Pediatric Nurse Practive Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Pediatric Nurse Practive - Assignment Example Key word: Pediatric Nurse Practitioner (PNP), Pediatric Nurse Practitioners (PNPs) Nurse Practitioner (NP). Historical Background and Certification Requirements Pediatric Nurse Practice (PNP) refers, the practice of nursing concerned with infants, children and adolescents together with their families providing health promotion, illness management and health restoration across the entire healthcare spectrum (Tylor as cited in eHow, 2011). It requires knowledge of both child development and the physiological difference between children and adults. PNP is also family centered requiring the realization of the essential role that the family plays in children lives, growth and development which should be reflected in the children’s care whenever they are ill. It involves collaborative partnership between families and health care professionals built on respect and embedded in the families’ strengths, choices and values (Tylor, 2006). Pediatric nurses also attempts to provide a ttramautic care in order to eliminate or minimize the physiologic and physical distress experienced by children and their families in the health care system. Pediatric nurses may function in many roles that include direct caregiver, educator, counselor, consultant, advocate, care coordinator, or health systems manager (Tylor, 2006). They also work as researchers or pediatric clinical nurse specialists. Pediatric nurses may practice in many locations such as homes, clinics, hospitals, long term care facilities and schools (Schachtel, 2008). The opening of The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (the first children’s hospital in the U.S) in Pennsylvania in 1855 formed the cornerstone upon which the specialty of pediatric nursing developed (Tylor, 2006). In colonial America, most children were delivered by the help of midwives and treated with folk medicine. The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia goal was to provide excellent healthcare and reduce child mortality. Other children hospitals were later established in different regions but, none would admit children with communicable diseases because of high mortality. In 1895, The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia began to admit children. It also started its own nursing school in the same year (Tylor, 2006). The approach enabled the hospital to amass knowledgeable staff that provided the level of care, education, observation and assessment that the children and their families needed. Some private duty nurses of the hospital specialized in care of children. With services for nurses increasingly needed, what followed was an awakening in the nursing practice. The directive on the 1917 standard curriculum for nursing schools to increase some detailed topics in regard to pediatrics and the Rockefeller Foundation publication in 1923 (Nursing and Nursing education in USA), generally impacted positively on the pediatric nursing specialty and the nursing profession as a whole (Tylor,2006). Late r, in the century pediatric nursing moved to advanced degrees and advanced practice. It is not unusual that, the first nurse practitioners were pediatric nurse practitioners. Those who aspire to become Pediatric Nurse Practitioners in the U.S have various options. In order to work as Pediatric nurses, students must first become Registered Nurses (RN)†¦An RN may be achieved through hospitals or educational institutions (PNERCI, 2011). The coursework may differ but graduates from these programs

