Job Fair Brochure Essay

We offer full time and part time quailty care. Organizational Culture Our company culture values employees who are motivated, energetic, creative, and dedicated. We will have weekly meetings to gather creative ideas to create fun learning experiences for the children. We value input that leads to growth. Employees must be trustworthy, team players, and have strong communication skills. Taya’s child development center is set up within functional and geographic structure. Our functunal structure focus on our employees working together because of their expertise to meet the childrens needs. We have a director, assisant director, lead teachers, assistant teachers, and teachers aids that work together. Our geographic structure focus on to make sure we are meeting the need of the community. We are dedicated to serve the children in our neghborhood. We are a full time service child development center. I selected functional structures because in order to run a child development center I need experience and educated teacher to work together to provide high quality child care. Employees grouped together because they have the same expertise of the same jobs, so they can easily communicate and share information with each other. They can often make decisions quickly and effectively by working together. â€Å"A functional structure also makes it easier for people to learn from one another’s experiences and improve their skills† (Jones, 2007). I also selected geographic structures because we have to make sure we are providing care for the need of the neighborhood. I think functional and geographic structures will help to build and strong business. I would have a Sole proprietorship child development center. I will operate a daycare center business in my name. I will be the only owner and I will hirer qualified teachers to help me run my child development center. My company is dedicated to serve the children and parents need in our community. We will meet the needs of each child indiviually. We will cater to infants, toddlers, and perschoolers in our community. We will help nuture and guide the children through social emotional, sensory and congnitive skills. We will provide fun learning experience for each age group of children. We will offer full time and part time care to meet the needs of our families in the community. We will offer music, yoga, and spanish enrichment learning classes. My business will help the children and parents in the community. I have selected organizational culture for my company values and norms that influence how people and groups behave and interact with one another. I want to create a happy and fun enivornment for my staff , parents, and children. My company culture values employees who are motivated, energtic, creative, and dedicated. We will have weekly team meetings to gather creative ideas to create fun learning experiences for the children. We value input that leads to growth. Employees must be trustworthy, team players, and have strong communication skills. The values I want my company to develop are excellence, stability, predictability, profitability, economy, creativeness, morality, and usefulness. â€Å"Company norms specify or prescribe the kinds of shared beliefs, attitudes, and behaviors that a firm’s members should hold and follow. Norms are informal but powerful rules about how employees should conduct themselves if they want to be accepted and successful† (Jones, 2007). Organizational culture will allow my staff interact with one another and create a fun learning experience for the children and each other. It will also allow us to work in a fun loving environment. References Jones, G. R. 2007). Introduction to business: How companies create value for people. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill/Irwin. CERTIFICATE OF ORIGINALITY I  certify that  the attached  paper is my original work. I am familiar with, and acknowledge my responsibilities which are part of, the University of Phoenix Student Code of Academic Integrity . I affirm that any section of the paper which has been submitted previously is attributed and cited as such, and that this paper has not been submitted by anyone else. I have identified the sources of all information whether quoted verbatim or paraphrased, all images, and all quotations with citations and reference listings. Along with citations and reference listings, I have used quotation marks to identify quotations of fewer than 40 words and have used block indentation for quotations of 40 or more words. Nothing in this assignment violates copyright, trademark, or other intellectual property laws. I further agree that my name typed  on the line below is intended to have, and shall have, the same validity as my handwritten signature. Student’s  signature (name typed here is equivalent to a signature): Shawntaya Lewis

