Cell Replication And Gene Mutation - 986 Words

Introduction Cancer disease is one the most complicated fatal disease which scientists are looking for methods to either stop or cure this malady (Hook, Ptak, Farrell, Hinkal, Panaro and Grodzinski, 2010). Based on the cancer overlook disease, the cells are transformed and infected to cancer after a while and it starts to metastasize and proliferate (ibid). The cardinal issue is that how cancer may occur based on transformation of cells and genes. To illustrate that question, there are two factors that must be carried out together preemptory; one is cell replication and gene mutation and both of which results in programmed cell death, apoptosis. (Mansoori, Mohazzabi, McCormack, and Jabbari, 2007). Veraciously, apoptosis will likely to happen when the healthy cells could not be repaired and the errors stay put on the cells (ibid). The stimuli of this kind of cells behavior still debatable (Hook et al, 2010), yet there are some explanation that how it started by a virus infection whic h is not going to be discuss in this paper. Nevertheless, there are multifarious techniques for cancer treatment clinically, one of the significant promising methods to struggle inhibition or prognosis of cancer is nanotechnology. Nanotechnology in health care defines as a science of constructing extremely small (1-100 nm) particles equipped in a system like robots which particularly interact with atoms and molecules (Sinha, Kim, Nie, and Shin, 2006). Therefore, the equipped system wereShow MoreRelatedThe Evolution Of Eukaryotic Cells1102 Words   |  5 Pagesinto its inheritance and mutation. There is enough evidence to bolster the fact that fusion between a-proteobacteria and archaebacteria is an integral event in evolution of eukaryotic cells. However, it has also been conjectured that eukaryotic cell may have originated from prokaryotes. As a part of this evolution, many mitochondrial ancestral genes were lost. These are the genes that were no longer required in their new host cell environment. All eukaryotes contain genes of mitochondrial origin inRead MoreEffective Gene Delivery And Its Effects On Hiv987 Words   |  4 PagesThere has been countless number of efforts to develop an effective gene transfer approach to treat HIV-1 infections globally. Many transgenes have been identified to inhibit in vitro HIV-1 infections. As drug resistant HIV-1 is increasingly common even with patients receiving HAART, designing drug treatment methods have been challenging. Therefore, investigation into new therapeutic approaches should continue. Gene delivery plays an important supporting role developing potential therapies directedRead MoreC-Terminal Globular Domain Of Gene Case Study1222 Words   |  5 PagesSabrina Anikina 1.i gene product: C-Terminal Globular Domain of human lamin A/C species: Homo Sapien ii homolog gene: LMNA species: Mus musculus iii ncbi identification number: NP_001002011.2 iv omim identification number: 150330 v genetic disease: Emery-Dreifuss Muscular Dystrophy 3 phenotype mim numbers: 616516 2. The human gene has 17 exons and the homolog has 15 exons, but both are located on chromosome 1. The concentration of the transcript is highest in the colon ofRead MoreEssay about protien synthesis1605 Words   |  7 Pagesof a Gene nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;The process of Protein Synthesis involves many parts of the cell. Unlike other similar productions, this process is very complex and precise and therefore must be done in proper sequence to work effectively. The slightest error during this process could cause the action to experience difficulty or even fail. For example, in the production of starch, glucose molecules are combined to be stored and eventually utilized as usable chemical energy. The cell can breakRead MoreSymptoms Of Werner s Syndrome1681 Words   |  7 Pagesdiscuss the symptoms of WS and how it affects patients, how the disease is acquired through genetics, how protein is correlated through biochemistry, and the current research being conducted to further understand and treat this disease. Symptoms of the mutation Werner’s syndrome is a disease that causes aging of the body that results in the development of conditions that are found in older populations by the age of 20. A WS patient will carry the disease throughout his/her life, but the symptoms typicallyRead MoreCell Cycle Regulation - Genetics1387 Words   |  6 Pages1.  What are the different restriction points of the cell cycle? Describe each. G1 (Restriction) Checkpoint * End of G1, just before onset of the S phase (DNA replication) * Yeast â€Å"start†; other eukaryotes â€Å"restriction point† * The options for the cell at this point: * divide, delay division, or exit the cell cycle * Cells can exit the cell cycle at this point into an arrested stage (G0) * When this checkpoint is passed, cdk4 and cyclin DRead MoreThe Theories Of Virus Origin1615 Words   |  7 Pagesbiological functions to be considered living organisms themselves. Viruses lack many of the abilities that scientists affiliate with living organisms. Primarily, they cannot reproduce without the help of a host cell, and do not use the normal cell-division process, mitosis, for replication. How did these entities arise and where did they come from? How did they evolve in this ever-changing world to still exist and be so prosperous? In my research I found three theories of virus origin; the theoriesRead MoreHCV Case Study840 Words   |  4 Pagesattempts to infect cultured cell lines with HCV contained in serum of infected patients resulted in no virus replication or if any, very low and variable (4). In 2005, All 3 research teams, Charles Rice, Frank Chisari and Ralf Bartenschlager team, separately developed their cell culture systems for HCV based on 2 essentia l components: a virus genome that has robust and efficient replication in tissue culture, and cells that are permissive to infection and allow effective replication of the full virus lifeRead MoreEvolutionary Theory Of Natural Selection1164 Words   |  5 Pagesdiversity from generation to generation based on changes in the gene frequency. When changes occur in an individual’s genome, known as mutations, they give the individual different characteristics that can have a negative, positive, or neutral effect. If the mutation better adapts the individual to the environment, that mutation can be passed onto a new generation. If the mutation weakens the individual to the environment, that mutation will not be able to withstand multiple generations through progenyRead MoreCompare and Contrast Tumor Suppressor Genes and Proto-Oncogenes1341 Words   |  6 PagesCompare and contrast tumour suppressor genes and proto-oncogenes. Discuss an example of how recent advances in our unders tanding of these genes have led to the development of a novel therapy that is being used in the treatment of human cancer. Cancer known in medicine as a malignant neoplasm is one of the biggest killers worldwide. In 2007, cancer caused roughly 13% (7.9 million) of the planet’s deaths (Jemal, 2011). This will more greatly affect an aging society such as ours in years to come, and

Psychological Aspects of Homosexuality - 1553 Words

The Playstation 360 In today’s entertainment market, Nintendo, Microsoft, and Sony dominate the interactive entertainment medium, with Macintosh’s i-devices rapidly cornering the handheld market. Now, if one was interested in owning a home video game console, they need to weigh the positives and negatives of their options heavily because the current generation of home consoles is frightfully expensive and once you make your choice, you’re virtually stuck with it. The current popular choice is the Nintendo Wii due to its appeal to people who only play games casually on a basis similar to say, reading for fun or movie watching. I believe common consumer with less gaming finesse would jump on the Nintendo console first, which leaves†¦show more content†¦If any of the above descriptors apply to you then know that buying a 360 means supporting an American company, Microsoft. Another exclusivity aspect to consider is the 360 and PS3’s motion sensing systems. After the popularity and financial success of the Nintendo Wii, Sony and Microsoft created motion sensing supplements to cash in on the family friendly party game crowd. The PS3 and 360’s motion sensing controller systems are more precise than the Wii’s, but because they are supplements and don’t come with the console, they increase the price for access to a relatively small library of motion control based games. However the market is growing of course and the library shall also grow. Between the PS3 and the 360, the PS3’s motion sensing system is the most expensive. In order for the system to be effective you must by the motion sensing wand and its navigation supplement as well as the camera to read the movements (Some single player games even require you to have two wands.). Traditionally, if one is getting a motion sensing game they are getting party games or fami ly games which require more controllers which increases the price significantly, making the overall package more expensive than the already pricey 360’s motion sensing camera the Kinect. After the price, personal preference is all that matters. TheShow MoreRelatedHomosexuality : Nature And Nature871 Words   |  4 PagesHomosexuality: Nature or nurture By: Clifnie francois Advance Placement Psychology Mr. Cuetara June 4 2015 Abstract The nature and nature of homosexuality is heavily debated. Some people believe that homosexuality is biologically determined and others believe it’s base on ones environment. This topic can be argue to be base on both nature and nurture. Studies conducted in the past decades support both the biological and environmentalRead MoreEssay about Sexual Orientation1077 Words   |  5 Pagesconsidered highly controversial in our world today. There are many issues that society is faced with concerning homosexuality. When thinking of homosexuality most people refer to the Bible for an answer. There is even more controversy within the Bible’s text. Not only is there reference to the Bible, but also to our mind to answer whether or not homosexuality is a moral issue. Psychological and Biological research is searching for an answer to this illustrious area of confusion. According to ShakuntalaRead MoreHuman Sexuality821 Words   |  4 PagesThroughout the ages, our society has documented homosexuality. Within our culture, homosexuality has been largely condemned. In looking at the historical perspective of homosexuality, the responses were different with each society that was dealing with it. The Greeks were okay with it due to their belief that some of their mythical gods were engaging in homosexual behavior. Christianity denounced those sexual associations and made their belief and intentions clear that this behavior was not to continueRead MoreDigging Deep: Homosexuality Revealed Essay1647 Words   |  7 Pages Did you know that homosexuality is not a mental or emotional disorder? Homosexuality has become quite a controversial topics amongst our society. Most people who realize they are homosexual are too scared to admit to the public who they really are. Then you have others who are openly confident about their sexuality as gay or lesbian. Th is issue has become more and more talked about and has developed multiple media acknowledgements. Homosexuality can be broken down into several different views. ForRead MoreIs Homosexuality A Choice?967 Words   |  4 PagesThe question of whether homosexuality is a choice remains a topic in which everyone seems to have an opinion. Whether it is for psychological or religious reasons, some people still think being gay is the worst thing you could be. Newsweek.com states that, â€Å"blaming people for being gay is like blaming them for being left-handed†. They have also stated that the APA has now cleared up on the subject of mental health in an LGBT individual, staying that is â€Å"not a mental illness or disorder with no identifiableRead MoreAdoption by homosexual couples has been a frequent debate issue among foreign countries since the1000 Words   |  4 Pagesevidences show that homosexuality is somehow inborn due to the procession of â€Å"gay gene† in certain popularity therefore it should be considered as natural since people cannot alter their sexual orientation by birth (Chicago Researchers Look for ‘Gay Gene’). Based on this, same-sex couples should be granted the same right as opposite-sex couples to enjoy a comprehensive family life by having their own kids. However, it is hardly possible to determine whether one’s homosexuality is inborn. There isRead MoreSocio-Cultural Influences On Sexuality. Socio-Cultural1156 Words   |  5 PagesSocio-Cultural Influences on Sexuality Socio-cultural influence plays a major role in sexual behaviors. It gives a better comprehension on why men are men and women are women. These socio-cultural are influenced by physical, emotional, cultural and economic aspects. Time and time again research has proven that socio-cultural influences have a significant role in human sexuality. Culture is the manner of life of the people. Thus, culture shapes the ideas of what behaviors are acceptable for men and women (KingRead MoreAnalysis Of Highsmith Moved Into The Yaddo Artist s Retreat1367 Words   |  6 Pagesand I don t know anything about the police procedure or the detective methods or working; that is an occupation in itself. It is like a puzzle, and puzzles do not interest me.† She focused on the human aspects of everything, much like the psychological community. During a time when homosexuality was considered a mental disorder, Patricia Highsmith stood out like a sore thumb in the literary community. Consequently, she turned to psychology to resolve the ‘issue’ she was dealing with. Though sheRead MorePsychology : Humanistic And Psychodynamic Approach On The Dsm, And Going A Bit Into Homosexuality1111 Words   |  5 Pagesareas of approaches such as humanistic and psychodynamic along with reading the DSM, and going a bit into homosexuality. In my findings I put together a bit of information regarding the question, to the best of my knowledge. I mention why I prefer the humanistic approach. Also I was able to local a copy of the DSM and describe about the disorder I found interesting. Last, I talked about homosexuality since there a lot of controversy regarding this topic, I stayed with what I felt was important to answerRead MoreLGBT Subculture Essay examples1428 Words   |  6 Pagesaccepted by society, looked down upon, and misjudged; however, they are human beings and deserve to be treated equally. Religion is a major aspect on why society believes that homosexuality is wrong and should not be accepted. Individuals who are against the LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender) community because of their religion believe that â€Å"homosexuality is a horrid transgression of God’s plan† (Bawer 74). They consider them sinners because they are going against God’s original intention;