Services for Community Healthcare

Services for Community Healthcare Introduction (2000-3000) Essential services Community pharmacies provide various services to their customers every day. These services include essential services such as dispensing medicines, dispensing appliances, repeat dispensing, clinical governance, signposting, promotion of healthy lifestyle, disposal of unwanted medicines and support for self-care. These services are delivered by all pharmacies as part of the NHS pharmacy contract.[1] Advanced services There are four advanced services that can be delivered by the community pharmacies if they meet the criteria set up in the contract. These services include Medicines Use Reviews (MUR), New Medicines Service (NMS), Appliance Use Reviews (AUR) and Stoma Appliance Customisation (SAC).[2] Most customers visit pharmacies in order to receive essential services. Customer’s perspectives on community pharmacies can be based around other factors as well as the quality of service they received from their pharmacist. Therefore customer’s perception of community pharmacies is of extreme importance as they deliver various services to patients on daily basis. Each pharmacist has a duty of care to their patients. Pharmacists are easily accessible and highly trusted in the communities. Their responsibilities include dispensing medicines as well as providing pharmaceutical care. They can increase patient’s participation in their own care by educating them about their disease, explaining the importance of adherence and increasing awareness of the most common side effects.[3] They can counsel patients about drugs such as appropriate drug usage, administration, dosage, side effects, storage and drug–drug and drug–food interactions.[4] Pharmaceutical Care Pharmaceutical care is described as the responsible provision of drug therapy for the purpose of achieving definitive outcomes that improve a patient’s quality of life.[5] Later a new definition emerged in which pharmaceutical care was described as â€Å"A practice in which the practitioner takes responsibility for the patients’ drug related needs and is held accountable for this commitment†[6] Many people are prescribed multiple and long term medication. Pharmaceutical care includes collecting information, assessing information, setting appropriate objectives, selecting appropriate therapy and monitoring the effectiveness of therapy and educating patients on medicine use. All steps need the involvement of patient from collecting information to the selection of therapy and implementing that therapy for the benefit of the patient. Today’s pharmacist needs to make patients the centre of their attention. Pharmacists can maximise the therapeutic benefit to the patient by using a multidisciplinary approach such as consultation with other healthcare professionals and the patients themselves. Pharmacists can play a fundamental role in the overall patient experience as they are a critical source of drug knowledge in community, hospitals and industry. Different roles are played by the pharmacists throughout the world such as some prepare and supply medicines whilst others share their expertise and knowledge with healthcare professionals and patients and work in medicines information teams.[7] Social change through health promotion campaigns, media and internet has led to increased risk awareness amongst the public and therefore there is an increase in demand for their questions to be answered and their issues to be taken up by healthcare professionals. Pharmacists are at the forefront of this interaction and they must lead as a model to others and develop confidence amongst their patients by appropriately dealing with their concerns. They can do this by keeping themselves up to date with the latest developments in the pharmaceutical industry. The media plays a key role in influencing public opinion regarding the quality of treatment and the variety of different drugs used to treat disease. Pharmacists should ensure that they are fully aware of such topics and can thoroughly answer any issues raised in their pharmacy. A good example of this is the advice that the pharmacists can offer to their patients in regards to their smoking habits. They can play a proactive role in identifying the fact that they smoke and then tailoring them to the appropriate smoking cessation schemes. This will improve the quality of pharmaceutical services, instilling confidence in the patient with the fact that pharmacist is an effective point of call. In recent years, provision of pharmacy services has shifted more towards pharmaceutical care along with medicine supply.[8] Although some personal and social barriers exist in pharmacist-patient communication[9] but the involvement of patients in their own care is helping to eliminate these barriers.[10] The quality of pharmaceutical care depends on the ability of the pharmacist. An outcome of the therapy can be improved if regular interactions are maintained between the pharmacist and the patient.[11] Many studies have shown that patients feel they benefit more if they maintain a regular contact with the pharmacist and they consider pharmacist to be an important source of information for medicines and minor ailments.[12][13][14] The World Health Organisation (WHO) has made a valuable contribution to the recognition of the importance of a pharmacist’s role worldwide, especially in quality assurance and the safe and effective administration of drugs.[15] WHO along with International Pharmaceutical Federation proposed a seven star pharmacist concept, which requires future pharmacists to possess specific knowledge, attitude, skills and behaviour.[16] In addition WHO recommends 1 pharmacist per 2000 population to ensure optimum benefit to the society from efficient provision of pharmaceutical services. Each pharmacist should be held accountable for the cost, quality and results of pharmaceutical care provided to the patients. Also they should be involved in decisions about health policies.[17] Adverse Drug Reactions (ADRs) Pharmacists can play a vital role in healthcare by preventing adverse drug reactions (ADRs) caused by overdosing, medication errors and non-adherence. ADRs include any undesirable outcome that can be attributed to the action of a drug. ADRs can cause various problems such as: the driving of further complications in existing disease, delaying the cure of a disease, mimicking other disease states. As a consequence this result in ineffective treatment as the drug induced problem goes unrecognised. Thus, causing patients to lose confidence in their pharmacist and the overall quality of their treatment. This demonstrates that ADRs are a driving force behind additional problems e.g 6.5% of hospital admissions are due to drug therapy problems.[18] 10% of patients admitted to acute hospitals experienced an adverse drug reaction. Half of these were considered preventable.[19] 14.7% of hospital in-patients are as a consequence of ADRs. ADRs are also a significant cause of morbidity thus increasing the length of stay of patients by an average of 0.25 days/patient per admission episode. The drugs most frequently associated with ADRs are diuretics, opioid analgesics, anticoagulants and NSAID’s.[20] These four drug groups account for 50% of all drug related admissions. As an example ADRs caused by NSAID’s account for 12,000 bleeding ulcers/year leading to 2,000 deaths/year.[21] Pharmacist’s Significance One of the very important aspects of this profession involves every professional working to their full potential to provide the best possible care and service to their customers. However, if a pharmacist does not provide the optimum attention and care to their patients then it can bring down the reputation and the effectiveness of the profession. Pharmacists are of utmost importance in ensuring that their attitude towards this side of the practice is as critical as ensuring the clinical and legal correctness of a prescription. This can not only correct the mistakes made while dispensing but ensure a significant benefit to the patient’s health from the therapy utilised to benefit the patient. A lack of consideration towards this aspect of the practice is harmful to the patient and the NHS as it will prolong the time required to manage and cure the conditions under treatment. Quality of services delivered by community pharmacies is mostly assessed by patient’s opinion and customer satisfaction surveys which are carried out as an integral component of the essential services through clinical governance.[22] The responsibility of ensuring the safe and effective use of medicines lies with the pharmacists whether it is community or hospital pharmacy. Pharmacists can fulfil this responsibility by counselling patients about their conditions and medications.[23] Precise role of the community pharmacist is defined by General Pharmaceutical Counsel (GPHC) and other professional pharmaceutical associations.[24] Public Perception of Community Pharmacist Public view of pharmacists is not that of healthcare advisors thus limiting pharmacist’s role and restricting them in providing beneficial services to the public. There is a need to educate public about the role a pharmacist could play in providing advice and guidance in minor ailments and pharmacists being the first line of approach when faced with a health related issue. Consumers who approach pharmacists are those who have previous experience of receiving help from pharmacists to treat minor ailments. Even then they don’t use pharmacists as first point of contact they normally tend to research and self-diagnose before seeking help from a healthcare professional such as a pharmacist. Thus this limits the role a pharmacist could play in giving advice and helping customers.[25] Patient-pharmacist interaction is an essential tool to discovering better strategies and methods that could be employed in everyday practice to make the service better and more useful. This can be done by asking for opinions from the patients about the services that they have received while attending a pharmacy. These can be used to evaluate the need for a new intervention and improve the quality of current services.[26] Also these observations can form a guideline when implementing improved strategies and referred to when measuring an improvement in the quality of service.[27] Customer Satisfaction Satisfaction has been defined as â€Å"the health care recipient’s reaction to salient aspects of his or her service experience† by Cleary and McNeil.[28] A study has defined customer satisfaction as an emotional response which relates to expectations and develops after consumption experience.[29] Throughout the world many studies have been conducted in to the role of the pharmacist and patient satisfaction from the community pharmacies. [30] [31] [32] [33] [34] [35] [36] [37] [38] [39] [40] A study in Qatar reported that public does not understand the role of community pharmacists as healthcare provider. [41] However, people in Maltese and Portuguese understand community pharmacist’s roles as a healthcare provider. [42] Public in Saudi Arabia appreciated pharmacists role and did approach them for advice. [43] Most Australians feel that pharmacist do not explain medication use properly. [44] Japanese customers would like direct communication with pharmacist and convenient opening hours. [45] A study in Canada reported high levels of customer satisfaction from the services provided by community pharmacies.[46] Hargie et al conducted a study in UK in 1992 to measure consumer perceptions and attitudes to community pharmacy services. They found that 32% of people considered pharmacists as business orientated, 26% considered pharmacists as health orientated and 42% considered them as both health and business. [47] Community pharmacies were highly rated in US by the pub lic in a survey in 1997. [48] A study by Larson et al. (2002) into patient satisfaction found that customers were more satisfied with the friendly approach by the staff than the pharmaceutical care by the pharmacists. [49] Another study by Cerulli (2002) reported that customers had a positive impression of community pharmacists and a foundation of customer-pharmacist relationship had been established. [50] The US national pharmacy consumer survey in 2002 reported high satisfaction with pharmacy services. [51] Most reports suggest that customers are satisfied with the pharmacist as drug experts and the services provided by community pharmacies. However some aspects can be improved such as the privacy, confidentiality and unequal treatment of customers.[52] This study can provide important information about patient’s perception of community pharmacies and the changes required to improve quality of performance. [1] http://psnc.org.uk/services-commissioning/essential-services/ [2] http://psnc.org.uk/services-commissioning/essential-services/ [3] Bluml BM. Definition of medication therapy management: development of professionwide consensus. J Am Pharm Assoc. 2005;45:566–572 [4] Hà ¤mmerlein A., Griese N., Schulz M. Survey of drug-related problems identified by community pharmacies. Ann Pharmacother. 2007;41(11):1825–1832. [PubMed] [5] Hepler C.D., Strand L.M.: Am. J. Hosp. Pharm. 47, 533 (1990). [6] Strand L.M.: J. Am. Pharm. Assoc. 37, 474, (1997) [7]Gilbert L.: Curr. Sociol.49, 97 (2001). [8]. Kotecki J.E.: J. Commun. Health, 27, 291 (2002). Worley M.M. Schommer J.C., Brown L.M., Hadsall R.S., Ranelli P.L., Stratton T.P., Uden D.L.: Res. Social Adm. Pharm. 3, 47 (2007). [9]Paluck E.C., Green LW, Frankish CJ, Fielding DW, Haverkamp B: Eval. Health Prof. 26, 380 (2003). [10]Tio J., LaCaze A., Cottrell N.: Pharm. World Sci. 29, 73 (2007) [11]Nau D.P., Ried L.D., Lipowski E.E., Kimberlin C., Pendergast J., Spivey-Miller S.: J. Am. Pharm. Assoc. 40, 36 (2000). [12]Tio J., LaCaze A., Cottrell N.: Pharm. World Sci. 29, 73 (2007). [13] [14]. Nau D.P., Ried L.D., Lipowski E.E., Kimberlin C., Pendergast J., Spivey-Miller S.: J. Am. Pharm. Assoc. 40, 36 (2000). [15] Dunlop J.A., Shaw J.P.: Pharm. World Sci. 24, 224 (2002). [16]Zammit D.: Pharm. J. 271, 468 (2003). [17]Khan, R.A., Pharmacy education and healthcare.Dawn, Pakistan, June 29 (2007). [18]Pirmohamed et al, British Medical Journal2004; 329: 15-19 [19]Vincent C et al, British Medical Journal2001; 322: 517-519 (http://bmj.bmjjournals.com) [20](Davies EC et al PLoS ONE 2009; 4(2): e4439) [21](Davies EC et al PLoS ONE 2009; 4(2): e4439) [22] Ried LD, Wang F, Young H, Awiphan R. Patients’ satisfaction and their perception of the pharmacist. J Am Pharm Assoc (Wash) 1999;39(6):835–842. [PubMed] [23] Hepler CD, Strand LM. Opportunities and responsibilities in pharmaceutical care. Am J Hosp Pharm. 1990;47:533–543. [PubMed] [24] FIP International Pharmaceutical Federation. URL: http://www.fip.org/community_pharmacy . [15 April 2014]. [25] Advice provided in British community pharmacies: what people want and what they get. Hassell K1, Noyce P, Rogers A, Harris J, Wilkinson J. [26] Kucukarslan S.N., Nadkarni A. Evaluating medication-related services in a hospital setting using the disconfirmation of expectations model of satisfaction. Res Social Dam Pharm. 2008;4(1):12–22. [PubMed] [27] Iqbal Z, Jalees AF, Khar Roop Krishen KR, Sushama T. Pharmacist as an Indispensable Part of Health Care System: A Survey, Outcome and Reflections. Indian J. Pharm. Educ. Res. 42(1), Jan- Mar, 2008:78–83. [28] Cleary PD, McNeil BJ. Patient satisfaction as an indicator of quality care. Inquiry. 1988;25(1):25-36. [PubMed] [29] Oparah A.C., Kikanme L.C. Consumer satisfaction with community pharmacies in Warri. Nigeria. Res Social Adm Pharm. 2006;2(4):499–511. [PubMed] [30] Wirth F., Tabone F., Azzopardi L.M., Gauci M., Zarb-Adami M., Serracino-Inglott A. Consumer perception of the community pharmacist and community pharmacy services in Malta. Journal of Pharmaceutical Health Services Research. 2010;1:189–194. [31] Cavaco A.M., Dias J.P., Bates I.P. Consumers’ perceptions of community pharmacy in Portugal: a qualitative exploratory study. Pharm World Sci. 2005;27(1):54–60. [PubMed] [32] Bawazir S.A. Consumer attitudes towards community pharmacy services in Saudi Arabia. Int J Pharm Pract. 2004;12:83–89. [33] Oritz M, Liden D, Thomas R, Morgan G, Morland R. The impact of professional services on pharmacy patronage: findings of a pharmacy practice foundation survey (Part 6) Aust J Pharm 1987; 68: 207–14. [34] Farris K.B., Stenton S.B., Samnani M., Samycia D. How satisfied are your patients? Can Pharm J. 2000;10:32–36. [35] Kamei M., Teshima K., Fukushima N., Nakamura T. Investigation of patients’ demand for community pharmacies: Relationship between pharmacy services and patient satisfaction. Yakugaku Zasshi. 2001;121(3):215–220. [PubMed] [36] Hargie O., Morrow N., Woodman C. Consumer perceptions of and attitudes to community pharmacy services. Pharm J. 1992;249:988–991. [37] Briesacher B., Corey R. Patient satisfaction with pharmaceutical services at independent and chain pharmacies. Am J Health-Syst Pharm. 1997;54:531–536. [PubMed] [38] Larson L.N., Rovers J.P., MacKeigan L.D. Patient satisfaction with pharmaceutical care: Update of a validated instrument. J Am Pharm Assoc. 2002;42:44–50. [PubMed] [39] Cerulli J. Patients’ perceptions of independent community pharmacists. J Am Pharm Assoc. 2002;42:279–282. [PubMed] [40] Stergachis A., Maine L.L., Brown L. The 2001 national pharmacy consumer survey. J Am Pharm Assoc. 2002;42:568–576. [PubMed] [41] El Hajj M.S., Salem S., Mansoor H. Public’s attitudes towards community pharmacy in Qatar: a pilot study. Patient Prefer Adherence. 2011;5:405–422. [PMC free article] [PubMed] [42] Wirth F., Tabone F., Azzopardi L.M., Gauci M., Zarb-Adami M., Serracino-Inglott A. Consumer perception of the community pharmacist and community pharmacy services in Malta. Journal of Pharmaceutical Health Services Research. 2010;1:189–194. [43] Bawazir S.A. Consumer attitudes towards community pharmacy services in Saudi Arabia. Int J Pharm Pract. 2004;12:83–89. [44] Oritz M, Liden D, Thomas R, Morgan G, Morland R. The impact of professional services on pharmacy patronage: findings of a pharmacy practice foundation survey (Part 6) Aust J Pharm 1987; 68: 207–14. [45] Farris K.B., Stenton S.B., Samnani M., Samycia D. How satisfied are your patients? Can Pharm J. 2000;10:32–36. [46] Kamei M., Teshima K., Fukushima N., Nakamura T. Investigation of patients’ demand for community pharmacies: Relationship between pharmacy services and patient satisfaction. Yakugaku Zasshi. 2001;121(3):215–220. [PubMed] [47] Hargie O., Morrow N., Woodman C. Consumer perceptions of and attitudes to community pharmacy services. Pharm J. 1992;249:988–991. [48] Briesacher B., Corey R. Patient satisfaction with pharmaceutical services at independent and chain pharmacies. Am J Health-Syst Pharm. 1997;54:531–536. [PubMed] [49] Larson L.N., Rovers J.P., MacKeigan L.D. Patient satisfaction with pharmaceutical care: Update of a validated instrument. J Am Pharm Assoc. 2002;42:44–50. [PubMed] [50] Cerulli J. Patients’ perceptions of independent community pharmacists. J Am Pharm Assoc. 2002;42:279–282. [PubMed] [51] Stergachis A., Maine L.L., Brown L. The 2001 national pharmacy consumer survey. J Am Pharm Assoc. 2002;42:568–576. [PubMed] [52] The Contribution of Community Pharmacy to Improving the Public’s Health (Anderson, Blenkinsopp Armstrong, Pharmacy Health Link, 2009) http://www.pharmacyhealthlink.org.uk/?q=evidence_base_reports>; [accessed 18.04.14].

Science in Not Going Too Far Essay -- Scientific Argumentative Persuas

When asked the question of whether or not scientific knowledge should be boundless, I can't help, but to wonder why it wouldn't be. Everything that I can think of that has to do with science such as coming up with cures for diseases, being able to re-create a human being and its parts. Being able to choose whether or not your child will be a boy or a girl, have blonde or brown hair or blue eyes or green eyes is, as far as I'm concerned, extremely beneficial. I don't see anything wrong with cloning either. What's the big deal anyway, it's not like you are going to have a bunch of look-a-likes running around. It is going to cost way too much money to get someone or something cloned. I have to throw in an argument from the other side and Mary Shelly said it in her novel, Frankenstein, "If the study to which you apply yourself has a tendency to weaken your affections, and to destroy your taste for those simple pleasures in which no alloy can possibly mix, then that study is certainly unlawful, that is to say, not befitting the human mind." (233) How could she say the study doesn't benefit the mind? We've always said that we learn from our mistakes haven't we? If the wrong person should somehow receive or get a hold of the technology and scientific methods to cloning, then it could definitely be a dangerous thing not benefiting. They could somehow regenerate all of the world's most evil creatures if he or she wanted a world of anarchy. They could single handedly become ruler of the earth. Of course, it would take a long time for those clones to grow up and become adults capable of creating such putrid crime. But, until then I think that all cloning is doing is making us more aware of how the human body works and that is only go... ... I think life is full of trading. You have to give up some things before you can learn more. So, all those animals and things that we test on are very respectable things to me. Science is the only reason that I am here today as a matter of fact. I actually died and then they had to do a C-Section in order for me to live. The only reason they were able to keep me alive is because through scientific experimentation they were able to learn and save more people. So science is all around us, we just don't notice it so don't hold it back. Works Cited Bishop, J. Michael. "Enemies of Promise." The Presence of Others. Editors Andrea A. Lunnsford and John J. Ruszkiewicz. New York. Bedford St. Martin's, 2000, 237-242. Shelly, Mary. "Frankenstein." The Presence of Others. Editors Andrea A. Lunnsford and John J. Ruszkiewicz. New York. Bedford St. Martin's, 2000, 233.