John Locke on Tacit and Unintended Consent Essay

In his Second Treatise on Law and Government, John Locke outlines clear and coherent standards for what constitutes a legitimate government and what persons one such government would have authority over. Both are determined by citizens’ acts of consenting to relinquish to the government part of their natural authority over their own conduct. Unfortunately, the situation becomes much less clear once we consider how his standards would apply to the political situation existing in the real world today. If we continue to subscribe to Locke’s account without altering its standards, we would see a precipitous drop in the number of people whose interests existing governments are responsible for serving. In this paper I will show that with certain changes and clarifications to Locke’s standards, the responsibilities of existing governments need not be allowed to shrink so drastically. This creates a tradeoff, however. Changing the standards to apply more closely to actual functioning governments has the consequence of making it more difficult to determine the legitimacy of those governments. Some of the clarity of Locke’s theoretical model is lost in translating it to apply to actual instances of government. A cornerstone of Locke’s political philosophy is the idea that a government holds power legitimately only through the consent of the governed. A civil society consents to grant a particular government rule over it, and each person chooses on an individual basis to become a member of a particular civil society (II, 117). As giving such consent has far-reaching consequences over a person’s life, Locke provides further explanation of what â€Å"consent† entails in this context. Only one way exists to become a member of a civil society: express consent. From Locke’s account this would have to be a fairly formal business, which the individual enters â€Å"by positive Engagement, and express Promise and Compact† (II, 122). Locke’s original wording is important because it seems to imply that unless a person actually makes a public agreement to submit to government law in return for protection of person, liberty, and property, she has not expressly consented. He makes it clear that there are no alternatives to this official process if one is to become part of a civil society, (II, 122). Even if one is not considered part of a particular civil society, she must submit to its authority to the extent of her involvement in that society. Someone who owns land within the territory occupied by a civil society is obligated to obey the law of whatever body has ruling authority in that territory as it applies to ownership and use of property. Someone merely travelling on a public road through a country will have less contact with the civil society of that area and so fewer laws of that society will have application to her behavior. Still, those laws that do cover what activities she carries out have binding force on her (II, 120-121). These people incur the obligation to submit to local authority because that authority is protecting them, perhaps by preventing the citizens of the area from acting in ways that would harm other people including the outsider. For the outsider to be free of those restraints and take advantage of the area’s citizens would be unjust; therefore she is obligated to comply with the legal restraints observed by citizens the area. In neither of these cases would the person in question be considered a member of the civil society whose laws she is obeying unless she expressly consented to join that society in addition to her tacit consent to follow its laws. An immediate criticism of Locke’s account thus far is that in practice, hardly anyone expressly gives consent to join any civil society. Even in most real-world cases where a person does announce submission to a particular government, the declaration would not meet Locke’s conditions of consent that would give legitimacy to the rule of government over that person. Oaths such as the U. S. Pledge of Allegiance are usually only indications that the speaker is prepared to obey directives from the government of a particular state. Consent in the strict sense would have to make explicit what the person is consenting to. Someone joining a civil society under Locke’s conception would need to spell out that she is giving up the right to make and enforce her own judgments to the government of that society, in return for that government’s protection of her interests. Even promises of blind obedience are far from universally practiced, and in most countries are the practice of reciting such pledges is confined to schools and youth groups as a form of education rather than contractual agreement. (The idea that most civil societies do not consider young people mature enough to consent to become members is discussed later in this paper). Explicit contractual consent is far rarer than these questionably binding declarations. If most people fail to give explicit consent to trade away some of their natural rights, under Locke’s terms they have not joined any civil society, and so should not be counted as the citizens of any state or the subjects of any government. This has profound significance because of the relation between civil society and government. The agreement of a civil society is the force and justification behind its government’s authority (II, 149); in return for the mandate that grants it power, the government exists to protect the interests of that particular group of people. Anyone not the member of a particular civil society has no legitimate voice in the form or operation of the government that society creates, and she has no right to expect that government to protect her interests. This does not mean that the government will not take any actions that are to her benefit; the laws of that nation which prevent its citizens from killing and robbing may also prevent them from killing or robbing her. When the government enacts laws, however, it need only do so with the interests of its constituency in mind, and has no obligation to create laws conducive to the interests of an outsider. Any benefits the outsider enjoys as a result of the laws of a particular country are purely coincidental to those laws’ intent. Someone who is not a member of any civil society at all will accordingly have no power over any government, and her interests will deserve the consideration of no government. Since the vast majority of people have not given express consent to join a particular society, the majority of humanity has no right to expect its interests to be served or protected by any of the governments existing on earth. Everyone, however, is required to submit to the control of one government or another depending of where they live, since basically every part of the earth inhabited by humans is under the dominion of one state or another. Rule is solely in the hands of those few people who have actually signed some kind of formal social contract, and needs only to consider their interests. Any government with which no living person has made a formal consent agreement rules illegitimately. The fact that Locke’s model leads to an implication that most of humanity is neither the legitimate authors nor the deserving beneficiaries of government does not prove the model is logically flawed. However, the very great majority of people consider themselves members of a civil society, and are considered as such by other people and, most importantly, by governments. However real governments define their constituency, few if any set express consent as the standard. Enslavement of the tacitly consenting masses by the expressly contracted few thus fails to provide an accurate theoretical model of governmental institutions in the real world. Locke himself describes of the formation of government as an action taken by and for the â€Å"community† (II, 149); this wording suggests that he would have disagreed with the idea that citizenship by express consent leading to dictatorship by a de facto minority is, in practice, the most typical form of legitimate government. It is possible that those without citizenship (the majority of people under our present definition) actually benefit by not being contractually bound to any particular civil society. As long as someone who is not an official citizen resides within the territory of an existing government which fulfills the duties expected of government (II, 131), its laws discourage both citizens of the civil society and other â€Å"outsiders† from threatening her life, liberty, and property. Thus someone could enjoy much of the security that membership in a civil society would provide simply by living in a well-governed area without joining in civil society. In PHI 309 lecture, Prof. Sreenivasan pointed out a possible advantage that such a living arrangement could provide for the unaffiliated: in cases where it was in one’s best interests to abandon a country beset by war, pestilence, or economic or other disaster, noncitizens could jump ship without that act being considered an injustice. Those who had by express consent tied themselves to the civil society might well be obligated to remain with the community, and would not have the option of fleeing the war or hardship. Yet in most of the world, nomadic living is considered the exception, not the rule. Citizens of the world’s various nations must be considering factors not included in Locke’s account. One of the most significant of these is a convention that has introduced a new kind of consent enabling people to become citizens of particular states. Most civil societies have found it desirable to designate officially who is a member of that society, i. e. a member of that state. As a government’s power depends on its constituency, government function is expedited by the government’s having accurate knowledge of the extent of its power base, that is to say the extent of its citizenry. At the same time, concern for its own integrity and distrust of outsiders drives a civil society to delineate who is and is not a member. These and perhaps other factors have led to the creation of conventions (usually expressed as laws passed by governments) by which a person is declared to be a member of a particular civil society (i. e. citizen of a country) regardless of whether or not that person has actually expressed consent to what such membership entails. The most typical example is a law declaring that anyone born in the territory of a particular nation is a citizen of that nation. When still a juvenile, that person of course has not actively consented to anything, and so is usually considered not complete member of civil society; although part of a community, the juvenile generally lacks certain rights and powers given to full members of the society. Upon reaching the age when she can make her own decisions, laws indicate what society the person is considered a member of in the absence of active consent by that person. The person continues to hold that default membership until she makes an active decision to join another civil society. The conventional reflection of this active decision is generally a naturalization process by which someone can become a citizen of a country she did not belong to by default. By going through the naturalization process, a person is understood to consent to the tradeoff which would make her a member of that civil society. It could be objected that being considered the member of a civil society by default is another matter entirely from consenting to join that society and willingly relinquish one’s rights. Where is the consent in this instance? This question is less troubling before the person has come of age, because most would agree that a juvenile generally lacks the judgment to be signing any kind of binding social contract. But can a government legitimately assert that a person has consented to cede her rights to it simply because she has not actively protested? This question could be answered affirmatively. A person can choose not to consent to membership in her default civil society, or give up her membership in a civil society she already belongs to, by joining another civil society through a more active process such as naturalization. This means that if she does not take such an action, she is accepting the convention that interprets her inaction as an expression of consent to join the civil society she was assigned to by default. By systematizing and codifying standards for consent, then, states in actual practice ensure that the great majority of people are not lone agents. One might still question how conscious most people are that they are held to be making this sort of contract, even in the most open societies. A case can be made that essentially, they are aware. No one is unaware of what society she belongs to. Each person is effectively the member of whatever civil society exerts control over her, usually through its government. As soon as that person is conscious of the control being exerted over her, she is made unmistakably aware of what her citizenship is. With the realization of what government she is under comes the option to change her membership. The final and most damaging criticism of the consent model is the question of what happens when a person does not have the option to move to a new territory and join a new civil society. This may occur because of a person’s own lack of means to carry out or simple ignorance of the options ostensibly available to her. It may also be the result of oppression by the government, preventing citizens of the country from leaving. Any of these conditions can force a person to remain an official member of a particular civil society. However, the standard of â€Å"conventionalized explicit consent† introduced above is only able to maintain that most people consent to join a civil society because it assumes those people have options besides their initial citizenship. If people are not being given other options, the model is still not logically flawed. Rather, it suggests a situation similar to that originally introduced as the consequence of applying Locke’s model to the real world: the people in such situations are not really part of the civil society that created the government to whose control they are forced to submit. As such, they retain undiminished the right to join another civil society through a new social contract. If they do so, they may create a new government to follow instead of the one they currently submit to by tacit consent. Of course, there is no guarantee that the government ruling them in the status quo will allow them to replace its control. If it retains control over them by force, Locke’s model would still hold them to be tacitly consenting to its authority by â€Å"enjoyment† of its dominion. This counterintuitive conclusion is avoided by the model requiring choice for real consent. If we follow that paradigm, we come to the conclusion that the government is ruling without any consent from the governed in those cases. According to Locke, such government is mere enslavement and so is illegitimate. To say that a government is wholly illegitimate if it hold power over even one person without her consent is clearly excessive; probably no government could ever achieve legitimacy under that criterion. However, we can say that a government is legitimate to the extent that its citizens are aware of other options and consider membership in their current civil society with its ruling government preferable to those options. The problem with such a standard is that it depends on what is thought by the citizens of a country, and to ascertain a person’s mentality is difficult. The most reliable test is to provide citizens with realistic options and observe whether they remain with the status quo or seek a change in their situation. That change may involve leaving their current civil society, or it may mean seeking to change the structure or behavior of that society’s government. The country’s citizens can be said to consent to the government ruling them to the extent that they posses the power to change their situation, but still maintain the status quo. Thus, the legitimacy of a government can be measured by the effective options available to its citizens. If we had held to Locke’s standards for consent to membership in a civil society and submission to government rule, we would have concluded that most people in the world are tacitly consenting to the rule of governments created by very small groups of explicit signers of social contracts. This would lead to a bizarre picture of the political landscape very much at odds with intuition and with modern reality. By changing standards for consent to mean compliance with official requirements for citizenship when other options are available, we are able to account for those who consider themselves and are considered members of a civil society without having given explicit consent, while at the same time freeing those not given a choice from the appearance of having given consent. A government is then legitimate to the extent that its citizens have given consent according to these standards. It is one of those rare examples where laws have made the situation clearer. Sources: Locke, John. Second Treatise. From Two Treatises of Government, Laslett, Peter, ed. New York: Cambridge University Press, 1988.