Organizational Culture for Common Presumptions - myassignmenthelp

Question: Discuss about theOrganizational Culturefor Common Presumptions and Morals. Answer: Organizational Culture has been a major topic of study among researchers. The cultural dimension is vital in all aspects of organizational life (Alvesson, 2012). In any organization, people's thinking, values, and actions are guided by ideas and beliefs of a cultural nature (Alvesson, 2012). Corporate culture receives significant attention as it helps in fostering strategic initiatives. Every company nowadays has a particular personality. The unique personality that identifies an organization is its culture (Watkins, 2013). Organizational culture can be defined as a framework of common presumptions, morals, and ideologies which guides employees behaviour in an organization (Watkins, 2013). The values that people share in an organization have an impact on employees and dictate how the people act, dress and perform their work. In any organization, the management develops and maintain a distinctive culture which provides directions and scope for the employees behaviour within the organization (Watkins, 2013). Various elements make up an organization's culture. Characteristics of Organizational Culture Innovation is one of the characteristics. This means that companies usually encourage their workforce to be creative and innovate new ways of handling processes in their jobs. Attention to detail is another element which dictates the extent to which workers are expected to be accurate in their jobs (Chatman Jehn, 1994). Organizations are also expected to focus on the outcome. Emphasis on people is another element which requires companies to place importance on the impact of their decisions on employees (Chatman Jehn, 1994). Outcome-oriented organizations also encourage aggressiveness so that people can compete within the workplace (Chatman Jehn, 1994). Teamwork and stability are also critical elements of organizational culture. Organizational culture is a vital aspect of management. Every organization must ensure that its employees identify themselves with a particular culture. How employees respect the culture will determine the organization performance. References Alvesson, M. (2012). Understanding organizational culture. Sage. Chatman, J. A., Jehn, K. A. (1994). Assessing the relationship between industry characteristics and organizational culture: how different can you be?. Academy of management journal, 37(3), 522-553. Watkins, M. (2013). What is Organizational Culture? And Why Should We Care?. Harvard Business Review.

La Pelcula Nos Traslada A 1936, En Brooklyn, N.Y., Donde Se Ve Una Ma

La pel?cula nos traslada a 1936, en Brooklyn, N.Y., donde se ve una madre y su hija, ambas de origen japon?s. Se puede ver donde ambas est?n platicando como ella conoci? a su padre, y todos los conflictos que ambos tuvieron que enfrentar para poder realizar su amor. Es donde se da un retroceso en la historia y se ve un cine y un complot dentro del. Explota y se incendia. Es all? donde aparece Jack, el otro protagonista de la historia. Despu?s la pel?cula se enfoca en Little Tokio, N.Y.; un teatro japon?s es el sustento de una familia. Lily la madre la ni?a que al principio aparece en la pel?cula, es la hija predilecta y la mayor de la familia. Esta familia es de origen japon?s, pero lo que sucede es que esta se establece en EUA, es por eso que los hijos no hablan muy bien su idioma natal sino que solamente hablan el ingl?s. Es aqu? donde se puede ver un elemento cultural muy importante, la lengua, elemento esencial que determina una cultura. Adem?s de la lengua, esta familia tambi?n adopta muchos elementos culturales como la m?sica, el tipo de vestimenta y las costumbres. La m?sica que ellos escuchan es Fred Aster y los cl?sicos de Hollywood de los 30?s y 40?s. Despu?s en la pel?cula llega el momento donde Jack conoce a Lily. Esta va visitar a s u hermano para que le ayude con un dinero. Ya que Jack es todo un revolucionario que busca cambios para los trabajadores estadounidenses. Estuvo anteriormente en la carel es por eso que no tenia dinero. Cuando va visita Jack a su hermano, se toca el tema del comunismo y los derechos que se deben tener en el trabajo. Este otro punto muy importante en la pel?cula donde se puede observar como los estereotipos est?n muy bien definidos as? como los prejuicios. El pr?stamo le es negado a Jack, y donde este comienza a buscar empleo y llega al cine donde el papa de Lily es due?o. Existe una vacante, porque el anterior empleado se suicido por deshonra, ya que su mujer lo enga?aba. Este es otra ilustraci?n que nos da la pel?cula, donde las costumbres de una persona pueden ser tan arraigadas en una y en otras no, cuando se cambian de pa?s. Ya que por ejemplo aunque este se?or, no viva en Jap?n, este como quiera sigui? las costumbres que se practicaban en su pa?s. Jack comienza a trabajar de pr oyector en el cine y conoce a Lily fue amor primera vista. Pero algo se interpuso en su relaci?n primero la cuesti?n racial, a lo que en comunicaci?n intercultural le llamamos comunicaci?n inter-racial. Jack no era bien visto por el papa de Lily y muchos menos aceptaba su relaci?n. Esto debido a que el Sr. Fukjioka se quer?a casar con Lily y todo en su familia estaban a favor de que ella se casara con el, esto no era grato para Lily, ya que este hombre era viejo y sent?a repudiaci?n hacia el. Jack trata de hablar con el papa de Lily, pero esta platico no tuvo ?xito, ya que aunque Jack le habla del esfuerzo, que aunque no entiendo muy bien sus tradiciones, esta dispuesta a aprender por que ama a Lily. Ante tal situaci?n Lily huye de la casa y se casa con Jack en Seattle. Su relaci?n fructifica, ya nace una ni?a, dentro de su matrimonio las cosas cambian empiezan haber discusiones, esto es otra vez por el trabajo. Ya que Jack era un hombre col?rico y colectivista. Que buscaban el bien com?n. Despu?s en la pel?cula hay un cambio crucial ya que hay un despojo en Little Tokio, debido a la guerra que hay con EUA y Jap?n, la bomba que destruyo Hiroshima y Nagasaki. Toda la familia es traslada a un campo de concertaci?n. Donde ten?an que vivir en un establo. El papa ya no esta con ello porque sospechaban del y despu?s de un tiempo regrese con ellos. Jack se mete a la militar para poder as? visitar a Lily a su peque?a al campo de concentraci?n. Lo que sucede en el campo de concentraci?n, es que los japoneses se adaptaron a la

Other Ways of Using the Spanish Preposition ‘A’

Other Ways of Using the Spanish Preposition ‘A’ Although the Spanish preposition a is usually used to indicate motion toward and thus often translated as to, it also is frequently used to form phrases that can explain how something is done or to describe nouns as well as in time expressions. Using A to Mean ‘In the Style Of’ One common use of a is similar to its use in a few English phrases, such as a la carte and a la mode that come to us via French. This use indicates the way in which something is done or, less commonly, forms a phrase that functions as an adjective. Spanish phrases using a in this way usually cant be translated word for word, although it is often useful to think of a as meaning in the style of. Here are some examples of a being used in adverbial phrases (phrases that act like adverbs): Amar no es nada ms que andar a ciegas. (Love is nothing more than walking blindly.)Imgenes de televisià ³n muestran a un soldado ejecutando a quemarropa a una madre. (Television images show a soldier executing a mother at point-blank range.)La actriz se casà ³ a escondidas. (The actress was secretly married.)La votacià ³n se hizo a mano alzada. (The voting was done by a show of hands.)El zumo y la leche se vende a galones. (Juice and milk are sold by the gallon.)El bebà © andaba a gatas, descubriendo el mundo. (The baby is walking on all fours, discovering the world.)El sentido del olfato es a menudo el primero en advertirnos acerca de un peligro que somos incapaces de ver. (The sense of smell is often the first to warn us of a danger that we are unable to see.) A similar construction can used to form adjectival phrases (phrases that describe nouns): Walter conocià ³ a Nadia en una cita a ciegas que le ha organizado su hermano. (Walter met Nadia on a blind date that his brother set up.)Nunca entre a una casa con un nià ±o a solas. (Never enter a house with a child alone.)Era el viaje a caballo ms largo de la historia. (It was the longest horseback ride in history.) ‘A La’ Phrases It is common to form adverbial (and sometimes adjectival) phrases by using a la followed by noun that has the form of a feminine adjective. These phrases typically of the meaning of in the _____ style and are most iften used with geographical terms. There are also a few phrases beginning with a lo followed by a masculine adjective or noun. Las papas fritas a la francesa se llaman chips en Inglaterra. (French-fried potatoes are called chips in England.)Hoy en Europa es imposible un liberalismo a la americana. (Today in Europe, an American-style liberalism is impossible.)Se sirve un desayuno a la mexicana. (They serve a Mexican-style breakfast.)A la moderna, optaron por no casarse. (In the way things are done today, they chose not to marry.)El cantante dijo adià ³s a lo grande. (The singer said goodbye in style.)Se lava a lo gato. (He washes himself like a cat (i.e., while barely getting wet). Using A for ‘At’ A can also be used to indicate how often something occurs or indicate relationships in much the same as as the English at when it isnt being used in the context of a location.  ¡Un paso a la vez! (One step at a time!)Venden a dos pesos el kilo. (They sell at two pesos per kilo.)El encontrar calidad en un producto a un precio bajo puede crear ms satisfaccià ³n. (Finding quality at a product at a low price can create more satisfaction.)Le agencia aceptar a 10 por ciento de aspirantes a licenciatura. (The agency will accept applicants for licensing at a rate of 10 percent.) Using A in Time Expressions Many time expressions use a much like at and sometimes per is used: Patricia y yo salimos a las 9:30. (Patricia and I are leaving at 9:30.)Comienza a las cinco de la tarde. (It begins at 5 in the afternoon.)Muchos trabajamos 40 horas a la semana. (Many of us work 40 hours per week.) ¿Es posible amar a dos personas a mismo tiempo? (Is it possible to love two people at the same time?) Key Takeaways Although the common Spanish preposition a usually means to, it can be used in ways that dont refer to motion or location.An abundance of phrases beginning with a can function as adverbial or adjectival modifiers.A is also often used in time expressions, usually to mean at.

