Inventory management Essay

Part One: Inventory Management and its role within the Supply Chain Inventory management is a method through, which a business handles tangible resources and materials to ensure availability of resources for use. It is a collection of interdisciplinary processes including a full circle from the demand forecasting, supply chain management, inventory control and reverse logistics. Inventory management – is the optimization of inventories of manufactured goods, work in progress, raw materials, and other features of companies in order to reduce storage costs while providing a high level of service and smooth operations. Inventory management in logistics is the optimization of operations directly related to the processing and registration of goods, and to the coordination with the procurement and sales service, it is the calculation of the optimal number of stores and their locations. Effective inventory management allows an organization to meet or exceed customers’ expectations. Several technical applications of inventory management models are incorporated by the inventory management so as to achieve efficiency. Critical role of the inventory management is therefore played by the concepts such as safety stock, cost of goods, economic ordering quantity, customer managed inventory, a vendor managed inventory, and the inventory turnover. The key principles of inventory management remain the same across all the industries; however, some critical areas of emphasizing these principles may vary from one sector of business to another. Inventory management in the supply chain is a complex of supply chain optimization techniques. This is a key element in the supply chain management. Experts emphasize companies’ attention on what constantly improving efficiency in the supply chain has become a market requirement and prerequisite for competitiveness. Global trends for the largest industrial and commercial companies integration lead to the formation of the global system with integrated supply chain, procurement, etc. That is why inventory management in the supply chain cannot be separated from the overall system, a single ‘logistics organism† of the company. Information technology can help to integrate the management of inventory in the supply chain. The purpose of the usage of information technology to manage inventory in the supply chain is to increase the efficiency of all processes. (Supply chain management  consulting 2002) The important aspect of the inventory management lies on the correct application of the right inventory management tools. Understanding of all the details of inventory management leads to the effective control of inventory. When lean practices are applied to all aspects of the inventory management cycle, this means that business can effectively reduce the investment in shipping costs, plant rentals, reverse logistics, and standing inventory while improving or maintaining customer service levels in its overall performance. (Purchasing and Procurement Center, 2012). Therefore, inventory management is important and need to be effected at all levels of business operations to keep the inventory levels stable and to avoid costly errors and inconveniences (Winsner, 2011). Part Two: 1. It is often difficult to find reliable costs of stock. With shortages this seems almost impossible. Discuss how we can find cost of loss of good well or reduced future sales, and to what extent we can have reliable estimates for such costs. Often, it is difficult to find reliable cost of stock because market factors such as shortages come into place. The most important element, which must come into place pertaining to this situation, is intelligence pricing. Intelligent pricing is an element, which will ensure a successful business venture, and without this business will not find reliable costs of stock. Before launching a new business, it is always important for entrepreneurs to have adequate knowledge about the various pricing strategies and components available. Market place factors ought to be weighted by the business owners before prices of goods and services are set. Therefore, factors such as the market, competition and the distribution costs need to be put in place so as to arrive at reliable cost of stock. In any analysis of the inventory management system several factors should be considered: the demand forecast and delivery time, as well as the costs associated with the system operation. The cost parameters must be considered as well. Firstly, the costs of holding reserves, which include the cost of dead capital in stocks,  keeping costs and other costs associated with physical presence of goods in a warehouse. Secondly, order and reorder costs which includes the cost of placing an order, the cost of record-keeping, as well as the cost of set-closing operation if the output is considered in batches. Another important indicator are the costs due to lack of or inability to meet demand(shortage costs), the costs due to changing nature of the products, production costs , as well as losses due to obsolescence or damage. Lets consider shortage costs in details. These are the costs associated with the occurrence of shortage and can show up in those cases when the product is required, but cannot be supplied because it is out of stock. The impact of shortage is wider than lost profit, as it involves the loss of image, goodwill and potential losses from the reduction in the number of sales in the future. These costs may also include such payments for actions ,aimed at reducing the deficit, as freight forwarding, sending a rush order, payment for special types of products, the usage of more expensive suppliers. Most companies believe that shortage is always expensive, so they try avoid it. In other words, they are willing to pay relatively low costs for stock keeping in order to avoid relatively high costs associated with shortage. These costs represent a penalty to be paid by the owner of an enterprise in case when the demand exceeds the supply. It is very difficult to ensure that demand will always be satisfied and, in addition, it is likely for a firm that such guarantees can be joint with extremely high costs. The shortage can be offset by emergency delivery, in this case, penalty is the difference between ordinary value of product and the cost of emergency delivery. Sometimes shortage is offset by back-ordering, i.e. goods are delivered to the customer as soon as they come in stock. In this case, penalty is the loss of goodwill, this can affect customer’s behavior in the future. In extreme case this shortage can lead to the loss of customer, then the penalty will include not only lost sales cost, but also losses of many customers in the future. Identifying shortage costs is exceptionally difficult task, and it does not arise barely because the administration of an enterprise is not interested in reduction of these costs. Direct shortage cost figures were obtained only in a few cases, and only with limited accuracy. One of the most important  elements of the intangible assets of the company is its goodwill. At the same time it cannot be said that the formation of goodwill and maintaining it at a high level is something new and unique for today’s businesses. Goodwill represents the kind of â€Å"good name† of a company and is accounted in its intangible assets, along with copyrights, know-how and trademarks. Goodwill may be either positive or negative. The positive goodwill of a company may help: – To add psychological value for products and services; – To attract new customers in case they have a choice between functionally similar products or services; – to bring a company more qualified employees and increase job satisfaction of an existing staff; – To increase the effectiveness of advertising and sales, to support distributors, advertising agencies, suppliers and business partners; – To raise funds on the stock market and survive in the event of a crisis. Any competitive producer knows that in order to gain the consumer recognition and profit, it is needed to invest primarily in itself. After all, a good name works better than any advertising. It is impossible to generate a goodwill from scratch. The company should enjoy really significant achievements and benefits which lay the foundation for goodwill. The process of generating a goodwill takes a long time and considerable amount of money. This is a long-run, very complicated process that cannot be insured against dangers, losses and risks. (Lean m anufacturing and and operations management, 2012) One of the most important trends in recent years has been towards e-commerce. How does this affect inventory management? Electronic Commerce is a type of trading, which applies the use of modern technologies such as mobile commerce, supply chain management, electronic funds transfer, internet marketing, electronic data interchange, online transaction processing, and inventory management systems among others. (Practical Ecommerce, 2010). Through the application of computerized technology in inventory management, business organizations are able to have a complete inventory description in real-time basis. Investing in e-commerce technology allows business owners to have a strong inventory management backed, which includes bar codes that allow streamlining of the inventory processes. A streamlined process leads to accurate planning due to improved forecasting, product turnover leading  to increased profits and better customer services. E- Commerce inventory management system also means that the business owner can easily integrate with customers through various technologies such the internet and the smart phones. Through this, customers are able to access the available products and their prices and business owners will be able to place their products in the market with ease. Measuring of the inventory turns is also achieved by e-commerce with the use of the appropriate software and proper techniques. Therefore, more frequent inventory turns are achievable, and this boosts the profits. E-commerce is also applied in managing vendors, and maintaining good ties with vendors enables business owners to negotiate favorable terms and conditions for business. Elimination of obsolete inventory in a timely manner is achieved through e-commerce as the seller can easily identify such inventory through real-time observation of the market changes. Inventory items are also reduced through e-commerce since business owners are able to keep just enough items because they know their market capabilities in real-time without false anticipation. Therefore, the overall impact of e-commerce in inventory management is that accurate information is attainable and efficient, and effective operations can be achieved by business owners because the amount of warehousing space required is reduced and constructively used with minimal wastage associated with unpredictable approximations and anticipations (Coyle et al, 2008). Now it is quite obvious that the Internet is changing the image of the world economy. The Internet has the greatest impact on e-commerce between businesses (B2B). Companies form strategic alliances and build relationships with suppliers. The rate of development and growth of e-commerce, as well as promising prospects for increased supply chain efficiencies – all these facts have a significant impact on the companies’ activities engaged in B2B commerce. Such businesses are forced to reduce operating and handling costs and at the same time to accelerate the supply chain activity. Those B2B companies that do business effectively have achieved a leading market positions in their industries. The supplying funds savings can be directed at the enhancement of IT infrastructure operations, and ultimately at the improvement of customer service B2B. The differences between e-commerce B2B and B2C are more significant than between the retail and wholesale trade. From a business perspective, this means savings within the organization, a willingness to enter into profitable alliances with suppliers, a reduction of operative costs in the delivery of goods and services, the precise regulation of the complex coordination within the union in respect of procurement, timely delivery and electronic payments. (Network solutions, 2012). Conclusion A company may command a hefty price on its product or service, but it is amazing how such companies may sometimes observe to be making minimal profit, making no profit or even running at a loss. This means that the cost of the product is different. Perhaps, to arrive at a reliable cost of stock means that business owners need to develop appropriate pricing strategy and to implement it so as it will result in generation of profits. Inventory management is a method through, which a business handles tangible resources and materials to ensure availability of resources for use. Efficient technology such as the application of e-commerce leads to effective inventory management. This is likely to lead to cost efficiency and effectiveness and therefore generate profitability. Main advantages of e-commerce for companies are: global scale, reduction of inventoty costs, supply chain development, fast time-to-market etc. For customers they are: large product variety, personalization, low prices, etc. The high emphasis should be placed on costs parameters when analyzing inventory management. The impact of shortage cost is wider than the lost profit, as it involves the loss of image, goodwill and potential losses from the reduction in the number of sales in the future. Identifying shortage costs is exceptionally difficult task, and it does not arise barely because the management of an enterprise is not interested in lowering these costs. Sometimes the shortage is offset by back-ordering. Shortage costs may lead to the loss of goodwill, this can affect the customer’s behavior in the future. Under present-day conditions, goodwill may change in the shortest possible time. A number of different factors can contribute to this, and therefore the organization’s security policy should include measures to manage reputational risk. Is is evident that the goodwill in the current market environment is the most important competitive advantage for any company.

