What sources of information do learner use to get a skill outside of Essay

What sources of information do learner use to get a skill outside of the formal education system - Essay Example These sources of information often avail information to the learner although, at times the learner may be unconscious of it. These sources of information include personal learning experience, families, friends, information and communication technology, digital media, internet, community members among other sources. Acquiring a skill for doing a particular job from people experienced in that line is probably the best way of learning. For instance, interacting with people experienced in rock climbing can help one acquire the technique in the most effective way. Safety techniques for using build anchors use belay devices, use karabiners and quick draws for the beginners of rock climbing can best be learnt together with the experienced climbers who are experts. Also several exercises outside classroom can help one develop a particular skill. Thus several years of gymnastics improves one’s ability to practice yoga. Students may try new things and upon failure to achieve their set objectives, they get assistance from family members (Knight 14). Through family members, a student may acquire a unique skill through copying what the other members of the family do for instance, marrying a vegetarian partner or having a vegetarian parent can make one become vegetarian. Friends from work places or r esidential places can also help one acquire a particular skill. Therefore, doing and attempting to do, forms the basis of a student’s natural acquisition of skills (Volpe 149). Primarily, parents are regarded as the primary educators to their children. For instance, living with a deaf parent can help one acquire the skills of using sign languages (Juul 108). Through a strengthened relationship between the learner and the parents, a learner acquire relevant information that help him impact relevant skill outside classrooms. Parents avail this relevant information to the learners through story telling in the form of narratives, spiritual teachings

Security Preparation in Shopping Malls

Security Preparation in Shopping Malls Security Plan Paper Security preparation is essential to maintain a flourishing business. Some shopping center otherwise wholesale store has a more appropriate outline of security to function appropriately and be able to make a earning. Security has many different forms varies it could be locked gates to armed security as well as entree position. Electronics has a major role with maintaining a company secured along with the safety. Security arrangements are surveillance cameras, alarms also security workers are keeping watch of the cameras, they are part of a very essential position in the success of the business. Nevertheless, this is in order to keep the commodities being removed off the premises without it being paid for. Security experts have to maintain to the uppermost regulations when working in any Shopping mall. There are malls that will only hire qualified individuals that will take on the duty of keeping their environment risk-free. In addition, when it comes to security professionals it is essential they be trusted and accountable if they want staff members to respect them. Security experts have to train, constant review of their occupation duties with current evaluations about their job performance. Shopping Mall has excellent security systems that are highly recommended with security officers. However, these security officers are able to see precisely what is going on in all parts of the shopping center. The security system has extremely good quality video equipment. The back entries to all the retail provisions that are surrounded by the shopping center has restricted entree, which the security officers are placed throughout the shopping center. There are signs throughout the shopping cent ers also in the parking lot stating that it is under surveillance. Several shopping centers have parking lots that are well lit for the protection of the customers as well as the employees. When it comes to the employees there are many that will do their best to attain accurate and risk-free safety measures. When it comes to the technology at the shopping center, it has a complex plan of attack to security, which includes crime prevention through environment design. This is a plan, which includes interior and exterior design features to help better some crime and protect customers along with employees. Even so all criminal acts cannot be prevented the workers as well as security professionals continue to work collectively keep the mall safe as possible for the customers and all who work there. There are a few threats that some of these shopping centers need to keep watch of robbery, arson, shoplifting, theft, bomb threats also computer hacking. These criminal acts are not only limited but also it can happen anywhere at any given time. That is why many of the shopping centers strive to making sure they have the best security standards. Every employee as well as the security professionals that work at these different shopping centers has to be ready for any type of situation. The security professionals at these shopping centers need to be aware of any shoplifters. When an individual is in a store and not purchasing, anything or the customer looks suspicious or wearing clothing that does not permit the weather, which could be a possible threat. Although many shopping malls have a great security, plans there are not many businesses that are safe any type of threat. It is important that all security personnel be trained in order to handle all types’ scenarios. Once the proper training has been accessible and completed by all security official at all of the stores that are located within the shopping mall can be susceptible to all dangers. However, there are varieties of liable threats that can come up. However, the threat can include things like the lack of proper surveillance, and the possibility of unofficial personnel entering any store from a loading docks, threats from robberies as well as to cashiers and also the possibility of a shoplifting threats to cashiers this can definitely be overlooked. Once all of the security personnel have done their jobs to the best of their ability, the threats would not be as high. When it comes to physical security is controlling in many shopping malls. The mall that I have been too they have at least two at every entrance. Then there are armed security guards that are in the security office as well that are monitoring the cameras then there are armed security officers who are walking throughout the mall to keep a watch for any threats. The physical features of a security plan that they have for some of these malls can be very impressive but are a step ahead of other security standards. The security personnel at the shopping malls they use two way radio and cell phones to communicate with one another. There are shopping malls that I have been to that the employees had a two-way radios or a cell phone that they were carrying at all times. This is another way for them to be aware about what is taking place and relay information efficiently and quickly to one another; this is what makes things in the mall run smoothly. Then the information is being recorded on a high tech monitoring system, this a immense help for any crime scene investigations along with assembly cases. Many of the shopping malls are insured for liability. When incidents that take place at a shopping mall or either on the premises, it is recorded through the cameras that are located just about everywhere. Having this information is great when it pertains to liability. In order to become employed with any shopping center one have to pass a drug test as well as alcohol test, they will have to go through the pre employment screening along with a full background check completed. After they are hired, each individual along with the security personnel will then be subject to a random drug and alcohol testing. With the pre employment screenings this is essential this is another way to keep the environment safe from any lose furthermore employee stealing. There are guidelines that need to be respected for a screening to be done correctly. Every policy that is in place at these shopping malls relies on the teamwork. When it comes to the employees and the security staff, they rely on one another for assistance and safety. These plans of action are needed to be able to keep things moving smoothly. The other stores within the mall have their own goals. These stores have precise inventory with all of their merchandise that comes into their store along with the merchandise that goes out as well. The security staff will help in making sure each individual store will be making a profit. If there should ever be a bomb threat at a shopping mall, they will have to evacuate the entire building. Then everyone will have to stand away from the parking lot that is closest to the road until the authority is given a call. When there is a bomb threat, it needs to be taken seriously and this is the same way if there were a fire. The difference is that the authorities that would need to be called for a bomb threat is a swat team and then the bomb squad will then be called as for a fire the fire department will be called as well. When it comes to these threats, there is a code that is used while using two way radios as a way of communication so that the security staff can inform the other staff members to evacuate the premises within a clam but yet in a effective and speedy manner. All members will have to stand outside away from building until the authorities has cleared the area of being safe. If ever the shopping mall were to have a fire, the same procedure as for a bomb threa t would be used. Even though there are fire alarms that are located throughout the building which are at all entrances, exits. Again, in case of a bomb threat the staff members and security personnel they work together in order to help evacuate the building safely everyone have to stay away until the authorities cleared the area from all danger. When there is a threat to any shopping mall the security personnel are notified through there two-way radios. References Clifford, M. (2004). Identifying and Exploring Security Essentials. Prentice Hall Homeland Security.(2006).Retrieved from http:// http://www.rand.org/content/dam/rand/pubs/technical_reports/2006/RAND_TR401.pdf

Twinkies :: Sociology, Chinese Americans

Traditionally, Twinkies are usually thought of as cream-filled yellow sponge cakes. To Chinese Americans, a different image is conjured. When Chinese Americans integrate with the American culture so much that their Chinese culture is much less apparent, they are known as â€Å"Twinkies†: yellow on the outside and white on the inside. In Amy Tan’s essay â€Å"Mother Tongue† and Elizabeth Wong’s essay â€Å"The Struggle to be an All-American Girl†, both girls are Chinese American trying to fit in with the American society while their Chinese mother’s are very traditional at home. Tan and Wong are trying to please their image in America and their mothers at the same time. While these essays are similar because they focus on the native languages used in America and the struggles of being a Chinese American in America, they differ in both their attitudes toward their mothers and personal reflections of being Chinese American. An individual’s background is where one comes from and how he or she is raised. Tan is Chinese American. She has a traditional Chinese mother who speaks â€Å"broken† English. Tan states that, â€Å"It has always bothered me that I can think of no way to describe it other than ‘broken’, as if it were damaged and needed to be fixed[. . .]† (Tan 43). Tan is an American school girl. As Tan listens to her mother use that type of dialect, it causes her perception of her mother to be distraught. Tan believed it â€Å"[. . .] reflected the quality of what [her mother] had to say† (Tan 43). For instance, department store clerks, bank employees and restaurant workers will ignore her mother when they can not understand her. Tan is a writer who loves the use of language. She says, â€Å"Language is the tool of my trade. And I use them all-all the Englishes I grew up with† (Tan 41). She is able to adapt her dialect to her audience. With her mothe r, she uses â€Å"broken† English; with her colleagues, she uses correct English grammar. Similarly, Wong also grew up in America with a traditional Chinese mother. In contrast, Wong’s upbringing involves her mother forcing her into attending two different schools. After her American school day, Wong continues on with Chinese school to learn both cultures. Her mother felt it was her duty to â€Å"[. . .] learn the language of [her] heritage† (Wong 144). This puts a burden on Wong as she starts to despise the Chinese culture.

Response Paper to Buffalo Creek Flood and Buffalo Creek Revisited

Buffalo Creek Flood: An Act of Man and Buffalo Creek Revisited are both documentary films about the disaster that happened on February 26, 1972. Pittston’s (the name of the coal company) dam broke and released 132 million gallons of waste water in Logan County, West Virginia USA. This paper would feature the author’s response towards the two documentary films inspired by the Buffalo Creek disaster. Response to the Films The title of the first documentary is a parody to the claim of the Pittston company that the disaster was an â€Å"Act of God,† claiming that God had simply put more rain water on the dam than it could hold.It is always disturbing to hear anyone blame God for the tragedies that happen in life. It is blasphemy to do such a thing. Instead of blaming God for their mistakes, they could have built a stronger dam, but they did not. As proof of the company’s deranged minds, they did not even warn the residents that the dam was on the brink of coll apse. The company even assured the residents that everything was okay, but once they assessed the condition of the dam, they were off in the other direction.These films show, although not in detail, the events that caused the disaster and the events after it through an interview of those involved. What is alarming in this film is how lightly the Pittston coal company took the matter lightly—in an interview. The company president was asked about the responsibility of the company; having pre-conceived the safest answer, he just said that they were still waiting for the results of the investigation when it was clear that they were at fault. Also, when asked about the proper spelling of his name, he laughed and commented that it was the hardest question he had to answer that day.The second film, Buffalo Creek Revisited, is about the condition of the residents after the disaster. Again, alarmingly, the company responsible had not made any significant moves to compensate for the lo sses the residents have had. References Buffalo Creek Flood: An Act of Man Transcript (n. d. ) Retrieved April 26, 2009, from http://appalshop. org/buffalo/media/BCF-transcript. pdf. Buffalo Creek Revisited Transcript. (n. d) Retrieved April 26, 2009, from http://appalshop. org/buffalo/media/BCR-transcript. pdf.