Labor Productivity

Labor productivity is a key element in the explanation of how the economy works. It is especially important with regard to wages. What follows is some material about labor productivity and investment spending that is a reorganization of what is presented in your textbook. Its focus is on the connection between labor productivity and wages. Labor productivity is the value of the product or service you can produce in an hour, day, week or other unit of time. The value you can produce depends on the amount of work-product you can produce and the price at which that product can be sold. When the product is sold, the owner keeps part of that value as profit, and part of it goes to pay for other production expenses. The worker then gets the residual as the wage. (The Marxists like to talk about this as exploitation and expropriation of the surplus. ) If you want a sustained increase in your real wage, you have to have an increase in labor productivity. However, you may not get a raise just because your labor productivity rises. Labor productivity may rise, thereby raising the value of your day’s work, but the owner can keep the increase as higher profit. This raises two questions: How can you get to keep a part of increased labor productivity in a higher wage, and what contributes to systematic increases in labor productivity? First, your boss will want to keep you as a worker, assuming you are a good one. When the business cycle is at a point where actual GDP is near full employment and expanding, other firms will want to hire workers away from the company you work for. You get a raise to keep you where you are. The other way is to have a union that negotiates with the owner for a share of increased labor productivity. To answer the second question, consider the following. Systematic increases in labor productivity come from investment spending. Investment spending, in the broadest sense, refers to spending that creates more capital for workers to use. The most obvious capital is new plant and equipment and new technology. If workers have better machines (a rise in the capital to labor ratio), they can produce more value per hour. The common sense of this can be seen with a simple example: How much land can you till and plant if your capital is just a stone? How much if you have a shovel? How much if you have a shovel and a hoe? How much if you have a tractor and a plow? How about a great big tractor with four wheel drive, 8 or more wheels and huge implements to go with the tractor? The same thinking applies to service work as well. Human capital is less tangible than machines but very real. Human capital refers to skills, knowledge, analytical ability, and especially the ability to teach yourself new stuff. It is the corner stone of the modern economy. If you don’t have much human capital, the workplace will not pay you too much for your time. Human capital comes through job training, formal and informal education, and self-education. The value of a four-year college degree comes mostly from the analytical abilities you develop and the ability to teach yourself new stuff, and you can only develop these skills by practicing, which is what studying is all about. Innovation and new technology come out of the application of human capital to the problem of ever-present scarcity. The problem with acquiring human capital is that the process is expensive, and there are real financial and risk constraints faced by individuals. If individuals were left to pay the entire cost of training and education, there would be less of it than the economy needs because of these constraints. So in modern society, through government, assumes a large chunk of the risk through the subsidization of job training and education. TriCounty is a classic example. The taxpayers pay most of the expense of the services provided, and the taxpayers receive the benefits spread out over time because companies have a more productive labor force to draw from, a labor force with the human capital needed to pursue higher-valued work. This is the case throughout the industrialized world. Infrastructure is the third category of capital. Infrastructure can be public or private. Communications companies are private infrastructure. Roads, bridges, and most airports are public infrastructure. Public infrastructure exists when private companies lack an incentive to provide the needed capital. The lack of incentive comes from the lack of ability to exclude non-payers from utilizing the products or service. National defense and public fire stations are examples. When the infrastructure is private, consumers pay for the costs of producing the services in the price they pay for the services. When the infrastructure is public, consumers pay for the services with taxes and sometimes fees. If you want a sustained increase in wages, you have to have an increase in labor productivity, so you need additional capital, so you need additional investment spending, and if you want more investment spending, you need more savings. If you want more human capital and public infrastructure, you need more tax revenue. There is no way around it.

Rayon Fibre

Cuprammonium Rayon threads from Filter Paper AAKASH NARAYAN XII-B DON BOSCO SCHOOL i. n. d. e. x 1. Objective 2. Certificate 3. Acknowledgement 4. Apparatus 5. Chemicals 6. Summary 7. Introduction 8. Procedure 9. Precautions 10. Bibliography o. b. j. e. c. t. i. v. e To make Cuprammonium Rayon Threads From Filter Paper c. e. r. t. i. f. i. c. a. t. eThis is to certify that   Aakash Narayan,   student of Class XII B,  Don Bosco School ,Alaknanda   has completed the project titled ‘Cuprammonium Rayon Threads from Filter Paper’ during the academic year 2010-2011, towards partial fulfilment of credit for the chemistry practical evaluation of CBSE Board, and submitted satisfactory report, as compiled in the following pages, under my supervision. This project is absolutely genuine and does not indulge in plagiarism of any kind.The references taken in making this project have been declared at the end of this report. Ms. Cecilia Manichan Don Bosco School, Alaknanda a. c. k. n. o. w. l. e. d. g. e. m. e. n. t â€Å"There are times when silence speaks so much more loudly than words  of  praise to only as good as belittle a person, whose words do not express, but only put a veneer over true feelings, which are  of  gratitude at this point  of  time†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. †Ã¢â‚¬  I would like to express my sincere gratitude to my chemistry teacher   Ms. Cecilia Manichan ,for her vital support, guidance and encouragement without which this project would not have come-forth.I would also like to express my gratitude to the staff of the Department of Chemistry at  Don Bosco School for their support during the making of this project. I would also like to thank my partner ,my friend Gaurab Das Gupta helping me to perform the project. Aakash Narayan XII B, Don Bosco School a. p. p. a. r. a. t. u. s 1) Conical flask (250 ml) 2) Funnel 3) Glass rod 4) Beaker (250 ml) 5) Water bath 6) Whatman Filt er paper [pic] c. h. e. m. i. c. a. l. s 1) Copper Sulphate(CuSO4 ) 2) Caustic Soda Solution(NAOH) 3) Liquor ammonia solution ) Dilute Sulphuric Acid (H2SO4) 5) Whatman Paper 6) Distilled water (H2O) s. u. m. m. a. r. y Rayon is a cellulose-based synthetic fiber . it was originally called ‘artificial silk’ or ‘wood silk’, because, it got Developed in an attempt to chemically produce silk. Rayon is a regenerated fiber. cellulose is converted to a liquid compound and then back to cellulose in the form of fiber. cuprammonium rayon is obtained by dissolving cellulose in ammoniacal copper sulphate solution. The rayon fibers have special characteristics: They are highly absorbent, ?Soft and comfortable, ? Easy to dye & ? Drape well. i. n. t. r. o. d. u. c. t. i. o. n Cellulose is nature’s own giant molecule. It is the fibrous material that every plant makes by baking glucose molecules in long chains, from seaweed to the sequoia; the chains are bound togeth er in the fibers that give plants their shape and strength. Wood is the main source of cellulose. it contains 40% to 50% cellulose. the substance must be extracted by ‘pulping’. The logs are flaked, and then simmered in chemicals that dissolve the tarry lignin, resins and minerals.The remaining pulp, about 93% cellulose, is dried and rolled into sheets-raw material for paper, rayon and other products. It can be obtained in two ways: 1. Viscose Process: Cellulose is soaked in 30% caustic soda solution for about 3 hrs. The alkali solution is removed and the product is treated with carbon di-sulphide (CS2). This gives cellulose xanthate, which is dissolved in caustic soda (NaOH) solution to give viscous solution. This is filtered and forced through a spinneret into a dilute sulphuric acid (H2SO4) solution, both of which harden the gum-like thread into rayon fibers.The process of making viscose was discovered by C. F. Cross and E. J. Bevan in 1891. 2. Cuprammonium Rayon: Cu prammonium rayon is obtained by dissolving pieces of filter paper in a deep blue solution containing tetra-ammine cupric hydroxide. The latter is obtained from a solution of copper sulphate (CuSO4). To it, ammonia solution (NH4OH) is added to precipitate cupric hydroxide (Cu(OH)2), which is then dissolved in excess of ammonia (NH3. ) Reactions: CuSO4 + 2NH4OH > Cu(OH)2 + (NH4)2SO4 (Pale Blue Precipitate)Cu(OH) 2 + 4NH4OH > [Cu(NH3) 4](OH) 2 + 4H2O [Cu(NH3) 4](OH) 2 + pieces of filter paper left for 10-15 days give a viscous solution called ‘VISCOSE’. p. r. o. c. e. d. u. r. e I. Preparation of Schweitzer’s Solution: 1) Weigh 20g of CuSO4. 5H20. [pic] 2) Transfer this to a beaker having 100ml distilled water and add 15ml of dilute H2SO4 to prevent hydrolysis of CuSO4. [pic] 3) Stir it with a glass rod till a clear solution is obtained. Add 11ml of liquor ammonia drop by drop with slow stirring. The precipitate of cupric hydroxide is separated out. [pic] ) Filter t he solution containing cupric hydroxide through a funnel with filter paper. [pic] [pic] 5) Wash the precipitate of cupric hydroxide with water until the filtrate fails to give a positive test for sulphate ions with barium chloride solution. [pic] [pic] 6) Transfer the precipitate to a beaker that contains 50ml of liquor ammonia or wash it down the funnel. The precipitate when dissolved in liquor ammonia gives a deep blue solution of tetra-ammine cupric hydroxide. This is known as SCHWEITZER’S SOLUTION. [pic] II. Preparation of Cellulose material ) After weighing 2g of filter paper divide it into very fine pieces and then transfer these pieces to the tetra-ammine cupric hydroxide solution in the beaker. [pic] [pic] 2) Seal the flask and keep for 10 to 15 days, during this period the filter paper is dissolved completely. iii. Formation of Rayon Thread 1) Take 50ml of distilled water in a glass container. To this add 20ml of conc. Sulphuric acid (H2SO4) drop by drop. Cool the so lution under tap water. In a big glass container pour some of the solution. 2) Fill the syringe with cellulose solution prepared before. [pic] ) Place the big glass container containing H2SO4 solution produced before in ice (the reaction being spontaneous results in excess release of energy in the form of heat which makes the fibers weak and breaks them). [pic] [pic] 4) Immerse the tip of the syringe in the solution and press gently. Notice the fibers getting formed in the acid bath. Continue to move your hand and keep pressing the syringe to extrude more fibers into the bath. 5) Leave the fibers in solution till they decolorize and become strong enough. [pic] [pic] [pic] 6) Filter and wash with distilled water. . r. e. c. a. u. t. i. o. n. s 1) Addition of excess NH3 should be avoided. 2) Before taking the viscose in the syringe make sure that it does not contain any particles of paper, otherwise, it would clog the needle of the syringe. 3) Addition of NH3 should be done in a fume cupboard and with extreme care. The fumes if inhaled may cause giddiness. 4) Use a thick needle otherwise the fibers won’t come out. b. i. b. l. i. o. g. r. a. p. h. y I. Google. com II. Ask. com III. Wikipedia. com IV. Comprehensive  Laboratory Manual in chemistry XII [pic][pic]

