4 Marks of the Church

â€Å"A reaction paper on the four marks of the Church† There are a lot of different existing Churches worshiping the same God, who are trying to follow the way that Christ lived. But for the people to distinguish the Roman Catholic Church from all the other Churches there are these four marks of the Roman Catholic Church that was given so that the distinct characteristics of the Church would be evident to the people.These characteristics are, the Church is One, the Church is Catholic, the Church is Holy and the last one is the Church being Apostolic. As we progress through this paper, each of these four would be discussed based on how I have understood about this topic which was discussed in our class. Some additional information based on my further research regarding the topic may also be injected to further enhance my reaction regarding the topic.The first mark that distinguishes the Roman Catholic Church from other Churches is the Church being one. The Church being one per tains to being a unified community. The Church being one means that the Roman Catholic Church is one body of Christ that functions as a unit, which means, that if one does not do its function, all the other people of the Church would fail to function properly because they all belong to a single body. It also means that the Church believes in one God, and that there is one Lord, one faith and one baptism.Though people belonging to the Roman Catholic Church belongs to different nations, are of different vocations, have different talents and follows different cultures, the diversity found in this church does not prevent the people to act as one community where there is harmonious unity. This oneness is also visible in the Church’s creed and other teachings, and so as in the celebration of the sacraments. Basically the Roman Catholic Church is considered one because of three reasons, namely, its source, its founder, and because of its soul.The Church is said to be one because of its source which is the Holy Trinity, which is a perfect unity of three divine persons, Father, Son and the Holy Spirit. The next reason is because of its founder, who is no other than Jesus Christ, who gathered and united the people through salvation from sin. And the third reason is because of its soul, which is the Holy Spirit, who resides in the souls of the faithful and unites them in communion. The Church being Catholic is the next characteristic that was given to the Roman Catholic Church.The term â€Å"Catholic† which means Universal could actually explain this trait by the word itself. It simply says that being one body of Christ is nit limited by race, culture, and not even by time. It means that anybody could become a part of the Church at any given time. This also states that the Church here on earth is also one with the Church in heaven and also the Church in purgatory. This is where the understanding about the communion of saints came from.It shows the union of the faithful here on earth to the union to the faithful in purgatory and those who are faithful in heaven, thus, making the Roman Catholic Church, universal. The third mark, which is the Church is Holy signifies the Church being special. The word â€Å"holy† means set apart which only shows that the Church has a special purpose by and for God. The Church is also marked as holy because people are freed from original sin through baptism. The church is also marked by outstanding holiness shown in the lives of saints.Since the members of the church are human beings, it is only normal that they would sin due to their human nature, which is the opposite of being holy. But, people who are faithful who sin would repent whenever they sin which is the path through holiness. The Church is also holy because of its source who is the Lord who is holy. Through the Church’s teachings, worship and prayer, and good works, the Church is a visible sign of Holiness. The last mar is the fou rth mark of the Roman Catholic Church which is the Church is Apostolic.From its root word â€Å"apostle† we could derive that the Church was entrusted by its founder (Jesus Christ) to the apostles who served as the first bishops and entrusted special authority to St. Peter, who is the first pope and bishop of Rome. Through the apostles, the Church continued on and this authority over the church was handed down to each generation through what we call the apostolic succession. There are no bishop, priest, or deacon in the Church that was self ordained.Each one of them was called by the Church and ordained into what we call apostolic ministry which is given to us by the Lord to be exercised by the Church in one with the Pope. The Sacred Tradition and Sacred Scripture of the Church was also passed down and preserved by apostles under the guidance of the Holy Spirit. These four marks, namely, the Church is one, holy, catholic and apostolic are indicators that the Church is the Rom an Catholic Church. Other churches may also reflect some of these marks but it is only the Roman Catholic Church who fully professes these marks.Though the four marks are different, they are all interconnected to one another. The Church is catholic because it is universal, that is the reason why it is also one. The church acts as a community that is why it acts in unison, but, its actions are all based on holiness because the Church being one shows that it is the one body of Christ which follows one head who is also the founder of the Church who is Christ. The people of the Church know the responsibilities that Christ left them because of the Sacred Scriptures and Sacred Traditions which was passed down by the apostles.To lead the people, Christ also entrusted the authority to His apostles and entrusted St. Peter special authority over the Church. This said authority is followed and passed down to the future generations through what we call apostolic succession. This said example is only one of the many ways on how these four marks are interrelated to each other. And the full work and manifestation of these marks as a mission sets the Roman Catholic Church apart and identifies them from the other Churches.

Much Ad About Nothing Essay

Write about the ways in which Shakespeare presents the relationship between Beatrice and Benedick in Much Ado About Nothing and compare it with the ways in which relationships are presented in ‘Sonnet 130’, ‘Sonnet 43’ and ‘Salome’. In Much Ado About Nothing, Shakespeare presents an interesting relationship between the characters of Beatrice and Benedick. We can compare their relationships with the poems ‘Sonnet 130’, ‘Sonnet 43’ and ‘Salome’ and the relationships presented in them. Although Shakespeare includes a conventional relationship between Hero and Claudio, he also decides to involve a different affair between Beatrice and Benedick. One of these moments where we can begin to understand their relationship is during the First Meeting. In Act 1 Scene 1, Benedick uses imagery of a bird to mock Beatrice. On line 126, Benedick says to Beatrice â€Å"Well, you are a rare parrot-teacher†. Benedick could be mocking Beatrice by suggesting that she can’t say anything original and only copies what others say, therefore relating to the imagery of a parrot. However, the word ‘rare’ shows that Benedick recognises the unique characteristics of Beatrice and that she is standing out from the crowd, consequently hinting his disguised love for her. Additionally, this quotation also relates to the context of time as women, in those days, could be punished for talking too much. Benedick could be taking advantage of the conventions of time to put Beatrice in her place in their relationship with each other. The parrot imagery can also relate to a poem called Sonnet 130. This is because, in Sonnet 130, the poe t says â€Å"I love to hear her speak, yet well i know, That music hath a far more pleasing sound;†. We can link the first phrase of Sonnet 130 with Benedicks quote of a ‘rare’ parrot-teacher. By including the word rare before the imagery of a bird, suggests that although Beatrice may talk too much, Benedick still enjoys listening to her speak hence relating to Sonnet 130 â€Å"I love to hear her speak†. As well as this, the second line of Sonnet 130 â€Å"that music hath far more a pleasing sound† links to why Benedick uses the imagery of a bird to mock Beatrice in the first place. As he includes the phrase ‘parrot-teacher’, it indicates that even though he enjoys listening to her speak, perhaps as she speaks too much, means that there are better things to  be heard. Overall, within the First Meeting of Beatrice and benedick, Shakespeare begins an interesting relationship causing the audience to be intrigued and persuaded to keep watching. Shakespeare proceeds with their relationship in Scene 1 Act 11 at the Masked Ball. Here, Benedick and Beatrice are presented as hostile towards one another as Benedick is masked, unable to reveal his identity, as Beatrice is basically insulting him while pretending that she doesn’t know who he really is. She says that Benedick will â€Å"break a comparison or two on me, which peradventure not marked, or not laughed at, strikes him into melancholy, and then there’s a partridge wing saved, for the fool will eat no supper that night.† She is making the case that benedick is so weak-minded that no one will laugh at his jokes. Then Benedick will be so upset that no one listens to his witty comparisons that he loses his appetite and is unable even to eat a partridge wing, which would be a small meal anyway. But perhaps the idea of consuming food could be changed to create a more interesting insight of Beatrice’s insult. Beatrice could also be saying that Benedick is weak but has lost his appetite not for food but for life because he is regarded so low by his friends. It could also be a reference to Benedick losing his sexual appetite. In Beatrice’s quote, she uses a powerful metaphor to insult Benedick’s manhood. This would be particularly astonishing given the context of time: women were expected to say less than men. However, in this scene Beatrice is particularly outspoken by saying something which is immensely rude; this is completely going against the conventions of time. Beatrice would also be living up to the expectation at the time as women were more sexual than men and would be prone to having affairs and ultimately cuckolding men. We could compare Benedick and Beatrice relationship throughout the Masked Ball with the poem ‘Salome’. Salome presents someone who is confessing to something that they are guilty of. One line says ‘cut out the booze and the fags and the sex.’ This indicates that the person is wanting to lose their appetite for sex whereas within Beatrice’s insult towards Benedick, it refers to a possibility of Benedick losing his sexual appetite without wanting to. Furthermore, we could link when Beatrice says ‘for the fool will eat no supper tonight’ to another quote from Salome: ‘was his head on a platter’. Perhaps when Beatrice says that Benedick will have no supper, she could really mean that he is the supper.