Review on Michael Moore’s “Capitalism, a Love Story”

The way the stock market works in the world today is if there is a Stock (Piece or share of a company) that are being bought out by a lot of investors, the price of the stock will increase extraordinary high. If the stock does not get bought, the price of the stock will lower to a cheaper price. To buy the best stock that will soon be more valuable is a race as brokers try and fight to find the potential grossing stock and buy tons of them at a cheap price to later on earn tons of money as it becomes more valuable to invest and sell as the stock value increases and grosses.The stock market consists of a lot of people with different positions as an Investor is someone who commits capital in order to gain financial returns. A broker is a person who buys and sells goods or assets for others. A trader is a person who buys and sells the stock in the market. A corporate raider is an investor who buys a large number of shares in a corporation whose assets appear to be undervalued.The stock market has a lot of terms that define small things that broker/traders need to know to work in the stock market as like derivatives which are contracts between two or more parties. Other small stuff come into play as in commodities which are marketable items produced to satisfy wants or needs of the people. Dividends are payments made by a corporation to its shareholder members which are basically the portion of corporate profits paid out to stockholders.Now here are the big terms that people should be aware of to try to make it big as like Equity which is the residual claim or interest of the most junior class of investors in assets, after all liabilities are paid. Golden Parachutes are agreements that are made between a company and an employee (usually upper executive) specifying that the employee will receive certain significant benefits if employment is terminated which put a lot of CEO’s in the jackpot and have them rich for a long while.And finally, Liquidation which is the process by which a company (or part of a company) is brought to an end, and the assets and property of the company redistributed. This brings a lot of businesses down and suffers. Insider trading used all the time by brokers and traders to get ahead of the game and earn big bucks and live life. It’s a strategy that a lot of the brokers live by and use to make them successful as it’s the trading of a corporation's stock or other securities (such as bonds or stock options) by individuals with access to non-public information about the company.It brings the inside scoop about businesses to brokers to give them a chance and advantage to invest and make a lot of money before News is released to the public. Fraud is an intentional deception made for personal gain or to damage another individual. The economy can be harmed by these types of strategies as Insider trading can be used for unfair advantage for investors as it helps them show what to invest before everyone els e and BIG Bucks before anyone.Fraud is harmful as it steals money away from people that are rightfully theirs and brings people into debt with the people stealing their money come out to become very wealthy and use their stolen money on special interests and personal gains when none of that money is earned by them. So insider trading helps investors cheat the game of the stock market and fraud helps investors steal the money that is rightfully own to the people which is basically stealing money from the economy of the U. S.The SEC tries to prevent those things by for insider trading; they try to track down anyone they believe is to be involved as they obtain warrants for financial records and wiretaps, and find any other means to pursue the evidence that comes their way. If enough evidence is found to indict someone for insider trading, the individuals will be arrested and the case is handed over to a U. S. attorney. They do it because insider trading is unfair to the stock market g ame and the other investors and traders who are not involved in insider trading.For fraud, the SEC tries to prevent that by first to help educate investors to protect themselves against fraud, second, they conduct regulatory examinations to ensure that firms have robust compliance systems to prevent and detect fraud and other violations, and finally, they aggressively prosecute securities fraud, working together with criminal prosecutors. They do this because they believe that businesses should deserve this horrible incident to happen to them financially and should protect themselves from cunning con artists out there in society. Finally, about the movie Wall Street (1987)†¦..The movie â€Å"Wall street† was a really good and educational movie at some points as it was well-directed and helped showed the pros and cons of working in the stock market and how people entering that type of field should be fearless and aware of anything that is going on underground or in public and be picky on who to trust as there are a lot of â€Å"Gordon Gekko’s† in the world befriending many traders/brokers and stabbing them in the back at any moment based on their feelings/impression about them. Some key scenes in the movie were to be the â€Å"Greed is good† speech as it helped pictured an image what the U.S. is truly is and where it will be with the economy. The scene which Bud fox found out the sale of Blue-Star was pretty dramatic as it helped Bud realize how cruel and Greedy Gordon Gekko was. And another key Scene was the confrontation between Gordon and Bud after Bud found out about the sale of Blue-Star. The Movie showed that stock market is hectic and scary and people should watched their step on which path they’re going to take as they could fall into a hole anytime with either having SEC involved with it or lose a ton of money and be sent on to the streets.The stock market is a scary and hectic field to pursue a career in but if people have the brains, the charm and the look, through strategically planning and working, they can come out very successful and be at the top. But the market can always change people, physically, mentally and personality wise like once they go into the field it’s hard to get out and it sometimes changes them into a different person probably into a person with Greed to make more and more, probably a â€Å"Gordon Gekko†.

Free Essays on The Canterbury Tales

The Wife of Bath’s Reflexive Contradiction for Sexual Equality in the Canterbury Tales The Wife of Bath has been described and depicted as an independent proto-feminist who long ago led the charge for sexual equality. Chaucer’s visionary protagonist was a refreshing and modern look at women’s rights in the fifteenth century. She spends much of her prologue breaking down stereotypical barriers that have confined women of her time to passive and subservient roles in her society. As a result, her prologue, if standing alone, can be noted as one of the great calls for female independence in historical literature. But upon viewing her works as a whole, her section of the General Prologue, her prologue and her tale, it is well noted that she strikingly contradicts her own call for equality with her story of the knight and the hag. She builds her case so strongly and defiantly in her prologue, yet subsequently demolishes her argument in her following tale. By allowing the hag to compromise her position, rewarding the knight for his chauvinist deeds and co untering her own stance with several questionable details, the Wife of Bath contradicts her position for sexual equality and retards the momentum she had built in her preceding works. After the hag has put the knight in a position where she could take advantage and follow the Wife of Bath’s principles, she not only passes up on the chance to treach the knight a lesson, but actually entreats his disturbing persona. To procure their first encounter the hag (and this can be rightly assumed by her mysterious and later magical nature) attracts the knight the only way he could be lured. She supernaturally displays twenty-four dancing women to which, â€Å"he drew ful yerne. (999)† This quick advancement upon the women by the knight can be derived as the hag controlling him by taking advantage of his carnal desires, already displayed by his Neanderthalic raping of the maiden in th... Free Essays on The Canterbury Tales Free Essays on The Canterbury Tales The Wife of Bath’s Reflexive Contradiction for Sexual Equality in the Canterbury Tales The Wife of Bath has been described and depicted as an independent proto-feminist who long ago led the charge for sexual equality. Chaucer’s visionary protagonist was a refreshing and modern look at women’s rights in the fifteenth century. She spends much of her prologue breaking down stereotypical barriers that have confined women of her time to passive and subservient roles in her society. As a result, her prologue, if standing alone, can be noted as one of the great calls for female independence in historical literature. But upon viewing her works as a whole, her section of the General Prologue, her prologue and her tale, it is well noted that she strikingly contradicts her own call for equality with her story of the knight and the hag. She builds her case so strongly and defiantly in her prologue, yet subsequently demolishes her argument in her following tale. By allowing the hag to compromise her position, rewarding the knight for his chauvinist deeds and co untering her own stance with several questionable details, the Wife of Bath contradicts her position for sexual equality and retards the momentum she had built in her preceding works. After the hag has put the knight in a position where she could take advantage and follow the Wife of Bath’s principles, she not only passes up on the chance to treach the knight a lesson, but actually entreats his disturbing persona. To procure their first encounter the hag (and this can be rightly assumed by her mysterious and later magical nature) attracts the knight the only way he could be lured. She supernaturally displays twenty-four dancing women to which, â€Å"he drew ful yerne. (999)† This quick advancement upon the women by the knight can be derived as the hag controlling him by taking advantage of his carnal desires, already displayed by his Neanderthalic raping of the maiden in th... Free Essays on The Canterbury Tales In Geoffrey Chaucer’s The Canterbury Tales, participants of a pilgrimage to Canterbury tell tales to entertain each other, revealing many aspects of medieval society. Through the double narration it can be seen that the narrator of the Prologue is Chaucer but this pilgrim Chaucer is not the author Chaucer. The pilgrim never describes his own career or social standing, but upon examination, he proves to be a corrupt individual of the upper class. The tales are not simply a story or a poem, it is an individual speaking about his observations- an oral performance. In the tales that follow, Chaucher (the pilgrim) will impersonate the others, â€Å"The wordes mote be cosin to the dede- (Line 742)† so his words must match the action he sees. It becomes a double narration, where Chaucer creates this pilgrim who tells the story of a great pilgrimage to Canterbury. There is no longer a creator of the poem, simply a speaker, a character who has his own characteristics and repeats what he sees. Despite its subtly, these traits expose the pilgrim Chaucer. Each of the stories in The Canterbury Tales are to be told with the utmost accuracy, suggesting Chaucer’s literacy. â€Å"Whoso shal telle a tale after a man, He moot reherce as ny as evere he can Everish a word, if it be in his charge, Al speke he never so rudeliche and large; Or elles he moot telle his tale untrewe, Or feyne thing, or finde wordes newe.† (Lines 731-736) Chaucer tells us that to repeat another man’s tale, one must rehearse it as it is told, every single word, no matter how roughly or broadly he speaks because otherwise the tale will be untrue, filled with invented words. With 30 pilgrims telling two tales each on their passage to Canterbury and two tales each on the return home, that totals to over a hundred tales. To recite these tales exactly as they were told is a near impossible promise- to fulfill it he must be writing notes of some sort, proving him to... Free Essays on The Canterbury Tales When four knights murdered Thomas a Becket under King Henry’s orders in the cathedral, many people began to believe that the clergymen were crooked. Chaucer, author of The Canterbury Tales, represents these sentiments that the medieval church is a corrupt institution that produces corrupt and untraditional individuals. Chaucer puts these feelings on display in the prologue as he mocks and satirizes the clergy members, which include the Nun, the Monk, and the Friar. The first character that Chaucer satirizes is the Nun. The Nun is described as a tender-hearted, pleasant woman, who is well-mannered. At the dinner table, she refuses to let a morsel fall off her lip and often weeps if she sees a mouse caught in a trap. On top of ridiculing these extreme actions, Chaucer states that the Nun wears â€Å"a set of beads, the gaudies tricked in green,† thus showing her fashionable ways. However, the Nun proves to be the anti-thesis of what a nun should be since being both fashionable and a nun is incongruous. The Monk, on the other hand, is described as a â€Å"manly man† as well as a â€Å"fat and personable priest.† The Monk enjoys the sports of hunting and riding horses, thus showing his masculine and fancy side. However, a typical monk in the middle ages dedicated his time to copying manuscripts in the monastery and rarely spent time doing outdoor activities. Unlike a traditional monk, this one is robust and ignores the vows that he has taken. The Friar also defies the traditional clergymen expectations as he proves to be resolutely immoral. At first, the Friar is described as â€Å"a wanton one and merry,† who is â€Å"glib with gallant phrase and well-turned speech.† However, the Friar, who is supposed to hear confessions, sells pardons for sin for a price, seduces women who ask for forgiveness and spends more time in the bar than helping the poor. Instead of being holy and trustworthy, he is portrayed by Chaucer as a greedy and flirtat...

