Investment theory Essay

The efficient market hypothesis (EMH) is an investment theory that states it is impossible to beat the market because stock market efficiency causes existing share prices to always incorporate and reflect all relevant information. According to this theory, the stock always trade at their fair value on stock exchanges. This makes it impossible for investors to either purchase undervalued stocks or sell stocks for inflated prices. EMH provides that it should be impossible to outperform the overall market through expert stock selection or market timing. The only way an investor can possibly obtain higher returns is through purchasing riskier investments (Answer. com, 2006). Using the EMH theory, this research study will examine the efficiency of the United Kingdom (UK) stock market indices by providing an internal performance comparison between FTSE 250 and FTSE AIM. A total of two hundred (200) companies will be used for the analysis, with one hundred (100) companies from each index, on the basis of trading value from all sectors, using Datastream platform. Two inputs (total sales and EBIT), and two outputs (total capital employed and total assets) will be used to analyse the data from each company. Literature Review Although EMH is deemed the cornerstone of modern financial theory, it has also been highly controversial and much disputed. Critics say it is pointless to search for undervalued stocks or to try to predict trends in the market through either fundamental or technical analysis. A review of related literature however will show that a large body of evidence show support of EMH. While academics point to a large body of evidence in support of EMH, an equal amount of dissension also exists. For example, investors such as Warren Buffett have consistently beaten the market over long periods of time, which by definition is an impossibility according to the EMH. Detractors of the EMH also point to events such as the 1987 stock market crash (when the DJIA fell by over 20% in a single day) as evidence that stock prices can seriously deviate from their fair values. (Answers. com) In finance, the efficient market hypothesis (EMH) asserts that financial markets are â€Å"efficient†, or that prices on traded assets, e. g. stocks, bonds, or property, already reflect all known information and therefore are unbiased in the sense that they reflect the collective beliefs of all investors about future prospects. The efficient market hypothesis implies that it is not possible to consistently outperform the market — appropriately adjusted for risk — by using any information that the market already knows, except through luck or obtaining and trading on inside information. Information or news in the EMH is defined as anything that may affect stock prices that is unknowable in the present and thus appears randomly in the future. This random information will be the cause of future stock price changes.

Why Do Sports Matter

† Champion aren't made In the gyms. Champions are made from something they have Inside them – a desire, a dream, a vision† (Muhammad All). Sports are the basic of everything that a person learns in his/her childhood. There is no known date or time when the sports started. Played from the day the mankind exists. Sometimes played for recreation, sometimes play, sometimes money and sometimes for the pride. There are some people who are not keeping with the sportsmanship in the game and are using some other means to enhance their performance. Sports first played officially In the times of the Romans.When the first time the mall Olympic were held was In the Athens. Now the sports and games came a long way. The standard of the games have increased a lot in the past few years. The competition in the games has increased a lot. The prize money have also increased a lot in the game, from the crown of olive leaves the 1. 6 billion dollars in the past few years. This drastic c hange/elevation in the amount have lead in the increase of the interest in the games as they see a lot of money In these games Firstly considered he waste of time by the people and later became the source of earning money and recreation.Sports are means of physical and mental growth. Sports Increase our capabilities and also improve our efficiency. According to the peoples in the past the sports are just the waste if time which could be utilized in some better ways. As some of the business mans realize that sports is a great way to earn money they invested there money In it. Some of the people think that study is everything and children must be emphasized more on the studies this Is something that I completely disagree with.Everyone got his/her own credibility and we cannot change and we must not change that spouse if Michael Cordon's family asked him to study not to play and didn't provide him the source from the day he was in school. Sports are now a day a great career to be selec ted, as there is a lot of money in it. Sports teaches us the discipline in which the particular sports is to be played and the way in which one must be coordinative with his/her team members, develops In us team spirit. Sports make us mentally and physically more tough and also help us to malignant our body In good heap and make us more active and more stronger.Sports teach the ability of leadership and working under the order of someone. Sports are great way in which one can learn the ability of patience and the ability to accept the defeat. These are some things that most of us find very difficult to learn. As Wifely Shed describes in his writing † the money in the sports is only for the business mans, not for the players† (Willful Shed). The author here want to put emphasis on how the players are exploited by the team owners, as the players are to given the money which they should be given in return of there hard work.As coin has two sides, it is same in the case of s ports and games. There are certain things related with the sports that are not spouse to be part of it. Use of steroids and other performance enhancing products are used very frequently now a days by the players in different sports like bodybuilding, athletics etc. According to news now each and every player in the baseball is on drugs. A-Rod himself in the interview have approved that he was taking some kind of performance enhancing drugs.Some of them are forced to do that but some of them are Just taking them so that they could do better in the games. As the level of competition is raising now the level of usage of steroids is also climbing towards the sky at the same peace. These professional athletes are getting paid a lot of money because they are doing really well in their sports, and why are they doing well? It may be because they have a lot of talent and put a lot of time in training, but also a lot of it could be the use off performance enhancing drugs. So essentially they are getting paid to take the drugs.The athletes that are using the drugs are increasing their talent substantially, and making the honest athletes that aren't taking drugs look bad as they are not getting so many homeruns or get as many quarterback sacks. Now I feel this is not how it should be. The athletes should be tested more frequently, and the ones caught with drugs should be put to a stop as this is spoiling the whole meaning of the sports and fun. Its not only the drug issue but there are certain other issues that are related with the games. Racist discrimination is one of the common things that we encounter in he sports and games.Racism has been a stain on the soul of soccer for generations, and not only in the soccer but also other sports too. If there is a match between a black and a white man the whole community of blacks and the whites think to be the match of there prides. Women's are also criticized in the sports and this thing is becoming common in these days. Women are Just considered good for cheerleaders and some things that they can't be good players but the people forget about the William sisters how they raised the bar by their consistency.Women's are Just thought to be a sort of entertaining thing in the sports, as they look sexy when they are dressed in the cheerleader's dresses. There are always two side of everything this is upon us that which side is worth considering. Sports are very helpful in maintain a good body and moreover it teaches us good morals. Only thing I want to say is that sports are the essential part of our life and we must enjoy it and live that life too. And folks if you want to get rid of this drugs thing than we need to get hard, the players must be checked more frequently to get it done and the against it must be made more strict.

Team building Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Team building - Essay Example need is to develop skills of team building within the organizations through training and development comprised of several activities and case studies that will exemplify significance of team building in various situations. Team building helps to develop leadership within the organizations and derives synergic effects into the organizations as well. It saves time as well as efforts because of effective behavioral change that occurs due to team building. The proposed cost of the program includes administrative cost and training and education material cost. Administrative cost covers all expenses that include venue preparation, financial reporting, secretarial work and cost of trainers. Other cost includes training tools, kits and relevant handouts. The primary objective of team building program is to enhance productivity of non-profit organizations through developing certain skills of coordination to work with other members of the organization. The goal is to render the non-profit organizations more effective in delivering their philanthropic services. The culture of working in teams has to be nurtured in such organizations to let them work better. Certain case studies will be highlighted that will portray importance of working in teams and that will also signify team building values and critical situations that can be handled effectively with the help of team

Soil order Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Soil order - Essay Example The vertisol order of arid soils comprises of soils that contain swelling clays that develop deep wide cracks at specific periods of the year. Entisol, on the other hand, comprises of soils that exhibit very little or absolutely no signs of formation of pedogenic horizons. From the surface, arid soils comprise of torrifluvents followed by the torriorthents as one digs deeper beneath. Torrifluvents are recent deposits of alluvial plains that are flooded periodically. They make up the irrigated soils in arid climates. Torriorthents, on the other hand, have highly soluble salts and aridic moisture conditions because they are found deeper beneath the surface (Dregne 92). Climate in the arid regions experience largely uninterrupted sunshine for the entire year. This comes as a result of the high pressure in the air and the stable descending air. Arid regions are found 30 degrees latitudes north and south of the equator. Temperatures in these regions range between 400C and 450C all round the year. Ordinarily, arid regions have little rains during winter. However, they are devoid of rains all through the year. Usually, the difference between the highest and the lowest rainfall in arid regions that is recorded in different years is approximately 50% of the mean annual rainfall (Schwabe 76). The ephemeral annuals are plants that appear after the rains and complete their life cycles in a short season of about 8 weeks. Succulent perennials accumulate and store the absorbed water. These are cacti. Nonsucculent perennials make up the majority of vegetation or plants in the arid regions. They include hardy grasses, shrubs and woody herbs that can endure the harsh environmental conditions in the arid zones (Ribot, Antonio 95). It goes without noticing the adaptive features of the vegetation that thrive in the arid zones. For instance, some have extensive root systems that run deep beneath the surfaces to reach the relatively

Research proposal dealing with architectural design Essay

Research proposal dealing with architectural design - Essay Example The construction of a roller coaster would serve to attract additional business to this area of the city, further enhancing our ability for economic improvement and revitalization of other structures in the general downtown area. This paper will outline the background of this project, illustrate examples of other cities that have capitalized on small-scale entertainment parks, detail the specifics of the roller coaster itself and enumerate the requirements we would need to invest to make this proposal a reality. When determining the best use for this land, it is appropriate to take a look into the existing facilities in the immediate vicinity. This property lies approximately one half mile from the very large Veteran’s Park along Lake Michigan and less than a quarter of a mile from the River Walk along the Milwaukee River (Mapquest, 2006). This area is described as already thriving with traditional park-like activities. Veteran’s Park itself is bordered by McKinley Marina, the Milwaukee Art Museum complex, a large veteran’s memorial, the 76 Bike Trail, Lake Michigan access, large duck and geese ponds, paddleboats for rent, rollerblading and large fields for kite flying (AOL Cityguide, 2005). Betsa Marsh (2005) describes the River Walk as having â€Å"steps leading down to the river and circular overlooks just above the waves. The route is festooned with flower-draped lampposts, public art and benches just made for cracking open a book. Tiny bump-outs seem like perfect spots for moonlit kisses. Dozens of stores, cafes and bars with river frontage invite pedestrians to linger, browse and buy.† With these kinds of large scale park activities covering outdoor sports and leisure, boating, art, theater and providing room for large gatherings and activities, there is little need in the vicinity for another completely green park area. Businesses that would normally choose to locate close to such settings already have ample space in either of these two

Block 7 (Week 13&14) Exercise 7 (Respiratory System Mechanics) Coursework

Block 7 (Week 13) Exercise 7 (Respiratory System Mechanics) assigned from pages 85-95 - Coursework Example narrowing of the airways due to bronchial smooth muscle contraction as in Asthma; inflammation of the bronchial mucosa and hypertrophy of bronchial glands as happens in Bronchitis. 2. As a result of the tidal volume change, what happens to the flow into each lung and total air flow? Air flow into each lung is also increased resulting in increase in increased total flow into the lungs. The puncture in the lungs causes the air to flow into the intrapleural cavity of the lungs through the puncture equating the pressure inside with that of the atmosphere. The elasticity (surface tension) of the lung aleoli compresses the aleoli resulting in the collapse. There is minimum airflow to the left lung. The pressure in the left lung is still the same (zero), the air flow in the left lung ecomes zero. The lungs are only using right lung for respiration. The total air flow is equal to that to the right lung (69.56 ml). The diaphragm descends and the ribcage elevates (expands) – the increased intrathoracic volume results in decreased intrathoracic pressure compared to the atmospheric pressure. Air flows from the high atmospheric pressure to the low intrathoracic pressure filling the lungs. Rapid respiration (hyperventilation) results in the expulsion of more CO2 from the lungs. The CO2 is drawn from the bicarbonate buffer system of the blood. The concentration of CO2 in blood decreases resulting in increase in blood pH (alkalosis). The two values are used to assess the pulmonary function. They tell the clinician about the health of the lungs, any comression or obstruction to tht airflow as well as the extent of the pulmonary dieases (e.g. COPD). They reflect how much the lung function ahs been compromised due to the disease. Emphysema is a disease characterized by dilation f the alveolar spaces and destruction of the alveolar walls. The reoil function of the lungs is also compromised causing a decrease in expiratory flow. Therefore FEV1 is decreased. The lungs become

