Community Health Needs Assessment Tools Health And Social Care Essay

The research demand to bring forth qualitative and quantitative informations sing a peculiar community wellness demand is straight proportionate to the impact that the peculiar wellness demand has on the community and sometimes even the mortality/morbidity generated by the peculiar wellness job. In this respect, in this current appraisal we review the wellness demands of coal excavation workers in West Virginia, USA to place jeopardies and hazard factors refering to their wellness, by virtuousness of their designated profession. Community wellness demands appraisal is a strict undertaking that serves the population under survey by clarifying the current demands, reflecting the state of affairs which is frequently non balanced between wellness suppliers, insurance strategies, wellness disposal and/or community leaders. It besides serves at placing peculiar demands that are overlooked by health care functionaries that are either fresh or debatable by clarifying perceived and expressed wellness and well-being demands. In other words, it can be a utile means to picture the selected community ‘s skyline in regard to wellness demands, health care deficits and aetiology, all utile countries for the facilitation of better public wellness direction. In order to execute an accurate community wellness demands appraisal, research should be grounded on an up to day of the month background survey of the selected population ‘s demographics and nose count ( socioeconomic, work force and other ) informations, where available. Furthermore, peculiar wellness factors should be taken into history by pull offing information presently disseminated through health care functionaries ( such as mortality, disease prevalence, hazard factors analysis ) . This research would besides profit from an on-site reappraisal of environmental and work related conditions, if possible. The most utile and widely used instrument to carry on a community wellness demands appraisal and subsequent analysis is by agencies of a structured questionnaire based study that will use cross sectional and population specific points targeted at the current wellness demand. Furthermore, the instrument should be designed with attending to environment and province specific conditions, such as ordinances and Torahs, insurance coverage and even so, local traditions and unwritten codifications of behavior. For the above grounds, in this essay we will carry on a reappraisal of available information on the community of Coal Mining Workers in West Virginia, USA. After the acquisition and analysis of the pertaining informations, we will show a structured study instrument, taking to place wellness demands with regard to bing wellness jobs and patient satisfaction. BACKGROUND-RESEARCH We searched a broad array of online databases and administrations supplying demographic and other information for the population in inquiry. We besides conducted a MEDLINE hunt, to pull the image of already identified wellness demands and/or needs appraisals already conducted in this population. Search footings employed were â€Å" coal workers † , â€Å" west Virginia † , â€Å" wellness demands † , â€Å" pneumonoconiosis ‘ , â€Å" interstitial lung disease † , â€Å" occupational jeopardy † entirely or in combination. West Virginia is a province in the Middle atlantic subdivision of the USA, capital Charleston. The province is ill-famed for its mountain composing and important coal excavation industries. The mineral and coal resources in the country are huge, and West Virginia has been considered to hold fuelled a great portion of the industrial revolution of the developed universe. Furthermore, coal excavation and related work constituted major portion of the employment activities of the province, while still in the twenty-first century, it is believed that mining safety and environmental concerns are amongst the most ambitious issues confronting the province. In 2009, West Virginia was inhabited by 1,819,777 people. 5.6 % of West Virginia ‘s population were reported as under 5, 22.3 % under 18, and 15.3 % were 65 or older. Females made up about 51.4 % of the population ( United States Census Bureau, 2010 ) . Furthermore, harmonizing to US Census Bureau Data, West Virginia is the 3rd lowest in per capita income province. It besides ranks last at average family income. Virginia ‘s grownup population with a unmarried man ‘s grade is the lowest in the U.S. At 17.3 % . The chief economic system is coal, and the province is the lead in coal production, 2nd merely to Wyoming.From the West Virginia Office of Miners ‘ Health, Safety and Training we find that the West Virginia Coal Industry provides about 30,000 direct occupations in WV, including mineworkers, mine contractors, coal readying works employees and mine supply companies. In peculiar 20,715 are registered as employees in the 188 active coal mines in WV, while an extra 4,842 work as an independent contractor. From the same beginning we read that for 2009, fatal accidents were 3, non fatal accidents 1,164 and the accident frequence was estimated to be A 2.79 % . Involved in accidents are chiefly high electromotive force equipment, and countries in and around river burden outs. But apart from human deaths, a major wellness job for VW coal excavation workers is pneumonoconiosis, or ‘black lung ‘ . The CDC has implemented a safety and wellness chapter sing occupational Respiratory Disease Surveillance, and particularly for coal mineworkers, the Enhanced Coal Workers ‘ Health Surveillance Program ( ECWHSP ) . The ECWHSP includes studies that include specifically designed standardized wellness questionnaires, work histories, spirometry testing, radiographic scrutinies, and aggregation of other relevant wellness information, which are gathered in a specially designed nomadic scrutiny unit by trained forces on site.Results of the ECWHSP 2009 study on mine workers in West Virginia are shown on table 1: Finding Examined Rate Entire Engagement 1,884 20 % 9,593 pneumonoconiosis ( & gt ; =1/0 or PMF ) . 93 5 % 1,884 pneumonoconiosis ( & gt ; =2/1 or PMF ) . 43 2 % PMF 24 1 % advanced pneumonoconiosis 35 2 % hold a chronic cough. 624 34 % conveying up emotionlessnesss from their thorax. 690 38 % hold chest sounds of wheezing. 613 34 % hold had an onslaught of wheezing 738 41 % hold experienced dyspnoea on degree 741 41 % hold experienced dyspnoea on a hill 1,119 62 % hold chest stringency 672 37 % hold chronic bronchitis. 142 8 % hold emphysema. 79 4 % hold had pneumonia 337 19 % hold asthma 132 7 % hold TB. 4 0 % ne'er smoked. 954 53 % former tobacco users 455 25 % current tobacco users 393 22 % Although under a batch of debate, coal and in general volatiles ( dust ) have been proven by sufficient evident as causes of respiratory harm. In item, in coal mineworkers a important association between the degree of FEV1 and dust was found, even after accommodation for age, build and smoke ( Cowie,1999 ; Soutar 1989 ) . Some more interesting figures arise from the State Health Facts web site, shown in Table 2: Measured index WEST VIRGINIA USA Age-Adjusted Invasive Cancer Incidence Rate per 100,000 Population, 2005 484.2 458.4 Births of Low Birth weight as a Percentage of All Births, 2006 9.7 8.3 Number of Deaths per 100,000 Population, 2007 951.7 760.31 Life Expectancy at Birth ( in old ages ) , 2005 75.3 78.0 Percentage of Adults Who Have Ever Been Told by a Doctor that They Have Diabetess, 2008 11,9 8,2 Number of Deaths Due to Diseases of the Heart per 100,000 Population, 2006 236,9 200,2 Asthma prevalence among grownups 9.0 8,2 Percentage of Adult Population Aged 21-64 Old ages Who Reported a Disability, 2007 22,4 12,8 The above figures need to be assessed in cautiousness sing the high prevalence of â€Å" business of coal worker † in West Virginia. Apart from the evident pathophysiology of dust come ining the lungs and rendering them inveterate inflammatory, with marks of fibrosis and atelectasia or other interstitial pneumonic disease or pneumonoconiasis, wellness demands of coal excavation workers are extended to a assortment of diseases that are non as normally identifiable at the first expression. Although current testing methods and occupational policies do be for these workers, they tend to be centred on respiratory diseases. Coal Mining nevertheless, is a demanding, clip devouring manual labor that is frequently clamant and causes a assortment of clinical manifestations. As such we can see lower dorsum hurting, physical restrictions ( Galagher,2005 ) cervical spinal column degenerative alterations, vibration-hazard related organic structure alterations, sudden coronary decease ( Kopytina et al, 1993 ) , skin lesions ( Begraca et al, 1991 ) and mental wellness alterations ( Lagunov,1991 ) . Furthermore, the coal excavation community frequently has unmet demands on the degree of healthcare entree and use, that different stakeholders are normally incognizant. In a survey by Smith et al,2005 a community wellness demands appraisal was the agencies to the proviso of a community nurse and a alteration in healthcare proviso among former mineworkers in Kent. Having reviewed the major constituents of community wellness demands appraisal for mine workers in West Virginia and holding conducted the appropriate background reappraisal, we propose the undermentioned questionnaire as a tool to carry oning an effectual and fruitful rating of sensed and existent wellness demands, in a community of mine workers. This tool comprises of a wellness demands assessment portion, where the replies are left unfastened and positions are encouraged for propositions in order to ease the analysis of expected wellness and engagement to wellness concerns. The 2nd portion is a standardised demographics and wellness questionnaire that is used widely in this signifier, with minor changes in measuring the perceived wellness and demographic information of the survey population in inquiry. Emphasis is given on other diseases that might impact the coal excavation community ( participants are requested to number five-5 major wellness concerns ) and on sensed degree of attending and attention this community is having or should be having harmonizing to its demands. A inquiry sing their sibling ‘s wellness is put in the terminal to clarify concerns that are besides documented in the literature sing out of site taint with dust by coal workers that bring their occupational jeopardy in the household place or by scattering in neighborly countries ( Pless-Mulloli et Al, 2001 ) . Questionnaire: We are carry oning a reappraisal of the Health Needs within the WV coal excavation community. Along with statistical informations and analysis we are besides interested in your point of views. Instruction manuals Part One: Health Problems There are several factors that influence or find whether the people in your coal mineworker ‘s community are healthy. From the undermentioned list, delight rank from 1-5 ( 1 being the highest precedence ) what you think are the top five wellness and disablement issues impacting your community? Health Issue Your Ranking ( 1-5 ) Asthma / Respiratory Disease / Pneumoconiasis Cancer Cardiovascular Disease Depression / Psychiatric Disorders Diabetess Disability Drug and Alcohol usage Nutrition Fleshiness Oral Health Physical Injury ( including force and accidents ) Self injury / Suicide Sexual Health Smoking Other ( delight stipulate below ) What do you believe is needed to turn to the top three precedence issues identified above and what difference will this do? Issue 1: Issue 2: Issue 3: What is needed? What is needed? What is needed? What difference will this do? What difference will this do? What difference will this do? How much influence do you believe the following have as to whether people in your coal excavation community are healthy? Please mark each factor with an Ten, ranking â€Å" influence † from 1-5 following with an Ten Influence ( 1 is most, 5 is least ) Factors 1 2 3 4 5 Cost of services Ease of entree to wellness services Education Employment Family support Housing Income Social Isolation Conveyance Community support Insurance position Other ( delight stipulate below ) Your inside informations Please supply us with some information about yourself. This will help us with the analysis of the questionnaire consequences. Please mark the following that applies to you with an Ten Name ( optional ) Cultural Group American German decent Latino Other Gender Male Female Age Range Children ( aged 0 – 14 ) Adults ( aged 25 – 64 ) Youth ( aged 15 – 24 ) Older Peoples ( aged 65+ ) Where make you populate? metropolitan country county How many old ages have you worked in the coal excavation sector? ( figure of old ages ) Make you see your ego healthy? Yes No What is your chief concern? How frequently do you see a physician? List one preventative diagnostic trial that you had the old 6 months: ( colorectal showing, pap trial, ECG, CXR, ultrasonogram etc ) : Does your employer offer wellness promotion/wellness plans? Yes No Type of wellness insurance ( province ) : In the undermentioned subdivision, select which answer describes you. *Note that N/A stands for non applicableAAlways Sometimes Never N/A You wear a place belt: You wear a helmet when siting a bike, Rollerblading or skateboarding: You drive the posted velocity bound: You eat at least 5 helpings of fruits and veggies each twenty-four hours: You eat fast nutrient more than one time a hebdomad: You exercise at a moderate gait at least 30 proceedingss per twenty-four hours, 5 yearss per hebdomad: You consume more than 3 alcoholic drinks per twenty-four hours ( female ) or more than 5 per twenty-four hours ( male ) : You smoke coffin nails: You chew baccy: You are exposed to secondhand fume in your place or at work: You use illegal drugs ( marihuana, cocaine, Methedrine, etc. ) : You perform self-exams for malignant neoplastic disease ( chest or testicular ) : You wash your custodies with soap and H2O after utilizing the public toilet: You undergo physiotherapy for lower dorsum hurting You apply sunscreen earlier planned clip outside: You get a grippe shooting each twelvemonth: You pattern safe sex ( rubber or other barrier method, etc. ) : You take vitamin pills or addendums day-to-day: You spend money on chancing more than one time a month: You attend spiritual services on a regular basis: You volunteer in your community ( church, schools, civic organisations, etc. ) : You donate money to community based organisations ( churches, non net income organisations, etc. ) : You get adequate sleep each dark ( 7-9 hours ) : You feel stressed out: You feel happy about your life: You feel lonely: You worry about losing your occupation: You feel safe in your community: You are afraid for your kids ‘s wellness You feel that the authorities is apt for your wellness You feel that the authorities is apt for your kids ‘s wellness