3 Sentences with Hyphenation Problems

3 Sentences with Hyphenation Problems 3 Sentences with Hyphenation Problems 3 Sentences with Hyphenation Problems By Mark Nichol In each of the following sentences, one or more hyphens is missing from a phrasal adjective, but another solution is available: A relaxation of the syntax is recommended, as explained following each example and demonstrated in a subsequent revision. 1. We can expect to see lighter touch regulation in the banking sector. The hyphenation problem here is a lack of a hyphen- â€Å"lighter touch,† as a phrasal adjective modifying regulation, should be hyphenated: â€Å"We can expect to see lighter-touch regulation in the banking sector.† Better yet, however, because of the somewhat obscure expression, it might be better to introduce the phrasal adjective as a modifying phrase following the noun: â€Å"We can expect to see regulation with a lighter touch in the banking sector.† 2. It is not unreasonable to question whether a Republican majority backed replacement plan is possible going forward.   The three words preceding the phrase â€Å"replacement plan† unite to provide more detail about the plan and should therefore be styled as a phrasal adjective, with hyphens connecting the words: â€Å"It is not unreasonable to question whether a Republican-majority-backed replacement plan is possible going forward.† However, this treatment is somewhat cumbersome, so a solution equivalent to the one in the previous example is merited: â€Å"It is not unreasonable to question whether a replacement plan backed by a Republican majority is possible going forward.† 3. The risks may not manifest themselves over an annual period or a three to five-year planning horizon. The phrasal adjective preceding â€Å"planning horizon, with an implied instance of year after the first number as well (and similarly hyphenated if year explicitly appears), requires suspensive hyphenation: â€Å"The risks may not manifest themselves over an annual period or a three- to five-year planning horizon.† However, to mitigate the complexity of the sentence, consider placing the modifying phrase after the noun, with hyphen(s) omitted: â€Å"The risks may not manifest themselves over an annual period or a planning horizon of three to five years.† Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Punctuation category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:100 Whimsical Words50 Idioms About Fruits and VegetablesIs Your Novel "Mystery," "Thriller," or "Suspense"?

European Presence and Influence in Africa Research Paper

European Presence and Influence in Africa - Research Paper Example Colonization was also a political move by European countries for domination of other weaker nations to exploit the natural and human resources of the land (Koggel 2006)1. Any interaction should, for moral, ethical and practical purpose benefit both sides. If it is imbalanced in favor of one of the parties, then it can be termed as exploitation. History reveals that this interaction benefited the visitors rather than the indigenous people of the land. The paper reviews the influence (both good and bad), the benefits and disadvantages to the people of Africa due to the presence and eventual colonization by Europeans (since 1800 to the present day). The degrading practice of slave trade can be cited as a valid example. This was a period when early explorers like Dr Livingston and Henry Stanley began sending reports of life in the Dark Continent. The paper will focus on two areas in this regard. Firstly a review of the positive (and negative) influence due to the forced and unforced Euro pean presence in the country. It will also look at improvements of the living conditions of the indigenous people as a result despite the existence of a lucrative slavery trade. European presence and influence in Africa – boon or bane Any form of interaction, especially between unequal forces is bound to advantageous to the stronger of the two. But even so, well-meaning and visionary individuals, groups and governments can also create a positive impact and atmosphere. This can be seen in the African continent also. One of the most well-known of early African explorers was Dr David Livingstone who initially went to the land as a missionary and medical man. Dr Livingstone was a Scottish Congregationalist and was affiliated to the London Missionary Society (Craig 2012)2. He arrived in 1841 at the port of Cape Town, but his quest for exploration led him to the interior parts of the continent in 1849 (Livingstone Online n.d.)3. He was shocked by the then existing slave trade (most ly by Arabs and Portuguese) and was very influential in curtailing this practice to a large extent. What is appreciable is that his work was based primarily in the interiors of the continent where other white men were unwilling to venture. The inhospitable terrain, lack of knowledge regarding this, and the inability to communicate with the locals were some of the main reasons for this (Morgan 2007)4. â€Å"Livingston who began his career as a Christian missionary and ultimately became best known as an explorer of the African continent, drew together in his life work these intertwined notions of empire, civilization and trade. From Livingstone’s perspective, market relations remained embedded in human society† (Bowden et al. 2006)5. In other words, Livingstone believed that the African society will benefit from industry and commerce, through cooperation and not by coercion (Bowden et al 2006). But he also believed that Western civilization especially that of Britain is the solution to most of Africa’s problems. This could be seen as an arguable outlook since many atrocities and discriminations had been wreaked upon the natives of the land (Boahen 1990)6. For example, natives who came to cities and towns for jobs were housed in ghetto like conditions. They were paid low wages and could not expect to get better positions in an organization. A Free Trade movement (a loose coalition of like minded people) was also in existence during

Book ReviewBrief ReportSocial Systems Analysis Essay

Book ReviewBrief ReportSocial Systems Analysis - Essay Example Kotlowitz is believed to have asked their mother for permission to write about her boys and their family and surroundings. Allowing him to do so, the mother had famously said that there were no children in the Henry Horner Homes meaning that the brutal living conditions prevailing there had robbed the youngsters of their innocence. Alex Kotlowitz's hard hitting tale of the Rivers family exposes Chicago's underbelly and laying bare the harsh truth of the extreme poverty, hopelessness, racial discrimination, violence and insecurity of life that defines the world of the ghetto people. Inadequate schools, welfare dependence, governmental apathy, unemployment as well as lack of skills, drug wars and so on all play a major role in the plight of American inner-city life. The book chronicles the breakdown of the entire community where pain and sorrow is such a constant it is not acknowledged. Where young children harden early having attended more funerals than feasts and needing to run home from school to try and avoid being killed in crossfire and so live another day. Thus in another poignant quote, Lafeyette only 10 years old, observes matter-of-factly that if (not when) he grows up he would like to be a bus driver. In spite of all the seemingly hopeless, directionless confusion, the author believes things can still be turned round and tries to do his bit for the two boys by funding their education. However, this is just a drop in the ocean and drastic measures are required to ensure children are not deprived of their childhood. At another level of analysis, the Rivers family, central to Kotlowitz's story of the 'projects' lends itself to an investigation of the social system that seems to be the norm in areas like Horners Homes. It meets the requirement of Parsons'(Parsons, T. 1951, p5 as cited in Andrew Roberts) definition of a social system that says: A social system consists in a plurality of individual actors interacting with each other in a situation which has at least a physical or environmental aspect, actors who are motivated in terms of a tendency to the "optimization of gratification" and whose relation to their situations, including each other, is defined and mediated in terms of a system of culturally structured and shared symbols." However, this social system fails to hold together when Parsons' AGIL model required for the 'orderly smoothly functioning society is applied to it. For a social system to survive Parson identified four basic needs also called social system needs or functional needs. In other words to strive towards social equilibrium or a smoothly functioning society, any social system would need to have as goals the following: Adaptation, Goal-attainment, Integration and Latency or pattern maintenance Adaptation: This refers to adaptation of a society to its eco-system. This requires a mechanism to allocate resources and in a social system would be directed by the economy. Goal-attainment: To use resources to achieve certain ends, social systems usually rely on political institutions to help achieve the goals. Integration: To maintain internal order, to ensure values are maintained and symbolized, social systems follow various religions. Integration also maintains a solidarity that

Training Managers to be Cross Culturally Sensitive Essay Example for Free

Training Managers to be Cross Culturally Sensitive Essay Cultural sensitiveness is an important part of modern management practices in the world of business today. With the brink of globalization in the current system of life of the human society today, it could not be denied that there are many reasons for managers to adjust their system of dealing with their professional duties as major controllers of the human resources of several organizations in the society today. Gone are the days when they simply have to deal with individual-based diversity (Morgan 1998). Today, more than simple individual differences, managers have to consider cultural values of the people as well.   Being sensitive about these particular aspects is a certain leap towards development for managers of the current society.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Human issues are probably the hardest issues of diversity that should be dealt with today. With the clashing of cultural values between people from different nations because of the effects of globalization within the current system of things, the past issues of human relationship had both been increased in possibilities of being resolved or even the possibilities being worsened. This could be judged through the process of management that is applied towards the values of the said diversified society of business organizations today.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Being sensitive to this aspect of human development shall make it easier for the managers to have better understanding of their responsibility. Understandably, the system of management should be more concerned on how the values of the people being controlled are being provided by the authorities. This is primarily to satisfy their values and their levels of wants and demands of being respected as humans who have their own personal guidelines of being individually satisfied from their works through the ways that they are being treated by their authorities (Nelson-Neuhaus 2004).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Why is being sensitive about the matter of culture necessary? Moving into a new social environment is a very challenging matter. First, since the destination is a new place and full of new people, critical adaptation and socialization are greatly required to be able to adjust to the change of society (Dalton 2002). One must learn the cultural pattern and social standards of the new society to be able to blend in and adapt. This idea is greatly relevant to the case of an expatriate employee of a certain company, which is already becoming a main concern for the business society. Many cases of an expatriate employee already resulted to resignation due to staggering problems brought by the socialization process (Keough, 453-459). Thus to address this social dilemma, socialization of a new person mainly an expatriate employee must be given concern especially the communication strategies that are relevant to the process.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Certainly, training managers to be cross culturally sensitive in this matter is a serious task to take into consideration. How then are the procedures supposed to be dealt with? First, the realization of diversity should be implemented thus helping the individuals concerned take full charge of their duty when the issue comes to becoming highly involved in a multicultural working environment. Next is the implementation of normalizing rules. As managers, these individuals should realize that they are in power to put an end to the dilemma that may be caused by human differences at work. Thirdly, making the managers competent enough in handling such cases of cultural diversity lies in the understanding of he said individuals of the fact that humans are indeed in different measures of both cultural and personal diversity that should be fully recognized by everyone especially at work so as to be able to establish a lot more responsive environment at work. References: Keough, Colleen M. (1998). The Case of Aggrieved Expatriate. Management Communications Quarterly. MCQ. Volume 11 (3), pp 452-459. http://cbae.nmsu.edu/~dboje/papers/ExpatriateCase.html#The%20Case. January 3, 2008. Eileen Morgan. (1998). Navigating Cross-Cultural Ethics: What Global Managers Do Right to Keep From Going Wrong .Butterworth-Heinemann. Kristie J. Nelson-Neuhaus. (2004). Successful Managers Handbook: Develop Yourself, Coach Others. ePredix, Inc.; 7th edition. Stephen H. Rhinesmith. (1996). Managers Guide To Globalization: Six Skills for Success in a Changing World. McGraw-Hill. Maxine Dalton. (2002). Success for the New Global Manager: How to Work Across Distances, Countries, and Cultures. Jossey-Bass; 1 edition.