Coffee Supply Chain

Since 2000 Germany has increased their import every year, going from under 14,000,000 bags to Just over 20,000,000 bags in 2011. Japan has stayed near 7,000,000 bags of imported coffee the past ten years. France has maintained 7,000,000 bags of coffee as well. Italy became he third largest imported of coffee by increasing its demand from 6,000,000 bags to 8,000,000 bags a year over the past ten years. (Reference 1 1) 2013 has already shown to be a peculiar year for coffee import and exports.There has been a 60% decrease in Arabica coffee futures from the 2011 price. The 2011 price was a 14 year high for the coffee. This drop in price has resulted the cost of production to surpass the current market price. Brazil and Colombia have some of the lowest costs in production, 126 cents and 160 cents respectively, yet both countries cost of production have surpassed the market price. As of June 23rd the Lully contract price for a pound of coffee was 116. 9 cents. This has caused a lot of pro blems for coffee growers.As a result of this the Brazilian government has stepped in to make an effort to help support the coffee industry of Brazil. In June Brazil granted the coffee industry a 1. 46 billion us dollar credit line. This credit line will cover the cost of storing the coffee, help buy coffee from growers as well as other expenses of the coffee industry. The government is hoping to avoid diving coffee prices even lower as a result of coffee growers continuing to sell their excess harvest. Reference 12) The large drop in coffee prices has been great for companies.Shipments of coffee in the first half are up 20% from last year numbers. This increase in savings has translated to the largest coffee stockpiles since 2007. Cutbacks stated April 25th that their latest quarter, ending April 31st, saw an increase in operating profit go from 13. 5% to 15. 3% which was due in large part to the decrease in coffee prices. Companies are also lowering prices of coffee; Cutbacks decre ased certain prices of coffee by 10%, Dunking Donuts by 6% and Kraft by 6% as well. (Reference 13)

Business strategy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words - 2

Business strategy - Essay Example 6 Environmental auditing †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. 7 Shareholder’s analysis †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 7 Alternative strategy †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. 8 Future strategy †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. 8 Task 3 †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. 8 Roles and responsi bility of strategies †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. 8 Strategy requirements †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. 9 Targets and timescales †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. 9 Bibliography †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. 11 Introduction The business world has become increasingly competitive over the past few years and has necessitated that proper strategies be put in place to govern and define it. Various companies such as Apple Inc. have been involved in enacting strategies aimed at helping thei r company gain a competitive edge. A few of these specialized strategies Some of these strategies involve engaging in activities that make a company more able to derive a greater degree of revenue while at the same time reducing the costs of operation. For instance, Apple Inc. has decided to take advantage of the high demand of smart TVs within the current market as a main strategy of exercising a degree of competitive advantage within this specific sector. Further, the company has also been conducting aggressive marketing strategies aimed at gaining a competitive edge over its main rivals such as Samsung. Task 1: Demonstration of strategic planning processes: For the purpose of this paper, the selected organization will be Apple Inc.; one of the most successful multinational corporations with subsidiaries worldwide. It deals with the production of the communication equipment such as the iPhone as well as the creation of a litany of other consumer electronics. Further, the firm has also engaged in the development of different software for various applications. Currently, the company is in the process of production of new product lines which, according to management at the firm, will enable the company to gain a competitive advantage over its main competitors; Samsung, Huawei, and Google (Papalexandris et al, 2004, p. 90). Many analysts have pointed to the fact that the company is a market leader with respect to the massive amount of technical innovation and development that they are able to generate each and every quarter/year. As a function of this specialty and drive, the firm is able to make state of art goods; helping to explain why most of the goods from this company are in such high demand. Apple has many major opportunities owing to the fact that is has not yet been able to saturate markets; especially in the developing world. Despite the fact that its goods are expensive, they are in high demand due to their high quality and unique appeal that the bran d is able to generate. Currently, the company, just like many others, has been facing increased economic challenges. This is especially true after the 2007/2008 economic meltdown. However, to overcome this challenge, the management has been able to engage in a series of

Population Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Population - Coursework Example Family planning programs have been increased in the 80’s with the help of the state governments. The Indian government focused more on rural areas to control the population through primary health centers. Family planning programs such as All-India Hospitals Post-partum Program at district- and sub district-level hospitals, reorganization of primary health care facilities in urban slum areas, reservation of hospital beds for tubal ligature operations, re-modeling of intrauterine device (IUD) rooms in rural family welfare centers attached to primary health care facilities, were included in the seventh â€Å"Five Year Plan† of the Indian government. â€Å"Another important family planning program is the Project for Community Action in Family Planning. Located in Karnataka, the project operates in 154 project villages and 255 control On the other hand, the Chinese traditionally prefer early marriage, early child-bearing, and large families. â€Å"Chinas current family planning policy was made to meet the needs of a special period. At present, the Chinese Family Planning Policy guidelines are as follows: 1. Controlling the rapid population growth and reducing birth defects.2. Late marriages, later births, and fewer babies; couples are encouraged to have only one child. In rural areas, the birth of a second child should be spaced 4-5 years from the first† (Li Wei-xiong) Just like India, China also has started implement family planning measures in the 1960’s onwards. China has adopted the strategies like late marriage, fewer births, and spacing of births to control the population. Fewer births were advocated - one is good, two are acceptable and three are too many. â€Å"In the early 1980s, central government advocated one child per family in urban areas. For rural area couples, one child is impractical, which causes difficulties; therefore, couples are encouraged to have a second child after a gap of around 4 years† (Li Wei-xiong).

Software Management Metrics Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

Software Management Metrics - Research Paper Example In this scenario, the majority of software development firms follows well-known industry standards such as ISO/IEC 15504 and CMMI. Additionally, in an attempt to improve the quality of developed products as well as their firm’s development potential and efficiency, a large number of approaches have been suggested in previous researches. Without a doubt, process assessment allows software development firms to understand their process capability and productivity, and taking into consideration the results of this assessment that firm can look forward to an improvement in its development processes by determining and understanding the strengths, weaknesses and risks associated with its processes and how to prevent them. Though, Software Engineering Institute’s CMMI (capability maturity model integration) is specifically designed to measure the capability of processes of software development firms. In this scenario, a software development firm with high level maturity level i s believed to have more mature software development process as compared to software development firms those having a lower maturity level. Hence, these firms can develop software products more constantly. In their research article, (Hwang) define software process capability â€Å"as the potential of a software development firm to develop software products consistently and predictably.† In the same way, a capability level refers to a wide collection of process characteristics and measures that work in cooperation to bring a significant improvement in the capability of a software development firm to carry out a software development process. In addition, CMMI is based on five levels and each level is intended to offer a major improvement of capability in the performance of a process (Hwang; VanHilst, Garg and Lo; Pressman). A software metric can be defined as any measurement or calculation utilized to measure some

Management accounting- R-11 Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 5000 words

Management accounting- R-11 - Assignment Example Private organisations tend to have smoother management control process whereas public organisations experience more turbulence, conflicts and interruptions. Many scholars attribute these differences to the roles and purpose of private and public organisations in the society. Private organisations produce and sell products to consumers in the markets with objective of creating shareholders’ wealth. On the other hand, public organisations, such as state health centers and public schools undertake their operations for public interests. The distinct roles mean that there are diverse kinds of expectations and accountability that may can call for distinctive management control and decision-making processes (Ring & Perry. 1985). The problem of exercising management control in private sector versus public sector The contextual influence in the exercise of management control arises from the role of an organisation in the society. Whereas private organisations are means for creating sha reholders’ wealth, public organisations are instruments of public policy. The functions of each sector dictate the governance and leadership arrangements that are necessary to exercise management control for different diverse types of owners and shareholders. The approach to governance adopted in each sector subject general managers in each sector to different demands and expectations, which have far-reaching impact on exercise of management control. The role of each sector dictate ways of dealing with clients and users of services or goods offered in different ways, and this may also influence how management control is exercised. Public organisations are constrained in ways that limit how they exercise their management control and strategic choices being made. In most cases, discussions of how management control should be pursued in public organisations are subject to public disclosure. The government passes legislative mandates which tend t affect budgets and budgeting proc ess in a public organisation. As cited by Ring and Perry (1985), managers or leaders of public organisations are required to conform to budgets and legislative mandates passed by the state. As such, this is likely to limit the amount of money available for research on how to exercise management effectively. These mandates may even limit managers of public corporations from spending money on data collection and research thus influencing decision making process negatively. Management team of most public corporations must report to oversight committees, whose occupants are often political appointees, who are prone to leaking organisation’s undertakings and progress. This influences planning and management process in a negative way. These influences make management control problematic in public corporations than in for-profit organisations (Nutt, 2005). The external environment influences any organisation. Some of the attributes of external environment include cooperation, compet ition, political influence, cooperation and data availability. Private organisations can assess market situations through consumer buying behavior thereby enabling them to effectively manage their actions. Public organisations lack markets which can be source of revenue. As such, they depend on funds from oversight bodies that have tendency of setting reimbursement rules for the products or services offered by a public organisa

Development of a Computer system application using 3GL tools Research Paper

Development of a Computer system application using 3GL tools & Design Phase - Research Paper Example The mobile division of the company is meant to create mobile software products, whose main use are on mobile phones, and laptop computers. The division runs a series of two programs, each with a program manager, and a handful of highly qualified staff. The program manager has the responsibility of developing an innovative idea concerning particular software, and he works together with his team. The Hakimo business department produces software’s for office applications. This software’s are to enhance effective communication within a company. This division combines the services of employees at the business solution department and the mobile division of the company. This is because of the experience, and skills in their possession. The information department handles the public relations of the company, and the company’s main business strategy is to enter into a strategic alliance with large software companies. 3GLS stands for Third Generation Languages. It is a collection of programming languages that enhance the development of second generational languages. Examples of 3GLS tools are Pascal, the C family of languages and BASIC. A program developed by 3GL tools is referred to as a source code, which is converted by a specific program, known as the complier, to the object code. This code is recognized by a specific computer. In developing this program, programmers use aggregate data types, and variable names, and they combine this with skills in defining parts of the code, into subroutines. 3GLS tools such as Fortran, Pascal and the C family enable a programmer to develop programs that are independent of a specific computer (Shooman, 2002). These languages are referred to as high level languages, because they are close to the language spoken by humans. These languages can run at any computer, and are not limited to specifics. Programmers who use Pascal to develop computer

Emotional intelligence is an overlooked aspect of transformational Essay

Emotional intelligence is an overlooked aspect of transformational leadership - Essay Example Several researches have discovered links among emotional intelligence and end result variables of interest to managers. It is very common to recognize community, management and leadership pressure that are parallel in the human history; though, the principle of scientific techniques to the development of knowledge regarding leadership is mainly a twentieth century fact (Cherniss, 2000). The idea that an individuals personal or physical activities or actions might elucidate or estimate leadership capability continued to have prevalence well into the twentieth century. Comprising misconstrued the character of traits in management and before missing the statistical tools to put together self-governing parallel coefficients, trait theory was mainly directed aside in the mid-twentieth century in supporting the behavioral and possibility approaches. A spotlight on what behaviors influential in fact occupied in subjugated leadership study and accounted for important progresses in the accept ance of social control and leadership in the course of the middle to late 1900s (Prati et al, 2003b). Directed by hypothesis, the consideration of transformational leadership has been, comparable to approximately all management examine, paying attention on leader-follower relations. Concentration to transformational leadership has conquered the scientific techniques to the understanding of leadership for just about two decades. As the significance in charismatic and transformational leadership approaches has built-up and developed, a variety of calls have been heard for new holistic techniques to the deliberation of leadership capability and the leadership procedure. One option is to look at leadership not immediately as relations, although moderately as a meaning of a proficiency set possessed and positioned by the individual leader (Cherniss, 2000). While the reality and significance

