Health Care Informatics - Electronic Health Records Essay

Health Care Informatics - Electronic Health Records - Essay Example Ultimately, EHRs provide protection against natural disasters as well as other dangers that may occur unexpectedly including floods, explosions, and fires since the records are usually stored in databases in multiple locations and can be accessed with ease. They allow the physicians to use their laptops, tablets and mobile phones from one room to the next or different locations while the employees who are on-call can login through secure virtual private networks and get access to information on their patients. EHRs allow the providers along with the patients to get access to information required to reduce errors and improve the satisfaction and outcomes of the patients. 2.List and explain in detail 3 advantages and 3 disadvantages of EHRs. Do not just list your answers. Advantages 1. Cost aversion Majority of the reduced costs linked to EHRs originate from efficiencies that result from having information on patients available electronically. The efficiencies include better test utili zation, reduced resources for the staff in regards to management of patients, reduced cost of supplies required for maintaining paper files as well as reduced costs of transcription and costs associated with pulling charts. Using EHRs can greatly decrease redundant usage of tests or required to send hard copies through the mail to various providers. Through ensuring information about patients is easily available, EHRs assist in the reduction of costs associated with pulling charts and the supplies required in maintaining paper charts.

Optimal Portfolio Essay Example for Free

Optimal Portfolio Essay On the continued emphasis on the knowledge transfer process and not just whether it leads to value creation but how it occurs following a merger and how it leads to value creation. In addition, it was believed there is a need to focus more on the emergent nature of value creation following an acquisition and how individuals and communities of practice factor into this process. Optimal portfolio can be characterized as resulting in a controversy between skeptical economic and enthusiastic financial research, earning of firms in the decline after consolidation. In contrast, financial researchers claim that acquiring firms do not lose and earnings do not decline in the years following integration. This performance disparity reflects the different methods and perspective of economic and financial merger and acquisition research that seems to bias the respective findings. However, continuing the controversy of whether optimal portfolio is good or bad in general is of very limited practical use. A more practical approach is to instead look at what the factors are that determine high versus low merger and acquisition performance. The same logic holds for investors who buy foreign securities or undertake direct investment abroad. They expose themselves to the risk that the value of these assets in terms of domestic currency will drop when the price of foreign exchange drops. They can protect themselves by hedging, selling the foreign currency forward. But they may have to pay an exchange risk premium to do so. There is some reason to believe that such exchange risk premiums are relatively small. Much of exchange risk is diversifiable: the domestic importer who wishes to buy foreign exchange forward will, through the intermediation of the market, find a natural partner in the foreign importer who wishes to buy domestic exchange forward. Similarly, the investor who wishes to sell foreign exchange forward will find a ready partner in the foreign investor who wishes to buy foreign exchange forward, the market-clearing equilibrium forward price at which all parties end up trading may not be far off from the expected future spot price that would prevail in the absence of uncertainty. Few investors’ holding actually reflect global capitalization weights; most portfolios have disproportionately large domestic exposure. This tendency to concentrate assts domestically referred to as home bias influences the currency hedging policy because fewer underlying assets are invested abroad. Is there an underlying economic rationale for home bias, are there rules of thumb to help determine a suitable home bias level and how does the home bias affect the currency hedging policy. Fixed income home bias affects the Sharpe ratio. It compares the expected excess return, volatility and Sharpe ratio for the global capitalization weighted portfolios with global equity investments and domestic-only fixed income holdings. Familiarize the policies, procedures and method in your organization that govern the way projects are done, it doesn’t mean that executive office give you their support means you are on your own alone, you are still working to this company and all the major decision must be approved by the higher office. Edit the charter with your boss until you both agree on its procedure and possible outcome is cleared to both of you. This project must be pursued to be able to have a systematic networking of all the data bases from the main office to its branches. A central program will be developed in the main office and will be networked in all branches; all data must correlate to the main program. Optimal Portfolio Distribution: Rather than choosing sides between economic accounting and financial stock-market performance measures and their respective biases. There are optimal portfolio had received a vast criticism. For distribution will be the favored services and the provider of the customer financing from other firm, at the same time as the second firm will be the preferred provider of their respective people only. A staffing plan, the people required in this project must need to implement the project, They must personally select the key people in your team you must be able to identify their interest and ask for their dedication to functioning efficiently and effectively on the project team. They should also agree to accept and give their assurance in reaching the team goals, because these key team members are involved in the procedures from the start till the end of the project. companies should be contracted as early as possible to assist in evaluating the issues and minimizing the dissemination of potentially damaging information among non-privileged persons. Management need to determine whether to publicly disclosed the violations a/or repay any overpayments or, if warranted, explain to the investigators why violations have not occurred. Internal control is a process affected by an entity’s board of directors, management and other personnel designed to provide reasonable assurance regarding the achievement of objectives in the following categories, reliability of financial reporting, effectiveness and efficiency of operations and compliance with applicable laws and regulations. This definition emphasis the fact that internal control is a function of the board management and other personnel within the organization, the responsibility for internal control rests squarely on management shoulders. Optimal distribution will present the charter to the executive offices as well as to the major stockholders, he will present the propose plan to them and ask for their approval. Once the proposed plan is being approved the next step is to present the project to the unit managers, this unit managers are the one responsible for the essential defining of the new process so the project manager together with his team will elucidate these unit managers, they have to convince them for they do not comprehend the knowledge owned by the lower-level staff members who are responsible in the daily activities of the company. The stakeholders are those who has vested interest in the success of the project, they also give their expectations for the better understood throughout the project procedures identified a critical stage of their sales outcome, and with the help of the propose project which will organize all the data from all branch office plus the fact of the easy access of all the requirements or data needed the company will have a better system in serving their patriot clients. With the propose project they can aim to have grow in their growth which is attainable by targeting new markets, expanding their network globally and be able to produce several new products.

Beauty in Hong Kong

Beauty in Hong Kong Introduction The definition of beauty is not something objective or immanent because people from different place, age or social class may form its own ideal of it. The ideal beauty is analogous with people’s aesthetic feeling at that respecting duration. In our modern society, human body is the one of the most important components used to determine the attractiveness or beauty of a person. But for sure, there is not a definite answer for an ideal body type due to the cultural difference and historical discrepancy among countries and places. In this essay, discussion will focus on the ideal body types for men and women in Hong Kong and how these ideal body types are shaped by mass media, technology and medicine. Besides, based on Sandra Bartky’s findings, impact of body modification on individuals will be analyzed. Ideal body type in Hong Kong As Hong Kong was ruled by Britain in the last century, it is at the cultural border between traditional Chinese and western culture. Possessing this unique perception, Hong Kong interpretation of ideal body type is a mix. Ideal body type for men Muscularity is undoubtedly one of the criteria for ideal body type for men in Hong Kong. It is usually represented by strong muscular arms, a large firm chest, a slim waist and board shoulders which are found to be alluring to female. Waist-to-chest ratio would be one of the indicator for men to train up their body. The smaller the ratio, the more muscle is concentrated on the upper part of the body and abdomen, generally considered as â€Å"V-shape†. In the eyes of most female, it is considered as a perfect body shape. At the same time, a sporty and athletic feeling will be delivered, giving others a message that this person is healthy and self-disciplined. With the masculine body, female believes the person has the ability to protect her and feels safer. Thus, men with a muscular body is so attracting in Hong Kong. Height also plays an important role on the ideal body type in Hong Kong. It is often measured by the volume height index (VHI). According to the research done by Hong Kong Polytechnic University[1], VHI alone can explain ca. 73% of the variance of male body attractiveness ratings. The optimal VHI will be at 17.6 l m^–2 and 18.0 l m^–2 for female raters and male raters, respectively. It shows that for men who are muscular, it would be better to be taller due to their large volume. One of the reasons behind is that most female would like to have a male partner taller than her, feeling that the man should be able to protect her. Ideal body type for women Influenced by the western culture, people believe that women ideal body shape should be slim. So they might regard keeping fit as a mission or a life-long goal. The thinner they are, the more attractive their body shape. The perception of beauty can be measured by waist-to-height ratio, which is an important determinant. Generally, the Ideal waist circumference = height x 0.382. Moreover, they perceive thinness as a sign of independence, strength and accomplishment, which implicated that they are fashionable. The attraction for a proportionate body also affects an appeal for erect posture. Apart from the body mass, women with large, firm and symmetrical breasts are considered as attractive as well. Some studies show that most men enjoy the sight of female breasts.[2] According to the findings from the New Zealand’s University of Wellington, men constantly spent more time looking at the breasts of female posed in front of them and showed more fascination on female’s breasts than their head. This culture has penetrated Hong Kong thoroughly, leading a proliferation of medical treatment center provided with chest implant surgery. Affected by traditional Chinese culture, men in Hong Kong consider wide hips and firm buttocks as sexually attractive body type, which indicates a better ability of fertility. Also, wide buttocks of women are a strong implication to men that she is very much capable of reproduction. On the other hand, women with wide hips are particularly more tempting to man when they are walking due to their shaking buttocks, even if the women do not meant to shake it. It can be seen that large buttocks are really important to determine the attractiveness of women in the perspective of cultural and sexual sense. Perpetuation of the concept for body type People are not born with an innate sense of what is beautiful or not. They learn some cultural and social standards through a process of socialization. These beauty standards are cultural creations. Mass media From a very young age, children start to learn what is most valuable in their culture for sex through mass media. By watching cartoons, they learn that girls should be princesses dressed in pink tiaras with a slim body, while boys should be princes who are muscular, tall and able to protect their partners with their strong arms. Being instilled these values at such an early age, it is not surprising to see that the definition for beauty has changed, focusing on the body shape of people. On top of the early inculcation, the mass media is doing a remarkable job of making people feel badly about themselves. Through advertisement in different channels, such as free-to-air TV broadcasting, radio and so on, the ideal body types for men and women are presented to the public. These advertisement bombard people with these ideal images by repeatedly brain-washing, internalizing people’s cultural values and ideals of appearance. By then, people become more dissatisfied with themselves[3]. The purpose of the mass media is to create body dissatisfaction, leading people to spend enormous amounts of money, time, and energy to fix the flaws. Besides, the print media, such as magazines, reinforces the notion of the â€Å"ideal† male and female bodies through constant barrage of slender, scantily clad women and muscular half-naked men. As people, especially youngsters, in Hong Kong give lots of reliability and credibility to many of the popular magazines. They read them every day, using them as signifiers of what is â€Å"cool† and â€Å"hot†. According to the findings from Benjie Achtenberg Macalester College[4], students mentioned in their journals that â€Å"they read the magazines and enjoy seeing the images because their favorite celebrities were featured.† It shows that print media is influential which acts as a platform to perpetuate the aforementioned ideal body types for men and women. Technology With the advancement of technology, more weight loss methods are introduced. For example, non-invasive surgery, such as CoolSculpting procedure[5] is invented to freeze away patients’ fats and reduce the number of fat cells in the treated areas. Unlike weight loss surgery this procedure is lasting longer and safer because once the fat cells are eliminated, they are gone for good. Apart from that, gastric bypass is a surgery that also helps lose weight by minimizing the stomach and small intestine. Undoubtedly, the innovation and advancement in technology can bring a safer and better experience for people to reduce weight. It will therefore attract more people to pursue a slim body shape under the improvement. These social standards are gradually implanted to people, internalizing their thoughts. Medicine Hong Kong people, as an Asian, usually have an enlarged masseter muscle, one of the chewing muscles, causing a squaring of the facial shape. To maintain an ideal V-shaped face, it is popular for people to undergo Botox injections. It shows that the more medicine is available for maintaining a perfect body shape, the more people would do so due to the easier access to modern beauty. [1] http://rspb.royalsocietypublishing.org/content/272/1560/219.short [2] http://www.stuff.co.nz/the-press/news/2845918/Men-have-an-eye-for-womens-breasts [3] http://www.jeatdisord.com/content/1/1/14 [4] https://www.macalester.edu/educationreform/actionresearch/Achtenberg.pdf [5] http://www.coolsculpting.com/the-coolsculpting-procedure/what-is-the-coolsculpting-procedure/

