Child and young person development Essay

Task 2 – Explain the difference between sequence of development and rate of development and why the difference is important. The sequence of development is the order in which development takes place. Although some stages of development may be missed (for example some babies do not crawl and go straight from shuffling to walking) the sequence is usually followed by children and the order usually remains the same. The rate of development is the time-frame given for the average development of a child expected at a certain age, i.e. at one has started to walk. All children are unique and will develop at their own rate. The rate of development is just a guideline. For example: some babies start teething from 6 months and some of them start at 9 months. Some babies can start making sentences at around 1 year; others can only speak few broken words. Read more: Rate of development  essay The sequence of development generally remains the same. The rate of development can change considerably and many other factors such as individual growth patterns, social background, health and nutrition, disability and learning difficulties can have an effect on it. It is important to know the difference between the sequence and rate of development as it helps to meet the children’s individual needs. It helps you recognise if any children have special educational needs and helps you plan to make sure they are getting the help and support they may need. Practitioners must have a good understanding of the child development rates. Practitioners should: †¢Carry out assessment and observation effectively. It is required for practitioners to make development comparisons between a child’s actual development stage and expected development rates. †¢Offer appropriate activities and experiences. This will be informed by  observation, monitoring and assessment of individual children. †¢Anticipate the next stage of a child’s development. This allows the practitioner to provide activities and experiences that will challenge and interest children, therefore, stimulating the child’s learning development. †¢Notice when children are not progressing as expected. Although children develop at different rates, significant delays in one area or many delays in several areas can be an indication that children need intervention and extra support.

Quinte Mir

The immediate issue is that Benton-Cooper Medical Centre’s MRI clinic has been open for 6 weeks and not performing to expectations and to the promises made by their new MRI provider, Quinte MRI. With referrals to the clinic, doctors expect to receive MRI transcription reports within two days and the current backlog exceeds 14 days. As a result there is a loss of patient referrals from doctors within the hospital and surrounding community which means a loss of revenue for BCMC. Quinte MRI must determine what is causing the backlog and how to fix it.Secondary IssuesA secondary issue in the clinic is that the MR Technologist is putting in a lot of overtime even though the maximum number of patients each week is not being met. Quinte MRI personnel need to examine and analyze the interaction between the capacity, the process flow and the bottleneck and provide a resolution and action plan back to the CEO, Dr. Syed Haider within 2 days. Environmental and Root Causes Quinte MRI, an i nternational service provider specializing in medical diagnostic technologies signed an agreement in February 2002 with Benton-Cooper Medical Centre (BCMC) for the outsourcing of their MRI services.BCMC believed that they could competed successfully if they had a third MRI machine as they anticipated continued growth in this area by 15% through doctor’s referrals from the hospital and surrounding areas. BCMC also believed that they could generate enough revenue and promotional support through advertisements with local print and radio stations to be able to own their own fixed MR system and be recognized as a top rated hospital for the area. Quinte MRI promised the avenue for BCMC to be able to accomplish these goals through its service reliability and access to diagnostic equipment 24 hours a day, 7 days a week at a reasonable cost.However, these expectations are not being met and David Wright has gone to the MR Technologist, Jeff Sinclair to examine and analyze what was caus ing the backlog (bottleneck) in the operation. Jeff indicated that due to poor communication between the hospital and the clinic, mistakes were being made due to a manual process for recording information. Patients were being booked at wrong time, cancelling or not showing up, wrong tests were being requested or recorded, and patients were not being screened properly for an MRI scan.An assessment was being done when the patient came into the clinic. A patient preparation process has not been implemented in the new facility, whereas the previous MRI provider scheduled all appointments. Jeff felt that wasted time was being spent on delivering scans to the radiologist after each patient. Jeff also accounted for the fact that during May, the clinic used a Siemens unit, which took some time to get used to, however, now that the GE machine was in place (Jeff was originally trained on this machine), things were improving.David next examined the cycle time on for a 30 minute procedure. The table below shows the current cycle time of the patient, the MR Technologist and the MRI machine. 15 minutes was dedicated to patient preparation for an MRI while only 27. 5 minutes was spent in the Magnet Room. 42. 5 minutes was being spent on a 30 minute procedure. This was where the bottleneck was in the process. Staying with this current process and resources, the maximum capacity of this process can only be 8 procedures if all other inputs into this process ran smoothly (i. . no cancellations). Exhibit 1 Patient Check in until entrance into Magnet Room Minutes MR Technologist escorted the patient to the Magnet Room (asks questions to determine if any health risks/conflicts and if any patient has any metal components internally or on clothing) 59Patient – 42. 5 minutesMR Technologist – 42. 5 minutes Changing Room for patients wearing metal on their clothing (25% of patients)Magnet Room Patient Orientation and paperwork verification 127. 5 Positioning of Coil 4 MRI Scan time based on a 30 minute scheduled MRI scan)16. 5MRI Machine – 16. 5 minutes Data Entry (happened during scan)1 Printing MRI Scans (average 8 sheets at 45 seconds each)6 Patient back to reception Escort the Patient back to Front Desk 26 Changing Room 4 Monica Zimmerman, radiology department manager was pressuring Quinte MRI to hire another MR technologist to lighten Jeff’s workload and improve the process flow. David needed to review the cost of hiring an additional person to make the process flow better.He knew that the 1. Tesla MRI machine rated capacity was 2 patients per hour, however the actual scans in a day, would be based on the type of scan required. David used the 30 minute and the 1 hour procedure to determine what the potential spend per day was and what the annual spend would be. Note that any lost appointments resulted in a $700. 00 per scan loss, however this also could be a $700. 00 increase for unscheduled (walk-in) appointments. By looking at th e potential projected income, hiring another person was a possibility.Exhibit 2 Time – Min/Hour# performed$ scan suppliesper scan Daily RevenueBCMC chargeDaily revenue – BCMC chargeAnnual Revenue25% Tax $Income 3016145$700 $ 11,200$2,320$8,880$2,800,000$700,000$2,100,000 18145$700 $ 5,600$1,160$4,440$1,400,000$350,000$1,050,000 Alternatives and Options Criteria 1. Increase the process flow, machine capacity and change the position of the bottleneck 2. Increase revenue 3. Repair relationship and reputation with BCMC Alternative 1: (Strategic) Quinte MRI has found out that the manual process for taking appointments is creating many errors.If the system was computerized MRI test requirements could be input into the system and throughput could be maximized based on MRI procedure time required in order to maximize time slot available. Quinte MRI also realized that the MRI Technologist was performing administrative tasks that could be assigned to an assistant. By removing th ese tasks from the technologist, more time availability would become available for scheduling additional MRI tests. In order to process patients faster, a form could be developed that specifies what the patient must do prior to arrival at the MRI Clinic.Another form could be developed for when that patient arrives at the clinic that asks questions regarding health risks and indicating what restriction would prevent a patient from having an MRI. The assistant could take the patient all the way through the process until the Magnet room at which point the MR technologist would take over. There are necessary requirements that the MR technologist must do prior to completion of the scan, but the collection of the MRI scans and delivery of them back to the radiologist could be done by the assistant that is escorting the patient from the Magnet room.If we assume that most of the MRI scans are a half an hour, than patients could be scheduled every half hour in order to maximize both the capa city of the machine and the capacity of the technologist. Pros: By implementing the computer, there is more accuracy being collected for appointments and test requirements. By hiring the MR assistance, there is increased flow capacity because the technologist will handle only the MRI scans and not the administration task that were previous being done him.This takes the bottleneck out of the administrative task and aligns it to the maximum capacity of the machine thereby increasing revenue which provides the ability to hire the assistant. This would create reliability with the clinic again so that doctors will send their referrals to the clinic. Cons: A second MR technologist will not be hired and when it comes time for vacation of illness, there will be no one to step into the technologist position and ensure continuous flow.Quinte MRI would need to hire from a temporary agency in order to fulfill their requirement which means addition dollars will be spend. Alternative 2: (Tactical ) Quinte MRI could hire a second MRI Technologist to perform MRI scans alternating times with the first MRI Technologist to increase the flow and capacity of the process. This would take away the backlog and doctors could send their referrals to the clinic with a sense of reliability that the clinic will get it turnaround within 2 days. Pros:This would allow Quinte MRI to always have a back up in the event that one of the technologists is on vacation and / or ill. The increase revenue being generated due to increased MRI procedures could pay for the second MR Technologist. Cons: Based on the current practices, hiring a second technologist would alleviate some of the workload, however given that no effort has been made to correct the communication issues between the hospital/patient and the booking department, there is a strong possibility, that patients will still continue to be booked at the wrong time, cancel or just not show up.Without a procedure to hand how patients are dealt w ith from checking to magnet room, people could still be turn away due to health reasons, clothing that is not appropriate for scanning purposes. Recommendation The recommendation is to take Alternative #2 as it addresses all of the criteria by increasing the process flow, machine capacity and changes the bottle neck to the maximum machine capacity. It increases revenue and repairs the relationship and reputation with BCMC.