How the Vietnam war changed the u.s Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

How the Vietnam war changed the u.s - Essay Example They are of the view that it changed the manner in which the American society perceived their Constitutional rights, the media, as well as the government (Lawrence, 2008). While the War torn the country apart to some extent, it brought the country in a different and new ways. The controversial nature of the war spurred a huge many sources of protest, against how power is used by the government, how far could the freedom of expression be stretched, and mainly against the war itself (Franklin, 2000). In order to understand the effects of the Vietnam War in to the American society, this paper will discuss how the war changed the U.S. At the beginning of the Vietnam War, majority of the American public believed that the United States involvement in the war was justified. Most of the Americans supported the containment strategy as a way of protecting the interests of the United States (Nulty, 2007). They saw the need for thousands of the Americans to fight and protect their country. However, as the war progressed, Americans realized that the whole concept of the Vietnam War was flawed. As a result of this realization, there were demonstrations and protests across America against the war. The defeat of the United States in the war severely demoralized the American people. The citizens of America had liked to perceive themselves and their country as being invincible and therefore losing the war meant that their self confidence as well as pride would be lost (Hagopian, 2009). The war led to a reappraisal of America’s glory and power, as well as dampening the self confidence of the American people. It also led to economic woes and increased debts considering the huge amount of resources that was used in during the war. The eventualities of the war weakened the public support in the American government, as well as the competence and honesty of its leaders. A high degree of suspicion and skepticism were the main characterized

Reflective Report Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 2

Reflective Report - Essay Example This essay is basically an attempt to contemplate a few principally deteriorative issues with respect to these three factors. In order to better scrutinize each of the three factors and the associated paradoxes, appropriate OB theories will also be added and discussed to evaluate what literature has to say on multiple ramifications of different problematic OB issues. In case of poor leadership and management, one thing escalates another and soon stress and depression at workplace fosters the absenteeism rate also as in case of one private hardware store I worked at. Observations made by me while working at that hardware store identified three issues to be primarily responsible for worrisome OB issues thriving at the store and passive leadership and management was one among them. The leaders there appeared to be least dedicated with resolving myriad issues faced by the workforce and due to absence of a patent communication path, a lot of confusions prevailed at the store which plummet ed down the level of both employee motivation and customer satisfaction. ... When, such a strategy is maintained by employers, the employees begin to trust them which is a key element of sound OB. As more and amore employees are becoming less trusting of their domineering or passive employers, research proves that development of trust between leaders and employees is â€Å"necessary for the generation of competitive organisational advantage through support, cooperation and the improvement of co-ordination mechanisms† (Rocha 2001 cited in Connell, Cross & Parry 2002, p. 145). Leadership practices, employee motivation, and organizational structure interrelate with each other which is why the hardware store I worked at failed to compete with other firms in the market in addition to internal issues like poor management and job dissatisfaction. The managers at the store consistently refused to address the concerns of employees, which rapidly destroyed the structural framework of OB. OB is seriously at stake when the employees are unsatisfied with the leader ship style practices at the workplace which decreases the rate of motivation or when weak organizational designs are implemented. Decreased employee motivation means a depressed workforce which is proved to be lethal for OB while a satisfied workforce proves to be an asset for a company. A peaceful and collaborative OB assists organizations in grooming many talents of unproductive employees while a domineering boss, in contrast, fosters a rough workplace environment which increases the rate of job dissatisfaction and decreases the rate of organizational commitment. A large percentage of workplace issues originating from negative OB are laden with confusions, fear, and unhealthy criticism because the leaders do not invest

My opinion about Catherine Hayles’ book Essay Example for Free

My opinion about Catherine Hayles’ book Essay My opinion about Catherine Hayles’ book Introduction   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   I disagree with the conclusion of Catherine hayles book and her latest advice.The picture that Catherine Hayles frames is that human being fear to be post human .In her argument She puts information as the core that only requires a conveying media and that media can be machines or human being. She shows how post human is necessary by giving it a positive outlook than human. Hayles argues that human being will be replaced by post human and the human race will face extinction. In her conclusion she states that post human are superior than human being and goes further to feeble the human being by saying that they are not autonomous in thinking . In a further extent Hayles in her book says that computers machines and programs will wipe away the human race.There are many things I don’t agree with Catherine Hayles I will lay down my argument disagreeing with her argument.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Human being are superior over all creation and they cannot be replaced by any other creation.Catherine Hayles argues that human being will morph into something else, something like a cyborg where machines will be overall and incharge and commernder of the other creation.This view is far away from truth, human being cannot be replaced by a creation that has been made by Him. Human being were created to subdue the earth and all the other creations are inferior to Human. It’s not possible to create something and be inferior to it. God is superior to us and so we are superior to machines. Catherine Hayles needs to elaborate and explain why can we create something and it turns to our god.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Posthuman cann’t think as human being does. Hayles lays down her argument saying that post human do think as human being . This she tries to argue that the deeds and actions that can be done by a human being due to thinking can also be done by robot because it thinks too. Do posthuman have self will like human being does? This is a question not answered in her book. Human being thinks in a natural way and posthuman thinks as a result of radio frequency identification (RFID). There is a big gap between posthuman and human being and nothing can bridge this gap.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Looking at the contribution she made the last in her book , her ambition are much higher. The first chapter she read the book of Hans Moravec’s Mind Children:The future of robot and human intelligence and she got a shock. The thing that captured her mind was Moravec’s assertion which stated that near future the consciousness of human being will be transferred to that of computer.There are two prepositions that are implicated here; (1) That existence of information is not reliable to a particular substrate. (2) The consciousness of human being is information. These two preposition are the one that Hayles through her narrative contests three devoted topics; The cyborg emerged as a result of cultural artifacts, how the body was lost by information and the construction that resulted the emergency of post human.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Hayles goes further in defining post human using two other ways, first was that posthuman are susceptible, coordinating and self organizing its self in a larger system. She argues that we are dictated by the environment we live in and thus integrated into that environment. She says that human being needed posthuman and thus the technology is the one that pushes for it. The innovation is the one that created posthuman and human being now depends on posthuman. She alludes posthuman in a manner above it’s definition, she says that the information from body is tranferrable from body to machines.It’s very clear is literature and has no facts in it human and posthuman mutually require each other to survive but posthuman requires human to live.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Hayles opposes the formulation of the second definition of post human and endorsing the definition of the first one. She argues that we think of apocalyptic visions where machines will be equal and become our superior. Hayles didn’t see the danger to obviate the stated machines and the repercussion of changing definition. Hayles argument doesn’t give any hope for survival of human being, that’s very pathetic.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Another argument she grounds herself with is that there will be full integration of one’s self with a machine and that the content that evolution excluded. She says that body has a sediment history and it do have an architecture in it, a physical structure whose constraints and possibilities have been formed by an evolutionary history that intelligent machines do not share. ( C. H ayles,284, 2009.) In my views, human being cannot be fully identified with machines.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Hayles did mention about Joseph Weizenbaum’s statement that making a judgement and the capacity to make is a matter that should be left as an ethical principle, to the human alone. I don’t agree. What are the impacts of feeding more and more information and functions to technology and computers? How is it possible for us to lose our humanity for we resign the skill to practice the decision of of a particular nature?   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   If we take machine and look at themselves, the analysis of Hayles shows that posthuman have the same consciousness as human and they help in our thinking and they do perform the functions that we don’t need to but quiet want to.Infact they do function and perform better than human being .But we should not forget where they originated from. All machines and their relatives they came from the effort of human mind production. Human being has created them to aid in maximizing his own efficiency and he have, with no doubt accomplished his motive. Without human being machines would not be in existence and thus for them to exist human being has to exist first and the cognition ability would not be there . Ayn Rand character has one that we can link to this art and says in Atlas Shrugged: â€Å"I thoughtof the men who claim that machines condition their brains. Well there was the motor to condition them, and there it remained as just exact ly what it is without man’s mind-as a pile of metal scraps and wires, going to rust.† (page 745, Atlas Shrugged) This statement show sense in Hayles and I agree on: Human is conditioned by machine and we appreciate them in our lives and enhance them but I differ in that human being is still dorminant . Machines without the human being they would go extinction and get to rust.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   If the cyborg and the cyborg varieties were to exist as put by the Hayles they would still require human skills and characteristics for their ‘brain’ to function, to have conscious and to think like human being. Hyles didn’t explain this and how if human being were to go to extinction the post human would survive, else she have a task to do.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Hayles the premises that she posits as another cause of fear of post human is the liberal humanist opinion of the human kind matters autonomy. Human being are able to see all the possibilities which are open to choose and they have the will and they can synthesize these sources. Schopenhauer’s there is an outline in THE WORLD AS WILL AND REPRESENTATION(BOOKIII). Human being are able to think, they are able to process data , they are able to create it and pull judgements built on their feelings. This Information comes from several sources in machine but in human being they come purely on them. Machines they are devoid of thinking and they have no conscious like ours. Hayles in her argument doesn’t have the real world instances , and those that she uses are not very clear they are not specifically illuminating. In her early books she says that she finds saying that â€Å"Well my sleep agent wants to rest, but my food agent say s I should go to the store†( Hayles 2009,6).This is certainly an odd approach of talking and She draws a very significant deductions from it. â€Å" Each person ,† She claims, â€Å"who thinks this way begins to envision herself or himself as a posthuman collectivity, an ‘I’ transformed into the ‘we’ of autonomous agents operating together to make self† (Catherine. H, pg 6 2009) There are questions that rises about personal disorders of the multitude. The example of ability of multiple to celebrate and creatively dissociate leads to rejection of therapy that tries to integrate their adjusts. People definitely will be talking around themselves in a fresh ways. But moral agents asks what thinking together about themselves meant. Hayles put it that â€Å"serious consideration needs to be given to how certain characteristics associated with liberal subject, especially agency and choice, can be articulated with in posthuman context† (C atherine.Hayles, pg5, 2009) and she left it like that . She didn’t show any alternative of her implications.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In conclusion Hayles argument is lacking enough facts and is based in prepositions that she lays to win the heart of literature, and in my views she didn’t succed. If you consider streams with standing waves, which visibly forms the front side of the rocks which projects superficial above the water. They retain their normal shape and their normal integrity despite being changed by the molecules of water .I still find the machines being continuously changing their integrity but can’t replace human being and they can’t lead extinction of human kind. References Harrison, Ariane Lourie. Architectural theories of the environment: posthuman territory. New York, NY: Routledge, Taylor Francis Group, 2013. Print. Hayles, N. Katherine. How we became posthuman: virtual bodies in cybernetics, literature, and informatics. Chicago, Ill.: University of Chicago Press, 1999. Print. Leithauser, Brad. Penchants places: essays and criticism. New York: A.A. Knopf :, 1995. Print. Younkins, Edward W.. Ayn Rands Atlas shrugged a philosophical and literary companion. Aldershot, England: Ashgate, 2007. Print. Bateson, Catherine. Being Bee. New York: Holiday House, 2007. Print. Gronebaum, Melissa. Arthur schopenhauers die welt als wille und vorstellung. S.l.: Grin Verlag Gmbh, 2014. Print. Harrison, Ariane Lourie. Architectural theories of the environment: posthuman territory. New York, NY: Routledge, Taylor Francis Group, 2013. Print. Hayles, N. Katherine. How we became posthuman: virtual bodies in cybernetics, literature, and informatics. Chicago, Ill.: University of Chicago Press, 1999. Print. Leithauser, Brad. Penchants places: essays and criticism. New York: A.A. Knopf :, 1995. Print. Younkins, Edward W.. Ayn Rands Atlas shrugged a philosophical and literary companion. Aldershot, England: Ashgate, 2007. Print. Source document