Greek Empire and the Renaissance: Shaping the New World

Other pull factors such as ideas of political, economic, and social freedom along with trade and exploration of nations hat were an inherent part of the European Renaissance lead to the questioning the Catholic Church and its powers over the people, which ultimately led to the desire for a new place to practice these freedoms. The Greek Empire reached its political peak as a result of simple trial and error. Originally, they began as a monarchy, developed into an oligarchy, and finally advanced into what is now known as the first form of democracy, or power of the people.They strongly believed that in order to be a strong, united, successful nation that there had to be an educated electorate, which eater became the central idea of what the founding fathers established this newly emerging nation on: an idea of freedom. The Greek, much like America later on, were split up into different social classes: slaves, non-slaves, men, and women. Women in Greece were not entitled to a social li fe, much less a voice in politics, bit rather picked up their social status along with everything else from their husbands. Likewise, the Roman Empire played a critical role in the discovery and foundation of the New World.The Romans were the strongest, largest Empire throughout history due to heir advancement in technology, their form of government which was even able to withstand a weak leader, and their their powerful military which enabled them to conquer many nations, expanding the empire further than any other, spanning from Turkey to England. As a result of the fall of the Roman Empire, the entirety of Europe experienced two to three-hundred years of little to no progress and religious conflict. During this time, art and culture was being lost and the only knowledge left was what survived in the monasteries; education was scarce.This period was known as the Dark Ages, also known as the Early Middle Ages, which then led to the Renaissance. The Renaissance was a rebirth of clas sical learning. Everything that was lost and forgotten during the Dark Ages was coming to light. During this time, European people gained a sense of hope and individualism rather than tradition. People began thinking for themselves for the first time in hundreds of years and began to explore art, music, drama, philosophy, and most importantly exploration of the world and questioning of the Catholic Church's authority over the people.For example, â€Å"The Roman Catholic Church taught that an individual could gain favor with God by what were called â€Å"good works†. [Martin] Luther believed that he, as a sinner, was condemned in the eyes of God and that nothing could help him. Despite doing many good works, Luther found no peace of mind†¦ Lather's main complaint against the Catholic Church was that it was supporting a system that left sinners in sin – and this was the institution that was meant to save lost souls !!†¦ In October 1517, Luther pinned his †Å"95 Theses† to a church door in Wattenberg. â€Å"(â€Å"Martin Luther. ) When our nodding fathers designed what was the foundation of our country, they brought ideas such as democracy from the Greek Empire and similar social practices such as the split classes. Likewise, practices such as religious freedom, intellect, and art, developed during the Renaissance, were influences that shaped the New World in a powerful way. During a time of desperation for freedom and a fresh start, founding fathers brought the strongest ideas from significant civilizations and time periods in European history, which essentially shaped what we know as the New World.

How Global Warming Effect the Environment

Charlotte Chiero Wk: 8 Assignment: Project 1-Research Project Global Warming Westwood College Global Warming is an increase in the Earth’s temperature that is caused by gases, chemicals, and heat trapped or introduced into the Earth’s atmosphere causing temperatures to increase. Everyone here on earth is responsible for Global Warming; it is something that we all are responsible for, instead of pointing the finger at each other we need to start working on a solution to slow down the warming effect in our country or world. If we do not become more educated on how we our destroying the world there will be nothing left.Global Warming has become so bad that we cannot tell the difference between seasons and this is because of the damage that we have done to our earth resources. To understand the Global Warming effect we need to comprehend what man has done to this world first we have destroyed our trees and not planting new ones exposing the earth to all kinds of unsafe elem ents. This is called deforestation. So why are we doing this. According to the National Geographic this is for agriculture farmers cut forests to provide more room for planting crops or grazing livestock.Often many small farmers will each clear a few acres to feed their families by cutting down trees and burning them in a process known as â€Å"slash and burn† agriculture. Logging operations, which provide the world’s wood and paper products, also cut countless trees each year. Forests are also cut as a result of growing urban sprawl. Deforestation has many negative effects on the environment. The most dramatic impact is a loss of habitat for millions of species. Seventy percent of Earth’s land animals and plants live in forests, and many cannot survive the deforestation that destroys their homes.In addition deforestation also drives climate change. Forest soils are moist, but without protection from sun-blocking tree cover they quickly dry out. Trees also help perpetuate the water cycle by returning water vapor back into the atmosphere. Without trees to fill these roles, many former forest lands can quickly become barren deserts. Removing trees deprives the forest of portions of its canopy, which blocks the sun’s rays during the day and holds in heat at night. This disruption leads to more extreme temperatures swings that can be harmful to plants and animals.Further more trees also play a critical role in absorbing the greenhouse gases that fuel global warming. Fewer forests mean larger amounts of greenhouse gases entering the atmosphere and increased speed and severity of global warming. The quickest solution to deforestation would be to simply stop cutting down trees. A more workable solution is to carefully manage forest resources by eliminating clear-cutting to make sure that forest environments remain intact. The cutting that does occur should be balanced by the planting of enough young trees to replace the older ones felled i n any given forest.What we have to remember is that not all deforestation is intentional. Some is caused by a combination of human and natural factors like wildfires and subsequent overgrazing, which may prevent the growth of young trees. We have also, introduced chemicals in the atmosphere that is destroying our ozone layers. Trying to find solutions to problems like this will take all of us to work together all over the world to slow down the hothouse effects. As I mentioned early this is why we need our trees to help filter out all these harmful chemicals that our world is exposed to.Some of these chemicals are electricity from coal burning power plants releases enormous amounts of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. According to Planet Save 40% of U. S. CO2 emissions come from electricity production, and burning coal accounts for 93% of emissions from the electric utility industry. Every day, more electric gadgets flood the market, and without widespread alternative energy sourc es, we are highly dependent on burning coal for our personal and commercial electrical supply.Another is in the last half of the 20th Century; the use of chemical fertilizers (as opposed to the historical use of animal manure) has risen dramatically. The high rate of application of nitrogen-rich fertilizers has effects on the heat storage of cropland (nitrogen oxides have 300 times more heat-trapping capacity per unit of volume than carbon dioxide) and the run-off of excess fertilizers creates ‘dead-zones’ in our oceans. In addition to these effects, high nitrate levels in groundwater due to over-fertilization are cause for concern for human health. References: Planet Save. (n. d. ). Retrieved September 20, 2012, from Planet Save: Read also: Disadvantages of Plants Living on Land

Midterm Questions Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Midterm Questions - Essay Example Anaximander, another Miletian philosopher and is said to be the first writer of philosophy, was said to be the first to draw a map and have speculated that the earth is not flat but spherical floating in air. The first scientific idea on the evolution of man is said to have be Anaximander’s first ideas out of his curiosity. 2. Part 1. For Anaximander the earth is cylindrical in shape; curved and round like a drum with flat surfaces and stays in equilibrium at the center of the cosmos. The heavenly bodies are according to him ‘breathing holes’ in the air. By this Anaximander is trying to explain the existence of the earth the sun and other elements in the sky. It is included in the history of philosophy because philosophy seeks to define what is real the same way Anaximander tries to relate the earth and the cosmos in a cyclical manner of things—why the sun, the moon and the stars are present in a cyclical pattern (Stamatellos,2006). Part 2. For Anaximander the earth never moves because in his cosmos the earth floats in the center and remains there by the forces surrounding it. Three of his astronomical speculations are: (1) that the celestial bodies make full circles and pass also beneath the earth, (2) that the earth floats free and unsupported in space, and (3) that the celestial bodies lie behind one another. Thus in his cosmos the earth is unmoved and everything else revolves around it (Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy, 2012). 3. Anaximenes’ grand theory talks about the air as major predecessors of things. He pointed out that the moisture from the earth has formed other heavenly bodies. Although Anaximenes’ belief is that the planets, sun and stars including the earth are flat disks, his assumption that these are above an â€Å"all-encompassing air† is one that is closely associated to modern thought of his time (Lawson, 2004). Anaximenes has his own way of explaining the difference between the planet and t he stars; that the planets are moving in connection with air while the stars are fixed on its positions. These ways of thinking are one of the closest founding theories of his time. Anaximenes also imparted the significance of hot and cold on the formation of existing bodies. His works became a global inspiration on the discovery of atomic properties of matter. Anaximenes’ beliefs centered on air as the primary ingredient in the formation of the universe. In comparison, Thales believed that water is the main predecessor, while Anaximander held on to the theory of the constant and limitless source of life. 4. a. Draw and label all of the parts of the Square of Opposition. (Image source: International Encyclopedia of Philosophy) b. Suppose that the proposition â€Å"Some* are* joggers*† is false*. For each one of the corresponding propositions, state whether it may be immediately inferred to be true or false. Provide a succinct explanation of how you reached one of your immediately inferred conclusions. A. All are joggers- universal affirmative E. Not all are joggers- universal negation I. Some are joggers- particular affirmative O. some are not joggers- particular negation Proposition A is false because not all people are joggers some can be swimmers and other kinds of athletes. While proposition E states true that some people are joggers