Neighborhood research assignment Ozone Park Queens Essay

Neighborhood research assignment Ozone Park Queens - Essay Example Later on it was developed by music publisher and developer Benjamin W. Hitchcock and his partner Charles C. Delton. The called the region â€Å"Ozone Park,† because the gentle, fresh air current blew continuously from Jamaica Bay and Atlantic Ocean. The inhabitants are from various ethnic groups such as German, Irish, Eastern European as well as immigrants from Caribbean and Latin America. When the transportation was developed in the region the population started increasing and between the year of 1921 and 1930. As per the data collected in 2010, the population of Ozone Park is 37,087 people. If considered the population growth of this region, it is 3.90 percentages. The average age of the population, is 33.68 years. Population density in Ozone Park, Queens is 33,453/sq.mtr. The population in gender is divided in following way: According to the jobs 74% people are involved in white collar jobs whereas 25% people are involved in blue collar job. In Ozone Park 30% of people are in the age group between 0 and 17, 30% of the population is between 18 and 44 age group and 5% population consists of the people who have crossed the age of 65. The following chart shows the population of various groups of people staying in Ozone Park. The population of Ozone Park, Queens is growing rapidly. ... South border is South Conduit Avenue while the east is 108 Street. Ethnicity of Ozone Park The population of Ozone Park consists of many immigrant groups. The contribution of German and Irish people is substantial in this region. These ethnic groups occupied Ozone Park in the late 19th century and early 20th century. By 1910 Italian people were supposed to be one of the largest ethnic groups in the neighbourhood. They started migrating from New York to Ozone Park. Since the beginning, Ozone Park is captured by the immigrants. At first the Italian people came and settled down there. Ozone Park is known as Little Italy, it is because of its remarkable Italian population. Though the Italians are dominant, in the past few years the other people also are coming and settling down in this region. Among them some immigrants are from South Asia, South America, and West Indies. All of them have brought their cultures with them and thus the land has become cosmopolitan and multi-cultured. Such diversity in culture has made Ozone Park one of the fastest growing as well as ethnically diverse lands in New York City. The African American group also has spread all over the neighbourhood. While describing the ethnic diversity, Jerome Krase and Ray Hutchison say, â€Å"Richmond Hill is the residential and commercial center of a vibrant and expanding Indo-Guyanese and Indo-Trinidadian community concentrated in South Central Queens including neighbouring Ozone Park, South Ozone Park, and Jamaica. Indo Caribbean are descendents of Indian migrants who lived in the Caribbean nations of Guyana, Trinidad and Tobago, for well over 100 years.† (Jerome Krase and Ray Hutchison, 2004) Here in this region one can find the

Has racism in the UK disappeared in the 21st century or merely taken Essay

Has racism in the UK disappeared in the 21st century or merely taken new forms - Essay Example Discrimination comes in varied forms including discrimination against sex, color, ethnicity, religion and social status. These terms are used differently whereby others include prejudice by the Americans; hence making observations of racial distinctions as racism (Mullings (2005, p. 49). Therefore, racism in the UK has not disappeared but instead it has taken new forms and this is because of varied aspects including globalization, capitalism and political processes. How racism has Taken New Forms in the 21st Century in the UK Racism in the UK has not disappeared completely but rather taken new forms in varied ways. As the world moves forward into in the 21st century, there are rapid widespread confusion and changes about the meaning of race and this results due to rapid globalization. Globilisation, which is caused by rapid technological advancement, has been viewed as the cause for widespread confusion and the cause for new forms of racism (Reilly, Stephen and Angela 97). After the destruction of the European colonialism that gave rise to the civil rights movements and the surge for immigration due to globalization, the issue of race became the core subject (Enomoto and Genevieve 55). This contributed to a more critical analysis and creation of awareness of race, but focusing primarily on discrimination and prejudices (Darity 56). Extensive concepts of racial themes from both traditional and modern theorists have been applied in racial issues. The rapid globalization has contributed to varied changes due to modernization; thus racism has tended to remain a global issue even in the post-colonial period. Racism has also become popular, but it has emerged with new concepts and increased drastically; hence heightening the controversy over the meaning of race. Kundnani (41) argues that British racism is well understood not only by the context of conditions, in Britain but also through the global factors. Globilisation has been the key aspect for the rampart new for ms of racism, in the UK. The author combines historical perspective with the assessment of current conditions such as the postwar immigration and the evolution of International Monetary Fund structural programs in the third world. Globilisation is the main cause for increased migrations, asylum and new evolution of markets. For instance, the author reveals the way asylums have been treated differently, and this is through making conditions difficult or unattractive for them. Kundnani (39) reveals the way anthropologists have attempted to link between modernization period and race. Other anthropologists argue that race has not vanished but it has been profoundly influenced by political process. The so-called classical theorists of sociology were concerned by offering an explanation on the emergence of modernity in Europe and the way these led to varied changes in the society. They understood the consequences of modernity and understood the meaning of the increased capitalism in the s ociety (Chowdhry and Sheila 71). Racial theme became the central theme after the dawn of capitalism and the problem of dealing with the social problems emerged. Hence, varied changes among the nations and cultural understandings about the meaning of race have been explained by using comparative approaches (Gioseff 47). Additionally, in the new 21st century where there are new political processes, racism has not disappeared but changes; thus forming a new form. The political process

Earning a Quality Award Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Earning a Quality Award - Research Paper Example The first step that led to winning the award was the fact that the company had been consistent in offering quality services to its customers. This was in line with the requirements of the of the Malcolm Baldrige standards. Secondly, despite the company not winning the award for many years since it’s founding, they went ahead to make use of quality feedbacks received over the years from the award winners to improve their standards. Mike Frihart, a director at the company, was determined to complete applications for the award winning for several years and therefore highlighting the company’s willingness to continuously advance by regularly reviewing their performance standards. In the third step, the management adopted employee motivation schemes to encourage them to participate optimally to yield high quality products. They were rewarded with financial incentives proportionate to the company’s success, which enabled the company to retain and employ workers with sufficient skills leading to the manufacture of the best possible products. Winning an award is appreciated the world over. Winners of any kind of award get a boost and are branded as achievers in their dealings. In this context, awards have been accompanied by the following benefits: Companies that have won awards realize increase in the sales of their products because the awards act to prove validity of their products and reassure customers that the goods they consume are worthy. New customers also get influenced by this confirmation and in the long run demand for their products increases thereby improving sales. An award confirms good quality of goods/services by an organization. Through this, products/services are proved to be of required standards and the customers always feel satisfied to consuming safe goods. This is comparable to soccer scenarios. For instance, Barcelona FC has satisfied fans world over since they win awards every year. Fans,

Corporation and Profit Retention Essay Example for Free

Corporation and Profit Retention Essay Sole Proprietorship: This is by far the most common form of business. It is the most common because it is the easiest to form. In order to create this type of business one simply has to â€Å"hang their shingle out† and let the commerce commence. However with such limited oversight also comes unlimited liability. Liability- Liability exposure with sole proprietorships is a huge draw back.. The owner and the business, legally, are one and the same. This leaves all the owners property ( and the business assets since they are one and the same) at risk. Income Tax- There are no real tax advantages at this level. It is known as a â€Å"pass through† entity. The income that is generated passes through the business to the owner. Taxes are paid at the individual level. Longevity- Unless the owners will provides specific direction in the contrary, the business is directly linked to the owners health. Since the owner and the business are legally indistinguishable from one another when the owner dies the business also dies. Control- Unlimited control is another attractive quality of Sole Proprietorships. Since legally there is no separation you may do with the company as you see fit. From what services are offered to what the logo looks like all decisions are the owners to make. Profit Retention- Since the owners efforts alone are responsible for the amount of profit generated, they keep it all. After the employees ( if any ) are paid what is left is the owner’s. Because they have total control, they may reinvest it in the company or they make take it all out. Location- Since there is no legal paperwork filed with any state agency, moving locations is as simple as driving to another state and setting up shop. That being said if you required state license in the original state, you would need the equivalent in the new location. Convenience/Burden- There are no legal documents that need to be filed with any state agency. Owner and company are indivisible so there is no paper work saying otherwise. At the most you may need to file a Doing Business As (D.B.A. ) with your local tax office to allow you to open a bank in the company’s name. General Partnership: This type of company is usually formed when two or more individuals with different skill sets get together. Each participant brings with them their own experience and skills in order to create a new venture. While the liabilities are not bore alone, the partners are not sheltered from them. Liability- While they are split in a predetermined percentage, the liabilities of a General partnership are unlimited. There is nothing that is off the table including your personal assets. Income Tax- There is no real tax shelter provided at this level. Income that is generated is â€Å"passed through† to the partners. They will pay taxes at the individual level. There are however, various tax forms that need to be filled out. Longevity- When a partner dies the partnership ceases to exist. The partners may not pass on the original partnership agreement to their heirs. There may be a buy/sell clause in the articles of partnership. Control- Complete control is given up to a vote of the general partners. If there is no consensus made, the articles of partnership should dictate how the disagreement is handled. Profit Retention- After the business debts are paid, the partners split the net profit. The articles of partnership will usually dictate the percentages, and if no mention is made it is assumed it is split evenly. Location- The fact that a partnership is not it’s own legal entity makes it relatively easy to move. If there is a market in a new location there is very little that prohibits moving. Convenience/Burden- While no state/federal documents are required, you will need an â€Å"Articles of Partnership† drawn up. This will act as the bylaws/charter for decisions and operations moving forward. There are a few tax forms that need to be completed by the partners at the appropriate time. Limited Partnership: This type of business is used more as an investment vehicle than a job or career. It allows an investment to be made and fostered from a distance. If you are the limited partner though, you may not have a hand in the day-to-day activities or management. Liability- As a limited partner your investment is your only liability. That being said your stake in the partnership is an asset that personal creditors may come after. Tax- As a limited partner your revenue from the company is federally taxed at the personal level. There are various situations to avoid taxation as a corporation. General partners must pay self employment tax. Longevity-A limited partnership is sometimes used as an estate planning tool. Therefore the continuity from generation to generation is very customizable. The limited partner may die and this will have very little impact on the business. Control- As a limited partner you have no say in the management or daily activities of the business. You may not bind the partnership to anything as a limited Partner. A general partner runs the daily operations and makes the management decisions. Profit Retention- If you are a limited partner you are entitled to the agreed upon amount of profit only after the general partner is paid. As a limited partner you have very little influence over the amount of profit generated. Location- Limited partnerships can change locations but it is inconvenient and could be considerably more expensive. Some states mandate the filing of tax forms for limited partnerships, not to mention some states have state income taxes. Convenience/ Burden- Articles of Partnership are needed. There are some states witch require registering limited partnerships, and strict attention should be paid to the activities witch the IRS considers â€Å"corporate.† C Corporations: C Corporations are a legal entity unto themselves. They shield the share holders, board members, and employees from liabilities. They have the ability to raise capital by selling portions of the company, and huge tax loopholes to shelter revenue. With all the loopholes however are huge tax burdens, often over 30% of the net. Liability- A corporation is a legal â€Å"being†. It can be sued, or bring legal action against someone. Therefore it provides a large umbrella for its owners and employee’s alike. When malfeasance occurs it will absorb the effects. Income Tax- Being it’s own legal entity is not cheap. The state that the business is located in could very well impose taxes, as well as the federal corporate tax rate witch is the highest in the world. Couple this with the fact that the employees that work there are then taxed again at the individual level, and you see how quickly things add up. Longevity- Corporations have the potential to last forever. Due to the fact that authority is so decentralized, one person getting ill or leaving the company is no more than a bump in the road. You could pass on your shares or stake in a company through proper estate planning. Control- If you were to incorporate your business it could be set up so that your family always had a seat on the board or always had voting rights at a shareholders meetings. However, especially in a public company, you must act in the best interest of the shareholders. No one person runs a corporation alone, there are shareholders, and usually board members. Authority being so decentralized makes complete autonomy very rare. Profit Retention- As there are many owners there are also many hands in the pot. The fact is that each shareholder is entitled to a portion of the company’s profit in direct relation to how much of the company they own. In closely held corporations this could be 3-4 individuals, but in a multi-national company this could be millions of people. Location- The federal government does not create any corporations. This is done at the state level. For a corporation to go from one state to another they would have to file as a foreign corporation. This can get expensive and legally â€Å"sticky† when deal with different state laws and agencies. Convenience/Burden- To incorporate a business is relatively easy. The challenge and burden comes in keeping it running and staying on the proper side of legal. It must file it’s own tax returns, contend with state and local laws, maintain the strictest accounting practices, conduct annual shareholders meetings, all while turning a profit for its shareholders. No small task. S Corporations- S Corporations are a legal entity. They offer a legal umbrella to their employees and owners as well. They have the ability to raise capital by selling off small pieces of themselves as stock. The S corporation has to follow the same strict accounting and reporting procedures as corporations, however their income is not taxed the same. Liability- An S corporation is a legal â€Å"being†. Therefore it provides a large umbrella of protection for its owners and employee’s alike. When malfeasance occurs it will absorb the effects. Income Tax- An S corporation is a specialized tax situation. It has most of the reporting and recording requirements of a C corp. but allows for the â€Å"pass through† of revenue to the individuals. The company The S corp. designation is however for federal purpose’s only, the state the company is in will certainly have it’s own laws. Longevity- S Corporations have the potential to last forever. Due to the fact that authority is so decentralized, one person getting ill or leaving the company is no more than a bump in the road. You could pass on your shares or stake in a company through proper estate planning. You could also have a seat on the board reserved for your family/heirs. Control- The fact is when a S Corporation is formed the corporation has to do what is best for itself. A lot like an autonomous person, it must continue to look out for its own survival. Normally one person does not dictate the course of a Corporation, there are several in charge of this. Profit Retention- Since there is no one individual at the pinnacle the profits are distributed through out. If there is a board of directors, share holders, stock owners, all of these individuals are entitled to a portion of the profits. Location- The federal government does not create any corporations. This is done at the state level. For a corporation to go from one state to another they would have to file as a foreign corporation. This can get expensive and legally â€Å"sticky† when deal with different state laws and agencies. Couple this with the fact that states deal with S corporations wildly different, from treating them like the federal government to not recognizing them at all. Convenience/Burden- To incorporate a business is relatively easy, although the fee’s can add up. S corporations must avoid several pitfalls so as they are not taxed like C corp.’s. This and the fact that the accounting is so stringent, they may not have over 100 share holders that meet once a year, and the laws so wildly differ from state to state make the burden factor high indeed. Limited Liability Company- With the protection of a corporation and the flexibility of a Sole Proprietorship, the LLC has become extremely popular since it’s recent creation. However they are not a vehicle for taking a company public, capital can be difficult to raise because the members will have to guarantee the loans, and the members must take care not to intermingle funds. Liability- The LLC, like a corporation, is it’s own legal â€Å"being†. It provides an umbrella for it’s members to operate under and not fear liability claims against themselves personally. Income Tax- LLC’s are in the unique position of deciding how they want to be taxed on a yearly basis. Most of the time LLC’s can function like other forms of small business. The income will pass through to the members who will then pay at the individual level. It does however have the option of paying at the corporate level so as to lower the tax bracket. (This is because the highest individual tax rate is higher than the corporate tax rate.) Longevity- If a member of an LLC dies or retires action will be determined by the operating agreement. This could include a buy/sell clause for the heirs, a transfer of ownership, or whatever state law dictates. In most cases Control- The fact that an LLC could be run by just one person means that he /she could have just as much control as a sole proprietor. The catch is with the finance’s. The finance’s must be maintained â€Å" at arms length† to maintain the corporate veil of protection. So long as this is done, the majority member/owner of the LLC has complete control. Profit Retention- The profits generated by the business flow to the members. The amount is in direct correlation with the amount of ownership each member holds. Location- All 50 states allow LLC’s now but the law varies wildly. Some states still want an ad run in the paper when a business is formed and others require a single 1 page form. To move from state to state can be done but the local laws might be prohibitive. Convenience/Burden- The LLC doesn’t require anywhere near the amount of accounting as a corporation. The articles of organization needs to be filed to create it and then the operating agreement dictates how it’s run.