The Decision Making Process

The Decision Making Process Free Online Research Papers Decision making is a process of making choices among alternative courses of action. Decision making process involves a cycle of activities and events that begin with identification of a problem and ends with the evaluation of implemented solutions. In this essay I will discus the steps in the decision making process that I have applied to a decision that I have already made in my life. In fact I have made numerous decisions in my life such as joining a tertiary institution, getting married at the age of 25, having a child, buying a car and buying a house as well. In this essay my focus will be on buying a house. The first step of identifying and defining the problem became very urgent because I was renting a house for $300 per month. I had been renting from year 2000 till year 2005. I spent about $21,600 in rent for 6 years! Therefore I had a discussion with my wife to buy a house since we were not in a position to migrate overseas in the near future with just a diploma in education. The money that we would spend on rent will be used to make down payments. Generating and evaluating possible solutions towards buying a house was the step that I had skipped since one of my uncles had already seen the house that I initiated to buy and my wife had already desperately wanted that particular house. So this effort to locate, clarify, and evaluate alternative solution did not make sense to me at that time. I think this was not the best possible solution. I will discus this later in this essay. In this step I chose the behavioural decision model. I acted on the assumptions on what I had perceived in the first place. This was the first satisfactory decision that came across my attention. I was imperfect in my decision making and I had only partial knowledge on the property that I was interested to invest in. To implement my decision I had to secure a loan. The total cost of my investment was $80,000. I borrowed from Fiji National Provident Fund from my housing eligibility which became my initial deposit to the bank and the rest was funded by Colonial National Bank at an interest rate of 6.99% per annum for the first year and thereafter on a flexible interest rate. This meant that I did not have to use a single cent from my personal savings. Thus to implement my decision on buying the house had no obstacles. Finally I bought the house. I had to make a down payment of $525 per month. Initially I had thought that I won’t have difficulty in committing for my loan repayments. Instead of $300(which I used for my rent while I was renting), I had to commit another $225. Carefully I calculated that I will end up with no savings if I continued with my payments. The following year the interest rate was also anticipated to increase. So I evaluated my decision and made another (two bedroom) flat adjacent to the existing building worth $10,000 (which was part of my personal savings). I went to stay in this flat. The front flat was given on rent for $500 per month. Finally my payments were back to normal. The insights that I have learnt as a decision maker are: 1.) The benefits of my financial decisions. I had long term capital growth. Full rents paid to my nominated bank account-this helps my cash flow. Short to medium terms-tax variations, tax minimisation and negative gearing-this helps legally reduce the tax I pay. 2.) The cost-benefit analyses regarding my financial decision Each time when we make decisions new insights will be developed and might weigh the criteria’s performance differently. This makes for ineffective decision making or decision making mistakes. This also complicates learning from the decisions we make, as the bases for judging the outcomes changes each time. My second step towards buying the house could have been done more thoroughly. In fact there is nothing wrong with the location of my house, but if I would have invested the same amount of money in Nadi or in Lautoka City, I would be earning more than double the amount of money as rental income. This would mean I would still have to rent though. I also did not do sound financial planning and risk management framework in the beginning. I must have structured my financial commitments to suit my lifestyle needs and objectives before making the decision to buy the house. This is due to the fluctuating interest rates since currently my down payment per month is $721. Further I must have consulted a professional advisor who should have been very independent regarding the decisions that I should have made. This would have sorted out: the location of my investment my daily/weekly/monthly financial commitments where to commit my finance from. (The only financial institution that I consulted was Colonial National Bank) Finally I would like to say that decisions must be made using a pre-defined decision making process and skilled decision analyses. They are based on the values and perceptions of the decision maker and include carefully considered alternatives (choices) and options along with periodic validation of the decision and its effects. Wise Decisions may or may not follow external influences and expectations. Sound decisions are right, based on what one knows at a given point in time. What I have observed, is that Good Decision making is not an accident. It is a repeatable process. Good decision makers take a systematic approach to their decision making. They know or understand what situation they need to resolve and why they need to resolve it. They eliminate distractions, anxiety, subjectivity, and individual bias from the process. They generally create multiple potential solution options from which to choose. They make their choices based upon relevant facts and information, not on partial or conflicting data. Research Papers on The Decision Making ProcessIncorporating Risk and Uncertainty Factor in CapitalMoral and Ethical Issues in Hiring New EmployeesThe Project Managment Office SystemBionic Assembly System: A New Concept of SelfThree Concepts of PsychodynamicResearch Process Part OneOpen Architechture a white paperStandardized TestingNever Been Kicked Out of a Place This NiceUnreasonable Searches and Seizures

One Road to Royalties

One Road to Royalties Breaking into the publishing business is quite the challenge. And new writers who follow the traditional route, soon discover that writing the book is far easier than capturing the attention of an agent, having a manuscript accepted, and then receiving royalties for their work. Having a track record of previous publications helps Magazines and small literary or academic journals are possible markets, and many pay for material, but just because theyre plentiful, doesnt make them easy to crack. After banging on the door of one online magazine for several months, I finally gained entry. After my first successful submission, they went on to publish several of my stories and nonfiction articles. This one breakthrough opened one more door, and when that online magazine accepted my work, I was able to add three additional published stories to my author

Managing the Personal Selling Function Assignment

Managing the Personal Selling Function - Assignment Example Marketing communication is a fundamental tool in any company that needs to satisfy their customer’s needs. It includes, advertising, packaging, personal selling and many more. In addition, marketing communication outlines the marketing communication concepts that include the positioning of a brand, the marketing message and how a company wants the consumers to view their brand. Â  Personal selling is a promotional method where a salesperson uses skills and techniques to build relationships with potential clients. This promotional method occurs through face-to-face meeting or through communication via the telephone that allows information to be conveyed. Personal selling involves finding new prospects where a sales person makes direct contact. A sales person needs to prepare adequately to meet a prospect buyer. In addition, they need to present their product in a manner that shows that they best understand their products. This is because, the clients might ask questions about the products, and the sales person should be able to address the clients concerns. Sales persons should be able to deal with obstacles put in their way by their clients. It is important to close a sale and this depends on the knowledge and skills of the sales person on how to close a deal. The sale persons should be strategic in convincing customers to buy a product (Hutt & Speh, 2007). Â  The sales management function is to facilitate activities that are involved in the movement of goods from the supplier to the customer.

Interpretive Analysis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Interpretive Analysis - Essay Example This essay aims to analyze and understand ‘The Mind’s Eye’ by Oliver Sacks. Moreover, the paper will also present a clear understanding through the different stories of blind people from the book regarding how blind people not only utilize their other senses in an enhanced way but also how they have managed to live a better life and compensate the losses. Dr. Sacks teaches neurology as a professor at the New York University, School of Medicine. His past collection of books is counted to be 10. All these books are case studies of his patients. The Mind’s Eye was published in 2010. In the Mind’s Eye, Sacks major emphasis is on the vision and the perception. Through the seven different case studies, Dr. Sacks has explains how our brain deals with the issue when someone gets blindness, either inborn or acquired. He explains how the brain works and how it makes sense of images that are present, working in a very multipurpose and plastic manner (Sacks 87). In the Mind’s Eye, Sacks has recalled work of various blind writers and authors who he has read or studied or dealt with. With the different case studies, he has described the feelings and experiences which each of the blind authors / writers have discussed in their writings or have shared with him as his patient. Moreover, Sacks has also interpreted that experience from his own perspective and suffering. Oliver Sacks has discussed author John Hull. He demonstrates how all those memories and images kept revolving around his mind and how he has regular attention of all those visions and memories in his mind after John lost his sense of vision. Sacks has emphasized on the role of the brain and how blind people from the case studies utilize other senses effectively. He learns how they adjust themselves with the help of their brains (Sacks). Oliver Sacks in Mind’s Eye has not only discussed the blind authors and writers. He has also talked about those who cannot read or s peak, but still have continued and managed to live their lives. He said all these writers have adopted a new technique to survive in the world by using their brains in a multi tasking manner. From the seven chapters of the book, five chapters discuss the vision and blindness, while the one deals with the incapability to write and speak (Sacks). In almost all case studies, the people that he discussed (writers, professionals, and musicians etc.) were not initially blind. However, they lost their sense of vision in their adulthood. In the third chapter of Mind’s Eye, Sacks has discussed a man who is a writer and a reader. He gradually started to lose his sense of vision. However, reading and writing was his life and he had never envisioned the life without it. Therefore, he did not give up and continued writing and reading with his tongue with the help of his brain (Sacks). Therefore, the chapter had special association with Sack himself as he himself was also the victim of the stereo vision. However, all the people who Sacks has discussed in the case studies had managed to see, read and write in one way or another, with the help of their brains and the images stored in it (Sacks). With all the anecdotal evidence and his personal experience, Sacks was able to come up with an idea or a thought that the people who have lost their sense