Costco Strategy

Costco was founded in 1983 by Jim Sinegal and Jeff Brotman who were previous colleagues in California within other membership warehouse stores. â€Å"The company’s business model was to generate high sales volumes and rapid inventory turnover by offering members low prices on a limited selection of nationally branded and select private-label products in a wide range of merchandise categories† (Thompson, p. C-35). This analysis will review the â€Å"cornerstones of Costco’s strategy; low prices, a limited product line, limited selection and a ‘treasure hunt’ shopping environment† (p. C-35). Furthermore, it will identify if Sinegal’s strategic approach identifies with Thompson’s five competitive strategies and Porter’s five forces. In conclusion, consulting recommendation will be advised. Thompson describes a five strategy phases for crafting and executing on strategy as; low-cost provider, a broad differential, a focused or niche market based on low cost or differentiation, and best-cost provider. â€Å"A low-cost leader’s basis for competitive advantage is lower overall costs than competitors. Whereas, Siengal’s Successful low-cost leaders are exceptionally good at finding ways to drive costs out of their business† (p. 8). Sinegal’s approach focused on four major strategies, the first was to â€Å"sell top-quality national and regional brands at prices consistently below traditional wholesale or retail outlets† (C-35). This tactic was to keep prices low to members by capping the margins on brand-name merchandise b y fourteen percent and their in-house Kirkland brand at fifteen percent. The philosophy was to keep members coming in to shop by wowing them with low prices. Siengal next alignment with Thompson’s strategies was broad differentiation. The essence of broad differentiation is being able to offer unique product attributes that a wide range of buyers finds appealing and worth paying for. Siengal took broad differentiation to an elevated level by limiting the selection in each product category to fast-selling models, sizes and colors. In addition, his competition typical supermarkets such as Wal-Mart Supercenter and Super Target may have one hundred and fifty thousand items for shoppers to choose from in comparison to Siengal’s four thousand. Another valuable approach Siengal demonstrated was his understanding of the fast paced technological changes in retail. He purposefully would only stocked limited selection to move products more swiftly. Costco’s strategies prove time and time again that they were not trying to be too much to too many. There goal of staying focused on quality-low cost helps them outcompete their rivals and being in position to win buyer favor by means of low-priced offerings. This focus on low-cost versus differentiation has led to Siengal’s no PR department approach. His marketing objectives are limited. His marketing and campaigning is limited to special grand openings, direct mailer to members, and direct calls to businesses within the area of a new warehouse opening. Costco’s treasure hunt has enticed its customers to shop for the sizable number of items that are high-end or brand name products with high retail prices at affordable Costco wholesale pricing. All in all, Costco demonstrates the best-cost provider strategy by blending its low-cost and differentiation. â€Å"Best-cost provider strategies create competitive advantage by giving buyers more value for their money – an approach that entails (1) matching close rivals on key quality/service/features/performance attributes, (2) beating them on the costs of incorporating such attributes into the product or service, and (3) charging a more economical price. A best-cost provider strategy works best in markets with large numbers of value-conscious buyers desirous of purchasing appealingly good products and services for less money† (p. 104). As an advising consultant to Costco, I am 100% in agreement with his strategic viewpoints. My recommendations are as follows: Recommendations for Costco: †¢ Succession plan for current CEO – Age 79, need strong successor in public eye †¢ PR – A little PR is better than no PR †¢ Updates on Ethics & Compliance – more publically known (PR) †¢ Accept Food Stamps – grow customer base †¢ Packaging – some stock could contain less quantity Payment Choices – Accept VISA and Master Card and charge 2% fee (Comparable to Sam’s Club) †¢ Check out – Consider Self-check out lanes †¢ Non-Member Day – quarterly event allowing non-members to trial store for one day which in turn would increase prospect members Using t he five-force model of competition, Exhibit 1 represents an analysis of Costco Wholesale's competitive environment. The forces characterize an industry by considering the threat of new entrants, power of buyers and suppliers, threat of substitutes and the impact among rival competitors. The threat of substitutes is the strongest for Costco. This threat comes from specialty discount stores, broad product discounters and hypermarkets followed by online sellers as an alternative threat. Both act to increase the power of existing buyers, particularly for shoppers who are satisfying needs versus wants. Costco’s overall generic strategy of being a best-cost provider has been effective and sustainable in the retail industry today. Costco’s strategic vision for being a low price, high volume retailer is well known all over the country. With this existing strategy, Costco could continue on with a solid future.

Comparison of my manifesto and Hugo ball manifesto Research Paper

Comparison of my manifesto and Hugo ball manifesto - Research Paper Example As one of the most adorable artists in today’s world of researchers, and through his piecework directed to artistically, he has articulated various researches based on description of philosophical meaning and usually terming it as â€Å"my problem, my life, my suffering.† All this started when he begun to write his Friedrich Nietzsche dissertation. Hugo’s manifesto is justified just from his top-notch researches he has ever delivered. First and for most, Hugo anticipated intense studies mechanism, one of the articulation that I intend to administer and keep at bay as my top-notch manifesto. From his autobiography, Hugo Ball intensified himself by reading widely basing understanding norm on the various systems of thought. This was through German moral philosophy he learnt, with modern psychoanalysis, without forgetting Russian anarchism and Indian as well as Christianity mysticism. Reading widely to get knowledge is one of my manifestos I entail to employ since th rough this I see my artistically work grows widely and be among the top-notch artists with outstanding research work adopted within my policy. Hugo in his work as an artist provided an aspect of Dada movement probably in Zurich and his philosophical roots of his revolt emphasized this. I intend to adopt the cultural and norm to propel my manifesto towards success. In consideration of my culture and the surrounding environment, I believe that my policy will be availed accordingly, based on my experience and surrounding environment which affects anyone both internally and externally. Hugo Ball explains and justifies well the principles of Dada movement, bringing in the aspect Dadaism that explains why the anticipation has huge impact between the artists and other people as well. Motivational and social transformation is one of my Manifestos I intend to use as an artist. In comparison with my manifesto, Hugo also anticipated an aspect of motivational and social transformation norm in h is work. This is evident from the fact that Hugo Ball gives out a motivational and inspiration to upcoming artists by starting that â€Å"The reason for this huge impact is that it is very different that the â€Å"art† known for years. It is against everything in art. The name of this movement is very simple. It has different meanings in different languages.† This is evident further especially after learning that â€Å"The use of such an ordinary and simple word also refers to not being captivated by the rules and norms in every aspect of life. This means that the simplification should be valid in every aspect such as the name of the movement. It also rejects the use of word invented by others; they want to use their own inventions of words.† (Ball 10-13). Visual Arts and Film Studies generally require extensive and diverse knowledge from various levels of life hierarchy and well versant with current issue at hand. I intend to bring out lively articulation in ar t by initiating current issues that will in turn involve the technology being availed and in support with traditional point of view within my manifesto. This will be through written books that oversee the past and the present. Hugo Ball also used this manifesto articulation by ensuring that all the information were written down before being presented which brought about coherence and a sense of feelings as far as artistically work is of concern. â€Å"He began writing a book on Bakunin that would continue to occupy him for the rest of his life. At the beginning of the manifesto, Hugo Ball explains these meanings. In French, it means hobbyhorse, in German it means good-bye and in Romanian it means â€Å"yes, definitely right. As it can be seen it is such a