Impacts of Agricutlure on the Environemnt Essay -- Papers

Impacts of Agricutlure on the Environemnt The negative environmental effects of agriculture – water and air pollution, loss of habitats and biodiversity, greenhouse gas emissions, and nutrient losses – have received major attention and continue to persist. Environmental concerns arise from many agricultural activities and sources including concentrated livestock production, pesticide and chemical use, deforestation, drainage of wetlands, soil erosion from cropland, and the use of fragile lands. Damage to Soil Soil erosion from farmland threatens the productivity of agricultural fields and causes a number of problems elsewhere in the environment. An average of 10 times as much soil erodes from American agricultural fields as is replaced by natural soil formation processes. Because it takes up to 300 years for 1 inch of agricultural topsoil to form, soil that is lost is essentially irreplaceable. The consequences for long-term crop yields have not been adequately quantified. The amount of erosion varies considerably from one field to another, depending on soil type, slope of the field, drainage patterns, and crop management practices; and the effects of the erosion vary also. Areas with deep organic loams are better able to sustain erosion without loss of productivity than are areas where topsoils are shallower. Erosion affects productivity because it removes the surface soils, containing most of the organic matter, plant nutrients, and fine soil particles, which help to retain water and nutrients in the root zone where they are available to plants. The subsoils that remain tend to be less fertile, less absorbent, and less able to retain pesticides, fertilizers, and other plant nutrients. Why then is erosion allowed to ... ... of the many potential problems caused by the heavy use of chemicals in modern agriculture. This, combined with the rapid rise in the cost of fertilizers and pesticides, has led many farmers to seek ways of reducing their reliance on chemical- intensive methods of farming. A small but growing percentage of farmers are farming with no synthetic chemicals, and many others are reducing their overall chemical use. Agriculture research has begun to focus on ways of maintaining environmental quality while producing acceptable crop yields. One example is integrated pest management, aimed at controlling pests through a combination of methods that minimize undesirable ecological effects. Continuing research and education need to be conducted on farming practices that produce profitable yields while maintaining environmental quality and the long-term productivity of the land.

Drones Essay

At one point in everyone’s life they have felt that they were being watched. Now that feeling may not be just a feeling anymore. The government uses aircraft drones to video and take pictures of other countries to spy on them. Although, the government has started using these drones and other spying devices to watch the United States as well. One day, you may observe a miniature helicopter with cameras or a small plane looking upon the houses of this country’s citizens houses. There is a very good use for these drones as well, â€Å"Police departments in Texas, Florida and Minnesota have already expressed interest in the technology’s potential to detect fugitives on rooftops or to track them at night by using the robotic aircraft’s heat-seeking cameras† (Reporter). The police have already started using helicopter drones to help search for suspects and criminals. The use of drones in residential areas needs to be limited to the use of police to find c riminals that have been sited or thought to have been in that area. The fact that using these drones is helping the police find criminals is good, but spying on the innocent people of the suburbs is an invasion of privacy and unneeded. During the event that the government starts spying on residence for no reason is when these drones become misused. â€Å"FBI director Robert Mueller told congress the agency owns several drones but has not yet formed policies or guidelines on their use. Confirmation that the U.S. is using the surveillance equipment to monitor its own citizens comes after the NSA phone tracking scandal rocked trust in the government† (Jerreat). The head of the FBI has admitted using drones to spy on U.S. citizens very solemnly but after the NSA tracking citizens cell phones without any kind of permission makes it very hard for people to trust anything that the government says. Drones being used violates the fourth amendment because of search and seizure. There is also a chance that these drones could be hacked and taken over. The United States could become a Communist Country if the government continues â€Å"watching† the people of this country with these drones. The government should not be able to spy on United States citizens because these actions violate the people’s rights as individuals. The Fourth Amendment is being violated if drones start flying around watching those who haven’t done anything. Core values such as privacy and protection from the government are always within its sweep. A continuing question, though, is how the demands of its protection apply to an ever-changing  society in which new and pervasive forms of technology are increasingly common.† President Obama signed an FAA bill into law that provides for the integration of â€Å"drones,† or more properly into the nation’s airspace. This has generated legitimate concerns that UAVs could be used by the government in ways that infringe privacy rights†(Villasenor) Although there are many rules and exceptions throughout the Supreme Court’s Fourth Amendment. In short, the Fourth Amendment regulates when, where, and how the government can conduct searches and seizures. The Supreme Court held that police wiretaps of the defendant’s home telephone did not constitute a Fourth Amendment search because the police did not trespass onto a persons property to intercept his or her conversation. One of the modern Fourth Amendment tests relied upon by courts in assessing whether government monitoring constitutes a search. The Court’s thinking at the time was that if the person’s home, property, or papers were not physically invaded, then no search in the constitutional sense occurred. It considers whether the person has a subjective expectation of privacy in the area to be searched and whether s ociety is prepared to deem that expectation reasonable. The technology used by UAVs may be a decisive factor considered by courts in determining whether individuals have an expectation of privacy in the object or area of the drone search. The question, is whether drones have the potential to be significantly more invasive than traditional surveillance technologies such as manned aircraft or low-powered cameras technologies in which have been upheld in previous cases. Some have asked whether using sophisticated digitized platforms on a drone is any different from attaching the same instrument to a lamppost or another traditional aircraft. Technological developments make it increasingly easy to share and acquire personal information about others, oftentimes without their direct knowledge or consent. â€Å"As the American Civil Liberties Union explained in its December 2011 report, the machines potentially could be used to spy on American citizens. The drones’ presence in our skies threatens to eradicate existing practical limits on aerial monitoring and allow for pervasive surveillance, police fishing expeditions, and abusive use of these tools in a way that could eventually eliminate the privacy Americans have traditionally enjoyed in their movements and activities† (Franceschi-Bicchierai). Currently, many states and municipalities employ automatic license plate readers, which are  usually mounted on police vehicles or stationary objects along the streets, to take a snapshot of a license plate as a car drives by, and store this information in a large database for possible later use by law enforcement. It is alleged that these devices can be used to track a person’s movements when police aggregate the data from a multitude of ALPR stations. A majority of the reviewing federal circuit courts have held that a person has no reasonable expectation of privacy in his license plate number. However, it appears th at no federal court has addressed the constitutionality of the use of ALPRs, as opposed to plate numbers collected by a human observer. Nonetheless, the question remains whether attaching an ALP, or any similar sophisticated technology to a drone would alter the constitutionality of its use by law enforcement. Some say yes, arguing that the sophistication of drone technology in and of itself is a unique threat to privacy. Drones are smaller, can fly longer, and can be built more cheaply than traditional aircraft. some drones could theoretically stay in the air forever. Unlike a stationary license plate tracker or video camera, drones can lock on a target’s every move for days, and possibly weeks and months. This ability to closely monitor an individual’s movements with pinpoint accuracy may raise more significant constitutional concerns than some other types of surveillance technology. With this increasing presence and usage of drones, a major concern is developing. Many people consider this advancement in technology as quite controversial. Many people believe that with drone technology in the governmen t’s hand, we will begin to lose our privacy. â€Å"A report on the military’s growing arsenal of unmanned aerial vehicles indicates that approximately 31% of all US military aircraft are now drones† (Boyle). if all of these drones that the military is using were hacked then who knows what might happen. With no restrictions on drones, governments have the power to monitor its citizens invading their privacy. Without any restrictions on drone technology, it can be expected that you will no longer have any privacy. Along with these privacy concerns, there are also great areas of concern in the subject of security and drones. Drones run the risk of becoming hacked therefore making them possible security risks. In a recent talk on National Public Radio, the topic of hacking of drones was brought up. The method called â€Å"spoofing† has been used to take control of helicopter drones flying over ones head.. Spoofing  is basically matching the signal of the actual controller and then increasing the strength of your signal allowing you to gain control. â€Å"Serial hacker Samy Kamkar turned up in an Arstechnica article yesterday with a pretty interesting hack. He’s put together a system of hardware and software that can be put together to build a drone. From there, that drone finds other drones out and about in operation, hacks the drone and then controls them. It is one of the most innovative drone hacks to ever come out, and it may have many people concerned about the potential malice that could be played out with such a capability† (Casaretto). The fact that it is easy for hackers to take control of these drones and use them for themselves and even take footage from them can be a very dangerous situation. this hacker could find out where you live, who your friends are, and who your family is. The increasing presence of drone technology in today’s society is quite evident. We hear on the news quite frequently of a drone bombing or spying on someone in the war. Not only do we hear about what drones do, we experience the benefits that they provide for us. When we listen to the weather there is a possibly the information is received from an actual drone. Despite the many different types of benefits drones present, drones still present a very serious security and privacy risk. Drone use violates the fourth amendment if used to spy on civilians without actual reason. If the person has an expectation of privacy then that person should have their privacy. The United States people will lose all of their privacy in a matter of years if we allow drone research to continue. One must decide whether the privacy and security risks outweigh the benefits. Works Cited Casaretto, John. â€Å"Drones That Hack Drones.† SiliconANGLE. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 Dec. 2013. Jerreat, Jessica. â€Å"FBI Director Admits Using Domestic Drones to Spy on US Citizens and Says Agency Has No Guidelines for Their Use.† Mail Online. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 Dec. 2013. Reporter, Daily Mail. â€Å"U.S. Government to Use ‘drones the Size of GOLF BALLS to Spy on AMERICAN Citizens'† Mail Online. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 Dec. 2013 Sifton, John. â€Å"A Brief History of Drones | The Nation.† A Brief History of Drones. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Dec. 2013. Villasenor, John. â€Å"Will â€Å"Drones† Outflank the Fourth Amendment?† Web log post. Forbes. Forbes Magazine, 20 Sept. 2012. Web. 13 Dec. 20 Boyle, Ashley. â€Å"Drone Information Sources : Annotated Bibliography.† ASP RSS. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 Dec. 2013.