Medicalisation

Medicalisation Medicalisation Medicalisation is defined as a process by which non-medical problems become defined and treated as medical problems usually in terms of illnesses or disorders. Initially all deviant behavior were described as sin or criminal behavior and religion had full control over how to punish such deviant behavior. Later on as societies became more complex with the growth of technology and as the hold of religion diminished as a control agent, the emphasis shifted from punishment as a preferred sanction for deviance to treatment of illness. Deviance that was considered sin or bad is now considered as sickness. With increasing success biomedicine started functioning as a control agent. Review of recent research shows that now many socially unacceptable behaviors have been medicalized and assigned disease terms in the 20th century and even normal human events and common human problems are considered under medical jurisdiction. For instance, alcoholism, drug addiction, hyperactive children, suicide, obesity, mental retardation, crime, violence, child abuse, learning problems, births, aging, menopause and many social deviances are all brought under the umbrella of medicalization. Medicine is all pervasive in our daily life. At the same time some behaviors previously considered medical problems have become more acceptable and been de-medicalized ,e.g., homosexuality and masturbation. T. Moreira (2006) suggested that the process of medicalisation is insufficient to understand the social aspect of relationship between a state that is considered as medical disorder and health. One needs to also look at the dynamics of the creation, evaluation and use of biomedical knowledge. The need for these dynamics was underlined in her research on relationship between sleep and health. She explored a very common sleep disorder,viz., obstructive sleep apnoea syndrome (OSAS)and shaping of continous positive airway pressure, a very common therapy for obstructive sleep apnoea(CPAP). She used the method of case study. Two case studies were scrutinized- Historical literature review of emergence and, development of OSAS and CPAP. Initially sleep apnoea was described as Pickwickian syndrome on the basis of symptoms that led to sleep disturbances. It was believed that sleep apnoea occurs among those who are overweight, lazy and snore loudly causing inconvenience to others. Extreme obesity was associated with severe daytime sleepiness. William Dement et.al. investigated this link by using sleep laboratories. But by late 1970s, obesity was no more considered the cause of sleep aponea, it was merely seen as a risk factor that may lead to disease. With laboratory observation of sleep it became clear that sleep process was responsible for OSAS and not obesity. There was a shift from Pickwickian syndrome to sleep aponea syndrome. In Pickwickian syndrome, the clinical symptoms like obesity, hypoventilation and plethoric face were highlighted while in sleep aponea syndrome Apnea/Hypoapnea Index became progressively more acceptable. The development of CPAP showed how on one hand patients actively participate in evolving health technology and on the other hand adjust and adapt to devices available according to their own needs and circumstances. In the studies of CPAP users the emphasis shifted on recognizing patients who are likely to discontinue to use these machines rather than blaming the patient for not using it. This led to looking at patient as a natural calculative subject who will do the cost-benefit analysis and decide whether to use health technology or not. This cost-benefit analysis is influenced by many psychological constructs like self identity, self- efficacy, self-confidence and social support, etc. On the basis of these calculations, by non-participation in certain health technologies, patients have created a new area of knowledge and intervention in biomedicine, health psychology, medical sociology and in sociology of science and technology. Thus medicalization of sleep has redefined the sleep as medically problematic and whole sleep industry has come up in last one decade or so. A person suffering from OSAS is no more stigmatized individual. He is no more powerless passive, dependent on medical personnel. He is a calculating independent person, an active consumer of health technology. Evolving the design of sleep machines showed that patient groups actively influence making of , evaluation and use of medical knowledge. Advantages Disadvantages of Medicalization According to Illich medicalisation has serious adverse impact on the society as the general public is made docile and reliant on the medical profession to help them cope with their life in their society. There is also structural problem as Western medicines notion of issues of healing, aging, and dying as medical illnesses. This effectively medicalises human life, rendering individuals and societies less able to deal with these natural processes. Marxists such as Vicente Navarro et.al. (1980) linked medicalization to an oppressive capitalist society. They argued that medicine makes people see health as an individual problem rather than looking at disease as a result of social inequality and poverty. It tends to strip subjects of their social context, so they come to be understood in terms of the prevailing biomedical ideology, resulting in a disregard for over-arching social causes such as unequal distribution of power and resources. Many critics believe that the term medicalization has become much more complex now as pharmaceutical companies have increasingly taken over the role of doctors, putting everyday problems into the domain of professional biomedicine. Direct to consumer advertising further undermines the role of doctors, as patients are encouraged to ask for particular drugs by name, thereby creating a conversation between consumer and drug company. Another problem with medicalization is that it puts the responsibility for the problem on individual causes and the solution to social problems on individual treatment. The psychologizing of social problems leads away from the analyses of the social structure of culture.For example, the reason for obesity is thought to be the obese person himself rather than the change in life style, socio-economic status of the person, easy availability and convenience of ready to eat junk food, etc.

scarlet letter :: essays research papers

The author of this novel, Nathaniel Hawthorne, is mostly known for his unique and descriptive writing style. In The Scarlet Letter, he describes his disapproval of the leading character’s morals clearly. For example, before Hester Prynne emerges from the cold and dark prison, she is scorned by a group of women who believe in a harsher punishment for Hester. Meaning, instead of being made to stand on the scaffold bearing the scarlet letter on her bosom, they suggest that she â€Å"she should be put to death or have it branded into her skin, precisely on her forehead.† Since early times, Puritans have had the reputation for strong discipline, their religious beliefs, and harsh punishment for those defying their beliefs. The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne is a novel that portrays the Puritans as cold and unfeeling.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The Puritan’s feelings were so lacking of compassion that â€Å" they were stern enough to look upon her death†¦without a murmur†¦but had none of the heartlessness of another social state.† This quote depicts that when the public is faced with a death of a sinner, they would absolutely have no reaction what so ever. These worries and concerns are focused on a passage in chapter one in which Hester is being nagged by a harsh group of women. The one woman, perhaps the ugliest of them all, goes too far in advocating the death of Hester due to jealousy   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Nathaniel’s tone reveals how he feels towards the Puritan society. He begins early in the novel by describing the Puritans as â€Å"being of the most intolerant brood,† stating the lack of understanding they had toward one another. Finding out about Hester and her beautiful baby Pearl, the town at once without any word from Hester filled their hearts with hatred towards the two. â€Å"Meager, indeed, and cold was the sympathy† that the Puritans offered against Hester in her vulnerable moments aloft the scaffold. Again, Hawthorne’s choice of words indicates his harsh tone towards Puritanism.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Nathaniel Hawthorne shows again that the Puritan society as cold and unfeeling in his descriptions of Roger Chillingworth and his reaction to relationships. In his search for revenge, Chillingworth responds to his adultery prone wife by sacrificing his life in order to figure out her secret lover. He used be a scholar but now is disguised as a doctor who put forth his best years, â€Å"to feed the hungry dream of knowledge,† but now he is out for something else, revenge on the one man who made love to his wife.