Cynicism in Dorothy Allisons Short Story, This Is Our World :: Our World

Cynicism in Dorothy Allison's Short Story, This Is Our World Is â€Å"The world is meaner than we admit† (Allison 159)? In the short story, â€Å"This Is Our World,† Dorothy Allison asks this question, and her response startled me. I disagree with her way of thinking. Allison says that the world is a cruel, mean place. I think that the cruelty is balanced out with the goodness in the world. I was surprised to read her negative examples of how bad of a place it is that we live in and call â€Å"home.† This story was written with reference to events and occurrences that I have never experienced and things I have never seen. I found it difficult to relate to these events. The minister, the narrator, and her mother walked around the building where the narrator’s mother was to be baptized. Then they looked at the baptismal font. Allison states, â€Å"Watching baptisms in that tank was like watching movies at a drive-in† (155). I was glad to read that the narrator was not the one being baptized, because I feel she did not understand the true significance of the baptism ritual. She spoke of the Jesus painting as being, â€Å"rouged and pale and pout as Elvis Presley† (155). She was also trying not to giggle at the other little boys that were being baptized that day, â€Å"He looked as if he hoped someone would rescue him. It was too much for me. I began to giggle helplessly† (156). The narrator was too young to understand fully what it meant to be baptized. I believe that it is one of the reasons that Allison has such a negative attitude towards life. Maybe she did not agree or understand the meaning of a baptism, or religion as a whole. This could stem from a broken home life and no strong father figure. Although I have been fortunate enough to have a father and mother who love me a great deal, I still think the world can be cruel and mean. But meaner than we think? Every day we hear of some new tragedy that she speaks of, â€Å"the woman who drowned her children, the man who shot first the babies in her arms and then his wife, the teenage boys who led the three-year-old away along the train track, the homeless family recovering from frostbite with their eyes glazed and indifferent while the doctor scowled over their shoulders† (159), but every day we also hear of the good things.

AIDS and Society: The Growing Concern

Over the past centuries, the field of sociology has primarily focused on looking into various problems faced by different societies not just to understand more about this.   More importantly, the study of sociology is to be able to provide the needed knowledge in order to find a solution for what has been considered as a social problem.While there are some social problems that are isolated and merely experienced by certain societies, there are some issues and concerns that have greatly affected societies found all over the world.   The AIDS epidemic is one such problem.The fact that, to this day, there has yet to be an effective treatment that would successfully treat this disease has not just caused the number of individuals being infected to increase.   It has also greatly affected how other members within a particular society relate and associate with individuals infected with AIDS.This paper will discuss the different factors that have qualified the AIDS epidemic to become a social problem.   The paper would also provide relevant information regarding the background of AIDS as a disease and the various ways on how the AIDS epidemic has influenced society in general.The AIDS EpidemicIn order to fully understand why the AIDS epidemic is considered as a social problem, information regarding the disease must first be established.The AIDS epidemic was the primary area of discussion in the United Nations Security Council in January 2000.   The huge priority with regards to the AIDS epidemic was in part to the alarming statistics the council received the year before.By 1999 alone, about 34 million individuals living all over the world have contracted the AIDS virus with another 18.8 million of these individuals dying from the disease in the same year.The statistics have also shown that while the AIDS epidemic is most prevalent in Africa, the United States has been ranked as the number one country in the Western world with the highest number of individual s infected and succumbing to the AIDS virus (Young, Schvaneveldt, Lindauer & Schvaneveldt 2001).AIDS, which stands for Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome, is a virus which, as the name suggests, attacks the immune system of the human body.   While the virus itself is not fatal to human beings, it is the fact that the immune system of an individual who has contracted AIDS is no longer able to ward off infections and other diseases brought about by bacteria and other kinds of virus that causes the death of an individual afflicted with the AIDS virus.The virus has been traced to originate from Africa.   It is believed that the virus, which thrives in the bodies of monkeys have been able to mutate and once entered into the human body, begins to damage the immune system (Langone 1991).AIDS and Its Impact to SocietyFor an issue to be considered as a social problem, the problem must be seen as one that poses a severe and grave threat towards the members of a particular society (Drass, Gregware & Musheno 1997).   There is no doubt that the AIDS epidemic has now been recognized as a social problem that continues to grow to this day.Once believed to be a disease that only infected homosexuals engaging in sexual intercourse with members of the same sex (Langone 1991), recent studies have made societies all over the world view the AIDS epidemic in a different light.Apart from the fact that there are now individuals being inflicted with the AIDS virus as a result of unprotected sexual intercourse involving partners from the opposite sex, the AIDS virus has also been known to also inflict children.In the report provided to the United Nations Security Council in the year 2000, out of the 34.3 million individuals all over the world who have been infected with the AIDS virus, 1.3 million of these were children below the age of 15 years (Altman 1995; Young, Schvaneveldt, Lindauer & Schvaneveldt 2001).The general perception that the AIDS virus is a major social problem ha s greatly influenced other parts of society, primarily when it comes to equality and advocacy.   How the general public perceives a particular social problem would greatly affect the association and relations that they would eventually have to those that they perceive to be the instigators of the problem.In the case with the AIDS epidemic, individuals who have been discovered to carry the disease experience a number of various incidences for racism and prejudice to arise.The most profound example of this can be seen during case proceedings in litigation hearings conducted in the court houses of the United States.Studies with regards to the manner as to how legal decision making in the United State court houses are carried have determined that social influences, particularly those involving cultural dynamics and social dynamics have greatly influenced the outcomes of various court cases which involves at least one individual who has been diagnosed to be infected with the AIDS virus (Drass, Gregware & Musheno 1997).One particular social dynamics that play a crucial role in decision making process done in court houses in the United States is social status.   Studies have shown that individuals that have a higher social status ranking would be likely to experience the ruling of a court proceeding to be in their favor as opposed to those who have been considered to have a low social status.Individuals who have been infected with the AIDS virus have long been regarded as individuals with a low social status ranking primarily due to the fact that those who surround them view them as carriers of something that would definitely cause adverse harm to the individuals living with them.In effect, individuals who have been infected with the AIDS virus have been viewed within the same ranking just as how members of a particular society would view and individual indicted for committing a heinous crime (Drass, Gregware & Musheno 1997).The ideologies and beliefs upheld by a particular society is another dynamics that greatly influence legal proceedings involving an individual who has been inflicted by the AIDS virus.   The culture upheld by a particular society is based on the sharing of common beliefs, traditions and ideologies among each other.Discrimination based on the culture within a particular society normally occurs based on the gender, sexuality and ethnic background of an individual.   Recently, the status of an individual as to whether or not he or she is inflicted with the AIDS virus has also been included in the list.In fact, the culture within a society in the manner as to how they perceive individuals infected with the AIDS virus not only causes decisions made during court proceedings to rule against the individual who has been inflicted with the AIDS virus.An individual who has been diagnosed to be infected with the AIDS virus are often subjected to alienation, branding and other forms of oppression from other members within a part icular society (Altman 1995; Drass, Gregware & Musheno 1997).