Role of a nurse in nutrition management of diabetic patient Literature review

Role of a nurse in nutrition management of diabetic patient - Literature review Example Its impact on the patient, with its related complications is very much costly. Its health complications also include multiple organ damage. There are various interventions for diabetes, but lifestyle modification is one of the primary forms of prevention and management for the disease. Partnered with medications, the burden of the disease is reduced and complications are prevented. Lifestyle changes include the modification of the patient’s nutrition and the increase in his physical activities. Programmes on nutrition and lifestyle changes have been generally effective in preventing or delaying the onset of diabetes (Ory, Jordan, & Bazarre, 2002; Department of Health 2004) and also in fulfilling treatment objectives in the management of risk factors associated with the disease (Dusenbery, Brannigan, Falco & Hansen, 2003). Educational programmes have generally been advantageous and effective for individuals suffering from the disease, especially where they also comply with the health recommendations indicated by the National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE). These lifestyle modifications are however diffic ult to implement for the patient especially with the major issues related to the food and diet available in the current food industry today. Foods high in cholesterol, sodium, and sugar have saturated the market, even foods which are touted by food companies as ‘healthy’ foods have components which are not healthy for the human body. Fast foods have become more affordable to the people, pushing up their mass appeal. As a result, obesity and all its related complications has become an even more common disease across different age groups and different ethnicities. The relevance of nutrition in the management of diabetes has increased. As one of the front-line healthcare givers, the role of nurses is considered very much important in disease

Rise of big business Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Rise of big business - Essay Example Presence of abundant iron ore provided found use as railroad ties, bridges and buildings, while coal replaced wood as fuel to drive steam engines, replacing wood. Moreover, factories that had been built by the Union were not shutdown after the war ended, but were converted for peacetime purposes. The agricultural industry represented a significant portion of the American economy, which saw the increased output in production of key crops such as wheat and corn. Therefore, this prompted an increase in demand for labor to fill various positions mills, mines and factories, which were serviced by the huge waves of immigrants at the time (Tindall and Shi, 838-840). Distinctive Features of Businesses Before the industrial revolution, goods were manufactured using traditional ways by mean of cottage industries. Moreover, these goods were produced in small-scale quantities, as the rate of production was slow and inefficient. This all changed with the introduction of manufacturing factories, w hich enhanced efficiency, increased production and boosted the economy. Despite the heavy profits gains, the workers did not enjoy much of it, as their wages were low, in addition, they were also required to work long hours and in unhealthy and dangerous working conditions. The businesses received complaints concerning the lack of having good working environment, since in the factory system, large numbers of workers were brought together in a bid to increase productivity through specialization. However, materials and semi-finished goods were often carried from one place to another for further processing or packing. Businesses benefited from new inventions, which boosted production at a cheaper rate, thus raising the profit margins. Railroads provided an exceptional opportunity to expand the market generating more profits with the growing demand of goods and services. Thus, the growing network of transport led to the establishment of towns, which would serve as new stations for busin esses and industries. Therefore, the growing industries created job opportunities for people, which improved their economic status. In addition, business organizations were formed through the formation of trusts, which specialized in the provision of different goods and services to the society. For instance, some family businesses specialized in banking services while others in the mining industry. This specialization ensured efficiency in production of goods and services, consequently, the leading businesses commanded a larger market share, which enhanced monopoly in the industry. However, this created economic powers among few families. During this period, the American political organization lacked vitality and productivity, as it was marred with corruption and moral decadency. Moreover, politicians, who would appoint their friends and supporters to government jobs, owned large businesses. This assured the politicians of a loyal group of supporters in future elections. This is in conflict with the Laissez-faire theory that the government should have a limited role business. Vertical and Horizontal Growth Vertical expansion of businesses is achieved when a company takes over its suppliers and distributors operations, gaining control over the quality and cost of production of its goods. Vertical growth in businesses

Fuel Prices Statistics Project Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Fuel Prices - Statistics Project Example The mean price for regular unleaded gasoline in the US is $1.91/gallon, with a standard deviation of $0.17/gallon and a median of $1.86/gallon. Most of the state prices are distributed around the mean, except the outlier cases- Alaska ($2.51), California ($2.25) and Hawaii ($2.45). Without these three states, the standard deviation has a much lower value, and the normal-distribution curve is less spread out. Alaska has the highest state fuel price in the US- $0.60/gallon more than the mean price. The small demand-supply market, inefficient refineries, and lack of competition have kept the gas retail prices at a consistent high (Loy, â€Å"State begins inquiry into higher gas prices†). In California, a combination of unregulated refineries, low demand and difficulty in transportation has led to an increase in the gas prices (â€Å"Record high gasoline prices in California but relief may be in sight†). Hawaii is the most oil-dependent state in the nation, with more than 90 percent of its energy coming from imported oil. Being a tourist destination, the states economy is also extremely sensitive to global oil prices. Due to these factors, the cost of gas in Hawaii has also shot up in recent times (Song, â€Å"Gas Prices In Hawaii, California Hit $4†). The two fuel prices show a fairly strong linear correlation, with the diesel and premium unleaded gasoline prices varying proportionally. Most states form a single clustered group. The only anomalous points are for the states of California ($2.33, $2.43), and Nevada ($2.26, $2.40) and Washington ($2.40, $2.36). In these states, the prices of premium unleaded gasoline are higher than diesel prices by an average $0.09. The two outlier cases – though distributed about the linear regression line – have exceptionally high cost of both diesel and premium unleaded gasoline. The dependency of the two variables is still proportional (thus, these are not anomalous points), but the overall price

Charater notebook Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Charater notebook - Essay Example This one-act play comes in eight episodes with six characters, exemplifying the antagonism that existed between the business class community and working class. This discussion bases on the character of Joe and the ways it is portrayed by the playwright. The play starts at a Labor Union meeting, where the striking members are addressing their issues regarding the strike to the fellow audience. Harry Fatt, the corrupted union leader, favors the employer and tries to quell the strike by silencing the workers’ protest. However, the demand for strike is high and the workers are eagerly awaiting the arrival of their elected committee chairman, Lefty Costello. Meanwhile, Fatt tries to convince the seekers of the strike proposal by stating that the president is taking care of their interests, and so the strike seems to be unnecessary and unproductive in various regards. He even spies and intimidates the workers, accusing those who oppose his opinion as communists or cowards. While waiting for Lefty, the members are allowed to express their views on the necessity of the strike. Each of the character addresses their economic necessity - the primary reason for them to take the job as a cab driver. They explain their intentions behind t he strike proposal and how they are involved in the union. Firstly, Joe Mitchell takes his stand on the strike issue by defending the courage and conviction of Lefty. He also denies and opposes being called as a ‘Red’ by showing his war wounds as a symbol of patriotism. He speaks out about the poverty and exploitation of the working class by arguing that the strike is the only way out for them. He even persuades the workers to make up their minds in support of the strike, referring to his wife, Edna’s persuasion. The conversation between Joe and Edna reflects the tedious life of the cab drivers and their desperate households. Edna taunts Joe for his reluctance and persuades him to go on strike for higher wages.

Annotated resources Bibliography Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Resources - Annotated Bibliography Example All the actions that are described in the gospel reflect to actions in the environment. There is the keeping of track of the prophecy of coming of the messiah in the gospel. The gospel does not extend after resurrection of Messiah but ends after there is discovery that the tomb was empty. In the gospel, it is brought out the baptism of Jesus by John the Baptist to be an event that aimed mainly in preparing the way. Isaiah writes that there would be a messenger that was to be sent who was to prepare the way. John the Baptist goes in the wilderness preaching about preparing the way for the son of God and preaching about baptism as a way of repentance and forgiveness of sins. He baptized people in river Jordan where the Messiah also is baptized. As Jesus came out of water after baptism, the haven was open and a dove descended with a voice from heaven which said that he was the son of God with whom he is pleased. After baptism, john was put in prison but Jesus went to Galilee to proclaim the good news of the Lord telling people to repent and believe in the good news. Jesus spreads the gospel and calls His first disciples Simon and his brother Andrew when they were fishing. The gospel journey of Messiah continues in the gospel of Mark with varied healings and casting out of demons. The healings are done to anyone including one with leprosy who came begging on his knees for the will to be healed. The gospel was important in understanding the context in which Jesus lived. It is seen that in the gospel, geography of Palestine was not changed as it still contained both fertile and desert lands. The people at the time engaged mainly in farming and manual working through keeping of sheep and engaging in services such as carpentry and pottery. The area was occupied by many races that spoke different languages and had different cultures. In the gospel, Jesus was born a Jew and remained to be identified with the tribe and culture. Gospel

Project Managment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Project Managment - Essay Example Resource-based view is a main contributor to a firm’s competitive advantage. It implies the use of both tangible and intangible resources of the firm, so as to gain attributes that let it outperform its competitors (Shrivastava, 1994). Resource-based view (RBV) is a major determinant during the selection a firm’s location. These resources include the firm’s assets, management skills, organisational processes and routines, and the information and knowledge it controls. To begin, the human resource is important for a firm’s success as it encourages convergence and interaction of operations strategy and human resource issue (Thornhill & Amit, 2003). The economics and finance of a firm largely depend on RBV. A firm’s return is hoisted depending on the resources at its disposal. Thus, in selecting a location, the firm should consider the possibility of positive returns in its new location, and this, however, may be hindered by the firm’s heterogeneity (Barney 2001, 638). RBV is entirely, as well, a vital tool in expanding research and entrepreneurial developments in a firm. Through the entrepreneurial process of understanding market opportunities, and the coordination of innovativenes s and knowledge in the firm, the firm’s inputs can be easily translated to heterogeneous returns. Thus, the firm gains a competitive advantage over its competitors (Barney, 2001, 639) The selection of a new location for a firm is supposed to be based on other factors like marketing and customer preferences. Changing to a new location may alter the utilisation of RBV resources, and this may have the effect of either customer value creation or depreciation. Thus, RBV plays a big role in the determination of a new location for a firm. It may lead to a heterogeneous output for the firm if all the RBV resources are utilized with a prior market analysis (Belderbos et al., 2008) The design role in any firm