African American Literature Essay

Zora Neale Hurston is included in almost every discussion of the Harlem Renaissance as a major contributor to the movement. She has inspired several essay length literary works that significantly discuss her contribution to the movement itself. These essays include Mary V. Dearborn’s â€Å"Black Women Authors and the Harlem Renaissance,† Sharon Dean and Erlene Steston’s â€Å"Flower-Dust and springtime: Harlem Renaissance Women,† John Lowe’s â€Å"Hurston, Humor and the Harlem Renaissance,† and Ralph D. Story’s â€Å"Gender and Ambition: Zora Neale Hurston in the Harlem Renaissance. † (Champion 167) Hurston has also inspired many authors to create book length works speaking of her work. Those titles include Robert E. Hemenway’s Zora Neale Hurston: a Literary Biography, Lillie P. Howard’s Zora Neal Hurston, and John Low’s Jump at the Sun: Zora Neale Hurston. These various titles contain insightful studies of the author’s life and writing style, as well as some contain a comprehensive compilation of Hurston’s short stories and essays. (Champion 167) Hurston’s work was not always received well when initially published. It is believed this was because most reviewers during this time period were male. Many saw Hurston as politically conservative and became upset because she was â€Å"supported by white patrons. † (Champion 166) Her work titled Their Eyes Were Watching God received a negative review when the reviewer was quoted as saying that he believes it â€Å"posed situations irrelevant to African American Struggles. † (Champion 166) After her death, her work seemed to have been forgotten, however it once again emerged in the 1970s and 1980s when she was rediscovered and reassessed. Much of her work has been published for the first time or reprinted and scholars have began examining it from the â€Å"feminist, cultural and political† perspective. (Champion 166) Hurston died in 1960, after she spent her last few years living in poverty; she was unable to make a living from her writings during her lifetime. She had been working on a book titled The Life of Herod the Great, but it was never completed. Her death was basically unnoticed by the world and she was buried in an unmarked grave. (Dickinson) The rediscovery of her work has finally earned her a rightful place among literary greats. As many scholarly subjects, Andrew Crosland points out that it is important to remember to â€Å"place Hurston’s works in historical and cultural context to gain broader perspectives. Her works remain visible reminders of tribulations of being a black woman in a white and masculine dominated society. † (Champion 167) Works Cited Balshaw, Maria. Looking for Harlem Urban Aesthetics in African American Literature. Sterling, Va: Pluto P, 2000. Boyd, Valerie. â€Å"About Zora Neale Hurston. † The Official Zora Neale Hurston Website. 2007. . Champion, Laurie, and Emmanuel S. Nelson. American Women Writers, 1900-1945 a Bio-Bibliographical Critical Sourcebook. Westport, Conn: Greenwood P, 2000.