Developing an Implementation Plan Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Developing an Implementation Plan - Essay Example Also, in order to attract support from staff members, lobbying will be applied as necessary. Description of the Current Problem Requiring Change People have used exercise in as a measure against coronary heart disease. However how effective exercise is in reducing the risk of suffering coronary heart disease is still at question? Exercise has been known to be an important component in the well-being of any individual. Most studies have suggested that exercise is very crucial in the prevention of most life’s problems and keeping the body in its optimal condition. Despite its eminent benefits, exercise can be detrimental if done wrongly. However, in cases of cardiovascular disease, controversies have risen on the amount of exercise required to prevent this risk and treat patients with this condition. The current United States guidelines recommend that adults should seek at least moderate-level exercise for more than or equal to 150 minutes per week, that is, 30 minutes in a day for five days in a week. Though this is the recommended time to achieve the best from exercise, several studies have suggested different times for performing exercise. Thus, the change proposed is that it must be ensured that the individual gets optimal exercise depended on the severity of the problem, age, and gender. For instance, a study found that brisk walking more than ten blocks away in a day reduced the risk of cardiovascular disease in women. It is also suggested that different forms of exercise should be adopted for various people. Detailed Explanation of the Proposed Solution Optimal exercise activity is crucial for the well-being of any individual. However, not at all times will the recommended time for exercise work for individuals. Most individuals are of the notion that exercise should be intense to obtain the best from the exercise. However, this is not true in all cases and thus the notion should be disregarded. In the case of patients with cardiovascular disease, t he severity of the condition, age, and gender will determine the amount of exercise to be done by the individual. Thus, this statement defeats the notion that exercise should at least be done for 30 minutes in a day for five days in a week. In this sense, the individual should exercise based on the severity of their condition, age, and gender. What this means is that every patient suffering from coronary should not be subjected to over exercise. Performing strenuous exercises may result in greater damage than good as stated by different experts. In a bid to establish the extent to which exercise can be useful to coronary heart disease patients, a survey will be conducted. The survey will seek to establish the kinds of exercises that the patients do regularly and how long they engage in the activities. Furthermore, the survey will seek to establish how they feel after the exercises and the notable health benefits that they gain thereafter. The respondents will comprise patients suffe ring from coronary heart disease, individuals of either gender randomly drawn from the hospital’s population. In addition to conducting a survey, interviews will be conducted with respondents being health experts directly dealing with the patients. The interviews will involve asking the respondents about the effects of exercise that patients undertake with due respect to the extent of the activity. Essentially, the study will help in

The movie, Secretary and masochism Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

The movie, Secretary and masochism - Essay Example The main heroine of the movie is Lee Holloway (Maggie Gyllenhaal), who is a weirdo woman. The plot shows us that Lee Holloway is a rather smart woman, who returns back to her hometown in Florida after a brief stay in a special mental hospital where she was treated from suicidal inclinations. In search of everything that surrounds Lee, we see that she takes a job as a secretary at a little local law firm. Some spectators can suppose that Lee is not only a masochist, but also a perverted woman, but it is not true because Lee Holloway is so closed and oppressed person that she just cannot throw out her inner pain otherwise than through the physical pain. She cannot accept any scandal or hysterics, but she begins torturing herself, when she has some problems. Being the secretary Lee falls in love with her boss, Mr. Grey (James Spader), and pain already appears as a manifestation of his love for her, but at the same time, the pain loses its value for Lee, she needs Edward Gray to inflict her pain. Analyzing the movie Secretary from the position of human sexuality and masochism we can understand that masochism, like sadism, goes beyond human sexuality, and being associated with a person shows a very complex and diverse sources of its development. Thus, this form of deviation very rarely becomes a subject of litigation. Sexual needs are usually met within a partner’s union for a psychological standpoint to implement manifested expectations. Various psychological observations show that unions between persons endowed with sadistic and masochistic traits are very strong and complementary. They usually do not seek help and advice, but they feel good together, mutually satisfying their needs. This film demonstrates us that both Lee’s and Edward’s sadistic and masochistic traits occur simultaneously. In this case, main characters have more complex combinations of individual features and

Fundamentals of Communication Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Fundamentals of Communication - Essay Example 29-44). In other words, the information comes under sharing and transmission in such a way that the receiver must understand the meaning of the exchanged information. However, verbal communication is one of the modes of transmitting the information that also involves face-to-face communication. Sound, words, and language are the few essential elements that come under association with the verbal communication. Although, the authenticity of the origin of the language come under exposure to substantial assumptions and theories, yet several people believe that fundamental sound that incorporate natural sounds and expressions of emotions and gestures are the leading cause for the development of the language. While, on the other hand, according to various theorists, the development of the language is the outcome of the group activities or people working in amalgamation with each other (Alberts et al, pp. 51-57). The history and records reveal the fact that, more than three thousand languages come under speaking by the inhabitants of the globe in the present day. Moreover, it has also come under observation that class, gender, age, and a variety of other social factors exhibit the development of the languages (Alberts et al, pp. 39-56). Although, it has also come under view that the vast and extensive range of languages at many occasions creates complexities between them, yet a single language can eliminate these problems. In addition, language plays a profound and critical role in creating and communicating the meaning (Alberts et al, pp. 12-19). It is the elementary quality of human intelligence to give meaning to the verbal, non-verbal, and written words to communicate. Therefore, people make use of language to â€Å"express, create and interpret meanings so that they can establish and sustain social and interpersonal associations and

Jehovah witness in St. Louis Mo Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Jehovah witness in St. Louis Mo - Essay Example They are well-known for their pervasive preaching and circulating activities. The highly eminent religious magazines like The Watchtower and Awake are the results of their publications. The Watchtower which mainly deals with the issues discussed in the Bible is published twice a month and Awake which covers the general topics of day-to-day life is published monthly. Any kind of idol worship or religious symbols are banned by the Jehovah’s Witnesses. They reject blood donations and their research and development of bloodless surgery techniques have resulted in various bloodless treatment options. Inspired by the Bible the Jehovah’s Witnesses encourage singleness. Nationalism and social ceremonies and rituals are not entertained by the witnesses. However, they are allowed to pay taxes to the government. Their motive is to spread the good news of Jehovah’s Kingdom to the people through door-to-door preaching. The Jehovah’s Witnesses lay considerable emphasis on reading of the Bible and regular prayers to God. The religion claims of God’s earthly paradise with the promise of eternal life when the lost ones will be resurrected. The followers believe that they have been chosen by Jehovah to spread the good news to all as the period of â€Å"last days† are going on. Like most of the religions the Jehovahâ€⠄¢s Witnesses consider premarital sex and abortion to be sinful. Any witness who is found guilty of indulging in any such heinous act is excommunicated or â€Å"disfellowshipped† by the congregation. The Jehovah Witnesses call their place of worship as the â€Å"Kingdom Hall†. It is the meeting place for members of the religion predominantly utilized for directions of Bible and devotion to God. This place of worship is purely functional in character. Scheduled meetings generally thrice a week including Sundays are held in each Kingdom Hall where the local groups assemble to offer their prayers to â€Å"Jehovah†. The members address

M6 and 7 policy Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

M6 and 7 policy - Assignment Example Second, management of the implementation of core project functions such as monitoring the burden of disease and preventive services, supporting of public health research, identification and facilitation of project partnerships, building of capacity and infrastructure for sustainable implementation, program evaluation and policy development (Bob & Ron, 2010). Second, review of public health priorities in relation to dental health. Third, draw project work plan with phases, tasks, and milestones to track progress over time. Forth, monitor costs and progress of projects in relations to oral health budgets and project modifications of work plan, strategic goals and timelines. Managers strategize by focusing on energy investment as a critical ingredient of growth and productivity. For example by establishing what consumes the energy of a company and what replenishes it in respect to operations, people resources and financials. Managers also strategize by focusing on conversations in meetings. According to Bob & Ron (2010), managers are responsible for the quality of each conversations made in every company meeting. They are bound to paraphrase the questions to be of thought provoking nature for purposes of creating ideal outcome for instance a manager can pose a question like â€Å"how can we best increase our monthly sales turnover by 15 per cent† in a meeting with sales teams . In addition managers strategize by aligning organizational goals with the organization’s vision and mission. Situational analysis is the logical gathering and evaluation of past and present data relating to social, economic, political and technology for purposes of identifying external and internal forces that may impact on company’s performance and choice of strategies(Linda, Jack & Peter, 2012). It also aims at assessing future and current organization’s opportunities, strengths and weaknesses. A situational analysis in the implementation of oral health

How to Break Up and Remain Friends Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

How to Break Up and Remain Friends - Essay Example True, it might hurt initially but the break up could be beneficial for the couple. First, they no longer remain in a non-workable relationship and the separation gives them space to mature and to find partners that they could really be happy with. For good or for ill, the other person had a part of one’s life and it is much better to remain friends than keep the pain of the break-up. Yes it is easier said than done. Especially if the break up was just recent. Sometimes, the other party wronged the other party that led to the break-up that remaining friends would be quite impossible. Yet, despite all these difficulty in remaining friends with exes, relationship experts unaninomously agree that it is still healthier to remain friends with exes than totally severe the relationship. First, it displays maturity on both party and second, it allows both party to move on smoothly. There are few tips that were given which this paper would attempt to consolidate for brevity. According t o Molly Mann, both party has to set their expectations right so that remaining friends with a former lover would still be possible. Foremost, â€Å"do not expect to be friends all at once† (2009). ... Think about this, if the other person did not get hurt with the break up, then the relationship might not have meant anything. The pain is only a manifestation how valuable the relationship were which is why partners are grieving. If the other party is not yet ready, do not rush. When the time has already come that the two of you are already ready to face each other and talk, this would be the ideal time to sort things out if there are still unresolved issues. If the air is already clear, it would be first comfortable to talk about neutral topics than jumping right away in the topic that the two of you wanted to become friends right away (Chenoweth, 2011). It might make the other party or both parties awkward that would make future attempts more difficult. Treat the ex just like a normal friend and be relaxed (Chenoweth, 2011). Zara Hughes made a caveat in extending the olive branch of friendship. Make sure that the both of you have established boundaries in the new structure of your relationship that it is strictly platonic. Be aware not to engage in sweet things that the two of you used to do such as touching, flirting and of course, kissing. It will only make things more difficult because the two of you will be back where you started (Chenoweth, 2011). In the same manner that you keep your body language platonic and neutral, also make conscious check not to talk about the emotional details of your relationship. Nor the reason of its break up or what could have beens. Talking about it would be tantamount to fix the relationship with a subconscious hope for the two of you to be back again. Once that happened, you two are again back from where you started and will undergo again the harrowing feeling of break up and re-establishing friendship. If