Strategic Management Essay -- Business essays research papers

Strategic Management Introduction To deal effectively with the wide array of factors affecting the ability of a business to grow and prosper, managers need advanced processes they feel will facilitate the optimal positioning of the business in its competitive environment. Such positioning is possible with strategic management because this process improves preparedness for unexpected internal or competitive demands. Therefore, strategic management is an all-encompassing approach for formulating, implementing and evaluating managerial decisions in a way that permits the business to reach its objectives. For a strategic management plan to be successful, however, every manager should: †¢Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Clearly see the need for change †¢Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Be firmly committed to the idea of changing the business planning process †¢Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Assure that the strategic management process has credibility with everyone involved †¢Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Make sure that final plans are realistic and reflect actual resources and capabilities †¢Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Train all participants in the procedures essential to the strategic management process †¢Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Develop concise and well-organized plans One of the world’s best performing natural resources companies created a unique organizational structure that combines the advantages of small business units with â€Å"virtual structures† - groupings of these business units - that can address different strategic issues and competitive environments. Overview The formality of the strategic management process varies widely. Formality refers to the degree to which membership, responsibilities, authority and discretion in decision making are specified. It is an important consideration in the study and application of strategic management because the degree of formality is usually positively correlated with the cost, comprehensiveness, accuracy and success of planning. The requirements for small business indicate the need for a moderate degree of formality. This is consistent with the ability to communicate face-to-face (size) and the need for flexibility (changing demands). The important issue is involvement with the process, not generating reams of paperwork (Camerer, 195-219). Resistance to change should be reduced. Businesses vary in the processes they use to formulate and direct their strategic management activities. Many using sophisticated planning techniques have developed more detai... ...heir management of their organizations, due to their important role in the culture formation and preservation process. They need to be continually aware of the cultural values espoused through their behavior and actions. References Astley, W.G., and C.J. Fombrun, 1983, Collective Strategy:  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Social Ecology of Organizational Environments. Academy of  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Management Review 8: pp. 576-587 Burgelman, R.A. 1996, A Process Model of Strategic Business  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Exit: Implications for an Evolutionary Perspective on  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Strategy. Strategic Management Journal 17: pp. 193-214 Camerer, Colin F. 1994, Does Strategy Research Need Game  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Theory? In Fundamental Issues in Strategy: A Research  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Agenda. Richard P. Rumelt, Dan E. Schendel, and David J.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Teece (eds.). Pp. 195-219. Boston: Harvard Business  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  School Press Galbraith, Jay R. 1995, Designing Organizations: An Executive  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Briefing on Strategy, Structure and Process, San  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Francisco: Jossey-Bass Publishers pp. 12-15 Harrison, Jeffrey S., and Caron H. St. John, 1998, Strategic  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Management of Organizations and Stakeholders: Concepts.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  2nd Edition. Cincinnati, OH: South-Western College  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Publishing, pp. 44-59

Case Study – George David

CASE: 1 GEORGE DAVID 1. What makes George David such a highly regarded manager? * Best Educated Manpower One of George David's most notable good deeds was to set up a landmark of $60 million per year employee scholarship program in 1996. The program helps each UTC employee who wants for education to pays their college tuition, books, fees and even time off to study. David also extended benefits for four years to laid-off workers who had been relocated.He even added another incentive with amount $5,000 worth of company stock to all employees who complete associate degrees and $10,000 worth of company stock to those who complete bachelor degrees or higher. In the first three years of the program, UTC has spent more than $100 million on tuition, fees, and books. According to David, he said that the employee scholarship program was designed to meet his goal of having â€Å"the best educated workforce on the planet†. When David first proposed the program in 1995, other executives b elieved the employees would take their new degrees and use them to benefit other employers.However, the evidence shows that employees who go through the program had become more loyal to UTC, he successfully retained his employees and raised the skill level of workers as the turnover rate for these employees has been about one-half that of the overall workforce. * Reorganizing UTC with a focus on Business excellence During his tenure as CEO, David thoroughly reorganized UTC. He dramatically cut down the size of head office and decentralized decision making to business divisions.He also developed a new financial reporting system that would give him good information about each division and make it easier to hold divisional general managers accountable for their performance respectively. In the other hands, he also set demanding goals for earnings and sales growth for the employees and motivate them by implementing ACE program for improved productivity and building a strong management t eam that yields big results. * Concerned About Employee’s Safety David was adhering to social responsibility. Despite his interest in shareholder value, he was concerned about his employee’s safe and health.David wanted each employees adhere to the highest ethical standards, which the company having minimal environmental impact. He strongly advocates the Employee Safety at the place of work, employee’s safety always remain as the top consideration in the workplace. * A mix of toughness and sensitivity David has the right mix of toughness and sensitivity. He would offer help to people struggling at work but would not tolerate repeated instances of incompetence. David is demanding but he also makes it a point to listen to his people. 2. How does David get things done through people?David had all the qualities, skills of an efficient Manager. With the conceptual, Technical and managerial skills that he possessed, David had the ability to get things done through peo ple. He combined some of the best Japanese manufacturing techniques with an intense focus on shareholder return (something Japanese companies are not particularly known for). That’s how he achieved exceptional performance over a long period. With the help of Yuzuru Ito, he developed a program known as Achieving Competitive Excellence, for improving product quality, increased productivity and to lower the cost of production.His employee friendly schemes like Scholarship program, Safety at work ; Corporate Responsibility towards the environment made him popular among employees and they became more loyal to the company. The manufacturing operations that were susceptible to quality improvements, efficiency improvements, and technological improvements were the process disciplines of UTC under David’s presidency. David has the right mix of toughness and sensitivity. He would offer help to people struggling at work but would not tolerate repeated instances of incompetence. Da vid is demanding but he also makes it a point to listen to his people. . What evidence can you see of David’s planning and strategizing, organizing, controlling, leading, and developing? David’s planning, organizing, controlling, leading and developing the company made UTC see greater heights. Planning ; Strategizing: One of the first things David did when he became CEO of UTC was to bring in Yuzuru Ito, the quality guru who helped him formulate his guiding principles of leadership. With the help of Yuzuro, David rolled out the ACE program which improved the production quality, increased productivity and lowered the cost of production.He started the Employee Scholarship Program due to which, the employees became more loyal to the company becoming partners of growth. It also resulted in a better skilled workforce. Organizing: During his tenure as CEO, David also radically reorganized UTC. He had to take some harsh decisions and had to lay off many employees. Controlling ; Developing: To have more control on the staff and to make them accountable, he developed a new financial reporting system that would give him good information about how well each division was doing.Hence the divisional general managers were accountable for the performance of the units under them. He then gave demanding goals for earnings, cost reduction, increased sales and pushed them to improve processes within their units. Leading: David stressed on goal setting and holding people accountable. He insisted that UTC employees adhere to the highest ethical standards. Thanks to his quality-improvement techniques, UTC was running to achieve maximum efficiency. 4. Which managerial competencies does David seem to posses? Does he seem to lack any? David had all the qualities, skills, competencies of an efficient Manager.With the conceptual, Technical and managerial skills that he possessed, David had the uncanny ability to get things done through people. David has the right mix of tou ghness and sensitivity. He would offer help to people struggling at work but would not tolerate repeated instances of incompetence. David is demanding but he also makes it a point to listen to his people. He had the foresight to see how a superior education funded by the organization would lead to not only a better qualified workforce but would also in turn result in long term loyalty.David also showcased his ability to take tough decisions by decentralizing and laying excess staff in order to have a lean and effective business. He directed his accounting staff to develop a new financial reporting system that would give him good information about how well each division was doing and make it easier to hold divisional general managers accountable for the performance of the units under them. David set demanding goals and encouraged his general managers to deliver them by using the ACE program. He worked towards building a positive work culture with values and ethics at the heart of ope rations.

Digital Electronics: Advantages and Disadvantages

Digital electronics, or digital (electronic) circuits, represent signals by discrete bands ofanalog levels, rather than by a continuous range. All levels within a band represent the same signal state. Relatively small changes to the analog signal levels due to manufacturing tolerance, signal attenuation or parasitic noise do not leave the discrete envelope, and as a result are ignored by signal state sensing circuitry.In most cases the number of these states is two, and they are represented by two voltage bands: one near a reference value (typically termed as â€Å"ground† or zero volts) and a value near the supply voltage, corresponding to the â€Å"false† (â€Å"0†) and â€Å"true† (â€Å"1†) values of the Boolean domain respectively. Digital techniques are useful because it is easier to get an electronic device to switch into one of a number of known states than to accurately reproduce a continuous range of values. Digital electronic circuits are usually made from large assemblies of logic gates, simple electronic representations of Boolean logic functions.Advantages An advantage of digital circuits when compared to analog circuits is that signals represented digitally can be transmitted without degradation due to noise. [2] For example, a continuous audio signal transmitted as a sequence of 1s and 0s, can be reconstructed without error, provided the noise picked up in transmission is not enough to prevent identification of the 1s and 0s. An hour of music can be stored on a compact disc using about 6 billion binary digits. In a digital system, a more precise representation of a signal can be obtained by using more binary digits to represent it.While this requires more digital circuits to process the signals, each digit is handled by the same kind of hardware. In an analog system, additional resolution requires fundamental improvements in the linearity and noise characteristics of each step of the signal chain. Computer-cont rolled digital systems can be controlled by software, allowing new functions to be added without changing hardware. Often this can be done outside of the factory by updating the product's software. So, the product's design errors can be corrected after the product is in a customer's hands.Information storage can be easier in digital systems than in analog ones. The noise-immunity of digital systems permits data to be stored and retrieved without degradation. In an analog system, noise from aging and wear degrade the information stored. In a digital system, as long as the total noise is below a certain level, the information can be recovered perfectly. [edit]Disadvantages In some cases, digital circuits use more energy than analog circuits to accomplish the same tasks, thus producing more heat which increases the complexity of the circuits such as the inclusion of heat sinks.In portable or battery-powered systems this can limit use of digital systems. For example, battery-powered cel lular telephones often use a low-power analog front-end to amplify and tune in the radio signals from the base station. However, a base station has grid power and can use power-hungry, but very flexible software radios. Such base stations can be easily reprogrammed to process the signals used in new cellular standards. Digital circuits are sometimes more expensive, especially in small quantities. Most useful digital systems must translate from continuous analog signals to discrete digital signals.This causes quantization errors. Quantization error can be reduced if the system stores enough digital data to represent the signal to the desired degree of fidelity. TheNyquist-Shannon sampling theorem provides an important guideline as to how much digital data is needed to accurately portray a given analog signal. In some systems, if a single piece of digital data is lost or misinterpreted, the meaning of large blocks of related data can completely change. Because of the cliff effect, it can be difficult for users to tell if a particular system is right on the edge of failure, or if it can tolerate much more noise before failing.Digital fragility can be reduced by designing a digital system for robustness. For example, a parity bit or other error management method can be inserted into the signal path. These schemes help the system detect errors, and then either correct the errors, or at least ask for a new copy of the data. In a state-machine, the state transition logic can be designed to catch unused states and trigger a reset sequence or other error recovery routine. Digital memory and transmission systems can use techniques such as error detection and correction to use additional data to correct any errors in transmission and storage.On the other hand, some techniques used in digital systems make those systems more vulnerable to single-bit errors. These techniques are acceptable when the underlying bits are reliable enough that such errors are highly unlikely. A single-bit error in audio data stored directly as linear pulse code modulation (such as on a CD-ROM) causes, at worst, a single click. Instead, many people use audio compression to save storage space and download time, even though a single-bit error may corrupt the entire song. A digital circuit is a circuit that functions on a number of different logic gates.The logic gates differentiate power signals. The power signals are then transferred to different parts of the digital circuit through other gates to create an output signal directly pertinent to the energy level at the moment of signal input. Most digital circuits are comprised mainly of smaller analog components that, because of the logic gate occurrence, only operate within a certain frame of voltages. Usually these operate at extremely low voltage signals. Digital circuits also require that the analog components located throughout the circuit not be placed in a manner that will allow them to perform analog functions.This usu ally means there is a logic gate both before and after the analog component. Digital circuits are becoming more and more popular as technology requires the electronic devices used every day to become smaller and smaller, making the items more readily accessible regardless of location or circumstance. A digital circuit reacts quickly as power or signal is delivered to them, as long as the signal it receives is within the correct frame of voltage or energy. Digital circuits usually work best with low voltage signals, as they are more capable of handling these signals than higher voltages.Analog circuits typically require much more voltage behind the input signal to perform with the speed that digital circuits provide. An electronic circuit is composed of individual electronic components, such as resistors,transistors, capacitors, inductors and diodes, connected by conductive wires or traces through which electric current can flow. The combination of components and wires allows various simple and complex operations to be performed: signals can be amplified, computations can be performed, and data can be moved from one place to another. 1] Circuits can be constructed of discrete components connected by individual pieces of wire, but today it is much more common to create interconnections by photolithographic techniques on a laminated substrate (a printed circuit board or PCB) and solder the components to these interconnections to create a finished circuit. In an integrated circuit or IC, the components and interconnections are formed on the same substrate, typically a semiconductor such as silicon or (less commonly) gallium arsenide. [2] Breadboards, perfboards or stripboards are common for testing new designs.They allow the designer to make quick changes to the circuit during development. An electronic circuit can usually be categorized as an analog circuit, a digital circuit or a mixed-signal circuit (a combination of analog circuits and digital circuits). analo g circuit analog circuit, electronic circuit that operates with currents and voltages that vary continuously with time and have no abrupt transitions between levels. Generally speaking, analog circuits are contrasted with digital circuits, which function as though currents or voltages exist only at one of a set of discrete levels, all transitions between levels being ignored.Since most physical quantities, e. g. , velocity and temperature, vary continuously, as does audio, an analog circuit provides the best means of representing them. However, digital circuits are often preferred because of the ease with which their outputs can be manipulated by computers, and because digital signals are more robust and less subject to transmission errors. There are special analog-to-digital and digital-to-analog circuits to convert from one type of signal to the other.