Pategonia’s Expansion Strategy Essay

1. Patagonia’s Current Strategy: Key Processes and Customer Perception In the context of our business model our number one key process is our Rules and Norms (a complete breakdown of Patagonia’s current business model and a to-be-proposed business model are available for review in Exhibit I). This ethos that started with the founding of Chouinard Equipment continued through the creation of Lost Arrow and indeed Patagonia. Our self-proclaimed â€Å"dirtbag† culture has resulted in some unorthodox business practices over the years. We pride ourselves on our efforts to reduce the social and environmental impact of the lifetime of the goods and services we produce. This is something that our competitors recognize but do not focus efforts on; for us it is of the utmost importance. I took this liberty to draft a Customer Value Proposition (CVP) for our current model: â€Å"We provide high quality, durable outdoor athletic clothing and accessories that are produced with a high standard for environmental and social impact. We make the products that we want to use.† To extrapolate on the latter portion of our CVP, we expect our employees to not only share in the environmental and social consciousness that Mr Chouinard has weaved into the culture of Patagonia but we expect employees to be users of our products as well. This gives us an incredible insight into the functionality and durability of our products. This is exemplified in our generous sabbaticals and midday surfing breaks at our corporate headquarters. Additional insight in this regard is provided by our investment in brand ambassadors, who also provide us with the core of our visual marketing in our catalogs, our website, and social media. In order of volume we move our products through three main channels: wholesale, retail, catalog/internet. In order of profitability the channels are arranged as such retail, catalog/internet[1], and wholesale. There is an additional product repair arm of Patagonia’s structure that at the moment is not profitable. Our commitment to the ethical fiber that binds the core of what Patagonia as a brand stands for results in a product that comes at a premium price, however we believe that the money you spend on Patagonia products is a contribution to our commitment for care when it comes to the environments and social spheres within which we operate. So far we have seen success as shown below. 2. Financial Review of Current Business Model The competition analysis in Exhibit III outlines our industries averages for financial health. It would seem that our â€Å"dirtbag† approach to business has boded well for us over the last ten years. While our total market share (annual sales) is far below the industry average over all the company is making money. Our gross profit margin is over 6% higher than the industry average and our pre-tax profit margin is right in line with the industry average. While Patagonia’s ROE and ROA are below the industry average it is not my much and our debt to equity ratio is far below the industry average. So while we holds more equity and assets on hand than our competitors we has enough liquid cash flow to finance operations without having to incur much debt. Our 12 month revenue growth is trending along with the industry however our 12 month net growth income is nearly 13% higher than our competitors. Thus while we are experiencing growth that is on par with the industry we are experiencing a downward turn in our operating and/or material costs. It should be noted that the information here is of companies who compete in our industry but not exclusively. Columbia is the competitor that competes most directly with our niche in the industry and on every account except for debt/equity our numbers are favorable and even in the case of debt/equity the difference is negligible. The standards for philanthropy and an ethical purview for production and material sourcing at Patagonia are much higher than the industry average. We donate 1% of gross sales to environmental initiatives and causes, and our COGS are higher than competitors as a result of our ethical stance. However, once again (as shown in Lost Arrow: Financials, Exhibit III) we have been operating in the black for the last decade. This may also be explained by our company ethic. We focus on a curbing of consumption and that focus has limited how much we are willing to spend on advertizing. Conversely our competition holds advertisement as a high priority when establishing sales and brand. This observation is not trivial and could more than account for the balance between our costs and those of our competitors. 3. Moving Forward As discussed the current model for Patagonia works. You can be a â€Å"dirtbag† and make make money. The question is how do we continue on with the goal of 10% growth per year for the next five years? Whatever we choose we must operate within that moral fiber that helped us to achieve who we are today. Following are two suggestions for how to move forward, one uses our current business model, the other proposes a change. Please reference Exhibit I for business model analysis and Exhibit II for strategy. Strategy: Current Business Model Tactic One: A Focus on Retail – Our best margins are derived from retail sales however this accounts for just one third of our sales volume. The best type of marketing asset we have are our retail employees. Our Dirtbag Ambassadors are out there skiing, snowboarding, climbing, camping, bouldering, and living the life that Patagonia wants to be an integral part of. We must expand our retail channel and focus on those areas where dirtbags convene. A quick review of the 26 stores in the United States can be found in Exhibit V. Portland, Seattle, St. Paul, Chicago, Atlanta, DC. Sure dirtbags live in cities but where are our stores in Telluride, Tahoe, Bend, Cheyenne, or Buffalo? An expansion of our retail stream increases profitability as well as the reach of our marketing, the Patagonia way. These are the places our competitors don’t wants stores for lack of traffic, but our stores are more than commerce they are community centers for dirtbags. Tactic Two: Research and Development – Our industry ethic has produced one of the best research and development laboratories in the industry. We can leverage this in two ways. First and foremost we must fund research to produce material with the ethical and physical integrity that also helps lower our gross margins. We have pioneered ethical durable material in the industry, now we must find a way to do so cheaper. Doing so would open up the market for those dirtbags who dont have as much money and would normally go to a competitor based on price point. Second we hold patents for these materials we could offer to sell material to other outdoor companies, or begin a joint venture. In either of these cases we must make sure that the material we produced is being utilized in an end product that is up to the standards of Patagonia. Strategy Two: A New Business Model There comes a time in a business’ life when you have to ask: While what we are doing has worked, how long will it work? To achieve the goal of 10% growth per year we may have to think outside of our wheelhouse and think about how committed we are to our ethical and social standards. As long as we continue to produce more clothing people will buy it. As it stands our customer base has expendable income. How can we convince them to only buy what we need? Through an expansion of our clothing repair services and clothing swap market. A case is made for the business model change in Exhibit I. Tactic One: Expansion of Repair and Retail – It is not our goal to abandon what has made Patagonia the company it is today, thus once again we will need to expand retail stores however we do so in a way that will facilitate clothing repair. Each store should have a mending workshop staffed and equipped to repair what comes their way. To really take advantage of this service we must willing to mend non-Patagonia clothing. This will do two things: it will reduce the overall number of unnecessary purchases in our market and it will introduce people to the Patagonia lifestyle through our retail store. These store can also facilitate a recycling program for those articles of gear that are beyond repair. Something as simple as an in store credit can get people who would otherwise go to Nike experience Patagonia C&A. Additionally the expanded retail presence will be an opportunity to create a network for clothing swaps Tactic Two: Expansion of Internal Repair – Expand the repair infrastructure behind retail presence. That is to say, as opposed to expanding retail and having repair work centers in-store, invest in larger repair facilities that stores can send garments to. In our current business model we are reaching critical mass with regard to how much clothing repair we can handle. If we strategically place lager facilities near our exiting stores we can handle this work load our selves. This also ensures that the materials and process of clothing repair is within the ethical conduct of our company without having to do audits of our outsourced partners. The clothing repair infrastructure for our market is basically nonexistent at this point and with research and development focused on this new business model we can create and dominate this market. This will once again involve repairing more than just Patagonia products but in the end that’s what this business model is about. To survive and grow into the next decade we must not just reduce the consumption of our customer base but we must reduce the consumption of our competitors as well. When a dirtbag holds on to a coat for another year he helps reduce Patagonia’s impact on the earth and its inhabitants. When Patagonia repairs a Columbia or North Face coat and it lasts for another year we have slowed the consumption of unethically produced clothes and possibly created another dirtbag. Exhibit I: Four Components of Business Model Framework (Johnson, Christensen, Kagerman) Customer value proposition (CVP): Current: Providing high quality durable outdoor athletic clothing and accessories (C&A) produced with a high standard for environmental and social impact. Proposed: In addition to production, engage the consumer in the environmental and social impact of their outdoor athletic C&A by involving them in the maintenance/repair/swap of C&A. Profit formula: Revenue model: Current: Standard industry mark up on goods sold. Proposed: Lower the price of goods sold and charge a small fee for repairs or continue with current price structure charge cost for repairs of Patagonia clothing/accessories, charge premium repair rates for non-Patagonia clothing and accessory repair. Cost structure: Current: COGS = 80% materials 20% parts with a wholesale margin of 45% and a retail margin of 65% Proposed: A modified cost structure that emphasizes retail sales and profits off of repairs Margin model: Current: Largest channel of sales in wholesale 44%, second retail 33%, and finally Catalog/internet 23% Proposed: Shift focus from wholesale to retail/catalog/internet sales, add additional emphasis on repair cost structure for maximum profitability Resource velocity: Current: In general keeping inventory exhausts resources, something which Patagonia wants to minimize. Thus production should match as close to demand as possible. Assets should be available, although they do not need to be incredibly liquid. Proposed: Same as current model. Key resources. Current: People: There is a certain type of person who works for Patagonia. Ideally a person who works at Patagonia is the ideal consumer of their goods. Brand: With a strong brand associated with high environmental and social standards combined with a strong dislike of standard advertising channels for the industry the reputation Patagonia’s brand has gained is remarkable (this is achieved through the people they employ as well). Technology: Their ethical commitment to responsible sourcing and production has resulted in some profitable patents of great C&A material. Proposed: The current Key Resources should not be lost but the Technology will shift to the new business model – a focus on materials , threads, and substances for repair. Additionally there would be a re-purposing of Facilities to reflect this model change as well. Key processes. Current: Rules and Norms: Patagonia’s Rules and Norms inform every aspect of their business and it is no different when it comes to their Key Processes. So while manufacturing, service, and training are all important, it all comes down to the Rules and Norms. Propsed: This would not change. When a new business model is needed. 1. The opportunity to address through disruptive innovation the needs of large groups of potential customers who are shut out of a market entirely because existing solutions are too expensive or complicated for them. The product repair market is just this. As it stands now such jackets tend to be luxury purchases as they hobbies they are designed for are not generally cheap ones to keep. 2. The opportunity to capitalize on a brand new technology by wrapping a new business model around it or the opportunity to leverage a tested technology by bringing it to a whole new market Patagonia isn’t capitalizing on a new technology when it comes to C&A per se but the market could motivate their R&D department to develop a technology that could be incorporated into the repair model. 3. The opportunity to bring a job-to-be done focus where one does not yet exist The expansion of clothing repair for Patagonia and other non-Patagonia C&A provides a real opportunity for an existing market that consumers may not know they need. It creates a job to be done (clothing repair as opposed to replacement). 4. The need to fend off low-end disrupters. Patagonia would be a low end disrupter in the repair market; repair is cheaper than replacement. 5. The need to respond to a shifting basis of competition. Patagonia would be shifting the basis of competition.