Review And Determine The Mcdonalds Strategic Marketing Essay

Review And Determine The Mcdonalds Strategic Marketing Essay LO1) Review and Determine the McDonalds Strategic Aims and Objectives McDonalds is one of the leading global fast food service retailers, with about more than 32,000 restaurants serving more than 60 million people in more than 117 countries each day. McDonalds is well known for some of its much desired food like; Chicken McNuggets, Big Mac and Egg McMuffins all around the globe. McDonalds 75% of its chains are owned and operated by the franchisees all over the world and only 25% of its chains are owned by the company. In 1967 McDonald opened its first international outlet in Canada. Most of the McDonalds outlets are free standing units, other than that it also has many units located at airports and in other retail areas. Since the opening of McDonalds first international outlet in Canada it is known for providing the outstanding quality, quick service, cleanliness and value to its customers (McDonalds, 2011). Current Strategic Aims and Objectives of McDonalds McDonalds has clearly defined its strategic aims and objectives; the vision of McDonalds is to be the leading, quick and the best fast food service provider all over the world. Other objectives of McDonalds are; to maintain and develop the best quality food products in the quick service restaurant market, McDonalds also wants to lead the quick service restaurant market by attracting new customers, opening more profitable restaurants, increasing its sales through promotion that enable them to continue their program of expansion. The McDonalds goal is to maximize its profits, maintain its competitive advantage by constantly creating new products to add onto its menu, which will help to attract new customers and satisfy their existing customers that gives customers a reason to visit McDonalds often (McDonalds, 2011). McDonalds main objective is to be the worlds best quick service restaurant ever experience and for this McDonalds provide outstanding service, quality, cleanliness and value to its customers all around the globe. McDonalds also aim to grasp every opportunity to innovate and lead the industry on behalf of the customers, they also have a passion and feel committed to go beyond their customers expectations every time in every restaurant in order to enhance and protect the McDonalds brand all over the world (McDonalds 2011). An Evaluation of the Component Parts of a Strategic Plan Strategic planning is a very important business activity and it is used to achieve certain goals and objectives. An organization sometimes summarizes its goals and objectives into a mission statement and a vision statement. Vision is basically a long-term view, which outlines what an organization wants to be in the future and also describe how the organization wants the world in which it operates. Vision basically concentrates on the future and provides the decision making criteria to the organization. Whereas mission defines the basic purpose of the existence of an organization, the mission also defines about the desired level of performance needed in order to achieve the organizational aims and objectives (Kotler, 1986). The Vision of McDonalds is to be the best and the leading fast food provider all over the world (McDonalds, 2011). There are five different ways of judging the suitability of an organizational vision; the first one is the foresight which tells whether the vision of an organization is strong enough and realistic and when the vision of McDonalds is evaluated it is clear that it is strong enough as well as realistic. The second way to judge the vision of an organization is the breadth, which tells does the vision of an organization fully cover likely changes in the market place and McDonalds has a capability to change with the environment and make sure that in every country of the world its customers must always get quality products, in quick time, in a clean and pleasant environment and at a reasonable price. Another way to judge the vision is the uniqueness that an organization can capitalize on and surprise its competitors and the uniqueness in the vision of McDonalds is that the tas te and the size of its burgers are same in each outlet all around the globe where it provides its products and services. The fourth way to judge the vision is through consensus, which tells that an organization should have only one vision and the McDonalds has only one and clear vision and that is to be the best and the leading fast food provider all over the world. Lastly through action-ability a vision can be judge which tells whether the vision is ready for implementation or does the organization have core competences. The vision of McDonalds is ready for the implementation and the core competency of McDonalds is providing convenience to its customers when they want to eat fast food at the prices that are competitive and provide best value for the customers money (Hamel and Prahalad, 1994). The mission statement of McDonalds is to be our customers favorite place and way to eat. Their main focus is on being the best fast food provider and for this their worldwide operations has been aligned around a global strategy called a Plan to Win based on the five factors of an exceptional customer experience; People, Product, Price, Place and Promotion (McDonalds, 2011). Just like the vision statement the mission statement of McDonalds can be judge by seeing how far it meets the certain formulations. Firstly McDonalds should have a clear idea in what business they are in and should also do a thorough market research before introducing any new product. Secondly the mission statement should be made from a customer perspective and the mission of McDonalds is clearly defining that they have made their mission statement while keeping their targeted customers in mind. Thirdly an organization must make sure that its mission statement reflects the core values and beliefs of an organizatio n and the McDonalds mission statement is clearly defining that it provides convenience when people need and want to eat good quality fast food at reasonable price in a pleasant environment. The fourth way to assess the mission statement of an organization is to define what sustainable competitive advantage an organization has over its competitors and one of the McDonalds competitive advantages is it focuses on the consistency of the quality, the use of raw materials and the production of food all around the world. Lastly an organization should summarize the strategic approach they would use in order to achieve the strategic aims and objectives of an organization. McDonalds has design certain strategic approaches to achieve its aims and objectives like the utilization of technology, the defined work routines and maintaining the competitive advantage (Lynch, 2006). Factors Affecting the Strategic Plan There are certain factors that affect the McDonalds corporation so much that their role in shaping the strategies cannot be ignored and these factors are; political, economical and social factors. The political factors affect the organization in different ways like the international operations of McDonalds are highly influenced by the individual state policies enforced by each government. For instance different countries focus on different areas of concern like; the worker protection, health and the environment. All these elements are in the control of government and considers when giving a license of the restaurant in different countries (Bateman and Scott, 2004). Different organizations in the fast food industry have their individual concerns involving economic factors. The different branches and the franchises of McDonalds have the tendency to experience difficulties where the economy of certain countries hit by the inflation and the changes in the exchange rate. Therefore, if a franchise operates in a particularly economically weak country, then these franchises must make certain adjustments in their strategies to maintain the economies of scale (Sustar and Sustar, 2005). The social factors also affect the strategies of an organization. McDonalds cater variety of customers with different types of personalities in different countries. McDonalds uses different concepts of consumer behavior like product personality and purchasing decisions of consumers to make proper strategies, so that it can attract new customers and satisfy their existing customers in order to achieve its aims and objectives efficiently (Bateman and Snell, 2004). LO2) Evaluate the Alternative Strategies to meet the desired Future Strategic Position 2.1) A Range of Strategic Analysis tools to Audit Progress towards strategic Aims and Objectives   The marketing audit is very essential for an organization as it provides the backbone strategic analysis that supports corporate decision making process and it also tells the current position of an organization. The SWOT analysis is one of the auditing tools that are use to analyze the internal as well as the external factors of an organization that are favorable and unfavorable to achieve the objectives of an organization (Aaker, 1997). The biggest strength of McDonalds is its large market share, strong brand image and reputation, strong financial performance and position in the food industry, friendly environment for customers and the practice of going green has made it possible for McDonalds to gain more fame all around the world. The weaknesses of McDonalds are it had to face certain legal action because of using trans-fat and beef oil that can negatively affect its brand image, other weaknesses of McDonalds are it offers the variety of junk food which is considered as a very unhealthy food among people and it is also losing its customers due to the increase competition (Peter and Donnelly, 2007). There are certain opportunities as well for McDonalds like; through globalization open more profitable restaurants, it could also make itself more innovative by offering deals that appeal to new customers, and other opportunity is that in the last few decades there is a huge growth in the fast food industry has been observed. Like some opportunities there are certain threats as well that McDonalds faces like; the health professionals accuses McDonalds because of increasing health issues of diabetes, high cholesterol heart attacks and obesity. Another threat for McDonalds is the competitors market share of the company both internationally and domestically (Peter and Donnelly, 2007). 2.2) The Expectations of major Stockholders and their Influence upon the Organizational Strategy The major stockholders like; the top management, customers and suppliers influence the organizational strategies in different ways. So for this the top management should establish a superior strategic decision process throughout the company so that the strategies can evolve and flourish consistently over time. All the strategic preferences that increase the value for both the customers and the share holders are highly desirable and should increase the growth of any organization. For instance, McDonalds rapid withdrawal of its fifty-five cent hamburger campaign, which separated franchises without creating much new customer loyalty or demand, was a costly but necessary decision to avoid further damage to share holder value (Hill and Jones, 2009) The conflict arises when the manager face choices that involve real trade-offs between the customer and the share holder value. Let say if a proposal to increase customers or customer value will reduce the shareholder value, then it should be rejected. For example with increasing awareness about the food and the importance of the balanced diet, if McDonalds would start encouraging people to opt for low calorie food with high fiber content then people might appreciate McDonalds for giving this awareness and people will might change their eating patterns and spend less on fast food. This would be beneficial for customers but not for the shareholders and this would gives rise to conflict that would harm the organizational strategy (Hill and Jones, 2009). Suppliers play a vital role in achieving the organizations aims and objectives and also influence the strategy of an organization and it is believed that suppliers success is an integral to an organizations success (Webster, 2002). So an organization should remember that suppliers cannot be expected to support their plan with an organizations plan unless organizations have shared its strategic plans with suppliers. 2.3) Analyze, Interpret and Produce a Structured Evaluation of the Organizational Strategic Position The challenges that McDonalds faces are; as the food industry is continuously growing the competitors are entering into the market with competitive prices not only internationally but domestically also and due to this McDonalds can lose its customers as well as its market share. The other difficulty that McDonalds is facing is the increasing awareness about the food and the importance of the balanced diet nowadays people are opting for low calorie food and changing their eating patterns by consuming less fast food and this is because there are competitors that provide the low calorie food at the prices almost the same as McDonalds and due to this McDonalds can lose its customers (Freidman, 1999). McDonalds can achieve competitive advantage by using three generic strategies of cost leadership, differentiation and focus. The competitive advantage can be achieved by differentiating the products from those of competitors and McDonalds is differentiated by its brand name and brand images of Big Mac and Ronald McDonald. Another way to achieve competitive advantage from those of competitors is through low costs and McDonalds provides substantial entry barriers from economies of scale and cost advantages which clearly define that McDonalds follow the cost leadership strategy. Organizations can achieve competitive advantage through targeting their products by a broad target, thereby covering most of the market place, or they can focus on a narrow target in the market. McDonalds target market is broad almost covering the most of the market and not focusing a particular market (Porter, 1998) PEST/EL is an analysis of the external macro environment in which a business operates. The operations of McDonalds in each country are highly influenced by the individual country policies enforced by each government and every country has its own political affects on the organization and its operations. The economic factors are also different in different countries that affect the organizations strategies like the different franchises of McDonalds in different countries have to face different problems due to the change in economic environment (McDonalds, 2011). McDonalds run its operations in more than 100 countries which mean it serves variety of consumers with different cultures and personalities. So McDonalds cannot use only one strategy for all its food chains, the strategy might not be completely different but differs with respect to the social environment. The technology has greatly helped McDonalds in providing quick service to its customers. The incorporation of technology in the operations of McDonalds tends to add value to their products. The social responsibilities of McDonalds on the country are influential to the operations of the company and these involve allegations of environmental damage with such claims like the using non-biodegradable substances for their drinks glasses and the Styrofoam coffers for the meals. McDonalds also had to face certain legal actions because of using trans-fat and beef oil and this could easily harm the reputation of the McDonalds all over the world (McDonalds, 2011). LO3) Decide the Strategy and Justify the Selection to meet the Required Future Strategic Position 3.1) Develop a Range of Alternative Strategic Options to meet Strategic Aims and Objectives The fast food industry is often criticized because of its role in creating numerous health problems like obesity, cholesterol and diabetes and was thought to be the driving force for the unhealthy eating disorders. These days customers are becoming more aware of the nutritional values and the health benefits of the products they are consuming. So in order to achieve strategic aims and objectives McDonalds should come up with greater variations in its menu and offer healthier food like sandwiches and salad and innovative fresh juices for the health conscious people. There are many competitors in the industry because of the rapid growth of the fast food industry all over the world and these competitors are offering almost the similar products and services at almost similar prices. So if McDonalds wants to achieve its strategic aims and objectives and wants to attract new customers as well as retain the existing customers then it need to focus more on the strategies that attract more children to their restaurants by offering toys that are most desired among children with a happy meal because this would help them in retaining their customers. McDonalds should also see what similar products the other competitors are offering and try to offer something very innovative product that no other competitor is providing or as well as that attract the customers. McDonalds should also start separate McCafes for teenagers and college going students and the ambience of that cafà © should reflect the different colors of youth. McDonalds should also introduce more variety in the existing range of milk shakes and smoothies and also introduce a variety in coffee and offer innovative high quality and refreshing products at a reasonable price that attracts the young people. 3.2) Determine and Justify the Strategic Option that meets the Revised Strategic Position Among the four strategic options that were given above the first option and that is McDonalds should offer healthier food like sandwiches and salad and innovative fresh juices is the best option for McDonalds to achieve the strategic aims and objectives in the food industry because of the increasing health problems like heart attack, obesity, cholesterol and diabetes. As the awareness about the nutritional values, health benefits and the benefits of low calorie food with high fiber content has increased among people and due to this people have started changing their eating patterns and spend less on junk food that the fast food chains are providing. McDonalds need to introduce a healthier menu that emphasize the healthy side of McDonalds and should also introduce the low calorie variations of all its burgers and make its fries healthier by using the right kind of oil, then do the aggressive promotion of the new menu variety in order to cope with the health concerns related with its products. This would help McDonalds to achieve its strategic aims and objectives efficiently as well as it would proof that McDonalds has the capability to change with the environment and the consumers preferences and lastly this would also enhance the brand image of the McDonalds in the consumers mind.