The control of legionnaires disease in water handling systems Essay

The control of legionnaires disease in water handling systems - Essay Example More than 90 per cent of the exposed persons become ill, but pneumonia does not take place and full improvement can be expected. Legionella bacteria are obviously dispersed in ponds, streams, lakes, rivers, soil, mud and underground water. In 1976, a conference held at the Bellevue-Stratford Hotel, more than 182 Legionnaires developed pneumonia and more than 29 people died from what was then an unidentified disease. Finally, the bacterium that was accountable for the disease was inaccessible and named Legionella pneumophila, and the disease related with it became known as Legionnaires disease. The cause of this particular bacterium was at last exposed to be the hotels ventilation and humidification system. Under favorable circumstances, Legionella bacteria may build up in cooling towers, evaporative condensers, hot water systems, spas and humidifiers. The quick expansion of Legionella pneumophila is supported by a wet, warm atmosphere, stagnation or low water return, high microbial attentiveness including algae, amoebae, slime and other bacteria, existence of biofilm, scale, sediment, sludge, corrosion products, existence of certain materials such as natural rubber fittings which may be a nutrient cause. Legionnaires’ disease is generally passed on when aerosol mists holding high attentiveness of Legionella bacteria are gulped into the lungs. Drinking water and washing in water having small numbers of Legionella is not acknowledged to result in infection. Person-to-person diffusion is also not acknowledged to occur. Sporadic and epidemic types of Legionnaires disease take place in Australia. Legionella infections are thought to account for 5-20% of community-acquired pneumonias. Occurrences in Australia are usually related with man-made water systems as well as water-cooling towers and spa baths. Home and institutional warm water systems are prospective causes of Legionella infectivity but are only infrequently implicated

The history, current status, and adoption implications of a Financial Coursework

The history, current status, and adoption implications of a Financial Accounting Standards Board ongoing project - Coursework Example Some of the key provisions of the ongoing FASB project include a requirement for entities to prepare their financial statements using liquidation basis of accounting when a liquidation plan has been approved with relevant authorities as well as when a liquidation plan has been imposed by other forces and there is less likelihood that the entity will successfully return from liquidation (North and Wagenen, 2013). On the other hand, the ongoing project seeks to change the financial statement form for entities using the liquidation basis of accounting into a statement of changes in the liquidation net assets. Lastly, the project also require full disclosure of an entity’s liquidation plan, assumptions used in measuring the assets and liabilities, the intended methods, amount of income and costs accrued as well as the expected duration of the liquidation process. This paper describes the FASB’s liquidation basis of accounting project, its history as well as the current stat us of the project. History and background of the Project The history of the current liquidation basis of accounting project began in 1984 when the Financial Accounting Standards Board released Financial Report Survey by AICPA and illustration of Accounting for Enterprises in Unusual Circumstances and Reporting. In fact, this involved a survey conducted on enterprises, which were reorganized or liquidating. The survey focused on offering a brief review of literatures concerning liquidating and reorganized enterprises. Later in 2007, a there was establishment of a project to this agenda by FASB, aimed at dealing with issues regarding liquidation basis of accounting (AIRA, 2012). Additionally, the project was becoming immediate due to the ongoing concern and the effort by FASB to incorporate AICPA’s Codification of Statements on Auditing Standards AU Section 341. In 2008, FASB offers a draft to establish considerations going concern, and later in 2009, adoption of Accounting Sta ndards Codification contributed through authoritative guidance on ways to deal with constitutes liquidation basis accounting (AIRA, 2012). In July 2012, FASB issued a draft of their proposed accounting standards update titled the Liquidation Basis of Accounting to the Accounting Standards Codification (ASC). Prior to the adoption of the project, ASC, the GAAP used to provide very little guidance regarding what is constituting liquidation basis of accounting as well as how the basis of accounting should be applied to any given entity. The added project to FASB agenda was primarily designed to address both the liquidation basis accounting and going concern issues. Current Status Currently, FASB is making preparations in the project to establish ways of communicating effectively to stakeholders on issues regarding standards-setting activities. They are also making necessary project plans by listing the agendas of the project, thereby making estimates of publication dates by the end of 2013 (North and Wagenen, 2013). FASB is making deterring comments to be made of anticipated period of closure in the next four quarters. They are also holding roundtable meeting and making plans to hold other public forums. Moreover, they are setting standards based on establishment of due process on the procedures, which entail extensive consultation. The project plan is focused on facilitating change due to consultation or other reasons.

INTRODUCTION TO LAW Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

INTRODUCTION TO LAW - Essay Example There should not be any further assumption in a trial and judgment process. Rather it is supposed to take for granted in addition to supporting previous resolution, whether by resolution or some summary means. This should not be exclusively left to judges, without being backed up by legal rules to advocate that the best way to settle dispute is to opt out of the trial process into alternative depute resolution. Opposing parties should not be left to themselves. It therefore becomes urgent of the legal system to effectuate a means through which any settlement will be achieved at its maximum. This will to a greater extent, reduce the amount of trials. The second assumption upholds the view that the most effective way of settling a dispute is by permitting the opposing parties to go to court. If therefore a trial has to be set into motion, there should be a traditionally adversarial method in which all opposing parties are given equal opportunities with regards to establishment of facts , discovery of evidence and production of witnesses. If this is effective, the trial process will not be wanting of a fundamental principle of fair hearing, although opposing parties may have unequally bargaining powers. The truth is that authenticity of facts or opinion will be distorted and parties will bear enormous costs where bargaining powers of litigants are not at par. There is need for reform. But reform should be more feasible moving from an adversarial to inquisitorial system because this will â€Å"alter lawyers’ conduct within the existing system, a task which†¦is less productive and more difficult than changing the system†1. It is thought of that changing the existing conduct of lawyers will mean that there will be an ascendant of more settlements. Should this be a problem? It may be impossible to completely cause trials to vanish. But it is true that the rates at which trials are brought to court will gradually diminish. Remember that litigants will be more aware of the benefits over which settlement has over trials. Therefore, settlement out of court should not be discounted by the courts. The court should egg on litigant to settle their disputes out of court. This will even be more effective when there is disclosure of facts earlier to the settlement. Remember that settlement without earlier disclosure of important facts will render the settlement unfair. 02 How do you think moving to an inquisitorial system would address some of the criticism raised by the author? The criticism raised by the author relates to disclosure in of evidence and eventual cost of litigation. To begin with, the adversarial method is a method which affords the parties and the counsels a great deal of absolute control over the manner in which facts and opinions are collected and tendered. Maybe, the best way to understand the adversarial method is by reference to what transpired in Whitehouse v. Jordan2. Civil litigation is without doubt, a classic il lustration of the adversarial system. The process calls for neutrality between all parties to the case. Keep in mind that neither side of the opposing camp is obliged to make known more of its evidence before the trial than the other side. It is however, the plaintiff who bears the greatest burden of proof and this is on the balance of probabilities. Remember that this is a standard which is of no benefit to all parties. The character of the inquisitorial method is found in the

Medical Marijuana Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Medical Marijuana - Essay Example The medical use of marijuana by human beings was first time registered in the Chinese pharmacopoeia in 2727 BC. It was allowed to usage in the U.S until the federal government prohibited it by the Marijuana Tax Act of 1937. In the 1970th The Controlled Substance Act established five categories of schedules depending on the danger of the drug. Marijuana was put in the 1st Schedule, to the drugs with the high potential for abuse. It was said to be a drug with "no currently accepted medical use in treatment in the United States." (Mathre, 1997) Humans have been using marijuana for thousands of years already as an antidepressant, a pain killer, a medicine against the nausea, and just for fun. Despite of the fact that cannabis was forbidden in the U.S in thirtieth, people have been smoking till the present moment. Of course, all of that enormous market is illegal now; the government doesn't get a cent from this business. Those, who use cannabis are under the threat of being caught and accused of drug abuse by the police, but it doesn't stop them from smoking. Doctors now say that cannabis makes less harm than nicotine does. Thus, it's obvious that marijuana should be legalized, just to let the government control its use, prevent abuse, and get taxes from those who run this business. Cannabis is considered to occupy the fourth place in the list of drugs most often used in the U.S and Europe, outrun only by alcohol, caffeine and nicotine. Thus, cannabis is mostly seen as a recreational drug, despite of the proved medical efficiency it has. Scientists prove that in discussions of the use of cannabis one of the biggest problems over the past few years has been the difficulty in separating the debate on the recreational use from that on the therapeutic use. (Groman, 1997). This is one of the main reasons for which the debates led on the medical use of cannabis in the U.S are so severe. Numerous opinions exist about the effect of cannabis on human's health, and about the consequences of its legalization. The supporters of marijuana legalization for medical purposes prove that it helps to reduce unwanted symptoms of migraines, glaucoma, AIDS, depression and many other conditions. In the same time, the opponents point that marijuana is suspected to cause mental illnesses and induce addiction. Nevertheless, numerous researches exist that prove the effectiveness of using cannabis for treating the illnesses listed. Smoking marijuana really relives the symptoms of various conditions, including even the nausea in pregnant woman. (Mathre, 1997). It's obvious that lots of people still buy marijuana to relieve the symptoms of their diseases despite of the existing laws. So, it would be logical to legalize cannabis for medical purposes, as it's helpful and people still use it regardless of the fact it's forbidden. Let's also recall that cannabis is one of the leaders of the list of drugs used by Americans. The current research displayed, that 70 millions of Americans have tried marijuana (Dale, 2004). So it would be unfair to refuse the sick people the thing that healthy ones use frequently. The supporters of legalization of