The Career Opportunities in Various Fields and the Rise of Wealthy Essay

The Career Opportunities in Various Fields and the Rise of Wealthy Businessmen - Essay Example Getting a dream job is one of the many dreams of any undergraduate student. It is for such aspirations that people often pursue studies as undergraduate students in order to realize such dreams. However, pursuing undergraduate studies alone does not merit one to be qualified to chase their dream jobs. It is important for such students to understand the challenges one may expect in such careers. In our case, we shall be analyzing the challenges that affect modern careers and how their impact on our dream job. Additionally, we shall take a brief look in the dynamics of a managerial career in the twenty-first century and try to understand how they too can impact on our career choices. There is a tremendous change in management over the past several years. These dynamics have been brought about by changes in our work environment. In the past, managers had a daunting task or controlling their enterprises due to their complex nature and shrewd leadership styles. In most cases, the managers were the actual owners of the businesses he managed. However, a lot has changed in the 21st century. Managers now have to deal with a completely different work environment unlike before. To begin with, they need to undergo a rigorous training and recruitment exercise so as to determine if they are up to the task before-hand. Additionally, the burden of managers has been reduced through the introduction of assistants and other team leaders. These individuals work under the overall manager and report to him directly. Another important aspect to consider is the advancement of technology.

Censorship of Books in Schools and Public Libraries Research Paper

Censorship of Books in Schools and Public Libraries - Research Paper Example Examples of such cases are: Martin v. City of Trutherss of 1943. The decision made in Minarcini V. Strongsville City School District of 1976 affirmed the case of the battle of human right. There had been recommendation by teachers to their students on the usage of† Catch 22 and God Bless you† in the students discussion of great American literature. The school board however ordered for the removal of such books. This did not spare â€Å"Cat’s Cradle† either. The court ruled in favour of students to buy the books suggested by the teachers citing that success of the students would be hindered by the removal of such books. This ruling was used by Judge Albert Coffin in1980 in making his ruling on a case filled banning the use of â€Å"The Wonderers and Dog Day Afternoon† from being used in the school library (Kim Stewart, 24). In the same year of 1980, the court ruled in favour of the school board of Warsaw Community School giving them a right of removing several books from the library. The right of the board in designing curriculum based on the school’s discretion was also upheld. The school was given powers to instil tradition and norms in the school by controlling the information resources in the school library. In 1982, the Supreme Court gave the school board powers to remove certain books from the library in good faith or based on educational principles. The basis of such censorship was to be justifiable. Court cases are but just an introduction to censorship of public libraries. Current Society In the recent times, censorship has been based on the terrorist content. With the increase in terrorists attacks in Africa and the western... This essay makes a conclusion that according to the list of the possible business strategies presented in this case study; it appears that there is need for careful censorship of both public and school libraries to ensure safety of children from materials that they cannot understand. Children should be accorded right to information access. There is need for school board and the community to work together in streamlining intellectual freedom, book banning and creation of policies that govern censorship of school and public libraries. This report approves that some school boards remove books they feel are unsuitable to the readers from the book orders. This has led to outcry among the students as well as the public. In many cases it has been viewed as a denial of the library users their fundamental human right. This however does not take place in America alone but notably across the entire globe. Banning of books in school and public libraries is a major concern of the entire society. Parents sent their children to school to gain information in the form of education. In the event students are barred from accessing this vital service, it is seen as a way of denying them their right to information access contained in the freedom of press. On the other hand there is need for ensuring the safety of the children. The safety should not only be physical in nature but also social, emotional and intellectual. There are some times when this right to information could be curtailed in a bid to ensure the emotional and safety of the child.

Auto-ethnography Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Auto-ethnography - Essay Example This was the exact description of my childhood days. No limits to govern me and no color to choose from all the children were my friends and I really boasted to have them. Going back home from school one afternoon, my friend and I were waiting for the usual train at the station. When the train arrived and we were rushing to get in one young man shouted at my friend, ‘hey, negro get in fast’. At the moment that did not click in my mind that it was a racial attack and as I tried to calm my really offended friend I embarked to know what was wrong with it. My friend is black and this was the first outright racial abuse that I had seen directed at her. As the days progressed I learnt much about racial discrimination and the selection by race that is so much engrossed in our society. I had been brought up from a background that had no racial bias and when I joined college I found that some students really discriminated others and even went ahead to choose their friends from the filtered group of friends from the ‘favored race’. This is why I decided I had to start a campaign against racism. Race should not be a factor to measure so meone’s ability or determine her strengths. Today I am glad for the step I took some years back to sensitize my friends against racism. We have a group of multiracial students and we are doing great in the field. Our first step is to fight individualism. Tocqueville defines individualism as ‘calm and considered feeling which disposes each citizen to isolate himself from the mass of his fellows and withdraw into the circle of family and friends, with this little society formed to his task; he gladly leaves the greater society to look after itself’ (39). With this understanding we have to take the initiative and impact change on the society as it is solely our mandate to ensure that

Social responsibilities of multinational corporations Essay

Social responsibilities of multinational corporations - Essay Example Over the years, MNCs have been criticized for various reasons despite their many advantages. It is believed that they pay less regard to human rights and the environment. Criticisms also include the fact that MNCs have resulted in huge conglomerates in different countries, which overall reduces competition and violates the concept of free market economy. They are believed to raise money in the host countries of the MNC and then ship the profits back to that country, but at the same time using the other country’s labor, resources, cultures etc. In short, MNCs are believed to exploit human beings from all over the world apart from the host country. However MNCs also have certain advantages both for the host and the home country. The standard of living of the countries will increase regardless because investment and employment increase and people have greater purchasing power parity. The host country usually gets free flow of information and technology through this institution as well as expertise which may not be available in their own country. Domestic business also gets greater competition and business due to functioning of MNCs. Those who support MNCs believe it doesn’t reduce competitiveness but actually increases it, due to the breaking of local monopolies. Host country can also reduce their imports and export the goods produced by MNCs to improve their balance of payment accounts. Lastly, home countries can also benefit from the cultural diversity in the formation of MNCs worldwide. Under the topic of MNCs, there has been a great deal of debate among professionals about the social responsibilities of an MNC in operating globally. Some believe that MNCs have limited responsibility, usually depending on the laws of the host country. Others believe that they have the duty to fulfill the negative rights of human beings, and some believe that MNCs have a duty to fulfill both positive and negative rights of individuals. MNCs have always assumed to b e self-interested organizations, with the only aim to make profit and pay no regard to the people of developing economies or the environment. They seem to take on social responsibility, only if need be, and because recent studies show that ethical practices and social justice leads to profits in the long run. They seem to follow the principle-agent assumptions and MNCs are the agent because they seem to have no moral obligations to carry out honest behavior for socially responsible outcomes. Also, they seem to exploit host nations and their people because it is easier to do so; in developed countries there are several laws and institutions are tighter thus protecting people and firms from harm, however developing economies don’t have such laws so companies operating in them need to be even more socially responsible for the outcomes. Certain conditions prevail in a developing economy that makes MNCs more accountable with regards to social responsibility: Cultural practices in developing countries may allow for practices which violate human rights basic or advanced, and in accordance with gender, or politics etc. Most of these cultural practices have been eliminated in advanced countries but seem to be a problem in developing countries. The legal framework in developing economies may not insulate the country and its people from harm which is why MNCs have to be responsible. Corruption reigns supreme, therefore even in places where a