The Global Financial Crisis of 2007-2008 Essay Example for Free

The Global Financial Crisis of 2007-2008 Essay Economists and scholars spend years dissecting financial markets and evaluating the causes of booms and busts. Throughout United States history there have been multiple economic booms that were underestimated and followed by recessions. In the situation of the 2007-2008 global financial crisis many culprits have been identified as causes, such as loose monetary policy, credit booms, deregulation, over complexity, and greed. Since the economic boom was solely dependent on weak policies and misconceptions, this leads me to believe prevention was possible with adequate regulatory policy, risk assessment and clarifications for commercial banks. Monetary Policy The Federal Reserve uses monetary policy to control the supply of money in order to determine interest rates and manipulate currency values. Markets commonly favor lower interest rates because people are able to pay less for capital. When the capital costs decline, banks and other entities are able to build up leverage for financing activities. When banks become highly leveraged they begin to take on more credit and liquidity risks without providing addition collateral. This is sometimes in reckless proportions that drive institution into possible closure and the need for bailouts (Investopedia, 2012). At the turn of the century during the infamous â€Å"dot-com bubble†, the stock market was flooded with new investors trying to take part in the newest financial craze. These investments were overestimated and premature, and as the stock market crashed high interest rates nearly crippled the economy. The Federal Reserve reacted by lowering the interest rates in order to stabilize the economy and aid in its recovery. In response, consumers, bankers and other investors took advantage of the cheaper borrowing costs and flooded the economy with capital (businessinsider, 2012). Aside from the United States, many countries’ economies behaved similarly and the global economy prospered. Cross-country borrowing and investing began to increase relative to the flow of capital. Historically cross-country capital exchanges happen at disproportionate levels and create global financial imbalances amongst countries (IMF, 2012). At this point domestic economies begin to blend and become globally dependent, increasing their vulnerability and sensitivity to market fluctuations. Housing Bubble At the start of the century the U.S. economy experienced a credit boom that was underestimated on regulatory, institutional and consumer levels. Low interest rates attracted consumers and increased the demand for asset acquisition. Real estate and other marketable assets increased in value (dailybeast, 2012). Traditionally investment bankers invested in Treasury bonds, but interest rates were so low the yields were not worth the investment. At this time there were drastic increases in home ownership and a booming market for mortgages. Investment bankers began to purchase individual mortgages as a means to acquire more debt leveraging to continue financing more mortgage purchases. These mortgages were grouped together with other comparable mortgages then they were reformed, rated and packaged as a marketable product known as a collateralized debt obligation (CDO). The CDOs had different levels of risk and returns based on the estimations of default probability (NY times, 2012). To insure their investments, investors also purchased derivative instruments known as credit default swaps (CDS). Credit defaults swaps are known as insurance contracts that protect the investor’s investments by gambling on whether a company or homeowner will default on debt obligations. The CDO and CDS markets were not new concepts, but had never experienced this level of investing in prior periods. In the past consumers generally purchased a CDS to go along with their bond or CDO investment. Since the CDS markets were facing large potential returns, external investors began to flood the market without having any principal ties. As these markets began to take hold, there was a realization of finite number of qualified homeowners (Wikipedia, 2012). Generally homeowners were required to meet certain qualifications in order to borrow funds for mortgages, also known as prime mortgages. Since the prime mortgage market had receded, lenders were encouraged to lower their requirements for lending and began to allow subprime mortgages. These less responsible homeowners began to default on their mortgages, which turned investment bankers’ stream of mortgage payments into empty houses. Increases in foreclosures raise the supply of available houses, which lowers the fair market values of houses. The prime mortgage homeowners were left with houses that were highly devalued relative to their mortgages and began to abandon their mortgage obligations. Mortgage lenders, investment bankers, and outside investors froze their activities, as they faced possible bankruptcy. Regulatory/Supervisory Inadequacies Deregulation is believed to be the underlying cause of all economic downturns, as its scope of responsibility reaches all markets. In the 1930s the United States experienced a bank crisis that sparked a widespread distrust in the banking system and people withdrew their money from the depository institutions overnight. The sudden retraction of the money supply from the economy caused many banks to close and the economy to suffer. The Banking Act of 1933, also known as the Glass-Steagall Act, was created to insure depositors’ savings and restore confidence through the limitation of bank security activities and the affiliations between commercial banks and securities firms(Wikipedia,2012). The Glass-Steagall Act was successful for many years, but grew to be disliked by the banking community. In the 1980s-90s the world experienced economic booms and recessions that fueled the banks preoccupation with regulation. The Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act was enacted in 1999, this removed barriers in the market among banking companies, securities companies and insurance companies that prohibited any one institution from acting as a combination of an investment bank, commercial bank, and an insurance company(Wikipedia, 2012). This act repealed part of the Glass-Steagall Act of 1933 and allowed banks to function with limited regulation. During the House of Representatives debate, Rep. John Dingell argued that the bill would result in banks becoming â€Å"too big to fail†, which will result in a bailout by the Federal government. In light of the most recent economic boom, investors demanded greater return yields from their investments. This search led many people and entities to invest in unregulated securities markets. In some securities markets there were no regulations available, because the securities were overly complex and dependent on the recently deregulated banking industry. Some examples of unregulated securities are credit default swap derivatives, collateralized debt obligations and predatory lending connected were tied to the housing bubble. This era of financial engineering and limited regulation could be the main cause for our financial crisis and its following recession. The financial crisis cost Americans trillions in investment losses, home equity declines, unemployment increases and lost wages. The broad spectrum of the global financial system is complex and involves almost everyone. It is difficult to isolate the causes of the financial crisis to a short list, but many economists and scholars commonly agree and a select few major contributors to the crisis. Whether it be deregulation, loose monetary policy, or global financial imbalances; the economy must return to some state of normalcy. In response to any mistake all participants should learn from the crisis and attempt to cultivate a plan for prevention and sustainability. References * http://news.investors.com/ibd-editorials-on-the-right/103012-631374-financial-crisis-was-caused-by-bad-policies.htm#ixzz2DLcCmbVd * http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gramm-Leach-Bliley_Act * http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Financial_crisis_of_2007%E2%80%932008 * http://www.imf.org/external/np/seminars/eng/2012/fincrises/pdf/ch6.pdf * http://www.imf.org/external/np/res/seminars/2010/paris/pdf/obstfeld.pdf * http://www.investopedia.com/terms/m/monetarypolicy.asp * http://topics.nytimes.com/topics/reference/timestopics/subjects/c/collateralized-debt-obligations/index.html * http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Credit_default_swap * http://www.businessinsider.com/the-consequences-of-easy-monetary-policy-2012-9 * http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2012/09/06/the-clinton-recession.html * http://thinkprogress.org/economy/2012/09/13/846281/financial-crisis-lost-trillions/?mobile=nc

Automated Library System and Integration of Automated Library System Essay Example for Free

Automated Library System and Integration of Automated Library System Essay For the past century, change occurred rapidly in professional industry and has posed significant challenges to those who always tries to be the leader in the professional field. The information waves or some called the information revolution triggered by the rising of networking technologies and personal computers has also impacted to an institution that is quite unknown to some but essential to the community, the library institution. Libraries, as we know of as buildings with stacks of books, magazine, news, files, periodicals and signs of silence all around, may face its extinction someday. One may not run to the library or a librarian for information, but to ones own computer which is the basic of automation. The uprising of globalization, marketization, and privatization had bring significant changes the long-held political and economic beliefs. Governments and social sponsors have been propagating that social institutions—be they hospitals, schools, colleges, and libraries—become self-sufficient if they are to purposefully work and demonstrate their relevance and competence to their clients. Institutional excellence will now have to be achieved through the arm race of technologies rather than through rules, regulations and controls.. Librarians and information managers, therefore, are being asked to generate revenue to become self-sustaining as much as possible. In Malaysia, libraries and information centers have begun to realize that marketing of information products and services is an integral part of administration, especially as a means for improving user satisfaction and promoting the use of services by current and potential users. The main arsenal for libraries in Malaysia can utilize would be the automated library system and integration of automated library system. These systems has proven that it can improve substantially the services that a common library can offer. An integrated library system (ILS), also known as a library management system is a system for a library, used to track, orders made, items owned bills paid, and patrons who have borrowed. An Integrated Library System usually consist of a type of relational database, software to interact with that database. Then there’s user interface that would interact with user and also patrons of the library. There are also modules which include acquisition, circulation, cataloguing, serials, OPAC (public interface for users). These features ease the user of library in their research or other tasks. However these systems are strangers to most library institution in Malaysia. It has been implement in only a handful of institutions such as UiTM , UM ,UTM and few more private institution. This scenario happened not because Malaysia don’t have such capabilities to grab these technologies but lack of marketing strategies to in promoting the use of such systems. Three main factors, namely the information explosion, the technology revolution, and escalating library costs are responsible for encouraging the library profession in Malaysia to develop a marketing approach in its operations and services. Some information service managers feel that marketing is inimical to the nature of their activities. But with steep competition from other institution in the country, marketing is a factor for survival. There are some radical marketing strategies in order to market information systems library in Malaysia that can be apply. These strategies can be interpreted by the market the market targeted , extraordinary plans that could raise attention and also drastic measures from the national bodies and major institution and organizations. Market or target users for information systems library in Malaysia must be thoroughly defined first in order for the technologies to grow in our soil. In Malaysia, the target public and audience would be mostly students which consist of various layer of education level. Their needs and demands in library services such as navigation, guides in their research can be fulfill through the systems. By studying their likes would help in plans of promoting the system and also could meet the target audience easier Introduction of the system or better yet the education of the systems’ use and functions to the public is prior in marketing the information system. Malaysia has various kind of media channel such as the radio, television, satellite channels and vast amount of printed materials. Advertising the information systems in libraries by making a short clip with a twist of a little drama and education in the system’s role assisting users to their needs. The education should also be consistent and updated periodically to refresh audience’s knowledge and awareness from time to time. Integration of information system through networking can also be a good marketing strategies for institution in Malaysia since the distance is no more a factor and a mutual bond already existed between education institution in Malaysia. This could help a wide spread of information system network which applies the same system and processes wherever its located in the country. This could ultimately be far more efficient for the users ( mainly the students) in using the system anywhere they want since it would incorporated the same user interface , functions, database . Technologies has also developed a new kind of attraction for the users nowadays. It offers applications and software that allows users to interact with each other , socialize through wire, gain information and keep updated through high speed network. Information system in libraries and integrated system can absorb and assimilate this application in its chain of function which would be more interactive and give the users more experience of the cyber networking via an information system in a library. Also, some more value add to the systems could attract more library user such as networking andweb browsing which would help the customer expand their search wider. There are also marketing strategies that could be implemented throughout government assistance is standardizing all the library institution by ensuring that every library in the country must be equipped with the automated information and integrated system. Although it is a quite a risky and costly for some , but the services would surely improved and would extend the image of libraries in Malaysia as a benchmark for other institution in the country. The government could also help promoting and marketing this system by introducing it to the primary and secondary level education in form of a mini automated system that can easily be used by those ages of kids in their own school library which would familiarize and make them easier to adapt to the real system in the future. Another strategies in extending the information system is through the enhancement of library personnel ‘s professional knowledge and skills for marketing the information system and services that a library offer. Library personnel should enhance their professional skills with technical knowledge and diverse skillset. This would drastically changed the user perception thus promoting the system in a way of its own. Conclusion is that these automated library system and integration of automated library system in Malaysia will succeed if the campaign focus on some important aspect of the process such as increasing the clientele and reaching out to them. Unless the information is used , it is major waste to the resources. Other than that, always ensure that product innovation and flexibility always evolve throughout the period and the financial viability for the whole process maintained at a safe level. There should also some kind of awareness and cooperation in between major organization , government ,institution and the user itself . With all that , it would not be impossible for library institution in Malaysia can also change and compete with other international institution that has long exceed us in information technologies and libraries management.