Reflective Account On Social Theory Social Work Essay

Reflective Account On Social Theory Social Work Essay This assignment will critically reflect upon the learning that I have gained through group participation. It will also look at what knowledge I have learnt in relation to how I look at putting theory into practice. It will also explore how these theories interconnect and how I used elements of psychology and sociology to explain how I might work with individuals in future practice. As a group we chose to analyse scenario two, the case of Fiona and mainly focused on her mental health issues, her lack of support as a result of family breakdown and her social isolation. To begin with we identified that Fiona seemed to have a lack of control in her life and as a group we felt that this was a huge area that needed to be addressed. To begin to support Fiona she needed to be given meaningful choice and valuable options (Clark, 2000, p.57) in order for her to gain greater control over her life and her circumstances. As a social worker we promote social change, problem solving in human relationships and the empowerment of liberation of people to enhance well-being. (IFSW, 2000, cited in Banks, p.3).This was an important aspect to remember when applying theory to Fiona. Theory in social work is an attempt to explain situations and social relationships. So to be begin with as a group we began to look at theories that may help Fiona holistically such as Marxist theory and in particular conflict theory which seeks to examine structural inequality within society. This theory argues that society is structured along lines of inequality such as wealth, health and income thus providing people with different life chances which in turn can result in different life experiences. So whilst this theory could be linked to Fiona with her structural issues of deprivation and relative poverty and the issue of crime and deviancy in her neighbourhood, this was not the main focus that our group were concerned with and we wanted to concentrate more on her social isolation and her lack of a support network. Systems theory was looked at by the group and I came to understand that this theory would fit perfectly with what we were focusing on. Although I did not do much research into this theory for the group work I did get a greater understanding of how this theory would link to Fiona. Systems theory is a functionalist perspective that takes into account how individuals relate to one another and society as a whole. It would seem that this theory is popular with social work texts and in practice as it has been suggested that it can be attributed to the consistency with social works long-standing mission to understand and respond to people in their environment (Bartlett, 1970, cited in Healy, 2005, p.89). This theory seeks to provide ways to understand problems and issues and after perusing through some of the literature, I had to agree that this theory links closely to an empowerment approach which aims to seek social change at both an individual and a social level for a service user and as I already know, empowerment is a core component of social work practice. From the start as a group we always knew that we were going to apply cognitive theory to Fiona. As part of my individual research I focused on cognitive theory and cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT) as this was the perspective that we felt as a group would be most beneficial to Fiona. While researching this theory my understanding of it was that Fiona needed to address the distorted picture she had of herself as she was blaming herself for experiences not of her making. She had low self-esteem and low self-efficacy and as such she had developed faulty cognitions about herself. Wessler (1986, cited in Gross, 2005, p.286) suggests that CBT is the attempt to change cognition and is always a means to an end, that end being lasting changes in target emotions and behaviour. This I felt is exactly what Fiona needed to do. She needed to change the ways she thinks (her cognition) so she can change what she does (her behaviour) and as such this is the theory that we are a group used in our pres entation. It became evident the more I researched CBT that this is a theory that could be applied to many service users as the struggles of daily life can be stressful and CBT could help them cope better in the future as it can be completed in a relatively short time. I gained a vast amount of knowledge about why social workers use theory as we prepared for the group presentation. I understand now that theory helps to explain a situation and perhaps how that situation came about. I recognise that theory can be seen as helping to describe (what is happening), explain (why it is happening) and predict (what is likely to happen next). In practice, if I understand all the above I can help to control a situation and bring about change for the service user. I began to recognise that there is no one single theory that can explain everything. Theories have limitations too and will not work for everyone. I learnt that much of the theory that is used in social work is drawn from outside the profession and has its roots in psychology and sociology and that we should always apply the value base to theory. Theory can help to avoid discrimination and as social workers we are orientated towards anti-oppressive and empowerment practices which seek social change. Dominelli (2002 p.4) suggests that social workers can help individuals to understand their situation, make connections between their personal plight and that of others, examine power relations and their impact on the specifics of their daily routines and acquire the knowledge and skills for taking control of their lives. When theory is used in practice it can undo jumbled information and give the social worker more direction in their work with the service user. Using theory in practice can give an explanation about why an action resulted in a particular consequence and as such can help the social worker to review and possible change in an attempt to make the consequences more effective. It became clear to me as I researched that theory is important in practice both for the service user and for the social worker to be more valued in society.