Adn vs Bsn – Differences

Adn vs Bsn: Differences Raven Masters University of Phoenix September 24, 2010 Adn vs Bsn: Differences In the late 1850s Florence Nightingale started her own school to train nurses and developed standards by which nurses performed their duties. She may never have envisioned that one day there would be different educational tracks resulting in multiple degrees and disciplines in nursing, each having their own set of criteria for excellence.Associate degree nurse (ADN) and baccalaureate degree nurse (BSN) are the two most common entry level nursing positions. An ADN can be obtained in two or three years whereas the BSN takes four years of education to complete due to additional courses. Differences between the degrees begin with education and mature as the nurse gains experience. Raines and Taglaireni’s (2008) article states ADN and BSN nurses attend the same basic liberal arts and general education courses such as English, literature, history, math, humanities, and arts.Both ha ve basic nursing courses, the same technical skill sets are taught, and nurses must pass the same National Council Licensing Examination for RNs (NCLEX-RN ©) which measures minimum technical competency for entry-level nursing practice. Colleges will differ in the exact requirements for each degree but the community college ADN program consists of approximately 75 course credits of which 38 are science and liberal arts prerequisites, and 37 credits are in the nursing major.The four-year college and university BSN program consists of approximately 124 credit hours of which 62 are in liberal arts and sciences prerequisites, and 62 are in the nursing major. BSN coursework has more in depth study for nursing research, informatics, management, and technology. These additional courses put more emphasis on theory, developing critical thinking skills, and leadership skills. The increased emphasis on theory and communication builds collaborative decision-making skills. In ADN courses nurses learn how to do patient care nursing tasks but not as much time is spent on the why of nursing nterventions. Nurses, regardless of educational background, must understand nursing care, perform nursing tasks, and conduct themselves professionally. These competencies are measurable or observable knowledge, skills, abilities, and behaviors critical to successful job performance. When first entering the workforce differences in ADN and BSN competencies are not readily seen. According to the secondary analysis of the 1999 RN Practice Analysis by the National Council of State Boards of Nursing differences in the averages between ADN and BSN educated nurses were negligible (Smith, 2002).Pay rates are usually even when the nurses first enter the workforce but as experience is obtained BSN nurses earn higher salaries, usually when they move into leadership positions. Based on a personal experience, in one magnet hospital ADN nurses were only able to have Registered Nurse II status regardles s of years of experience. After only one year of working experience BSN educated nurses were able to become Registered Nurse III status, which paid five dollars an hour more.With that extra pay came other responsibilities such as setting up educational programs for the staff meetings and developing evidence-based research trials on the nursing unit. As the nurse gains experience and strives towards upward mobility in the organization, the differences become evident as hospitals and governing agencies are demanding BSN educated nurses. BSN is becoming the minimum requirement for administrative, research, consulting, and teaching positions. Also, for a nurse to achieve advanced practice nursing specialty a nurse must first have a BSN before being admitted to a master’s program.This means the ADN educated nurse will not achieve the same level of pay, responsibilities or opportunities as a BSN educated nurse. People are admitted to the hospital with more complex health conditions and co-morbidities than ever before. Hospitals are looking for ways to decrease adverse patient outcomes and increase patient safety. McHugh and Lake cited a 2003 study where researchers found that staff nurses with a BSN degree to be significant predictors of patient outcomes. It is thought that the more educated nurses used critical thinking skills and better judgment, which in turn provided higher patient care (McHugh et al. 2010). Assessment skills must be very sharp and nurses with knowledge in theory are able to ask patient questions that hone in on the patient’s problems. As a result better clinical decisions are made regarding patient care plans. On some hospital units every nurse takes a turn at being a charge nurse and on other units only the BSN-educated nurses are charge nurses. Personal experience has shown there is a difference in patient assignments. The BSN charge nurses used more discernment when judging the acuity of patients and the skills of the nurses on the unit.Patient assignments were more evenly distributed to nurses thereby providing higher quality of patient care. A recent study showed BSN prepared nurses had an impact on lower surgical patient mortality and failure to rescue because those nurses used better critical thinking skills and clinical judgment (McHugh et al. , 2010). According to Ward-Smith (2012), a 10% increase in BSN-educated nurses decreased the odds of patients dying by 4%. McHugh et al. (2010) also noted that nurses learned from each other and having nurses on staff that attained a BSN or higher education resulted in more expertise among all staff.Staff nurses desire an environment that allows them to have more autonomy in decision-making, a voice in how the unit and hospital are governed, and participative management. When hospitals made advances in these three areas, nurse retention was improved (Gormley, 2011). Magnet hospital criteria demands more BSN nurses and studies show where the majority of staff nu rses are BSN-prepared, they viewed their work environment as positive and quality of patient care higher. Nurse Managers with higher education are better equipped with interpersonal skills and the educational knowledge to create positive work environments for staff RNs.Nurses in positive work environments may be in a better position to deliver high quality, safe patient care (Zori, Nosek, & Musil, 2010). Healthcare is continually evolving with advancements in technology and political agendas so nursing organizations, such as the American Nurses Association, are encouraging nurses to obtain higher degrees (American Nurses Association, 2011). Programs such as Grand Canyon University’s RN to BSN program are evidence that ADN nurses are taking up that challenge. References ANA reaffirms commitment to BSN for entry level into practice Press Release.? American Nurses Association, â€Å"Nursing Education. Nursingworld. org Retrieved September 16, 2011, http://www. niir';ingwor1fl,n rg/MainMpniiratpgnrip. ‘! /ANAPnlitiralPnwpr/. Stat p/. StatpT. ppislativpAgenda/NiirsingRducatinn l. a. spx Gormley, D. (2011) Are we on the same page? Staff nurse and manager perceptions of work environment, quality of care and anticipated nurse turnover. Journal Of Nursing Management [serial online]. 19(1):33-40. McHugh, M. , & Lake, E. (2010). Understanding clinical expertise: nurse education, experience, and the hospital context. Research In Nursing & Health, 33(4), 276-287. doi:10. 1002/nur. 20388 Raines, C. , & Taglaireni, M. (2008).Career pathways in nursing: entry points and academic progression. Online Journal Of Issues In Nursing, 13(3). Smith, J. (2002). Analysis of differences in entry-level RN practice by educational preparation. Journal Of Nursing Education, 41(11), 491-494. Ward-Smith, P. (2012). Effects of Nurse Staffing and Nurse Education on Patient Deaths in Hospitals with Different Nurse Work Environment. Urologic Nursing, 32(2), 93. Zori, S. , Nosek, L. , & Musil, C. (2010). Critical Thinking of Nurse Managers Related to Staff RNs’ Perceptions of the Practice Environment. Journal Of Nursing Scholarship, 42(3), 305-313.