Feasibility Study on Irrigation

The locality of Managopaya, Banate is located at the western part of Visayas and lies at 4th district of the Province of Iloilo. It is bounded in between by the Municipality of Anilao when going to Iloilo City and Municipality of Barotac Viejo when going to Estancia. It has a land area of 667. 5 hectares or roughly 5. 15 percent of the total land area of the Municipality of Banate. As such it is the smallest barangay in the municipal composing of five (6) sitios namely: Proper, Baclayan, Bubog, Lumboy, Pangalatkaton and Tubod.Sitio Proper serves as the center of various economic activities and site of all government owned offices or building. Extensive mountain ranges with uneven distribution of plateaus, swamps, and lowlands characterize the barangay’s topography. In terms of soil types, these ranges from loam, clay, sandy, clay loam, sandy loam, or a mixture of any of these, which are evenly distributed in the six (6) sitios of the barangay. These soil types are suitable to any kind of crop whether annual, perennial, or cash crops. TOPOGRAPIC MAP OF MANAGOPAYASOURCE: NATIONAL IRRIGATION ADMINISTRATION (NIA) Based on the 2011 Census of Population, the Barangay of Managopaya recorded a population level of 1328. This translates to an annual average growth rate of 0. 9 percent for the period 2000-2011. Sitio Proper, being the urban area, registered the most number of people at 363, which is 27. 33 percent of the municipality’s total population. This was followed by Sitio Baclayan having a population of 298 or 22. 2 percent of the total populationl. The percentage share of the remaining four (4) barangays ranged from 11-15 percent.Consequently, in the most densely populated barangay, there were approximately four (4) people in every hectare of land while in the least densely populated area there would be roughly one (1) person in every hectare of land. Basically, the municipal population is young with more than half of its populace within the age ran ge of 1-20 years. Out of the total municipal population, 52 percent or 690 were males while 48 percent or 633 were females. The barangay’s current working population (age 15-64) is pegged at 396. This is relatively low considering the high number of economic dependents totaling 932.The population has a total dependency ratio of 70. Most people in Managopaya are largely Ilonggo. There are approximately 1195 people or about 99 percent who speak the dialect fluently. In terms of religious affiliation, 82 percent of the populations are Roman Catholics. 1. 1. 2 Economic Development Managopaya has an agricultural area of 467 hectares, which is equivalent to 70 percent or more than half of the barangay’s total land area. Farming is the main source of income owing to the barangay’s basic agricultural features.There is only few banking institution in the area that offers to the demands of the business sector, as well as the needs of the farmers and government employees. It provides agricultural loans to farmers but only a few can avail due to stringent lending requirements and high interest rates. Fruits and other farm products of excellent quality are usually sold to Iloilo City or Passi City because of the high price these commodities command. Residents of Managopaya merely contain themselves with products of inferior quality for their daily consumption requirements.Local traders supplement and assume the role of lending institutions by providing cash advance to small farmers and sugarcane folks during emergencies. The â€Å"suki† system is the most prevalent method of conducting business where local trader’s acts as financiers and at the same time control the price of fish, livestock and other farm products. The absence of larger scale establishments further complicate the worsening situation because residents still have to go to Iloilo City to purchase product which are not available in Banate or in Passi City.This means additiona l burden to the poor especially now that the transportation cost is high. 1. 1. 3Social Development There is only one (1) public elementary school. Health services are provided by the Barangay Health Center located in the Proper. It is visited every 2-3 months by a doctor, a nurse, a dentist, a dental aid, and midwife. The barangay’s leading causes of mortality from 2000 to 2011 are cardio-vascular diseases, hypertension, pulmonary tuberculosis, and bronchopneumonia. On the other hand, the leading causes of morbidity are acute respiratory infection, diarrhea, and pulmonary tuberculosis.The barangay’s crude birth rate is 17. 5 per 1,000 populations and its crude death rate is 3. 3 per 1,000 populations. Its infant mortality rate is 7. 22 per 1,000 populations while maternal mortality rate is 1. 8 per 1,000 populations. Based on the 2012 survey on population, there are 285 total of households and 298 total of families. The construction materials used for outer walls of t hese dwelling units are mostly indigenous products like bamboo, sawali, cogon, and nipa.However, there are also some units that make use of sturdy materials like concrete, brick stones, galvanized iron, aluminum, and hard wood. . 2 THE PROPOSED UPLAND IRRIGATION THAT COMES FROM WATERFALLS OF MANAGOPAYA, BANATE, ILOILO Managopaya is largely an upland barangay and majority of its people source their income from their upland agriculture activities. Cognizant of this and the fact that the uplands’ soil fertility is deteriorating due to denudation and prolonged dry spell, the LGU’s priority development agenda is to reverse the situation in the near future. The LGU, at the moment, is fortunate to be part of the foreign-assisted Upland Development Program (UDP).However, due to limited financial resources, upland development activities are also limited. The LGU, thus, would like to harness its potential sources of water to provide farmers the necessary water requirements for t heir high value crops and be lured to expand their production. This would, at the same time, address the problem of low income of farmers which is a result of low production of crops. Thus, this feasibility study is being prepared for the development of two (2) major potential sources of water for irrigation purposes.Among the barangay’s development strategies is to recover the financial investments for it to be able to replicate the same project or to finance other development projects of the municipality. The LGU also recognizes the fact that, in order for this project to succeed, there is a need to put in place support facilities/activities like a nursery for planting materials, a â€Å"bagsakan† center for marketing support, and training to farmers on high-value crops production. In the case of planting materials for high-value crops, the LGU plans to provide these to farmers on a â€Å"plant-now-pay later scheme.

Building Value Based Healthcare Business Models Essays

Building Value Based Healthcare Business Models Essays Building Value Based Healthcare Business Models Essay Building Value Based Healthcare Business Models Essay The task the industries face-?demonstrating value based on a product focus-?is far from simple. For one thing, there are inherent limitations to the value a single drug can bring to the management of complex, chronic diseases, where therapeutic success is determined not only by the molecule but by a combination Of drugs, physician intervention, home assistance, and lifestyle changes. Moreover, providing better health outcomes in exchange for fewer resources means that medications and interventions must be targeted to the right patients. However, personalized medicine has yet to significantly permeate he operating models of the pharmaceutical and medical technology industries. But perhaps most importantly, recent value-based price negotiations have revealed a dramatic lack of trust on both sides of the table. The pharmaceutical industry has often been accused of using its marketing machinery to churn out pills that deliver high margins no matter what value they bring to patients. And the industry perceives healthcare payers restrictions as short-sighted penny-pinching that inhibits access to medicines and curbs innovation. In this climate, agreeing on the definition of value, let lone on the standards of evidence for value, is difficult. And indeed, even as healthcare payers push providers to show evidence of outcome, they continue to steer their spending via strict cost control. As a result, arbitrary price pressures (including forced rebates) are exerted on products in the current portfolio, and it is increasingly difficult to get new products approved for reimbursement. The outlook may be muddled, but one thing is clear: Players will need to radically adapt. Medical technology companies will struggle to command a price premium for new technology and will need to develop user-friendly, affordable solutions. And pharmaceutical companies, traditionally product- focused organizations, will need to readjust their processes, all the way from development through marketing, to collect and promote evidence of the value their products provide to the healthcare system. Capturing Value with Patient-Centric Solutions Is there an innovative way to deal with the value challenge? Several companies are embracing patient-centric solutions as an alternative business model to the traditional product focus. These models-?exemplified in the United Kingdom by Pfizer Health Solutions, a division that runs integrated are programs for chronic diseases-?aim to increase quality of life and avoid costly hospital treatments by offering prevention, early diagnosis, and remote care to chronically ill patients. The value proposition for healthcare payers is evident: These programs seek to reduce costs and, in theory, can legitimately aspire to be commissioned by a national health service (think the United Kingdom) or reimbursed by health insurance companies (for example, in Germany, the Netherlands, and Switzerland) or local health authorities (think Italy)-?whether on a per-patient or per-time basis, or using a risk-sharing del. Innovative solutions can be driven by technology such as remote monitoring or e-health applications or by medical understanding of certain diseases-?the distinguishing competencies 2 of medical technology and pharmaceutical companies respectively. Philips, for example, launched its Motivate telekinetic remote monitoring program based on its device tech oenology but provides an integrated service. 1 Austereness, on the other hand, teamed up with Singer Health System in the United States to develop an e-health initiative to reduce cardiovascular disease and improve patient care. Additionally, smaller companies and start-ups are developing a Wide range of services. For example, Tallies, an Italian e-health company, provides telekinetic services to national and local payers, and SSL Telekinetic provides services to health insurance companies in Israel and Germany. Where do patient-centric solutions stand? Of course, providing health solutions is not a new idea, and neither is applying IT in health services. In the past decade, there has been no shortage of ideas on how communications technologies could revolutionize the delivery of health services. Certainly, the hype cycle has gone a full round. Similarly, pharmaceutical companies have discussed services as a possibility for adjacent innovation and life-cycle management every now and then. But the expectations voiced a decade ago remain unfulfilled, resulting in widespread skepticism about whether this time is different. But for several reasons, this time is different. For one thing, the product- based pharmaceutical business model has been under more pressure than ever. Ten years back, sovereign healthcare payers still had money, and the sequencing of the human genome promised to make drug innovation easier, quicker, and cheaper. Neither holds true today. And over the years, market players have learned that patient-centric health solutions are not just another application of information and communication technology-?popular thinking in the midst of the dot. Com boom-?but need viable value propositions for the health system. The learning curve has improved, and examples of patient- centric health solutions can be found in many healthcare markets. A look at more than 1 00 services now offered by pharmaceutical and medical technology companies reveals a continuum that ranges from products to stands include patient adherence programs such as Roachs Motivation, Advice, and Proactive (MAP) Support Program for patients prescribed Conical obesity treatment, Chastenesss interactive online program for asthma patients taking Symbiotic, or Innovators Extract support program for multiple sclerosis patients. In medical technology, the Philips Ambient Experience lets patients personalize their exam room with lights, images, and sounds-?for example, replicating an African savanna, a rainy forest, a robots space journey, or an underwater adventure-?while undergoing diagnostic jesting with the companys devices. ; Adjacent services still use the basic product but go beyond it in their value proposition. Rock?s tell-health project in rural Great Britain to support patients with recurring urinary tract infections revolves around the companys Uriss diagnostic device, and Freshness Medical Cares [emailprotected] program in the United States provides comprehensive patient education for Its home dialysis products. All trademarks cited in this paper remain the property of their respective holders and are used only to directly describe the products or services being provided. ; In addition, there are already examples of truly stand-alone, value-based healthcare services, independent of single product use, along the patient pathway. Pfizer online male health clinic provides anonymous, confidential consultation at the users convenience. Wellheads diabetes manager provides a modular service for supporting medication adherence, clinical research trials, and disease management through the Internet and mobile devices. And Philips combines home-based tell-monitoring with an interactive health platform to promote behavioral change for patients with chronic illnesses such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COP). The solutions we examined span all stages of the patient pathway and display different degrees of business model autonomy, yet they all have one feature in common: Patient outcome, not products, is at the heart of the value proposition for customers. The next logical step, for those that heaven done so already, is to split patient-centric service offers from the drug and device business and develop them in a separate business unit. Pfizer Health Solutions is a case in point, as is Johnson Johnson Innovation. The fact that independent value-based healthcare services have started mainly in the area of treatment and monitoring (see figure 1) can be explained by the cost dynamics along the patient pathway: Conventional wisdom says prevention is the best medicine, but commercial reality is that it is the most poorly remunerated, at least in the public sector. At present, even private health insurers are more intent on capturing value at the cost- intensive end of the patient pathway than in prevention, where a business case for a patient-centric solution is much more difficult to make. That may be changing, however. Since the mid-sass, Dutch insurer Achaean has offered n interesting case study proving that integrated healthcare Figure 1 Most independent value-based healthcare services are in treatment and monitor Eng Business model autonomy Distribution and select examples of patient-centric solutions offerings Valuable services 8% Adjacent Proliferated 1% 3% 19% Pfizer care managers to coach patients with long-term conditions Philips interactive platform to monitor and support behavior change among chronically ill patients 12% 23% Roachs home urine tests to detect urinary tract infections 0% Innovators support program for patients being treated for wet age-related muscular generation prevention Diagnosis Treatment Monitoring Patient pathway Notes: The number in each box represents the percentage of offerings identified for each type of service and step of the patient pathway. In each row, a deeper color indicates a greater number of services. Source: A. T. Carney analysis of more than 100 services offered by pharmaceutical and medical technology firms 4 services can be a profitable way to effectively manage diseases-?and we expect the aging of the population, especially in Europe, to drive further adoption of patient-centric solutions. Where Do Patient-Centric Solutions Go From Here? Although the sheer number of services shows a rapidly evolving field, none of the models we analyzed has revolutionized healthcare delivery. A broad deployment of patient-centric solutions is still hampered by powerful barriers, both externally in the health marketplace and internally in the pharmaceutical and medical technology organizations. Among these barriers: misaligned incentives, distrust, and insufficiently developed capabilities (see sidebar: Barriers to Patient-Centric Solutions). Barriers to Patient-Centric Solutions A number of barriers, both external and internal, are standing in the way of widespread adoption of patient-centric healthcare solutions. External barriers Lack of collaboration and alignment. Healthcare is a complex world. Navigating interests from patient to provider to healthcare payer is not easy in the normal conduct of business, let alone when introducing innovative models. Health insurance companies in Germany, for example, tried to introduce disease management programs that largely failed because resident physicians, while essential to the programs implementation, were not involved in their design. 2 No consensus on evidence. In the long run, economic health outcomes of patient-centric arrive models will need to be proved in the same way that drug effectiveness is shown in a Phase Ill randomized clinical trial. But quantifying savings in the real world is more difficult, and studies on health economic outcomes are less amenable to scale than clinical studies: Patients and disease biology across the world are similar, but healthcare systems and their funding rules are not. On high product margins and do not want them to interfere with patient interactions. Misleading incentives for parts of the healthcare system. A shorter focus, combined with tight regulatory control over operations ND balance sheets, severely limits health insurance companies will to innovate. Meanwhile, paternalistic service models are only attractive for new entrants if they yield revenue that reflects the value contributed-?revenue that depends on payers willingness to fund these services. Internal barriers Insufficient patient targeting. Because the value proposition of patient-centric service models relies on a clear health outcome for the patients enrolled, it is crucial to not only target the right patients but also get them actively involved. Distrust resulting in a lack of access to patients. In most countries, pharmaceutical and deiced technology companies are restricted from directly marketing to patients or even pharmacies. Physicians-?and many patients-?still perceive pharmaceutical firms as focused Lack of new capability profiles. Pharmaceutical companies have excellent clinical understanding, but they lack experience in service deployment and design. Managing regular customer communication as part of a distinctive value proposition and not as a duty to drug safety is also new to an organization that is accustomed to molecules as value drivers. For technology companies, deploying local services and managing customer and maintenance immunization is easier, but they lack an understanding of the healthcare systems reimburse resentment schemes. Insufficient understanding of service-based business models in product-based environments. Capability gaps can be overcome with a smart deployment of resources, but the lack of understanding about the features of a service-based versus a product-based business and revenue model is more difficult to overcome. Recent legislation in Germany has abolished incentives for disease management programs, effectively removing them from the agenda. 5 So far, these barriers have prevented greater adoption of patient-centric lotions-?in Europe, less than 0. 5 percent of the more than 70 million chronic patients participate in health service programs (see figure 2)-?and a growing business can only be established once successful innovators clear these barriers. Figure 2 Barriers are preventing the significant adoption of patient-centric services Degree of expectation versus actual population addressed in Europe Today Degree of expectation Over-promise Realistic purport entities Growth Late followers Population at risk (prevention) 70 million addressed Innovators Patients in innovative healthcare niches 0. 5 million Early adopters High-need chronic or ever patients Early majority Chronic patients at risk of developing severe conditions Market development Note: Patient numbers based on chronic diseases in Europe Sources: Gardner; A. T. Carney analysis Technology will speed up the game and force decisions. Data generation, collection, and handling will be faster and more accessible than ever before: ; Healthcare devices will become commoditized. Prices will come down for everything from basic X-ray machines at the point of care in rural emerging markets to home diagnostic equipment in supermarkets. Wireless communication will become standard, including machine-to- aching (MM) communication. The Internet of things will be a reality before the molecules screened in todays pharmaceutical laboratories have been launched. New tools and algorithms will generate insight from data that will direct the health services of the future, as exemplified by SAPs expected applications of its business data analysis tool, HANNA, in healthcare. Collectively, these trends will bring down the technological barriers to entry and create opportunities for new entrants and innovative start-ups to provide new solutions.