An Introduction To Accounting

An Introduction To Accounting AIS is a system that collects and store accounting data, after that process the data into useful information used by the decision makers (internal and external users). The information produced by AIS can help decision maker to manage their business more efficiently strategically. However, accounting information system can be manual using the traditional way of recording business transactions manually using paper-and-pen. Today the term AIS referred to as compound computer base system that merges the ability of information technology together with traditional accounting principles and practices. Accounting information systems consist of six components: People: users who work on the systems Procedures and instructions: the process of collecting, managing and storing the data Data: data which is related to the company and its business. Software: application that processes the business data Information technology infrastructure: the physical devices like personal computer and systems Internal controls and security measures: which is employed to secure the data In the beginning, AISs were mainly developed in-house as legacy systems. These kinds of solutions are difficult to develop and require a high cost to maintain. In the present day, AIS are sold as prebuilt software packages from vendors. The most popular vendors for AIS are Microsoft, Sage, Group, SAP and Oracle where they customize the software to mach organizations business processes. Modern AIS follows a multitier architecture, which separate the application processing and data management in different layer from the presentation to the user. The presentation layer manages how the information is displayed and used by functional users of the system (through client application, web browser or mobile device). All the data in the system is stored and packed by a centralized database. this includes transactional data generated from the core business processes such as inventory, purchases etc. when a transaction occur from business event the data is collected and stored into the system database where it can be processed into useful information used by decision makers. A big benefit from computerize accounting information system is that they automate and make financial reporting more efficient. Accurate and summarized, timely information is a major tool for organizations decision making and financial reporting. The accounting information system pull imports data from the system database, process and transform it and eventually produces information and reports which can be easily consumed and analyzed by the users, managers and decision makers. These systems are required to ensure that the reports are timely and relevant so that decision makers are able to quickly and efficiently base on the information provided in the reports. Consolidation is one of the greatest characteristic of reporting as user does not have to go through a massive number of transactions. For example, at the end of the accounting period an accountant consolidates all payments by running a report on the system. The system application layer reclaims the data stored in the system database and produces a report with the total payments made to the vendors for that particular period. With large corporations which have huge volume of transactional data, generating a report without AIS can take day or even weeks. Case study background River Adventures is a fifteen years old company located in Cheddar, Somerset, owned and managed by Robin Forsythe. Until recently river adventures business has been highly seasonal offering 2 different kayaking instruction for beginners and Intermediate level as well as kayak and rafting trips down the river Axe in Somerset. They usually rent equipment to participant if they required. However, the company is facing an exciting challenge which will alter the size, the type of service offered and the seasonality of the business Financial management and business processes field Robin operating his business very informally using manual procedures in all areas. He always predicts the expenses for each course based on his working experience. He also manages the purchasing activities of the company and issue invoices for participants on the course. At the end of the year he determines his profit by his total revenue minus the total expenses during the year. Robin set the prices by consider his profit from the previous year, assess his competitors price and make adjustment for inflation. Robin employs an office administrator along with a number of kayak instructors and raft guides. The administrator manages Account Payable and Cash Receipts and records them in the Income Journal. He also maintains simple general ledger and payroll register for tax purposes only, and no use of this accounting data is made for financial planning or for operations control. River adventures advertise through leading outdoor magazine, he also advertises about the coming seasons program on popular kayak retail notice board. Problem Robin is not pleased with the arrangement of his business and he concern about how he will keep track on expenditure and revenues as the business get bigger. Robin feels that there is unnecessary wastage of the company resources as there is not real control over the cost of meals provided to the beginners course. In addition he notice that recently there is diminishing in the stock of camping as well as small items are also being lost. Robin has suspicion about the operation of marginally attended classes, but no analysis has been done to confirm his suspicion. Robin believes there is lack in his marketing activities and he can easily attract more customers by improving his marking activities. Business opportunity Robin know about 40% of kayaking course participants continue kayaking. As such his customer base reflects a target market for direct sales of kayaking and other equipment. He would like to expand his sales into a full scale direct mail/internet business. Doing so would enable him to provide year-round work for some kayaking personnel. Users of Financial Information Accounting information system objective is to identify record and communicate the economic events of an organization to the intended users. Accountant use this information to formulate reports and communicate financial information to the users. The type of information the user requires is dictated by the type of decisions they make. The information provided by the financial statements includes an organization resources and claims against those resources, as well as shareholders equity and changes in assets and liabilities. Financial information differs between the internal and external users. Accountants must understand the characteristics of information required by the different users of financial statements. In developing financial reporting standards, standard setters presume that those who use the resulting information will have a reasonable knowledge of business and economic activities and be able to read a financial report (Financial Accounting Standards Board, 2006, p. 2). The aim of communicating financial information to user is to let accountants to address the needs and interest of users. There are many different users of financial information and this include: equity investors, suppliers, creditors, customers, employees, governments and their agencies and members of the public. Those users are identified as internal and external users of financial information. Internal Users Managers use financial information to plan, organize and operate their business. Managers include marketing managers and production supervisors. Managers should be able to understand financial information to answer such questions as Is the cash flow sufficient to pay their liabilities? and Which product contributes higher profit to the company? accountant produce internal reports to management for comparison and forecasting needs purposes; such examples include comparisons of operating alternatives, projections of long-term financial sustainability, and forecasts for annual cash needs. External Users There are quite a few types of external users of financial information and this includes lenders investors and tax authorities. Invertors (owners) use financial information to determine whether to buy, hold or sell their shares. Whilst suppliers and lenders view financial statement to assess the health of an organization and to ensure timely repayment of credit. Other external users include equity investors, customers, creditors, employees, general public and governments and their agencies and regulatory bodies.

Psychology :: essays research papers

Reaction Paper 1 (Sample Reaction Paper) Ron Gerrard, HWS Psychology Department   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  My paper is based on an article from the text’s web site (chapter 9) entitled â€Å"Lack of sleep ages body’s systems.† The basic claim of the article is that sleep deprivation has various harmful effects on the body. The reported effects include decreased ability to metabolize glucose (similar to what occurs in diabetes) and increased levels of cortisol (a stress hormone involved in memory and regulation of blood sugar levels). The article also briefly alludes (in the quote at the bottom of page 1) to unspecified changes in brain and immune functioning with sleep deprivation.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Intuitively, these results make a lot of sense to me. I know that when I’m sleep deprived for any significant amount of time, I begin to feel physically miserable. I also seem to be more vulnerable to colds and other physical ailments. In thinking about it though, most of the times I’m sleep deprived are also periods of psychological stress (such as finals week). To the extent that there are changes in my physical well-being, I’m wondering whether they are due to the sleep deprivation, the stress itself, or some combination of the two.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In principle, a careful experiment should be able to isolate the effects of sleep deprivation by depriving people of sleep in the absence of stress and other such confounding variables. That seems to be what this experiment does, but as I read the article closely, I found myself unsure that the effects it reports are necessarily due to sleep deprivation per se.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  I realize that a brief summary article like this does not provide all the details of the experimental methodology, but a couple of things that were reported in the article struck me as curious. The researchers studied physical functioning (cortisol levels, etc.) in men who had a normal night’s sleep (eight hours in bed) the first three nights of the study, followed by a period of sleep deprivation (four hours in bed) the next six nights of the study, and finally a period of sleep recovery (12 hours in bed) the last seven nights of the study. In reporting the effects on the body (the discussion of glucose metabolism, in the fifth paragraph of the article) the author’s compare the sleep deprivation stage only to the sleep recovery stage, not to normal sleep. This seems to me like doing an experiment on drunkenness and comparing the drunk stage to the hangover stage, without ever reporting what happens when the person is sober.

Favorite Norse Myths :: essays research papers

Favorite Norse Myths Published by: Scholastic Inc.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  2.) The Types of stories found in this book are based on Norse Mythology. They contain information on the creation of the Earth, (Midgard), and some of the trials that the gods and goddesses had gone through.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  3.) One of the myths that I enjoyed was the first one on creation, entitled: Creation: The Nine Words. This story tells us how in the beginning there was nothing other than fire, ice, and mist. The land with all the ice was called Niflheim, and the land of fire was Muspell. As time went on, Muspell melted Niflheim, and from that came two giant creatures. One of them was named Ymir, and he was an evil frost-giant, and the other was a cow named Audumla. Ymir drank Audumla milk to get stronger, and one night, while sleeping, a troll with six heads grew from his feet, and a male and female frost-giant came from his armpit. Audumla also brought something to life, as he licked the salt blocks for food, he recovered another giant. This giant was a good giant, and his name was Buri. His sons and grandsons became gods, because they were very honorable. The greatest of Buri’s grandsons was Odin. Odin was the greatest of all the gods, and he was the god of war and death. Odin and his wife Frigg, goddess of knowledge, and also knew what happened in the worlds, had many children. Odin was a lso the one who led his brothers to overthrow Ymir, and they eventually killed him. After killing him, different parts of his body became different parts of nature. His flesh became the world, his blood became the seas, his bones became the mountains, and his hair and teeth became the trees and stones. Now his blood, that made the seas, drowned all but two of the frost-giants, and they repopulated the frost-giants, witches, warlocks, enchanters, and ogres, and taught them to hate Odin. They lived in Jotunheim. The worms in the Earth, Ymirs flesh, were turned onto dwarves, and the dark elves. The dwarves lived in Nidavellir, and the dark elves lived in Svartalfheim. There were also some nice creatures, and they were the elves, who lived in Alfheim. Odin took Ymirs skull and made it the sky, and places four dwarves in each corner of the sky. Nordri, Sudri, Austri, and Vestri; North, South, East, and West.