Microwave and Photonics Systems Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Microwave and Photonics Systems - Essay Example This results in significantly reduced complexity of the Remote Antenna Unit, as the major portion of the processing is avoided, at least at the regional unit level and only optoelectronic conversion and amplification of the converted signal is necessary. 2) Estimate a difference in roundtrip time for data transmission between Tokyo and San Francisco (distance: 8270 km) as for the following two communication methods; radio-wave (wireless) communication using a geostationary satellite, and fiber-optic communication. Assume that a refractive index for the air is 1, and that of the optical fiber is 1.5. Distance between the earth and the satellite is 38,800 km. Impedance matching in a circuit comprised of linear devices is defined as the process of making the output impedance of the source equal to the input impedance of the load, in order to maximize the power transfer from source to load and thereby minimize reflections from the load end. This results in increased efficiency. In the context of radio and fiber optics systems, where the wavelength of the transmitted signal is very much less in comparison to the length of the line, ie, where the changes in the signal are rapid compared to the time of propagation, the impedances at each end of the line must be matched to the characteristic impedance of the transmission line to prevent reflections of the signal at the ends of the line. Otherwise, echoes may occur and cause the formation of standing waves in the transmission line. In radio-frequency (RF) systems, a common type of RF load used is a quarter-wave ground plane antenna using a modified ground plane or a matching network. 4) Explain one example of representative antennas which are used in our radio wave(wireless) systems such as cellular phones, wireless LANs, etc, with respect to its type and operation. Ans) Consider a microstrip antenna as an example. A microstrip antenna gains its name from the fact that it is structurally a simple metallic strip of desired shape suspended over a ground plane. The strip may be flush mounted onto a dielectric or other surface. The feed line is placed behind the ground plane (Prasad 809). They are simple to fabricate and easy to modify and customize. The microstrip patch antenna is the most common type of microstrip antenna. It is a narrowband, wide-beam antenna with an inherent ability to have polarization diversity. These antennas can easily be designed to have Vertical, Horizontal, Right Hand Circular or Left Hand

MONOPOLIES AND CARTELS Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

MONOPOLIES AND CARTELS - Research Paper Example The effect of this to all industry players and stakeholders is that competition has arisen and become very keen. Today, it takes only a company with improved strategic plan and implantation policy to survive and succeed as a first force In the midst of competition, the only way to survive and be successful is to follow a set od economic principles that makes you stand out among your competitors. In this regard, it could be seen that the companies that have succeeded in the airline industry since the deregulation of the industry have devised the creation of competitive advantages over their competitors to succeed. Indeed through the creation of competitive advantage, successful companies have critically studies and researched into the weaknesses of their competitors and built on those weaknesses to create major strengths for themselves (quote). This way, they successful companies offer to customers and clients, services that the customers and clients look for in the conduct of their daily business that have been missing. Consequently, they become the preferred choice because they are what the customers desire to patronize. A typical example can be given using the customer satisfaction as a competitive advantage. Mos t successful companies have come to realize that running an airline is not just about offering cheap prices for services and products but making customers feel comfortable and satisfactorily treated. To this end, they embark on a strategic customer satisfaction principle to ensure that they become the preferred options for customers who want satisfied services. Clearly, companies that been struggling have refused to employ basic principles of research and development, commonly referred to as R&D. With a highly competitive industry that is virtually free of all forms of monopoly today, it would take only an intensive research and development policy by failing companies to

Healthy people 2020 -p r i m a r y prevention Essay

Healthy people 2020 -p r i m a r y prevention - Essay Example Therefore, vaccination is quite necessary primary prevention objective. The main aim of primary prevention is to keep people safe from disease or further injury. It is an initial level of healthcare that mainly maintains normal, healthy state of the population. Therefore, vaccination against infectious disease responds all criteria of primary prevention. (WHO, 2013) The World Health Organization (WHO) observed that the amount of deaths from chronic diseases is growing every year. Their assumption showed that percent of death caused by hypertension, cancer, cardiovascular diseases and diabetes would change to 17% from 35 million to 41 million by 2015. However, this data can be differ in the developed countries where primary prevention programs implicated. WHO developed Innovative Care for Chronic Condition Framework (ICCC) to widen information about these diseases among a population, to provide appropriate control to decrease prevalence of such chronic diseases and to promote healthy a way of life. Therefore, all primary prevention programs, mentioned before, help to prevent and control the occurrence of infectious and chronic diseases and to improve general quality of life and healthy state of the population. (Community Preventive Services Task Force,

Do conflicts management styles Affect group decision making Annotated Bibliography

Do conflicts management styles Affect group decision making - Annotated Bibliography Example Conflict management style has been studied in this article while looking at three approaches; integrative, avoidance, distributive; focusing on conflict management rather than resolution because there is no ideal solution to a conflict, but the ability of the conflicting parties to work through their issues. (Tim Kuhn, 2000) Group conflict management is an all inclusive process as it does not stifle the group members’ diverse perspectives, allowing for a range of alternatives that are possible outcomes of the process. These possible outcomes are looked into while assessing the quality of decisions with an emphasis on the performance and subjective outcomes of the decision making process. A decision’s functional theory is guided by group interaction leading to critical thinking thereby directly shaping the final choice of the group. (Tim Kuhn, 2000) The article while analyzing the integrative, avoidance and distributive approaches, favors the integrative approach hypothesizing that the group using the integrative approach will have the highest level of effectiveness in their decision making process as opposed to the other two because it encapsulates several perspectives therefore fostering positive, subjective and objective outcomes. (Tim Kuhn, 2000) The article examines task complexity vis a vis decision making capabilities while using a study method that incorporates both qualitative and quantitative procedures. The study design employs direct observation of established groups over a period of time. The study uses data from videotaped meetings of the group because of the sheer size and extent of the study. Out of the 47 episodes of data collected, 45 were on video tape and 2 on audio tape. The subjects seem self conscious at first owing to the presence of the video cameras but warm up to the idea of having them around and consequently relaxed. (Tim Kuhn, 2000) Group conflict management style was identified by observing how

Gender Equality Essay Example for Free

Gender Equality Essay Paying more attention to the differences between boys and girls, or men and women, starts getting people to have many ideas about them. The question remains whether we should ignore them or not. I don’t blame the family in the rural Canada for making the girl feel like she’s nothing more than just a girl, because simply these people there could be ignorant. There is a difference of course between men and women, but not that one is inferior to the other, rather as equal but distinct beings. Right before writing my opinion about boys and girls, I asked my dad whether he though there was a difference, and that maybe a girl is a girl because of influence and experience. He told me how he used to take my sister and me to Toys‘r’Us when we were small. He would bring us to what he thought were the cool toys such as mechanical gadgets and how we wouldn’t even look at them and directly walk off like zombies to the Barbie section. This explains how maybe it is in our genes, which bring off a kind of barrier, a difference between a boy, and a girl. Now maybe feminists take it a little to the extreme about female rights, but isn’t that because people (mostly men) have taken the difference between boys and girls to an extent where they forget about equality and what woman are really capable of doing? I still believe that there are many ways of stereotyping men and women these days, even as distinct as they were in the rural Canada in the selection. It is possible, but I believe the more educated we are, the less we will care about whether we are a man or a woman. In some countries, it is the communities’ traditions which still give to men more rights and privileges than to women. This is mostly because people in those areas are not yet socially evolved to the Western level. For example, in Saudi Arabia woman wont dare revolt or express their ideas of what’s really unfair or unethical to them or not. We need to stop buying into the myth about gender equality. It isnt a reality yet. Today, women make up half of the U.S. workforce, but the average working woman earns only 77 percent of what the average working man makes. But unless women and men both say this is unacceptable, things will not change. Men have to demand that their wives, daughters, mothers and sisters earn more—commensurate with their qualifications and not their gender. Equality will be achieved when men and women are granted equal pay and equal respect. Humanity requires both men and women, and we are equally important and need one another. So why are we viewed as less than equal? These old attitudes are drilled into us from the very beginning. We have to teach our boys the rules of equality and respect, so that as they grow up, gender equality becomes a natural way of life. And we have to teach our girls that they can reach as high as humanly possible. We have a lot of work to do, but we can get there if we work together. Women are more than 50 percent of the population and more than 50 percent of the voters. We must demand that we all receive 100 percent of the opportunities.