LABOUR LAW PROJECT Essays - Law, Family Law, Government, Family

LABOUR LAW PROJECT Essays - Law, Family Law, Government, Family 3 LABOUR LAW PROJECT ON MATERNITY BENEFIT ACT SUBMITTED BY: STUTI PRIYA (00516503813) R.SHRAVYA (09116503813) B.A.LL.B. 8TH SEMESTER INTRODUCTION In the ancient time, the employer thought that maternity was a state of disability for woman workers from doing any work during the few weeks immediately before and after child birth. The employer tended that this period is wastage of both time and money, so simply they terminated the services of woman workers when they inferred any maternity situation. They didn't provide any type of wages or benefits to their woman workers. Therefore, many woman workers had to go on leave without any payment of their salary during this period in case if they didn't want to lose their job. Many others had to bear a heavy depression to keep their efficiency during the periods of pregnancy, which was very harmful to the health of both, the child and the mother. To remove this concept of the woman workers, the concept ofmaternity benefitcame about. It aims to regulate employment of women employees in certain establishments for certain periods before and after childbirth in order to enable the woman workers to carry on the social function of child; bearing and rearing without undue strain on their health and loss of wages. Maternity benefit is one that every woman must be entitled to, and her employer shall be liable for, the payment of maternity benefit, which is the amount payable to her at the rate of the average daily wage for the period of her actual absence.. WHAT IS MATERNITY BENEFIT? Maternity leave is a paid leave that an employee is entitled to, in order to care for their newborn or recently adopted child. The period of such leave varies in different countries, and generally includes both a legally enforceablematernity leaveandmaternity pay.Some employees have employment contracts that are more generous. Maternity leave and pay were primarily designed to: protect the health of mothers and children by providing adequate medical and nursing care in childbirth, to lessen the financial burden of childbearing and ensure a reasonable period free from excessive labour They vary from systems which consist primarily of paid time off work to those which include medical, nursing and in some cases, help with domestic labor. WHY THERE IS NEED FOR MATERNITY BENEFITS? In the present scenario women workers form a major chunk of labor market which in turn in dominated by the young women in urban areas . And it is known fact that Post- maternity, women work participation rate is negatively affected in labor market. Since India is committed to creating a gender friendly labour market environment, there is increasing realization to provide a conducive working environment. Looking at the large number of women employment in broad occupational categories, it was but natural to provide some conditions which are suitable for the needs of women protect and safeguard their health in relation to Maternity and the children. The fundamental purpose for providing maternity benefits is to preserve the self-respect for motherliness, protect the health of women, complete safety of the child etc. The objective of maternity benefits is to protect the dignity of "Motherhood" by providing the complete health care to the women her child when she is not able to perform her duty due to her health condition. There is need for maternity benefits so that a woman is to be able to give quality time to her child without having to worry about whether she will lose her job and her source of income. The vast majority of women want to have children at some time in their lives. Childbearing is biological role which is to be performed by women and hence it shouldn't be made an impediment in their economic growth. They have taken enormous strides toward gender equity at work, but to tackle the traditional gender ideologies , sex-typed stereotypes, roles, and status beliefs they need provisions like maternity benefits to be able to continue in the business . LEGAL SCENARIO INTERNATIONAL POSITION International recognition for maternity benefit was achieved by the efforts of the International Labour Organization ("ILO"). It was during the first International Labour Conference (ILC) in 1919 that the first Convention on Maternity protection, Convention concerning the Employment of Women before and after Childbirth, 1919 was adopted.It provided that "no woman

How to Study for an Exam in 2 to 4 Days

How to Study for an Exam in 2 to 4 Days Studying for an exam is a piece of cake, even if you only have a few days to prepare. Thats plenty of time, considering many people think studying for an exam involves cramming just minutes before the exam starts. By increasing the number of days you have to study, you decrease the actual studying time you have to put in per session, which is perfect if you have trouble staying focused when youre studying for an exam. Its entirely possible to study for an exam in just a handful of days. All you need is a solid plan. Step One: Ask, Organize, and Review In School: Ask your teacher what type of exam it will be. Multiple choice? Essay? The type of exam will make a huge difference in how you prepare because your level of content knowledge needs to be greater with an essay exam.Ask your teacher for a review sheet or test guide if he or  she has not already provided one. The review sheet will tell you all of the major things on which you will be tested. If you dont have this, you may end up studying for things you dont need to know for the test.Get a study partner set up for the night before the test, if possible. If you cant meet in person, you can still study via phone, FaceTime, or Skype. It helps to have someone on your team who can keep you motivated.Take home your notes, old quizzes, textbook, assignments, and handouts for the unit being tested. At Home: Organize your notes. Rewrite or type them up so you can actually read what youve written. Organize your handouts by date. Make note of anything youre missing (Wheres the vocabulary quiz from chapter 2?) and ask for a copy in class.Review the material. Thoroughly go over the review sheet to find out what youre supposed to know. Read through your quizzes, handouts, and notes, highlighting anything youll be tested on. Go through your books chapters, rereading sections that were confusing, unclear, or not memorable. Ask yourself the questions from the back of each chapter covered by the exam.If you dont already have them, make flashcards with a question, term, or vocabulary word on the front of the card, and the answer on the back.Stay focused! Step 2: Memorize and Quiz In School: Clarify anything you didnt totally understand with your teacher. Ask for missing items (for instance, that vocabulary quiz from chapter 2).Teachers often review the day before an exam, so if he or she is reviewing, pay close attention and write down anything confusing or unfamiliar. If the teacher mentions it today, its on the exam, guaranteed!Throughout the day, pull your flashcards out and ask yourself questions (when youre waiting for class to start, at lunch, during study hall, etc.).Confirm your study date with a friend for this evening. At Home: Set a timer for 45 minutes, and memorize everything on the review sheet that you dont already know using mnemonic devices like acronyms or singing a song. Take a five-minute break when the timer goes off, and get started again for another 45 minutes. Repeat until your study partner arrives.Quiz. When your study partner arrives (or your mom agrees to quiz you), take turns asking each other possible exam questions. Make sure each of you has a turn asking and answering because youll learn the material best by doing both. Have Extra Days to Study? If you have more than a day or two, you can stretch out and repeat Step 2 over the course of several days.

Using the Spanish Verb Levantar

Using the Spanish Verb Levantar Usually meaning to raise or to lift, levantar can also be used for other meanings that at first may not seem related. Levantar is derived from the Latin verb levare, meaning to raise. As such, it is related to English words such as levitate, levity and even lever. Here are some examples of levantar with its usual meaning: Courtney levantà ³ la mano porque querà ­a hacer una pregunta. Courtney raised her hand because she wanted to ask a question. Levantaron el coche en el elevador. They raised up the car on the hoist. Levantà ³ la taza con su mano dà ©bil. He raised the cup with his weak hand. Observa como la temperatura se levanta. See how the temperature is rising. Inhalar y levantar los brazos. Inhale and lift up your arms. Levantar is often used figuratively: Levanto la voz por mis derechos. Im raising my voice for my rights. Levantaban la mirada para ver a los extraà ±os que llegaban. They looked up to see the strangers who were arriving. In the reflexive form, levantarse can mean to wake up or to arise from bed:  ¡No me quiero levantar! I dont want to get up! In context, levantar can be used to refer to the creating or intensifying of an emotional reaction: Era un hà ©roe que levantà ³ al pueblo contra los invasores. He was a leader who stirred up the people against the invaders. Las expresiones de carià ±o mientras estuvo hospitalizada levantaron su espà ­ritu. The expressions of affection while she was hospitalized lifted her spirits. In context, levantar can mean to suspend, adjourn or call off an event: Las mujeres la ciudad norteà ±a levantaron huelga de hambre tras alcanzar los objetivos. The women in the northern city called off their hunger strike after reaching their goals. Se levantà ³ el corte. The court was adjourned. Rusia levantar embargo a la exportacià ³n de grano. Russia will lift the embargo on grain exports. Similarly, levantar sometimes means to undo or unmake: La policà ­a levantà ³ campamento y detuverion a los manifestantes. The police broke up the camp and detained the protesters. Pablo levantà ³ la cama y abrià ³ la ventana. Pablo unmade the bed and opened the window. Note: As is the case with most lessons on this site, sample sentences generally are adapted from a variety of sources written by native speakers. Sources consulted for this lesson include: Abel Cruz, Cibernika.com, Debates-politica.com, DGW.es, EscuchaMusica.com.mx, Maipu.cl, MCH.com, Mforos.com, NustroSalud.com, Rodrigorubiog, Tarot.tv, 1070noticias.com.

Man and Soceity Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Man and Soceity - Essay Example The role of society with relation to a human being has been thus described in this paper because this is the aspect of a human being’s life that helps him to achieve greater heights in his personal life. Society is the main factor that influences a person and formulates his characteristics and actions towards other people. Keywords: human being, society. Man and Society Man has been surviving within society since times immemorial. As discussed in the abstract of this paper, society is a very wide concept, meaning the collective environment within which a group of people come together and live in a way that their actions influence the habits of each other. Whatever a person does is an influence of the kind of societal environment he has been brought up in. Most people condemn society by making it sound like a bad thing, or an aspect through which people only learn how to ‘gossip’ or talk behind other’s backs. However this is not true entirely because society is also a measure through which people can understand others, learn new things from each other, as well as utilise their potential of the greater benefit of everyone else. The concept of nurturing a person is a very widely used concept; it is according to this that a human being grows with respect to other people around him. Society consists of a vast number of different kinds of people that have grown into beings in their own ways. Each of these people, influence others in some or the manner and help him thus inculcate habits that they possess. A person is attracted to anything that seems mostly impossible for him to achieve; thus, this is how a human being picks up different kinds of habits from his surroundings, or from society, and thus affects his own life. Every group that persists in society must also show a willingness to accept a human being into their group. According to Ralph Waldo Emerson, â€Å"The best university that can be recommended to a man of ideas is the gaunt let of the mobs.† He wrote this in his famous piece of writing, ‘Eloquence’. Emerson means to say that the factors that persist in a human being’s environment are enough to help him grow as a person; this is because there are enough tests that a man faces in his external surroundings in the form of experiences that arise by being with other people. However, Emerson, even by writing about a man’s surroundings and society, was afraid of being a part of the same. This can be seen through Holmes’ writing, where he stated that â€Å"Emerson is afraid to trust himself in society much, on account of the failure of his memory and the great difficulty he finds in getting the words he wants. It is painful to witness his embarrassment at times.† By taking this example, one can understand the psychological pressure that a human being is faced with by being with his peers, in society. If we look at this from a wider aspect or point of view, it can b e explained as thus; when a person is young, during the course of his childhood or infancy, he is very carefree and does not care much about the people around him. A child is not prone to comprehending how he becomes a part of society, or the kind of proper behaviour that he must emit in order to be accepted as part of the same. At the same time, other people in society also do not pay much heed to the bad habits of a child and pardon hi for not being aware of the ways of the world or societal behaviour and etiquette. However, when the same child grows up into an

Nursing Pharm Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Nursing Pharm - Essay Example maintain the desired anticoagulation effects, heparin must also be administered by intravenous infusion regulated by an infusion pump (Peterson et al., 2008). The therapeutic effect of heparin is appropriately measured by the activated partial thromboplastin time (aPTT) results. Since anticoagulation effects can be difficult to monitor because of individual differences in drug reaction (Smeltzer et al., 2010), aPTT is repeated more frequently in unstable and new clients to prevent complications due to under or over medication. Bed rest is one of the interventions to promote comfort in clients with DVT (Smeltzer et al., 2010). Furthermore, it is especially indicated to prevent the dislodgment of pre exiting thrombus into the bloodstream for high- risk clients. Aside from bed rest, careful elevation of the lower limbs is also helpful to prevent venous stasis and promote blood circulation. The use of infusion pumps maximizes safety measures in the client with DVT under heparin therapy (Peterson et al., 2008). In this case, the IV pump malfunctioned and resulted in the accidental administration of the drug in high dosages. Although the client does not show signs of bleeding initially, aPTT should be rechecked to determine the degree of possible adverse reactions. The drug administration should be discontinued temporarily to prevent further increase in drug level. Furthermore, protamine sulfate should be prepared as an antidote in case the client manifests excessive bleeding (Ignatavicius & Workman, 2010. The physician should also be notified