INTRODUCTION TO LAW Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

INTRODUCTION TO LAW - Essay Example There should not be any further assumption in a trial and judgment process. Rather it is supposed to take for granted in addition to supporting previous resolution, whether by resolution or some summary means. This should not be exclusively left to judges, without being backed up by legal rules to advocate that the best way to settle dispute is to opt out of the trial process into alternative depute resolution. Opposing parties should not be left to themselves. It therefore becomes urgent of the legal system to effectuate a means through which any settlement will be achieved at its maximum. This will to a greater extent, reduce the amount of trials. The second assumption upholds the view that the most effective way of settling a dispute is by permitting the opposing parties to go to court. If therefore a trial has to be set into motion, there should be a traditionally adversarial method in which all opposing parties are given equal opportunities with regards to establishment of facts , discovery of evidence and production of witnesses. If this is effective, the trial process will not be wanting of a fundamental principle of fair hearing, although opposing parties may have unequally bargaining powers. The truth is that authenticity of facts or opinion will be distorted and parties will bear enormous costs where bargaining powers of litigants are not at par. There is need for reform. But reform should be more feasible moving from an adversarial to inquisitorial system because this will â€Å"alter lawyers’ conduct within the existing system, a task which†¦is less productive and more difficult than changing the system†1. It is thought of that changing the existing conduct of lawyers will mean that there will be an ascendant of more settlements. Should this be a problem? It may be impossible to completely cause trials to vanish. But it is true that the rates at which trials are brought to court will gradually diminish. Remember that litigants will be more aware of the benefits over which settlement has over trials. Therefore, settlement out of court should not be discounted by the courts. The court should egg on litigant to settle their disputes out of court. This will even be more effective when there is disclosure of facts earlier to the settlement. Remember that settlement without earlier disclosure of important facts will render the settlement unfair. 02 How do you think moving to an inquisitorial system would address some of the criticism raised by the author? The criticism raised by the author relates to disclosure in of evidence and eventual cost of litigation. To begin with, the adversarial method is a method which affords the parties and the counsels a great deal of absolute control over the manner in which facts and opinions are collected and tendered. Maybe, the best way to understand the adversarial method is by reference to what transpired in Whitehouse v. Jordan2. Civil litigation is without doubt, a classic il lustration of the adversarial system. The process calls for neutrality between all parties to the case. Keep in mind that neither side of the opposing camp is obliged to make known more of its evidence before the trial than the other side. It is however, the plaintiff who bears the greatest burden of proof and this is on the balance of probabilities. Remember that this is a standard which is of no benefit to all parties. The character of the inquisitorial method is found in the

A critical overview on Innovation and knowledge processes Essay

A critical overview on Innovation and knowledge processes - Essay Example Lately, knowledge processes have been identified as an integral input towards innovation dynamics. The following is a discussion on how knowledge management influences the innovation dynamics. The gurus of the subject proclaim knowledge management as a provider of strong roots for higher efficacy level in innovation dynamics. In particular with the ever rapidly changing dynamic and competitive markets that exist today, Dalkir (2005) states that the businesses have to look forward for technological advancements, embedded with experiences of the past ‘grey-hair’ individuals, holding experience of decades. The innovation dynamics existing today in the present century are bound to affect the current business outlook, and some of the most influential factors are as follows: Therefore, it can be safely assumed that technology would have a significant impact on the way managers in the future entertain a situation. Innovation does not apply to the product but to the processes as well; many a times an innovative move in the process gives a big boost to the product features and entitlements. Innovation, at its grass roots is supported by knowledge management, and its description is discussed as follows. In accordance with the Harvard Business Review (1998), knowledge really defines the basis of innovation, leading in turn towards developing a competitive advantage, which is critical for sustainability in the markets. As illustrated from experiences and extracted from various literature, for survival and sustainability in a cut throat competition that exists today, it is critical for a firm to develop a competitive advantage; though one would really want this to be un-replicable but today due to the existing advances in technology, spying and other advancements, it is not possible to retain a competitive advantage for a longer period of time – technologies and