Duccio Madonna and Child

This is the first time I do the museum paper, that’s made me have a lot of mixing feeling, wondering, excited, curious†¦ Then, I went to the internet to make some research in art works at Metropolitan Museum. Actually, I’m interested in painting for one reason is I love drawing. I made about eleven oil paintings in my whole life. My life inspired me to put my emotion into the painting, sometime it was sad, sometime it was exciting.The value of all the painting is not just only about the drawing skill, but also the deep meaning idea the artist want to put inside the painting and the personality the artist want to present in this painting. I tried to figure out what is the best painting to write about. One Europe painting was be amazed me is the â€Å"Madonna and Child†, by Duccio di Buoninsegna, acquired by the Metropolitan Museum of Art for $45 million, the most expensive purchase ever by the museum. I saw it online and I was so curious and wondering why thi s painting cost so expensive.Then I decided to go to the museum to expand my knowledge about this painting for real. In 1963, when the â€Å"Mona Lisa† came to the Met for a month, more than a million people stood in long lines; but when I went to look at the Duccio, I was the only person in the room. To be sure, 13 and 14 century Italian paintings lack the popular of works by Leonardo or van Gogh, but I think more people will be curious about something that cost so much more what the Met had spent on any previous acquisition. To see this painting for real was so amazing!It’s beautiful, the colors were so unique, shinning and I keep wondering how it can be maintained till nowadays. I came home and felt so hunger to research about this painting. That painting made me surprised every seconds. The â€Å"Madonna and child† by Duccio was purchased in 2004, made in tempura and gold on wood painting was made from 1295-1300. Remarkably, it has the original frame with a technique which would later become popular in Renaissance paintings. The little picture which it just measures eleven inches high by just over eight inches wide has not attracted people that would make it difficult to see.But for real, the painting has a powerful existence with the meaning deep inside. The Virgin holds the Christ child in her left arm and looks beyond him with sad tenderness, while Jesus touching His mother’s veil, and the Virgin’s distant expression. Why Mary was so sad? Perhaps, the sadness in knowing that her only beget son will someday die for the sins of mankind. The subject about biblical was painted by Duccio in a very unique manner for his time. The artist rejected the flat expression of earthly and heavenly beings that was the style of Byzantine art.We are at the beginning of what we think of as Western art; elements of the Byzantine style still linger—in the gold background, the Virgin’s boneless and elongated fingers, and the c hild’s unchildlike features – but the colors of their clothing are so miraculously maintained, and the sense of human intercommunication is so convincing, that the two figures seem to exist in a real space, and in real time. However, The rigid line of Mary's shoulder and her long nose out of Byzantine art. It testifies to a Jesus as a human child, capable of fancy, rebellion, and love.It also testifies to a prematurely independent Jesus, able to sit up straight and to offer a regal blessing. Gold testifies further to the icon's value, its function, and its subject matter. Imagine, in fact, the gold represent to a god. Right away, the work signals at its closeness to the viewer, but also its larger-than-life subject. In this way, it brings the divine into the lives of its beholders. Duccio di Buoninsegna was born in Siena, Tuscany in about 1256. He was one of the most influential artists of his time along with that other great master from Tuscany, Cimabue.He spent almos t his entire working life in Siena. Despite not having a great deal of information about his personal life, we do know that he fathered at least seven children and that he died in 1318 or 1319. Duccio achieves the same end in a different way: he creates not just an image, but also an object. Over time, images became more and more powerful. Artists used the illusion of real life to break through walls. The more real art became, the more it became larger than life. It took Modernism's rediscovery of the art object to return painting to earth. Duccio anticipated the puzzle of the imaginary.That aim helps account for his impulse toward the decorative. It drives the unexpected delicacy of his image. He has a softer, more personal range of color than one expects from a conservative icon, as in the robe on the infant Jesus. Duccio's combination of the familiar, the divine, and the decorative extends to the image, too. When is the painting not just only the painting but also the signature o f something else. The â€Å"Madonna and child† was the last known Duccio still in private hands inspired me so much. But I keep asking myself why just only the lack of people know about the real value of this painting?

Abstract format Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Abstract format - Essay Example In their study, Allen, Gibson, McLean, Davis, and Byrne (2014), wanted to establish the ancestry and maternal aspects that may foretell increases or decreases in the signs of a child eating disorder over a duration. The Allen, Gibson, McLean, Davis, and Byrne (2014), study had 221 participants, mother-child dyads. The study participants were evaluated at baselines; 1-year and 2-years sequel. The investigators used linear mixed models and other methods to find the forecasters of the signs of child eating disorder. The findings of the study showed that the youngsters of mothers with a preceding or current eating condition registered considerably higher levels of worldwide indicators of eating conditions as well as emotional food intake, compared to children of other mothers. Moreover, mothers with a preceding or current eating condition were more concerned of their children weight. Family susceptibility to constant worry/stress and little motherly education were additional risk considerations for eating disorder indicators. Allen, Gibson, McLean, Davis, and Byrne (2014), concluded that a mother’s concern of a child’s weight, stress in the family, the mother’s education level, and a child’s level of family gratification could foretell the signs of eating disorder in a child. The article is informative and fills the gap in research that family aspects can precisely foretell the signs of an eating disorder in a child. Moreover, the article addresses a relevant issue in our society, childhood obesity. Drobnjak, S., Atsiz, S., Ditzen, B., Tuschen-Caffier, B., & Ehlert, U. (2014). Restrained eating and self-esteem in premenopausal and postmenopausal women. Journal of Eating Disorders, 2 (23), 1-10. DOI:10.1186/s40337-014-0023-1 Drobnjak, Atsiz, Ditzen, Tuschen-Caffier, and Ehlert (2014) did the research because of the lack of information about disordered food consumption in middle-aged females. Therefore, in

Impact Of Educational Systems On The Creativity Development Essay

Impact Of Educational Systems On The Creativity Development - Essay Example In addition, the reforms are also aimed at ensuring that students are taught in an environment that could promote their talents and creativity and not just be focusing on grades. Kaila (2005) argues that while education systems have been in existence for many years, most of them have been grade-centric with little focus on nurturing the learners’ innovativeness and creativity. Nevertheless, Mantel (2005) reports on new legislation in the education systems that address these needs. Particularly, the No Child Left Behind Act has been seen as being quite instrumental in ensuring that teachers work towards raising the performance of all students. While the legislation is arguably a great move towards raising the quality of education, several critiques observe the legislation’s focus on standardized testing cannot effectively tackle the problems affecting the American education system. It is hoped that there will be more educational reforms that will, among other things, lay emphasis on identifying and supporting unique talents among students. Such a move will create a favorable environment for identifying new talent and creativity among students and will, consequently, help in building holistic students (Geist & Hohn, 2009). The tremendous increase in the world population has led to more problems and demand for more services. In order to provide solutions to these inherent problems, Grazer (2013) observes that there is a need for creative and innovative solutions. The high competition in the workplace also demands creative employees with the ability to tailor their offerings in accordance with the needs of the customers. The challenges facing the society also need creative and innovative solutions. As a result, there is a great demand for creative individuals in almost all spheres of life, hence the need for education systems to focus on churning out holistic students.

Corporate Governance Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Corporate Governance - Essay Example This notion of corporate governance is similar with the explanation provided by Cadbury (1992). Fine corporate governance is linked with a lesser cost of capital, elevated returns on equity, better efficiency, consideration of the roles and responsibilities of the Board of Directors, integrity and ethical behaviour, disclosure and transparency and more constructive handling and equitable treatment of each and everyone of the shareholders in a firm such as respect for the rights of shareholders and recognition that the company has legal and other obligations to all legitimate stakeholders (Claessens, 2006), unlike in this case study. David and Victoria are the directors of the Becksville Limited and own between them sixty five per cent of the shares. There are two other shareholders who take little or no part in the running of the company. Both David and Victoria are also the directors of Worldspice Limited which is a company, like Becksville Limited, that deals with sporting and entertainment activities. Worldspice Limited went into a creditors voluntary winding up and there is a substantial deficit such that the creditors expect no more than 10 pence in the pound. Worldspice Limited had become insolvent mainly as a result of many speculative investments in attempting to develop the company’s activities. This speculative attitude was also adopted by David and Victoria in the running of Becksville Limited and this company has suffered losses resulting in the company being unable to pay a dividend for the past three years. David and Victoria have taken  £25,000 per year each by way of Directors remunerat ion during this period. David and Victoria have also in 2004 and 2005 made considerable donations amounting to  £100,000 to various charities. The minority shareholders of Becksville Limited have now discovered that David and Victoria in June 2005

Why does work matter for modern societies Essay

Why does work matter for modern societies - Essay Example The complexities of the modern world have also led to people changing their forms of production in order to fit into the world. Modernity has led to a change in labor division from the usual organizational division of labor to social divisions. Divisions of labor have changed and there is a clear varianceamid the pre modern societies and the modern societies. In the pre modern societies, labor was divided based on social units, similarity and familial basis while in the modern world it is divided based on market, state and the civil society. Work is important to the modern world since the modern world has brought about a lot of social differentiation and hence increasing structural complexity. Despite each individual participating in different careers, work holds the society together and wipes away their differences. The pre modern societies were faced with similar challenges, problems since they all belonged to similar locations, families, religion and their levels of education were equal a situation termed as mechanical solidarity. However, in the modern society, people are very different and they have to inter-depend on one another in order to survive. The modern population has different abilities and each human being can do something in a unique and better way than another. This characteristic of the modern society makes it important for every human being to work so that they may serve another human being in their area of specialty and at the same time, get services form other human beings in their different areas of specialty. The pre-modern societies were undifferentiated since they shared strong beliefs and sentiments and this characteristic is termed as collective conscience. The modern societies have a characteristic of being more differentiated due to them having less defined beliefs a nd sentiments but instead have norms and values. This characteristic of the modern society being different and in some way