Main Responsibilities in the Nursing Profession Essay

Main Responsibilities in the Nursing Profession - Essay Example In 2008, the National Survey of Registered Nurses conducted research and found out that over 3 million nurses were registered. There are only 2.6 million nurses who have been employed out of the 3 million registered nurses. Out of these 2.6 million which is an equivalent of 84%, 50.0% are nurses prepared from Baccalaureate programs, 36.1% from Associate Degree programs while 13.9% were from Diploma Nursing Programs. The NCLEX-RN licensing examination is taken by those who are to be recognized as certified nurses. Robert Wood Johnson Foundation made a proposal in a report. This report on The Future of Nursing suggested that 50.0% of BSN should be increased to 80%. Many types of research have also been conducted, and the findings reported that BSN in most care centres has realized a reduced rate of mortality deaths. American Organization of Nurse Executives called for all nurses to undergo the Baccalaureate programs. This program is to make them competent enough to handle the challengi ng task ahead of their careers. The U.S Army requires nurses that are competent specifically with a degree in baccalaureate nursing so that these nurses can be given the position of a commissioned nurse. A study was conducted showing that a large number of people preferred nurses who were trained for the duration of four years and over. It is only fair that the life of a patient is entrusted on a competent nurse. This paper will explore the difference in competencies that are notable between associate-degree nurses and nurses who have been prepared at the Baccalaureate-degree level in nursing. Baccalaureate nursing program is inclusive of all the course work that is taught in diploma and associate degree level. The four-year training they go through is seen in the care they extend to patients. Baccalaureate nurses are taught on theoretical and practical aspects. These theories incorporate the various fields outside medicine. Nursing knowledge includes theories in humanities, science s, as well as, Biblical concepts.

Desire and Disappointment in “A & P” and “A Woman on a Roof” Essay Example for Free

Desire and Disappointment in â€Å"A P† and â€Å"A Woman on a Roof† Essay It may be natural instinct for men to be attracted to a good-looking woman or one who displays more than the usual amount of skin in public. The level and type of attraction varies from one male to another. However, more often than not, the primary expectation or fantasy of the male admirer regarding the female being admired, is not met because these expectations and fantasies are based on his personal conceptions and stereotypes about what women should be and not what the particular woman he chances upon is in reality. The male protagonists in John Updike’s â€Å"A P† and Doris Lessing’s â€Å"A Woman on a Roof† exhibit different expectations on the female characters they meet but in the end, all of them would be disappointed and disillusioned with both the female character and, in turn, their own selves.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Updike’s hero is 19 year-old Sammy who works in the checkout counter of a convenience store. One day, three young women walk into the store in their swimsuits. Sammy’s reaction, along with another young but married co-worker, is typical of men their age: they gawk at the woman with sexual desire. Written in the first person point of view of the main character, the reader notes that what Sammy notices about the women are the usual things that men desire in women like â€Å"long white prima-donna legs†¦(and) clean bare plane of the top of her chest down from the shoulder bones†¦(Updike).† Her admiration becomes more than a physical attraction, however, when the store manager reproaches the girls for their out-of-place outfits. In a burst of impulse, Sammy resigns from his job, his reason being that he could not take the embarrassment that the store manager inflicts upon the girls. He imagines his resignation to be a heroic act which he expects the girls to notic. To his disappointment, however, they do not even look back at him. Outside the store, Sammy thinks about â€Å"how hard the world was going to be (Updike)† afterwards. He realizes that the heroism is simply his own conception about what he does and nobody else, especially not the girls, get it. He loses his job in the process and he has too much pride to take it back.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The three male protagonists in Doris Lessing’s story, meanwhile, react upon the sight of a barely-clad woman sunbathing on a rooftop. Like Sammy, the men lust at the sight of the woman in â€Å"red scarf tied around her breasts and brief red bikini pants (Lessing).† The initial reaction evolves differently among the three men, however, as the sunbathing woman becomes a daily distraction to their work. Harry, past middle-age, reminds the other two to think of their own wives as they look at the woman. To him, the woman is a possession that should be reined and controlled and the particular woman on the roof must have had a husband that is not doing his job. The newly-married Stanley is confident that women are willing and submissive when they are coaxed. He gets along with Mrs. Pritchett because she responds to him. Tom, the youngest, has an ideal, fairy-tale image of himself. He imagines himself â€Å"at work on a crane, adjusting the arm to swing over and pick her up and swing her back across the sky to drop her near him (Lessing).† He is a hero protecting her from Stanley. All the time while the men watches, yells and whistles at her, the woman remains indifferent. Days later, Harry eventually gives up. Stanley becomes more enraged as the day becomes hotter. Tony remains hopeful but suffers the most as in the end when he decides to finally go and talk to the woman he is rejected and driven away.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Men have been used to classifying women according to types based on superficial images generated by media or during talks amongst themselves. When a man encounters someone that does not fit any of the molds, she disappoints him greatly, more than even she realizes. The characters in the two stories illustrate how hope could turn into disillusionment when a man entertains grand ideas about a woman even before understanding her. Works Cited Lessing, Doris. A Woman On A Roof. Updike, John. A P.