Organisational Structure Of The Ikea Company Commerce Essay

Organisational Structure Of The Ikea Company Commerce Essay Ingvar Kamprad, the founder of IKEA, as a child, started a profitable business selling matches to neighbours on his bicycle. In 1943, at just 17 using money he received as a gift from his father for doing well in school he formed IKEA which is an acronym made up of his initials and the first letters of Elmtaryd and Agunnaryd, the farm and village in Sweden where he grew up. In 1947, furniture was introduced for the first time in IKEAs product line in the form of armchairs. Local craftsmen made the furniture using wood from a nearby forest. IKEAs furniture became very popular and the line was extended to include more products. Its interesting at this point in the companies history because Kamprad was based in a very poor area of Sweden, and because of this, the people were naturally frugal and highly resourceful, in other words they had to maximise and be inventive with the limited resources available to themThe author believes that this is the setting and cornerstone for all of IKEAs subsequent success. IKEAs vision was To create a better everyday life for the many people. According to Ingvar Kamprad, the founder of Ikea; To design a desk which may cost $1,000 is easy for a furniture designer, but to design a functional and good desk which shall cost $50 can only be done by the very best. Expensive solutions to all kinds of problems are often signs of mediocrity. (Chandler, 1993: 12) Ikeas success is based on the relatively simple idea of keeping the cost between manufacturers and customers down. Costs are kept under control starting at the design level of the value-added chain. Following on from this the culture of the company emphasizes efficiency and low cost, which cannot be achieved at the expense of quality or service. Bureaucracy is fought at all levels in the organization. Kamprad believes that simplicity and common sense should characterize planning and strategic direction (Bartlett et Al, 1993: 78). Bartlett C.A. Ghoshal S. (1993) Transnational Management. Irwin Publishers Boston Massachusetts Symbolic policies, such as only flying economy class and staying at economical hotels, employing young executives and sponsoring university programs have made cost part of corporate culture and have further inspired the influx of entrepreneurship into the organization. Despite his vast wealth it is reported he used to only drive an eleven-year-old modest Volvo. By 1951, furniture sales dominated his sales inventory and he decided to specialize exclusively in low priced furniture. The author recognises here that he is playing to his market strengths and again this is a further cornerstone of his subsequent success. In the same year, the first IKEA furniture catalogue was published. IKEA opened its first furniture showroom in 1953, which allowed customers to check the quality and use the items they were buying. The author recognises that any company that is prepared to allow customers to use its products before buying them will likely ensure that the quality of the product is if anything substantially above its utility specification. People also like to handle and view a potential product before purchase, which is part of the reason, that ecommerce will always take on limited success. Today IKEA is actually a privately held company owned by Stichting INGKA Foundation, a non-profit registered in Leiden in the Netherlands that is controlled by the Kamprads three sons. The Dutch foundation is worth US$36 billion in 2006. IKEA Group with its headquarters in Denmark, is a multinational operator of a chain of stores for home furnishing and furniture. It is the worlds largest furniture retailer with a reputation for low cost, style and design. IKEAs annual home furnishing sales are 20 billion euros with more than 260 IKEA Group stores in 25 countries (Ohlsson, 2010). IKEA has about 40 distribution centres worldwide in 16 different countries, and implemented the automated Astro warehouse management system in 2005 (2005) in 15 of their Distribution Centres (DC) and Customer Distribution Centres (CDC). IKEA has approximately 1,220 suppliers from 55 different countries split more or less evenly between Europe and Asia, the top five of which are China 20%, Poland 18%, Italy 8%, Germany 6% and Sweden 5%. The company holds 3.5m stock keep units, with 10000 different product types amongst them, 10% of which are new every year. It is also a major global employer with 125000 employees in 40 different countries. Human resources The companys ethos was quite Christian in its values-their philosophy was to treat others as one would like to be treated oneself and their belief is akin to that shown by Japanese companies to their workers today that is to increase commitment and hence productivity from staff, one has to provide them with the belief of belonging to the company. For instance, all design teams enjoy complete autonomy in their work, but are expected to design new appealing products regularly. Ikeas employment philosophy is widely welcomed in the USA where historically moral amongst staff and working conditions and benefits are poor in the retail sector. This accounted for the fact that the sector had one of the highest turnover rates of all industries. Consequently, it also suffers from high human resource (HR) costs, as companies have to recruit and train replacements at frequent intervals. Definition: Management Information Systems (MIS) is the term given to the discipline focused on the integration of computer systems with the aims and objectives on an organisation. Information systems can be broadly divided into operational level for transaction processing, knowledge level for knowledge and office management, management level for decision and intelligent support and strategic level for executive support. The information systems support an information value chain for both business process-supply chain, enterprise, customer and knowledge management and management activities-planning, co-ordinating, controlling and modelling. Ultimately all the systems process data and provide feedback and for executive support for decision making planning, monitoring and implementation of strategy and the general workforce. Definition of an organisation -a stable formal structure that takes resources from the environment and processes them to produce outputs. An organisation can be said to be a formal structure with a standard operating procedure, politics and culture. Environmental factors affect their outputs -these maybe resources, government, competitors, financial, institutional culture, technology. Impact of information systems is seen in terms of a microeconomic model, transaction cost model, agency theory and behavioral theory. sociotechnical systems, redefining boundaries, recognising work flows, flattening, electronic market. Diagram Organisation Information technology mediating factors -environment culture structure standard procedures politics management decisions chance Information systems Information systems relate to the way in which Ikea is organized, its management and its technical layout. Information systems do not just consist of information technology (IT) and information transfer systems-the technical requirements should act as an adjunct to the business strategies of the enterprise rather than being a hostage to its fortune. Often business strategy requires the execution of complex processes of control and automation and the ability to quickly analyze and react to relevant data, not in an uncontrolled firefighting or reactive manner but with anticipation and forward planning based on likely demand and external changes in the business environment. Diagram showing interdependence between Business strategy, software, hardware, data management, telecommunications Organisational framework The problem is that in complex business organizations SBUs tend to design their information management needs according to their best interests rather than to the interest of the enterprise as a whole. This is termed the silo affect. To survive in an every more competitive environment, management must be strong enough to ensure that their strategy is implemented in the execution of cross-functional business processes and that information can be managed and shared across spatial, functional, geographic and segmental boundaries. Stakeholders interests e.g.are often ignored at the expense of damaging other parts of the supply chain, and the chain weakens. This maybe for several reasons, particularly because corporations are often intimidated by the thought of sharing competitive information with their suppliers. Their information security facilities often prohibits suppliers from gaining advantage by withholding from them key information e.g. manufacturing processes can benefit from effi cient production through accessing a real-time demand system. Companies therefore face a dilemma-do they share information to the extent that it allows their potential competitors access to their market information or do they with-hold information and become less competitive. In the end and on balance, a closeted attitude becomes self-defeating and exposes them to the risk of a more aggressive competitor. Ikea does not actually manufacture products, however it plays a very large design and innovative role in their production. By outsourcing manufacturing they can retain a competitive advantage -if one company fails to provide product as specified they will find another company that can and they do not suffer from set-up costs and ultimately ROI costs. One can immediately see the main problems relating to information management for IKEA. None more so than with a company whose strategy demands supply from a worldwide network and delivery to a worldwide customer base. One can easily understand that where there is a disparate group of suppliers, co-ordination between various supplier and DC is critical. A range of kitchen products e.g.may be produced by different manufacturers who have different supply times, manufacturing ability, geographical location, delivery times etc. On one hand one does not want idle inventory stock as this costs money, on the other one wants to ensure a constant supply which can meet fluctuations in demand-otherwise customers will become frustrated and will purchase elsewhere. In addition customer demand may vary between geographical location e.g. a country maybe has mainly city based stores where there would naturally be higher demand e.g. for space saving furniture which may be manufacturered in a country r ound the other side of the world. Ikea faces huge logistical problems, particularly as their ethos is to supply medium range quality product at low price. Supply planning is key to this strategy. One needs in this situation to forecast across the whole company and to organise its distribution centres into groups and hold one lot of a float of stock for a number of DCs. The capacity and geographical location of the CDCs become crucial to the companies strategic planning. Clearly a high capacity geographically distant CDC or a low capacity near CDC have redundancy issues because of the volume of product they hold and there impact on delivery time. Technology At operation level, Astro WMS (Group, 2010) is a modular WMS that IKEA adopted in 2010 and increases and improves efficiency in their distribution centre. Astro simplifies and streamlines the work process to provide total control of warehouse management with full tractability, accuracy, and on-line planning. In order to optimise capacity, handling equipment and storage spaces must be fully utilized. Astro is an automated warehouse management system that allows for ordering fulfilment automatically so reducing manual cost with automated re-ordering purchase orders being sent to suppliers when stock levels are low. Fully automatic double-aisle cranes from LTW Doppelmayr operate without any manual input as if robots have taken over the world leaving man redundant. In IKEA DC in New Jersey USA is running Astro WMS at full capacity with 175 warehouse employees. Ed Morris, Operations Manager at the site comments, We have seen that we are already back to picking 4,500 customer order lines per day and able to ship 34 trailers to the stores by the end of week one. I am confident that we will be exceeding our previous daily expectations in the very near future. Through the partnership we have built with the Consafe team, I am sure that both sides will take things away from this project and use them in the future. I really believe that this cutover was a success for both IKEA and Consafe. There will be space for 70.000 pallets in the 2 conventional modules and 100.000 pallets in the high-rack system. The warehouse capacity will be 270.000 pallets and therefore the largest IKEA Distribution Centre in the world. Taking a product to market involves many steps and information management is crucial to the products success. Ikea often designs and develops products from their inception to market. In order to do this they work from CAD drawings and have prototype machines model real products from their design drawings. But product manufacturing is more involved than just prototype production and testing. One must consider material source and process cost with the manufacturer as well as packaging development. IKEA is famous for its flat packs that were designed not just to fit into the customers car easily, but are mainly designed to maximize use of space during transport and warehousing so reducing costs storage and handling costs to a minimum. (Economist, 1994: 101). IKEA realized early on that space is often redundant during storage or transportation, yet costs money regardless of whether it is utilized or not. Hence the idea of a flat pack where storage and transport demand can be anticipated easily and utilized efficiently. In addition products have to market researched and tested and there has to be careful consideration in rollout, forecasting and financials. Neglecting one of these areas can cause immense damage to the company as a whole e.g. if a product reaches the shelf which is faulty may damage the brand of the company e.g. if the manufacturing process is too costly to set up it can place borrowing costs and liquidity capital under significant strain. The product must also be indexed, catalogued, labeled and displayed correctly. All of these represent part of the supply process, all of them require huge information analysis and appropriate information transfer. Order planning is therefore crucial to their operation and differences between expected demand and supply will affect their bottom line. In 2005 realising that these issues were becoming critical, the company decided to use an SAP based demand-planning tool solution with Manugistics and their goal was to reduce inventory levels in distribution centres by at least 10%. In its deployment the software must be able to identify critical resources such as people, equipment, storage, suppliers, finances, and be able to forecast with reasonable accuracy supply and demand fluctuations. Diagram-Forecast, stock, orders, material resource planning, requisition, quality, invoice, payment, structure of DC, CDC manufacturers. Production manager and finance officer. Management issues In modern corporate culture constant improvement has become a leading concept, and the technology has to keep up. Therefore the system needs to be flexible and adaptive, i.e. they need to be able to adapt changes in the flow. The limits of this flexibility are set at an early stage, by the choice of system and provider/supplier. As the company has such a vast range of stock there is also a tendency to be production-oriented, rather than customer focused which has made its supply chain more push than pull which naturally creates a supply-demand imbalance. The Supply Chain Council is an independent group of international supply chain industry executives and experts who developed the Supply Chain Operations Reference (SCOR) Model over a ten-year period using in-depth industry research and analysis. The models however are often based on forecasts and on theories, which are exact in them selves, but whose results maybe incorrect. The reason is that they require great quantities of data that are hard to gather and have to be estimated and calculations often have to be carried out for entire batches. One such example is the Wilson formula. The Wilson Formula The Wilson formula is a traditional method for determining production quantity where the total consumption during a period of time is known. The formula assumes that the only costs entailed are a warehousing cost per stock keeping unit and a one-time cost every time an order is placed, known as administrative re-ordering costs. The formula tries to find an optimal balance between the two costs to minimize the total cost, which is known as the economic order quantity (EOQ). In order for the Wilson formula to work, a number of conditions have to be met: Demand is constant and continuous The lead time for receiving ordered goods is constant Administrative re-ordering costs and warehousing costs are constant The order quantity does not need to be expressed as an integer The entire order quantity is delivered to the warehouse on the same occasion No shortages allowed The price/cost is independent of time requirements and ordered quantity Goods handling is ignored which is often a considerable cost e.g. the value of the article is often not proportional to the handling cost of the good. The administrative re-ordering cost is hard to determine. Price and demand also varies over time making judgement obsolete. Management by Objectives Ikea uses Opportunity Analyzer, which makes use of the Supply Chain Operations Reference (SCOR) Model. Best practices and key performance indicators are embedded in Opportunity Analyzer Management. Opportunity Analyzer recognizes important key performance indicators (KPIs) e.g. delivery performance. While MIS systems are extremely useful in generating statistical reports and data analysis they can also be of use as a Management by Objectives (MBO) tool. MBO is a management process by which managers and subordinates agree upon a series of objectives for the subordinate to attempt to achieve within a set time frame. Objectives are set using the SMART ratio: that is, objectives should be Specific, Measurable, Agreed, Realistic and Time-Specific. The success of any MBO objective depends upon the continuous tracking of progress. In tracking this performance it can be extremely useful to make use of an MIS system. Since all SMART objectives are by definition measurable they can be tracked through the generation of management reports to be analysed by decision-makers. http://www.supply-chain.org/resources/scormark/tutorial SCOR considers management processes and planning. Ikea has such a large range of products that one has to be able to benchmark supply chains against products in order to best assess the most profitable items. SCOR takes product and cross references them individually against customer sub-type then groups similar supply chain characteristics. It then applies performance matrices-those of agility, responsiveness, cost, assets and reliability and scores each group of supply chains accordingly creating a ranking of supply chains. The advantages are obvious in that the more efficient supply chains can be more heavily relied upon, to create profit, the weaker ones losing out from future reliance. However, the disadvantage is that supply chains may cut across market segments and unifying groups by supply chain efficiency rather than by market segment may destroy market uniformity. The executive team can select a relevant KPI for the particular target area. Today, companies connect into networks or chains, increasing the flow rate throughout the supply chain to satisfy an ever more demanding customer. Increased power is given over to the vendor to keep stock at the desired level. http://www.jda.com/company/display-collateral.html?did=636dcid=1 The demand supply chain software must also be able to provide key metrics in areas where demand exceeds supply and available capacity. This will improve order fill rates and network utilization and will free working capital tied to ineffective inventory. However, understanding the supply demand chain in its practical execution is not all that is required. The product, must also align with its financial evaluation in an integrated business plan. It must be able to identify any performance concerns and gaps at the lowest practical level across the strategic/business plans. The software must become a forecasting tool and be able to perform a what if scenario for management to make best estimate prediction on future capacity demands. It must be able to relate assumptions, risks and opportunities to specific hierarchy levels in the SOP plan. These are decision support systems. Like all good army strategy there must be a backup plan when all goes wrong with practical and well-worked altern atives e.g. its no good having a back up generator if its not properly serviced regularly. The information tool must also be able to track changes over time and carry out real-time review analysis of supply and highlight areas where inventory positions violate pre-defined tolerances. It must also be able to highlight critical resource constraints related to material, labor and other capacity variables. Clearly there is a position that optimizes resources, distribution, transportation, stock inventory, production and materials. http://www.allbusiness.com/company-activities-management/operations-supply/10574219-1.html Recommendations IKEA is undoubtedly a highly successful global firm. Like all firms they must ensure competitive advantage. In information transfer terms they have problems relating to the fact that their suppliers are multiple and demand can vary. It may be better for them to consider horizontal back integration and begin to act as suppliers to ensure consistant information flow-from factory to customer. They will undoubtedly sometime soon saturate their market and further market expansion may not be possible. They must look toward expansion elsewhere either by parallel related market considerations e.g. home or commercial furnishing design or by backward horizontal integration. Both would be ideal targets for integrated information design providing the company with synergistic information value and ultimately increasing their information value chain.

Historical Background To Animal Farm :: Animal Farm Essays

Karl Marx was a German scholar who lived in the nineteenth century. He spent most of his life studying, thinking and writing about history and economics. A many years of study, much of it spent in England, he believed that he understood more deeply than anyone who had ever lived before him why there is injustice in the world.He said that all injustice and inequality is a result of one underlying conflict in society. He called it a 'class struggle', that is, a conflict bet the class of people who can afford to own money- producing businesses, whom he called 'capitalists' or 'the bourgeosie', and the class of people who do not surplus money to buy businesses and who are therefore forced to work for wage whom he called 'workers'.Marx said that, because it was always in the economic interest of capita to take advantage of or 'exploit' workers, nothing could persuade capitalists change their ways. In other words, peaceful progess toward equality and socia justice was impossible. The only way to establish justice, he said, was for t workers to overthrow the capitalists by means of violent revolution. He urged workers around the world to revolt against their rulers. "Workers of the worl unite!" he wrote. "You have nothing to lose but your chains."Another thing Marx taught was that organized religion, the churches, help capitalists to keep the workers quiet and obedient. Religion, according to Mar 'the opiate of the masses'. The church tells working people to forget about th injustice they meet in their lives and to think instead of how wonderful it wi in the after- life when they go to heaven.Marx, with his colleague, Engels, spread his ideas in two famous books, Capital' and 'The Communist Manifesto'.In the early years of the twentieth century, Russia was ready for the ide Marx. The Russian people were extremely discontented with their ruler, Tsar Nicholas II, who had little interest in governing and was neglecting the count badly. Making conditions even more miserable for the people were the hardships the First World War and a particularly cold winter.By 1917, the Russian people were desperate enough to accept a revolution. fact, they got two for the price of one, the first in March when the Tsar was deposed and a provisional government was set up. Then in November a political called the Bolsheviks led a further rebellion which ousted the provisional government.