Process Design and Management Essay

Increased co-production of goods and services (Process Design and Management) The Internet has opened new ways for the customer to interact directly with a firm. Simple direct entry and monitoring of orders is only the first step in the progression of value-added services made possible through information sharing. 1. 0 Introduction The topic of process design and management will generally goes on explaining the word ‘design’, in its broadest sense, is right at the heart of operations management. The design is an activity that can be approached at different levels of detail. Design must reflect the needs of customers, and able applies to products, services and processes. It can be managed as an operations transformation process in its own right. Moreover, the design is starts with something very abstract which represents a concept and ends with something very specific, which means by the final design. Some defines that to ‘design’ is to conceive the looks, arrangement, and workings of something before it is created. First, the position of the process according to its volume and variety characteristics must be defined. Eventually the details of the process must be analyzed to ensure that it fulfills its objectives effectively. Product/service design and process design are interrelated. Small changes in the design of products and services can have profound implications for the way the operation eventually has to produce them. Similarly, the design of a process can constrain the freedom of product and service designers to operate as they would wish. The relationship between designing products and services on one hand and designing the processes that make them is an important point to consider. It is possible to separate product design and process design in manufacturing sector, however it is impossible in practice to separate service design and process design. This is because many services (especially high visibility services) are the same thing. Even in manufacturing industries there has recently been considerable effort put into examining the overlap between product and process design. There is a growing recognition that the design of products has a major effect on the cost of making them. Many of the decisions were taken during the design of products (for example, choosing the material from which the roduct is going to be made, or the way in which the various components are fastened together) will all define much of the cost of making it. , Therefore, to evaluate the various choices which the designer faces in terms of their effect on manufacturing cost as well as on the functionality of the product itself. Also, the way in which product and process design overall has a significant effect on the time between starting the initial concept design for the product and eventually getting it to market. 2. 0Discussion 2. 1Internet Contributed in Online Purchase Process With the advancement of technology, many aspects of the face-to-face interpersonal dynamics in service encounters between sellers and customers have been replaced with technology-based Internet interfaces. Internet can be regarded as sets of connected firms. A retailer can use an Internet presence to reach consumers all around the world. The Internet makes the expanded range of products, services, and information accessible for consumers from geographically distant and/or emerging markets. In recent years, e-commerce has grown dramatically in terms of volume and variety of goods and services traded. This has created significant opportunities to serve customers through internet stores. It is important for internet stores to focus on achieving higher customer satisfaction to increase co-production of goods and services and to retain customers. According to Field and Smith, internet interaction between a retailer and a customer from the point the customer arrives at the retailer’s website to the point the retailer fulfills the customer’s order, has quickly emerged to become an important class of service operations (Field et al. , 2004; Smith et al. , 2007). Co-production of goods and services in internet is growing steadily. For example, in the third quarter of 2009, internet retailing sales in the U. S totaled approximately $34 billion, a 4. 5% increase from the previous quarter. The quality of the internet on the purchase process has been found to affect customers’ purchase decisions, satisfaction, and loyalty in online retailing (Zeithaml et al. , 2002; Wolfinbarger and Gilly, 2009). Hence, to be competitive in the market place, internet is the paramount and as the new ways for the customer to interact directly with a firm. Besides that, the internet is responsive and convenient for customers in the online purchase process. Through internet, the firms being able respond to the unique needs and wants of individual customers by providing the â€Å"right content in the right format to the right person at the right time. † Retailers can facilitate a convenient and responsive online purchase process, serve their customers better, improve customer satisfaction and increase retention. Customer satisfaction is the ultimate result of meeting a consumer’s expectation from the performance of products. Most satisfied customers normally have the intention to re-purchase the products if product performance meets his or her expectation. Like traditional business, online businesses also need to satisfy their customers. Customer satisfaction is one of the central constructs in the study of consumer behavior both in traditional and online business environment (Alam et al. , 2008) found that website design is one of the unique features affecting online shopping environment (Shergill and Chen. , 2005) identified web site design characteristics as the dominant factor which influences consumer perceptions of online purchasing. It can be argued that online shoppers want to receive the right quality and right quantity of items that they have ordered within the stipulated time offer by the e-tailers. In addition, time and cost saving are the main advantages of online shopping. Time efficiency and store efficiency are reflected in time cost and price savings respectively (Devaraj et al. , 2002). These are the determinants of satisfaction. Delivery performance has significant influence on customer satisfaction (Lee and Joshi et al. , 2007; Ahn et al. , 2004; Ho et al. 2004); Grewal et al. , 2004 and Shih et al. , 2004). One of the examples of online firm that successfully increase their co-production of goods and services via internet is Amazon. In an annual study tracking customer satisfaction ratings with the top 10 online retailers, perhaps the biggest takeaway is that Amazon is the world’s biggest e-retailer for a reason that it just plain makes customers happier than their competitors (show by Table 1 below). Amazon continues to set the standard for e-retailers. For instance, upon arrival at the Amazon. om website, a registered customer is greeted by the customer’s name. The customer is then provided with recommendations of products that the customer might be interested in, based on the product searched for or those previously bought by the customer. The website provides the option of receiving reminders of special events like birthdays of loved ones or information about the arrival of the latest books by their preferred author. When the customer is ready to make the purchase, the website retrieves the personal account information such as shipping and payment. In the early stages of Internet development, trust is a critical factor in stimulating purchases over the Internet. Trust is not only a short-term issue but the most significant long-term barrier for realizing the potential of Internet marketing to consumers. An experiential survey of U. S. -based online surfers, new to Internet based shopping, found the shoppers fascinated by international shopping opportunities on the Web, but they were skeptical about actual purchasing from overseas sites. Others report widespread distrust among consumers about Internet-based merchants. To improve customer loyalty, some websites offer discussion groups in their websites and promote common interest to pull targeted customers. When the website contains valuable information about the product then the customer would be motivated to visit the website again. Just like any other medium of business, internet business should also focus on making their customers feel ‘special’. In any business, customer loyalty is a result of exceptional personal services and exceeding customer expectations. 2. 2Internet Strive to Born Global Firms More and more firms’ even very small ones have operations that bridge national borders soon after their founding. Due to the Internet and related information technologies (IT) that enable many of them, this new breed of firms began emerging in the 1990s and is dubbed â€Å"born-global† because their operations often span the globe early in their existence. The definition of born global firm is â€Å"a business organization that, from inception, seeks to derive significant competitive advantage from the use of resources and the sale of outputs in multiple countries. Born global firms begin with a borderless world view, and immediately develop strategies to expand themselves abroad. This is striking, given the great changes that have taken place in the marketing environment due to introduction of the Internet and other modern technologies that enable bypassing of conventional channels (Frazier et al. , 1999). It therefore seems justifiable to study the Internet-based channel strategies of born globals (Moen et al. , 2002). It is particularly interesting to examine the global expansion of the born globals and their use of the Internet as a sales channel (Servais, Madsen, & Rasmussen, 2007). A few studies have investigated the role of information and communications technologies in the international performance of born global firms. Loane (2006) examined the role of the internet in the internationalization of small entrepreneurial firms from various countries (Loane, 2006). Born globals use the internet for communication, for marketing communications, and to lesser degree for managing customer relationships as well as sales transactions and fulfillment activities. Most of the investigated firms also se the internet to support off-line sales, and about one-quarter used the internet to support distribution channels and intermediaries. A significant number of firms used the internet to support relations with partners, suppliers, clients, agents and distributors, R&D partners, and software coding developers, both nationally and internationally. The born globals also used the Internet as a tool for acquiring knowledge, such as market and competitive intelligence, which the n become part of the collective wisdom of the firm. The internet makes borders between countries less relevant and facilitates direct interaction between all types of business entities around the world. Born globals use the internet to convey their market presence abroad, support relationships with foreign partners, offer services related to their products, facilitate product development, and maintain relations with foreign customers (Servais, Madsen, and Rasmussen et al. , 2007). Logitech, the computer peripherals company, is perhaps one of the best early examples of a successful born-global firm. According to Benjamin M. Oviatt and Patricia Phillips McDougall, â€Å"Global Start-Ups: Entrepreneurs on a Worldwide Stage. † Focusing first on the PC mouse, the company was founded by two Italians and a Swiss. The company’s operations and research and development were initially split between California and Switzerland, and then it expanded rapidly with production in Ireland and Taiwan. With its stylish and ergonomic products, Logitech captured 30 percent of the global computer mouse business by 1989, garnering the start-up a healthy $140 million in revenues. 2. 3 . Value and Productivity in the Internet Economy Nowadays, many business companies had started practiced in using internet to make interaction with consumer, business people, corporate, and trading partners. The product and service designs and the management play an important role in their profitability and their company sustainability. The company had created the website as haphazard compilations of company brochure ware or static personal web pages as well. These things had come out it with the images that users merely shared with friends and family. It has quickly evolved into a myriad of highly sophisticated online pplications and business processes. On the other hand, the forward thinking company had introduced to attain new heights in productivity and the forward thinking companies could created by leveraging the internet massive public technology infrastructure. To increase the co- production of goods and services, the innovation and awareness of using internet are important to create value through the technologies component. Other than that, the human capitals are also important in operation of the business and managing the design in the company. Therefore, the employers must to be selective in recruiting, and hiring people, whomever that he or she are able to give their efforts into the jobs or task. The value added service could be made by proposing the internet way user whereby the customer can interact directly to the company to improve and enhance their quality service and product through fulfil the customer needs and satisfaction. All of these elements are need depends on the capability of the human resource which in not only posses the technologies equipment. The company have to construct the internet economy’s structure by referred the economics performance in traditional, among other things, technology, the transportation infrastructure, availability of raw materials, and the quality of a skilled labor force. In contrast, the Internet economy comprises the four-layered model shown in Figure 1. The Internet’s infrastructure consists of two layers which are including the global high-speed IP-based networks and applications, and consulting, training, and integration services. Each Internet economy layer has a complementary relationship with every other layer. For example, with advances in layers 1 and 2, ? rms at layers 3 and 4 can provide media-rich content to consumers as well as offering new digital products and services Besides that, complementary relationship implies that the value of doing more of one factor increases by doing more of another. Internet applications and e-commerce are strong complementary relationship between the network infrastructures in the Internet economy. For example, as the Internet bandwidth increases dramatically with the spread of broadband technology, application vendors are rushing to develop powerful multimedia software that can take advantage of the increased bandwidth. These factors lead to increased economic activity on the Internet in the form of media-rich content. The Internet had open the nature stimulates innovation in the network and applications infrastructure, leading to the vastly accelerated development and deployment of new technologies in the Internet marketplace. Figure 2 shows an import/export view of the Internet and physical economies that groups businesses in ? ve categories: 1st : pure digital-products businesses that offer content, knowledge, or services directly over the Internet. 2nd Internet-based companies that deal with physical products, importing goods to be sold from the physical economy. 3rd Traditional businesses that sell some of their products or services directly over the Internet. 4th content developers, Internet service providers, Web and applications hosting services. 5th companies that do not sell directly over the Internet. Unlike the physical economy, which relies heavily on physical resources, the Internet economy thrives on information and knowledge to create value, productivity, and efficiency. Firms that rely on these intangible assets are more likely to succeed in this new world than those that continue to focus on physical processes. The Web’s information and knowledge intensity is a crucial factor in driving performance metrics like online revenue and gross margin, and every partner in a value Web must adopt the Internet in its daily operations to maximize the bene? s of electronic business. T here were few examples for these phenomena that might be able to be the related with it. One of the example is car assembly lines, which had ? rst appeared in the dictionary in 1930 (Hirschhorn, 1984: 9), were argued to be the keystone to prevailing 20th century concepts of human management (Emery, 1976). It is thus hardly surprising that industrial value production was conceptualized in terms of the value chain. The taxation system developed at that time re? cts this. In industrial value creation, customers were seen as destroying the value which producers had created for them. On the other hand, the accounting systems emerging at that time thus wrote down the value of what was acquired to zero over a shorter or longer depreciation period. The end user in this scheme equals the ? nal customer. For producers, industrial value was realized in the transaction, which joined and separated them from customers. Value here equalled the price which the customer paid: in competitive terms, value is the amount buyers are willing to pay for what a ? rm provides them (Porter, 1985: 38); or, value is what customers are willing to pay (Porter, 1985: 3). 2. 