The Discrimination Act | Analysis

The Discrimination Act | Analysis Discrimination referred to bad treatment against a certain group of people of a specific category or class. There are two types of discrimination: the direct and the indirect discrimination. Direct discrimination according to the European Commission (2003) defined as ‘when a person is treated less well, in comparison with someone else, because of his or her racial or ethnic origin, religion or belief, disability, age or sexual orientation.Indirect discrimination occurs when a person want to get a job and for that job required special qualifications or criteria where challenge against a certain group of people and cannot be excused objective. The phenomenon of discrimination existed for many years ago and unfortunately still exist and sometimes in high degree. There are many examples of discrimination like the race, color or gender discrimination which are more popular and more often. Some examples of racism discrimination are Hitler and the American people who bad treated the b lack expatriates.   Also another popular and very often discrimination is about the gender of workers. In countries such as Afghanistan or Iran women are not manipulated equal as men thus have a sidetrack position in all areas culture. The face of discrimination in the employment is not such an easy problem, so the only factor that can stop those discriminations is the application of law in all areas and especially in the workplace. In this essay we are going to examine if the legislation is an effective mechanism for eliminating gender/ethnic discriminatory practices in employment. According to Crosby and Stockdale (2007) sex discrimination can be defined as ‘when a person is or people are treated unfairly in the work context because of gender. There exist, and always will, the huge gap between men and women as concerns the equality. Particularly, in the workplace, we can notice that women do not treated equally as men and thus we have the sex discrimination in employment. This unfair treatment against women leads to resort in Employment Tribunals and claim their rights. Taking in mind the Article 23, the equality between men and women must exist in all areas, including employment, work and pay. The principle of equality shall not embarrass the preservation or approval of measures providing for specific advantages in favor of the under-represented sex, all the employers have to respect and obey it. Many women claiming to earn the same reward opportunities as men, can get a promotion or decision-making roles, have the same employment benefits as men, to ha ve the chance of training and development opportunities, being protected by the law and having the chance for a convenience working. Some statistics show that the average hourly earnings for full-time working women are 82% of those of men and the part-time rate is 61% of that of men. Also the 20% of women which working full time earn less than  £200 per week compared with the 8% of men. Women have the 37% of managerial positions in businesses and it can be notice that women that working in the private sector earn better wages than those who are working in the public sector. As regards the flexible working 63% of women are likely to work flexibly, 78% of housework is doing by women and the 80% of women are becoming the victims of violent crimes. Occupational segregation is another barrier which prevent women accomplishment their obligation in the workplace. It is the distribution of jobs between men and women which require specific qualifications. For example masculine jobs which are engineers, electrical, pilots, firemen etc and the henpecked jobs which are nurses, teachers and stewardess. Although there are some exceptions like some women are being judges or senior police officers. ‘Glass ceiling represents the various barriers that women may face. ‘Glass ceiling prevent them from having an increased in their income or overall go on with their career unlikely with the efforts, achievements and qualifications that may have and offer. The consequences of the sex discrimination are the unfair dismissal for the following reasons: pregnancy, marital status and child care. It is very frequent for a woman to loss her job because of her pregnancy or because is divorced. According to Lockton (2006), ‘In the Courts view, the dismissal of a pregnant woman who had been appointed for an indefinite period, could not be justified on grounds relating to her inability to fulfill a condition of her employment contract temporarily. As a result we have to try and create new policies which include a much broader range of women e.g. black women, working-class women and single mothers, who suffer from discrimination and disadvantages. Furthermore women will tend to leave the workforce because of the child care, of not being as productive as job requires, or choose to earn less by staying in a friendly position or even to experience bias from her employer or her colleagues. Another form of discrimination is the race or ethnic discrimination which referrers to minority of groups in society which are less favorable treated from other groups such an example black and Asian people compared to white and English people. There is a law called Race Relation Act where established in 1976 where prohibits this type of discrimination on race, color, nationality and ethnic origin grounds. Sir Macpherson suggested that ‘the collective failure of an organization to provide an appropriate and professional service to people because of their color, and culture or ethnic origin. It can be seen or detected in processes, attitudes and behavior which amount to discrimination through unwitting prejudice, ignorance, thoughtlessness and racist stereotyping which disadvantage minority ethnic people. The black and Asian people face the discrimination by their employers in the workplace. They usual concentrated in particular jobs, have fewer opportunities to recruitment in j ob than white people, they work in lower jobs with very poor pay and the most of them are unemployed. Employers cannot discriminate against the job applicants because of the racial ground in terms of intention who should offer the job, which employment is offered or by denying employment. Also employers cannot discriminate on their current employees about the racial ground in terms of which is the employer, the way that can get opportunities for promotion, training and many other benefits or by unbind because they did not bow to their wishes (racial harassment). According to Bell (2002) ‘In the UK, during 1999/2000, the police recorded 47.814 racist incidents, most involving damage to property or verbal harassment. The International Convention on the Elimination of All forms of Discrimination has the Article 4(a) which says that to announce as a fast punishable by lawimpulse to racial discrimination, as well as all acts of violence or impulse to such acts against any race or group of persons of another color or ethnicity. As it mortgaged above, racial discrimination is prohibited by law so many people who had faced any type of discrimination can complaint to the Employment Tribunal. There is three month time limit for presenting in Employment Tribunal and the decision of the tribunal is sometimes further than compensation. The Employment Tribunal may recommend to the employer ways to reduce bad effects of the discrimination such as an apology.   Nowadays discrimination has reduced in very high levels because all the employers try to respect and obey the law. By the incorporation of black and Asian people in the workforce had been able to acquire successful jobs. Also women in the 20th century have more opportunities and are protected by law. They have made improvements on areas of politics, education, employment etc. In conclusion the gender and ethnic discrimination in the workplace is prohibited by law. Unfortunately some employers violate the law and discriminate against of their employees. Women, black and Asian people faced most recently the racism of their employers and many cases transferred to the Employment Tribunal. Nowadays this phenomenon has reduced and employers are training and have the knowledge to avoid any situation of discrimination not only from their side but also form the side of the workers. In recent years women and black people have very important positions all over the world and an example is the minister of USA Barack Obama who had competed with a woman, Hillary Clinton, for the chair of USA. This example shows us that men and women, black or white are equal, have the same opportunities and are protected by the law from any type of discrimination. Japanese Airlines: Strategic Human Resource Management Japanese Airlines: Strategic Human Resource Management This essay is going to discuss about the human resource management issues in Japanese airlines and also provide the way to solve the problem based on the human resource strategy that consist of various practices i.e. communication within an organization, human resource planning, recruitment and selection, learning and development, performance measurement, employee relations, and evaluation. Harvard Referencing Style is adopted for referencing in this essay. In 1992, Japanese airlines, JAL, declared its first loss at $100.2 million (Shrestha, 2008). Numbers of policies and plans were initiated and executed in order to combat with the loss. The key to combat with the loss was to reduce the expenses therefore downsizing the employee and cutting off the employee remuneration were included in its plans. Furthermore, the company turned to start hiring non-Japanese employees instead due to the lower payment on their wages. Consequently, these policies and plans led to another substantial loss for the company which was a lowering in productivity of its employee and had a notably impact on customer services and also customer relations. This substantial loss was engendered by the differences between Japanese and non-Japanese employees of JAL itself and this was considered to be the human resource management issue of the firm. According to the business strategy of Japanese airlines was to strive in the airline business and combat with its loss by the cost reduction and workforce productivity improvement (JAL, 2008). Thus, the human resource strategy had to be aligned to the business strategy in order to achieve the firms goal. HR strategy consists of a set of decisions and actions which involve with the management of all level of employee in the business and related to the implementation of strategy that led to creating and sustaining competitive advantage of the company (Tyson, 2006). The key HR strategy of JAL appeared to be the hiring non-Japanese employees at lower wages through the IASCO, global crew leasing company. This was possibly considered as an effective strategy to JAL as the labor costs of the firm was reduced by 40% in that period of time. However, afterwards, this strategy turned to be a loss of the firm in long run as a rift between Japanese employees who directly contracted with JAL and n on-Japanese employees who contracted with JAL through IASCO was created according to the differences between them. Differences were possibly stimulated in either difference in their personal culture of working and flawed HR policies that could not blend and treat them together equally; as a result, them and us culture was developed and made a loss to the firm. Apparently, the existed HR strategy of the firm did not cover this pitfall and should be reconstructed based on HR practices and fit with the business strategy in order to resolve the problem and sustain the competitive advantage of the company. The key determinant of human resource effectiveness is the fit between the business strategy and human resource strategy (Tyson, 2006). The business strategy and HR strategy are required to be communicated through all level of employees in the company to enhance the employee understanding and motivate them to pursue the firms goal. Communication in organization is the basic function that cannot be overlooked. It is the key for motivation that can improve the employee morale and productivity (Martin, 2005). Without the communication, it is impossible to create the human relations and thus difficult to success in the business (Thomson, 2007). Communication in organization can be categorized into 2 main types which are written communication such as internal newsletters, e-mails and another one is the oral communication that involves presentations, employee meetings. Both types are important in different ways depend on the situation but, generally, oral communications are much more meaningful and effective than written communications (Martin, 2005). As such, the HR strategy of JAL should be conducted through the employee meeting which involves entire level of employees by include how each individual employee can contribute to the firms goal, how employees will be supported and how the firm will be different in the future and make sure that it is a two-way communication to ensure that all employees will receive and understand the delivered messages. However, the Japanese culture tends to be the seniority system under a formal hierarchy that reflects the subordinates to acknowledge the supervisors commands with less comments and suggestions (Deresky, 2008). Therefore, this strict hierarchy should be mitigated in communication and replaced by the openness in order to obtain the feedback and perceive the existed and potential problems including human resource issues in the organization from all employees. It is important to gather the information of existed problems as well as potential problems in the future from the employees as they are the real one who facing the real problem and their opinions are useful to develop the problem solving plan (Robbins, 2008). HR practices