Britain and the EU Essay Example

Britain and the EU Essay Example Britain and the EU Essay Britain and the EU Essay Assignment 1: 1. In 1957 the EU was fashioned to elevate the living standards of its members by encouraging peace, democracy and equality for the countries that had joined the partnership. Its aims were to end war and repair the division of the European continent. It has become a unique economic and political partnership consisting of 27 European countries with around 500 million inhabitants (see figure 1 in appendix). This map shows the 27 (coloured) EU countries (Grey countries are candidates) It was not until 1973, the EU’s first enlargement, that the UK became involved on account of the then Prime Minister, Edward Heath. The UK did not join the EU from the start as it chose to stay with a rival group called the European Free Trade Area. It wasn’t until the 1950’s that it became apparent the living standards of France and Germany surpassed those of the British and their Government (under Macmillan). Additionally, French president Charles De Gaulle vetoed their first application (1963) considering the UK as inappropriate candidates – not a good asset and a liability to the union. Despite the assistance it provided other countries during the war and its eventual success, Britain suffered post-World War II with stunted economic growth, high inflation and poor industrial relations; her position in the hierarchy of the world had dropped and it was a difficult matter to cope with. The empire was falling and so was its trade. Also, the US encouraged the UK to join, due to fears of France trying to take control of Europe, in attempt to balance out the power struggle. It was Edward Heath’s opinion that due to its economic and political ills Britain would benefit from joining the EU; economically to increase trade and politically to form unity and stability for the failing empire. British membership was sealed by a referendum in its favour held in 1975. The general advantages of its membership include Free movement of goods and capital with other EU countries, without boundaries or border controls. A circuit of diverse and new goods (through international trade) and equipment, skills, services and workforce/people – more workers results in a boost in tax revenue. If more jobs are available people will be contributing in taxes rather than extracting with benefits. Ease in the exportation of goods leading to a more competitive market and reduced prices for consumers. An increase in population helps domestic demands – more products bought, more services needed. Disadvantages of joining EU UK cannot afford increase in populati on – heavy demand on schools, NHS and benefits. Influx of immigrants leads to high competition for jobs, fewer jobs for British, more people requiring benefits, impact on UK residents – squeezing funds. Tax increases to fund extra services needed. Exchange rates can influence the balance of payments negatively. Free movement of labour could weaken the economy. Loss of independence. Draining of resources. Since joining the EU the UK’s trading market has suffered a deficit. Overall trade post-1984 has been substandard. Benefits of international trade not shared equally. Outsourcing. Workers and services bought overseas for lower cost meaning UK suffers/loses trade. The balance of payments is the record and measurement of payments and transactions between one country and the rest of the world. It includes imports and exports of goods (visibles) and services (invisibles), tracks the flow and balance of finances ranging from dividends and interest to investment, loans, transfers and trade credit, and the transactions and transfer of capital. These are categorised into three accounts: current, capital and financial. The UK’s gross domestic product rose by 0. 5% in 2011, a rise following two consecutive quarters of negative GDP said to be the oot of the recession. Surplus is when the production of goods or services exceeds the consumption or when goods are in excess of their requirement. A deficit is a deficiency in amount, for example when a company, government or individual’s spending exceeds its income. Long-term deficits stack up huge debts that will have to be paid off eventually causing problems for future generations. Debts must be paid off ideally money would be earned from exportation however sometimes this is not possible and the country will have to borrow or invest to reach repayments. A good example of the result of a long-term deficit is Greece – currently have no advantage in trade of visible goods, their advantage in tourism is not enough to cover their arrears so at first money can be borrowed to make up the difference but then as the loans escalate Greece has to default on its loans knowing they can never repay the money. A rescue plan is now being debated. The largest surpluses in UK trade 2004 were with USA at ? 17. 1 billion. The largest deficit recorded was Germany at ? 12. 3 billion and France (explored later) at ? 3. 2 billion. A country’s wealth is affected by international trade, which is important because of an introduction of new resources, greater efficiency due to competition, greater choice for consumers, greater output through comparative or absolute advantage, specialisation and division of labour. An absolute advantage is when a country is superior at producing a good or service and can make equal or more goods at a lower cost or with fewer resources. Alternatively, a country may have the absolute disadvantage and be totally inefficient at producing anything in comparison to its trading partners. A comparative advantage is when a country specialises in a good or service that it is least inefficient at when compared with producing other goods or services. UK’s absolute advantage is in financial services with a 70% growth it is the UK’s biggest area of exports. International trade is necessary as a business will eventually ‘hit the ceiling’ and simply cannot expand any further in one country. The gains, and sometimes losses, distributed to trading countries are indicated by the terms of trade. It can be defined as a ratio of the country’s average price of exports to the country’s average price of imports. Ideally the price of exports would be greater than the price of its imports, this is known as movement in a ‘favourable direction’. The terms of trade depend upon the global demand and supply of goods. A fall in the price of a product exported by a country can cause a balance of payment deficit, especially when the foreign exchange earned in its exports is used to pay for its imports. Generally over the past 20 years the UK’s terms of trade have been improving, meaning export prices have risen relative to import prices. This is partly due to the fact globalisation has had less impact on export prices of UK invisibles compared to the price of its visible imports. The exchange rate, or rate one currency can be converted into another is constantly changing due to many factors including interest and inflation and the political and economic state of the country in question. A business will want payment in the currency of its country so if the value of the pound falls (meaning less euro for every pound) the UK importer will end up paying more a negative impact on the UK’s finances. The British pound to euro exchange rate on 31/12/09 was 1 GBP = 1. 2 EURO. As of 3/11/11 it stands at 1 GBP = 1. 16 Euro the increase signifies a current benefit to the UK (exchangerates. org. uk). China currently keeps its exchange rate low to have a positive effect on its balance of payments. Generally since 1990 the UK has suffered with a deficit in its balance of visible trade. The figures from The Pink Book show th at in 2004 the UK’s deficit increased to a record ? 58. 6 billion due to a rise of 1 ? % in the value of exports compared to a rise of 5 ? % in the value of imports compounded by a higher ratio of imports to exports. The whole world suffered, with a 2? % increase in exports and a 9? increase in imports in non- EU countries so although the UK had a deficit it was sheltered from extreme rises experienced outside the EU, â€Å"The deficit with non-EU countries widened from ? 22. 0 billion in 2003 to a record ? 29. 5 billion in 2004, the deficit with EU countries widened from ? 25. 8 billion in 2003 to a record ? 29. 2 billion in 2004. † The deficit on goods is far bigger than the surplus on services resulting in an overall decrease on the current trade. The fall of the value of exports in the EU was partly caused by the crackdown on MTIC fraud (businesses wrongfully buying goods VAT free) by UK Revenue and customs. Overall between 1981–2001 export volumes increased. However a decline in economic activity abroad caused the growth in exports to slow during 1991- 1993. By 2004, import volumes had risen significantly more than export volume. A 50% increase in the price of crude oil in 1999, which elevated to 70% in 2000 (The Pink Book 2005 p39) had a huge impact on the UK with both imports and exports due to its ongoing effect on the price of manufacture and distribution of goods. Until 1996 there had been a surplus in the export of crude oil. By 1998, following problems in the North Sea reducing production levels; the surplus had been reduced by ? 5. 0 billion. The figures yo-yoed for the following several years and although there was still a surplus it was significantly reduced with drops in the export of crude oil and an increase on imports. Looking at trade in goods other than oil during 1992 and 1999 there was a steady surplus but there has been a considerable deficit thereafter. In the past decade trade in motor-cars, and other consumer and intermediate goods has been in deficit even though from 1994 – 2004 import in motor- cars has risen; this is visible trade. Figure 2. 6 in the pink book illustrates that the balance of imports (visible trade) were considerably higher than exports (invisible trade), both of which are rising, imports more rapidly than exports, creating an overall growing deficit. As indicated by preceding figures it seems the EU has protected the UK. The deficit in this country has not been as bad as that outside the EU even though trade has worsened since 1984 and our deficit is due to joining the EU. The UK’s absolute disadvantage lies in travel and tourism as people go out of the UK for a holiday. The idea of having one common currency, the Euro, was to evade exchange, interest and trading tariff rates, to have shared monetary policies (including costs of goods and wage rates) and to ease trading in general. With several different currencies things were too intricate and complicated; one currency would eliminate these problems. The UK opted out of joining the euro from the beginning and although the subject is still under debate it looks unlikely that the UK will adopt the Euro. The UK would have to answer to the European Central Bank and lose any monetary control. It is the opinion of some that this would create further economic crises. Greece with its current financial issues blames the Euro and wishes to return to the drachma. 2. The EU has increased from 15 countries to 27. 17 of which have adopted the euro. Currently there are talks about further enlargement of the EU. There is no evidence that the enlargement has helped Britain however we have benefited from cheap labour and great opportunities to UK business and consumers. However this has also been a drawback to UK residents during the recession as jobs were lost as it was much cheaper to take the labour abroad. One of the benefits is foreign direct investment; an example of this is Toyota. Once the company had broken through and cracked the EU market it became the world’s most profitable and second largest manufacturer of automobiles. Examples of businesses that have successfully expanded to France include; BP, ICI, Zeneca, Glaxo-Wellcome, Barclays, RMC, Abbey National and The Woolwich. Some say the EU is ill equipped to deal with its rapid growth being unable to offer sufficient jobs subsequently giving too much away regarding healthcare and benefits. The diversity of the EU in regards to economies, cultures, languages and demographics will get too complicated and global powers will clash. The EU has been accused of being greedy, focusing on size rather than economy, allowing weak states with low GDP growth to become members. The UK has lost most of its manufacturing industry, a recent example is Bombardier who cut more than 1,400 jobs as the last train manufacturing plant in Derby failed to secure a deal which was won by Germany. The UK is not competitive in the industrial market, which is not good for the British economy. The contributions to the EU from the UK are high and some feel it is unbalanced. Conservative leader Margaret Thatcher fought to reduce inflation and increase the amount the UK received by the EU in comparison to its contributions. An enlargement could mean that more countries are going to have to be subsidised by the UK. Advantages of an enlargement lie strongly in unification of states. Being more than a redistribution of wealth, it is a politically, economically and culturally diverse union. Intended to be equal and balanced with an understanding of common good it is a strong way to fight terrorism, in addition to the increased availability of goods to trade freely. Word count: 2,243 3. The Steeple analysis (see appendix figure 2) identifies the current business environment in France. 4. My action plan (see appendix figure 3) examines ways in which a business, using the example of Marks and Spencer, needs to adapt to be successful in France. Appendix Figure 1. Member States of the EU (year of entry) [pic]Austria (1995) |[pic]Latvia (2004) | |[pic]Belgium (1952) |[pic]Lithuania (2004) | |[pic]Bulgaria (2007) |[pic]Luxembourg (1952) | |[pic]Cyprus (2004) |[pic]Malta (2004) | |[pic]Czech Republic (2004) |[pic]Netherlands (1952) | |[pic]Denmark (1973) |[pic]Poland (2004) | |[pic]Estonia (2004) |[pic]Portugal (1986) | |[pic]Finland (1995) |[pic]Romania (2007) | |[pic]France (1952) |[pic]Slovakia (2004) | |[pic]Germany (1952) |[pic]Slovenia (2004) | |[pic]Greece (1981) |[pic]S pain (1986) | |[pic]Hungary (2004) |[pic]Sweden (1995) | |[pic]Ireland (1973) |[pic]United Kingdom (1973) | |[pic]Italy (1952) | | Figure 2. Steeple analysis effecting business in France Social / Demographic |Current population at 2011 stands at 62, 448, 977 | | |20th most populous country in the world in 2003 the natural birth rate of France was responsible for almost all the population| | |growth in the EU. Exploredia. France Population (2011) [online] http://exploredia. com/france-population-2011/ [accessed 3 | | |November 2011] | | | Continuous population growth – 12. 29 births/1,000 population compared to 8. 76 deaths/1,000 population | | |64. 7% of population according to the CIA world fact book (2011) is ranged between 15-64 slightly more males than females 18. 5%| | |are aged 0 – 14 years old again more males than females. 16. % of population is 65 years old + and is the only age range that | | |has more females than males | | |Unemployment stands at 9. 814% Economy Watch Content (2010) France Economy. [online] | | | economywatch. com/world_economy/france/ [accessed 3 November 2011] | | |Employment percentages rank highest in services (71. 8%), industry (24. 3%) then agriculture (3. 8%) | | |Low migration levels 1. 6 migrants/1,000 population | | |Welcomes at least 75 million foreign tourists with Paris as the world’s number one tourist destination. | | |Etiquette and approach to business is more formal than that in the UK however it is important to be polite and welcoming, UK | | |retail staff are more standoffish than those in France. | | |French companies are committed to keeping French culture, or la Patrimoine, taking pride in the products and services they | | |produce and turning over a profit for their shareholders. | |Attitudes to work are more laid back than in the UK, they are more for living life, working only what is necessary, According | | |to the French book, Bonjour Paresse (Hello Laziness), | | |a company can fire you at anytime, you dont owe them any more than the bare minimum in terms of work and devotion. They are | | |nonchalant about time keeping and punctuality. How to understand French culture. EHow contributor. [online] | | | ehow. com/how_2085611_understand-french-attitudes-towards-work. tml#ixzz1cfGP4jjJ [accessed 3 November 2011] | | |Abides by EU standards in terms of minimum wage, qualifications, product testing | | |Language barriers- the French are very proud of their culture and language signs information etc tends to be in French. Often | | |English films and cinema is dubbed. | |Technological |France is a leading exporter in nuclear technology Encylopedia of the nations. (2008) France – Science and Technology [online]| | | nationsencyclopedia. com/Europe/France-SCIENCE-AND-TECHNOLOGY. html [accessed 3 November 2011] | | | Pioneers in the development of high speed transportation systems such as the Concorde and the TGV high speed train | | |Industry includes electronic and automobile products. | |Agriculture made up 2. 1 percent of GDP, while industries contributed 19 percent, 78. 9 percent came from the service sector. | | |(economy watch) | | |High tax subsidy rate to businesses for research and development | | |Large share of research and development expenditure on defence France – center for local development (2011) France. [online] | | | cgdev. rg/section/initiatives/_active/cdi/_country/france [accessed 3 November 2011] | | |Second most developed market for logistics outsourcing in Europe | | |Channel tunnel links UK to France which is high speed and convenient for logistical purposes. | |Economical |France economy is found to be one among the top ten economies over the world in terms of its value of Gross Domestic Product | | |at $2. 555 trillion in 2010. | | |Hosts more than 22,000 forei gn companies. | | |Paris home to a large number of multinational HQs | | |Free market economy with a tendency for state intervention (capitalism). | |Elected officials key to business in country providing funding, state aid and infrastructure to attract businesses | | |The Global Competitive Index 2009-2010 reports favourably on France’s infrastructure as third best globally | | |The Global Competitive Index 2009-2010 reports adversely on labour market flexibility | | |GDP grew by 0. 3% in 2008 and contracted by about 2. 2% in 2009 compared to 4. 8% for UK | | |GDP per capita $33, 100 (2010 est. | | |Grants for industry and services are distributed by the DIACT | | |EU funding programmes include European Social Funding which is aimed at improving social and economical unity and equality by | | |concentrating on improving less-developed areas. Its aims are to increase job availability, quality of jobs and inclusiveness | | |of the labour market. 10% of the EUs spending is used on this type of funding. The Common Agriculture Policy grants payment | | |for crops and land. Its aims are to give farmers a good standard of living and ensure quality of food and fair prices to | | |consumers. Currently 48% of the EUs budget is used on this type of funding. | | |Taxes and other revenues are 48. 8% of GDP (2010 est. ) | | |France inflation rate in 2010 was 1. 64% but declined in 2011 to 1. 61%. | | |The EU is supplied by France for 25% of the total of agricultural products In 2010 France was the 6th largest exporter and 5th| | |largest importer of manufactured goods Economy Watch Content (2010) France Trade Imports and Exports [online] | | | economywatch. om/world_economy/france/export-import. html [accessed 3 November 2011] | | |High levels of FDI types of business, rose by 22 per cent last year, making it the most successful European country at | | |attracting overseas companies. Integrated Financial Services (2011) (FDI) in France [online] | | | ifs. ie/news-articles-and-information-archive/38-fdi-in-france. html [accessed 3 November 2011] | | |The UK sterling to euro foreign exchange rate is currently (GBP/EUR) 1. 6 | |Environmental |An introduction of carbon tax to sup port environment agendas | | |High oil prices and inadequacy of domestic supply creates a current high trade deficit | | |Weather – cool winters and mild summers, hot summers more predominant on the Mediterranean coast | | |Natural hazards; flooding, avalanches, midwinter windstorms, drought, forest fires in south near the Mediterranean | | |Some forest damage from acid rain; air pollution from industrial and vehicle emissions; water pollution from urban wastes, | | |agricultural runoff | | |Low greenhouse gas emissions per capita | |Political |Nicolas Sarkozy elected on a reform agenda – tasked to free French government from its admin burden | | |Aims to increase medium-term growth rate from 2% 3% | | | Aims to achieve full employment by 2012 (with an unemployment rate of 5% at 2010 it was 9. % ongoing affects of the | | |recession) | | |For the sale of goods, or the provision of furnished lettings, a Micro-BIC (Benefices Industriels et Commerciaux) applies, | | |whereby if gross income is less than â‚ ¬81,500 a flat 71% of income is deducted leaving only 29% to be taxed. Angloinfo. (2011) | | |French Income Tax [online] http://riviera. angloinfo. com/countries/france/intax. asp [accessed 3 November 2011] | | |The government also renounced some of its reform efforts, which ultimately led to a reduction of the GDP by 0. 7% | | |France still has one of the highest tax systems in all of Europe. |Legal |Reforms in labour laws such as Sunday trading – emergency services and police and stores selling perishable goods are | | |authorized to open Sundays otherwise regarded as a day of rest, working hours extending the 35 hour week allowing employees to| | |work overtime, business tax and research and development tax credit. | |Ethical |Faith, ethnicity, sexual orientation and religion must not influence companies or institutions. | Figure 3. A business plan to be successful in France |Aims |Action |Results | |â€Å"Make what we sell† approach |This will be achieved by employing a French agent or distributor who will know and |High tourism figures would | | |understand the culture and attitudes towards retail and services. Advice regarding |mean that UK travellers would | |Have to appeal to the French |attitudes to staff and the appropriateness of self-service checkouts – may not be |feel comfortable shopping | |market – this includes French |favourable here as the French are more formal (steeple analysis). Fully serviced changing |abroad. Eventually MS would | |cuisine and fashion. Perhaps |rooms, which were not a priority originally. Stores should consider French signage and |become a worldwide-recognised | |introducing an equivalent to |labelling (steeple analysis). Taking all this into account franchising would be a route to|brand. | |the UK’s â€Å"Per Una† range, |take. | | |which fulfils