Dance In Public School Curricular Essay -- essays research papers

DANCE IN PUBLIC SCHOOL CURRICULA Dancing is a form of art that allows many children to express themselves through body motion while developing many skills. Children throughout the world have been dancing since the day they began walking. When a child to take their first steps and puts together the simplest combination of movements, that would be considered as dancing. Music also plays a major role in the development of children understanding dance, because it is can be used as an accompaniment, and can help children get a better feel for the rhythm in dances. Over the past century educators have come to the conclusion that dance serves as a form of art, and should be taught in public schools and colleges to help the growth in children of all ages both physically, mentally, and academically. The development in dance in education, during the 19th century in the United States, was linked to the sudden increase of elementary schools, secondary programs, colleges, as well as the establishment of private dance academies throughout the nation. Dance had always been thought as being just a form of socializing and not as a form of art. Private academies introduced dance as an art form before public schools. The private academies felt that through dance children would benefit greater academically, and physically, than those children who did not have the luxury of taking dance. Enrollment increased in private academies, while throughout the United States the enrollment in public schools steadily decreased. This was when educators decided to begin including dance in public school curricula. Kraus (1969) found that " a major influence in helping to bring dance into public schools and colleges was the work of the French dramatic teacher, Francois Delsante " (p.127). By the beginning of the 20th century, dance had become accepted by public schools throughout the United States and was now a required class. The only negative part about dance being taught in public schools, was that not all teachers who taught the dance classes were certified because there main objectives were to teach core classes. Throughout the United States, dance classes provided a form of exercise for children, but the dance were so basic it was not until public schools adopted the concept of modern dan... ...dance education is to continue growing throughout public schools and colleges in the United States, students, parents, and the rest of the community will need to stand behind their dance educators. Dance has always served a form of great exercise that allows people to express themselves through movement, and will continue to do so into the future. Dance education in the elementary level is a place that may need some help in child development, and the way to solve this problem is by getting classroom teachers who are skilled in dance and creative movement instruction. Dance education in the secondary level also needs to get highly skilled teachers who are also certified in dance themselves. It would also help attract more students if dance was presented in a different department other than physical education. Dance education in the college level is taught by certified dance instructors, therefore dancers in this level are able to explore movements, while being critiqued by someone who knows what is happening. Dance education has played a major role in the development of children of all ages, and will continue to do so, as long as dance educators and dancers have the proper support.

Freedom of Speech and Expression - Little Freedom in a Complex World

Little Freedom of Expression Freedom of expression, like the air we breathe, is a luxury that most people in western civilization take for granted. I know I certainly took it for granted when I was in the twelfth grade, and that presumption almost got me expelled. In Cornwall, Ontario this last December the idea of freedom of speech did more than get a young man expelled. He was forced to spend the better part of a month, including Christmas, New Year's Eve, and his sixteenth birthday in jail. Finally there is the case of the former mayor of Mukingo in Ruhengeri Prefecture, Juvenal Kejelijeli, who is desperately fighting deportation to face charges for his "freedom of expression," which helped ignite genocide in Rwanda. Free speech and freedom of expression must be protected, but the speakers and writers must also take responsibility for their actions. During the twelfth grade my belief in freedom of expression was put to the test. When I was given an assignment to write a short story for my grade twelve creative writing class on any subject I wanted; I made the mistake of doing what I was told. It was, admittedly, a disturbing story, filled with vengeful death, anti-religious sentiment and gross sexual abuse written by a confused young man. However, none of the characters had any basis in reality, and none of the violence could be associated with any specific people or institutions. This was purely a work of fiction and it almost got me kicked out of private school in England. Not only was I afraid of the reaction I was going to get from my father, but it also shook the very foundations of my beliefs in free speech and freedom of expression. A work of fiction, regardless of the content, is still just a work of fiction ... ...ther number of oppressed countries. Therefore these freedoms must be utilized with a certain degree of caution and responsibility. Once we start censoring it becomes difficult to decide when and where to draw the line. When the responsible use of these freedoms comes into question, we as a society are called upon to decide what constitutes responsible freedom of expression, and what punishments are merited when the lines are crossed. If the judge and jury react too harshly, as in the case of the Avonmore student, they themselves become guilty of a crime far more severe than alleged threats seemingly found in a work of fiction. However had the story included names of current students, or had it been a call to other bullied students to carry out the grim plot, then punishment would be in order. In the mean time let's nourish creativity and be alert for cries for help.

Becoming Literate

From Spanish to English: Becoming Literate Mark Twain once said, â€Å"The man who does not read has no advantage over the man who cannot read. † It was in first grade when I first learned how to read. Mrs. Garza was my teacher and I will never forget her because she is the one that taught me how to read, write, and speak English. If it was not for her encouragement and push she gave me I would not have been where I am today. It was a book that contained a collection of short stories. Words like ‘mat’ and ‘hat’ were in this book.After that year my mom was so happy and proud of me that she bought that book from the school. To this day I still have that book and I look at it from time to time. I was born and raised in McAllen, Texas but the weird thing is that I am the only person in my whole family that was born in the United States! My parents are from Monterrey in Mexico so of course they speak only Spanish with a little bit of English. My first lang uage was Spanish and I did not start speaking English until the end of first grade.I had already learned my English alphabet in kinder but I never wanted to speak or use English for some reason. Mrs. Garza would have to force us to speak English but my friends and I never wanted to! One day, after trying so many methods, she put little jars in each of the groups in the class. She told us that for every person that she would hear speak Spanish, she was going to place a marble in the jar. At the end of the week whoever had the least marbles would get rewarded with either a candy or and item of some sort. That is how I was forced to speak and write English.It was then that I started talking to my friends in English as well. At home, I was still speaking Spanish with my parents and siblings. I already knew my alphabet so I began to read, write and speak English. To this day, I thank my parents for teaching me Spanish first because it has been very useful. I have never really liked writi ng. I am in a way kind of like Junot Diaz, I'll be writing and I will not think it is good at all and will just doubt myself. Being a successful writer does take a lot of thinking, years of hard work and dedication, and of course the passion you have for writing.The words just do not come to me as easy as other people and that frustrates me. I have to really think about it and re-read and re-write it many times before I have a finished product. When it comes to people like Malcom X, he did of course have all of this dedication to learn new words. He did not grow up with all the resources that maybe Junot Diaz and Stephen King did so that pushed him even more to teach himself. These three writers help you realize that these famous authors also have struggled to have a finished product.They helped me realize that doubting yourself and trashing the first, second, and even a third draft always come before you have it almost perfect. â€Å"Reading is to the mind what exercise is to the body,† said Richard Steele. This has always been one of my favorite quotes because unlike writing, I have a passion to read. I have always loved to read especially a series. The first series that I ever read was the Junie B. Jones during my elementary years. I would check one out in my school library, return it by the end of the week and quickly get the next one.To this day, I still consider myself to be an active reader and ever since I got an Amazon Kindle, I read much faster. It is easier for me to take it to anywhere and anytime. I enjoy mostly fiction books but do read other genres from time-to-time. I have memories of being so excited to add new books to the list whenever I completed them. I always challenge myself to read as many books as I can in a week because of the rush I get after finishing another book. I still read every single day and often cannot put down a book once I start it.My older sister loves to read as well. We have the same taste in books and I love it because whenever she reads a book she will tell me to read it because she knows I will enjoy it as much as she did. Since she also has a Kindle, we can share the eBooks electronically so I will not actually have to buy a book. She is also in a book club, which sounds nerdy, but she has a lot of fun. They read a different novel every single week and then they meet on Fridays. She loves being in this club because it gives her a chance to talk about the novel to her friends.I know I am not the only person to say this, but I hate it whenever I read a novel and I immediately want to talk to someone and share my thoughts about it but no one that has read it! My sister has convinced me to join a book club sometime because it is a great way to have fun and enjoy reading even more. Although I love to read, whenever I am assigned a novel it is so hard for me to read it! Last year in my AP English class, my teacher Ms. Grace would assign us a reading list with novels we had to read by specifi c dates. Some were good but some I was just not interested in so it was very hard to pick up the book and start reading.For some reason, whenever I am assigned a novel to read and finish it by a specific date, I cannot get myself to read it. Whenever I choose a novel that I want to read I will finish it the very next day, which I find very ironic. I am thankful that I had the resources to become literate. Life would not be the same if you do not have that skill. I cannot even begin to imagine not being able to read or write. I am glad that I had such a wonderful teacher for first grade because without her encouragement I would not be here today reading, writing, or speaking English.

