reduced complication risks. Newer cardiovascular devices and therapeutic techniques will play an increasing role in enhancing quality of life for a growing elderly population, as well as patient groups with poor cardiac function. The ability of government-run health agencies and private insurance providers to cope with the increased need for cardiovascular procedures, together with rising hea lthcare costs, have led agencies and insurers to closely evaluate their coverage for cardiovascular surgical procedures and continually seek out lower-cost but still efficacious options. This report will identify areas of growth within the cardiovascular surgical device market and discuss innovative technologies that have been recently launched or are presently under development. Market growth rates will be projected based on manufacturers net revenues, unless otherwise indicated. This report is designed to achieve the following objectives: Describe the trends and developments affecting each type of cardiovascular surgical technology and discuss how each addresses market needs. Analyze market demand, competitive dynamics and regulatory/ reimbursement-related factors to project the market size for each technology and highlight target applications. Study intensively market growth by geography. Analyze trends and opportunities in major regions: North America, Europe, Asia and the rest of the world (ROW). Identify major stakeholders, product portfolio and recent developments, and draw a competitive landscape for the market leaders. Track and analyze recent developments, alliances, joint ventures, mergers and acquisitions, and patents of the market players in the industry. This report is designed to appeal to many types of readers, including marketing and management executives within the medical device industry, venture capital professionals interested in exploring commercialization opportunities and anyone else who would like to better understand how market factors and technologies interact in this industry. SCOPE OF REPORT The scope of this study encompasses multiple technologies and procedures related to cardiovascular surgical devices. The study focused primarily on four categories of cardiovascular surgery: traditional (open), interventional, cardiac rhythm management (CRM) and cardiac ablation procedures. These procedure groupings are categorized logically so that comparisons can be made within procedural groups as well as across the cardiovascular surgical devices industry as a whole. Note that carotid artery surgery related to stroke, abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) surgery to correct aortic aneurysms, and surgical and stenting procedures designed to address peripheral vascular disease are not addressed in detail in this report. BCC Research analyzes the industry on a worldwide basis from market, product and technology perspectives. Regulations and reimbursement issues and patents issued from 2011 through mid-2016 are also examined to identify patient safety, regulatory review and insurance coverage issues for stakeholders and potential stakeholders in this industry. The report examines the cardiovascular surgery device industry in general, the types of technologies currently in use as well as future technological developments, and regulatory influences that affect product distribution. The industry structure section discusses the most active manufacturers with respect to relative market share, marketing strengths and forces that promote or hinder the growth of technologies. The technology sections detail historical (2014), and projected (2015 to 2020) market values. METHODOLOGY BCC Research presents an analysis across the entire cardiovascular surgical device market based on company-specific revenue dollars and units shipped as reported to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and/or other governmental agencies, as well as company information such as conversations with company officials, annual reports and product/financial news releases. The report also analyzes data collected from the United States Patent Office (USPTO) databases. Technological and demographic information is gathered from industry sources, governmental sources and published news reports. A top-down approach was used to estimate the market size of cardiovascular surgical devices. The research methodology used to calculate market size also included the following details: Market revenues of key players were determined through primary and secondary research, including a study of the annual reports of top market players, and interviews with key opinion leaders and corporate heads such as chief executive officers (CEOs), directors, product heads, business unit heads, etc. Secondary research included general search by keywords through paid sources such as Factiva and One Source, and other publicly available websites and company websites. The penetration of micromarkets was established through primary and secondary sources and validated through primary sources. The forecast was based on analysis of market trends such as pricing and volume analysis. The regional split was determined by using secondary sources verified through primary sources. The regional split was based on v arious parameters such as the number of players in a particular region, the extent of research activity occurring in that region and potential growth (e.g., scope for increase in number of laboratories). INFORMATION SOURCES BCC Research conducted primary and secondary research to develop this report. Sources included companies in the cardiovascular device market and supply industry, public documents, SEC filings, corporate white papers and other technical documentation for U.S. and international companies directly involved in manufacturing and distributing cardiovascular surgery devices and related products. Paid sources include Factiva, One Source and other subscribed healthcare magazines and journals. The report excludes resellers and retailers, focusing instead on the primary companies responsible for developing the underlying technology. Where precise information was not available, a consensus was made using reasonable assumptions and estimates based on historical data. ANALYSTS CREDENTIALS Bhavna Joshi has more than six years of healthcare domain experience. In addition to business research and consulting, she has conducted corporate briefings for top players in a wide range of market segments. After earning her MBA (marketing and finance stream) from Chennai University, she worked with major market research firms. Joshi has authored several market research studies in the healthcare domain. Some of these include: Healthcare tracking technologies. Molecular diagnostics market. High-growth markets in healthcare and life sciences. Adoption rates and analysis of over-the-counter (OTC) diabetic medicines and supplements. Radio frequency identification (RFID), real-time locating systems (RTLS), Internet Protocol (IP) surveillance and other emerging technologies in the healthcare domain.