Quality Control for All

Quality Control for All Introduction/Executive summary This report involves the statistical analysis of data obtained from the previous jobs conducted by the Allrepairs staff. The performance of individual staff members is evaluated for all the jobs they undertake in terms of the time taken. In conducting this analysis, constraints such as the difficulty of the job are considered alongside the satisfaction of the customer.Advertising We will write a custom report sample on Quality Control for All-repairs Mechanics specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More The other factor put into consideration is the number of years that the individual has been in the field, and this is important in determining their level of expertise. These values are independent random variables obtained by coding the raw data obtained during the data collection stage and is shown by the table provided. This analysis is supposed to show the competence of the individual staff members, who collecti vely determine the credibility of the company. In order to come up with this analysis the hypothesis has to first be determined then tested using the available data. This data will then be evaluated using E-views software which will generate the relevant statistics to be analyzed1. Hypothesis This analysis is aimed at establishing the credibility of Allrepairs staff members in relation to their experience, job difficulty, the time taken to complete the tasks and the customer’s response. The null hypothesis states that the staff members are not equally competent while the alternative hypothesis states that they have the same level of competence. In case the null hypothesis holds, the alternative hypothesis is automatically disregarded and vice versa2. Data Analysis The first table in this analysis is a representation of the general statistics of the data objects. It indicates the mean, median, maximum, minimum, standard deviation the skewness and the kurtosis of the individual objects for the 293 observations. Table 1: descriptive statistics DIFFICULTY SATISFACTION TIME YEARS Mean 1.832765 3.225256 34.05461 8.071672 Median 2.000000 3.000000 32.00000 9.000000 Maximum 3.000000 9.000000 97.00000 12.00000 Minimum 1.000000 1.000000 6.000000 2.000000 Std. Dev. 0.604791 1.405875 15.74466 3.884239 Skewness 0.092354 2.914407 0.959621 0.752124 Kurtosis 2.589877 12.97725 4.128666 1.924974 From this data, the mean difficulty of the jobs undertaken is below the median, meaning that most jobs are relatively easy. The mean for the satisfaction indicates that most of the customers are satisfied with the job while that of the time taken to complete the tasks indicates that a larger percentage of jobs is completed within the required time frame.Advertising Looking for report on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More On the years of experience however, the statistics indic ate that most of the employees have not been with the company for long, implying a slightly high rate of labor turnover. The standard deviations likewise indicate that the value for the difficulty level is not very deviant from the mean3. This could be interpreted as the jobs have a difficulty level that is relatively similar to each other. As for the level of customer satisfaction, the standard deviation indicates that a majority of the customers approve the services offered to them. The time and number of year’s deviations, as well, indicate little deviation from the mean. To analyze the interrelationship between any two given objects, we will use the covariance matrix generated as follows. Table 2: Covariance matrix DIFFICULTY MECHANIC SATISFACTION TIME YEARS DIFFICULTY 0.364524 -0.110042 0.044497 7.288996 0.438607 MECHANIC -0.110042 1.305898 -0.102529 -1.992277 -4.083507 SATISFACTION 0.044497 -0.102529 1.969738 0.991112 0.349043 TIME 7.288996 -1.992277 0.99111 2 247.0482 6.357861 YEARS 0.438607 -4.083507 0.349043 6.357861 15.03582 The significance of this is in the determination of how the variables change in relation to each other4. The level of difficulty and the satisfaction of the customer seem to be changing in the same direction, implying a proportionate change while that between the mechanic and all the other variables do not change in the same direction. This means that the result of the repair has nothing to do with the mechanic handling the job. We can therefore conclude that the only variable that does not affect the outcome of the job hence the performance of the company is the mechanic. The covariance between the number of years in the company and the time taken to complete the tasks has a high covariance and this can be interpreted to mean that the time changes in the same direction with the years of experience5.Advertising We will write a custom report sample on Quality Control for All-repairs Mechanics specifi cally for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More The next element in this analysis is the determination of individual descriptive statistics alongside the histograms so that we can come up with a conclusion on how the individual variables affect the overall reputation of the company. First is the difficulty histogram as shown below. Diagram 1: Difficulty Histogram and statistics From this histogram, the level of difficulty for the majority of the tasks lies at the average difficulty level. The hardest jobs are the least and this implies that the employees in this company have the necessary expertise to handle the jobs at their disposal. The second diagram is that of the mechanics as shown below. Diagram 2: Mechanic Histogram and statistics Advertising Looking for report on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More From this, we can conclude that the mechanics do an approximately equal number of jobs as shown by the bars. The difference in the size of the bars is not significant, indicating a fair policy in the company when allocating jobs6. Third is the time taken shown in diagram 3 below. Diagram 3: Time Histogram and statistics The tasks take different amounts of time to complete depending on the difficulty of the job. Most of the jobs however take a time frame below the average and this is an implication of time efficiency in the company which ensures that completed work is delivered to the customer on time7. Diagram 4: Satisfaction Histogram and statistics From this diagram, we can conclude that the numbers of customers who have expressed dissatisfaction over the work done are the least. A majority of the observation indicate a high level of satisfaction, which may mean that the repairs done never recurred and they were completed on time8. Diagram 5: Year’s Histogram and statisti cs From this diagram, the period of time that the employees have been working in the organization differs greatly, with the gap between the first person and the others being the greatest. This person has however handled the highest number of jobs though by a very small margin compared to the others9. The other three seem to have been in the company for an almost equal period of time. Conclusion From these diagrams, we can conclude that going with the data provided here, the company is performing effectively and it is credible enough to be hired to carry out repairs. The success of this company can be considered to be as a result of the strong workforce, and so, the alternative hypothesis holds true, disqualifying the null hypothesis10. The employees have an almost equal level of expertise as realized throughout the analysis. The result of the covariance analysis indicates that it does not matter which employee is undertaking the task, since the result is always relatively equal, im plying an equal level of expertise among the employees. References List Anderson, TW, An Introduction to Multivariate Statistical Analysis, Willey, New York, 1998. Bowerman, BL, RT O’Connell ML Hand, Business Statistics in Practice, Mc-Grawhill, Boston, 2001. Boyle, RG, Descriptive statistics, Victoria College Press, Burwood, 1998. Bradley, T, Essential Statistics for Economics, Business and Management, John Wiley Sons, Chichester, 2007 Dixon, WJ FJ Massey, Introduction to Statistical Analysis 3d ed, McGraw Hill, New York, 1999. Doane, DP LW Seward, Essential statistics in business and Economics, McGraw-Hill Irwin, Boston, 2010. Edwards, AL, Statistical Analysis 3d ed, Rinehart and Winston, New York, 2009. Lind, DA, WG Marcal RD Mason, Statistical techniques in Business and Economics, McGraw-Hill Irvin, Princeton, 2002. McClave, JT, PG Benson T Sincich, Statistics for Business and Economics, Prentice Hall, Upper Saddle River, 2001. Wegner, T, Applied business statistics, 2nd ed, Juta, Cape town, 2007. Footnotes 1. D Doane L Seward, Essential statistics in business and Economics, McGraw-Hill Irwin, Boston, 2010, p.48 2. T Wegner, Applied business statistics, 2nd ed, Juta, Cape town, 2007, 98. 3. McClave, JT, PG Benson T Sincich, Statistics for Business and Economics, Prentice Hall, Upper Saddle River, 2001, p.62. 4. A Edwards, Statistical Analysis 3d ed, Rinehart and Winston, New York, 2009, p.85. 5. D Lind, W Marcal R Mason, Statistical techniques in Business and Economics, McGraw-Hill Irvin, Princeton, 2002, p. 122. 6. R Boyle, Descriptive statistics, Victoria College Press, Burwood, 1998, p.77. 7. T Bradley, Essential statistics for Economics, business and management, John Wiley Sons, Chichester, 2007, p. 82. 8. W Dixon FMassey, Introduction to statistical analysis 3d ed, McGraw Hill, New York, 1999, p. 54. 9. T Anderson, An introduction to multivariate statistical analysis, Willey, New York, 1998, p. 98. 10. B Bowerman, R O’Connell M Hand, Business statistics in practice, Mc-Grawhill, Boston, 2001, p. 23

Cervical Cancer (HPV Induced) Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Cervical Cancer (HPV Induced) - Research Paper Example Various types of cancers exist, depending on where cancerous tumors develop at. However, detection of all types of cancers is done though presence of visible signs and symptoms, medical imaging, and screening tests. Cervical cancer, for instance, is among the common type of cancer in women (Smith et al., 2012). Several cancer centers are currently researching on effective control measures, easy diagnostic procedures, and suitable management procedures for cervical cancer. This paper explores some aspects of cervical cancer. General Overview of Cervical Cancer Cervix is the lower portion of a woman’s uterus. Cervix connects the uterus with the vagina. Cervical cancer occurs when there is abnormal growth in the cervix cells and/or invasion by other tissues or organs. Like other cancers, cervical cancer is curable if detected and immediate and appropriate treatment is administered. As a key feature, cervical cancers slowly progress from a normal cervical tissue to cancerous tissu e changes. This slow progression is utilized by gynecologists, who detect the disease and give treatment at an early stage. Even though this early detection and administration of proper treatment has significantly lowered down prevalence of cervical cancer, a considerable portion of women still die of the disease every year. According to Smith et al. (2012), gynecologists are still challenged by invasive nature of the disease. As defined by Gadducci et al (2011), an invasive cancer means that the disease affects deeper cervix tissues and spread to other body parts. This kind of spread is defined by Walboomers et al. (1999) as metastasis. Causes of Cervical Cancer Several types of cervical cancers are caused by infection with human papillomavirus (HPV). Different strains of HPV exist and each strain has different effect in the body. Apart from causing precancerous growths in the cervix, HPV also causes various types of skin warts and other abnormal body surface and skin disorders. Be ing a cause of genital warts, HPV makes sexual contact a window through which cervical cancer is transmitted. The risk of infection is higher for women with multiple sex partners. At initial stages, HPV causes cervical lesions which slowly progress to cancer. Walboomers et al. (1999), however, observes that HPV infections, in some cases, do not lead to cancer. According to Walboomers et al. (1999), HPV causes cervical cancer if an individual is persistently infected with a particular type of HPV. Based on the claim, HPVs are classified according to cancer risks associated with each type. Three types of HPVs, thus, exist, which are high-risk, moderately-risk, and low-risk. Infection by high-risk HPVs, therefore, causes immediately cancerous tumors in epithelial cells of cervix. Cigarette smoking is another risk factor for occurrence of cervical cancer. Chemicals in a cigarette react with cervical cells causing precancerous modifications on the cells. These changes slowly progresses t o cancer. Oral contraceptives, especially pills, increase chances of development of cancer of the cervix. The risk is pronounced in women who use pills for a long period. Just like the effect of tobacco, oral contraceptives react with cervical cells forming precancerous tumors. Other risk factors include: stress and stress-related disorders, multiple pregnancies, Chlamydia infection, dietary factors, family history, and weak immunity. Signs and Symptoms Sign and symptoms