such as human resource planning, recruitment and selection, learning and development, performance measurement, employee relations, and evaluation would be more effective by development with the joint of employees feedback. HR planning is the process of determining what job in the firm will need to be filled, how to fill them and what skills, experience and competencies will be required (Dessler, 2008). This process is significance to the firm in term of manpower management and certainly the benefit to the firm in term of financial as well. The goal of HR planning can be defined as to get the right quantify of employee with the right knowledge, skills, experiences and competencies in the right jobs at the right time and also at the appropriate cost in order to achieve the firms goal (Bacal, 2010). The HR planning is able to play an important role regarding the firms cost reduction strategy because it involves with the determining current existed employees and also forecasting the future employee turnover and requirement rate to balance the total headcounts that capable to sustain the achievement on business goal. Shortage of employee issue can make a loss in opportunities in business that leads to financial loss. Similarly, excessiveness of headcount issue can make a financial loss by the excess payment on unnecessary jobs and downsizing the employee which compensation payments are required. The downsizing does not create an impact on only employees who have been sacked but it also creates the negative impact on morale of remaining employees (?sthus, 2010). These issues are possibly mitigated by an effective HR planning (Dessler, 2008). Under a well-developed HR planning, JAL would tend to promote their existed employees to other required positions by training and developing them instead of hiring new employees which may cause financial loss in the future due to an excessive headcount. HR planning could provide both money saving and prevention of morale impact on firms employees. HR planning directly involves with the recruitment and selection process. Recruitment and selection process is the process of screening and choosing the right people into the right positions at the right time (Martin, 2005). This process can be done by the firm itself so called in-house recruitment or through the employment agencies i.e. headhunters, niche recruiters (Dessler, 2008). JAL decided to recruit their non-Japanese pilots and flight engineers through the IASCO, crew leasing company which is considered as employment agencies, due to the reason of lower wages. However, the cultural differences between Japanese and non-Japanese employees created a negative impact to the firm. To combat with this issue, JAL could work out with IASCO to screen and select non-Japanese employee by take following factors into account beyond the skills, experiences and competencies that are generally required in the position. These factors are culture adaptability and ability to learn other language of the candidates through the ability test of aptitude, test of personali ty and group situational test in the structured interview and selection process. Adaptability is a personality to handling uncertainty situation, and dealing with the working outside traditional culture and also geographical borders (OConnell, 2008). With the high adaptability of non-Japanese employees, they could tend to conform to JAL culture. Consequently, the cultural differences issues could be reduced. In the same way, this recruitment practice that takes the adaptability of candidates into account could provide more effective in problem solving related to the cultural differences by applying it to the recruitment of Japanese employee by JAL itself as well. As such, both Japanese and non-Japanese with high adaptability could easily blend together and provide better work performances. Alternatively, the JAL could save more money and, in the same time, avoid the cultural differences issues by in-house recruitment on both Japanese and non-Japanese employees with the focus on adaptability of candidates. Hiring people through the employment agencies normally cost more than in-house recruitment since the agencies get the fees (Dessler, 2008). Also, recruiting non-Japanese employees directly by JAL itself and make them to be permanent employees for the firm could prevent the negative impact on their morale and lead to maintain their productivities. Morale and employee relation problems can be created when the permanent and non-permanent employees working on the same work but not obtain the same benefits regarding their differences in permanent and non-permanent employment status (Schaefer, 2005). The productivity of employee is tended to worsen if the employees morale is lower (Mohanty, 2009). Recruiting and selecting the high potential employees does not assure that they will perform their work effectively. To guarantee that employees will work effectively, they are required to know what to do and how to do their jobs through the learning, training and development programs (Dessler, 2008). Firstly, the employees need to learn the basic background information of the firm such as company rules and policies in order to get them perform their jobs satisfactorily. Employees may perform their work performance lower than expectation of the company without knowing the basic information on things like rules and policies (Tyson, 2006). Secondly, in order to improve the work performance of employees, they are required to learn and acquire new skills and knowledge. As such, training and development process is essential. Training and development is a learning process to provide the skills and knowledge, required for employees to perform their jobs, to both new and current employees with an aim to bettering their work performances (Dessler, 2008). The process can be done both on and off the job. Group meetings, Projects and assignments are the samples of on the job training. On the other hand, samples of off the job training are seminars and workshops. To train and develop employees effectively, firm needs to identify who needs training and what do they want to learn. After that, establishing plan and implementation of the training to serve employee needs. Finally, the evaluation to check the effectiveness of the training is required (Martin, 2005). Regarding the JAL human resource issues, other than general training and development programs to improve the skills and knowledge of employees, the team building training should be adopted to glue the rift between Japanese and non-Japanese employees. Team building promotes the bonding between employees within the organization (Hikichi, 2010). It can be done in a various forms even activities like games and parties (Leland, 2010). By implementing the team building program, Japanese and non-Japanese employees could tend to learn, connect and blend to other cultures from their colleagues. Team building helps break the ice between employees and better understanding on each other (Leland, 2010). As such, the conflict issues of JAL due to the culture differences could be mitigated therefore JAL could improve productivity from its employees. The productivity and workflow in a team could be intensely damaged by the conflict or confusion (Grainger, 2010). Once the employees have been employed, trained and worked on their job for a period of time, the performance appraisal is required to measure their performances. Performance appraisal is one process of the performance management. Performance management is the way that company measures and determines how well its business and employee performs through all of the organizational processes by linked with the organizations goals and objectives (Martin, 2005). Its aim is to evaluate and develop the employees (Tyson, 2006). Under performance management, JAL is required to state the clearly defined business objectives, department objectives and individual employee objectives. Thus, those objectives have to be specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, time bound, exciting and reviewable to motivate its employee. By the clearly defined objectives, employees would know what to do and see how their individual, teamwork performance affect and contribute to the overall objectives of the firms ( Moore, 2010). Clearly defined objectives provide the directions and challenges to employees and lead to improve their motivation (Bauer, 2009). The performance appraisal is important to the JAL in order to determine, evaluate and develop the employees based on their past performances. The performance appraisal also provides a benefit to the firm by improve the motivation of its employees. Once the employees are appraised, the feedback of their strengths and weaknesses are returned to employees. Letting they know what areas they need to improve and develop based on their strengths and weaknesses could improving the motivation of employees and also increasing the organizational performance (Martin, 2005). The appraisal can be done both internally such as the self-evaluation, evaluation by their supervisors, peers and externally by customer feedbacks, evaluations. JAL should standardize the performance appraisal process among subsidiaries and also equally to both Japanese employees and non-Japanese employees from IASCO crews in order to prevent the unfair situation and negative impact due to the different treatment between them. Work performances of the employees tend to be poorer if they are experienced injustice in workplace (ScienceDaily, 2009). By standardization of appraisal on both Japanese and non-Japanese employees, the non-Japanese employees could be stimulated to improve their work performances and also distrust attitude of Japanese employees could be reduced as both of them are required to work hard and perform the well-performance to improve their bottom line profits. The employees who performed above and beyond the expected level of output regarding their job description and accomplished firm, department and individual objectives should be rewarded. Recognizing and respecting for employees contribution at work is the biggest motivator (Harrison, 2010). Plenty benefits would be returned to JAL by an adoption of appropriate reward system regarding employees performance such as improvement on employee productivity, increasing in retention of quality employee and lowering absenteeism. Awarding the desired work performance of employee increases the repetition of desired work performance therefore more productivity is created (Harrison, 2010). Employee relations is the another process that JAL could adopt in order to improve its employees motivation and productivity. Employee relations is the process that concerned with sustaining the relationship between the employer and employee that contribute to satisfactory morale, motivation and productivity (Dessler, 2008). Improving the relationships at work leads to an improvement on overall productivity and thus increasing the profit to the firm (Polman, 2010). To improve the relationship among employer and employee, the conflicts between them have to be prevented. JAL could have to state clearly, effectively and reasonably policies and rules such as disciplinary rules and procedures to prevent the conflicts within an organization. Rules and policies in workplace are mainly set to specify expectations for behavior, secure safety and health of employees, promote and protect employee rights, and promote harmony and reduce the conflicts in workplace (Cuma, 2010). JAL could also help non-Japanese employees, IASCO crews, to get the membership of labor union in order to enhance the employee relations. One of the ways to improve the employer-employee relationship is to dealing well of labor union (Van der Waldt, 2007). As such, non-Japanese employees could gain more benefit, consequently be motivated and perform more productivity of their works. Union members receive more payment, holidays, insurance plan benefit, and various other benefits than nonunion employees (Dessler, 2008). Moreover, the union member also can ask for a help from the union to guarantee that workers rights are put in place (James, 2009). In addition, this action could also provide the bargaining power back to the Japanese employees who have been being members of the union. Furthermore, the job security of non-Japanese employees has to be guaranteed in order to prevent the lowering in productivity according to employees morale. Lack of job security makes the employees feel stressful (MacLeod, 2010). If employees are at unhealthy stress level, there are high possibilities that employees work performances will be poorer and that will cause negative impact to the firm (Pearson, 2009). Last step to solve the JAL human resource issues effectively is to continually evaluate the effectiveness of all previously presented HR activities. The continual evaluation process is important in order to determine how successful HR activities are and how can firm develop and improve them to be more effective. Evaluation process is used to ensure that the plans and implementations are having an effect per expectation (Douglas, 2010). If there are any loopholes in the plans and activities, the evaluation process will show early signals therefore the plans and activities can be timely adjusted to improve the effectiveness (Douglas, 2010). This essay is attempted to solve the human resource issues in Japanese airlines through the HR areas. Hopefully, the problems can be solved by the presented strategic HR plans and activities with an aim to improve the productivity and motivation of the workforce, at the same time, enhance cost saving in various ways through the HR processes which are communication within an organization, human resource planning, recruitment and selection, learning and development, performance measurement, employee relations, and evaluation.