Family Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Family - Essay Example Pi is a Hindu child. Nevertheless, his curiosity and passion to know God more drives him to pursue three different religions at a go, i.e. his native Hindu, Islam, and Christian religions (Castelli, 2012). The Life of Pi exhibits several examples of the Feminist Family Theory as well as the Structural Functionalism Theory. Feminist Family Theory refers to the search of rights, identities, opportunities and privileges that women think and believe they deserve. This theory tackles issues that make women be second-class in the society, such as being inferior to men. On the other hand, the theory of Structural Functionalism proposes that division of family roles should take a natural course, generally basing on gender affiliations of family members. In this regard, Structural Functionalism proposes that men work in order to provide basic needs for their families such as earning money to buy food, clothes and pay rent. On the other hand, the tasks of women are expressively taking care of family members, especially household chores (Hamon, Ingoldsby, Miller & Smith, 2009). Feminist Family Theory is very evident in the movie the Life of Pi. One of the major incidences occurs when Pi’s mother supports her son to pursue multiple religions even though this was against the family and religious values of Hinduism. The family belongs to the Hindu religion. As such, they have to adhere to only one religion, and this is what Pi’s father, a strict follower of traditions, ensures by forbidding his son from pursuing any interests in any other religion apart from Hinduism, i.e. Islam and Christianity. Pi’s mother argues that God is the same in all religions. Therefore, her son is not wrong in following his interests in exploring other religions. She therefore allows her son to follow his religious interests only for the father, as the head of the family, to overrule the decision and forbid Pi from doing so (Hamon, Ingoldsby, Miller & Smith, 2009). This is a p erfect example of a case proving that the society considers women as the second-gender behind the men. As such, they were not to make any decisions that would go against the decisions made by the first gender, i.e. the men in their lives, and in this case the father of the boy. Consequently, the decisions made by Pi’s mother do not have any authority because she is a woman. However, the directive given by the father of Pi overrules the permission given to him by his mother to pursue different religions because he is the man. Most societies consider men as the head of the family. This is contrary to the feminists’ movements that advocated for equality in gender and appreciation of the roles women play in the society, i.e. as supporters to the men and not as their subordinates. Women have every right to make decisions that they consider fit to benefit their household, just as advocated for in the Feminist Family Theory (Castelli, 2012). This case is very important to wom en because it clearly indicates the way the society disregards decisions or opinions voiced by women. This is clear evidence of oppression against women, far against the movements championed by women to fight for equal rights and privileges as their male counterparts. There have been several movements to fight for the emancipation and empowerment of women as equal partners in the society. Some of the modern feminist movements witnessed in the 1960s to the 1970s include liberal, Marxist,

The primary responsibility of Businesses is to increase the profit of Essay

The primary responsibility of Businesses is to increase the profit of their shareholders - Essay Example While others believe that the primary responsibility of any business enterprise is to maximize the profits of the shareholders, others feel that a business should go far beyond just profit maximization. Zain (2008) gave a comparison of the divergent views of Milton Friedman and Archie Carroll concerning the responsibility of business in a society. Friedman believes that the main responsibility of a business is to maximize the profits of the shareholders and the interest of the shareholders should be the many area of concern in any business industry (Zain, 2008). Theorists like Friedman leave it at that and argues that a lot of emphasis need only to be put in serving the interest of the shareholders who will only enjoy a handsome return. Others like Carroll go ahead to incorporate other social responsibilities that, they believe, the businesses should perform. Friedman asserts that the management in any business organization should fight to remove all the obstacles that could impede t he maximization of profits. The effect would be translated into overworking the employees of the organization or performing operations that would be hazardous to the environment and the entire community (Zain 2008). According to his reasoning, Friedman believes that provided the firms operate within the regulations that are provided for by the pre-defined legislation, and having taken into account the interest of the shareholders, all the other supposed roles will be automatically fulfilled. Friedman argues that if business organizations simply capitalize on profit maximization while operating under the established legal procedures, then the firm is assured continued life as there will be funds for inventory maintenance and expansion (Zain 2008). In his view, the management of a firm or business enterprise that engages itself in additional social responsibility may be faced with difficulties in executing its duties to be able to sustain the growth and development of the firm. Friedm an points out that â€Å"open and free competition without deception or fraud is the only responsibility of firms,† thus, social responsibilities tend to divert firms from making enough profits as demanded by shareholders (Zain 2008). On the other hand, Archie Carroll has larger view of the supposed responsibility of business. Carroll considers the roles played by businesses as four-fold and extends beyond the maximization of shareholder’s profit. In his view, business plays economic roles, ethical roles, legal roles as well as other voluntary roles that helps shape the society in general (Zain 2008). The first responsibility in this model is in line with Friedman’s profit maximization. To be able to contribute to the macro-economic development, businesses need to emphasize on the maximization of their profits by capitalizing on their strength and market opportunities. Businesses need to embark on thorough market and marketing research so as to identify what typ es of products to deal in, how much to keep in inventory and when to do so. Secondly, the government has the role of providing certain regulations in relation to the business activities to be undertaken as well as the mode of operations. Abiding by these laws and regulations is also a responsibility of business. As Zain (2008) described, â€Å"legal responsibilities are those that are defined by the authorities and firms are required to abide by them in a strict and disciplined manner.† The other set of responsibility that Carroll considers fundamental in the operations of a business enterprise is ethical responsibility. He believes there should be some set of moral standards from which the management of

Strategic Management Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Strategic Management - Term Paper Example The strategic leadership team will first look at economies of scale, the â€Å"decline in per-unit product costs as the absolute volume of production per period increases† (Keegan & Green, p.504). This determines entry barriers for competition and usually applies to cost, marketing and general business administration. The ability to differentiate product is also part of assessing the threat of new entrants, based on the current level of brand loyalty that exists with competition. In reference to Tesco, the environment is already saturated with many large-scale competitors such as Wal-Mart and thus Tesco must consider its branding strategies and also whether or not competition will find success with their own differentiation strategies through marketing and promotion. Capital requirements for new entry is also assessed through basic revenue analysis and needs for working capital (inventories) as well as advertising costs, customer credit, and information systems technologies. A ssessing distribution methodologies and capacity is also measured with this analytical tool when considering potential competitor barriers to entry and then measured against Tesco capacity opportunities. When considering supplier power, supermarkets like Tesco operate in an oligopoly, where there are few competition however businesses maintain the ability to exert control over market pricing and supplier bargaining power (investorwords.com, 2011). Thus, the Five Forces analysis tool shows that suppliers are made weak by their absolute reliance on grocery store successes related to consumer-based commodity products (Porter, 2011). However, as the case study has identified that traditionalist consumer diets are constantly changing in China, the Five Forces analysis tool has limitations as suppliers could regain power when Tesco is forced to utilize localised distribution and purchasing strategies for unique products catered to Chinese lifestyle

CAD Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

CAD - Essay Example Since the patient had a history of cardiovascular disease, and was also exposed to several risk factors, it would be prudent to carry out an ultra sound screening of carotid plaque. This is done by measuring the carotid intima media thickness using a standard ultra sound protocol. Douglas, Garcia & Haines (2011) state that the ultrasound detection of the carotid plaque has been used in helping asymptomatic patients, while also reducing the risks that may be associated with other screening tools (Platts, Brown & Javorsky, 2010). The other available option is the use of electrocardiograms that measures the electrical activity of the patient’s heart. Due to the fact that the patient in question electrocardiogram is used to measure the functioning of the heart to detect any malfunction. Without this, it may not be possible to determine other heart related conditions that the patient may suffering from. Platts, D., Brown, M., Javorsky, G. (2010). Comparison of fluoroscopic versus real time three- dimensional transthoracic echocardiographic guidance of endomyocardial biopsies. European Journal of Echocardiography, 34(32),