Developing & Managing the Enterprise Case Study

Developing & Managing the Enterprise - Case Study Example in order to run the business, Steve would need to increase his technical skills with a computer, while for raising the finance for the business he has the option for selling off his current business and taking on a small business loan for financing establishment expenses and operations of the business in the lunch phase. Entrepreneur is a person who takes risk to exploit opportunities and generate high revenues from such ventures through the creative use of innovation. "Entrepreneurship is the dynamic process of creating incremental wealth. The wealth is created by individuals who assume the major risks in terms of equity, time and/or career commitment or provide value for some product or service" ('Definition of Entrepreneurship Today') Small business are usually established by people to generate a steady income and support themselves and their families, however an entrepreneurial business is one in which the entrepreneur takes risk to exploit the opportunities in the market and use innovation in a creative manner to make his business succeed. The type of business which is going to be run by Steve is going to be an entrepreneurial business as he would be providing e-books as well as hardcopy books both new and used as well as a trading facility through the online internet medium to the customers in the market. Venture Ideas/ Opportunities Through the analysis of the industry where is Steve was previously operating in, it has been observed that he has the following options pertaining to starting a new business venture. 1. Shut down the retail bookselling business and launch and online retail option for new and used books. 2. Start a business in another field 3. Sell his business to the large retailers and competitors in the market and invest the money in buying shares of the other successful companies Of the above mentioned business options available to Steve, the first option pertaining to the commencement of an online bookstore business by Steve is the most profitable in the long term as it if strategy invested in, the business can compete with the large scale book retailers in the market while over coming the barriers of entry presented by the likes of Angus & Robertson and Dymocks. Another reason as to why this option has been chosen is because of the experience that Steve has in the book retail market and the contacts that he has established over the period which can facilitate his establishment and operation of the online book retail business. Competitive Strategy The different types of competitive strategies that are normally used by entrepreneurs pertain to being a defender, prospector, analyzer and reactor. The defender strives to maintain a prominent position in the market with centralized and traditionally hierarchical organization. The prospector on the other hand brings new products and services in to the market and focuses on being innovative. The analyzer copies successful innovations and builds on them to create a position while a reactor tends to have strategies which are well defined but obsolete. (Allen, 1999). The strategy which is going to be used by Steve for his new business would be analyzer strategy whereby he would be building on present innovations

Data description Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Data description - Essay Example population and more than seven million are unaware of the fact that they are suffering from this disease. In the year 2010, 1.9 million of people who had ages of 20 and even older were detected to be Diabetic patients. It is projected that about 79 million adults who are aged either twenty years or older have pre-diabetes; it is a situation in which the levels of blood glucose are higher as compared to normal range but not too high to be labeled as diabetes. In order to fight against Diabetes, people will have to take precautionary measures such as living a healthy life, developing and following a well-balanced and nutritious meal plan, increasing physical activity so that weight remains under control and following the doctor’s advice appropriately. Hence, Diabetes is a curable disease that can be managed properly if self-care techniques are implemented effectively. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. â€Å"National diabetes fact sheet: National estimates and general information on diabetes and pre-diabetes in the United States, 2011.† CDC.gov. CDC, February 2011. Web. 10 January

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

WestJet - Essay Example Westjet airlines is a Canadian carrier that provides scheduled and charter services to over 87 destinations in Canada, the Caribbean, United States, Mexico and central America. It was established in 1996 and by 2012; it was ranked the ninth largest airline in North America. It has two hubs, Calgary International Airport and Toronto Pearson International Airport. It also has two focus cities, Edmonton International Airport and Vancouver International Airport. The company’s slogan is â€Å"Owners Care†. The company’s headquarter is in Calgary, Alberta, Canada and headed by Gregg Saretsky who is the CEO/ President. Westjet also operates on vacations to provide hotel, car, air, and excursion packagings. According to a research conducted by TNS Canada, Westjet is the most preferred airline in Canada (Grescoe, 2004). The competition over the Canadian traveler is fierce and Westjet is not spared from the whole situation. Its main competitors include Air Canada and Porte r Airlines most specifically Air Canada. Westgate has adopted a counteractive competition strategy to keep up with the spirit of competition. When Air Canada revealed that, it would be adding a premium economy class to cater for their customers of the business class, which was to include wider seats and a bigger legroom at a slightly higher economy price. Westjet responded by purchasing a fleet of Bombardier Q400s with seat configurations of 737-800. This included roomier premium seats and high-density economy class. Westjet signed a letter of intent for buying 20 Q400’s with another 25 on the way.... Its mission is to enrich the lives of everyone through provision of safe, friendly, and affordable air travel. In fact, Westjet received the â€Å"Business Ethics† Award from the Better Business Bureau in Alberta in 2004. It was also ranked fourth in Reputation Institute’s Corporate Reputation study among the 50 largest companies in Canada and Most admired corporate culture as selected by Waterstone Human Capital in 2011. Westjet’s values include commitment to safety, positive and passionate in everything, appreciative of people and guests, fun, friendly and caring, aligning the interests of West Jetters with the interests of the company and honest, open and keeping to their commitments (Grescoe, 2004). However, there was a major ethical issue in May 2006 between Westjet and Air Canada where Westjet admitted to accessing confidential information from an Air Canada’s website. Air Canada claimed that Westjet unfairly adjusted its scheduling and pricing infor mation to gain a springboard in starting new routes and terminating others. In a joint press release by Westjet and air Canada, Westjet admitted full responsibility stating that the conduct was both unethical and unacceptable. Westjet management admitted that they engaged in an extensive practice of covertly accessing a password-protected proprietary employee Web site maintained by Air Canada to download detailed and commercially sensitive information without authorization or consent from Air Canada (Grescoe, 2004). The most disquieting fact about this confrontation was that the whole affair of corporate spying occurred under the watchful eyes and direction of top management officials at WestJet and it did not stop until Air Canada

Marijuana should be legalized in the united states Essay

Marijuana should be legalized in the united states - Essay Example Diseases like nausea, vomiting, glaucoma etc can be treated effectively with marijuana. Moreover, it can be used a pain reliever, hunger stimulant etc. Even though marijuana has good potential in medical science, it has not achieved the status of a medicine yet in America. FDA has not shown green signal to marijuana yet. It is still included in the list of drugs which are misused for changing moods rather than treating diseases. Roth (2008) has pointed out that â€Å"To date, marijuana is still classified as an illegal Schedule 1 drug by the Controlled Substances Act. It is defined as having "no accepted medical use in treatment in the United States" (Roth). This paper argues in favor of legalization of marijuana in United Sates, after analyzing the arguments in favor and against it. Pundits like Fox Newss Glenn Beck and former judge Andrew Napolitano have joined in the debate, on the pro-legalization side. "You know what, I think its about time we legalize marijuana. Hear me out for a second†¦" Beck told viewers in April. "We have to make a choice in this country. We have to either put people who are smoking marijuana behind bars, or we legalize it. But this little game were playing in the middle is not helping us, and is causing massive violence on our southern border." Even Sarah Palin, whos opposed to legalization, has called pot a relatively "minimal problem," telling Fox Business Network this summer, "I think we need to prioritize our law-enforcement efforts. And if somebodys gonna smoke a joint in their house and not do anybody else harm, then perhaps there are other things our cops should be looking at to engage in and try to clean up some of the other problems that we have in society"(Conant and Maloney) Neither the administration, nor the judiciary has any ideas about what to do with the issue of legalization of marijuana. Instead of conducting a pilot study to learn more about the pros and cons of marijuana use, the

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

WestJet - Essay Example Westjet airlines is a Canadian carrier that provides scheduled and charter services to over 87 destinations in Canada, the Caribbean, United States, Mexico and central America. It was established in 1996 and by 2012; it was ranked the ninth largest airline in North America. It has two hubs, Calgary International Airport and Toronto Pearson International Airport. It also has two focus cities, Edmonton International Airport and Vancouver International Airport. The company’s slogan is â€Å"Owners Care†. The company’s headquarter is in Calgary, Alberta, Canada and headed by Gregg Saretsky who is the CEO/ President. Westjet also operates on vacations to provide hotel, car, air, and excursion packagings. According to a research conducted by TNS Canada, Westjet is the most preferred airline in Canada (Grescoe, 2004). The competition over the Canadian traveler is fierce and Westjet is not spared from the whole situation. Its main competitors include Air Canada and Porte r Airlines most specifically Air Canada. Westgate has adopted a counteractive competition strategy to keep up with the spirit of competition. When Air Canada revealed that, it would be adding a premium economy class to cater for their customers of the business class, which was to include wider seats and a bigger legroom at a slightly higher economy price. Westjet responded by purchasing a fleet of Bombardier Q400s with seat configurations of 737-800. This included roomier premium seats and high-density economy class. Westjet signed a letter of intent for buying 20 Q400’s with another 25 on the way.... Its mission is to enrich the lives of everyone through provision of safe, friendly, and affordable air travel. In fact, Westjet received the â€Å"Business Ethics† Award from the Better Business Bureau in Alberta in 2004. It was also ranked fourth in Reputation Institute’s Corporate Reputation study among the 50 largest companies in Canada and Most admired corporate culture as selected by Waterstone Human Capital in 2011. Westjet’s values include commitment to safety, positive and passionate in everything, appreciative of people and guests, fun, friendly and caring, aligning the interests of West Jetters with the interests of the company and honest, open and keeping to their commitments (Grescoe, 2004). However, there was a major ethical issue in May 2006 between Westjet and Air Canada where Westjet admitted to accessing confidential information from an Air Canada’s website. Air Canada claimed that Westjet unfairly adjusted its scheduling and pricing infor mation to gain a springboard in starting new routes and terminating others. In a joint press release by Westjet and air Canada, Westjet admitted full responsibility stating that the conduct was both unethical and unacceptable. Westjet management admitted that they engaged in an extensive practice of covertly accessing a password-protected proprietary employee Web site maintained by Air Canada to download detailed and commercially sensitive information without authorization or consent from Air Canada (Grescoe, 2004). The most disquieting fact about this confrontation was that the whole affair of corporate spying occurred under the watchful eyes and direction of top management officials at WestJet and it did not stop until Air Canada

Emergency department bottleneck proposal Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Emergency department bottleneck proposal - Essay Example The causes of the problem are two fold. The first is that the inflow of patients into the ED is not evenly spaced throughout the day and occurs as a rush during fours in the late evening and night. No plan can be created for changing the pattern of inflow of patients into the ED, as they occur as naturally. The second is that during the peak flow of patients into the ED, the services that are required to provide support for the ED in the provision of timely and quality care are functioning at their minimal ability, since they are in the after-hours mode. This is the cause that the sigma team to address in overcoming the problem. Practical barriers to receiving quality care in an ED is dependent on two key factors of access to service at the ED and the availability of the services required support services either in the ED or immediately accessible (Rust et al, 2008). Overcoming these barriers to quality service calls for consideration of the types of patients and the emergencies and the resources at the ED (Frush, 2007). The essential problem in quality care in an ED is the mismatch in the demand and supply of resources at the ED. From the perspective of the patient seamless provision of care from the time of arrival at the ED is the quality of service expected. The first step is this direction is preventing diversion of ambulances to the ED, which will reduce the overcrowding at the ED (Stokowski, 2007). The next step consists in organizing the ED into three separate areas to attend to areas to attend to medical problems, surgical problems and Urgent care area for triaging of patients. Staffing of the ED is the next issue. Since the ED peaks between 6.00 pm and 10.00 pm specialist services in the required different branches of medicine will be available. In addition the number of interns or residents at the ED will peak during this period of