A Web-Based application for Patients and Caregivers

A Web-Based application for Patients and Caregivers 1. The Reminiscence system Based on our findings in the pilot study (Sarne-Fleischmann and Tractinsky, 2008), a new Flash web-based application was developed to enable independent use and administration for both patients and caregivers by including two main components in the structure. The front-end component supports the patient’s interaction with the system during the therapeutic sessions. The back-end component facilitates the addition, update, and management of content. This component was designed for the use of caregivers and family. The application was developed by an experienced subcontractor according to a detailed design and the specifications provided. Great emphasis was placed on the system’s design and on simplicity of use, given the specific characteristics and limitations of the target users. Features included a very simple interface (offering the user a limited number of options in order to avoid cognitive overload); minimizing visual distractions on the display; avoiding the use of animations or competing stimuli at any given time; using subtle graphics through calming color schemes; and using a touch screen for all required interactions to support the most natural interaction style. The new systems hierarchy included only three levels to support simple and intuitive flow: Login – Entering the system by identifying the patient. Select Album – Selecting the required album from up to six albums presented. Album View – Watching the media files associated with the selected album. The navigation between the three levels is done hierarchically and is bi-directional. The reminiscence system has two different interfaces: Hebrew and English. The two interfaces are separated (each is accessible via a different link) so there is no option of switching to a different language while interacting with the system. A usability evaluation was conducted prior to the commencement of the evaluation study, in order to evaluate the appropriateness of the new system for the target audience (Sarne-Fleischmann, Tractinsky, Dwolatzky and Rief, 2011). The usability evaluation included three Alzheimers patients, who were asked to use the system in separate sessions, while being observed and interviewed regarding their mental model of interacting with the system. Based on the usability evaluations results, several modifications were made to further improve the system. 2. Methods 2.1 Patient sample The participants of this study were older subjects with cognitive impairment or dementia who resided in the community and regularly attended an adult daycare center at least twice a week. The inclusion and exclusion criteria are described in Table 1. Table 1: Inclusion and exclusion criteria Inclusion criteria Exclusion criteria (1) Age – above sixty years old (5) Psychiatric disease (2) Cognitive impairment – mild cognitive impairment (MCI) or dementia (MMSE score of 14-26) not associated with a known medical condition (such as stroke, vitamin deficiencies, impaired thyroid function, among others) (6) Significant visual or auditory impairments or any other impairment which may prevent the participant from using either of the two computerized interventions (3) English / Hebrew / Russian speakers (7) Inability to understand the questions presented in the Savion software program, or inability to communicate coherently as required for the performance of reminiscence therapy. (4) Have close relatives who could act as informants Due to the diverse symptoms of MCI and dementia, and in order to maintain a certain level of homogeneity, the age criterion (1) was determined in order to exclude cases of early onset dementia. In order to encourage the inclusion of subjects with an organic etiology for their cognitive impairment, participants with psychiatric disease (5) were excluded from the study. The language criterion (3) was based on the availability of these interfaces in the two computer systems. Due to the requirements of the screening tools, crucial information regarding the functional capabilities of the participants were to be obtained from a family informant (4). Moreover, the periodic evaluations included the impressions of family members who serve as the participants main caregivers. Each competent participant, as confirmed by an independent geriatrician, was asked to provide written informed consent prior to participation in the study. For those patients who were not competent, the legal guardian was required to provide informed consent. Subjects without a legal guardian who were determined not to be competent were not enrolled in the study. After providing informed consent, the participants medical files were reviewed in order to ensure that they conform with inclusion and exclusion criteria, and that their cognitive impairment was not the result of an associated medical condition (such as stroke, vitamin deficiencies, impaired thyroid function, among others). In addition, the participants underwent a preliminary assessment in order to determine the stage of their illness. The assessment included cognitive and functional evaluations using the following instruments: Mini-Mental State Examination for cognitive screening (Folstein et al., 1975). Clock Drawing test (Freedman et al., 1994) and CogSym questionnaire for cognitive screening (Memory Clinic, Mental Health Center, Beersheva). The latter is a numerical scale based on 10 questions used for elucidating cognitive symptoms, and is completed both by subjects and by informants. Lawton and Brody’s Instrumental Activities of Daily Living (IADL) for assessing functional capabilities (Lawton et al., 1969). This questionnaire is directed at the participants informant. Clinical Dementia Rating (CDR) scale as a global measure rating the severity of dementia (Morris, 1993). This questionnaire includes two parts: the first is directed at the informant and the second at the participant, comparing the latters response to that of the informant. Short version (15 questions) of the Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS) as a screening instrument for depression (Yesavage et al., 1983). All questionnaires directed to informants were administered by face-to-face or telephone interviews with first-degree relatives of the participants. All other scales were administered by face-to-face interviews with the participants during morning hours at the adult daycare centers. At the end of the screening process, the results of all evaluations were reviewed by a physician specializing in the treatment of cognitive syndromes, and the cognitive diagnosis was determined to be either MCI or dementia based on accepted criteria. 2.2 Design At the completion of screening, subjects were assigned randomly to one of three groups: Personal reminiscence therapy intervention (using the computerized reminiscence system with personal contents for each participant). Cognitive training intervention (using the Savion computerized cognitive training system). Control group which continued usual activities in the adult daycare center. The usual activities of all participants at the daycare centers and at their homes were not controlled. The purpose of randomization was to assure as much as possible that baseline characteristics of the participants of the three groups were similar. Randomization was stratified according to the daycare center, and to the severity of cognitive impairment (with CDR scores of 0.5 and 1 representing a milder degree of cognitive impairment, and CDR scores of 2 and 3 representing more severe impairment), see Figure 5. Figure 5. Randomization of participants in each day care center 2.3 Procedure Both those participants receiving reminiscence therapy as well as those using the cognitive training program participated in two sessions a week, each of 30-minutes duration, over a period of three months. The treatments were conducted in a quiet room at the adult daycare centers in the morning hours, and supervised by a trained mediator. At the end of each session, the mediator provided a short description of the interaction, relating to the course of the session and to special occurrences. 2.4 Measurements The following describes the measurements that were employed in the study. All assessments were performed at baseline (T0), at one month (T1) and at 3 months (T3). Responses from subjects relatives were obtained by face-to-face or telephone interviews. The name of the subjects relatives was provided by the staff of the adult day-care centers. 2.4.1 Cognitive function assessment In order to evaluate the efficacy of each of the interventions as compared to controls with regard to cognitive function, the subjects’ cognitive function was measured by the Mindstreams computerized assessment battery (Dwolatzky et al., 2003; Dwolatzky et al., 2010). The Moderate-Severe Impairment Battery was administered. This tool takes about 20 minutes to administer and tests the following cognitive domains: Orientation to time and place Language skills Memory Nonverbal memory Delayed nonverbal memory Executive function Similarities and judgment Reality testing Go-NoGo basic test Spatial orientation At the end of the test, data is uploaded to a server, scores are provided for all of the individual test components, and in addition a global score index is calculated for the test. A summary score for each domain (including the global score) reflects the level of accuracy, ranging between 0-100 (with 100 being the highest level of accuracy). 2.4.2 Patients’ psychological/ behavioral well-being Behavioral outcomes were assessed using the NPI Neuropsychiatric Inventory (Cummings et al., 1994), which was completed by the subjects first-degree relative. This tool includes 12 areas, each relating to the presence of a particular behavior, its frequency, severity and the level of caregiver distress. A total score is calculated according to the frequency and severity, and ranges between 0-144 (a higher score reflecting a higher level of symptomatology). Psychological well-being was assessed using the QoL-AD instrument (Logsdon et al., 1999), and a general question from the Will to Live questionnaire was administered (Carmel, 2007). The QoL-AD instrument obtains responses regarding the subjects quality of life both from the subject and the relative, and includes 13 items rated on a four-point scale. Total score of the instrument ranges between 13-52 (a higher score reflecting better quality of life). The Will to Live questionnaire was rated by the subject, and ranges between 0-5 ( a higher score reflecting a greater will to live). The Will to Live was measured by the question: If you could describe your will-to-live on a scale from 0-5, would you say that it is: 5=very strong, 4=strong, 3=intermediate, 2=weak, 1=very weak, and 0=no will to live?. The Will to Live is associated with the psychosocial indicators of well being rather than with the respondents health status (Carmel, 2001). 2.4.3 Caregiver burden For the assessment of caregiver burden and psychological morbidity, the short version of the Zarit Caregiver Burden Interview (Bedard et al., 2001) was used. This questionnaire was administered to the subjects first-degree relatives, and ranges between 0-48 (a higher score reflecting a higher level of burden).