Perspective on Health Care Paper Essay Example for Free

Perspective on Health Care Paper Essay A)What interested me about the history of health care? Theres no doubt that the healthcare industry offers plenty of profitable careers. In fact most of the best paid and the fast growing careers belong to this industry. Thats why I am heading in Health Care Administration because I want to be an administrator for Center of Disease Control (CDC). I have passion for serving people and to make positive impact in their lives. I consider it as one of the fastest growing healthcare career and a high paying medical career and don’t only offer me a decent pay, but they provide me several other reasons. According to the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics, eight of the top 20 fastest growing careers belong to the medical field or the healthcare industry. The industry has offer as many as 13 million jobs. Technologies had given a path way to the continuous advancement in medical field in the health system. I have to say that what interested me in the history of health care are the development of the vaccinations for disease throughout the years as well as the developments of programs like the Center for Control of Disease and Prevention (CDC) giving rise after World War in 1946. Vaccinations are what I captured in chapter one in the nineteenth century between 1850s and how about (30,000) persons died from yellow fever and cholera epidemics. Many have died from contaminated water and food, inadequate living situations and sewage disposals. Now in this century there are vaccinations for these disease and many others that has dropped the death rate since then as with better disposing of sewage and safeguarding our foods and facilities with the concern of Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) have also helped with the decrease of morality, deaths and illnesses reduction. B)What areas of health care I am interested in pursuing? Why? I am interested in the Center for Disease Control (CDC), which involve national concern to deal pre-existing conditions of disease to control and prevent them. The best part about pursuing a healthcare career is that you will be making a positive impact on peoples lives. In fact, theres no other occupation where I could get the opportunity to make such a strong impact in the lives of people. It really gives me a lot of satisfaction and enthusiasts when I can save an ending life or help bring a new life into the world. By treating different forms of ailments, and I will also make a great positive impact on the entire community. Another big advantage of pursuing a healthcare career is that I will never have a dull moment because the medical field is ever-changing; it always keeps me excited about new developments and advancements in technologies. The profession is really dramatic in nature, and I will never get bored because I want to always interacting with new patients helping them to improve their lives. Another option or choice would be health promotion so that help people learn and give information on what they can do to stay healthy that is why I am doing Information Technology System blending these courses. Another choice would be with illness and prevention services which also educate consumers on risk factors that were conveyed in chapter 2. C) Which positive and negative health outcomes linked to demographic indicators intrigued me? â€Å"Health care is the process of diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of disease, illness, injury, and other physical and mental impairments in humans.† (Wikipedia, 2012). There are many forms of care that can be practiced from medicine, chiropractic, nursing, dentistry, pharmacy, psychiatric and much more. With the fact that there is emerging trend towards overweight-obesity in poorer families, and it is one of the major illnesses that concern is attached. This is, of course, not true in developing countries, but can be seen in North America because mass produced unhealthy food is cheaper and is easier to find in poorer neighborhoods. We are putting our lives in the hands of others to care for that is why one can see why health coverage can be extremely expensive. Health care varies from place to place, and it is largely influenced by social and economic situations as well as health policies that are in place. There is a wide range of area in health care that one can contribute their help in making a difference in people’s lives. There are many forms of care that can be practiced from medicine, chiropractic, nursing, dentistry, pharmacy, psychiatric and much more. That’s primarily because 45.7 million Americans are without health insurance. That’s roughly 16 percent of Americans who sometimes have to forego healthcare, or face financial obligations with insurance providers. The primary issues are access, and affordability of healthcare. In fact, the U.S. Department of Labor estimates that the health care and social assistance industry should create 28 percent of all new jobs between 2010 and 2020. And when it comes to the industry itself, heath care is expected to increase by 33 percent (thats 5.7 million jobs!) between 2010 and 2020. D) What resources are there for finding more information on the history of health care in the United Sates? The internet search engines, Public libraries, and my student website are ways of obtaining information. As many people have discovered, clicking on a favorite search engine and entering a disease or medical condition can often result in hundreds, even thousands, of hints. This can be discouraging, and here are a few ideas for filtering the available web pages to a manageable number: 1. If you are using a search engine such as Google or Yahoo, take advantage of the health subsets of these services for your search. Learn how to use the advanced searching features of the sites so that you can combine terms to make your retrieval more precise. For example, entering the term cancer and chemotherapy linked together is more powerful and precise than trying to read through all the ideas found by simply entering the general term cancer. 2. Become familiar with the general health information finding tools such as MedlinePlus (http://www.medlineplus.gov), produced by the National Library of Medicine, or Healthfinder  ® (http://www.healthfinder.gov) from the US Department of Health and Human Services. 3. When you have found sites that look relevant, use the guidelines below to help you decide whether the information is as credible, timely, and useful as it looks. These are few websites that we can site with viable information about health care; http://www.ahrq.gov/consumer, http://www.nih.gov, http://www.medicare.gov