Lonesome George Was the Last Pinta Island Tortoise

Lonesome George Was the Last Pinta Island Tortoise The last known member of the Pinta Island tortoise subspecies (Chelonoidis nigra abingdonii) died on June 24, 2012. Known as Lonesome George by his keepers  at the Charles Darwin Research Station on the Galpagos Island of Santa Cruz, this giant tortoise was estimated to be 100 years old. Weighing 200 pounds and measuring 5 feet in length, George was a healthy representative of his kind, but repeated attempts to breed him with biologically similar female tortoises proved unsuccessful. Scientists at the research station plan to save tissue samples and DNA from Georges body in hopes of reproducing his genetic material in the future. For now, though, Lonesome George will be preserved via taxidermy to be displayed at the Galpagos National Park. The now-extinct Pinta Island tortoise resembled  other members of the Galapagos giant tortoise species (Chelonoidis nigra), which is the largest living species of tortoise and one of the heaviest living reptiles in the world.   Characteristics of the Pinta Island Tortoise Appearance:  Like others of its subspecies, the Pinta Island tortoise has a dark brownish-gray saddleback-shaped shell with  large, bony plates on its upper portion and thick, stumpy limbs covered in scaly skin. The Pinta Island has a long neck and toothless mouth shaped much like a beak, suitable for its vegetarian diet. Size:  Individuals of this  subspecies were known to reach 400 pounds, 6 feet in length, and 5 feet in height (with necks fully extended).   Habitat:  Like other saddleback tortoises, the Pinta Island subspecies primarily inhabited arid lowlands but likely made seasonal migrations to more moist areas at higher elevations. Its primary habitat though would be that of the Ecuadorian Pinta Island from which it gets its name.   Diet:  The Pinta Island tortoises diet consisted of vegetation, including grasses, leaves, cacti, lichens, and berries. It could go for long periods without drinking water (up to 18 months) and is thought to have stored water in its bladder and pericardium. Reproduction:  Galpagos giant tortoises reach sexual maturity between 20 and 25 years of age. During the height of mating season between February and June of each year, females travel to sandy coastlines where they dig nest holes for their eggs (saddlebacks like Pinta tortoises typically dig 4 to 5 nests a year with an average of 6 eggs each). The females retain sperm from a single copulation to fertilize all of her eggs. Depending upon temperature, incubation can span anywhere from 3 to 8 months. Like other reptiles (notably crocodiles), nest temperatures determine the sex of hatchlings (warmer nests result in more females). Hatching and emergency occur between December and April. Lifespan/;  Like other subspecies of  Galpagos giant tortoises, the Pinta Island tortoise can live up to 150 years in the wild. The oldest known tortoise was Harriet, who was approximately 175 years old when she died at an Australia Zoo in 2006. Geographic Range/;  The Pinta Island tortoise was indigenous to Ecuadors Pinta Island. All subspecies of the Galpagos giant tortoise are found only in the Galpagos Archipelago. According to a study released by Cell Press entitled Lonesome George is not alone among Galapagos tortoises, there may still be a Pinta Island turtle living among a similar subspecies on the neighboring island of Isabela.   Causes of Population Decline and Extinction of Pinta Island Tortoises   During the 19th century, whalers  and fishermen killed Pinta Island tortoises for food, driving the subspecies to the brink of extinction by the mid-1900s. After exhausting the tortoise population, seasonal seafarers introduced goats to Pinta in 1959 to ensure they would have a food source upon landing. The goat population grew to more than 40,000 during the 1960s and 1970s, decimating the islands vegetation, which was the remaining tortoises food. Pinta tortoises were originally considered extinct during this time until visitors spotted Lonesome George in 1971. George was taken into captivity the following year. Following his death in 2012, the Pinta Island tortoise is now considered to be extinct (other subspecies of Galpagos tortoise are listed as Vulnerable by the IUCN). Conservation Efforts Starting in the 1970s, varied techniques were employed to eradicate Pinta Islands goat population in order to discover the most effective method for later use on larger Galpagos islands. After almost 30 years of only moderately successful extermination attempts, an intensive program of radio-collaring and aerial hunting aided by GPS and GIS technology resulted in complete eradication of goats from Pinta. Monitoring projects have since shown that Pintas native vegetation has recovered in the absence of goats, but the vegetation requires grazing to keep the ecosystem properly balanced, so the Galpagos Conservancy launched Project Pinta, a multi-phase effort to introduce tortoises from other islands to Pinta. How You Can Help Other Giant Tortoises   Donate to the Lonesome George Memorial Fund, established by the Galpagos Conservancy to fund large-scale tortoise restoration programs in Galpagos over the next 10 years. There are also a variety of  resources for  volunteering to help endangered species  available online.

High profile CEOs as the topic Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

High profile CEOs as the topic - Essay Example Professional and Personal Background Whitman has had a very diverse career history, serving as an executive at Walt Disney, Procter & Gamble, Hasbro, and DreamWorks. As the President and CEO of eBay, one of her more recent job roles, Whitman was directly involved with growing eBay into the powerhouse auction site it is today, taking the company from its roots of only 30 employees to a major corporation with revenues exceeding $8 billion annually. This experience eventually catapulted the CEO to take on the senior leadership role at Hewlett-Packard, a struggling computer and technology company maintaining its fair share of financial troubles. This is her current role as a corporate executive at HP. Whitman’s personal life has been through its fair share of ups and downs, having received considerable negative publicity in 2010 when she failed to become the governor of California after spending $144 million of her own resources on the campaign. Whitman had caught national attenti on in this campaign having broken records for the most personal expenditures in history in any American election (York, 2010). This was obviously a humiliating moment for Meg Whitman. However, the governance team at Hewlett-Packard was likely not fazed by this failure, as they maintained faith in her competencies by appointing her CEO of the company in January 2011. Whitman’s Management Style and Competency Meg Whitman would be defined as a charismatic and transformational leader. Transformational leaders are those that role model desired behaviors, establish a shared vision and mission, open effective lines of communications in a decentralized structure, and also serving as a coach and mentor to employees and managers (Fairholm, 2009). As the new CEO of Hewlett-Packard, Whitman illustrates these transformational qualities with a recent set of policies involving executives and their role in the company. Whitman demanded that executives abandon their posh offices at HP and, in stead, take their job roles into regular cubicles in order to facilitate better communications with lower-level employees (Thomas White, 2012). Whitman seemed to realize the importance of maintaining more visibility in order to build a culture of cohesion and dedication that is important to turnaround a company that needs more innovation and talent management. Hard Management Practices leading to Whitman’s Effectiveness Furthermore, Whitman’s understanding of the real-world economic environment gives her advantages as a quality leader. At Hewlett-Packard, it was desired by some executives to begin acquiring other companies as a means of turning around the struggling company. However, Whitman used her long-term thinking which is important for managers in terms of planning prowess to recognize that such an activity would only further threaten the cash-strapped company and impose more debt. Instead, Whitman established the systems necessary to invest more heavily in resea rch and development as a means of improving HP’s market position. Offered Whitman, â€Å"Let’s optimize what we have before we go off and do something else† (Worthen, 2012, p.2). This is what makes Whitman such a strong manager and leader: she is able to effectively scan the external market and compare it to the current