Free Essays - An Analysis of Catch 22 :: Catch-22

An Analysis of Catch 22      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Catch 22, by Joseph Heller, is a critique of the society that we live in. Whoever is proud of what we have advanced to, and is unwilling to look at it in a negative light, would find this book very subversive. It threatens and criticizes the way of living of most who pride themselves in living a modern life. Heller shows through the ridiculousness of war how misguided much of modern society has become, in spite of all our so called civilized advancement. Some will find this interesting, thought provoking and enjoy this book. Others will take it as a direct threat and insult to all the work they have done.      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   From the very beginning, Heller shows some of the most popular ideas and values of the day in a negative, questioning light. In particular, he shows the negative consequences of conformity and highlights individuality as a way to survive.   He wants us to recognize how one is controlled and stifled by society.      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The leading character in this novel, addressing what has gone wrong with society, is Yossarian. He is the only one who recognizes the full craziness of what everyone is living for: wealth, false happiness, society's approval, etc. He is one of the few who tries to fight the power and elitism that have become so sought after in America. Throughout the novel, he tries to find a way to live a fuller life as a real human individual. He looks to many of the other characters in the book for help but only finds unsatisfactory answers.      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Each of the characters in Yossarian's life at the base shows the reader one more example of how bad society has become. Clavinger tries to live life by reasoning. He looks for a reason in everything. In constantly looking for a reason why, he never enjoys life to it fullest. As further proof that this life leads nowhere, he is shot down and killed, certainly not an event with a rational explanation. Major Major is the person who obeys everyone, always trying to be perfect. He does everything that anyone asks of him, but takes it to an extreme. By being so naively obedient, instead of being helped by his comrades, he is shunned.

Data Analysis for Research Essay

Scenario 1: Customer Perceptions of the Toyota Brand WKB Toyota in Chichester want to investigate customer attitudes towards the Toyota brand, to see if the press coverage regarding mechanical failures during 2009-2010 have had any long-term impacts on customer loyalty and potential sales to new customers. In the first instance, WKB can offer access to their own marketing database. Scenario 2: Market Segmentation for Visit Chichester Visit Chichester is in the process of realigning its marketing strategy to key customer groups in order to more effectively promote the visitor economy in the Chichester District. As part of the process they wish to conduct research to investigate current attitudes towards the Visit Chichester website. They wish to seek views from across a range of profiles including families with children, couples, and the retired market. The results will be used to determine the structure and content of the new Visit Chichester website. Scenario 3: NatWest Banking Charter Following its widespread publicity campaign, which included TV adverts and street billboards, and as part of its commitment to customer service, NatWest wish to undertake research to establish the impact of its Customer Charter. More specifically, they want to ascertain whether it has lead to a discernible improvement in customers’ perception of the bank’s service quality. They also wish to undertake an internal audit to assess whether staff have noticed an impact of the Charter. Scenario 4: The Green Economy The West Sussex Sustainable Business Partnership has commissioned the University of Chichester undertake research assessing the level of sustainable business practice by businesses across a range of sectors in West Sussex. Specifically the WSSBP would like to establish the extent to which businesses are adopting green measures in key areas such as operations management, purchasing, and energy management. They also want to establish business awareness of available support for going green, and general business attitudes to the green agenda. The results will help WSSBP help businesses prepare for the green economy being championed by the coalition Government. Scenario 5: HMV Music In the light of poor trading figures, and the imminent closure of 60 of its UK branches, HMV want to undertake research to ascertain the factors that are causing poor sales and determine which product lines should be continued and which ones should be discarded. They are also interested in how they can improve their online sales performance as part of a realignment of their retail strategy. Scenario 6: Tourism Industry Response to Recession and Recovery The Sussex Tourism Partnership have commissioned the University to undertake research into the impact of recession on the tourism industry in Sussex, and the strategic response adopted by tourism businesses, including accommodation providers and attractions. They wish to establish the degree to which different sectors have felt the impact of recession, either positively or negatively, and identify the key measures these businesses have taken to remain competitive in the current downturn. Scenario 7: Evaluation of Goodwood Motor Racing Events The Goodwood Road Racing Company (GRRC) has commissioned the University of Chichester to undertake research investigating visitor perceptions of the overall quality of the visitor experience at the Goodwood Festival of Speed and Revival. They also want to assess visitors’ views about potential new events, products and services that could be developed at Goodwood that would increase revenue without significantly increase the negative impacts currently generated by the Festival of Speed and Revival events. Scenario 8: Green policies at Sainsbury PLC The aim of the research is to establish whether there are any economic benefits from adopting green business policies at Sainsbury supermarkets. The supermarket’s Operations Manager wants to identify ways in which the economic impacts of Sainsbury’s adoption of green business polices can be measured. In particular, she is interested in the identification of costs and benefits associated with implementing green business policies at Sainsbury, and to identify the economic incentives and disincentives which Sainsbury has from its stakeholders such as customers, suppliers and government to adopt green business policies.

Columbian Exchange in America and Europe Essay

The Columbian Exchange had dramatic demographic effects in both the Americas and Europe. One major factoring concerning both of the two regions was the spread of new diseases causing a decline in the growth of both the America’s and Europe’s population. However, the impact tended to be much more negative for the Americans. Through the Columbian exchange the Europeans brought multiple new diseases to the Native American population, including small pox. The coming of these diseases had such a great influence and caused the population to decrease so much it became known as the great dying. On the other hand, new diseases were being brought to Europe as well from European sailors after â€Å"intermixing† with natives. The main disease being brought was syphilis. Although not necessarily as harmful as the diseases that killed off the current populations of the America’s syphilis caused a major problem in the population growth of further centuries due to the infertility problems that came along with syphilis. Another demographic change brought along by the Columbian exchange was that of the intermixing of cultures and decline in 100% native citizens, primarily in the Americas with coming of the Europeans. The Columbian exchange brought little Americans back to Europe causing little intermixing. However with the coming of Spanish into Mexico and Peru, a new population of mixed-race emerged, otherwise known as mestizo, which soon became a common feature of colonial socities. Another factor that the Columbian Exchange brought to Europe and the America’s was the introduction of new agricultural products. For, the America’s this meant the bringing of new crops such as wheat and barley to be grown, yet not necessarily immediately becoming a staple of ones diet, though for Europe new agricultural products brought a lasting environmental effect on their dry hard to grow soil. With the introduction of products such as tomatoes, tobacco, and especially potatoes new products were able to be grown in these hard living areas and certain environmental factors that once held societies back from population growth were now being put to use for the better of the region. In addition to agriculture making an environmental impact the coming of new livestock also had a lasting effect on the Americas. Through the exchange, Europeans brought cattle, horses, and pigs to the America’s all thriving in the environment and soon become very prominent and numerous in their new surroundings, soon becoming associated with their new habitat. On the contrary, little livestock was brought back from the Americas creating little change in the livestock and indigenous species of the European region. One more environmental effect due to the Columbian exchange, was the Columbian exchanges impact on the over extensive mining of silver in the Americas. This mining led to deforestation and acid mine drainage led to a decline in the population os species in nearby aquatic habtitats. Not to mention, having the devastating demographic impact on the Americas in the aspect that these regions where silver as mined lost many men, due to the harsh and risky working conditions set in the mines†¦ just to extract silver!! From 1450 to 1750, the Columbian exchange brought new ideas, life and diseases to Europe and the Americas leaving lasting demographic and environmental impacts, however with the rise of mercantilism in Europe and their eager desire to integrate their society into the Americas a more negative and dramatic effect was placed on the surroundings and growth of the population..

Hardware reveiw Essay

Hardware is the physical part of the computer which you can actually touch. Software on the other hand is the part of the computer that you cannot touch. There are many different examples of hardware within a computer system including   Keyboards Printers   Scanners Monitors Disk drives   Computer towers When making my logo their where many different hardware that I used when making my logo. These include input, output and processing devises. The input device I used to make my logo was a keyboard. A keyboard is the main input devise attached to the computer. It allows you to enter text and numbers that will appear on the computer screen. A keyboard is made up of keys that are separate (as you can see in the picture below). These keys represent numbers and letter of the alphabet. An image of a keyboard There are many different advantages for using a keyboard when making my logo and my ID card including it will allow me to type the name of the Kingsbury health centre and it also allows me to type in the name of the workers on their ID card. It will also help my logo look more professional if I type the name of the health centre. Another advantage for using a keyboard is that it is simple and easy to use and I know how to use it. I could not find any disadvantages for using a keyboard when making my logo, Id card, database or user manual however if you are typing up a long piece of work it could damage you back if you use a keyboard for too long. Another advantage for using the keyboard when making my database and my user manual is that it allows me to type in the information I want to appear on the screen. Another input device I used when making my logo was a mouse. This is a hand operated devise that allows you to control the curser that appears on the screen. It also allows you to move things and to click on things on the computer screen. On the bottom of the mouse of most mousse is a ball that rolls when you move it. An image of two computer mouse’s The advantages for using a mouse when making my logo are that it allows me to easily move images around on my logo. This will ensure that that my logo is exactly as I want it to be. Another advantage for using a mouse to make the logo is that the mouse is simple and easy to use. The disadvantages for using this type of mouse when making my logo is that it easily break when it falls on the floor. This is because the ball in the back of the mouse falls out. It would probably be better if I use the newer mouse. The output devise that I could use to make my logo is a laser printer. A laser printer is a printer that produces high quality text and graphics. It does this by using a laser beam technology to produce an image on a photosensitive drum. An image of a laser The advantages for using a laser printer to print of my logo are that a laser printer prints of better quality images than the inkjet printer. Another advantage for using the laser printer is that it can print off colour images which I need because I want to print of my logo in colour. In addition, another advantage for using the laser printer to print of my logo is that it prints of quicker and quieter than the other printers. The disadvantages for using the laser printer o print of my logo are that it will be very expensive to buy a laser printer. Another output device I used when making my logo is the TFT monitor. TFT monitor is an output devise that displays signals on the computer screen. A TFT is a flat computer monitor, which gives high quality images on the screen and is modern. An image of a TFT monitor The advantages for using a TFT monitor is that it does not give of glare that CRT monitors do give off. This means that if I use this monitor for long periods of time it is less likely to hurt my eyes. Another advantage for using the TFT monitor when making my logo are that it will give off high quality images on the computer screen. This will make my logo look better. A disadvantage for using the TFT monitor when making my logo is that it is very expensive to buy a TFT monitor.