Mcdonalds Risk And Risk Management

Mcdonalds Risk And Risk Management Introduction to risk management The only thing we know about future is that we do not know what is going to happen. This is related to definition of risk in general. Miles Wilson (1998) define risk as being an exposure or a probability of occurrence of a loss. Risk can also be viewed as having a positive effect. PMBOK (2004) defines risk as an uncertain event or condition that, if it occurs, has a positive or negative effect on business objectives. Risks have a huge influence on the success or failure of business. However, risks cannot be avoided, but they can be managed. They must be managed by applying effort to their reduction or elimination. Not all risks need to be eliminated. They are sometimes sufficient to reduce the projects exposure to a level that is acceptable to the project. Risk management costs time and effort, but the impacts can be significant. Without risk management, the chances of danger of failure will be high. Effective strategic risk management can minimise of weaknesses within organisations causing damage. However, effective strategic risk management tools became harder to implement as business operations grow, become more complex, and operate in multiple locations. Risk management is increasingly recognised as being concerned with both positive and negative aspects of risk. Potentially, there are the opportunities for benefit or threats to success as a result of risk. Risk in financial climate arises through countless transactions of an economic nature, including sales and purchases, investments and loans, and various other business activities. Therefore, risk management can provide a solution to making individual and company less in danger. Identifying strategy for risks as soon as possible is particularly important. There are common approaches to risk which take alternative action when risks exposure, removal as insure risk, measure opportunities to risk may occur and make plan to control and acceptation of risk. According to Mills (2001), the systematic approach makes the risks clear, formally describing them and making them easier to manage. In other words, systematic risk management is a management tool, which requires practical experience and training in the use of the techniques. Appropriate responses to risk must be prepared to all the risks that would significantly affect the strategy or returns of the company if they were to occur. Background of McDonald According to McDonald (2010), McDonald is the worlds largest chain of quick service restaurants organisation in the world, serving tens of millions of customers daily worldwide. There are more than 30,000 restaurants in 120 countries worldwide. According to McDonalds Corporation Annual Report (2009), revenue has reached a record more than US$20 billion and US$6.8 billion income and 390,000 employees. McDonalds operates according to four values which are quality, service, convenience and value. Part of organisational culture is the quality of the food and service wherever the branch is located. The good reputation of the company and the expectation of an excellent service no matter which branch people eat is a marketing strategy of McDonalds. McDonalds set a standard applicable to all branches worldwide. However the company also gives a way for innovation by allowing the branches to integrate culture into food and service increasing market share. McDonalds tries to operate on a cost leadership basis by offering low priced goods with higher profit margins. Most of the efficient strategies adopted by McDonalds associate with this strategy of low cost. Since McDonalds operates in 120 countries on 6 different continents, they offer different food selections because of different needs in each country, due to religion, diets, and resources of each individual country. This flexibility and knowledge allows McDonalds to achieve global targets and compete with the other competitors. It shows that the company predict customer needs and handled well to risk. The PESTLE analysis of the macro environment According to BADU (2002), many of organisations success or failure, profit or loss, growth or decline depends on how well they respond to macro political, economic, social, technological and regulatory changes which is the external macro environment. Johnson Scholes (2005) support that the external factors can be divided into six categories which political, environment, social, technology, environment and legal. These external factors usually are out of the organisations control and sometimes present themselves as threats. The macro environment analysis is usually the first step of a strategic analysis. It is sometimes referred to as an external analysis or a PESTLE analysis. In other words, it can be analysed with the many different factors in an organisations macro environment by using the PESTEL framework. The purpose of the macro environment analysis is to identify possible opportunities and threats in the industry as a whole that are outside the control of the industry. According to Kotler (1984), the macro environment consists of the larger societal forces that affect micro environment. The micro environment, on the other hand, consists of the forces close to the company that affect its ability to serve its stakeholders. Firstly, the macro economic environment analysis will identify trends such as changes in personal disposable income as rises in living standards or the general level of demand, rises or falls in interest rates, unemployment rates and inflation. According to Luffman Sanderson (1988), the economic environment consists of the current and future state of key economic variables used to describe wealth, purchasing power, savings and consumption, together with government economic policy deployed to affect those variables. For examples, Gross National Product (GNP) or disposable income are key determinants of demand. The distribution of income in society provides opportunities for organisations to separate product or service offerings in terms of levels of disposable income. The rate of inflation and government policy towards it can really affect consumers attitudes to consumption. As a result, company strategy in the economic environment can be not simply threat for organisation, but oppor tunities for improvement that company can do better. Moreover, Tchankova (2002) states that the economic environment usually is hardly influenced by the political environment in a single country, but the globalisation of the market creates a market that is greater than a single market and needs to be considered separately. Although a particular activity of the government can affect the international capital market, the control of the market is impossible for a single government. Examples of sources of risk generated from the economic environment in global are economic recession and depression and current exchange rate. McDonald could suffer in country where the economy of the respective states is hit by inflation and changes in the exchange rates. Secondly, the macro political and legal environment analysis will identify changes in government, or a change in government policy. As a result, legislation will be made such as minimum age discrimination and disability discrimination and minimum wages. Moreover, political decisions can impact on many essential areas for business such as the environmental regulations, the employment laws, trade restrictions and tariffs, political stability for internally and externally and decision making structures. Luffman Sanderson support that Government at both national and local levels can affect companies not only on a day-to-day basis through laws, policies and its authority, but also at a strategic level by creating opportunities and threats. Furthermore, Tchankova states that the political environment is a more complex and important source of risk in an international aspect. The difference in the ruling system raises different attitudes and policies toward business. For example, foreign investment might be confiscated, or taxation systems might change significantly, which will hurt the investors interests. The political environment can present opportunities as well. McDonald is the international operations which greatly influenced by the government policies such as regulations and new legislations for tax, trade, product safety, health care and labour. Thirdly, the macro technological environment analysis will identify changes in the application of technology. It is related with the application of new inventions and ideas such as the development of the internet or websites as McDonald company business marketing tools. Luffman Sanderson support that the technological environment is compounded of the impact of science and technology in product and process innovation. Technology can improve quality, reduce costs and lead to innovation. These developments can benefit consumers as well as the organisations providing the products and service. Fourthly, the macro social and cultural environment analysis will identify trends in religion, beliefs, behaviours, values and standard such as changes in lifestyles like more women going out to work, changes in tastes and buying patterns. Furthermore, the number of part time workers and attitudes and diverse working environment are also related with changes in society. The speed of change in the social environment may be slow, but its effects are unstoppable. Generally, the companys strategies need time to evaluate the corporate response to social changes. Besides, Tchankova states that the changes in human behaviour and state of social structures are cause of risk. The level of employee and loyalty to the organisation determine to a large extent the success of the organisation. At the same time the changes of culture create opportunities. Lastly, the macro environmental analysis will identify factors such as natural disaster or global warming. For example, volcanic eruption that occur few weeks ago impact on many industries including airline, farming and insurance because of volcanic ash. Also, McDonald recycle standard is result of environment analysis. Oxford University Press (2007) supports that with the weather and climate changes occurring due to global warming and with greater environmental awareness this external factor is becoming a significant issue for firms to consider. Micro environment analysis This environment influences the organisation directly. According to Beamish Ashford (2005), simple approach to this analysis will be to break it down into 5 elements which are business, customers, suppliers, stakeholders and competitors. These are internal factors close to the company that have a direct impact on the organisations and strategic planning. First of all, in terms of customers, organisations should focus on meeting what customer needs and wants and providing benefits for their customers. Success of business depends on how well organisation analysis of their customer. This analysis can be the basis of organisation provides the right product at right price and to the right place at the right time. Otherwise, business strategy will be failed as a result. Customers are a major environmental factor for McDonalds. Nearly 54 billion customers served by McDonald daily basis. McDonalds customers are mostly young generation. Thats way, company always conscious about their choice. For this reason, customers demand, their choice, what they like is impacting McDonalds. In terms of competitors, restaurant industry is extremely competitive. McDonald is one of them and very successful company. They are doing everything in their power to make sure that they attract to their customers. Therefore, competitor such as KFC and Burger King analysing and monitoring is critical if an organisation is to maintain its position within the market. As the competition increase, there are more advantages to the customers. As a result, McDonald is up to date with customer taste and preference. Also, employing the proper staff and keeping these staff motivated is a vital part of the strategic planning process of an organisation. Training and development are essential, particularly in service sector, in order to gain a competitive advantage. McDonald has maintained a huge commitment to their employees and their training, which includes making available to all entitled employees and a consistent management and training programme. In terms of supplier, Beamish Ashford states that supplier relationships are a further critical component to the success of any organisation. It is important to many organisations to ensure consistent supplies in order to meet consistent demand for their product ensuring competitive and quality products for an organisation. Therefore, supplier analysis is essential. As a result, organisation must review some factors such as costs, quality, warranty, financial stability and the relationship suppliers have with competitors. For example, increasing beef prices will have affect on the strategy of McDonald. Prices may be going up as a result. In terms of stakeholders, they are individual or group that can greatly influence the performance of the company. Stakeholders support makes company successful. They have in turn certain expectation from the company. Therefore, to analysed stakeholder expectation is fundamental. According to Beamish Ashford, the role of stakeholders in any organisation seems to have an increasing influence in which organisation can do business. Shareholders are one of typical stakeholders who require a certain level of return which means it is important for any organisations to focus on making decisions that satisfy and maximise this return. Satisfying shareholder needs may result in a change in strategy employed by an organisation. McDonalds stakeholders are individuals or groups that have an interest in the organisation and how it operates. McDonald take into account the needs and requirements of stakeholders. In addition, microenvironment also provides organisations possible threats in the market place that would reduce their profit or rate at which consumers purchasing their products. One of those threats is that consumers use as a substitute to their products. These threats usually come from competitor organisations. Global company and risk management Brindley (2004) suggest that global competition, technological change and the continuous search for competitive advantage are the primary motives behind organisations turning towards risk management approaches in the international chain industry. Furthermore, the increase in economic activity at the global level encourages business organisations to seek a competitive advantage by accessing new markets and expanding their operations. According to Porter (1990), the term competitive advantage refers to the strategies that allow successful companies to create profits in their sector of economic activity which is main objective and goal of most organisations. Dalgleish Cooper (2005) support that organisations manage their operations on a day-to-day basis and risk management does not naturally add value to this activity. Its application is, however, becoming more focussed with organisations identifying a sense of purpose and making proper use of the assessments. This has resulted in its adoption within the internal control systems of organisations in making informed decisions, improving communication with the board and improving their understanding of the risks and controls within the business. Therefore, risk identification is the first stage in any organisations risk management. It is a base for correct future work of the organisation with regards to developing and implementing new programmes for risk control. According to George (2009), risk management is the process of planning, organising, directing, and controlling resources to achieve given objectives. Brown (2000) recommends that boards or responsible directors should consider the key risks and assess how they have been identified, evaluated and managed, and assess the effectiveness of the system of internal control. As a result, directors should have responsibility for all aspects of control and a duty to establish a strong system of risk management, designed to identify and evaluate potential risks in every aspect of the business operation. Risk management is fundamental process in every organisation, which includes control systems to inform managers that organisation has being exposure to risks, and guarantee that strategic risk management is properly implementing. Financial risk According to Jorion GARP (2009), financial risk includes market risk, credit risk and operational risk. Market risk is the risk of losses due to movement in financial market prices or volatilities. This usually includes liquidity risk which is the risk of losses due to the need to liquidate positions to meet funding requirement. Liquidity risk is not amendable to formal quantification. Credit risk is the risk of losses due to the fact that counterparties may be unwilling or unable to fulfil their contractual obligations. Operational risk is the risk of less resulting from failed or inadequate internal processes, system and people or from external events. Financial risk is that a company will not have sufficient cash flow to meet financial obligations. Wikipedia (2010) supports that financial risk is the additional risk a shareholder bears when a company uses debt in addition to equity financing. Companies that issue more debt instruments would have higher financial risk than companies financed mostly or entirely by equity. Therefore, the financial risk management process must not be involve avoidance of risks, but designed at identifying and managing these risks instead. For example, according to McDonald, McDonalds restaurants worldwide, contribute 7% of global profits, making the UK a very important financial market for McDonalds shareholders. Each individual McDonalds restaurant is structured as an independent business, with restaurant management responsible for its financial performance. McDonalds financial reporting and management accounting ensures the best financial position for the company now and for the future. Market risk According to Monetary Authority of Singapore (2006), market risk refers to the risk to an organisation resulting from movements in market prices, in particular, changes in interest rates, foreign exchange rates, and equity and commodity prices. The market risk strategy should first determine the level of market risk the organisation is prepared to assume. This level should be set with consideration given to, among other factors, the amount of market risk capital set aside by the organisation. The organisation should develop a strategy that balances its business goals with its market risk appetite. Accessing to all current operative cash flows and to all financial transactions is indispensable for complete risk management. In order to determine and control risks, the information from these two sources needs to be brought to together. Currency exchange rate risk for McDonald According to Mathur Loy (1984), in a world of increased uncertainty about the future value of exchange rates and increased visibility of foreign exchange gains and losses, it is not surprising that global companies have become more concerned about minimising foreign exchange risks. Exchange rate risk may strongly affect firms profitability and it can be hedged. Once a company becomes involved in international trade, it consequently becomes subject to foreign exchange risk exposure. In other words, because of the increased globalisation, exchange rate has become an important source of risk for an organisation operating in international environment. McDonald is international franchise fast food restaurant. Lashley Morrison (2000) support that franchising business format has become an established global enterprise trend within the service sector. They indicate further that franchising has become a mature industry in the USA and well established in the UK. According to Edwards (2006), the reasons why company is going for international are build more brand and shareholder value, add revenue sources and growth markets, reduce dependence on home market and leverage existing corporate technology, supply chains, know-how and intellectual property. However, certainly, some risks are exposure for those reasons. Exchange rate risk is one of them which unavoidable for global company. According to FinancialCAD Corporation (2009), in 1967, McDonalds opened its first foreign country franchise in Canada. Today, more than 65% of total revenue is derived internationally, as more and more restaurants are opened in countries outside the United States, with increasing McDonalds foreign exchange and interest rate risks. McDonald is challenged with managing these risks as hedging the interest rate and foreign exchange risks for operations based in foreign countries is complex. As a result, McDonalds warned their investors of the potential changes in currency exchange rates to impact company profits, but that the company has tried to reduce these risks. FinancialCAD Corporation continously states that the McDonald financial markets group is responsible for hedging the balance sheet and income statement against foreign exchange and interest rate risks, while funding the growth of global operations. They often fund assets locally, but in many markets this is challenging. The assets are funded by more than $8 billion in debt, with over 50% of the debt denominated in a foreign currency. According to Abor (2005), foreign exchange risk is the risk that an entity will be required to pay more or less than expected as a result of fluctuations in the exchange rate between its currency and the foreign currency in which payment must be made. Foreign exchange risk is commonly defined as the additional variability experienced by a multinational corporation in its worldwide consolidated earnings that results from unexpected currency fluctuations. It is generally understood that this considerable earnings variability can be eliminated partially or fully at a cost, the cost of foreign exchange risk. Companies are exposed to foreign exchange risk if the results of their projects depend on future exchange rates and if exchange rate changes cannot be fully anticipated. According to Madura (2003), companies are generally exposed to three types of foreign exchange risk which are transaction (commitment) exposure, economic (operational, competitive or cash flow) exposure and translation (accounting) exposure. Transaction risk occurs where the value of existing obligations are worsened by movements in foreign exchange rates. Economic risk relates to adverse impact on equity or income for both domestic and foreign operations because of sharp, unexpected change in exchange rate. Translation risk is also related to assets or income derived from offshore enterprise. Foreign exchange risk can be managed in various ways. There are techniques used for hedging against risk. According to Prindl (1976), hedging can be defined as all actions taken to change the exposed positions of a company in one currency or in multiple currencies. Clark, Levasseur, Rousseau (1993) argue that hedging refers to the technique of making offsetting commitments in order to minimise the impact of unfavourable potential outcomes. The risk managers choice of the different types of hedging techniques may be influenced by costs, taxes, effects on accounting conventions and regulation. Foreign exchange risk is mainly managed by adjusting prices to reflect changes in import prices resulting from currency fluctuation and also by buying and saving foreign currency in advance. The main problems firms face are the frequent appreciation of foreign currencies against the local currency and the difficulty in retaining local customers because of the high prices of imported inputs which tend to affect the prices of final products sold locally. Investing in a foreign stock market is equivalent to investing in two assets: foreign stocks and foreign currency. Therefore, the return-risk outcome of a foreign investment can be separated into contributions from the local market factors and the currency factor. The currency impact on the return outcome can be positive or negative, and can be a substantial part of the total return. According to Fatemi (2000), the objectives of risk management include minimise foreign exchange losses, reduce the volatility of cash flows, protect earnings fluctuations, increase profitability and ensure survival of the firm. Conclusion and Recommendation Risk taking is essential for any organisation in the global environment. Therefore, organisations need to understand the nature of the risks they meet and prepare to manage them appropriately. Evaluating significance by estimating potential damage and possibility of events is often not an exact science, and sometimes based on best guesses. However, monitoring and managing significant exposures of risk is vital in globalisation of today business strategy as many factors in our environment are changing with extreme speed. McDonald is one of the biggest and most successful international franchise companies in the world. The research indicates that the way of how company manage risk is outstanding compared to other global companies. Burger King has just imitated what McDonald has done for risk management. Excellent risk management might be the best reason that McDonald has become successful business in the field. In other word, it is hard to find unmanaged area to be in risk in organisation. As a result, well prepared risk management of company and flexibility for changing environment are bringing to organisation benefits. However, there are some unanticipated other risks still may occur. For example, McDonalds size of business could be obstacle of effective hedging. International service organisation such as McDonald must consider the opportunity cost of international expansion. Being more flexible and international expansion might be a benefit to get wider market customers. On the other hand, this might cause of taking risks. It therefore certainly requires a thorough analysis of the factors such as the details on key current economic environment for the country, the main competitors, demand characteristics and trends, contribution of the project to shareholder value, the level of risk and potential difficulty for the organisation. Moreover, the company need to consider that competitors are not just other fast food chain restaurant. It means that company should put lots of effort for analysing other companies. For example, variety of more relevant menu can be developed. Furthermore, the research indicates that the company should be well aware of importance that steady rise of profitability and share price. Therefore, company manage for financial strength by reducing capital spending and using the money remaining after capital expenditures to pay debt and return cash to shareholders. The research also shows that changes in exchange rates generally impact the outcomes negatively. That is why it needs to be managed properly. Therefore, global organisation management must consider commitments for innovation and flexibility to enhance positive risk management effects.