Project Management Philosophy Application Paper Essay

Project Management Philosophy Application Paper - Essay Example The purpose of the project was the redesign of a sample of the department website for the college. Teamwork was evident in the project with all the members completing their assigned duties within the time allocated and effectively providing required feedback. Having set objectives clearly defined and made known to all the members is the other principle of project management we applied for the success of the project. All the team members were made aware of the need to complete the website redesign within the allocated time and ensure the functionality of the website and satisfaction to the users of the project. Achieving quality was the main aim of the project. The other principle we used in the project was the understanding of the constraints that would limit the ability to meet the objectives and delivering the project. The constraints we identified included time, resources, and project scope, and we aimed at meeting the needs of the project within the time, resources, and scope req uired of us (Nicholas, 2004). Maximizing stakeholder return on investment is the other project management principle applied in the research and entailed the ensuring quality redesign and high satisfaction of the website users. To achieve the requirement for maximum stakeholder ROI, we took professional pictures, got in touch with the client for feedback and changes as required in agile methodology for constant client involvement, and received waiver for the use of the picture on the website. Rapid feedback from the client and the team members was also applied in the management of the project ensuring high client satisfaction and completion of the project within the allocated time Attention to the development of quality work was also evident in the redesign of the website through the use of professional photographer and ensuring the redesign was top notch as evidenced by the complete

Security Measures and How Far They Should Go Coursework

Security Measures and How Far They Should Go - Coursework Example Like so many areas of IT, security would be invincible if it were not for letting people use the systems and applications, sadly this has to happen and so systems get corrupted, hacked and generally brought to their knees. Both by users and external attacks by hackers, etc. Security has been stepped up over many years as better understanding of where problems can come from and what must be done to stop them. But, now very often the very security is itself the biggest problem as it gets in the way of productive work and can cause major problems for IT personnel trying to control users and still give them sufficient mobility to do their job well. Problems come from areas such as giving someone permissions to do a task on a mission critical application, the person goes on holiday and gives another person in the department the passwords to get into the application, that person is not well trained and promptly crashes the system on Monday morning, what then? The holidayer and substitute person will be punished then they say â€Å"oh well its impossible to get permissions for something as short as a week off, but the reports have to be done† what should managers think, it has been done for the best of motives, but the outcome is a disaster for the company security systems and for productivity. Making staff aware there can be bad outcomes is all very well, but if they find they cannot work well then human nature says find a way around the problem system or process as it’s no good. The other way will be for staff to say well we cannot do it because of the system and then productivity takes a tumble. Managers are left swearing at the whole mess, which has an apparently impossible set of outcomes.   

AMERICAN HISTORY TEXTBOOK ANALYSIS AND COMPARISONS Dissertation

AMERICAN HISTORY TEXTBOOK ANALYSIS AND COMPARISONS - Dissertation Example Particular emphasis in the course of the research study shall be based on the perspective of the Southern American dwellers and that of British perspectives regarding the African-American Civil Rights Movement (1955–1968). These perspectives shall be taken from textbooks from these two locations namely South United States of America and Britain. The researcher is therefore interested in finding answers to the following specific objectives at the end of the current research study: 1. What were the causes of the African-American Civil Rights Movement (1955–1968)? 2. What are the specific events that were recorded during the African-American Civil Rights Movement (1955–1968)? 3. Who are the major protagonists who led the African-American Civil Rights Movement (1955–1968)? 4. How do the British educational curriculums through its textbooks perceive the African-American Civil Rights Movement (1955–1968)? 5. How does the American educational curriculum th rough its textbooks perceive the African-American Civil Rights Movement (1955–1968)? 6. What were the eventual results of the African-American Civil Rights Movement (1955–1968)? 7. ... This assertion is the general hypothesis underlying the current research, which the researcher is going to compare and contrast ten different textbooks from America and Britain to draw a conclusion on the assertion. Most often than not, the kind of ideas that people from these two setting have of the African American depends on the encounter that they have personally had with them in history. The researcher’s goal for the research will therefore be accomplished if at the end of the day a conclusion is drawn on whether or not Americans and British perceive the African-American Civil Rights Movement (1955–1968) from the same perception. Significance of the Study There are major academic and practical justifications that back the importance of the current research and why it is worth undertaking. In the first place, the successful conclusion of the present research work is going to be a major tool for the establishment of historical accuracy. This said against the backdrop that different textbooks from different setting such as America and Britain seem to portray the same case from different perspectives. In some cases, such a practice tends to distort and bend some of the facts behind history. With this text analysis research, a line will be drawn between the contrasting facts to establish historical accuracy. Another importance of this research work will be to enhance personality awareness creation. This will be done from the viewpoint where the true identity of the African American will be understood through their history. Indeed, the history of the African-American Civil Rights Movement (1955–1968) establishes a lot about the identity of the African American population because it brings to bear their dreams and

Theoretical Approaches to Leadership Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Theoretical Approaches to Leadership - Essay Example Fred Fiedler developed the first contingency model for leadership, known as The Fiedler contingency model. It is suggested the model is "the most comprehensive program of research ever conducted on leadership" (Fiedler, 1967, as cited in Elkin and Inkson, 2000, p. 212). Fiedler developed this theory by studying hundreds of groups and teams', ranging from basketball teams to military unit, to examine leadership style and its effectiveness in different situations (Forsyth, 1999, p.355; Elkin and Inkson, 2000, p. 212). The theory suggested "That successful group performance relies upon the appropriate match between the leader's approach to interacting with his or her followers as well as the extent to which the circumstances gives control and authority to the leader (Robbins, 1993, 372). In other words, leadership effectiveness is contingent or dependant upon the suitability of the leader's style and the favourability of the situation (Forsyth, 1999, p. 355). In Fiedler's model, he utilized a measure called the LPC (least preferred co-worker scale) to measure between task-orientated and people- orientated leadership. People who scored high on LPC were considered 'people- orientated' whereas people who scored low on the LPC was considered 'task-orientated'. Individuals' LPC scores would determine the type of situation for which they were best suited. Furthermore, the situation was defined and measured through 3 important variables, 1. Leader-member relations 2. Task- structure 3. Leader position power

Law Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 1

Law - Assignment Example (Us legal.com) In addition, security guards have no special searching authority while police officers can obtain warrant once called. Its the responsibility of the public enforcement to provide protection to the society. They are also assigned to protect the properties within the jurisdictions of the police officers. (Steven Limbaugh) The security systems in America take its roots in England. The colonies appointed the sheriffs as having the legal authority to deputize citizens and assist them in the enforcement of common law. In 1850, the security services of Fargo and Wells were formed. It is designed to provide protection for cargo transportation on both sides of Missouri River. Contracts are security officers working for a private security company. A public security person is employed by a government agency. Private patrol officers are patrol officers that protect various client premises. Parapolice officers belong to aggressive firms engage in arrest and criminal

AMERICAN HISTORY TEXTBOOK ANALYSIS AND COMPARISONS Dissertation

AMERICAN HISTORY TEXTBOOK ANALYSIS AND COMPARISONS - Dissertation Example Particular emphasis in the course of the research study shall be based on the perspective of the Southern American dwellers and that of British perspectives regarding the African-American Civil Rights Movement (1955–1968). These perspectives shall be taken from textbooks from these two locations namely South United States of America and Britain. The researcher is therefore interested in finding answers to the following specific objectives at the end of the current research study: 1. What were the causes of the African-American Civil Rights Movement (1955–1968)? 2. What are the specific events that were recorded during the African-American Civil Rights Movement (1955–1968)? 3. Who are the major protagonists who led the African-American Civil Rights Movement (1955–1968)? 4. How do the British educational curriculums through its textbooks perceive the African-American Civil Rights Movement (1955–1968)? 5. How does the American educational curriculum th rough its textbooks perceive the African-American Civil Rights Movement (1955–1968)? 6. What were the eventual results of the African-American Civil Rights Movement (1955–1968)? 7. ... This assertion is the general hypothesis underlying the current research, which the researcher is going to compare and contrast ten different textbooks from America and Britain to draw a conclusion on the assertion. Most often than not, the kind of ideas that people from these two setting have of the African American depends on the encounter that they have personally had with them in history. The researcher’s goal for the research will therefore be accomplished if at the end of the day a conclusion is drawn on whether or not Americans and British perceive the African-American Civil Rights Movement (1955–1968) from the same perception. Significance of the Study There are major academic and practical justifications that back the importance of the current research and why it is worth undertaking. In the first place, the successful conclusion of the present research work is going to be a major tool for the establishment of historical accuracy. This said against the backdrop that different textbooks from different setting such as America and Britain seem to portray the same case from different perspectives. In some cases, such a practice tends to distort and bend some of the facts behind history. With this text analysis research, a line will be drawn between the contrasting facts to establish historical accuracy. Another importance of this research work will be to enhance personality awareness creation. This will be done from the viewpoint where the true identity of the African American will be understood through their history. Indeed, the history of the African-American Civil Rights Movement (1955–1968) establishes a lot about the identity of the African American population because it brings to bear their dreams and

Law Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 1

Law - Assignment Example (Us legal.com) In addition, security guards have no special searching authority while police officers can obtain warrant once called. Its the responsibility of the public enforcement to provide protection to the society. They are also assigned to protect the properties within the jurisdictions of the police officers. (Steven Limbaugh) The security systems in America take its roots in England. The colonies appointed the sheriffs as having the legal authority to deputize citizens and assist them in the enforcement of common law. In 1850, the security services of Fargo and Wells were formed. It is designed to provide protection for cargo transportation on both sides of Missouri River. Contracts are security officers working for a private security company. A public security person is employed by a government agency. Private patrol officers are patrol officers that protect various client premises. Parapolice officers belong to aggressive firms engage in arrest and criminal