Investigating Castle Mall management Essay

The castle mall is a shopping centre located in the centre of Norwich. It is owned by the insurance company Friends Provident. Friends provident employ a whole managerial team who run the centre. This is called Castle Mall Management. This is what I will be investigating in my project. E1 Public and Private Limited Companies (PLC) Castle mall management Ltd is a private limited company (ltd). A private company is a business with limited liability whose shares are not available to the public. A Public limited company (PLC) is a business with limited liability whose shares are not available to the public. PLC’s are required by law to publish their accounts. This means that they are available for scrutiny, not only by the owners (shareholders), potential investors, and bankers, but also, by competitors. The Memorandum of Association must state clearly that the business is a public company and it must be registered as such. The term ‘plc’ must appear after its name. The differences between the two, private and public limited companies are; > A public company can raise capital from the general public, while a private company is prohibited from doing so. > The minimum capital requirement of a public company is à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½50,000. There is no minimum for a private company. > Public companies must publish far more detailed accounts than private companies. Advantages 1) The shareholders have limited liability. 2) It is easy to raise capital by issuing more shares. 3) It is much easier to raise finance because the banks are much more willing to lend money to a large, well established, as they see it as much less of a rise. 4) This all makes it easier for the PLC to grow and expand. 5) The shareholders will appoint specialists to manage and runt the company for them. Disadvantages 1) Setting up a public limited company is expensive. There is a lot of administration work involved and at least à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½50 000 has to be raised before a PLC can be set up. 2) The PLC has to issue much more information about itself and this again is very expensive to produce. It has to prepare and annul report as well as Annual Accounts and these have to be printed and sent to all the shareholders. They also available to the general public and competitors to see. 3) The extent to which any one individual, or group, can maintain control of an organisation is severely limited by the sale of its shares on the stock exchange. A family may find their influence on a business diminished when a listing is obtained. In turn, this means that publicly quoted companies are always vulnerable to take over bid. This may affect the decisions taken by directors. For example, they may be more inclined to cut back on staffing during a recession, whereas a private firm would want to hold on to experienced staff for when the economy starts to recover. E6 Communications There has to be communication between each member of staff for the company to function properly. I will now look at how this can be done within the company. Uses of communication > To contact each other > To make deals > To give instructions > To give or receive information > To exchange ideas > To announce plans or strategies > To compare actual results against a plan > To lay down rules and procedures > Job descriptions, organisation charts or manuals Direction of communication Formal Informal Vertical Vertical * Downwards Between peers, friends or -From superior to subordinate. Colleagues. * Upwards Could be given as – From subordinate to superior emotional support. Or to organise a function Horizontal or lateral or party. > People of the same rank, (In the same section Or in different sectors) Diagonal Interdepartmental communication by people of different ranks. Methods of communication A) Face to face communications > Formal meeting > Word of mouth > Interviews > Informal contact B) Oral communication > The telephone > Public address system C) Written communication > Letters, external mail systems > Memorandum, internal mail system > Reports > Forms > Notice board > News letters, bulletins, house journals > Organisation manual, handbook, leaflet D) Visual communication > Charts > Films, PowerPoint Presentation E7/A3 Quality Control * Quality is one of the ingredients in the purchasing decision of consumers, who demand ever-increasing levels of quality * Any firms that ignore the quality aspect of both inputs and outputs risk losing market share to those firms who make it a priority. â€Å"Quality is defined by the Customer† W E Deming (American Quality Guru) Quality Defined * It is difficult to provide a single definition for quality as it means different things to different groups of people. Certainly the perception of the customer is a key element. Here are some of the minimum requirements for customer satisfaction: * Fitness For Purpose The product can do what is it meant to do. This is a useful definition as it can be applied to a wide variety of products, including cheap products such as disposable pens. * Meeting the minimum standards prescribed by acts of parliaments â€Å"Health and Safety†, â€Å"Weights and Measures† and â€Å"Trade Description† Legislation provides a legal framework for minimum standards across a wide range of goods. * Meeting trade association standards Some industries have self regulating bodies that guarantee their members’ work, e.g. the national house building council. In final analysis it is the customers’ perceptions of quality that really matter, firms must strive to convince the market that their product/service is the best value for money. Quality Control Systems In the past, Quality Control in the UK meant ‘inspecting’ the product after production has taken place. In other words it was a faultfinding exercise. Today quality control it is all about ‘building in’ quality at each stage of production. Such a ‘preventative’ approach reduces the high costs of rejects and re-working. The Japanese perfected this is known as: Total Quality Management (TQM) Basic features of TQM are: * The establishment of culture of quality among all employees * The recognition of quality chains where each stage of production is treated as a separate customer to be valued and looked after * The use of Quality Circles * Empowerment of workforce * The emphasis on after-sales service as well as quality manufacture. TQM is not a management tool but a Philosophy. Requiring a complete mind shift on behalf of the entire company (Managers and employees) Quality Initiatives In recent years these have been many initiatives introduced to assist firms to achieve Assurance.Quality Quality Assurance Refers to all of the activities that ensure the satisfactory delivery of goods and services to end customer. Quality Assurance refers to all of the activities that ensure the satisfactory delivery of goods and services to the end customer. Key factors include: * The quality of inputs such as raw materials and components * The quality of the design process so that the products meet customer requirements whilst still being economic to manufacture * To appropriate skill level of the workforce and its commitment to quality assurance * The quality control methods used in the production process * The quality of advice at the purchasing point and after-sales service The Main Initiatives Have Included: TQM A philosophy of quality QUALITY CIRCLES An informal discussion group drawn from all parts and levels of the business that meets regularly to discuss quality problems KAIZEN An approach to advocates continuos improved in small steps rather than a competitive overhaul of the production system. BENCHMARKING Identifying the best practice of the leading firms and using that as a yard stick with which to measure one’s own performance ISO 9000 An international quality certification procedure ZERO DEFECTS A philosophy that encourages all employees to strive for the ultimate goal of a ‘perfect product’ TRAINING Where management has recognised that for quality to be assured a ‘quality culture’ must be implemented at each stage of the process; it is imperative therefore to train all employees to have the requisite skills, both for their direct tasks and for quality monitoring Quality can be achieved in diverse ways but the ultimate goal is to satisfy the customer, which of course is a constantly moving objective. The thing is that Castle Mall Management does not sell anything. This can be a problem when trying to implement quality control. To overcome this they have to vet the stores they have in the centre and make sure that they use quality control. This would help castle mall management reach their objectives especially the main objective to make a profit. As Castle Mall management do not sell anything they cant run certain procedures. This means that the design and production side is out of their hands, but is it? If they want to be really sure of what they are getting into they can agree with the firm or business to have an input into what they are selling. For example, they could check the production side of a chocolate shop making sure that their production line is of a high standard and that they are not breaking any laws. Another thing they could check, although not directly liked with quality is where the product is made. If a product is made in a small 3rd world country with the st aff getting paid for example 50p a day they might disagree with this and not allow the shop to trade in their centre. I believe that one of their objectives should be to help the customer in buying a quality product. The use of quality control to add value. * Adding value – For landlord * Increase foot fall * Increase spending * Operate a profitable environment City * Investment in the city * Precence Population * Provides jobs * Provide social outlets * Sponsorships * Castle Mall is the only underground shopping centre in Western Europe. This makes it a landmark E2/E3/C1 The objectives of Castle Mall Management Objectives: A statement of what an organisation wants to achieve Objectives are a statement of what an organisation wants to achieve through its operation. A firm’s formal objective is given in its memorandum of association, and larger firms may publicly state their general philosophy and values in a list of objectives. For most PLC’s profit is only one goal among others. Objectives provide criteria for decision-making. Most firms harden these general objectives into more dynamic aims, which are intended to drive the organisation forwards in the chosen direction. Mission statements are focused declarations of intent, designed to energise staff at all levels to work in common cause. In practice the overall objectives of a large firm need translating into terms that have meaning for each operation or function. This may mean that one objective is particularly highlighted. 1) The Main objective is to make a profit. They have to make a profit in order to ensure that the investors i.e. Friends Provident get return on their investment. This is the main objective of most businesses; they set out to make money. If they do not then they are considered a failure. 2) To provide a Safe and secure environment for their customers. In order to make a profit people have to come in to the centre. If possible customers feel that the centre is secure and they will be safe then they may visit and return for all their needs. If they consider the centre and car parks not to be safe then they will not visit as they feel that they or their property is not safe. 3) To increase footfall per year. The footfall is the amount of people that visit the centre in a measured time. The more people that come in the more chance of them buying items and the Castle Mall making a profit. Even if a non-customer walks through the centre everyday on the way to work then they may see a shop or an item in a window, which they may come back and buy it when they want it. 4) To increase amounts of visits per person. This is not the same as footfall as footfall is the amount of people who visit the mall, whereas the 4th objective is to increase how many times one person visits in a measured period. Again more visits means potentially more profit. 5) To increase visits from within a large catch-ment area. Trying to gain custom from shops in a large catch-ment area. This means trying to get potential customers from other places of Norfolk up to a 1-hour drive away. 6) For customers to stay longer when they get there. The longer the customer stays the more money they are likely to spend. Also with plenty of food restaurants in the mall if people are there a long time then they may get hungry and buy food. This will help increase profit. The overall objective all the objectives lead to is to Make a profit. E4 The Functional areas of Castle Mall management Ltd The main functional areas of Castle Mall Management Ltd are; * Marketing * Accounts * Administration * Security * Human resources * Food Court * Customer service Each area has its own responsibilities and objectives. Next I will explain each areas responsibility; * Marketing > Public Relations > Advertising -Briefing the creative/media buying agencies -Approving copy and schedules -Ensuring targets and deadlines are met > Web Site > Christmas Decorations > Promotions -Events -Displays -Activities > Research > Sponsorship > Buying – -Maintaining stock levels -Existing literature -Briefing in new requirements -Checking prints quality -Distribution > Health and Safety checks on displays * Accounts The accounts section of Castle Mall Management Ltd looks after the money side of the company. This can involve checking and counting all the money side of the centre. This can range from making sure people have paid their rent and how much they should have paid to counting the money that is put into the car park pay machines. This is a very important side of the company as without them they would not get any money in and staff would not get paid etc. * Administration Admin look after the paperwork side of the company. This can involve writing to perspective clients and customers with information about the centre. Also it can involve internal communication helping the company run. Without the admin department the company could not run, this is because they basically sort everything out. If a letter needs to be sent, a contract needs to be singed or a delivery needs to be taken admin are there, if they cannot sort it out then they can contact a someone who can. * Security The security department is a very important in the Castle Mall. Weather you see them or not they are always there. There are a team of highly trained security staff patrolling the Mall 24/7. This offers a visual presence for the customers, making them feel safe and secure. What the customers don’t see is the main control room where the operation is run from. Here they control over 50 cameras. Some of these are visual to the customer, some a hidden ‘Matchbox’ cameras which can be hidden basically anywhere. The CCTV system is very important in the mall, if a situation is spotted then the security guards can be contacted by radio and told any information they need to sort it. The security staffs also are called into action when there is a fire alarm. When this happens the mall is evacuated and the fire service is called, when they arrive it’s the security guards job to show them to the area where the alarm is. When the all clear is given it is the guardsâ€⠄¢ job to let everybody back into the mall. From shoplifters to lost customers the security guards are helping the mall function properly. * Human Resources The human resources department is in charge of the employment side of the company. This can involve placing adverts in the paper for a new position, looking at the application forms. Deciding on candidates and then interviewing