Gender Representation in Advertisements

Gender Representation in Advertisements GENDER REPRESENTATION IN COMMERCIALS Imagine a commercial where a half naked man is bringing a beer bottle to a woman while pouring it all  over himself; Imagine a commercial where a loving husband cooks dinner while his wife is watching the  television on the sofa. Just imagine. Something does not seem right? That is because society is used to  certain types of commercials; ones where women are playing the domestic role and men are strong,  needed people. In this essay I will be explaining how different genders are being represented in the TV  advertisements and why ‘life’ from commercials is not something to look up to. Throughout the essay  these points will be shown by ‘taking apart’ commercials that have been on our TVs and we did not even  pay attention to the details and signs that were in front of us the whole time. Firstly, I would like to start from children’s commercials because the roles that young girls and boys are  playing are very similar to the ones that men and women have in other commercials. In one of the  Fisher-price.com[i] ads for a doll house, we can see two girls playing with some of the dolls and they are  already placing the ‘dad’ at the table sitting down while the ‘mom’ cooks and prepares everything,  whilst taking care of the ‘babies’. On the other hand, in a Tonka toy[ii] commercial we can see two boys  playing with the Tonka toys and they are being portrayed as very simple, not intelligent people as their  vocabulary is limited to ‘’This tool rules!’’ and ‘’Yea’’. In both of these commercials we can clearly see  that our children are being thought from a very young age who has which role in the family and this  society. Girls are there to serve the guys and guys are there to give a hand to the helpless girls. Secondly, we can look at commercials where the main characters are played by teenage girls and guys.   In Bissell commercial[iii] for a vacuum cleaner, we can see a family where the mom and her daughter are  very excited about cleaning and the boy in the family offers to get the vacuum for them, but the girl tells  him that there is no need because the vacuum cleaner is not even heavy. Cleaning is being shown as  something fun and easy, and by this society pushes girls into domesticity from young age. When we take  a look at teen males, Axe ad[iv], some people would say that it is just a funny commercial, but others could  be very offended by it. There is a need for the sexual desire of the audience, female and male, since  women are wearing very revealing clothing and are being shown as sexual objects and are willing to do  anything for the attention and acceptance of men. The guy in the commercial is also being shown as just  some kind of a sexual object because he is half naked and women are all over him- stereotypes of  masculinity. And finally, let’s take a look at how adult females and males are being represented in commercials. In  Dyson Vacuum cleaner[v] ad firstly we see a woman in a bikini posing for a photo in some kind of a photo  shoot. The photographer is a man, and the staff that brings drinks to the employees are girls. In the next  moment we see that a vacuum cleaner is connected to the models back and when the guy who is   holding the vacuum cleaner turns it off, the model becomes overweight and much more curvy. She does  not look upset by this fact at all, moreover she is totally fine with it and even walks of the set smiling. This commercial is very downgrading towards women and is very hard to look at and laugh from a  women’s perspective. For the male adults, I have chosen the Milwaukees BEST LIGHT[vi] commercials  because all of them are sending the same message. Men who are showing affection towards their  partners do not deserve to live is the most simple way of putting what this commercial has to show. If  there is any sign of caring and loving side in a man, they are not masculine; all men need to behave in a  tough guy manor, and if not they get mocked and put down. All of these commercials show us how society has accepted certain roles in life as normal, where women  are portrayed as subordinate to men. This can be connected to Marxism, where the proletariat role have  women and men are the bourgeoisie. Gramsci explains that the process by which a power relationship is  accepted, consented to and seen as natural or as ‘common sense’ exists- Hegemony. It is ‘normal’ that a  woman is cleaning, washing, taking care of children, cooking and serving her partner. It is ‘normal’ that a  man is working, bringing the money to the house, fixing things, waiting for everything to come to him,  not caring. Commercials are a part of the media and a lot of people blame the media for everything that the society  is doing and thinking. Levin and Kilbourne claim that heavy exposure to media alters the viewers  perception of social reality in a way that matches the media world, and they are not the only ones. A lot  of very influential people share their opinion, like Germaine Greer, an Australian theorist and academic,  who believes that the media upholds an ideal image of beauty in its representation-an image that the  women are made to be desperate to conform to. The emphasis on beauty/’sexiness’ and women in the  media has meant that women now believe that if they do not conform to this-if they are not beautiful-  they are not successful and are useless. Not only women are the ones who are trying to fit into this  picture that has been imposed on us, according to the research done by academics a lot of men feel the  same way. There is a lot of focus on mus cled and very fit male bodies and it is causing men the same  anxiety and personal insecurity that women have felt for decades. At first I did approach this topic from a feminist side, but simply because it was quite obvious that men  are the one in control and the women were represented as passive objects of the male gaze (Mulvey  1975). University of North Texas professor Steve Craig said that women tend to be represented as  rewards for men who choose the right product; these commercials are narratives of playful escapades  away from home and family. Later on, as I was going through even more material, such as Kraft dressing[vii] and Diet Coke[viii]  commercials, I realized that a number of ads have represented men as objects for the female gaze.  Women viewers are not passive but active and engage critically with these kinds of media texts by   selecting texts that have meaning for them. Even though we do blame the media for these impositions,  Gammon and Marshment stress the importance of the audience’s role in the construction of meaning in  media texts and emphasis the range of interpretations that any text offers. Although these days there are a lot of commercials that are representing men and women differently,  one type of commercial has never been made with a female as the customer and the men as the ‘bait’-  beer commercials. For this reason I have decided to concentrate on beer commercials and how they  affect women and men everywhere. According to Susan Bordo, an academic, men in beer ads are always  being portrayed as virile, slim, muscular and powerful, whilst the women are eager for male  companionship, weak, vulnerable. Men and beer have gone together for ages. Beer is crafted by men in  factories owned by men, sold to men, and consumed by men. I have done a research in order to see if my suspicions are indeed correct. After gathering the results of  my survey, I have found out that a 100% of females asked knew what beer is and have tried it before,  80% of them liked it and would have it again and 48% of them said that beer is their number one drink  when choosing to drink alcohol. When talking about just the United States, according to Dr, Bart Watson  women account for 25% of total consumption by volume, and 37% of craft-beer consumption in the  United States. Meg Gill has said: ‘’It has gotten better the last few years, but sometimes you hear ‘let me pour you  something sweet, honey.’ Women, just like men, love hops. And women can detect bitterness much  better than men.’’ Women were also the first to turn brewing into a lucrative industry, taking beer out  of their kitchens and selling it for a profit around town. In medieval Europe, women known as alewives  skirted the discriminatory rules against female ownership of land and business by opening ale houses.   So why aren’t there any beer commercials where the women are drinking beer and the men are bringing  it to them? Factory-dominated brewing has gone on for so long it seems that society has completely  forgotten that beer was once the domain of women. A lot of people assume that women are trying beer  just because their husband or boyfriend offered them once, when in reality women have been drinking  beer for a longer time than they have been with their husbands. Gender inequality leads to economic  disadvantage for women, gendered violence, exclusion from the higher echelons of power but also from  enjoying good beer. Arbitrary and anachronistic feminine stereotypes are internalized essentially by  women- Naomi McAuliffe. If any of the companies do choose to try and sell the beer to the female part of society, they need to be  very careful since they are not just telling us what beer we are supposed to be drinking, they are also  letting us know what they think about us, collectively, and as individuals. According to Beer Genie the  reason that women don’t drink as much beer as men is a combination of misconceptions, myopic macho  marketing, a lack of knowledge and information and the way it is served. It has nothing to do with the  taste, and that is why I think that the commercials are to blame for women being ‘afraid’ to try beer or  even ask for one in a bar/pub. In order to try and change the view of beer, I have decided to make a beer commercial where the roles  will be changed. The woman is going to be the one drinking the beer, and the man is going to be the one  handing it to her. I am hoping that by doing this, I will be able to show how by just reversing the ‘normal’  roles, men and women can be seen in a different light. If we want to provide males and females with a wide range of possible roles, we need to make sure that  they are being thought from the young age that they are free to explore all the roles. There is a lot of  room for improvement when it comes to gender representation in commercials. [i] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NHy8zMPOa2Q [ii] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EHlmGRhj7vM [iii] Look at the attachment [iv] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V6rAQHa1gmc [v] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t_3oIy5jAG0 [vi] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xGItoKaX0BM [vii] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uH1dEWhutm8 [viii] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ff-jBpca7Cw BIBLIOGRAPHY: http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2012/aug/14/pint-beer-woman-right Accessed: 22/5/15 http://www.acrwebsite.org/search/view-conference-proceedings.aspx?Id=7225 Accessed: 22/5/15 http://firstwefeast.com/drink/how-craft-beer-fails-its-female-fan-base/ Accessed: 25/5/15 http://www.tested.com/food/460240-women-are-taking-back-beer/ Accessed: 20/5/15 http://www.beerwestmag.com/the-magazine/feature-have-you-really-come-a-long-way-baby/ Accessed: 22/5/15 http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2012/aug/14/pint-beer-woman-right Accessed: 20/5/15 All of these sources are very reliable and up to date. Some of them have been written in more than two years ago, but have been updated fairly recently.