4 The Impact Of Design Management And Process Management On Quality: An Empirical Investigation. Design management and process management are two important elements of total quality management TQM implementation. They are drastically different in their targets of improvement, visibility, and techniques. In this paper will review the establishment of framework for identifying the synergistic linkages of design and process management to the operational quality outcomes during the manufacturing process internal quality and upon the field usage of the products external quality. Through a study of quality practices in manufacturing plants from multiple industries, the both design and process management efforts have an equal positive impact on internal quality outcomes such as scrap, rework, defects, performance, and external quality outcomes such as complaints, warranty, litigation, market share. A detailed contingency analysis shows that the proposed model of synergies between design and process management holds true for large and small firms, for firms with different levels of TQM experience, and in different industries with varying levels of competition, logistical complexity of production, or production process characteristics. Finally, the results also suggest that organizational learning enables mature TQM firms to implement both design and process efforts more rigorously and their synergy helps these firms to attain better quality outcomes. These findings indicate that, to attain superior quality outcomes, firms need to balance their design and process management efforts and persevere with long-term implementation of these efforts. The manufacturing strategy literature has viewed product quality as one of the major competitive priorities for attaining a sustainable competitive advantage Hill, 1994. Recently, the speed of new product introduction has also been added to this list of priorities Kim, 1996 . From a quality management perspective, the speed of new product design and development indicates the importance of designing quality into new products. Because design efforts often have a limiting impact on attainable product quality, several researchers have stressed the importance of designing quality into products Juran, 1981; Juran and Gryna, 1993; Hauser and Clausing, 1988; Dean and Susman, 1989; Taguchi and Clausing, 1990; Boothroyd et al. , 1994; Mizuno and Akao,1994 . External and internal quality outcomes the notion that overall market and business performance can be realized through long-term product quality improvement is a cornerstone of the contemporary quality revolution George and Weimerskirch, 1994; NIST, 1998. Customers form their impressions about a firms products based upon their current and past experience with these products Garvin,1987. A satisfactory field performance of the products is accompanied by lower customer dissatisfaction, greater customer loyalty, and improved market share Crosby, 1979; Buzzell and Gale, 1987; Hardie,1998 . We label this aspect of quality outcome as external quality because it is related to the customer’s perspective of the products upon field usage. It captures Juran’s fitness for use dimension of product quality Juran, 1981; Juran and Gryna, 1993 . Specifically, we focus our attention on four long-term indicators of external quality: warranty work, litigation claims, customer complaints, and market share. The quality of products passing internal tests of reliability should affect the experience of customers who use the products in two prominent ways. First, customers perceive product quality in terms of their net value defined as the ratio of performance to cost: Artzt, 1992. Thus, for products with the same performance levels, lower price will drive customer choice and satisfaction. Second, customers willing to spend a certain amount of money will choose the products that offer maximum performance for that money. 2. 5Internet as tool to enhance global strategy It’s can’t be deny that the internet plays a major role in every aspect of our modern life. Moreover, Internet technologies play a major role in business. The internet has contributed to the success and growth of businesses. This journal article is emphasizing on Internet are used to enhance global strategy. Internet is a driver of globalization. Observing the more successful applications, commentators and researchers have suggested a number of industry characteristics which promote Internet use (Andal-Ancion et al. ,2003): digitizability of the end product (e. g. , most information-based products such as directories and encyclopedias), time sensitivity of the end product (e. g. , airline travel), high search costs (e. g. , books), potential for customization (e. g. , clothing retailers), insufficient matching of buyers and sellers (e. g. , business- to-business exchanges and consumer-to-consumer auction sites), and a tradeoff between richness and reach (e. . , retail brokerage, Evans and Wurster, 1999). First at all, the internet makes communication fast and cost efficient. Businesses use internet technologies such as Skype internet and video calls, email and video conferencing to make communication virtually instant. Next, the internet plays a big role in the growth of businesses. It gives businesses an opportunity to reach a wider global audience. Promoting through the internet is also a way to increase sales and reach the desired growth level. Business can also expand by having an online division. The effect of this decentralization of transactions and information transfer raises major questions about the role of bodies which would have traditionally had functions of control, such as governments and regulatory institutions. In terms of transferring, accessing information, companies are now much less dependent on local infrastructures. In the aspect of marketing, Internet was playing important role in advertising. Most businesses are taking advantage of the internet to market their products and services to a global audience. The most notable internet technologies here include search engines such as Google. Social networking websites play a role in business networking by connecting like-minded professionals. Through the internet, people have found business partners and great employees. Moreover, the internet has helped cut costs by outsourcing services to countries where it is cheaper to provide these services. Apart from that, outsourcing enables businesses to concentrate on their core services and become more efficient. One role of internet in business is the birth of ecommerce websites and online payment solutions that allow people to shop online from the comfort of their own homes. Furthermore, the internet has opened up new business opportunities and giving rise to a group of successful online business owners. This is a powerful role as anyone can now start an online business. Cost and speed advantages are also substantial. The Internet is a much less expensive way to send information, and this information can be received in real time anywhere in the world. For global businesses this has massive implications for the possible scale and scope of operations and redefines the traditional trade-off between richness and reach, allowing both to be achieved for relatively little cost. Internet also brings effects on global products and services. Global products and services are seldom totally standardized worldwide, but they are designed with global markets in mind, and they have as large a common core as possible. Some industries and categories, such as personal computers and air travel, allow the potential for a very large common core, while others, such as furniture and legal services, allow for less commonality. Deciding on the extent of global standardization poses a major dilemma for MNCs. Use of the Internet and websites eases this dilemma by making it easier to offer an array of global, regional, or local products, and local customization options for standard core products. While the same can be done through traditional media (brochures or sales calls), but the Web provides more options and the interactivity of the Internet provides for customization by the customer. This can seen from Dell Computer’s ordering system. As the lesson 4 in this article has mentioned the use of the Internet enables both globally standardized and locally customized products and services. Companies can now use the Internet to lessen the globalization tradeoffs they have had to make in regard to products and services. Now, let have a seen on co-production, which means delivering public services in an equal and reciprocal relationship between professionals, people using services, their families and their neighbours. Where activities are co-produced in this way, both services and neighbourhoods become far more effective agents of change (David B & Michael H. ) the co-production has a significantly role in the process design and management. As the Internet has designed to interrelated the product and service jointly to the customer. For instance, Dell Computer has promoted Dell Online Self Dispatch to the customer as it is a comprehensive part dispatch program designed to support efficient hardware resolution. Dell also declared the Dell Online Self Dispatch (DOSD) as one global portal for efficient hardware resolution. The customers can access the Website through Internet to had the hardware support from Dell by self-service. 3. 0 Conclusion In summary, product/service design and process design are interrelated. Small changes in the design of products and services can be profound implications for the way the operation eventually has to produce them. The process design and management is right at the heart of operations management. The design is an activity of approaching at different levels of detail and it must be reflecting the needs of customers, and able applies to products, services and processes. The design is starts with something very abstract which represents a concept and ends with something very specific, which means by the final design. The company must follow the processes designs according to its volume and variety characteristics. Eventually the details of the process must be analyzed to ensure that it fulfills its objectives effectively. The proposed model of synergies between design and process management holds true for large and small firms, for firms with different levels of TQM experience, and in different industries with varying levels of competition, logistical complexity of production, or production process characteristics. Finally, the results also suggest that organizational learning enables mature TQM firms to implement both design and process efforts more rigorously and the synergies between design and process management help these firms to attain better quality outcomes. Q5. Raising senior management awareness of operations as a significant competitive weapon (Job Design and Performance Management). 1. 0 Introduction Many senior executives entered the organization through finance, trategy, or marketing and built their reputations on work in these areas, and as a result often take operations for granted. The executives have creatively used operations management for competitive advantage. Raising senior management awareness of operation as a significant competitive weapon refers to the job design of the senior management and the performance of the management. Theoretically, workers  are  motivated  by  jobs  in  which  they  feel  they  can  make a  difference  in their perf ormance and the way the  tasks  give are  combined  to  for complete  jobs. Clear  job  descriptions  will motivate  workforce  and  be successful  in completion  of  tasks. It also important to have both of the employer and employee needed to share understanding of the work to be done with it and comfort with working environment. The employee and employer also need to face the challenges associated with employing a large of people in a wide variety of people in a wide of capacities. Most of the employee is assigned to do a job because they are perceived to be able to fill its requirements. Many  tasks  depending on ability time allotment and other constraints. The role of HR in the present scenario has undergone a sea change and its focus is on evolving such functional strategies which enable successful implementation of the major corporate strategies. In a way, HR and corporate strategies function in alignment. Today, HR works towards facilitating and improving the performance of the employees by building a conducive work environment and providing maximum opportunities to the employees for participating in organizational planning and decision making process. Today, all the major activities of HR are driven towards development of high performance leaders and fostering employee motivation. So, it can be interpreted that the role of HR has evolved from merely an appraiser to a facilitator and an enabler. Performance management is the current buzzword and is the need in the current times of cut throat competition and the organizational battle for leadership. Performance management is a much broader and a complicated function of HR, as it encompasses activities such as joint goal setting, continuous progress review and frequent communication, feedback and coaching for improved performance, implementation of employee development programmes nd rewarding achievements. The process of performance management starts with the joining of a new incumbent in a system and ends when an employee quits the organization. Performance management can be regarded as a systematic process by which the overall performance of an organization can be improved by improving the performance of individuals within a team framework. It is a means for promoting superior performance by communicating expec tations, defining roles within a required competence framework and establishing achievable benchmarks. A  performance management process  sets the platform for rewarding excellence by aligning individual employee accomplishments with the organization’s mission and objectives and making the employee and the organization understand the importance of a specific job in realizing outcomes. By establishing clear performance expectations which includes results, actions and behaviours, it helps the employees in understanding what exactly is expected out of their jobs and setting of standards help in eliminating those jobs which are of no use any longer. Through regular feedback and coaching, it provides an advantage of diagnosing the problems at an early stage and taking corrective actions. To conclude, performance management can be regarded as a proactive system of managing employee performance for driving the individuals and the organizations towards desired performance and results. It’s about striking a harmonious alignment between individual and organizational objectives for accomplishment of excellence in performance. 2. 0 Discussion 2. 1 JOURNAL: THE EFFECT OF MANAGEMENT COMMITMENT TO SERVICE ON EMPLOYEE SERVICE BEHAVIORS: THE MEDIATING ROLE OF JOB SATISFACTION Refer on the journal; the proposed model in the Thai hotel work setting indicates that management service initiatives, particularly training, rewards, and empowerment deliver a strong message to employees that the management is devoted to quality service, ultimately creating the positive affect (i. e. , employee satisfaction). Furthermore, the result showed that when employees are satisfied with their job, this positive feeling about their job motivates them to go the extra mile for customers and help co-workers and supervisors in need. Currently, not all hotel operators in Thailand favour the four management service initiatives because those options can be costly. However, it seems to be clear that management should consider allocating more resources to implement such initiatives. Among the four management service initiatives, rewards displayed the largest effect on Thai hotel workers’ job satisfaction, with the largest path coefficient. In general, two kinds of rewards are available: financial and nonfinancial rewards. Rewards also range from a simple thank-you note for an exceptional service to a large reward such as wage increase and promotion. Rewards given to employees, regardless of the type, must be meaningful to the employees and the organization. In other words, rewards should be based on employees’ job performance and reflect the organization’s goal and service standard. Most rewards in the Asian culture, including Thailand, are in monetary form. However, because of the growing influence of the Western style of management, rewards in the form of recognition, such as being selected as employees of the month (or the year) with a certificate, are getting popular in Thailand. This kind of recognition can increase employees’ morale and make workers feel that they are appreciated and valued as a member of the organization, leading to job satisfaction and organizational loyalty. Panmunin (1993) reports that Thai hotel employees suffer from low self-esteem because the Thai caste system disparages servants as low caste individuals. The result of the present study seems to emphasize the importance of appropriate rewards for Thai frontline hotel workers, who may be often neglected and unappreciated in the caste system (high-power-distance culture), to improve their work morale. Next, this study demonstrates that training cannot be overlooked to satisfy hotel workers. Through training, Thai employees master the basic skills necessary to perform the daily duties of the position and develop job competence. In addition to the basic skills, more Thai hotels are offering training such as dealing with guests’ complaints. It is a new type of training that originates from the Western hotel companies. Typically, when Thai employees encounter disgruntled or difficult guests, they have supervisors or mangers handle the situation. This new training program broadens frontline employees’ responsibilities and teaches proper techniques to resolve conflicts and deal with problems immediately to build customer satisfaction. The result of this study seems to suggest that Thai hotel personnel are satisfied with this new, additional training. Third, this study implies that empowered Thai employees are satisfied and exert more positive service behaviours. This result contradicts the proposed hypothesis. Despite the vertical culture, more and more hotel organizations in Thailand are embracing the concept of empowerment by allowing frontline personnel to make more decisions to take care of in-house guests. Although empowerment is a relatively new concept for hotels in Thailand, the result indicates that line employees are quickly adopting such a work practice and are happy about it. In general, frontline employees are much younger than managers in Thai hotels. The young generation has been more exposed to the global influence of U. S. culture. Thus, young Thai hotel employees may regard a Western management practice such as empowerment highly. We also speculate that the positive empowerment outcome is attributed to the new additional training and the Western style of rewards. Research has shown that empowerment often involves training and rewards to be more effective. Another possible explanation regarding the positive effect of empowerment is the growing size of tourism. Thailand is one of the popular travel destinations in the world, and hotels are receiving large numbers of international customers. In Western countries, it is common to see frontline employees empowered to meet the guests’ needs immediately. Travelers, particularly from the United States and Europe may be accustomed to such a level of customer focus and expect Thai hotels to offer a comparable level of service. The management in Thailand is becoming aware of the phenomenon and therefore expending more effort to make use of empowerment to please international hotel guests. Finally, there is no significant effect of organizational support on hotel employees’ job satisfaction. In this study, organizational support focuses on help offered to frontline workers when necessary, appropriate job design, and support for frontline employees’ goals and values. This insignificant result may be partly associated with the high power distance between supervisors and subordinates. In the Thai hotel organization, managers are more likely to be valued and respected than frontline personnel, and Thai managers with authoritative leaderships are least likely to place a high priority on the well-being of frontline employees and assisting in their job. Although the organizational culture is changing slowly, and large Thai hotel companies are adopting Western management styles, it takes a long time for employee perceptions to change. Thai frontline personnel are more likely to recognize strong organizational support (i. e. , they feel they receive enough help at work, their job is designed to be rewarding, and their goals and values are as important as managers’ goals and values) in the future. In the conclusion of organizational behaviour, service quality initiatives such as rewards, empowerment, training, and organizational support have been a revolving theme tied with employee satisfaction and performance. This study presents how these initiatives work in a culturally different setting such as Thailand. The results of this study indicate that the service quality initiatives, which mostly originate from the U. S. or Western (horizontal) culture, are worthy of trial in Asian hotels (with a vertical culture) because such initiatives may help improve frontline employees’ morale and self-esteem and ultimately increase the overall effectiveness of the hotel operation. In summary, hoteliers should continue to increase decentralization of authority, develop attractive compensation, and improve frontline workers’ knowledge and skills through ongoing training. Then, all these efforts are likely to pay off by yielding happier, committed staff members who care about guests and other co-workers. 