Case Study: HSBC Balance Scorecard

Case Study: HSBC Balance Scorecard HSBC Holdings plc is a global financial services company in Canary Wharf, London, United Kingdom. As of 2010 it is the sixth largest bank in the world and the Financial Services Group and the company ranked eighth is a composite measure of Forbes magazine. On June 30, 2010, it had total assets of 2.418 trillion U.S. dollars, about half in Europe, fourth in the U.S. and a quarter was in Asia. HSBC Holdings plc was founded in 1991 in London by The Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corporation, to serve as a new group Holding Company and to allow the acquisition of British Midland Bank. The bank origins in Hong Kong and Shanghai where the branch was opened in 1865. HSBC is a universal bank. It is organized into four business segments: Commercial Banking, Global Banking and Markets (Investment Banking) Financial Services (retail banking) and Private Banking. HSBC first listing is on the London Stock Exchange and is part of the FTSE 100 Index. It has a secondary listing on the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong (which is a component of the Hang Seng Index), the New York Stock Exchange, Euro next Paris and Bermuda Stock Exchange à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬. Since August 2010, it was the largest company on the London Stock Exchange with a market capitalization of 115.8 billion pounds that had been achieved. The balanced scorecard developed in 1992, belongs to a strategic management system that includes efficient implementation and effective policies and tasks necessary to promote the companys customers, employees and management meet. The usage of the e Balanced Scorecard can actually vary depending on the structure and philosophy of the company. But in the case of HSBC, it centralizes the use of Balanced Scorecard in a single department. The Balance Scorecard may also be able to identify closely with managers and solve a variety of problems. Background and problems The research problem to be addressed: A study to analyze financial performance and management of HSBC The researcher wants to highlight: A. Financial Perspective B. Customer perspective-which is an approximation of HSBCs efforts to reach target groups C. Business Process perspective shows an alignment of key business processes from HSBC D. Lessons and prospects for growth shows an approximation of the learning curve HSBC Research Objective à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ The researcher wants the vision of HSBC leading operational objectives. Communicate the vision and the individual results. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ The researcher wants to organize wants to commute the HSBCs Business planning, Feedback and learning and then adjusting the strategy accordingly using the balance scorecard Literature Review / Theoretical Framework HSBC is to have sustainable growth as a market leader in the overall market in financial and insurance sectors, as well as leadership in this segment. In both cases, the insurance and financial services at HSBC will play a crucial role. HSBC is able to provide overall guidance to the rule through the acquisition of other banks and financial institutions and utilities are combined into a new, large undertaking. Train their employees, business processes and introduction of new technologies will strengthen the positions of the various financing with HSBC Insurance. This means in practice in the economies of scale to be able to create a distribution network for local and international financing and insurance services. When a market is already controlled by other companies, HSBC has devoted his attention to the development of a premium segment with its funds and various insurance services (2004). HSBC aims to ensure sustainable growth, while continually improving the profitability of the company. The strategy to achieve this consists of four elements: à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ The struggle for leadership positions in attractive markets à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Always focus on the sharing of financial and competitive segments of the insurance industry. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Work to improve business processes efficiency and reduce operational costs. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Continued growth through targeted acquisitions, if they are able to create added value for shareholders. Balanced Scorecard and HSBCs Improvement 1)Translating HSBCs vision into operational goals. The appearance of the Panel of the economy reflects the difficulty in managing the growing need for organizations, that require the effective use of valuable resources such as money, materials, equipment and people. And HSBC is no exception to them. That is why the Balanced Scorecard is used by the company to the most effective ways to use their resources through the application of methods of analysis disciplines such as mathematics, science and engineering to determine coordinate derivatives (2003). Through this process, problems with HSBC meet operational objectives in different ways and alternative solutions are then forwarded to management. Management then selects the appropriate measures in accordance with business objectives. Often, the Balanced Scorecard complex issues within HSBC and the high level strategy, resource allocation, design, production and prices and the analysis of large databases. 2) Communicate the vision and the individual results. All businesses and organizations are governed by their goals and tasks. These objectives are often considered a corporate vision or business philosophy .Therefore, some strategies are implemented to achieve these objectives, and is a key element in the characterization of a company or organization. The staff is clearly a key indicator to determine the characteristics of a business or organization. It is known to play a crucial role of human resources for HSBC differentiation and a potent source of competitiveness for the company. Thats why HSBC is constantly investing in the development of human resources, even in times of recession. But determining the extent that HSBC may want to develop human resources depends on its financial performance for a specific period of time. With the Balanced Scorecard from HSBC in the last decade has transformed operations at very low levels of writers to the success of the organization . However, budgets are also increasing at a rate faster than the gross national product. In the midst of this influence on growth and increase, managers and executives from HSBC are misled by the question: How to invest in human resource development? Certainly the answer will not be easy, especially since the actual level of expenditure is often an elusive figure, depending on the financial performance of the organization. However, the balance scorecard allows at HSBCs investment in human resources development to be determined. 3) Business Planning Operational planning is a necessary function within HSBC. In most financial and insurance companies that process is often very difficult due to the rapid evolution and the occurrence of unanticipated events. HSBC uses different methods depending on the speed of customer demand and level of financing, insurance. However, HSBC aims to change for each transaction is not: the efficiency and effectiveness Business planning by HSBC for its activities and resources will be implemented over time coordinates. This allows the company to achieve its goals with minimal resources. Business planning also enables the company to the status of their business plans at regular intervals to monitor and control operations. Planning activities of HSBC is in four elements: planning, production planning, financial planning and budgeting. The program includes the specification of the onset, duration or length, and at the end of planned activities. Work planning is to allocate the necessary staff and delegation of responsibilities and resources Financial planning is to identify the types and needs in terms of equipment. Cost planning is to determine the costs and the possibility of occurrence. 4) feed back and learning strategy and adaptations accordingly. One of the most important factors in improving HSBC is to measure the implementation and use of the Balanced Scorecard as a performance indicator and measures around customer satisfaction. These measures or indicators are measurable characteristics of products and services company that HSBC is normally used to study and improve performance. The indicators are chosen that are able to cover the essential factors that are essential for improving the operational and financial performance of HSBC. Through analysis of accurate information from monitoring processes, measures or indicators themselves may be analyzed and to increase its support for the objectives of this type. Methodology: There is certainly a need to reconcile both the inside and outside functions. While HSBCs operations management involves focusing on the usage of the balanced scorecard as its core competency with market position following its resource base, the company will be at a disadvantage if it neglects the macro and finance and the industry environment. Therefore, HSBC has to be aware of recent changes in the management of operations and changes in the political, economic, legal and demographic or develop customer outside functions such as identifying the market, the link Technology channel bonding, and monitoring. The benefits derived by HSBC, is to use the Balanced Scorecard as from higher incomes. Knowing what the market demands and trends could help the company come to fully exploit its research and development capabilities with insurance and financial services which are not only profitable but also high quality. The strategic option as a marketing tool, where attention to the proximity with customers and focus their comments. On the other side of the coin, there is a great mobilization of resources and risks associated with HSBC will be granted. However, the above option seems to be a practical strategy in the wake of globalization, because there is an abrupt change towards a more integrated global economy and independently. Key stakeholders should not object if HSBC heart of business is not threatened. Centralized control of the company activity is anticipated that key obstacles should exist in the exercise of this option, unless additional time is necessary, given the scope and duration of operations of HSBC. In the meantime, the partnership with HSBCs main competitors is ridiculous at first glance as a measure. But after careful consideration, the measure could pave the way for the company to continue to improve its management. The conclusion is that both parties are increasingly significant in this type of alliance. High performance measurement in operations management capabilities can be combined with their competitors suddenly invincible force that has transformed HSB. Another failure could be possible if one of the competitors of HSBC are in the need for alliances. However, the question remains whether HSBC might be able to implement any of these options, and if these options may be acceptable to key stakeholders. Any merger or alliance may be the exchange of knowledge. This company has always supported the approach of the Interior. It is important to note that the merger could be many implications for HSBC :values à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬ ¹Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬ ¹and culture and resources. Key stakeholders would certainly be affected by options and must be convinced of the positive aspects. Somehow, HSBC will be able to overcome this barrier in the process of implementing the policy options above. CONCLUSION The results of the analysis carried out on the impact of the Balanced Scorecard of HSBC indicated significant effects, even under the threat of unrest. Therefore, we conclude that the management operations of HSBC is still expected to improve faster than average. The review of HSBCs operations management capabilities and resources revealed very little inconsistencies regarding its strategy in using the balanced scorecard. However, the need to reconcile both the inside-out and outside-in approaches becomes a need for HSBC. The analysis of the financial sector environment, and management of operations and functions of HSBC has shown some shortcomings, most of which are distorted to the environment. However, these gaps paved the way towards determining a number of recommended strategic options to secure the competitiveness of HSBC through the continued utilization of the balanced scorecard. In addition, HSBC,has to find a balance between the internal forces within the administration and the evolution of environmental forces so that such policy options can be implemented.