The dramatic events and language of Romeo and Juliet Essay Example for Free

The dramatic events and language of Romeo and Juliet Essay Love and hate both occur many times during the course of the play, love and hate could be addressed as the two main focuses from the play. The play, Romeo and Juliet, is a tragedy but it still could be said that love triumphs over hate by the end of the play. The final scene of the play ends with Romeo killing himself when he finds out Juliet is dead and Juliet waking from sleep and finding Romeo dead. The two families, Montagues and Capulets, then put an end to their long reigning feud. This is when it could be said that love conquers hate, however this could also be viewed as a hollow victory, this describes that although the feud has been put to an end many lives have been lost in the process, including: Romeo, Juliet, Mercutio, Tybalt and Paris. When Juliet and Paris are found dead that is when the first signs of caring between the two feuding families start to emerge, unfortunately for the two families and the whole of Verona they realise that the feud was pointless after so many lives have been lost and even their own children having died. Between the Montagues and Capulets an ancient grudge exists, the prologue from the play tells us a summary of the events that happen within the play a pair of star-crossed lovers take their life, how long the play is is now the two hours traffic of our stage. The prologue also tells us things like where the play is set In fair Verona and how long the play will be Is now the two hours traffic of our stage. The prologue and act 1 scene 1 tells us who the feud is between, the two rival families the Capulets and the Montagues, however between the prologue and act 1 scene 1 the play still fails to tell us why the two families hate each other. In act one scene one the fight between the two Capulet servants and the Montague servants is started even by the two sides seeing each other, this demonstrates how seriously the feud is taken between the two families, not only do the masters of the Capulets and Montagues fight between each other but the feud even extends to the servants of each family. Although the fight is implied that it will start when the servants of the two families see each other it in fact begins when the servants from each family insult each other Nay, as they dare. I will bite my thumb at them, which is disgrace to them if they bear it. The main individual characters within the play act differently towards the feud and how it is dealt with. Tybalt is known as the prince of cats for his swordsmanship, Tybalts lust for fighting and victory over the Montagues fuels the feud a great deal. As it is seen when Tybalt kills Mercutio, Romeo then takes his revenge on Tybalt by killing him, this again fuels the feud. Tybalts attitude is more warlike than many other characters, he tries to start fights rather than attempting to stop them, which is more like Benvolio attempts to do. Capulet is another character who alongside Tybalt, can be seen as trying to keep the feud going until the Capulet family wins. He usually is not involved within the actual fights but tries to show his youthfulness by appearing like he would like to fight alongside the rest of his family members. He doesnt appear to actively encourage the fighting in the feud like Tybalt does, however he does seem to enjoy the fighting that occurs from the feud right up until the end of the play, after Romeo and Juliet die. Montagues character is more neutral, he wants the Montague family to win the feud however he doesnt encourage the fighting, he seems to want a peace more than a war between each family although he would like to see this peace at the hands of a Montague victory. Benvolio is seen within the play as a peacemaker, early on during the play Benvolio attempts to stop a fight between the two war waging families, although he successfully does this later on he appears to not be as successful. The Prince acts as the main peacemaker of the play Will they not hear? What ho, you men, you beasts! That quench the fire of your pernicious rage with purple fountains issuing from your veins. Later on during the play the Prince becomes more forceful at attempting to stop the feud; firstly he threatens to end the life of those who disobey his command to stop the feud whilst secondly he banishes Romeo from Verona to Mantua. The Princes attitude towards the feud can therefore be summarised by saying that he is wholeheartedly against the fighting that the feud produces and the feud itself, we can assume this from the punishments he threatens, the punishments he gives and the way in which he speaks about his negative view on the feud.