A Review Of Pixar Animation Studios Commerce Essay

A Review Of Pixar Animation Studios Commerce Essay Pixar(2010) Pixar is an American animation production company based in California, United States. The company was started in the year 1979 as the part of the computer division of Lucasfilm and was bought by The Walt Disney Company in the year 2006. The company during its 17 years of existence has delivered several movies that has redefined the world of visual technology and animation. Pixar is known for its some of the basic values that form the foundation of its unbeatable success. People at Pixar are extremely talented and there exists an open collaboration among people coming from multiple disciplines. However, a formal structure is followed at the company where it is necessary for every member to ensure enhancement of three inter-related facets of the business, namely, leadership, process and accountability. Leadership is taken very seriously at Pixar and it is ensured that leaders are able to tune their communications, and value the vision of the organization and come up with the ability to provide lots of ideas (Jeremy, 2010) Managers as well as workers of the enterprise have the freedom of expression so that their vision and ideas can be communicated freely that helps the organization to come up with innovative ideas ensuring a sustainable position in the market (Morris, Jeremy, 2010). Another important element of Pixars environment refers to its collaborative approach towards work. It is fine to have talented people hired in the company, but it is equally important to make these people work in a motivated manner towards achievement of organizational goals (Milter and Matveev, 2004). At Pixar, everyone is made to understand that his/her success lies in the success of all other members. This helps in moving in a collaborative manner to ensure that everyone working in the company succee ds. The team spirit at Pixar helps in development o fold hires and new hands in a similar fashion with a healthy respect for each other resulting in an environment of credibility and trust prevailing throughout the organization. Apart, from these two elements, accountability forms the foundation of the working environment at Pixar. Leaders and managers at Pixar follow a clear line of accountability that helps them in seeking ways to improve themselves. Every project is headed by a Director/Producer duo, to whom all members of the project are accountable. These directors and producers are in turn accountable to leaders of the company and have the opportunity to utilize the experience and knowledge of senior filmmakers who are the part of top management of the company. In short, Pixar follows a highly structured process aims at fostering a meaningful collaboration resulting in a culture that comprise of value for ability and contribution of others. Cultural Analysis Before going for a discussion on cultural analysis, we need to understand the meaning of culture in a proper manner. Various scholars and academicians have given several definitions for culture. Formally, culture has been defined as a pattern of shared beliefs that were developed by a group during the process of external adaptation and internal integration, that has worked well enough to be considered valid and, therefore, to be taught to new members as the correct way to perceive, think, and feel in relation to those problems. Martin (2002) explained that everyone knows about the groups, organizations, and societies in which certain beliefs and values prevail at cross purposes with the beliefs of others, resulting in a condition where conflicts and ambiguity prevails in a high degree. This is often the result of insufficient stability prevailing among members, insufficient shared history of experience, or the presence of several subgroups with difference in their personal experience s (Thorngate, 2004). Many a times conflicts and ambiguity also results because of the fact that an individual is not a part of a single groups but belongs to several different groups and this has an impact on the assumptions and beliefs that one brings to a particular group and is influences by the assumptions that re appropriate to some other groups to which an individual belong. Khan (2005) argued that it is necessary that people are matched with the organization in order to ensure success of the company. There is a set of collective rules through which a company operates, which is termed as the culture of the organization. (Conolly, 2008) explained that employees of the enterprise should be well aware of their workplace that will clearly define appropriate and inappropriate behavior. In the present paper, an analysis of cross-cultural issues arising out of the merger of The Walt Disney and Pixar will be undertaken. It makes it necessary to understand the meaning of cross-cultural analysis. Under a cross-cultural analysis, an investigation is made into the ways through which people coming from different backgrounds communicate with each other. Whenever any merger takes place there is an amalgamation of the culture of the two organizations participating in the merger (Stening, 2002). Here several cross-cultural issues may arise because of the interaction of people coming from two different groups with different background, beliefs, values and functions. Cross-cultural analysis thrives to harness the utilitarian function of culture in order to use it as a mode of increasing the adaptation of people and bringing an improvement in patterns of communication (Nigel, 2001). It is one of the discipline of international management that focus on cultural encounters, aiming at discovery of methods that can be adopted to handle cultural differences that often give rise to conflicts, ambiguity and miscommunication. There are several different models that can be used to conduct a cross-cultural analysis. Various models includes those suggested by Hawkins (1992), Terpstra and Sarathy (2000), Hofstede (1994), and Wills (1991). The framework suggested by Hawkins and Terpstra are similar in nature and explains some of the common elements such as values, education and learning, social status and organization. Hawkins has tried to approach culture from the perspective of a consumer lifestyle, while Terpstra approaches culture in somewhat wider contexts. Thus, it is much more easy to use the model suggested by Terpstra and Sarathy. In addition, Hofstedes model will be used to understand the various dimensions of culture that are based upon individualism, power distance, masculinity and uncertainty avoidance. Wills (1991) considered learning as the key element of their model of culture. This will explain the basic idea of culture at Pixar as after the merger with The Walt Disney, the major aim of the co mpany was to establish Pixar as a learning organization. The dimensions of learning are used to consider a model of cross-cultural analysis suggesting a relationship between high/low context of a culture and the rate at which new products are adapted. In addition, it is to be noted that culture and leadership are interconnected. These are viewed as the two sides of the same coin, in that leaders first create cultures when they create groups and organizations (Edgar, 2004). Once cultures exists they determine the criteria for leadership and thus determine who will or will not be a leader. The unique function of leadership helps in managing the existing culture in case the elements of a culture becomes dysfunctional. Leadership also manages evolution of culture and change in such a way that the group is able to thrive in a changed environment also (Bal, 1999). Thus, it is right to say that it is necessary to understand the culture both for group members as well as for their leaders. The cultural analysis in relation to leadership roles will also be discussed and analyzed for Pixar. Cross Cultural Issues at Pixar The Walt Disney acquired Pixar with the view that Pixar would be able to bring some creativity to Disney, which had lost the luster in its animation. However, various major factors of the success of a merger were recognized by both the parties and they emphasized on The concept of transformational leadership and the importance of its existence for the success of the merger Creating a new strategic vision and mission for the new organization that is shared by both the parties to the merger Developing and maintaining learning teams resulting in fostering a learning environment throughout the organization. Creating and maintain a learning culture throughout the merged organization. Pixar is well known for its culture of collective creativity. Management think in a way to build capability to recover when some failures occur and not in the direction of preventing the risk. It is believed that smart people are more important as compared to good ideas (Catmull, 2008). The company aims at enhancing the power of creative people and builds a creative culture on the foundation of active feedback among peers. An open culture and communication prevails in the organization where people at all levels support each other and help each other to turn out their best (Catmull, 2008). All members of the organization respect each other and there are very rare cases of any unhealthy conflicts with groups having considerable problem-solving powers that act as an inspiration to be creative and innovative. However, with the merger of Pixar with The Walt Disney, the culture of the two organizations also merged and then arouse several cross-cultural issues that could have resulted in a failure of the merger if not managed properly (Haspeslagh, 2006). The Walt Disney is characterized with a highly regimented culture while Pixar is known for its unique, free-spirited, independent work dynamic culture (Lam; Chi and Lee, 2007). The successful combination of these two totally different cultures was the hallmark for the success of the merger. In case Disney would have made any attempt to get the people of Pixar work under pressure to generate efficiencies, even though the way of increasing its productivity or bringing about an elimination of the overlapping support positions, would have resulted in high rates of turnover with skilled employees leaving the Disney Pixar (Lam and Lee). It is to be noted that many a time sin such highly skilled industries such as animation and communication, people are allowed to let go because of skill gap. However, it is the issue of cultural gap that makes most of the skilled people switch companies frequently in animation and communicat ion industry (Keating, 2006). It is the clear understanding of magnitude of synergies that makes the mergers successful. Analysis of the cross-cultural issues at Disney Pixar As discussed in the previous section, to manage cross-cultural issues at Disney Pixar, management concentrated on four important elements of transformational leadership, shared vision, learning team and learning culture. These elements and Disney Pixars approach to these are discussed as follows: Transformational Leadership at Disney Pixar It is necessary that an organization have transformational leaders in order to develop creative thinking and problem solving to foster organizational growth. Transformational leaders are those who lead through social exchange. They help their followers grow and develop into leaders by responding to individual followers needs by empowering them and by aligning the objectives and goals of the individual followers, the leader, the group and the larger organization (Riggo and Bernard, 2008). It is the elements that can encourage organizations to develop and change more rapidly so as to be able to meet challenges of dynamic and competitive environments. Disney Pixar followed the approach of defining and developing the transformational leadership. The company decided to follow the approach in order to make employees easily adapt the new culture, which is a mix of the cultures of two organizations. It is believed that creative powers come from creative leadership (Riggo, 2008). It is so because effective leadership helps in effective development of support structures, the necessary resources and access to the experience and knowledge of the top management of the organization. At Pixar, access to the brain trust of the organization was easy for all individuals because of its independent and free-spirit culture. However, it was for Disneys culture to adopt this key feature in order to be successful in the competitive environment. Transformational leadership was chosen as a route to achieve this objective and make Disney Pixar a learning organization. Shared Strategic Vision Another key element ensuring the success of a merger is the sharing of a shared vision of goals and objectives by the merging organization. This helps in providing proper guidance and reducing the anxieties and uncertainties associated with the process of merger. It is necessary in case of a merger to develop an environment of learning throughout the organization. This is possible only if there is an availability of diverse learning teams that are led by leaders who are sharing a common strategic vision. An organization is able to create a sustainable competitive advantage through such a process (Jemison, 2006). This further makes it easy to manage the increasing complexities associated with economies of scale and then competitors find it more difficult to copy a companys operational methods (Janik, 2006). As explained by Gill (2010), managing through a shared vision proves to be much more productive as compared to the management done through coercion or control. Creation of a shared vision refers to the process where a consensus has to be achieved on the direction of the group and on the desired results. The basic aim is to make the members of a team approach their work with aim of achieving same goals for the future and being guided by same principles. A shared vision is also necessary for developing and fostering learning and change in an organization. In the case of Disney Pixar, a formal team of leaders was created in order to integrate the two companies. Among these steps, the Vice President of Pixar was appointed as the chief creative officer of Disneys and Pixars animation studios. Despite of his having the authority to green light films for both the studios, the ultimate authority to approve rested in the hands of Disneys CEO. The main aim was to maintain the Pixars culture. However, it is not enough to develop teams of leaders. It is necessary that leading teams emerge throughout the organization and leaders try to develop learning of each and every individual about the new cultural values, mission and vision of the organization and the objectives for which the various operations are being carried out in the organization (Gancel and Rodgers, 2002). Every individual is required to have a commitment towards the strategic vision of the merger. There is a need of combining the best skills as two organizations to enhance the shar ing of the strategic vision and avoid any cultural issues. Developing Team Learning At Pixar, it is believed that providing freedom to take decisions helps in development of teams. People are given full chance to be creative and use their ideas in order to learn from their success or failures. The cofounder of Pixar and his executives gives tremendous authority to their directors. All decision-making authority rests in the hands of teams and no single individual is considered as a decisions making authority. The rule is that the opinions and advice received from the brain trusts of directors will be used only as an advice and directors have full authority to refuse their suggestions if it does not fit their plans. However, Disney having a tight control culture, followed an approach where corporate executives micromanage by keeping tight control over budgets and entering in the departments to take final creative decisions. These two different approaches resulted in several cultural issues after the merger. Many of the key employees left the company because of Disneys dominating cultural values. Ed Catmull, the cofounder of Pixar had recently changed his vision to build the organization where everyone work in the direction of creating a magic even when the directors and cofounders are gone (Prokesh, 2008). This called for a strong transition in the culture of the organization where executives were expected to do something of themselves even when people carrying out the organization were not there. Same was expected out of Disney, and unfortunately Disneys staff lacked the spirit and failed to develop a strong learning approach towards their work. Creating a Learning Culture Traditionally, organizations used to follow a top to down bureaucratic, controlled and narrow approach to management. This approach used to limit the learning process in the organization. In case of a learning organization, new directions of growth and development can be identified and recognized that makes it possible to handle challenges and problems. In todays competitive global era, diversity and cross-cultural complexities have become the synonymous to the challenges that a business organization face while improving their operational efficiency. Disney Pixar failed to recognize the method through which an organization can turn into a learning organization (Keating, 2006). The process is being undertaken successfully at Pixar through developing relationships and recognizing the fact that talent is rare and thus its retention is essential. Ed Catmull believes that the assumptions of the organization must be constantly challenged and the search for flaws that can destroy the culture of the organization should not stop throughout the operations of the organization. However, the process could not be undertaken successfully at Disney Pixar and resulted in several cultural issues. The new company was unable to keep Pixars talent together as there were vast differences between the cultural values and working styles of the two companies (Haspeslagh, 2006). Management was not successful in creating a learning culture throughout the organization and the unionized culture of Disney may not successfully coexist with non-unionized culture of Pixar. Recommendations Disney Pixar has failed at many levels while making the merger successful. The company has taken strong steps to initiate learning in the organization but it is doubtful whether such learning will be institutionalized throughout the organization. Some recommendations to foster learning and avoid any cultural clashes are discussed as follows: A utilization of differences can be made through the use of matrix strategy. This will help in finding a perfect balance between the competencies of managers of both the companies. In addition communication plays an important role in managing cultural differences (Lodorfos, 2006). Leaders should allow open communication and integration between team members as well as between teams to ensure smooth flow of knowledge and information. This will help in people from both the organization understand each others values, beliefs and working style resulting in more respect for each others culture (Harding and Rouse, 2006). Treating the partner company members with respect is the key to the success of a merger. Additionally, formal as well as informal training should be provided to the employees of Disney in order to adjust themselves with the open and free culture of Pixar. The decision making authority should not rest in the hands of few authorities and managers must be delegated more and mo re decision making power as in case of Pixar. Furthermore, Disney and Pixar studios are kept separate in order to reduce the complications. However, it is advised to design a single studio where a combined set of values coming from the combination of the ideas of both the companies should be fostered to ensure success of the merger. This is so because keeping the two parts of the Disney-Pixar merger as separate organizations can create the conditions for separation in future. Such a separation will result in more differences on account of cultural values and style of leading to more clashes and conflicts among the individuals of two companies. Disney-Pixar should aim at developing a learning organization through efficient flow of information and knowledge throughout the organization in order to be successful in future. Conclusion From the above discussion, it can be concluded that proper management of cultural differences is one of the key factors in success of a merger. Todays business environment is characterized with an increasing number of organizations desiring to avail the advantage of globalization. Many of the companies take the route of mergers and acquisitions to achieve the objective. Many of such mergers fail due to cultural clashes among people of different organizations. Each of the merged company is required to integrate the corporate cultures of their organizations. It is the leadership style, management styles and communication lines that are necessary to be developed and managed in order to be successful in managing cross-cultural issues. It is evident that there is always a possibility of cross-cultural issues in case of a merger that cannot be avoided at any cost. However, it is possible to manage these issues through developing the organizations into a learning organization in order to fo ster knowledge sharing throughput the organization resulting a in a successful merger.