The Childhood Obesity Epidemic in the United States :: Obesity in Children

There is an alarming rise in childhood obesity throughout the United States, making it an epidemic in our country. Obesity has become a threat to the health of many children. Childhood obesity has more than doubled in children and quadrupled in adolescents in the past 30 years. The percentage of children aged 6–11 years in the United States who were obese increased from 7% in 1980 to nearly 18% in 2012. Similarly, the percentage of adolescents aged 12–19 years who were obese increased from 5% to nearly 21% over the same period.(Childhood Obesity Facts, 2015) What is Obesity? Obesity is defined by Webster’s dictionary as increase body weight due to excessive accumulation of body fat. It is a condition or disease in which the â€Å"the natural energy reserve of humans or mammals, which is stored in fat tissue, is expanded far beyond usual levels to the point where it impairs health.† Obesity is most often measured by using the BMI (body mass index). BMI is calculated by dividing the weight in kilograms by the height squared in meters. A desirable BMI for children to sustain a healthy life is between 18.5 and 25. A child with a BMI over 25.0 kg/m 2 is considered overweight. A BMI over 30.0kg/m 2 is considered obese, and a BMI over 40 is morbid obesity. â€Å"An estimated 80% of overweight adolescents continue to be obese into adulthood, so the implications of childhood obesity on the nation’s health are huge†. (Survey on childhood obesity, 2014). Obesity is a chronic condition that develops as a result of genetic, behavioral and environmental factors. Causes of Childhood Obesity There are many factors that may influence the occurrence of obesity in children. These factors can be broad and may vary depending on the individual child. Research has shown the impact genetics has had on the development of obesity in children as well as unhealthy home environments. Other external factors may include the education system and the food industry, because of their promotion of unhealthy eating habits and physical inactivity in children. The Role of Genetics: Genetics can play a huge role in the development of obesity in children. Studies have shown that obesity can be inherited. A child’s chances of being overweight or obese are increased by 25 percent if their parents are overweight or obese. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2015) states that â€Å"the latest study from Stanford University has found that having overweight parents is the biggest risk factor for childhood obesity†(para 1). The Childhood Obesity Epidemic in the United States :: Obesity in Children There is an alarming rise in childhood obesity throughout the United States, making it an epidemic in our country. Obesity has become a threat to the health of many children. Childhood obesity has more than doubled in children and quadrupled in adolescents in the past 30 years. The percentage of children aged 6–11 years in the United States who were obese increased from 7% in 1980 to nearly 18% in 2012. Similarly, the percentage of adolescents aged 12–19 years who were obese increased from 5% to nearly 21% over the same period.(Childhood Obesity Facts, 2015) What is Obesity? Obesity is defined by Webster’s dictionary as increase body weight due to excessive accumulation of body fat. It is a condition or disease in which the â€Å"the natural energy reserve of humans or mammals, which is stored in fat tissue, is expanded far beyond usual levels to the point where it impairs health.† Obesity is most often measured by using the BMI (body mass index). BMI is calculated by dividing the weight in kilograms by the height squared in meters. A desirable BMI for children to sustain a healthy life is between 18.5 and 25. A child with a BMI over 25.0 kg/m 2 is considered overweight. A BMI over 30.0kg/m 2 is considered obese, and a BMI over 40 is morbid obesity. â€Å"An estimated 80% of overweight adolescents continue to be obese into adulthood, so the implications of childhood obesity on the nation’s health are huge†. (Survey on childhood obesity, 2014). Obesity is a chronic condition that develops as a result of genetic, behavioral and environmental factors. Causes of Childhood Obesity There are many factors that may influence the occurrence of obesity in children. These factors can be broad and may vary depending on the individual child. Research has shown the impact genetics has had on the development of obesity in children as well as unhealthy home environments. Other external factors may include the education system and the food industry, because of their promotion of unhealthy eating habits and physical inactivity in children. The Role of Genetics: Genetics can play a huge role in the development of obesity in children. Studies have shown that obesity can be inherited. A child’s chances of being overweight or obese are increased by 25 percent if their parents are overweight or obese. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2015) states that â€Å"the latest study from Stanford University has found that having overweight parents is the biggest risk factor for childhood obesity†(para 1).

Philosophy of Richard Rorty Essay

In his philosophy as ‘edifying’ Rorty is at the midst of explaining the conceptual framework of the nature of philosophy in the past, present as well as the future. According to him, his philosophical framework comprises of editing the works and other philosophical conceptual thoughts. He thinks that, what other philosophers talk about philosophy in the ancient times, the modern and the future are unworthy and needs pragmatic changes to adequately meet philosophical reasoning.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   However, in his philosophizing capacity, he has met various opposition from the community. They term his philosophy as unpalatable and without full exploration to the authentic nature of philosophical thoughts. Elsewhere, they accuse his philosophical thought as implausible with pragmatic thought, unclear, unconvincing and with full of misappropriation. However, a portion of the population argues that such philosophy is humanly liberating with profound image of exhilaration. According to his proposes, his philosophy provides a conception of changing imagery of the critique of philosophy in the real worldview. Since his philosophy comprehends challenge to the works of great thinkers, it would be illogical to undermine at a close range of his activity. Elsewhere, he made a fast sensibility and also formal response the cultural biography of philosophical adventures with the pragmatic world and   his system of philosophizing which comprise of finding, naming and/or creating new hypothetical philosophical literature is perhaps the best way to gain and create philosophical knowledge. (http://www.crvp.org/book/Series03/III-13/chapter_x.htm) However, his philosophical sense is illusionary and incoherent to the factual knowledge search. His attack to the philosophical literatures is based on fallacious context which is only aimed at bringing personal tribute to the broad society. In my personal capacity, I think Richard is out of philosophical senses to edify the coherent philosophical biographies which have done a lot to shadow down global dogmatism. His edifying activity is only made to retract the accuracy of philosophical teachings from its liberal coherency.   (http://www.crvp.org/book/Series03/III-13/chapter_x.htm) Reference Rorty: From Philosophy To Post-Philosophy. Retrieved on 10th March 2008, from   http://www.crvp.org/book/Series03/III-13/chapter_x.htm