A Structural and Vocabulary Analysis of John Donnes The Flea Essay

A Structural and Vocabulary Analysis of John Donne's "The Flea" In his poem "The Flea", John Donne shows his mastery in creating a work in which the form and the vocabulary have deliberately overlapping significance. The poem can be analyzed for the prominence of "threes" that form layers of multiple meanings within its three stanzas. In each of the three stanzas, key words can be examined to show (through the use of the OED) how Donne brilliantly chose them because of the various connotations they had to his audience. Finally, each of the three stanzas contains completely different moods that reflect the speaker’s emotions as the situation changes. Upon knowing some of John Donne’s personal history, especially of his eventual high position in the church, it is no surprise that religious overtones embellish much of his erotic poetry. The Holy Trinity is the body created by three entities: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost. "The Flea" shows Donne’s obsession with this divine number and can be examined as a series of several "threes" beginning with the total number of stanzas in the poem: 3. Each stanza contains 9 lines, making the poem a series of 3 stanzas containing each a total of lines equaling 3-squared. As for the total number of lines, the poem contains 3-cubed, or 27. Each stanza contains the rhyme scheme AABBCCDDD. This is also a series of threes, containing 3 sets of rhyming couplets and ending in three lines rhyming DDD. The word "flea" is mentioned in all three stanzas of the poem. The OED had many entries for the word proving that Donne chose a word with its own trinity of multiple meanings, as a noun, an adjective, and a verb. First, it is a noun meaning the small, black, bloodsucking insect. This is ... ...ll of the speaker’s hopes are prematurely executed in the third stanza when the lady crushes the flea between her nails. This stanza is anticlimactic because the eager hopping around from argument to argument abruptly comes to a halt with one action. The speaker is rejected, and immediately retreats from his pursuit. His tone becomes scathing and the overall mood becomes like the purple blood that has stained the lady’s nail: "a hue of mourning." The hopes of the speaker coil down from the high apex of hope that builds in the first two stanzas to an embarrassing low in the last stanza. In conclusion, the true beauty of Donne’s poetry comes through in the tireless search for connections, overlapping, and deeper meaning. As one searches for these meanings, the 27 lines of "The Flea" become a mysterious maze that has no completion and never takes one to a dead end. A Structural and Vocabulary Analysis of John Donne's The Flea Essay A Structural and Vocabulary Analysis of John Donne's "The Flea" In his poem "The Flea", John Donne shows his mastery in creating a work in which the form and the vocabulary have deliberately overlapping significance. The poem can be analyzed for the prominence of "threes" that form layers of multiple meanings within its three stanzas. In each of the three stanzas, key words can be examined to show (through the use of the OED) how Donne brilliantly chose them because of the various connotations they had to his audience. Finally, each of the three stanzas contains completely different moods that reflect the speaker’s emotions as the situation changes. Upon knowing some of John Donne’s personal history, especially of his eventual high position in the church, it is no surprise that religious overtones embellish much of his erotic poetry. The Holy Trinity is the body created by three entities: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost. "The Flea" shows Donne’s obsession with this divine number and can be examined as a series of several "threes" beginning with the total number of stanzas in the poem: 3. Each stanza contains 9 lines, making the poem a series of 3 stanzas containing each a total of lines equaling 3-squared. As for the total number of lines, the poem contains 3-cubed, or 27. Each stanza contains the rhyme scheme AABBCCDDD. This is also a series of threes, containing 3 sets of rhyming couplets and ending in three lines rhyming DDD. The word "flea" is mentioned in all three stanzas of the poem. The OED had many entries for the word proving that Donne chose a word with its own trinity of multiple meanings, as a noun, an adjective, and a verb. First, it is a noun meaning the small, black, bloodsucking insect. This is ... ...ll of the speaker’s hopes are prematurely executed in the third stanza when the lady crushes the flea between her nails. This stanza is anticlimactic because the eager hopping around from argument to argument abruptly comes to a halt with one action. The speaker is rejected, and immediately retreats from his pursuit. His tone becomes scathing and the overall mood becomes like the purple blood that has stained the lady’s nail: "a hue of mourning." The hopes of the speaker coil down from the high apex of hope that builds in the first two stanzas to an embarrassing low in the last stanza. In conclusion, the true beauty of Donne’s poetry comes through in the tireless search for connections, overlapping, and deeper meaning. As one searches for these meanings, the 27 lines of "The Flea" become a mysterious maze that has no completion and never takes one to a dead end.