2. 2 ARTICLE JOURNAL: SHAKING UP INTEL’S INSIDES Performance-based, standardized job descriptions provide employees with clear and attainable job duties and responsibilities as well as the resources needed to accomplish them (Mahdieh,2013). We work with employees to explain the tools and their importance to achievement of the organization’s mission and goals a critical factor in retaining valuable staff and preventing costly burnout. Employees are an organization’s most valuable resources. Companies spend considerable amounts of money and time developing and supporting their human resources. A critical component of this development and support is employee performance management. An employee’s performance is a measure of the ways in which their work-related behavior contributes to achievement of the organization’s business objectives. In this article, they have problem in new employee, employees are now â€Å"on stage† when they’re meeting with customers and â€Å"off stage† when they’re in a back office handling paperwork. And he implemented an exhaustive â€Å"playbook† that has scripts for everything down to the language with which tellers are supposed to greet customers. Still, at one Boston branch McGee visited, Paul J. Hillson, a consumer marketing manager, concedes that he encountered initial resistance from some FleetBoston tellers: â€Å"What you hear is, ‘But I already know that customer. â€Å"‘ McGee agrees that changing employee behavior â€Å"is still a work in progress. â€Å". Managing this performance is the key to producing high achieving and reliable human resources. Performance management is a process by which managers and employees work together to plan, monitor and review an employee’s work objectives and overall contribution to the organization(Memoona,2013). More than just an annual performance review, performance management is the continuous process of setting objectives, assessing progress and providing on-going coaching and feedback to ensure that employees are meeting their objectives and career goals. In this case we can see analysts said, has been the efforts of McGee and his team to overhaul Fleet’s branches, from products to training to culture. To lure new customers, BofA dangled free checking and free online bill-paying, a service for which many New England banks still charged. And while the old FleetBoston simply gave customers the 800 number for an outside mortgage lender, BofA has outfitted roughly two-thirds of Fleet branches with special software that approves or rejects a customer’s application for a mortgage or home-equity loans within 30 minutes. As a conclusion, this is in line with results in the emotions and justice literature that negative appraisals are influential drivers of employee behaviours and attitudes (Brown et al. ,2011). Performance appraisals are a basis component of human resource management, the outcomes of appraisals are used as the foundation of many human recourse decisions. While organizations devote considerable resources and time into performance appraisal this collected study has demonstrated that the quality of the employee performance appraisal experience are different. There are employees with low quality performance appraisal experiences while at the other end of the scale, there are some employees who state high quality experiences of the performance appraisal process. Moreover, this research demonstrates that organizations pay a price for letting low quality performance appraisal experiences, when employees have low quality performance appraisal experiences the organization will likely to bring a penalty in forms of lower job satisfaction and higher intentions to quit. 2. 3 ARTICLE: BOFA’S HAPPY SURPRISE In this world of competition as organizations effort to remain competitive and sustainable, human resources professionals and strategic planners should collaborate strongly in designing strategies which are more productive and useful (Dazel. 2103). Among these functions, one of the most critical ones that bring global success is performance appraisal . It is more considerable than other processes because its results show the success of the awareness of the other areas in the field of Human Resources and other personnel activities. In the other perspective, assumptions of corporate management show that performance appraisal makes people to be really engaged in the business of the organization. In this situation, the article shows he’s making it clear to employees that, under his leadership, Intel truly are entering a new era. Otellini, who officially takes the helm on May 18, will be the first chief executive without an engineering degree at a company where gear heads have reigned supreme. He believes that to keep Intel growing, every idea and technical solution should be focused on meeting customers’ needs from the outset. So rather than relying on its engineering prowess, Intel’s reorganization will bring together engineers, software writers, and marketers into five market-focused units: corporate computing, the digital home, mobile computing, health care, and channel products PCs for small manufacturers. The development of an organisational culture indicator followed a review of the organisational culture literature, in which particular attention was given to the instruments that have been most commonly used in its measurement (Michael, 2013). In this article, we can see that the new regime will cause a jolt to the culture. For decades, employees have been compensated for their own work. Now teams will be judged as a whole. Engineers, long the top dogs, may resist working with others. â€Å"It’s like saying to a baseball player, ‘Gee, we’re deciding to play pro football,†Ã¢â‚¬Ëœ says Edward E. Lawler, a professor at USC’s Marshall School of Business. â€Å"All of a sudden, the rules of the game are very different. † Otellini has begun to put the pieces in place. Now he’ll need the teamwork of his people to pull it off. As conclusion, this article established that there was no existing tool which adequately met our requirements for a comprehensive, up-to-date measure, easily completed by all levels of the workforce. Through the review process we were able to identify the cultural dimensions most frequently assessed in organisations and deemed important in this extensively researched field. A parallel search of literature on current manufacturing practice highlighted other areas less traditionally examined in culture research, but which we thought relevant in capturing critical aspects of organisational culture in the manufacturing sector. Performance  management  is a significant tool in business  management  today. Management activity of this type makes it easier to evaluate the productivity of individual employees as well as entire departments. As a result, the company will function more efficiently, may keep overhead low, and has a better chance of succeeding. There are many benefits of  performance management  that have a direct bearing on the day-to-day operation, which in turn makes the overall picture for the company much brighter. Inside the company of The New York Times, there have a lot of job design and performance management that occur and be built by the employer to their employees. Many advantages can we get by doing the implementation of job design and performance management. Through the implementation of performance management, the employer can get the result for what actually their employees doing in managing their work. The use of specific metrics in a performance management program allows employer to make decisions regarding performance breakdowns. Initially, it allows employer to pinpoint problems and take the proper corrective actions to immediately rectify them. For example, as our research in year 2003, according to the journal of The New York Times, Arthur Ochs Sulzberger Jr. , the current proprietor, faced what seemed to be a publisher’s ultimate test after a loosely supervised young reporter named Jayson Blair was found to have fabricated dozens of stories. The crisis was emerged between the employer and its employees after the employer getting know about their employee’s attitude. The employer can strictly blot for whom employees that making a wrong attitude and breaking the rules of their job ethics. The effects of these crisis has causes the company’s performance lagging. The companies had difficult moments eventual through allegations received due to errors employees. However, it can be improved by making implementation of performance management. Performance management allows employer to make decision and focus their feedback on issues or crisis directly related to the achievement of the individual employee’s goals and objectives. Any other issues or crisis distracting the employee that don’t contribute to the unit or department’s performance can be quickly and effectively handled and eliminated. One of the examples of performance management that can be found in the journal of The New York Times is where Keller has made so many high-level personnel changes whereby two-thirds of all newsroom workers now report to a new boss. Other than that, Keller has also put into practice a string of reforms suggested by several internal committees formed in the wake of the Blair affair. Meaning to say, these include the appointment of a standards editor and a public editor, or ombudsman. After making this system, the company performances was increase and improved and at the same time the whole of operation managements can be run smoothly. According to journal, The Times posted its gains despite boosting the price of a subscription by more than 20% on average. As a conclusion, a good performance management system works towards the improvement of the overall organizational performance by managing the performance of teams and individuals. That is for ensuring the achievement of the overall organizational ambitions and goals. The Times can built more an effective performance management system that can play a very crucial role in managing the performance in an organization such as ensuring the employees understand the importance of their contribution to the organizational goals and objectives. Other than that, by ensuring each employee understands what is expected from them and equally as pertaining whether the employee possess the required skills and support for fulfilling such expectations. Ensuring proper aligning or linking of objectives and facilitating effective communication throughout the organization and facilitating a cordial and a harmonious relationship between an individual employee and also the line employer based on trust and empowerment. 2. 4 The Effects of Job Rotation Practices on Motivation: A Research on Managers in the Automotive Organizations This article is about the use of data envelopment analysis (DEA) to calculate and analyze the level of technical, allocate and cost efficiencies of Australian hospital food service operations. As we know, every provision of food to the patients is the responsibility of each individual hospital. To prepare the food their must cooked and plated and serve it in hot condition, that can we call as a â€Å"cook-serve system†. Therefore this system required substantial labor input and always created tension arising because of the necessity of working tight schedules and need to achieve high quality standards. In 1970, the new system of foodservice was introduced which is the introduction of the hybrid and cook-chill system. These new system require large initial capital investment. There has been an essential expansion in the use of cook-chill systems throughout the different states because of the technology changes. However, the last health service report published that inefficiency is still a problem with most hospital foodservice operation because of the underutilization of production capacity. Actually, this is the on how performance management taking place to overcome this problem. There are a lot of the significant of making implementation of performance management. The primary reason to make sure performance management processes are functioning properly is to tighten the link between strategic organizational objectives and day-to-day actions. Effective goal setting (including timelines), combined with a method to track progress and identify obstacles, contributes to success and bottom line result. Frequently tracking progress against performance goals and objectives also provides the opportunity to recognize and reward employees for performance and exceptional effort, contributing to job satisfaction and productivity. Employees want to feel successful, to do well at their job and feel there are making a valuable contribution. In order to ensure this happens, employees need a clear understanding of individual goals and how they fit into the larger organization. New technology-based solutions offered can provide goal visibility across entire organizations, offer extensive reporting option and can reduce paperwork by as much as 90%. Clear visibility, regular individual analysis and company-wide employee appraisals help identify corporate competencies and skill gaps. With this valuable data, organizational can identify training and development plans. Performance management best practices result in a wide range of the advantages for employees, employer and whole organizational. In a nutshell, the performance management inside every organizational is one of the essential tool to gain a goal and objectives of organizations. Therefore, the organization like hospital can considered more about their performance management to overcome their problem. At the same times gain successful services to their patient. 2. ARTICLE JOURNAL: THE FUTURE OF THE NEW YORK TIMES – BUSINESSWEEK Human Resource is the most important resource compared with other resources like machine, material, land, etc. In the organizational context, the effectiveness of human resource depends on designing the job according to human capability and characteristics. Job design is the most important function of Human Resource Management. It indicates that, designing of contents, metho ds, functions of a job. The performance of an employee is that, how well an employee performs his or her task duties and responsibilities. Employees’ performance is also crucial. Because the achievement of goals and objectives of the organization is assessed by performance of its resources, employees’ performance should be assessed and maintained periodically. At work, in a human-focussed approach, the human oriented process designs have shown its importance as much as the technical issues, from a productivity aspect. Several human-focussed applications such as increasing motivation at work, improving workers’ physical working conditions, obtaining job security, and increasing job satisfaction, increasing quality nd productivity, decreasing costs to become competitive are increasing it’s importance by the day. Within the natural development process of work, maybe human-centred problems exceed technical problems and even the cost of investment in personal has gone beyond the point of technical investment. Job analysis, training, performance measurement, re-organisation projects, re-engineering studies and especially applications related to job design which support this approach have an important place among human resources applications. Job design related applications began to take shape with a scientific management approach in the 1900s. Models related to job design able to be classified as job rotation, job enlargement, job enrichment, job engineering, quality of work life, social information processing approach and job characteristics approach, have extremely important effects on increasing the productivity of human resources. It is predicted that job satisfaction and productivity will be highest when both job enlargement and job enrichment are jointly applied to redesigning work systems From a conceptual perspective, job design is defined as determining the specific job content, the methods used at work and the relationships between jobs to correspond the firm’s technological and organisational, and the employees’ social and personal expectations. In accordance with this definition, it is stated that a well-designed and defined job increase employees job satisfaction, increases motivation, decreases workplace-related stress, encourage learning efforts and is therefore have a positive effect on employees’ performance. There are many studies published in related literature investigating the relationship between job design and employees’ motivation. The common points of these studies is that the application of job design has a positive effect on the specifics of job performance, like motivation, flexibility, job satisfaction, self-control, and skill development. The relevant studies are shown in Table below.