360-Degree Performance Reviews Provide Greater Feedback in Healthcare

Abstract Healthcare organizations have a unique set of challenges, particularly when it comes to measuring performance and understanding development needs. Some are strong at measuring clinical or functional skills. Yet few are equally adept at assessing the non-clinical skills that are so important to overall success in a healthcare organization. 360-degree feedback can play a significant role in understanding the other side of performance, those skills that are not directly tied to day-to-day, job specific ability. Rather than relying on the perceptions of one individual, 360-degree feedback takes into account multiple perspectives. This is especially important when one person (i. e. , the employee’s manager) does not have the opportunity to observe all areas of the employee’s performance. Those working alongside the employee, along with the supervisor, are generally able to provide a more comprehensive look at the employee’s behavior and/or performance. 360-Degree Performance Reviews Provide Greater Feedback in Healthcare I. Introduction Performance of individual employees is central to the long-term success of an organization. Healthcare organizations have a unique set of challenges, particularly when it comes to measuring performance and understanding development needs. Some are strong at measuring clinical or functional skills. Yet few are equally adept at assessing the non-clinical skills that are so important to overall success in a healthcare organization. Clinical, or functional, ability is at the base of healthcare performance. However, possessing these skills does not always ensure success. Unfortunately, many organizations ignore â€Å"soft side† skills like communication and relationship management, viewing these interpersonal and behavioral skills as â€Å"nice to have† qualities. Yet lack of interpersonal performance is something that generally cannot be compensated for by even the strongest of clinical skills (Maylett, 2009). II. Expectations of the Consumer Issues of performance and productivity are continuously being scrutinized by the leaders of healthcare organizations. Although cost is urrently the driving force for health care system reform, there is still great concern for the quality of the health care provided. Consumers of healthcare services are now asking â€Å"How can I get the best care for the least amount of money? † This means that for an organization to gain competitive advantage, they must make sure that not only is the quality of care high, but the cost must al so be reasonable when compared to other providers of similar services. Equally important for the healthcare organization to recognize is that the definition of quality performance is not â€Å"value-neutral†. Standards are continuously evolving to reflect changes in values, new scientific findings, new technology, changes in regulatory requirements and laws and changes in the healthcare market place. The changes in these standards reflect the differences between the purchaser and the patient. The healthcare purchaser is concerned how effectively their dollars are spent and getting the most care for their money, while the patient expects the healthcare provider to be responsive to their individual needs (Popovich, 1998). Currently, the Joint Commission requires accredited healthcare organizations to assess, track and improve the competence of all employees (Fried & Fottler, 2008). In addition, the Malcolm Baldridge National Quality Awards best business practices includes a model that is being increasingly followed by the healthcare industry that addresses key human resource practices directed toward creating a high performance workplace and toward developing staff by performance management systems (Kuzmits, Adams, Sussman & Rabo, 2004). As cost stabilizes and becomes more aligned across providers, quality will become more important in deciding which organization or provider to use. According to the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations, â€Å"accurate, complete and relevant performance data can provide users of organizational services with objective evidence on which quality judgments can be based. † Patients and consumers now consistently assess the performance history of healthcare providers, organizations and systems. Therefore, those providers should be assessing their performance to help identify opportunities for improvement (Popovich). III. Performance Assessment and Management Having a well-functioning performance management system can help the organization determine several things, including the effectiveness of their selection process, the effectiveness of their training mechanisms and whether the organization’s compensation program is effective at driving employees to perform at a higher level. Performance management refers to a set of tools and practices that consists of setting goals with employees, designing strategies to make and sustain improvement, monitoring progress toward achieving goals, ongoing feedback and coaching by supervisors and peers, and measuring individual performance. Supervisors and employees tend to be uneasy about performance management and reviews, considering the process uncomfortable, highly unproductive and sometimes even unnecessary. Managers are often uncomfortable with sitting down to discuss concerns about performance with employees and employees often feel as though their managers are being critical and condescending during the process. Complicating matters is that performance appraisals and reviews can be extremely emotional, especially when directly tied to an employee’s potential compensation. Traditional performance appraisals have involved the employee’s manager collecting information about the employee, observing their performance and then sharing that information back with the employee. The review may include discussions about promotion, change in compensation, disciplinary action, transfer or recommendations for training. One concern with these types of assessments is that they are often subject to the biases and subjectivity of a single individual. Given the complexity of most healthcare jobs, it is often unrealistic for one individual to accurately describe the employee’s performance. In addition, traditional performance appraisal done purely for administrative reasons may be less than adequate for encouraging development, career planning or performance improvement (Jackson & Greller, 1998). Another concern with the traditional single source performance appraisal is that supervisors only view performance from one perspective and often cannot directly observe employee performance. Furthermore, supervisor-based appraisal systems do not easily capture many important employee contributions, such as helping and training coworkers and being good team players (Fedor, Bettenhausen & Davis, 1999). IV. Multi-source, or 360-degree, Performance Reviews Assessing performance in today’s complex health care environment resents a challenge to the healthcare profession. In order to effectively evaluate performance within this complex and evolving environment, evaluation from multiple sources is required. Among the most useful ways to collect job performance information is to use multiple sources, or 360-degree feedback. This method recognizes that for most positions, relying on one source of information about an employee’s performance leads to incomplete and often inaccurat e information. This is especially important when one person (i. e. the employee’s supervisor) does not have the opportunity to observe all areas of the employee’s performance. Those working alongside the employee, along with the supervisor, are generally able to provide a more comprehensive look at the employee’s behavior and/or performance. Feedback is a vital part of performance, growth and development. Understanding ourselves and how we interact with others helps us to understand what impact we have on those around us. A 360-degree assessment provides a comprehensive summary of an employee’s skills, abilities, styles and job-related competencies. The logic underlying 360-degree feedback is that there are many sources of information in organizations, and much of that information is available both to the manager and to the employee. Co-workers, customers, other managers and even the employee themselves can be sources of feedback (Jackson & Greller). Simply put, 360-degree feedback is a method for evaluating an employee’s performance based upon feedback from everyone with whom the individual comes in contact – supervisors, coworkers, partners, subordinates, even the general public. This type of feedback helps employees see themselves as others see them and allows them to seriously examine their behavior. It allows them to understand how others view their effectiveness and become more cognizant of how their effectiveness as an individual, co-worker or employee is perceived by others. It can reveal areas in which employees are performing particularly well and those areas in which there is room for improvement. 360-degree feedback provides the employee and the organization with a wealth of information including the following: †¢ an increase in self-knowledge for the employee encourages continuous learning †¢ stimulates the employee to enhance their strengths †¢ identifies areas that need development or improvement †¢ provides guidance for positive change †¢ supports coaching and mentoring initiatives This information helps to build a partnership between the individual and the organization to maintain the process of continuous growth (Bentl ey, n. d. ). This review process is also helpful for the supervisor – it can provide a more accurate assessment of an employee’s performance and help eliminate accusations of favoritism. The process provides greater objectivity and because it is submitted anonymously, it provides a supervisor with the most unbiased and accurate information from which to draw performance conclusions. This new level of understanding is invaluable as employees develop professionally. Recent studies suggest that a large percentage of workers who have participated in 360-degree reviews feel that the feedback was more accurate and more reflective of their performance than feedback from just one supervisor (Gallagher, 2008). Additionally, this information provides great benefits to the healthcare organization as well: †¢ it enhances employee morale †¢ aids in assigning work †¢ stimulates employees to improve their work †¢ provides a basis for employment termination for sub-standard performers †¢ assists in determining who should be promoted, transferred or given additional compensation †¢ reveals exceptional employee talents and skills †¢ uncovers weaknesses in the training program †¢ promotes confidence in employer’s fairness †¢ helps resolve disputes in arbitration cases †¢ offers a basis for employee guidance and counseling (Harrison, 1978). In healthcare organizations, multisource appraisal, or 360-degree feedback, can play a significant role in understanding the other side of performance, those skills that are not directly tied to day-to-day, job-specific ability. These include such things as how well the individual collaborates with other health professionals to achieve desired outcomes, how well they improve their knowledge and understanding of their own performance, how they keep up to date with new developments and the degree to which they are aware of their own strengths and weaknesses (Council of Academic Hospitals of Ontario, 2009). Partly in response to concerns about performance and patient safety, and partly in response to demands for accountability to patients and funding agencies, the assessment of healthcare employee competence has received much attention. These concerns have shifted the concept of competence from a narrow definition of â€Å"clinical competence† or the ability to perform technical medical acts to â€Å"behavioral competence† which includes interpersonal and communication skills, judgment, relationship management and professionalism (Lockyer, 2003). Healthcare worker performance is recognized as being complex, multi-factorial and non-linear in nature. It is clearly influenced by the fact that healthcare workers perform within teams and systems and that their performance oftentimes is a reflection of the performance of the broader environment in which they work (Council of Academic Hospitals of Ontario). While there is wide acknowledgement that faulty systems and processes within the delivery of health care may adversely affect patient safety, individual failures can also contribute to patient injuries and complications. At a minimum, healthcare worker competency must be assured to maximize patient safety, as well as to ensure that the highest quality of patient care is provided. In addition, providing feedback that helps coworkers develop their interpersonal and task-related skills can improve work unit performance and, possibly, make one’s job easier and their environment more pleasant (Fedor, Bettenhausen & Davis). As a result of individual performance assessments, 360-degree performance feedback in healthcare has the added advantage of identifying organizational improvement opportunities. Individual performance problems may identify larger systems or team challenges within a department or organization. The identification of these issues may be useful in guiding quality improvement initiatives that can be undertaken by the healthcare organization (Council of Academic Hospitals of Ontario). Multisource feedback is seen as potentially more useful than supervisor-only evaluations, especially in environments like healthcare organizations where the organizational structure is more flat and team-based (Rynes, Gerhart & Parks, 2005). Most 360-degree feedback programs are strategic initiatives resulting in a tested method of improving productivity and job satisfaction. They are designed to support increased competitive advantage, development of leaders, increases in productivity, improved morale and job satisfaction and retention of high-performing employees (Bentley). Using 360-degree performance review models provides for ongoing measurement of healthcare delivery performance and subsequent assessment of the quality of that care. In addition, the models can be revised as needed to reflect the changes in the healthcare system and in the perspectives of the different sources that determine the standards that must be met and the resulting performance assessment. The 360-degree evaluation will help employees identify their strengths so they can build on them at the same time it addresses their skill gaps. It is a process that leads to continuous learning, team building, growing self-confidence and improved productivity. V. Conclusion A changing healthcare environment has resulted in an increased focus on performance, both at the organizational and individual levels. Healthcare managers and leaders face an increased need to focus on both operational, or clinical, performance as well as non-clinical performance such as communication, leadership and interpersonal skills. Performance measured solely from a clinical skills perspective misses a critical factor – behavior skills, or the â€Å"soft-side† of performance (Maylett & Riboldi, 2008). Managers lacking in the non-clinical/non-functional side of leadership typically experience significant issues that eventually lead to decreased overall performance. On an organizational level, this could potentially result in high turnover, disengaged employees and lack of teamwork which will eventually impact patient care. Healthcare leaders are under increased pressure to raise the performance bar. Consumers and patients are demanding healthcare organizations deliver superior customer service and patient care in an often difficult environment. It is vital that healthcare leaders look at both elements of performance – the clinical AND the interpersonal. Each element plays a critical role in the overall effectiveness of the employee, manager and the organization and ultimately in the organization’s competitive advantage. BIBLIOGRAPHY Bentley, T. (n. d. ). Cumulative 360 Data Guides Strategic Planning. Panoramic Feedback. Retrieved from http://www. panoramicfeedback. com/shared/articles/hrdotorg. html. Council of Academic Hospitals of Ontario. (2009). 360-Degree Physician Performance Review Toolkit. Ontario, Canada. Fedor, D. ,  Bettenhausen, K. ,  &  Davis, W. (1999). Peer reviews: Employees' dual roles as raters and recipients. Group & Organization Management,  24(1),  92-120. Retrieved January 25, 2010, from ABI/INFORM Global. (Document ID:  39161423). Fried, B & Fottler, M. (2008). Human Resources in Healthcare: Managing for Success. (3rd ed. ) Chicago, IL. Health Administration Press. Gallagher, T. (2008). 360-Degree Performance Reviews Offer Valuable Perspectives. Financial Executive, 24(10), 61. Retrieved from Business Source Premier database. Harrison, R (1978). Performance Evaluation in a Medical Environment. Medical Group Management, Sept. /Oct. 1978, 22-23. Retrieved from Business Source Premier database. Jackson, J. , & Greller, M. (1998). Decision Elements for Using 360 ° Feedback. Human Resource Planning, 21(4), 18-28. Retrieved from Business Source Premier database. Kuzmits, F. , Adams, A. , Sussman, L. , & Raho, L. (2004). 360-feedback in health care management: a field study. Health Care Manager, 23(4), 321-328. Retrieved from CINAHL with Full Text database. Lockyer, J. (2003). Multisource feedback in the assessment of physician competencies. Journal of Continuing Education in the Health Professions, 23(1), 4-12. Retrieved from CINAHL with Full Text database. Maylett, T. 2009). Healthcare Leadership Looking Beyond the Clinical Side of Performance. DecisionWise Leadership Intelligence. Retrieved from http://www. decwise. com. Maylett, T. & Riboldi, J. (2008). Guide to Using 360 Degree Feedback for Performance Reviews. Retrieved January 18, 2010 from http://www. decwise. com/pdf/DecisionWise-Whitepaper-Guide-to-Using-360s-for-Performance-Reviews. pdf Popovich, J (1998. ) Multidi mensional Performance Measurement. Journal of Nursing Care Quality. 12(4):14-21[Article: PDF Only]Retrieved from CINAHL with full text database. Rynes, S. , Gerhart, B. ,