Change of Shift Report in Nursing

Change of Shift Report in Nursing Change in Practice Assignment: Shift Report Elizabeth Campins Nurses communicate information about their assigned client at the end of each shift to the nurse working on the next shift. Shift report provides updated patient’s status for continuity of care. The purpose of this assignment is to analyze the effectiveness of the change-of-shift-report at bedside and the implementation of evidence-based practice for an accurate and relevant report. The Problem There are different change-of-shift-report according to the institution rules and regulations. The different ways to give the end-of-shift report vary among institutions, and especially among different units in the same hospital. It constitutes a problem for nurses, particularly when they float from unit to unit (Dufault et al., 2012). Some common types of reports are orally in person, by audiotape, and walking- planning rounds. Oral reports are given in conference rooms, with staff members from both shifts participating. It has the advantage that they allow staff members to ask questions or make clarifications face to face. By audiotape recording question and clarifications have to be made after listening to the tape report. The problem is that orally and audiotapes reports are made without visualizing the client actual condition. The status of a patient, changes in vital signs, unusual response to treatments, and changes in client’s emotional condition can happen very quickly. These quick changes in a client’s condition can cause a gap of information between what is written or recorded in a report and what the client is experiencing at the moment. Inaccurate information can lead to treatment using outdated or even incorrect information that puts the patient and the nurse at risk. Nurse’s consent on taking the client with no direct observation are in danger of being responsible for any critical situation aroused at the last minute that it was not in the report, including death of the patient. Nurses accepting the assignment are responsible and accountable to the care of that patient they have not seen yet (Nelson Massey, 2010). Because nurse-patient relationship begins when the nurse accepts responsibility for nursing care, it does not matter the modality of the shift report, nurses are still accountable. Change in the way of giving an end-of-shift report is an implementation needed in every health care institution. Considering one format with the same protocol in every unit can be the most efficient strategy for bedside shift report. This implementation will reduce the possibilities of communication errors that is the most reported cause of sentinel events in U.S hospitals (Guido, 2013), and also has the advantage of involving the family in client car e. Practice Change The evidence-based change to practice propose in this assignment is a standardized protocol for bedside-shift-report. Evidence supports that breakdown in communication and medical errors occur during end-of- shift-report (Gregory, Tan, Tilrico, Edwardson, Gamm, 2014). The proposed standardized protocol for the report will use the SBARP format: Situation will review admitting information, problem list, and diagnosis. Background will include a review of past medical history, social history, resuscitation status if any, current orders and medication list. Assessment will be together with the oncoming nurse including validating progress notes and verification of the most recent vital signs. This step will be with nurses already in the patient room. Recommendation will be in front of the patient to discuss what the care plan for the shift is. Patient participation will consider patient concerns and questions. Gathering relevant information from medical notes and nursing documentation is the first step to initiate the report. It is necessary to validate all information with the actual status of the patient to facilitate the transfer to the recipient of the report. The oncoming nurse will review assignment sheet and read information on the computerized reports. At the time of meeting with the off-going nurse, it is necessary to review the information and to add what is not on the computerized report. This time outside of the patient room may be an appropriate time to discuss any sensitive information that may be considered an HIPAA violation if family members are present or when the patient is in semi-private rooms. Some staff members are skeptic in being able to discuss a sensitive topic as infectious diagnosis, HIV, drug abuse or psychiatric issues in front of and with the patient. In this case, both nurses could go to a private setting before entering the patient room. The study recommen dation is to adjust models as appropriate to attain and sustain the outcomes. Each off-going nurse will provide a verbal report at the bedside of the patient using the SBARP format (Dufault et al., 2012). Would be necessary highlight every critical area considering situation that include admitting information and diagnosis problem list. Nurse need to review past medical history, current orders, resuscitation status, med list, among others. At the time of the assessment oncoming nurse will verify the most recent patient assessment, review labs, vital signs and read progress notes. Any observation shared with the patient is useful for meeting their needs and also to find out what is not in need at that time. Both nurses need to discuss the proposed plan of care to move to the next level. Reporting in front of the patient reassures the patients that they are the priority and nurses are aware of the details in the client condition. Off going nurse will introduce to the patient the oncom ing nurse, and assess the patient concerns and the care plan for the day. This strategy will give to the patient a sense of security and wiliness to participate in their care with the recommended options. Finally, the off-going nurse turns over patient to the oncoming nurse (Dufault et al., 2012). Evidence Supporting the Proposed Change The first research study that supports the evidence for bedside shift report is Translating an Evidence-Based Protocol for Nurse-to-Nurse Shift Report (Dufault et al., 2012). The purpose of this study was standardizing communication practices to reduce the risk of patients in an acute care environment as a result of a gap in communication at the time of the shift report. It focuses on how to translate research into practice model to generate the best-practice-protocol for nurse-to-nurse shift handoffs in a Magnet designated community hospital in U.S. The project used the Collaborative Research Utilization (CRU) model with a six-step translating-research-into-practice approach. The model use three steps in this order: Identifying clinical problems related to change on shift report. The second is appraising and evaluating the strength of theoretical, empirical and clinical evidence. And the third one is the translation of this evidence into a best practice and standardized protocol for change of shift report. It has its basis in the Roger’s Adoption of Innovation Theory that considers three important factors to improve research translation into practice. The first one is the availability of a validated and predictable knowledge. Second, need of a competent staff using this knowledge with a favorable attitude toward the research. Third, a supportive policy-generating structure that promotes innovation (Dufault et al., 2012). Additionally to CRU model with its groundwork of Roger’s Adoption of Innovations Theory it was included Orlando’s Nursing Theory. It emphasizes in meeting the patient’s need and value the concept of nursing’s role as client-family advocate. The model gives tools to the review for validated literature on nursing shift reports. It provides a guide of research roundtables (experiential, problem-focused learning exercises) to evaluate and translate the empirical knowledge. Additionally, at the time to create the organizational structures within the hospital it provides the test; sustain evidence-based policies, and standards needed to cue clinical actions. While the transition to change, the above-mentioned model, paired in teams of clinicians, nurse researchers, clinical specialists, undergraduate and graduate nurse students. This strategy addresses the clinical issue, in this case, development of a standardized protocol for nurses’ shift report. The before mentioned approaches to change has been tested in other previously apply problems in which the evidence-based is strong. The second research study was Bedside Shift Reports: What Does the Evidence Say? By (Gregory, Tan, Tilrico, Edwardson, Gamm, 2014). This study summarizes a systematic literature review of BSRs and serves as a mechanism to relate the support for improving quality of care and patient safety. After strong evidence supporting the benefits of BSR, sustainability is still an issue. As a result, many studies recommend assessing staff attitudes before and after implementation to identify if periodic interventions are needed to sustain desired change in practice. Models of bedside report incorporating the patient into the triad have been shown to increase patient engagement and enhance caregiver support and education. This study analyzed Thirty-three titles divided into six categories: team-based variables, dynamic relationships, individual benefits, confidentiality concerns, accountability and cost efficiency. Twenty-five studies were reporting team-based variables that discuss positive attitudes and improved patient-centered care, team collaboration, and care coordination after implementation of BSR. In sixty-four percent of these studies (n=16) was noted an increased patient care. Only twelve percent (n=3) of the articles cited increased family-centered care within team-based variable. Enhanced team collaboration was observed in thirty-two percent of the articles. Nurses reported increased communication, timeliness, and consistency of information. Seventeen of the articles cited positive aspects of the nurse-nurse relationships. It included providing emotional support to on another, increased communication, mentoring and coaching and overcoming feelings of discomfort during BSRs. Twenty-nine articles highlighted individual benefits of BSRs for the patient, nurse, and even physician. Fifteen articles expressed confidentiality concerns with BSRs when discussing sensitive information about the patient especially during a family visit or semi-private rooms. Eight articles show advantage and disadvantage regarding accountability and reducing overtime accumulated between shifts changes. In resume, nurse shift reports are one of the most crucial processes in patient care were patient safety can be improved to reduce medical errors in the U.S. Evaluating the Change Press Ganey Patient Satisfaction Survey data (Press Ganey, 2015.) was used to evaluate patient preference and nursing staff competence. It described the patient-centered, evidence-based, best practice protocol developed for the hospital, it made eight recommendations. The study evaluates the information content of the bedside-shift-report in a medium sized magnet-designated community hospital. It serves a high population of tourists, the military and older adults from the surrounding community. This population is similar in the percent of minorities, gender, and socioeconomic status to others community hospitals in the state. Bedside reports have been supported by improving patient safety, patient-centered care, and nurse communication as well as reduce medical errors by the Joint Commission’s National Patient Safety Goals (The Joint Commission, 2015). The project has a positive and sustained impact as an effective approach to handoffs report, and in other problem-solving in the future (Dufault et al., 2012). The results of the study indicate that standardized BSRs will increase compliance, increase patient’s and nurses’ satisfaction, and will saves nurses time. But it was found weak or little evidence to support the use of specific structure, protocol, or method for BSRs (Gregory, Tan, Tilrico, Edwardson, Gamm, 2014). The evidence is clear of the benefits to models of BSRs. The task is to identify the suitable model that fit each organization and patient population to attain and sustain the outcomes. Summary Bedside shift reports is a critical process in patient care that can improve patient safety, and reduce errors as a consequence of communication gaps during the transfer of information at the end of each shift. This assignment addressed the problem, and the evidence-based change to practice as with the standardized protocol for bedside-shift-report. We based our conclusion on two studies Translating an Evidence-Based Protocol for Nurse-to-Nurse Shift Report (Dufault et al., 2012), and Bedside Shift Reports: What Does the Evidence Say? By (Gregory, Tan, Tilrico, Edwardson, Gamm, 2014). After analyzing the data and evaluating the change proposed, we mention the most relevant results concerning to this change. References Dufault, M., Duquette, C. E., Ehmann, J., Hehl, R., Lavin, M., Martin, V., Willey, C. (2012, March 9). Translating an evidence-based protocol for nurse-to-nurse shift handoffs. Wiley Online Library, 7(2), 59-75. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1741-6787.2010.00189.x Gregory, S., Tan, D., Tilrico, M., Edwardson, N., Gamm, L. (2014, October). Bedside shift reports: What does the evidence say? JONA, 44(10), 541-545. http://dx.doi.org/10.1097/NNA.0000000000000115 Guido, G. W. (2013). Legal and ethical issue in nursing (6th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall. Nelson, B. A., Massey, R. (2010). Implementing an electronic change-of-shift report using transforming care at the bedside processes and methods. JONA, 40(4), 162-168. http://dx.doi.org/10.1097/NNA.0b013e3181d40dfc Press Ganey website. (2015). http://www.pressganey.com/resources/patient-satisfaction-survey The Joint Commission website. (2015). http://www.jointcommission.org/standards_information/npsgs.aspx