Sarah Weddington: Roe vs. Wade :: Essays Papers

Sarah Weddington: Roe vs. Wade St. Olaf College's theme for Women's History Month is "Women in Politics." The featured guest speaker was Sarah Weddington, the attorney who, in 1973, argued the winning side of Roe vs. Wade before the United States Supreme Court. This decision significantly influenced women's reproductive rights by overturning the Texas interpretation of abortion law and making abortion legal in the United States. The Roe vs. Wade decision held that a woman, with her doctor, could choose abortion in earlier months of pregnancy without restriction, and with restrictions in later months, based on the right to privacy. It invalidated all state laws limiting women's access to abortions during the first trimester of pregnancy based on the Ninth Amendment to the United States Constitution, a part of the Bill of Rights. The Court's decision in this case was that the Ninth Amendment, "the enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people," protected a person's right to privacy. The alias "Jane Roe" was used for Norma McCorvey, on whose behalf the suit was originally filed, alleging that the abortion law in Texas violated her constitutional rights and the rights of other women. The defendant was the district attorney of Dallas County, Texas, Henry B. Wade. Sarah Weddington and Linda Coffee were the plaintiff's lawyers. John Tolle, Jay Floyd and Robert Flowers were the defendant's lawyers. Those on the Supreme Court in support of the Roe vs. Wade decision were: Harry Blackmun, William J. Brennan, Chief Justice Warren Burger, William O. Douglas, Thurgood Marshall, Lewis Powell and Potter Stewart. Those in the dissent were William Rehnquist and Byron White. Although abortion has been legal for more than 30 years, the Roe vs. Wade decision is currently in jeopardy of being overturned by the Bush administration. Weddington divulged her personal fears about the decision being overturned by the court on any grounds. She stated that the damage will be long lasting and many women will suffer. Currently, there is a big effort by those opposed to abortion to give the fetus rights. Recent Bush administration regulations want to declare that a fetus is a child under the government's State Children's Health Insurance Program. This change would refute one of Weddington's arguments in Roe vs. Wade that the government has never treated the fetus as a person.

Robert Mondavi Corporation Essay -- Business Marketing, Case Study, so

1. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY†¦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‚¬ ¦..5 2. BACKGROUND OF THE CASE STUDY†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.6 3. ANALYSIS & IMPLICATIONS OF PORTER’S FIVE COMPETITIVE PRESSURES†¦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‚¬ ¦..7-17 3.1. The Potential Entry of New Competitors 3.2. Competitive Pressures from Substitutes Products 3.3. Bargaining Power of Buyers 3.4. Bargaining Power of Suppliers 3.5. The Rivalry among Competing Sellers 4. ANALYSIS OF THE STRATEGIC GROUP MAPPING†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.18-20 5. KEY SUCCESS FACTORS OF THE WINE INDUSTRY†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦21-23 5.1. World famous growing areas 5.2. Larger growing market for premium wines 5.3. Favorable demographic and macro trends 5.4. Quality and affordable prices 5.5. Product differentiation 5.6. Different wine segments 5.7. â€Å"Open markets† 6. RECOMMENDATIONS†¦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‚¬ ¦.24-27 6.1. Positive cash flows 6.2. Backward integration 6.3. Expanding to new geographic areas 6.4. Exploring new channels 6.5. Openings to extend quality and image to niche market 6.6. Further mix channels of export strategies 6.7. Clever advertising 7. CONCLUSION†¦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‚¬ ¦...28 8. LIST OF REFERENCES†¦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‚¬ ¦..†¦28 1. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY This report provides thorough analysis of the Robert Mondavi Corporation (RMC) in order to give a best solution to Michael Mondavi, the CEO of the company in terms of the problem face by the company. It begins by examining the internal and external forces that greatly affect RMC by applying Porter’s five forces of competitive pressures to investigate the status of competition of wine industry in U.S. as well as their implications. Analysis of the strategic group mapping is important in order to give a clear position of RMC’s competitor in the market follows by each company’s characteristic. Next, it is essential to analyze the key success factors of U.S. wine industry that contribute RMC in considering its future competitive strategies and changes that should be taken by the company accordingly Finally, recommendations are provided for RMC for its future expansion’s strategies. 2. BACKGROUND TO THE CASE STUDY RMC is a leading producer and marketer of table wines, located in Oakville, California. RMC markets wines worldwide un... ... 8. LIST OF REFERENCE Allick, C. and Blankfort, T. 2002, ‘The Robert Mondavi Corporation’, Instream Partners LLC, viewed on 30th Nov 04, . Burns, M., Crescenzi, D., Ghaleb, T., Gichuru, I., and Parija, B. 2001, ‘Beringer’, viewed on 10th Dec 2004, . Eyler, R.C. 1999, ‘The International Competitiveness of the California Wine Industry’, North Bay Regional Collection, viewed on 30th Nov 04, . Franson, p. 2002, ‘Wine industry drinks from bitter cup at industry conference’, Napa News Dot.Com, viewed on 1st Dec 04, < http://www.napanews.com/templates/index.cfm?template=story_full&id=549CD609-5516-4E4C-A11C-1941F07D7944>. Silverman, M. and Castaldi, R. 1999, ‘Competition in the Global Wine Industry: A U.S. Perspective, viewed on 29th Nov 04, . Silverman, M., Gilinsky, Jr., A., Guy, M. and Baack, S. 2001, ‘Robert Mondavi Corporation’, viewed on 10th Dec 2004, . Spritzer, A.A. 2002, ‘The Wine Pact: ‘New World’ Wine Change the Industry’, viewed on 1st Dec 04, < http://www.american.edu/TED/wine-pact.htm>. Thompson Jr, A.A. and Strickland III, A.J. 2003, Strategic Management: Concepts and Cases, 13th edn., McGraw-Hill Higher Education, NY.