Essay on Domestic Violence

Domestic violence — also called domestic abuse, battering or intimate partner violence — occurs between people in an intimate relationship. Domestic violence can take many forms, including emotional, sexual and physical abuse and threats of abuse. Men are sometimes abused by partners, but domestic violence is most often directed toward women. Domestic violence can happen in heterosexual or same sex relationships. It might not be easy to identify domestic violence at first. While some relationships are clearly abusive from the outset, abuse often starts subtly and gets worse over time.You might be experiencing domestic violence if you're in a relationship with someone who: †¢Calls you names, insults you or puts you down †¢Prevents you from going to work or school †¢Stops you from seeing family members or friends †¢Tries to control how you spend money, where you go, what medicines you take or what you wear †¢Acts jealous or possessive or constantl y accuses you of being unfaithful †¢Gets angry when drinking alcohol or using drugs †¢Threatens you with violence or a weapon Hits, kicks, shoves, slaps, chokes or otherwise hurts you, your children or your pets †¢Forces you to have sex or engage in sexual acts against your will †¢Blames you for his or her violent behavior or tells you that you deserve it †¢Portrays the violence as mutual and consensual The longer you stay in an abusive relationship, the greater the toll on your self-esteem. You might become depressed and anxious. You might begin to doubt your ability to take care of yourself or wonder if the abuse is your fault. You might feel helpless or paralyzed. If you're an older woman who has health problems, you might feel dependent upon an abusive partner.If you're in a same sex relationship, you might be less likely to seek help after an assault if you don't want to disclose your sexual orientation. If you've been sexually assaulted by another woma n, you might also fear that you won't be believed. Still, the only way to break the cycle of domestic violence is to take action — and the sooner the better. Domestic violence, also known as domestic abuse, spousal abuse, battering, family violence, and intimate partner violence (IPV), is defined as a pattern of abusive behaviors by one partner against another in an intimate relationship such as marriage, dating, family, or cohabitation. 1] Domestic violence, so defined, has many forms, including physical aggression or assault (hitting, kicking, biting, shoving, restraining, slapping, throwing objects), or threats thereof; sexual abuse; emotional abuse; controlling or domineering;intimidation; stalking; passive/covert abuse (e. g. , neglect); and economic deprivation. [1][2] Alcohol consumption[3] and mental illness[4] can be co-morbid with abuse, and present additional challenges in eliminating domestic violence. Awareness, perception, definition and documentation of domesti c violence differs widely from country to country, and from era to era.Did you know over two women per week are killed by current or ex-partners, and that one in four women in the UK will experience domestic violence in their lifetime? In Women's Aid's view domestic violence is physical, sexual, psychological or financial violence that takes place within an intimate or family-type relationship and that forms a pattern of coercive and controlling behaviour. At least 1 in 4 women experience domestic violence in their lifetime and between 1 in 8 and 1 in 10 women experience it annually

Fate and Destiny in the Aeneid and the Odyssey

From the dawning of modern human thought, humans have questioned the nature of life and its passing. One of the most fundamental questions to arise from this train of thought is the ideas of fate and duty. We humans desire to know whether the path of our lives is preordained and unalterable or if it is just a series of consequences from our past actions. If we live by fate and believe our path is already set in stone, then is it our obligation to fulfill that destiny to the best of our abilities or can we resist and hope to forge our own story? It is quite obvious in the epics of both Aeneus and Odysseus that the idea of fate and duty plays a huge role. The difference we see between the two is which is more important and how each epic allows these two ideas to unfold. In Virgil’s Aeneid, Aeneus is driven by the prophecy that he will leave a legacy that will go on to found the greatest and most powerful empire the world will ever know. Aeneus’s journey is filled with trials and tribulations; some are purposefully placed in front of him with the intention of undoing his fate while others are pure happenstance. What drives Aeneus to press on is his sense of duty. One of Aeneus’s most significant obstacles is the princess of Carthage, Dido. The patron goddess of Carthage is Juno and she knows that Aeneus’s prophecy tells of his kingdom destroying Carthage in the future. So Juno sends Cupid to make Dido fall madly in love with Aeneus so that he will do the same and consequently will settle in Carthage never founding the foretold empire that will destroy Juno’s city. Once learning of this plan, Jupiter dispatches Mercury to remind Aeneus of his destiny. And are you at a time like this laying the foundations of stately Carthage, and building, like a fond husband, your wife’s goodly city, forgetting alas! your own kingdom and the cares that should be yours? † (Virgil, Book 4, line 279-282) Aeneus is awe-struck, but he immediately goes to repair his fleet and sail for Italy’s shores. To Aeneus, his sense of duty is so great that he, without question, leaves his wife Dido and the safety of Carthage. Aeneus does not leave Carthage without regard for Dido though. Aeneus attempts to leave before anyone will know they are gone, but he is caught and explains to Dido, â€Å"My quest to Italy is not of my own motion. † (Virgil, Book 4, line 391-392) With this Aeneus leaves Carthage driven by duty and obligation. In Homer’s Odyssey, the idea of fate is more significant than the idea and sense of duty. Odysseus’s journey begins when Poseidon learns that Odysseus blinded his Cyclops son, Polyphemous while trying to escape from his capture. This enrages the already hot-tempered sea god, damning Odysseus, his men, and his voyage. Poseidon attempts to delay and keep Odysseus from his home, Ithaca. His anger towards Odysseus is so great that Zeus has to step in to save him from the sea-god. Zeus, after Poseidon complains to him about the Phaenecians aiding Odysseus, states â€Å"Since for Odysseus now I vowed that he his home should win through many a misery yet utterly bereft not his return; for such your purpose was and decree. † (Homer, Book 13, st. 45) Zeus, in the Odyssey, acts as the hand of fate by preventing Poseidon from further stalling Odysseus’s return home. This is unlike Jupiter in the Aeneid, who dispatches Mercury to remind Aeneus of his purpose. Aeneas is then left with the duty of leaving Carthage and Dido behind, whereas Odysseus is more subject to each gods will. The idea of an inevitable and unchangeable fate is in both the Aeneid and Odyssey, what drives each character is the difference. Aeneus is driven by his sense of duty to start the lineage that will go onto to found Rome, whereas Odysseus is driven by his desire to return to Ithaca. This resembles the cultural and philosophical natures of the Greeks and Romans. The Greeks placed much emphasis on the individual, life, and pleasure which would naturally honor a hero who struggles tremendously to return safely home. The Romans placed large amounts of emphasis on Rome, what it stood for and their duty, undoubtedly Aeneus’s epic was bred from this culture. Although the cultural differences are evident, these two works both share an inevitable fate which drives the journey. Also, the god’s interference in the hero’s journey for either personal gain or to assure the fulfillment of their fate is evident in both works. Fate and duty have been human concepts for thousands of years; they both entail some form of obligation and are main themes in the Aeneid and the Odyssey. Aeneus’s obligation to his duty compels him to realize his fate. Odysseus, on the other hand simply desires to return home, but is subjected to the will of the gods which only stall his fate. Both works resemble their respective culture’s beliefs and ideals, but regardless of the differences, these two works are classic epics.

Supply and Demand and Price Elasticity

Apple I-PHONES – Elasticity of supply and demand ABSTRACT I-PHONE' ELASTICITY OF DEMAND What determines price elasticity of Iphones demand? Demand for Iphones – It seems like Iphone sales are above expectation and Apple can't meet current demand. People all over the world are enthralled and want to hold one of the advanced and sexiest products in the market. The degree of necessity or whether the good is a luxury – goods deemed by consumers to be necessities tend to have an inelastic demand whereas luxuries will tend to have a more elastic demand because consumers can make do without luxuries when their budgets are stretched. It's likely to assume that Iphone considered as a luxury and in an economic recession customers can cut their spending on Iphones. The cost of switching between different phones – there may be difficulties involved in switching between different phones. In this case, using Iphone, with its unique applications and software might involve with issues of transferring data from one phone to another. This also imply when moving from using another phone to Iphone. I consider this part for some extent as an insignificant. Summarizing, Iphone is a very unique product, differentiated but have some competitors. Price elasticity of demand is definitely not inelastic but not perfectly elastic. If prices go up significantly, there's no doubt that quantity demanded declines. I-PHONE' ELASTICITY OF SUPPLY Price elasticity also affects supply. Products with an inelastic supply usually have a long lead time, with little power over the quantity produced. Hotel rooms are one example, because if there's a price change, hotel owners can't decide halfway through the growing season to provide more or less of rooms. On the other hand, products with a high elasticity of supply tend to come from industries that can change their production levels more quickly – for example, milk and dairy products. If we examine Iphone elasticity of supply we should consider Apple manufactures for being able to adapt to high demand. From past publications, we could learn that Apple had some issues with facing demand, and that it couldn't meet demand. From my perspective Apple incorrectly predicated its sales, and that was the basis for the shortage. Iphone supply should be more elastic than inelastic at the end of the day.

Establishing a connection between knowledge transfer and innovation diffusion Essay