John Steinbecks The Pearl, The Grapes of Wrath, and Flight Essay

John Steinbeck's The Pearl, The Grapes of Wrath, and â€Å"Flight† John Steinbeck, a 20th century novelist, was the recipient of numerous awards including the Nobel Prize. Steinbeck, a conservative that valued the old America, could produce pages of beauty followed by pages of sheer trash writing using specific characteristics, which his work is characterized by. John Steinbeck’s work is characterized by symbolism and allegory, which can be seen in his novels The Pearl, The Grapes of Wrath, and his short story â€Å"Flight.† In his short story, "Flight," John Steinbeck uses many examples of symbolism, which is one way you can characterize John Steinbecks’ work. Symbolism can be a person, place, or thing used to portray something beyond itself. The most repeatedly used symbol in â€Å"Flight† is the color black. In literature many authors use the color black to represent death. In his short story, â€Å"Flight,† Steinbeck has numerous examples of color symbolism. A few examples are the black handle on the long blade, Pepe’s black hair, and the black jerky. Another example may be found when Pepà © puts on his fathers black coat, which represents death. When Pepà © puts on the coat he is literally covering himself with death. Another fine example is the trail in which Pepà © travels. Steinbeck describes the path as a well-worn black path. By traveling on this path he is in fact taking the road of death. Furthermore Pepà ©'s appearance also helps foreshadow the ending. Steinbe ck describes him as having a black hat that covers his black thatched hair. Pepà © is also described as being dark, lean and tall. Another example is Pepà ©'s shack. The shack is described as weathered and very old. It casts a rather large shadow to the Northeast. The darkness of the shadow symbolizes death in the home. As we can readily see, the authors use of black symbolism in the story tells us that the main character, Pepà ©, is impending death (pg. 225). Another form of symbolism that Steinbeck utilizes, which is also in â€Å"Flight,† is nature symbolism. Throughout the story he uses nature to symbolize a variety of things. An example of nature symbolism is water, which is used to represent life. Some examples in the short story â€Å"Flight† are Pepes’ water bag that he hung over his horses’ shoulder, which began to leak, symbolizing Pepes’ life leaking away. Another example is when Pepe was traveling he start... ...n stole for him, is also clearly an example of Christian symbolism. It resembles what we receive in memory of him (pg. 89). Allegory, which is more prevalent in the twentieth century, is another way in which Steinbecks’ work can be characterized. Allegory is a work of literature in which people, objects, and events stand for or transcend abstract qualities. With varying degrees of deftness, all of Steinbecks’ major novels juxtapose their biblical sources in an attempt to transcend them. The Pearl and The Grapes of Wrath, which are two of Steinbecks’ major novels, are both allegories. The Pearl is an allegory on the evil of worldly treasures. The language in The Grapes of Wrath that the characters use is associated with Piedmont culture which is one thing that makes this novel an allegory (pg. 18-19). As you can see John Steinbeck is a great writer. He is great in his use of symbolism and allegory, which gives you a way to characterize his work. If you believe his work should be characterized in any other way you need to check out his novels The Pearl, The Grapes of Wrath, or his short â€Å"Flight†. So next time you pick up a book, pick up one of these for a great excitement.

Case Study on Alcoholism Essay -- substance abuse case study

Introduction: The ingestion of alcoholic beverages for their enjoyable effects is a custom which has been around for thousands of years, and alcohol continues to be a popular drug because of its short-term effects (Coleman, Butcher & Carson, 1984). An enormous amount of damage can be attributed directly to alcohol abuse as a result of lost jobs, accidents caused by drunk drivers, and so forth (Maltzman, 2000). Alcohol also compounds other problems--an estimated 25% to 40% of hospital patients have problems caused by, or recovery delayed by alcohol abuse (Maltzman, 2000). Clinical psychologists spend about one-fourth of their time dealing with people who are suffering in part from alcohol or other substance problems (Vaillant, 1995). Although alcohol problems have been around for so long, it is only recently that these problems have begun to be associated with medical or psychological difficulties. The first to advocate alcoholism as a disease was Benjamin Rush (1785-1843), and he even proposed that hospitals should be established to aid in the treatment of this disease (Cox, 1987). Since Rush, there have been many more definitions of alcoholism including the Statistical Abstracts (1979) account that an alcoholic is defined as ?one who is unable consistently to choose whether he shall drink or not, and if he drinks, is unable consistently to choose whether he shall stop or not. ?Alcoholics with complications? are those who have developed bodily or mental disorders through prolonged excessive drinking? (O?Brien & Chafetz, 1982, p.26). Further, Mark Keller of Quarterly Journal of Studies on Alcoholism in March of 1960 stated that alcoholism is a ?chronic disease manifested by repeat implicative drinking so as to ca... ..., Publishers. May, R. (1977). The Meaning of Anxiety. New York, NY: Washington Square Press. Menninger, W.W. (1994). Psychotherapy and integrated treatment of social phobia and comorbid conditions. Bulletin of the Menninger Clinic, 58, A84-A90. Miner, C.M., & Davidson, J.R.T. (1995). Biological characterization of social phobia. European Archives of Psychiatry and Clinical Neuroscience, 244, 304-308. Potts, N.L., & Book, S., & Davidson, J.R.T. (1996). The neurobiology of social phobia. International Clinical Psychopharmacology, 11, 43-48. Uhde, T.W. (1994). Anxiety and growth disturbances: Is there a connection? A review of biological studies in social phobia. Journal of Clinical Psychiatry, 55, 17-27. Wittchen, H. (2000). The many faces of social anxiety disorder. International Clinical Psychopharmacology, 15, S7-S12.

Character Analysis of Roderigo in Othello Essay -- Othello Essays

In Shakespeare’s play, Othello, several incidents occur that portray the purpose of Roderigo’s character. If one event is isolated from the rest, the thematic desire is lost. It is only when the events are looked at as a whole that the actual theme is obtained. Roderigo is a minor character who carries out a vital role in the play. Although Roderigo has very few lines, he plays a crucial role on a thematic level. The play begins with a conversation between Roderigo and Iago. The opening lines are significant in that they set the tone and initiate the plot. Roderigo’s thematic purpose is portrayed through Iago’s manipulation in the lines, â€Å"Tush, never tell me! I take it much unkindly/ That thou, Iago, who hast had my purse/ As if the strings were thine shouldst know of this.† (1.1.1-3). Roderigo learns about the elopement of the Moor and Desdemona. He questions Iago in pursuit of the money he has given him in order to woo Desdemona. These lines show that even before the play begins Iago greatly influences Roderigo. The relationship and trust the two characters have is made apparent through the first lines. Iago takes enjoyment in influencing people, as seen through his first soliloquy: Thus do I ever make my fool my purse; For I mine own gain’d knowledge should profane If I would time expend with such a snipe But for my sport and profit. (1.3.374-377). Iago states that the only reason he spends time with Roderigo is for his own wealth and pleasure. His plan is to continue giving Roderigo unfulfilled promises. Iago continues to manipulate Roderigo. He convinces him that Desdemona will soon grow tired of Othello and begin to search for a younger, handsome man to fulfill her desires. Continuing to build on Rod... ... sake of his reputation, Iago persuades Roderigo to kill Cassio. In doing so, Roderigo only injures the lieutenant. Iago sees his plan collapsing and rushes in to kill Roderigo. Betrayed by his friend, Roderigo died in pursuit of Desdemona’s love. As a minor character, Roderigo has a significant impact on several themes such as manipulation, jealousy and betrayal. Throughout Shakespeare’s drama, Roderigo is manipulated into performing tasks in which Iago does not want to take part in. Roderigo’s jealousy towards Othello increases as the play progresses. His endless love for Desdemona leads him to his tragic death where he has be betrayed by a person in which he once called his friend. At a first glance, a minor character may appear to have an insignificant role, but upon observing them in detail, their role can be much more significant that first perceived.

Employee Relationship Management

Employee Relationship Management Assignment – 1 Trade Union In Jharkhand Jharkhand Krantikaari Mazdoor Union – JKMU Submitted by P. Lokeshwari S. Shahana Devi Jharkhand Krantikaari Mazdoor Union In July  JKMU  organised a union of 220 contract workers in a newly established private steel factory owned by Electro Steel Casting Ltd. 40 kms from Bokaro. All 500 workers employed in the plant are local workers. 100 workers’ services were terminated for participating in union formation activities. JKMU  organised a dharna and blockades with the help of local villagers and forced management to reinstate all workers.The Deputy Labour Commissioner also put pressure on management to take back the workers or else the factory license would be cancelled. The newly formed union held meetings with the  ALC  on 2nd & 10th July and submitted demand notice to management. In April-May in Bokaro Power Supply Co. Pvt. Ltd. (a joint venture between  SAIL  and  DVC)   JKMU  has a union of 500 contract workers. There are multiple unions in the plant, but the  JKMU  union members in the helper category who had been struggling for a year for implementation of minimum wages and other benefits finally boycotted payment for 10 days.The action ended with implementation of their demands by the contractor and payment of minimum wages was done in the presence of management and union representatives. The Jharkhand Krantikaari Mazdoor Union (JKMU) has been struggling for many years demanding permanent status for all workers on contract in perennial jobs in the Bokaro Steel Plant. The  JKMU  has been made a member of the Jharkhand State Contract Labour Advisory Board and the Jharkhand State Engineering Industries Wage Board. This is a rare incident as it is usually accepted that only central trade unions are made members of such state level boards.More than 90% of contract workers in the power sector are today members of  JKMU. Recent Struggles : 1. In Bokaro steel plant, contract and casual workers are not given quarters and had been living in slums. High Court has now given orders for encroachment, which would then lead to the demolition of these structures. SP and other district officials were gheraoed by workers. JKMU  had given a strike notice in 16-17 May 2011. Meetings were held everywhere and contract workers were mobilised in huge numbers. An application was also submitted simultaneously to the Regional Labour Commissioner (RLC) for rehabilitation of these workers.RLC  asked for quarters to be built and management finally accepted the demands for building permanent structures. 2. In July 2009  JKMU  organised a union of 220 contract workers in a newly established private steel factory owned by Electro Steel Casting Ltd. In this unit 100 workers were terminated for participating in union activities. JKMU  organised a dharna and several blockades with the help of local villagers and forced the management to reinstate all workers. The union could also force the Deputy Labour Commissioner exercise his power on the management to reinstate the workers with the threat to cancel the factory license.

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