What statistical measures should be used to assess the commercial Assignment

What statistical measures should be used to assess the commercial viability of an organisational website What would these measures show, and what would they not show - Assignment Example Therefore, commercial viability of an organization can be gauged by examining the performance of its commercial website. Performance of an organization’s website can be checked in terms of legal, technical, and marketing viabilities. According to Clark (2013), examining a website’s operational viability should be free from subjective analysis. In order to foster objectivity, analysis on a website’s viability is conducted though statistical measures. Common statistical measures applied in measuring website’s commercial viability include; central tendency measures like mean, dispersion measures like standard deviation, and linear correlation measures like Pearson correlation coefficients. Website’s viability can be ascertained by acknowledging the number of visitors viewing an organization’s web page. A high number of visitors signify increased attraction of website contents on potential customers. Contrarily, low number of visitors indicates lack of attractiveness by an organization’s website. Monitoring the number of visitors on a daily basis is not only time consuming but also monotonous. Therefore, central tendency measure of arithmetic mean can be used to determine the average number of a website’s visitors over a finite period. Perry (2006) mentioned that arithmetic mean is a representative measure which provides an overview description of a data set distribution. Unlike other measures of central tendency like mode and median, arithmetic mean summarizes behavior of a data set in a representative manner. Measuring website’s viability using mean provides an inference about the average number of persons visiting a web page. Contrarily, use of arithmetic means in statistical analysis has demerits. Arithmetic mean does not describe any relationship between multiple variables that influence the number of visitors entering a website. Undeniably, a central tendency

Britain and Ethnic Divisions Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Britain and Ethnic Divisions - Essay Example While on one side, it is the cultural conquest, most often referred to as the internal colonialism, the colonies of the Celtic fringe continued to exist from Middle Ages. Whereas, these areas showed a renewed frenzy of nationalism every now and then, English had hardly any nationalism or nationalistic movement. In case of the other ethnic minority, since there was a subjugation of rights, there was a spirit of nationalism among them too. While colonisation of other parts of the world by the English have been history, the settlement and colonisation of the Celtic fringe has been subtle. The first empire of the English was to establish the British. This is possibly the reason why nationalism and ethnicity were not referred to in the context of the British. The Celtic Fringe in British National Development 1536 - 1966. The colonisation started in the sixteenth century and in many cases was very subtle. 'They had been sleep walking towards their extinction. Not knowing what internal colonialism has done to them'. (Ken Saro Wiwa 1 Jan 1996). Internal colonialism is not easily recognised either by the settler or by the conquered. A similar colony was created in the Celtic Fringe by the English. This was to be an integrating effort resulting in the English becoming the British. The English culture became overpowering. ... Though the entire event started as a migration of the English from the lowlands to the rest of the regions, the regions soon become colonies of England. This trend was continued by the English when they colonised many other nation states across the world. English did not thrust their culture or practices on to the people whom they colonised. This also happened in the Celtic fringe (Ellis, Summer 2003) where the original culture of the Irish, the Scottish and that of the Welsh continue to exist in addition to the imperial culture of the English. Ethnic Migration The Ethnic migration, on the other end, resembles more for a want of better living conditions and of course, financial gain. Migration of the people in other countries was towards greener pastures. Large number of ethnic migrants came into the UK. Larger groups are the Caribbean, Black African, Indian, Pakistani, Bangladeshi, Chinese and others apart from white migrants settled elsewhere. All these people contribute to the large scale migration into the country. Nature of work they get themselves into after getting into the country, indicates the type of life they lead and their capability to work. Most of the people end up doing routine and manual work while a few do get into professional work. Figure: 1 Data on nature of work ethnic migrants get into. (National Statistics 2001) Figure 2: Social Class of the ethnic migrants (National Statistics 2001) Similarly the migrants mostly end up in the working class which amounts to almost 73.1% of the total ethnic migrants from 1971 to 1981. The nature of people who come into the country are from either the poor or the low level