The Right to Die, and Doctor-Assisted Suicide

The Right to Die, and Doctor-Assisted Suicide: The Mission of Late Dr. Jack Kevorkian Imagine a patient in a hospital suffering from the AIDS disease. And since his diagnosis he has suffered from two bouts of pneumonia, chronic, severe sinus and skin infections, severe seizures, and extreme fatigue. Seventy percent of his vision is already lost, and the disease has gone terminal. He has requested that his doctor prescribe him medicine that would kill him thus ending his suffering. This is exactly what Dr.Jack Kevorkian has been fighting for his entire life. To shed positive light upon the controversial subject of Physician-Assisted Suicide. A little back story on Dr. Jack Kevorkian. Kevorkian was the son of Armenian refugees who came to America to escape the Turkish genocide. His early talents ranged from hand-made woodwork, linguistics, to science experiments conducted in his basement. He then became a pathologist, devoting his life to the unusual task of showing the positives and s ocial benefits from death. He did not just take on the medical establishment and the law; throughout his life he dared to challenge a taboo as old as human civilization – the taboo against death† (Nicol, Wylie 2) Kevorkian was very outspoken and intensely committed to the causes that he believed in. He also lacked the ability to lie, so much, that its said that whenever he played poker with his friends, that he never bluffed, and if he bet everyone else folded. Kevorkian built a machine where patients, through self implanted pumps, have the ability to self-control the does of pain medication that they receive.And now the amount of doctors who quietly comply with a patient's request for a lethal does of medication is slowly rising up. Kevorkian made headlines by evading countless prosecutions, but then a case came up that no one could ignore, a case where a man so deteriorated due to his illness, that he could not operate the machine properly requiring Kevorkian to perso nally inject the lethal dose of medication himself. This man's name is Tom Youk and his case made the biggest impact on Kevorkian's life. Youk was diagnosed with ALS, a neuromuscular disorder caused by the death of the motor nerve cells that control voluntary muscle movement.Youk's condition got worse and worse, making him unable to move his arms and legs, extreme difficulty in speaking, and having no control of his jaw and tongue causing Youk to choke on his own spit. Every doctor he would visit would just prescribe him a different ineffective pain medication that would do no benefit to his condition. Youk had asked several doctors to help him commit suicide but each one would not help him with his request. Then his family contacted Kevorkian, and after very careful research on Youk's medical records, Kevorkian obliged to go through with his treatment. Kevorkian would later say, ‘He just was terrified of choking to death, and he must have felt that he was on the verge of it. And I couldn't have him suffer in that kind of frame of mind because if a man is terrified, it's up to me to dispel that terror. ‘ † (Nicol, Wylie 9) Through multiple times, Kevorkian made sure that the patient had control over their death, for example, he would hook up a sedative that would go through a patient's IV, stopping the patient's heart if that patient would push a button.Youk was different, because he did not have the ability to physically activate a switch that would release a sedative that would kill him so he requested that Kevorkian would personally give the injection himself. Kevorkian's thought on this was that he would make a statement to the public after assisting Youk, win the court case, and then hopefully this would relieve the fear doctors had in doing the things that he did. Kevorkian recorded the process on tape, read a consent form to Youk, and the next following day, upon Youk's request, injected the lethal sedative into Youk's IV.After the vid eo being released to the public huge debates both medically and legally broke out. Three days later the state of Michigan charged Kevorkian for first-degree murder. When interviewed for ABC's 60 Minutes Kevorkian was portrayed as â€Å"Dr. Death† a man who caused another man to die and did not even seemed bother by it. After several trials, Jack Kevorkian was sentenced to 25 years in a maximum-security penitentiary. His health began to fail when in prison. He broke two ribs after falling in the recreation yard.He suffered from a double hernia, suffered from high blood pressure, cardiovascular disease, arthritis, adrenal insufficiency, chronic pulmonary obstruction disease, cataracts, and Hepatitis C. He was suffering the same fate as Tom Youk only this time he had no one to relieve his suffering. By 1999 Dr. Kevorkian became the poster boy for assisted suicide. Physician-Assisted suicide was made legal in the state of Oregon, and 86 percent of the country supported physician- assisted suicide to be made legal nationwide.A lot of people do not know the difference between euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide. â€Å"If a third party performs the last act that intentionally causes a patient’s death, euthanasia has occurred†¦ On the other hand, if the person who dies performs the last act, assisted suicide has taken place. † (Hamlon, Marker) There are always two sides to every argument. One who supports a cause and another that opposes the cause. A large group of people are giving their support in trying to legalize physician-assisted suicide and euthanasia nationally.Richard Ikeda, a doctor who cares for low-income elderly patients, has stated, â€Å"When cure is no longer possible, the majority of Californians, and the majority of California physicians, want dying patients to have the right to make end-of-life choices in accord with their own values and beliefs†¦ This week [October 27, 2007] completed ten years' experience with Oregon's death with dignity laws, and all studies show end-of-life care has improved for all Oregonians. † (31) More and more physicians are trying to legalize physician-assisted suicide nationally to benefit for their suffering patients.An example of where physician-assisted suicide would benefit a patient would be Percy Bridgman. Bridgman was a Nobel-Prize winning physicist suffering from terminal cancer at the age of seventy nine. He was wracked with pain and drained of hope that he mustered up the courage to pull the trigger of a gun ending his own life forcing others to the agony of discovering his bloody and mangled body. Another example would be James Poe, who is a sixty-nine year old man suffering from emphysema which suffocates him time to time as well as heart failure due to his pulmonary disease.He must be hooked up to an oxygen tank at all times and needs to take morphine regularly to calm his anxiety due to his suffocation. He is mentally competent and has reques ted to commit suicide by taking physician-prescribed pills. There are countless more cases where patients would have benefited from physician-assisted suicide or euthanasia. Thomas A. Bowden, a legal analyst at the Ayn Rand Institute, states that individuals actually have the legal right to choose death. What lawmakers must grasp is that there is no rational basis upon which the government can properly prevent any individual from choosing to end his own life. When religious conservatives enact laws to enforce the idea that their God abhors suicide, they threaten the central principle on which America was founded on† (Bowden 36) The Declaration of Independence states that each individual person exists as an end for himself. This means that no one can interfere with this person's right to live or not and that no one may obstruct this person's sense of his own happiness.If happiness were to be blocked by a dreaded disease though, and the end result is a very slow and painful deat h, then why try to obstruct a person's decision to end their suffering? Society should not have to give anyone the permission to end his or her life, it is their choosing, their right. So a doctor willing to assist a completely mentally sane person to end his or her own life to end at heir suffering due to an illness that is untreatable and non-curable then that doctor should also have the right to do their bidding.Religious conservatives also have no legal right to force their beliefs upon a person if that person wants to end their life to end their suffering. Speaking of religion on the issue, actual ministers and religious people have begin to find loop holes in the text and started to try and prove that physician-assisted suicide was actually very moral. Alvaro Vargas Llosa, senior and director of the Center of Global Prosperity at the Independent Institute, has stated that the religious argument against euthanasia contradicts a Judeo-Christian tradition. The religious argument against euthanasia-that it violates the sanctity of life-contradicts the single most powerful premise of the Judeo-Christian tradition: that God gives every person free will. † (Llosa 69) It basically undermines the belief that the spirit outlives the body. These conservatives are putting mercy on the useless body rather than the everlasting soul that is suffering. A few other contradictions: Jews perishing at Masada rather than being enslaved or Christians martyring themselves rather than betray God by bowing to a Roman deity.The death of a terminally ill patient can lift off the pain and the suffering of not only the patient, but the patient's family as well. No more do they have to here their wails of pain or seeing them suffer before their eyes, just the simple fact that they know that their loved one is at peace can bring happiness through the whole family. By making a life and death situation, this person is making a choice to help someone left behind. And helping anothe r brings a higher value to a person's own existence. As Minister Kenneth W. Phifer put it, â€Å"To choose death sooner rather than later can be an act of high moral stature.Mere existence is not an absolute value. † (71) Religious conservatives may have their morals and their excuses as to why physician-assisted suicide and euthanasia may seem sinful within their eyes but these statements listed above has contradicted and proven that a person can still have strong religious beliefs, but still can take consider that physician-assisted suicide is still an acceptable way to relieve themselves of suffering a long awaited and painful death even from their own god's eyes. Today, death is more of an urgent issue due to an increase in medical knowledge and technology.Not all pain can be managed though. No one should have the right to force someone to face grievous pain because they think it is more moral. No one should deny anyone the right to end their own life to end their sufferi ng because it does not seem right in their eyes. â€Å"Furthermore, doctors cannot always be healers. Each of us will come to a point in life when no medical treatment will help us, save perhaps to relieve our pain. At that point, when our condition is terminal, what we need more than anything else is intelligent compassion. (Phifer 77) Sometimes what terminal patients need is not medication to ease their physical pain, but sometimes true compassion and knowing of what they are going through. Medication for the soul to soothe their emotional pain, to help them ease into death peacefully. A lot of doctors do this method called the â€Å"double effect† and religious communities support this. What the â€Å"double effect† is, is that it is a principle where doctors prescribe medication for pain even though they know that the level of medication will kill the patient. Even Pope John Paul II approves of the â€Å"double effect†. It is licit to relieve pain by narcot ics, even when the result decreased consciousness and a shortening of life. † (Pope John Paul II, The Gospel of Life). A lot of people argue that if physician-assisted suicide were to be made legal, that there would be an increase in suicides among disadvantaged individuals. Well according to the University of Utah, â€Å"legalizing physician-assisted suicide in Oregon and the Netherlands did not result in a disproportionate number of deaths among the elderly, poor, women, minorities, uninsured, minors, chronically ill, less educated or psychiatric patients. (130) The studies showed that within the ten study groups, only the group with AIDS infected people opted for the use of physician-assisted suicide. â€Å"Whereas modern medicine has brought great benefits to humanity, it cannot entirely solve the pain and distress of the dying process. Each person deals with death in their individual way. Which way is determined by their health, their ethics, and personal living conditi ons. † (Humphry) It just boils down to how the individual reacts to their condition. If a atient is in such unbearable pain and suffering that they want someone to end their life peacefully to relieve their pain, then so be it. No one should have to force their opinion as fact and not allow the patient to do so because of the doctor's or family's belief. It all depends on what that one individual wants. It is their life, let them be in control of it. With every group that is for a cause, there is always a group against the cause as well. And when it comes to euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide, things do not change.With a large support group behind these causes comes a large anti-group too. Trudy Chun and Marian Wallace are writers for Concerned Women for America, a conservative, pro-family, pro-life organization. â€Å"The very laws once deigned to protect a person's inalienable right to life now permit the elimination of those deemed unworthy to live. And in the name of compassion, doctors trained to heal and to prolong life are shortening and even snuffing it out altogether. † (Chun, Wallace 41) Doctors swore an oath to keep a patient alive as much and as long as possible no matter what.Killing a patient on purpose goes against everything a doctor stands for, everything a doctor was trained to do. This oath is called the â€Å"Hippocratic Oath† and within this oath a physician must state, â€Å"I will give no deadly medicine, even when asked. † Physicians are healers and the inability of physicians of preventing death does not mean a physician has the right to cause death. Diane Coleman, and executive director of progress Center for Independent Living, which is a nonprofit nonresidential service and advocacy center operated by and for people with disabilities.Coleman was born with a neuromuscular disability since birth, and was given a life expectancy of twelve years. When she outlived this her diagnosis and expectancy chang ed as well. Within the next few years she began to develop respiratory problems and began to use a breathing machine at night. â€Å"I had two other friends, one in her 20's and one in her 50's, who needed the same thing. But their doctors discouraged them from it, reinforcing their fears, and either didn't know or didn't disclose what the medical journals said would happen as a result.At an early age they each went into respiratory distress, and died within a month from infections. † (Coleman 190) Doctors today are pushing ways in which to end patients lives shorter rather than prolonging their life and treating their problems to the fullest. Seventy percent of Kevorkian's â€Å"terminally ill† patients are said to have not even be terminally ill in the first place, meaning that there was still a chance in saving these individuals lives and if physicians would be allowed to kill their patients on their patients will then a treatment that could actually work may never be found.Ira Byock, director and professor of palliative care at Dartmouth Medical School, states that palliative care should be considered instead of assisted suicide. â€Å"Mortality teaches us a lot about life, if we let it. One thing it teaches is that human life in inherently spiritual, whether or not a person has a religion† (Byock 227) What hospice is, is that it is an end-of-life option. It is meant to bring comfort, dignity, and calmness in dealing with a terminally ill patient.It brings a sense of compassion and respect for the dignity of each individual patient on how he or she deals and encounters death. Instead of prematurely ending another person's life instantaneously, It makes sure the patient lives life to the very last comfortably and lovingly. It gives the patient the peace of mind that he or she has been made to feel as comfortable as possible and peace of mind to their loved ones by knowing that such care is taking place. As with the pro side of physician -assisted suicide, religion plays a huge part in the anti portion. The Christian understanding of humanity insists that we are not autonomous creatures that have the right to determine when we shall live and when we shall die† (Mohler 92) Christian's believe that it is God's duty to determine when a body lives and when a body dies and that if the body were to be slain prematurely at the hand of another person intentionally then that soul would be punished. Religion is an extremely important variable when it comes to suicide since suicide is seen to be sinful. Christians believe that life has meaning.That life is not just a course, but a gift. Life is all about experiences and experiences includes good things, happiness, compassion, love, but also experiencing â€Å"the bad too† such as pain, and suffering. In all in all religion is a very important factor since most citizens in America are Christians and with the campaign to legalize euthanasia and physician-assisted su icide continues, these supporters must convince these religious conservatives in order to legalize euthanasia and physician-assisted nationally.Again, with every big controversial topic, there will always be a pro side and an anti side. Each group will have their own very good points being made. But the key idea of physician-assisted suicide would not have been made as popular as it is today without the compassionate, influential, and controversial ideas of Dr. Jack Kevorkian. His compassion for seeking out and showing the public the truth of physician-assisted suicide and the goodness it entails is enticing. The amount of court cases he had dodged and accusations he got away from is still remarkable to this day.Though he was known as â€Å"Dr. Death† as portrayed by the media, people who really knew Kevorkian knew that he was a very humble, kind, and passionate old man just trying to help the unfortunate. And even though he has since passed, there are still plenty, upon plen ty of people out there to make it their life's work to make sure that Kevorkian's vision of a nation that accepts physician-assisted suicide as a legal and moral practice to do on suffering terminal patients comes true.