Factors That Influence The Selection Process Commerce Essay

Factors That Influence The Selection Process Commerce Essay When Herbert Chong and wife Michelle, founders of Honey Bun, purchased a small bakery in Spanish Court, New Kingston in 1982, their vision was opportunity, growth and family. 29 years later the philosophy still holds true, and is the foundation which has characterised the companys operation. This has enabled Honey Bun to develop into an immensely valued, recognized and loved Jamaican brand, known for freshly baked, premium quality products. Having outgrown a number of locations, the Chongs identified a larger manufacturing space on East Street, redirecting their focus and strategies to serving the mass market. The effort resulted in the development of a comprehensive line of packaged snacks, ranging from donuts and cupcakes to cinnamon rolls, and the brand being recognised as a Jamaican household staple. By 2005, it was clear that Honey Bun had the potential to become one of the leading brands in the market, and the Chongs were again on the move, this time to the companys present location at 26 Retirement Crescent to meet the growing demand. With a modern factory space, retro-fitted with upgraded bakery equipment and a highly specialised team, the company expanded their portfolio with the introduction of another brand, Buccaneer Jamaica. Product development was also a major focus, with Honey Bun being widely recognized as driving the trend for innovative specialty value-added products such as cheese and raisin breads. What had been a small retail bakery with a handful of staff, had evolved into a vibrant 24-hour, 7-day a week wholesale bakery, employing over 200 Jamaicans delivering the brand daily, practicing world class standards throughout its operation. Honey Buns commitment does not end on its production floor, but extends to its strong socially responsible initiatives which include investments in education through its annual School Dayz Campaign, athletic sponsorships and consistent support of the indigent and less fortunate with scheduled meal support. Today the brand is still synonymous with superior quality, superior convenience and superior value. It is widely regarded as Jamaicas number one for taste in baked snack products, as is evidenced by the company being chosen for the National Quality Awards in both 2007 and 2008. With distribution spanning key supermarkets chains, gas stations and small retail outlets locally, and select outlets in the Caribbean, North America and Europe, the company is destined for international growth having been awarded the Jamaica Exporters Association coveted Chairmans Award for Growing Exporters in 2008. Honey Bun is ultimately known in the baked goods market as a little love in every bite and recognized locally and internationally as an example of a strong, world class, brand of Jamaica. Over the last 29 years, Honey Bun has been challenged, and in every situation has risen to the occasion through tremendous growth. Introduction Selection of an individual for a given role is not an easy task. It does not only consist of the communication skills or technical expertise of an individual but a lot of many other parameters such as relevant experience, cultural fitment, personality traits of an individual, education and industry background and etc. After a certain level in an organizational hierarchy companies stop experimenting with people possessing irrelevant or unwanted skills and experiences. At that level, one cannot go and ask for, just one chance or say, if given a chance I can do it. Getting a wrong person in that level can cost an organization much more than the total salary paid to that particular individual. Hence, one must be very careful in selecting an individual and letting him or her cross organizational borders. In this article, we are trying to discuss various factors that affect the selection process. We have tried to cover as many factors as possible but we are afraid that we might not have covered all parameters. Most of the factors and parameters discussed in this article are relevant for experienced professionals and for middle and senior level positions in mid-size to large size local or multi-national and multi-cultured organizations. We have not covered domain specific and industry specific factors and to that extent this article is generic in nature and can be applied across various industries, domains and professions with little modification. Glossary of Key terms Human Resource, Business, Employment, Recruitment, Selection, Assessment. Human resource: 1. The personnel of a business or organization, esp. when regarded as a significant asset. 2. The department of a business or organization that deals with the administration, management, and training of personnel. Business: 1. a persons regular occupation, profession, or trade. 2. An activity that someone is engaged in. Employment: the act or practice of employing something for a particular purpose Recruitment: The act of getting recruits; enlisting people for the army (or for a job or a cause etc.). Selection: 1. The action or fact of carefully choosing someone or something as being the best or most suitable. 2. A number of carefully chosen things. Assessment: The evaluation or estimation of the nature, quality, or ability of someone or something: the assessment of educational needs. Factors that influence the Selection Process Relevant Experience Relevant work experience is likely the most important factor that influences the HR selection method. The relevant work experience required by an employer depends largely on the available job position and the level of skills required to carry out the duties of the position. HR personnel initially look at job candidates relevant work experience by reviewing their resumes. Applicants without relevant work experience are typically eliminated from the job-selection process. Employers desire to hire candidates with relevant experience because it saves the company time and money in training an employee. Employers also seek to reduce employee turnover by hiring qualified applicants. Do you think that you are a master of your profession and can do anything within the preview of that domain? I am sorry but you are wrong in your interpretation. Earlier in this article we mentioned about various roles that falls under the umbrella of HR profession. Let me take one example from that. XYZ which is a multi-national IT company is looking for a HR Manager (Generalist) and they are looking for someone with at least 7 years of experience in the same role of which at least 2 years of experience at the same level and within the industry of their operation. You have 12 years of experience. Three years in Recruitment, before completing your MBA. Post MBA you worked in the training and development department of ABC Company, which is a BPO, for 6 years before moving into the role of employee relations with a mid-size telecom company and you are in this role for the last 3 years. Though you have more experience than the required experience for the role, but neither do you have r elevant experience nor you belong to the same industry. Although you are a qualified HR professional but that doesnt mean you can handle every role and job that fall within the preview of this profession. Requirement of relevant experience is not only a critical requirement for HR profession but in every profession and role. There is little doubt that given a chance you might be able to handle the role of HR-Generalist but no one likes to take any risk or gamble for such a senior role. It will be wastage of time and money, both for you as well as the company. From the companys perspective, they do not like to take any risk and will only hire a person with Education Educational achievements also play a role in a companys hiring decisions. Some job positions require certain industry knowledge that is often obtained through the completion of a degree program. For example, a company desiring to hire a registered nurse will most likely require that candidates possess a nursing degree for employment consideration by the HR department. Educational achievement not only acts as a factor in making hiring decisions, but for some employers, the mode of education is also a factor. Some companies prefer to hire candidates who graduated from certain top-ranking institutions, or a company may prefer not to hire candidates who earned degrees through online-degree. In countries like India and China, education plays an important role in the selection process for all types of white and blue collar jobs. In addition to that, as one moves up in the organizational hierarchy, relevant education, type and mode of education and relevant certifications becomes critical in the selection process. Many people are of the view that although right type of education is required for any role but the type and mode of education is irrelevant. They also feel that companies are discriminating and rejecting their candidature purely for the reason that they earned their degree or diploma through distance mode of education. People also argued that those who have done their MBA through regular mode of education are less experienced or knowledgeable than their counterparts with Distance Mode of Education, who obtained their qualifications in spite of working full-time. Let us expand this argument and provide a logical explanation. In this fast paced world and cut throat competition, no company likes to take any chance or experiment with the required skills, experience level and competence. The order of preference that is followed in many companies at the time of sourcing and screening is as follows: Æ’ËÅ" Full Time MBAs from top 10 institutes in the country or top 25 institutes in the world and with good CGPA and relevant experience. Æ’ËÅ" Full Time MBAs from next 50 ranked institutes in the country but with good CGPA and slightly more experience. Æ’ËÅ" Executive MBA or Part-time MBA (evening classes or weekend classes) from top 25 institutes in the country supported by relevant experience. Æ’ËÅ" Lastly, correspondence MBA or MBA obtained by distance mode of education with good CGPA supported by relevant experience. Secondly, here I am making an attempt to clarify as to why regular (full-time) education gets more value than distance or correspondence mode of education. Obtaining relevant qualification is not about gaining knowledge. It is about grooming you for the right type of role and installing skills that are required for getting success in your profession. It is about, programs. Relocation One of the factors that influence the selection process for the human resource department is the geographical location of the job candidate. Most employees prefer to hire employees living in the local area. Employers prefer to hire local candidates because it hastens the hiring process and saves the employer money on the interviewing process and on relocation fees. Although most employers look to hire local candidates to save time and money, some employers choose to make the application process open to individuals living in other states. If local candidates fail to meet the employers qualifications for the job, HR typically seeks regional candidates next before widening the search to national and global candidates. Whenever there is an open position in any company, the company prefer to source candidates and applicants from the local market. This is done for simple reasons such as; 1. Fasten the selection process and will facilitate face-to-face interviews 2. An individual who is already settled in that particular place, city or state will not face any difficulty in joining the company 3. This saves the company a few extra costs such as excessive interview cost (getting the individual to travel to company site for interview), relocation cost and etc and thereby will minimize the cost per hire, and 4. This also defuses any anxiety or fear in an individual. On the contrary, if a company plans to source an applicant from another city in a state or country, they might need to make arrangements for the following: 1. Travel and hotel arrangements for candidates or selection panel to facilitate face-to-face interview(s); 2. Travel and hotel arrangements for selected candidate (s) to facilitate their relocation; 3. Provide them with suitable relocation cost 4. Process their work permits (if applicable) 5. Assist them in assimilating with new location and culture Hence, hiring a person from the local market surely saves the time and money of the company. But, we are in a global market where the talent market is very volatile yet competitive and hence any company that decides to compromise with skills and talent may lag in the competition. Having the right people available for the right role at a right place and time is not leisure or matter of choice but a perquisite and need to be competitive in the market not only to win the competition but to survive in the competition. Hence, these days companies are open to search for suitable talent in the global talent market. Salary Requirements The salary requirements of a job candidate influence the HR employment-selection process. Employers typically set a maximum salary for an open job position. Candidates who require a salary greater than what the employer offers are typically eliminated from the selection process. Some companies choose to negotiate the salary with attractive candidates because they desire to retain their talents and skills. HR managers also consider the present salary of a job candidate. If the candidates current or previous salary is not competitive enough, an employer may not consider the candidate for the job. Among all the factors that you may consider while accepting or rejecting an offer is the compensation and benefits package in offering. You look for a CTC package that is higher than your current package. But what increase is acceptable to you? Is it 10% or 25% or 50% or 100% or 200% or even more? Have you ever wondered that many times, in spite of having right skills and competence and having performed well in the selection process, they reject your candidature because your present salary is not competitive enough to get you the salary in offering? Although sad and shocking but this is a fact. This is applicable in those job markets where companies hire from the local talent market. However, when hiring nationals of other countries there are many other factors that plays an important role such as cost-of-living, tax structure and etc (we will discuss about those factors at another place and in a different article). Offering substantial increase over the current package or offering a package lesser than the approved salary-band disturbs the internal equity of the company and effects retention strategies of the company. Factors that influence the Recruitment Process Factors Affecting Recruitment General factors that affect recruitment in an organization: Personnel Utilization A company can avoid having to hire new employees by monitoring the skill sets of existing employees. For example, if you are opening a new sales division that focuses on a new family of products, then you may be able to utilize your current sales staff to provide the startup sales professionals the new group will need. The success of the new department will necessitate the need for recruiting outside representatives at some point in the future, but you can save on startup costs by utilizing existing personnel. Outsourcing The concept of outsourcing activities that are not a companys core competency is an internal business practice that affects recruiting. For example, an food processing company would hire an outside IT firm to install and administer the companys computer network because computers are not the food processing companys core competency. When companies outsource, that reduces the need for recruiting new employees. The human resources department will have to shift resources away from recruiting for the outsourced functions, and focus on supplying employment candidates for the companys core business units. Talent Pool A company reaches into its local community to satisfy employment recruiting needs. If the local talent pool changes, then the company may find it more difficult to recruit qualified candidates. For example, if other businesses start to leave the region, then the availability of jobs drops and qualified candidates begin looking for work in other parts of the country. The company is then faced with decisions that involve paying to relocate new employees or opening new locations to access new talent pools. Competition Companies within the same industry are competing for qualified candidates to ensure future growth. There is competition in the recruiting end of your business just as there is in selling products. You need to analyze what your competition is offering new employees, and try to develop a competitive package to lure in the talent that you need. Strategies to reduce the cost of Honey Buns Human Resource First priority Honey Bun could use to cut costs on its human resource, though it is somewhat of a new development for many managers and HR staff personnel, particularly if they had seen laying off staff as the only feasible means to cut cost on human resource would be, is reducing turnover. Turnover is very burdensome on the financial resources of any given company, and if management does not have sound knowledge of the actual cost of turnover, the organization may be in a situation where it is inescapable to reduce it. Another way Honey Bun could improve their human resource management and to cut cost on labour is to ensure that the HR manager designated for recruitment is efficiently trained and certified with the necessary experience in a similar scope of position in a similar company model. A database of CVs of prospective employees could be kept thus ensuring that the HR Manager spends a portion of his or her time on a weekly basis emailing prospective candidates from the searchable CV databases available on job boards. The searchable databases are what HR managers and job recruiters use every day. The company could also institute a referral / finders fee asking their own workers of prospective employees, in the manner as job agencies do. Another strategy they could utilize is to pay key staff 15% above market rates to their star employee this is a nominal strategy seeing that replacing them is 40-50% of their annual salary if you include agency fees possible lost days in training and the employee who has contributed heavily to the overall development of the company walking through the door, probably to the competition. The company could also Reduce Healthcare Costs. Of course, the most intuitive method of reducing healthcare costs involves shopping around for healthcare insurance. For example if they are using an old fashioned broker for years, the current provider of such services will be costly compared to a newer less expensive healthcare company. Before the company cuts down on healthcare offerings for its employees, they must first consider eliminating dental and vision plans. Then after they have right healthcare provider for the company, they can make adjustments to their plan to minimize costs. They should ask direct and concise information that will in turn pose to be beneficial to the company. Switching to a higher deductible health plan is not always the most popular plan amongst the companys employees but striking the right balance between deductible cost and premiums can save the company money while satisfying the needs of its employees without any lost on both parties; Honey Bun on whole should analyze who they are covering under their medical plans especially if the company is providing full insurance coverage for spouses and family members this might just be saving such expenses from competitors and driving a hole in the companies pockets by taking in unnecessary expenses of their own. A strategy most companies are utilizing is they are beginning to demand higher employee contributions for the coverage of their family members who can receive general medical coverage from through the company. Another strategy the company could use is to have the employee pay the full premium for their spouse who can receive coverage at their place of work; this will go a long way to reduce healthcare expenses. Health and Wellness programs are now becoming popular in various business organizations; today most medium and large size businesses with backgrounds in various sectors and employing between 50-85 workers are drifting towards this focus. Implementing the right wellness program for Honey Buns employees can increase employee health and happiness while decreasing costs on pending healthcare cost. Most employers are now seeing the evidence of the success of wellness programs improving their employees happiness and productivity in the workplace and the favorable reduction in money wasted dealing with various health related sicknesses of their staff thus health insurance costs can be documented and proven. Honey Bun can also reduce its cost on human resource by creating a healthy social atmosphere at the workplace as this strategy is shown to increase morale, camaraderie and increase the productivity of the employee. Many companies do this by hosting a number of social events where the employees come together to bask in each others company and share in various activities. Hosting competitive events such as sports competitions for employees can be a defining tool. This allows employees to get to know each other and have a deeper understanding of each others roles and responsibilities and have a deeper appreciation for each others welfare, a team building approach in the work environment, and overall a sense of loyalty for the company this will make them proud they work for a company that encourages its employees to have a friendly and collective approach to their work rather being individualistic in their work relations. This can be the key factor in determining whether an employee joins the company, stays grounded in a team oriented setting, or moving on the competitors company. Improving the hiring practices of Honey Bun through the HR department can save the company much money and time. This would involve analyzing all CVs for a particular candidate who will maximize his or her strengths for the overall development of the company, the first time around, the long-term relationship of the potential employee should be the most vital factor whether he or she is added to the staff at Honey Bun. A detailed, comprehensive job description should be drawn out to highlight the important aspects of the position, as well as all activities that will be under their auspices; add additional requirements for the post including activities not relevant to the post available in order to test the flexibility of the potential candidate . This will ensure that the potential employee is informed of all of their responsibilities before the interview is even conducted. By working strategically at creating a well defined job listing that quantifies the scope of the position it will most definitely yield candidates with higher quality, and thus ensures a job skill match as well. Offering competitive salaries will inevitably draw in higher quality human resource and thus rids the company of the unskilled talents and the pending cost of replacing such. Optimizing HR operations and company policies can reduce costs while increasing employee satisfaction. By offering flexible work schedules for its employees this will increase morale and productivity. If employees are working too many hours, their level of productivity will decrease throughout the day. Allowing them to switch up their hours and come in at different periods of the day will ensure that they are working at their optimum levels and are properly rested. They must be offered competitive salaries as well. If a salary offered is way below industry standards for the same level of responsibility, potential star employees will be lost to the competition. Honey Bun could also provide their employees incentives to boost productivity and encourage employees to take the extra step when trying to make a sale or ensuring quality in their work this will make every employee think twice before slacking off. Another way Honey Bun could cut cost on its human resource is by integrating HR Technology this will save time and money by eliminating costly mistakes and introducing automation to manual processes. It is important to find competent, up to date, and fully integrated software to implement. Implementing integrated time and attendance and employee scheduling software is low-hanging fruit in this department. Time and attendance software in particular has been shown to provide organizations with a significant return on investment (ROI). Reducing the risk of expensive litigation can save Honey Buns financial assets in the long run. The last thing the company would need in a recession type climate is to be sued by a former employee. The company should know the risks, and plan ahead to rid the company of legal pitfalls. Know all of the laws and regulations for the companys industry and following them rigorously. A number of people will jump at the opportunity to sue the company for large amounts of money. To avoid lawsuits, documentation must be a key player in determining the company is caught in a litigation trap; record its defenses, such as warnings given to an employee or the fact that guidelines were given and broken one should not cite concerns, criticisms, or introspects on any particular employee. Honey Bun could also reduce its cost on human resource by not allowing employees to work overtime. The workloads must be objectively and critically analyzed to evaluate the time that is required for tasks to be completed efficiently, identify streamlining opportunities, and improve proficiency amongst individual staff members. Honey Bun could also adhere to a economical phenom most companies are familiarizing themselves with which is the use of contingent workers (people who are hired, as needed, to perform specific tasks, but are not employed by the company) in other words contracted staff, Honey Bun could utilize this as a means cutting cost on human resource seeing that the level of income being paid to contracted staff is way below the market value and at the same time contracted workers are not open to benefits as fulltime staff members.