Concepts and Theories of Organizational Politics

Concepts and Theories of Organizational Politics Abstract Organizational politics is often defined as Intentional enhancement of self-interest. What it actually means research provides that It is use of power to affect decision making in an organization or self-serving and organizationally unsanctioned behaviors. This definition adds to knowledge of organizational behavior that the people in the organization reflect political behaviors and ability to reflect such behaviors were termed as political skills. These behaviors can be both legal and illegal with respect to their intensity. However, in reality politics take place due to scarcity of organizational resources as everyone will attempt to perform better and want to be rewarded to fulfill personal interest, but as resources are limited it does not happen. Moving forward, it is also said that political behavior can be perceived as politics and at the same time as effective management so, it depends on the perception of a person. Now talking about reasons of political behavior adopted by p eople in the organization there are some individual factors as individuals in organizations may be high self-monitors, high mach personality, possess locus of control or may have job alternatives such individuals found to be indulge in politics. As for as organizational factors are concerned there may be role ambiguity, limited resources, high performance pressure or self-serving serving senior managers which stimulate the process of politicking within the organization. However, there is a reaction to an action so, people used to behave defensively in order to avoid action, blame or change. So, organizations should limit the effects of political behavior otherwise they should have to manage the politics effectively by being clear, straight forward, by being honest in their proceeds in order to match the communicated thoughts with their employees, and using defensive behaviors against dirty political players. Moreover, people in organizations want to be attractive and want to make po sitive image of themselves in the mind of others. This attempt of people of introduced the term impression management in the organization by means of which people manage their impression in minds of others. It helps people to take benefits in different aspects and satisfy their interests, which is likely to be referred as politics. Introduction Pfeffer (1992) defined politics as the processes, the actions, the behaviors through which potential power is utilized and realized. Another author (Dubrin, 2001) defined organizational politics as informal approaches to gaining power through means of other than merit or luck. It could be argued that politics are used primarily to achieve power, either directly or indirectly, e.g., by being promoted, receiving a larger budget or other resources,  ­or gaining desirable assignments. Many people regard organizational politics as something negative (e.g., pursuing self-interests at the ex ­pense of others) and something to be minimized. Consequently, although most people know that organizational politics are common, they avoid saying so when it concerns ones own behavior. It is more common to talk about politics when complaining about a loss to a friend than it is in the context of ones own political interference. When we win on an issue, we call it leadership, when we lose, we call it politics. In many organizations, politics is a taboo subject, which makes it difficult for individuals to deal with this crucially important aspect of organizational reality. Organizational politics are neither good nor bad, although it is important for us to distinguish between ethical and unethical political behavior. Organizational politics When people get together in groups, power will be exerted. People want to carve out niche from which to exert influence, earn rewards, and advance their careers. When employees in organizations convert their power in to action it is describe as to them as being engaged in politics. Those with good political skills have the ability to use their bases of power efectively.1 Defining Organizational politics Organizational politics refers to Intentional enhancement of self-interest by kinicki in 1990, it means that a person with his intention try to influence the others in the organization in order to enhance his personal interests. Furthermore, with reference to the study subjected to Political Alignments in Organizations and Power and Influence in Organizations done by S.B. Bacharach and E.J. Lawler, R.M. Kramer and M.A. Neale respectively in 1998 defines organizational politics as It is focused on use of power to affect decision making in an organizations or self-serving and organizationally unsanctioned behaviors. In explanation a person use his power or authority to influence the decisions made by organization or use his power to serve himself with organizational resources and also to its extreme perform or reflect such a behavior that is prohibited in the organization. Political skills It can be defined as The ability to influence others in such a way as to enhance ones objective2, according to this definition a person if have such an impact on others that they act in accordance with him to achieve his goal or objective. So, if a person used to create required behavior coming from others which at the end help to accomplish that particular persons objectives, the person is said to be have political skills. Political behavior It refers to the Activities that are not required as part of a persons formal role in the organization but that influence, or attempt to influence, the distribution of advantages and disadvantages within the organization.3 In simple words such a behavior within the organization that is not required by job or organization but rather exercised in attempt to take advantages in certain conditions. Moreover, this definition is broad enough to include varied political behaviors such as withholding key information from decision makers, joining a coalition, whistle blowing, spreading rumors, leaking confidential information to the media, exchanging favors with others in the organization for mutual benefits, and lobbying on behalf of or against a specific individual or decision alternative. Types of political behavior There are two types of organizational politics that are as follows Legitimate political behavior Illegitimate political behavior Legitimate political behavior Interviews with experienced managers revealed that the political behavior is a major part of organizational life.4 Many manager reports that the use political behavior is both ethical and necessary, as long as it does not directly harms anyone else. So, this type of political behavior is subjected to normal routine politics that take place every single day within the organization. Illegitimate political behavior As described above political behavior is part of organizational life, some managers repot it to be good but to which extent? The intensity of politics done refers to another type of political behavior. So we can say that extreme politics that violates the implied rules of the game in organization reflect to be illegitimate or illegal type of political behavior, such a behavior would likely to be sentenced to punishment. The reality of Politics Organizations are made up of individuals or groups with different values, goals and interests.5 This set up the potential of conflict over the allocation of limited resources, such as departmental budgets, space, project responsibilities and salary adjustments.6 If resources were abundant constituencies within the organization could satisfy their goals. As the resources are limited everyones interests cannot be satisfied. Furthermore, gains by one individual or group are often perceived as coming at the expense of others within the organization whether they are not. These forces create real competition among members for the organizations limited resources. Politics in the eye of beholder A behavior one person labels as organization politics is very likely to seem like effective management to another. The fact is that the effective management is necessarily political, although in some cases it might be. Rather, a persons point determines what he or she classifies as organizational politics. For example, one experimental study showed that power-oriented behavior performed by a permanent employee is seen as more legitimate and less harsh than the same behavior performed by a temporary employee.7 take a look at the following labels used to describe the same phenomenon. These suggest that politics, like beauty, is in the eye of the beholder.8 In simple words these labels describe that at the same time one may state a political label to be an effective management label. For example, blaming others for a deed is politics on the other hand it may be referred as fixing a person to its responsibility that is an effective management. Let take another example creating conflict in the work setting might be politics but looking from other side it might be am initiative to change or innovation in the organization, and same applies to others. Causes of political behavior      Ã‚   There are following factors contributing to political behavior in the organization.9, 10, 11, 12 Individual factors High self-monitors Internal locus of control High Mach personality Organizational investment Perceived job alternatives Organizational factors Declining of resources Promotion opportunities Role ambiguity Unclear performance evaluation system Zero-sum reward practices Democratic decision making High performance pressures Self-serving senior managers Individual factors High self-monitors These individuals are more sensitive to social cues, they exhibit higher levels of social conformity, and they are more likely to be skilled in political behavior. Internal locus of control The organizations consist of such individuals who are more prone to take a proactive stance and attempt to manipulate situations in their favor, which in sense is politics as an individual try to influence the environment. High mach personality The individual who wills to manipulate, and have desire for power is comfortable at using politics as a mean to fulfill his or her self-interest. Organizational investment Some individuals used to have persona investment in the organization in terms of expectations of increased future benefits, the more that person has to lose if forced out and the less likely he or she is to use illegitimate means. Perceived job alternatives An individual who have more alternative job opportunities due to a favorable job market or the possession of scarce skills or knowledge, a prominent reputation, or influential contacts outside the organization the more likely there is risk that he can take illegitimate political actions. Organizational factors Unclear performance evaluation system Organizations should opt proper performance evaluation system and there should be no subjective performance criteria, no single outcome measure, and there should be no delay in awarding appraisal for a job done. Zero-Sum Reward practices It is also called Win/Lose Approach treats the reward pie as fixed so that any gain one person or group achieves has to come at the expense of another person or group. This particular approach opted by organization enhances the politics in the organization. Democratic decision making In this regard organizations direct managers to behave more democratically, they are told that they should allow employees to advise them on decisions and that they should rely to a greater extent on group input into the decision process, which cause undue influence on organizational practices. High performance pressure In an organization the more pressure that employees feel to perform well, the more likely they are to engage in politicking. Self-serving senior managers When inside the organization the employees see the people on top engaging in political behavior, especially when they do so successfully and are rewarded for it, a climate is created that supports politicking. Declining resources In an organization people may engage in political actions to safeguard what they have. So, they may stimulate conflicting actions and increase politicking. Promotion opportunities As appraisal is part of organizational practices so, it encourages people to compete for a limited resource and try to positively influence the decision outcome. Role ambiguity If the organizational practices fail to clearly define the role of particular job within the working environment, it initiates the politicking as the formal role and behaviors required by the organization are ambiguous. Consequences of organizational politics There are different kinds of employees within an organization so; in respond to organizational politics employees reflect different effects, like some employees show decreased job satisfaction13 and reduction in job performacne14. Similarly, some employees feel an increase in anxiety and stress15 while performing their job in political environment. Furthermore, some employees add to turnover ratio16 of organization as they might resign from their job due to political practices in organization. It is also seen that when employees see politics as a threat, they often respond with Defensive behaviors. Defensive behaviors It can be defined as Reactive and protective behaviors to avoid action, blame or change.17 there are some examples of such behaviors in Avoiding action Over conforming Strictly interpreting your responsibility by saying things like This is the way we have always done it. Buck passing Transferring the responsibility for the execution of a task or decision to someone else. Playing dumb Avoiding an unwanted task by falsely pleading ignorance and inability. Stretching Delaying a task so that one person seems to b stucked in a particular task. Stalling Appearing to be more or less supportive publically while doing little or nothing privately. There are some examples of such behaviors in Avoiding blame Buffing A person tries to cover his back by projecting an image of competence and thoroughness. Playing safe It refers to taking responsibility of such projects which have high chances of success, have risky decisions approved by superiors, and in which one can take neutral position in conflicts. Justifying Developing explanation or apologizing for a task which has negative outcomes. Scapegoating One attempts to place blame on external factors for a negative outcome. Misrepresenting It involves manipulation of information by distortion, deception or selective presentation. There are some examples of such behaviors in Avoiding change Prevention A person tries to prevent a threatening change from occurring. Self-protection A person acts in such ways that he can protect his self-interest during change by guarding information or other resources. Limiting effects of political behavior The worldwide organizations confront the political behavior from the side of employees which sometimes act in good faith of organization but to the same extent it can damage the organizational goals and objectives, in case if the personal interests of a person or group of persons become a hurdle in the way of organizational performance. In response to such violation organizations should take possible measure such as There should be open flow of communication. The employees should be provided sufficient resources to fulfill their interests. The rules and regulations should be defined clearly. The information dissemination should be done such a manner that there should be no addition while passing from one level to another. The political norms should be removed. Hire those employees who reflect lower levels of political skills. Managing organizational politics effectively As politics are major part of an organization, as the organization consists of individuals and group of people. However, politics can be managed effectively if one follows these steps: One should learn the culture and the rules of the game for success in the organization. One should establish credibility and an overall positive impression in the eyes of others present in the organization. One should build a base of support by forming alliances, groups with key players. One should create and implement formal clear policies, procedures so there is no ambiguity. One should be open and vivid while dealing with employees regarding the decisions which influence them. One should be consistent with what he says and what he acts. One should use defensive behaviors to protect themselves against the dirty political players in the organization. Impression management (IM) As people have ongoing interest in how others perceived and evaluate them. For example, people in North America spend billions of dollars on diet, health, club membership, cosmetics and plastic surgery, all this is done to make them attractive to others.18 Being perceived positively by others should have benefits for people in organization. I may result into favorable evaluation, superior salary increase, and more rapid promotion. In political context, it might help to take distribution advantages in their favor. So, Impression management can be defined as The process by which individuals attempt to control the impression others form of them.19 Impression management techniques There are various techniques of impression management which can be opted by people to control their impression others have about them.20 These techniques are as under: Conformity It involves agreeing with someone elses opinion to gain his or her approval is a form of ingratiation. For example, a manager tells his boss, You are absolutely right on your plan to reorganize the office. Excuse Excuse refers to an explanation regarding an unpleasant event caused by a person in order to minimize the intensity of anger. It is a defensive IM technique. For example, a sales manager says to his boss, We were not able to put ad in the paper on time, but no one responds to those ads anyway. Apologies In apology one admits responsibility for an undesirable event and seeks to get pardon for the action, it is a defensive IM technique. For example, an employee says to his boss, I am sorry I made a mistake in report. Please forgive me. Self promotion It is a self-focused technique in which one person highlights his own work, best qualities, downplay others deficit and call attention to his own achievement. For example, an employee tells his boss, I accomplish a task in one week which someone else could not do in months. I am the best performer here. Flattery Flattery is referred as buttering, because while reflecting flattery a person give compliments about others proceeds in an effort to appear perceptive and likeable to him. For example, a new comer says to experienced, you handled that clients complaint so tactfully, I could never do that just you did. Favors It includes doing something nice for someone to gain his or her approval is a form of ingratiation. For example, a sales person says to client, I have got two tickets to theater tonight, take them. Consider it a thank you for taking your time. Association In association one person do more than required to show how dedicated and hard working he is in organization. For example, a person had performed overtime duty he conveyed that message to his supervisor so; he could know he was working hard. Enhancement A self-focused technique in which a person claims that his work done is more valuable than any of other members of organization. For example, a journalist tells his editor, My news on celebrity divorce story was a major boost in sales. Even though the story only made it to page 3 in the entertainment section. References Mintzberg, Power In and Around Organizations, p. 26. See also K. M. Kacmar and R. A. Baron, Organizational Politics: The State of the Field, Links to Related Processes, and an Agenda for Future Research, in G. R. Ferris (ed.), Research in Personnel and Human Resources Management, vol. 17 (Greenwich, CT: JAI Press, 1999), pp. 1-39. G. R. Ferris, D. C. Treadway, P. L. Perrewà ©, R. L. Brouer, C. Douglas, and S. Lux, Political Skill in Organizations,Journal of Management (June 2007),pp. 290-320; K. J.Harris, K. M. Kacmar, S. Zivnuska, and J. D. Shaw, The Impact of Political Skill on Impression Management Effectiveness, Journal of Applied Psychology 92, no. 1 (2007). A. Drory and T. Romm, The Definition of Organizational Politics: A Review, Human Relations (November 1990), pp. 1133-1154; and R. S. Cropanzano, K. M. Kacmar, and D. P. Bozeman, Organizational Politics, Justice, and Support: Their Differences and Similarities, in R. S. Cropanzano and K. M. Kacmar (eds.), Organizational Politics, Justice and Support: Managing Social Climate at Work (Westport, CT: Quorum Books, 1995), pp. 1-18; and G. R. Ferris and W. A. Hochwarter, Organizational Politics, in S. Zedeck (ed.), APA Handbook of Industrial and Organizational Psychology, vol. 3 (Washington, DC: American Psychological Association, 2011), pp. 435-459. D. A. Buchanan, You Stab My Back, Ill Stab Yours: Management Experience and Perceptions of Organization Political Behavior, British Journal of Management 19, no. 1 (2008), pp. 49-64. J. Pfeffer, Power: Why Some People Have It-And Others Dont (New York: Harper Collins, 2010). Drory and Romm, The Definition of Politics. C. R. Willness, P. Steel, and K. Lee, A Meta-Analysis of the Antecedents and Consequences of Workplace Sexual Harassment, Personnel Psychology 60 (2007), pp. 127-162. Source: Based on T. C. Krell, M. E. Mendenhall, and J. Sendry, Doing Research in the Conceptual Morass of Organizational Politics, paper presented at the Western Academy of Management Conference, Hollywood, CA, April 1987. G. R. Ferris, G. S. Russ, and P. M. Fandt, Politics in Organizations, in R. A. Giacalone and P. Rosenfeld (eds.), Impression Management in the Organization (Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum, 1989), pp. 155-156; and W. E. OConnor and T. G. Morrison, A Comparison of Situational and Dispositional Predictors of Perceptions of Organizational Politics, Journal of Psychology (May 2001), pp. 301-312. Farrell and Petersen, Patterns of Political Behavior in Organizations, Academy of Management Review 7, no. 3 (1982), pp. 403-412. G. R. Ferris and K. M. Kacmar, Perceptions of Organizational Politics, Journal of Management (March 1992), pp. 93-116. Ferris, Russ, and Fandt, Politics in Organizations, p. 147; and J. M. L. Poon, Situational Antecedents and Outcomes of Organizational Politics Perceptions, Journal of Managerial Psychology 18, no. 2 (2003), pp. 138-155. W. A. Hochwarter, C. Kiewitz, S. L. Castro, P. L. Perrewe, and G. R. Ferris, Positive Affectivity and Collective Efficacy as Moderators of the Relationship Between Perceived Politics and Job Satisfaction, Journal of Applied Social Psychology (May 2003). G. R. Ferris, D. D. Frink, M. C. Galang, J. Zhou, K. M. Kacmar, and J. L. 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