Advanced Information Management (AIM) is a technology as well as a business consulting firm which focuses greatly or rather it is focused on advancing business efficiency (Forsgren & Johanson, 2014). The advanced information management helps in designing, implementation and supports the user centric applications of businesses and the various systems that provide the various clients with competitive edges as a means towards the achievement the highest returns from one of their most assets that are deemed valuable. In health, the advanced information management and its intelligence, bridges various clinical documentations, compliance coding and the overall quality. On the other hand, it also provides full compliments of the healthcare information management, which provide solutions for the various clinical needed transcriptions. It also combines various technologies, which entail speech recognition with the labor considered superior and management of accounts towards the simplification of the various documentations of clinics while maintaining the quality at higher levels. In addition, the speech recognition feature leads to the reduction of turnarounds and hence lead to the cutting down of cost as well as not disrupting workflow. Application of technology             Technology refers to the collection of different tools which include machinery, arrangements and the modifications and the different procedures that are used by people, human beings in this case (DeGarmo et al, 2011). On the other hand it can also be said to be the application of knowledge to the various practical goals of human life towards the manipulation or rather the changing of the human environment. Information management             About health, it refers to the practice or rather the activity of acquiring the analyzing and the protection of the digital as well as the traditional medical information that is seen to be very vital in the provision of high quality patient care. The widespread of the computerization, the health records have also been computerized largely. The paper based traditional way of keeping records has been largely replaced by the electronic health records. This transition has helped largely towards the timely provision of the health services. The electronic health records take very less time when it comes to the cases of retrieving the details of a patient as compared to the old paper based way, which was used in keeping of records which at times could be faced with loss a patient’s data. This time saving feature has greatly helped towards the timely provision of health care to the patients. Taking too much time in records before attending to the patients could le ad to death at times. The various tools of health of health informatics as well as the health information technology have been on the increase as their use has proved to increase the efficiency in the information management practice that have been put in practice in the various health care sectors. The information management has also played a major role in provision of the quality health care. For instance, the information management in Nuance, bridges the clinical documentation improvements, the coding, compliance as well as quality. It has on the other hand provided a full complement of the healthcare solutions, which are very necessary for the clinical transcriptions. The information management has also led to its simplification of the clinical documentation and the quality maintenance through the combination of the superior labor and the account management with the advanced technology of speech recognition. On the time saving factor, the platforms of speech recognition lads to the reduction of the times of turn around which save time and cut costs as they maintain the workflows of the various clinics in which they are incorporated. In the offering of the broad arrays of improvements in the clinical documentations and the provision of solutions in the record management, lead s to the provision of powerful links between the care and the patient revenue, which enables the health systems to better, manage the information, which is critical across the continued health care. This leads to the provision of a technology that is powerful as well as services that ensure the quality of service provision to be high. The quality indicators that are largely associated with the nursing profession have evolved largely from the nursing sensitive to the adverse event sensitive (Hockenberry & Wilson, 2013). Quality indicators are used to improve patient care in various ways. The quality indicators are the measure of the health care quality, which on their side is able in the putting in to use the various available administrative data. The quality indicators can largely be used in the highlighting of the various the quality concerns that are potential. It also leads to the identification of areas that are in need of further investigations as well as study and lead to the noticing of the changes that take place overtime. This helps in the improvement of the healthcare programs in a way that, the quality indicator would establish an area that is not performing well or on the other hand it’s in a poor state that limits it from providing a better health care service. Through quality indicators it cou ld be established rather that the paper based entry takes too much time in retrieving of a patients data and hence patients in critical conditions may die due to this delay and hence these would necessitate transition to electronic data entry which would be faster and improve health care. The quality indicator modules help in the representation of various aspects of quality, which are inclusive of patient safety indicators, inpatient quality indicators, the prevention quality indicators and finally the pediatric quality indicators. The prevention quality indicators are the various sets of measures that could be of great use to the inpatient discharge within a hospital to identify the quality of care in conditions such as the ambulatory care. These are various conditions in an outpatient care, which is good, is capable of preventing the hospitalization need or on the other hand, an intervention, which is early, can prevent a disease complication or its development to a more severe state. On the patient’s safety quality indicators, they provide information based on the potential in the complications of the hospital and the adverse effects that follow the different surgeries that take place as well as the complications, which come after childbirth. Hence, after th eir identification the various preventive measures are taken which lead to their prevention and hence overall improvements in health care. The difference between informatics and information technology is that, informatics includes the science of information, engineering of information systems as well as the practice of processing of information. The informatics in addition studied the behavior, structures as well as the interactions of the manufactured or rather artificial and the natural systems that do various duties such as the storage, processing and the communication of information. The informatics also develop and their own concept foundation as well as the foundations of theory or rather the theory foundations. The information technology on the other hand is the development study, design, implementation, support as well as the management of the information systems that are computer based which in particular were application of software and the computer technology at large. The available information technology systems in the health care environment include the electronic health records. These information systems enable the electronic storage of data and information pertaining patients and the assist its easy retrieval of the data. It can also be said to be the system of collection of the electronic information of health about a population or an individual patients records. It records the data and information in digital format which is capable of being shared across the different units of the health care organizations. Human Resource for Health Information System is also another system available which generally is the system used for collecting, disseminating, managing as well as the processing of data and information which regard the human resource for health. However, depending on the level of a countries development, the Human Resource for Health Information System could be paper based or computerized. Thirdly there is the Health information technolog y which is also an information technology that has been incorporated in health which on its hand it provides a frame work towards the description of the comprehensive management of the information of health that is across the systems which are highly computerized and in addition it provides a secure exchange of the information between the providers, the entities of quality as well as the insurers. The health information technology has been seen greatly as a technique or rather tool that would lead to the provision of an overall quality and safe health care to the various kinds of patients. Potential barriers to patient-centered care created by the use of various information technologies include aspects such as the misuse of this technology and the data collected. The misuse of the data collected leads to the mixing up of the information concerning patients hence leading to a reduction in the quality of patient care and the health care unit at large. Secondly, poor health electronic records system designation and its improper use would lead to adverse effects, which include the errors in the electronic health records which would jeopardize at a large extent the integrity of the various information that is encompassed in the electronic health records. These consequences which are as a result of the misuse, would be unintended are seen to be able to cause many cases of fraud as well as other abuse that could have very serious legal implications when the culprit is caught. According to a research that was done, it was suggested that since the introduction of the health inf ormation technology instead of leading to the various improvements in the health sectors which included the improvement in the quality of the data that is being recorded, it has greatly led to the recording of large amounts of data that has largely been regarded as bad. With this, it has led to further deterioration in the quality of patient centered care. The patient care technologies and the information management systems have greatly impacted the quality and the standards of the nursing processes in the different health units that have encompassed the use of these technologies. Through the use of information from these technologies nursing processes have been able to safely and orderly store and record a patients or rather patients data in a way that facilitate improved health care. The nursing process also in other hands adopts the communication techniques as well as the various techniques from the technologies used which enables them in reduction or rather the cutting down of costs and also increase in the effectiveness in the carrying out of their various nursing duties. Health Information Systems             The health information systems refers to the system that manages, captures or rather deals with the transmission of information which is related to the health individuals or the organizational activities that work within that sector that regards health. It incorporates aspects such as the disease surveillance systems as well as the laboratory information systems, the patient systems of administration and finally the management systems of human resource. The overall well-functioning of the health information systems is the effort which is integrated in the collection, procession and the reporting as well as using the information of health and the knowledge from it in the influencing of the decisions that are made, the policies, program action as well as the research. A decision making process that would be deemed sound or rather regarded safe at the various levels of health information systems would require the health statistics which are very much reliable. Decisi ons made based on evidence lead to the resource allocation processes that are more efficient at the levels of delivery and also the information concerning the effectiveness and the quality of the various offered services also contribute to the better out comes which in this case is the better health care. The information systems also help in tracking overtime performance, increase transparency a well as strengthening of transparency. Various nursing terminologies have been used and are still in use. The standardization of nursing languages is tools which are regarded as essential in the communications or rather the exchange of information for the professional nurses who are registered to offer hands in the planning and also the evaluation of the quality of the nursing care. Issues associated or rather with this standardization of the nursing terminologies could be seen in a case whereby in the using of the standardized nursing language in the documentation of school nursing was seen to provide a language which is common for the school nurses in the description of the interventions and the various responses of their staffs and students towards those interventions. Without the standardized nursing language the documentations of the nursing procedures could be persona or rather only activity descriptions that are locally understood because the words would have different meanings for the different classes or groups o f readers. Therefore the big issue that arose was that the information could not be translated or rather transformed in order to also fit in the other settings. Data standards lead to the provision of a meaning that is consistentto the data that is shared or rather data that is to be shared among the different information systems as well as the agencies that are found throughout the lifecycle of a product. These are inclusive of the representation, transmission, structuring, as well as data management or in other words the management of data. Some of the standardized data formats include the Clinical Data Acquisition Standards Harmonization (CDASH) which provides the standardized fields which greatly aid in the collection at clinical investigative sites. Secondly another format is the Study Data Tabulation Model (SDTM) which on its side aid in the provision of models that are standardized for the clinical study of the tabulations of the different data collected. Thirdly there is the Analysis Dataset Model (ADaM) which like the previous forms, aids in the provision of a model that is standardized for the analysis of different sets of data. In the reporting of the events that are deemed adverse, the formats such standard data set formats such as Individual Case Safety Report (ICSR) are used which in its side leads to the capturing of information that concerns the adverse events and the problems associated with a product that is reported to the public health as well as the organizations that are concerned with the improvement of the quality and finally the agencies concerned with regulation. The various types of Health Information System include the electronic medical reports (EMR) which is also known as the Electronic Health record. This system captures and provides storage of details concerning a patient. This system may also display information on the basis of the name of the physician. The master patient index is also a health information system that aids in the listing of all the patients who have ever been through the system or rather all the patients that have ever been treated in that particular health institution. The Master Patient Index typically serves as the foundational base of data for all the other systems that are patient related, which encompasses the administrative and the clinical aspects such as the scheduling of patients. The comparison between the two health information systems is that both of them are subject based systems that entail the storage ad recording of data. The other set of systems are the systems which are task based. These systems are responsible for the capturing and reporting of the information that relate to a specific task in relation to health care tasks such as the laboratory systems. This system are driven and directed by the Master Patient Index that also enable them capture information and paste it to the health record system. Healthcare information systems meet health care needs in various ways. For instance, in order for to effectively diagnose and give best treatment to the various patients, there is the arising of the need to atleast have access to the types of clinical information that include the health record of the patient. Additionally there is also the need for the important administrative information such as the availability of the resources that would offer support. The health care systems play a major role in such a case such that they would facilitate easy access to the patient’s records and the various clinical information that is needed. Hence with this it is greatly evident on how the health care information systems meet the health care delivery needs. Information Security             The health information security refers to the protection that is given to information and the systems of information from the accesses, which are unauthorized as well as unauthorized disclosure and modification. It’s an iterative process that has been in full driven by the technological enhancements as well as the various changes that have been evident in the health care environment. The security of information is achieved through ensuring of confidentiality, integrity and the information availability. The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) are responsible for the regulation of the availability and the various breadths of group health plans as well as the certain health care insurance policies that are of the individuals. The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) privacy rule leads to the regulation of the disclosure and the use of the health information that is protected and also that is held with covered titl es. The same act also provides the guidelines and the procedures that are to be used in the maintenance of security and privacy of the identifiable health information as well as outlining the various penalties that could be because of the violation of the laws. The Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act, addressed the various concerns of privacy and security that are in association with the transmission of the information of about health in an electronic form, in part, and through the ways of the various provisions that lead to the strengthening of the criminal and the civil enforcement of the rules that are laid down by The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA). The interim final law of The Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) conforms to The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) regulations that are used in its enforcement. Conclusion             In conclusion, we can simply state that the advanced information in management in the health sector has really played a major role towards the improvement of the quality of the health services that are being provided by the different health care units. They have also largely reduced the high costs of operations that had been earlier experienced in the use of the olden ways or rather the traditional based ways of data entry, retrieval among others. The advanced information management has also been seen to play a major role in the increasing of the accuracy in the diagnosis through its provisions of simpler and easier plat forms in which the required information could be extracted with much ease. 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