Experiencing Brave New World in 1998 :: Aldous Huxley Brave New World Essays

Experiencing Brave New World in 1998 Since good literature transports the reader to immersion, absorption and sensation of plot, the successful literary experience often unveils a segment of the self's concealed character. Aldous Huxley's Brave New World immerses the reader in a State scientifically constructed to produce perpetual happiness without hardship. Six centuries into the future, a world leader has designed a civilization flabbily devoid of balancing challenges by eliminating illness, geriatrics, fear of death, passion and love, parenting, poverty, and pursuit of anything. Its inhabitants exist in a bureaucratically controlled state of stability sans emotion. Brave New World is the citizen's polar experience to the prehistoric caveman's solitary existence of self. Today we struggle individually to establish satisfactory symmetry between these two states of bureaucracy and independence while bench-pressing multi-weighted challenges. A journey to Brave New World's civilization of the ridiculous elicits an excell ent measure of the 1998 reader's centeredness between the self's grip of autonomy and its interdependence with State. Franz Boas, primo cultural anthropologist, subscribed that studying the varied threads of cultural tapestry (what's different) facilitates the understanding of culture. Published in 1932, Brave New World presented greater bureaucratic exaggeration to a general readership unengaged in the battle of the balance. Government was barely a gadfly on the barbell, while the 1932 self indeed included the entire village of extended families and neighbors bolstering each other. Sixty-six years hence, government has infiltrated human life stealthily, while the individual has gradually isolated itself with a transient society and fast-track economy bearing down upon the burden-lifter like additional weights. Although hardship labels remain the same, the 1998 challenge of dealing with these afflictions is more complex. Health and psychiatric practitioners caution us that balance is next to godliness. Therefore, we strive in solitude to balance corporate positions with family disasters, our yin wit h our yang, our left brains with our right brains, and most importantly, our debits with our credits. Our state of autonomy depends upon our frame of reference, for it is easy to remain autonomous without adversity. Consider the reaction of the Brave New World reader who has experienced a loved one's serious illness and painful death as a solitary struggle to provide emotional, financial and HMO medical support. Through the assistance of Brave New World, the reader subsequently tours "The Park Lane Hospital for the Dying, a sixty-story tower of primrose tiles. The air is continuously alive with gay synthetic melodies.

Suicide in A Perfect Day for Bananafish by J. D. Salinger Essay

A Perfect Day for Bananafish follows the events leading up to the eventual suicide of Seymour Glass. In the story, Seymour is described as a lost spirit who sees himself as being fundamentally different from his social environment following his wartime experience; he leaves the war â€Å"seeing-more† and as a result, awakens to find that he has lost touch with the material world. Salinger uses the story’s dialog as the medium for conveying Seymour’s struggle; he establishes the shallow nature of the environment Seymour is exposed to using the dialog between Muriel and her Mother while simultaneously giving clues about Seymour’s character from the perspectives of the two women in his life. Seymour’s character is built upon further in the second half of the story during the scene in which he converses with Sybil, and also when Seymour is in the elevator moments before he commits suicide. The subtle clues Salinger weaves into the dialog suggest that Se ymour commits suicide to escape the dilemma of either conforming to the materialistic world and sacrificing his spirituality, or choosing not to conform and consequently live estranged from his own wife and the society in which he lives. The opening of the story serves to create the precedent that Muriel is shallow. The first passage describes how Muriel â€Å"uses† her two and a half hour waiting period before her mother’s call. She accomplishes multiple tasks such as painting her toenails, reading a women’s pocket-size magazine article, brushing her hair, and removing a stain from a skirt. Salinger describes Muriel as â€Å"a girl who for a ringing phone dropped exactly nothing.† The references to Muriel as â€Å"a girl† are repeated throughout the story to signify her immaturity; her concern for trivial... ...nd his own life. Many of these clues can be found in the story’s dialog. They suggest that Seymour’s suicide is the manifestation of an awakening gained through his war experience; he is separated from the shallow environment he lives in and can find no other escape. Perhaps Seymour commits suicide in an attempt to break through the barrier that separates him from Muriel and the rest of society. Or maybe Seymour’s mental faculties were damaged by his wartime experience, leaving him disturbed and unstable. The text can be read many ways; however, there is no single interpretation that captures the complexity of Salinger’s short story. While the clues that Salinger leaves throughout the story influence the reader’s perspective on Seymour Glass, ultimately the meaning and justification of Seymour’s suicide depends on the reader’s personal connection to the protagonist.

Balanced Scorecard: Management Control System Essay

â€Å"Balanced scorecard† means different things to different people. At one extreme, measurement-based balanced scorecards are simple dashboards of performance measures grouped into categories that are of interest primarily to an organization’s managers and executives. Typical categories include financial measures, and customer, process, and organization capacity measures. Measurement-based scorecards almost always report on operational performance measures, and offer little strategic insight into the way an organization creates value for its customers and other stakeholders. At the other extreme, a strategic performance scorecard system is an organization-wide integrated strategic planning, management and measurement system. Strategy-based scorecards align the work people do with corporate vision and strategy, and communicate strategic intent throughout the organization. In other words, these systems incorporate the culture of the organization into the management system. In strategy-based scorecards, performance measures are only one of several important components, and the measures are used to better inform decision making at all levels in the rganization. In strategy-based balanced scorecard systems, performance measures are the result of thinking about business strategy first, to measure progress toward goals. In strategy-based systems, the first question to answer is the strategic question: â€Å"Are we doing the right things? † The operations, process, and tactical questions come later: â€Å"Are we doing things right†. Over the past decade balanced scorecards have evolved from systems that simply measure performance to holistic strategic planning and management systems that help manage and track strategy execution. Despite this evolution, the majority of balanced scorecards that we have seen over the past 10 years use a â€Å"just give me the measures† philosophy. These measure-centric dashboard scorecards are interesting, but not very robust and not nearly as helpful as they could be. These scorecards remind me of the old Wendy’s commercial: â€Å"Where’s the beef? † Strategy-based scorecard systems, on the other hand, create a â€Å"strategic thinking† mentality in an organization, and can help lift the organization and its workforce to a higher, more performance-oriented way to think and work. Each organization is unique, and there is no â€Å"one scorecard fits all† solution. This article describes how to develop a strategy-based balanced scorecard system for technology companies. We’ll share some lessons learned from developing strategic performance scorecard systems in dozens of businesses and industries over the past 10 years. The Balanced Scorecard as a Technology Company’s Strategic Planning and Management System Technology company management teams are challenged by: †¢ Rapidly shrinking product cycles †¢ Recruiting, retaining and rewarding technology talent Making and communicating critical product development decisions †¢ Tracking the evolution of customer feature demands and use models †¢ Disruptive, enabling technologies that can invalidate products or entire business models In addition, executives rarely communicate the strategic manner in which the business is being directed. The typical result is disagreement and misalignment in how these challenges are perceived and addressed throughout the company. Any technology company strategy needs to embrace these challenges. Strategy is a company’s approach to achieving its vision–it’s the organization’s â€Å"game plan† for success. One thing the technology company’s strategy needs to define is how it will measure product planning and development success. Strategy needs to define how ideas are advanced into opportunities. Passionate technology workers need to know why their ideas and views were embraced, delayed, or discarded. Strategy must describe the timing of such considerations, so that investments in programs underway are protected from an ill-timed innovation capturing the minds of employees. Similarly, programs that are off track need to sound alarms so that corrective action can be taken. Strategy needs to guide when and how to sound those alarms and ensure necessary corrections are taken. Strategy needs to dictate tracking customer feature evolution, and if the company wields the core technology its products need to be successful in the marketplace. Using a balanced scorecard as the strategic planning and management framework allows a company to deal with these and other issues that matter to creating value for customers and stakeholders, such as process efficiency, financial performance, and organizational capacity and readiness. Starting with a strategic view of how the organization creates value for customers, a scorecard system links strategy to what must be done operationally to be successful. Good scorecard systems focus on the critical few performance measures that provide real business intelligence and contribute to the achievement of operational excellence, employee excellence, and business success. But more important, these systems focus on the elements of strategy that can be made actionable – strategic objectives that are the building blocks of strategy. Developing a Technology Company Balanced Scorecard System The logic of building a scorecard system and using the system as the organization’s strategic planning and management framework starts with an understanding of the organization’s customers and stakeholders, and their needs. The management team then develops and validates the strategic components of the management system. The components include mission, vision, core values, strategic perspectives (i. e. , performance dimensions), strategic themes and desired strategic results, strategic objectives, an organization-wide strategy map, performance measures and targets, and strategic initiatives aligned with the objectives. Strategy is the common thread through the scorecard system and forms the basis for communicating the organization’s approach for gaining competitive advantage (for a business), or in the case of a public or non-profit organization, for improving mission effectiveness for stakeholders. The finished strategy-based balanced scorecard system translates customer needs, mission, and values into organization goals, strategy, objectives, performance measures, and new initiatives. In a strategy-based scorecard system, strategy is analyzed through four performance dimensions (perspectives): financial (stewardship for government and non-profits), customer/stakeholder, business processes, and organization capacity. A key strategy development step is the creation of several high-level strategies (i. e. , strategic themes), associated strategic results, and strategic objectives for each theme. Strategic themes are aligned with the organization’s vision and mission, and the theme’s strategic result describes a high-level outcome of successfully implementing the strategic theme. Usually three or four themes define the business strategy of the organization at a high level. Examples of strategic themes include Customer-Focused Operational Excellence, Market Driven Technological Excellence, Strategic Partnering, and Growth Through Innovation. Many other themes are possible, and the selection of vision and aligned strategic themes and results make for unique performance scorecard systems for different organizations. Another key development step is the creation of strategic objectives — the â€Å"DNA† of strategy. Objectives are expressed as continuous improvement actions that can be documented, measured, and made actionable through initiatives and projects. Once developed, objectives are linked to form a â€Å"strategy map. † A strategy map shows graphically how the organization creates value for customers, stakeholders, and employees. The strategy map is constructed by linking strategic objectives using cause and effect relationships. A strategy map is one of the most effective communication tools an organization can use to build transparency, alignment, and a focus on results.