them. They would then have to decide on a new employee with their experience and knowledge. * Food Court The food court has a different sort of agreement with Castle Mall Management, they are directly accountable to Castle Mall Management Ltd as there targets are set by them. If they are struggling to meet this Deadlines Castle Mall Management will intervene and try and sort the problem. As they have this relationship the profits they make are shared with Castle Mall Management. This is a pre-arranged agreement, which was sorted when the mall opened. As the food court is a large part of the mall and is closely linked with Castle Mall Management they have their own manager within Castle Mall Management. It is their job to make sure that the food court are meeting their targets and are running with no problems. * Customer Service The customer service desk and team have a large area to cover. They basically look after the customers of the mall. Here are some of the areas they cover. > Information services for the mall and local area. > Security > Car parking – Disabled parking and access > Disability service – Shopmobility > Information leaflets > Public relations – informing public about evens > Baby changing facilities > Good signage and directions > First aid > Directory leaflets Also the customer service desk is also the first place to make a complaint. It depends on the nature of the complaint as to how it is dealt with. However, all that make a complaint will get a letter of some kind of response from the centre manager. All complaints are dealt with as soon as possible. If necessary clients/customers will be invited backs and helped. One example is when a fire alarm went off and a mother with a toddler with a pushchair had to carry the pushchair down flights of stairs because she had taken the wrong turning. She aired her concerns to CMM Ltd who invited her back to show her that there was an access/ exit especially for disabled/pushchair access. This alleviated her concerns and she is more than likely to return to the shopping centre because her concerns were dealt with efficiently and effectively. Complaints cam be made either through the information desk or by post. Customer fills in form They will then be sent to the management suite where the corresponding manager will deal with it. Investigation carried out And acted upon E5/C2/A1/A2 Organisational structures When you look at the structure of Castle Mall Management it looks, as it is hierarchical (See additional page 1). This is not 100% true, when I asked Erik Kirk the manager of Castle Mall management Ltd he described them as having elements of all structures and cultures. Organisational structures can be described as flat, hierarchical or matrix shaped. Where decision-making is decentralised, the structure tends to be flat. This means that managers and the staff are given wide ranging responsibilities in deciding what to buy, what prices to charge and which staff to employ etc. An organisational structure where decision-making is decentralised it can be described as flat because it does not have many layers. A disadvantage of this type of organisation is that decision-making can be slow. For example any decision that is made this way can take a long time. However, the decision-makers have the advantage of being close to the others day to day activities. In other words there is not along line of communication between the decision-maker and the work to be done. The most extreme version of this is the sole trader who does all the work and carries out all the decisions of the business. Some organisations have in recent years cut out layers in the middle management with the aim of improving communication and decision-making. It can be called de-layering this has had the effect of widening the span of control of the managers who are left. This means that managers can become overwhelmed by the information coming to them and the quality of decision-making suffers. The managers start to loose control over practices and procedures. Narrow Span of control Wide Span of control An alternate way to run the business is to centralise operations. This approach takes decision-making power away from junior staff. This resulting structure is described as hierarchical. Senior staff makes all-important decisions. Below is an organisational chart showing a centralised structure it has several layers of command and is pyramid shaped, i.e. wide at the bottom and narrow at the top. Most large businesses are organised in a hierarchical structure. The senior managers are responsible for taking decisions affecting the whole, or large parts of the businesses whilst shop floor workers mainly carry out decisions made by others. Manager Senior supervisor Senior supervisor Junior Supervisor Junior Supervisor Junior Supervisor Junior Supervisor Shop Floor Workers Shop Floor Workers The Key advantage of a hierarchy is that it allows strong leadership and centralised decision making. It ensures that the organisation has a consistent policy, approach or activity. A problem with hierarchy is that the line of communication between ‘top’ and ‘bottom’ might be quite long. There are layers of people who to receive and pass on information and at each stage the Information can be reinterpreted or misinterpreted. One way of avoiding this problem is to delegate decision-making. This means that people within the organisation are given the authority to make decisions themselves rather tan wait for instructions from the top. Advantages and Disadvantages of centralisation Advantages * Bulk buying reduces costs * Fewer staff are required in the whole operation. * The scope for specialisation increases * Producers such as ordering and purchasing can be standardised * Planning and control tends to be more effective * Decisions are made for the good of the company rather than the branch * Leadership is likely to be stronger and more consistent Disadvantages * Middle managers may be less motivated because they have less responsibility * Local needs are less likely to be met * There is less flexibility * There may be more administration * Communications between different sections might be poor * The burdens of management is more concentrated to the centre More example of Structures Location Allied Breweries Ltd Calsberg/ Allied Breweries Allied Tetley UK Netherlands Breweries Trading World-wide Product Allied Lyons PLC Spirits Retailing Brewing Food + Manufacturing Wholesaling Some organisations have structures that cannot be described as flat or hierarchical. They use tears that cut across traditional departmental boundaries. Sometimes the tears are permanent, in other cases the are brought together for a specific purpose. Project tears are increasingly being used by businesses to develop new products. Such tears have MATRIX STRUCTURES. In that the have members drawn from several departments. One example of a project team is the one ‘Rover’ used to develop the ‘600’ series. From the start of the project, stylists, manufacturing, production engineers, production line operates and suppliers all worked together. All team members had the authority to act without consistent referral to senior management. Stylists Engineers Team Leaders Production line Operates Suppliers How does the organisational structure affect its performance The organisational structure of Castle Mall Management (or as they call it the ‘Family Tree’) has a hierarchical shape. This means that there is one main centre manager. The centre manager Eric Kirk then goes directly to a deputy centre manager. They then lead directly to four other managers of separate divisions. The marketing, food court, security and administration manager all then head a team in that department except the marketing manager who has no team and works closely to the deputy and main manager. The structure shows that the centre manager has direct input to the four division managers. I believe that having a structure of this sort will be successful. This is because everyone has a link with everybody else. If there is a problem then there is always someone there to sort it. Also as the main manager has close links with most of the staff under him so if he makes a request they may not mind carrying it out. I think that the structure helps Castle Mall Management meet and exceed its objectives because they work well as a team. This is because everyone is linked with everyone and there is always someone to help you out if need be. You see how important they find these as they call there structure the â€Å"Family Tree†. This can help with all objectives, especially the objective, to make it a safe and secure place for the customers to shop. If the employees believe they are doing a important job and feel wanted as a part of a team then they may put more effort. This means that they may make the extra little bit of effort to clean a spillage etc. The management culture The management culture of a business is how the people very high on the hierarchy act to the lower down employees and their associates. It depends on how managers act, if they tell people what to do or if they leave it up to them to make their own decisions. A good model to show this is the leadership continuum. Autocratic style Participative style Free-Rain Style Consultative Consensus Democratic Autocratic style An autocratic leader maintains most of the authority by issuing orders and telling what to do without consulting them. To the autocrat, the basis for leadership is formal authority. Autocratic leaders may have a few favourite subordinates but they usually regard close interpersonal relationships with group members as superfluous. The autocratic style of leader is generally in disfavour in modern organisations. Participative style A participate leader is one who shares decision-making authority to the group. Participative leadership occupies enough space on the continuum to warrant dividing it into three subtypes: Consultative, Consensual and democratic. A Consultative leader solicits opinions from the group before making a decision, yet does not feel obliged to accept the groups thinking. A standard way to practice consultative leadership would be call a group a group meeting to discuss an issue before making a decision. A Consensual leader encourages group discussion about an issue and then makes a decision that reflects the general agreement of group members. Consensual leaders thus turn over more authority to the group than consultative leaders do. The consensus leadership style results in long delays in decision making because every party involved provides input. Free-rain style or laissez-faire style A Laissez – Faire or Free Rain leader turns over almost all authority to the group members and does as little leading as possible. Given a situation in which the work to be done by each employee is clearly defined, weather it is sorting coupons or cutting gears with laser beam, such leaders maintain a ‘hands-off’ policy. They make few attempts to increase productivity or to coach their employees. At times the free-rain leader is a abdicator who cares very little for productivity goals or developing subordinates. Erik Kirk of Castle Mall management is certainly not like this as he has very high targets and standards. As with any leadership style, there are some situations in which an autocratic style is appropriate. One example is a high-accident work area where the employees are not particularly knowledgeable about the potential risks. Many autocratic leaders have been successful as high-level leaders in the private and public sectors. One good example of this is taken from â€Å"Management and organisation† by DuBrin, Ireland and Williams. Jack Traimiel, the controversial executive who has occupied key positions at both Commodore and Atari. A co-worker of Tramiels said, â€Å"Commodore was the house that jack built, and when he left the company, so did the spirit, the aggressiveness and the drive. Decision making also went by the wayside† Castle Mall Management are democratic and laissez-faire at times but are autocratic at times of: * New Employees New employees may not know about certain parts of the business so if they make decisions however small they could make curtail mistakes, which could cost money or customers. Also if they are not taught they may never learn a certain technique and carry on using the wrong way forever. * Health and safety Health and safety is very important as it involves the welfare of workers and customers. If they want to meet their objective of proving a safe and secure place for people to shop they will have to be very strict on this subject. This means that precise decisions need to be made which are in lines with all guidelines set by the governments of the world. * Security Is very important, again if they want to meet their objectives they will have to be very strict and precise on security matters. This may involve making decisions based on laws and keeping information form other employees lower down the hierarchy. Erik Kirk and his associates like to have a team of workers who are loyal and work hard. He also likes to make them feel part of something, a team. He has an ‘open door’ attitude when it comes to this. He likes to feel that if there is a problem it can be sorted. No matter how small the problem is he feels that he can help providing answers and privacy. On paper the structure appears hierarchical but it does have elements of a flat structure. Overall the culture is: * Philanthropist in attitude * Good work ethics * Relaxed * Productive * Efficient * Good and open communication channels * Clear objectives * Safe and secure working environment E6 The use of ICT in communications Castle Mall management would be severally impaired without ICT. The main use of ICT is communication. There are many areas of communication featuring ICT, these are: * E-mail Internal External * Web site * Alarm System (2 way communication) * Reports * Telephone (external + between departments) * CCTV + Mini cameras E-mail Castle Mall Management uses E-mail to communicate between department, level and centre. E-mail is a very good way of communication as it is virtually instant. Also you can send designs, graphics and programs as attachment files. This is very helpful as it saves in paper costs and also cannot be lost as with paper. Castle Mall Management uses E-mail to communicate with each other no-matter where they are in the building or country. For example a admin worker could e-mail his supervisor to alert them of a problem or just to book holiday. Another example is Erik Kirk the main centre manager E-mailing another manager of another centre alerting them of a security problem. Web site Castle Mall Management help run the castle-mall.co.uk web site. Some Castle Mall Management staff has been trained to update and redesign the web site. The web site can be used to make customers aware of events and new promotions. It can also give customers information about what shops are in the mall and what services are available. Alarm systems The alarm system in the mall has a communication system built in so if there is an emergency most people in the mall can contact each other through the alarm system to find out what’s happening. It can also pinpoint where a person is so if they are in danger then they can quickly be located and helped. Reports Reports are written by all sections of management so that other people in other positions know what is happening, why and when. They are written about special events to inform people what is happening and how successful something was. Also reports are written once a week, month and a major one written each year. These reports are read by managers and then sent to Friends Provident or FisPam. To let them know how they are getting on. If there is a problem with the reports then friends provident will try and suggest ways to rectify it.