D. H. Lawrences You Touched Me and Nietzches The Use and Abuse of His

Compare Happiness and Life Between D. H. Lawrence's You Touched Me and Friedrich Nietzche's The Use and Abuse of History Taken From The Twilight Of the Idols INTRODUCTION   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In this paper, I won't stick to only one topic. I will compare different topics, such as happiness and life between two romantic writers, D. H. Lawrence and Friedrich Nietzsche from D. H. Lawrence's You touched me and Friedrich Nietzche's The use and abuse of history taken from The twilight of the Idols. I will start talking about life and happiness by giving my own little definition of each of these two terms. LIFE   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Life: one word, many meanings. Life: one word, one precious thing.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  We see life in a total different way by the two writers. Life, in D. H. Lawrence's You touched me, is one, short and precious thing. We see life through the eyes of a dying father and his two daughters, who loves their father a lot and an adopted son enrolled in the army. The father continuously fights his disease, battling to stay alive. We see life as a fragile, vulnerable thing. It can also vanish unexpectedly. What I mean by "life can also vanish unexpectedly" is that you never know when something terrible could happen to you and see it taken away.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Friedrich Nietzshe explains us a lot more his perception of life. Unfortunately, I didn't understand most of the things he meant, but I will explain what I think I understood. Nietzshe describes life with the help of a man and a bea...

Gene Manipulation Essay -- essays research papers fc

Throughout time, man has always questioned science. Man has been curious about life, space, our bodies, and our existence. Man has gone as far as to the moon, and cloning. Everyday there are new developments being researched. Along with these developments come the people’s opinion. Many people question the positive outcomes and negative outcomes of procedures such as gene manipulation, cloning, in vitro fertilization and fetal tissue implants. To this day, scientists are researching and developing ways to â€Å"design† their children by selecting their sex, height, intelligence, and color of eyes. People question the morality of gene manipulation. Is it right to â€Å"design† our children? What are the consequences? The practice of gene manipulation is seen as Frankenstein-ish, but it is solely to benefit all humans with longer and healthier lives.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Gene manipulation is able to screen disorders of the fetus, prevent diseases from occurring to the following generations and allows parents to design their children. Prenatal testing is a very common procedure that is done . Nine out of ten pregnant women submit to some type of prenatal screening. (Golden) Dominant disorders such as Down Syndrome, which is a form of retardation, can be detected from a fetus. Since 1996, gene therapy has been the cure for patients suffering from a genetic disease. This is done by slipping a healthy gene in the cells of one organ of the patient. (Begley) Parents of this fetus can then decide on the procedures that will be done on their baby to cure him/her. Not only will the parents of the baby prepare for the surgeries but they can prepare themselves emotionally. This is helpful because during labor the parents will not be in shock when told that their child has complications. Older pregnant women who usually have more complications during pregnancy benefit from genetic screening. Doctors usually recommend â€Å"more invasive procedures† in which actual fetal cells are collected from the womb’s amniotic fluid or placenta . (Golden) Receiving the results from the tests, she can determine whether it is safe for her to continue with the pregnancy, especially since some tests provide accuracy as high as ninety-nine percent. (Golden) Unfortunately, not all test results come out positive. Approximately ninety-five percent of couples who receive â€Å"bad† news from genetic scr... ...nsequences, especially because of genetic screening. Many people may not be prepared to know nor prepared to want to know about the negative results of the tests. Should we then be ignorant about the situation and pretend not to know? Ignorance is not bliss. The more we know about curing people, the closer we get to improving our society. It may not happen now, but it will real soon. Works Cited Begley, Sharon. â€Å"Designer Babies.† Time Magazine 9 Nov 1998 Frantz, Elizabeth. â€Å"The Hunt for the Ultimate Cure.† Time Magazine 11 Jan 1999 Golden, Frederic. â€Å"Good Eggs, Bad Eggs.† Time Magazine 11 Jan 1999 Grunewald, Peter. â€Å"Genetic Engineering and Medicine.† Liebenzell: Arbeitskreis   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Furernahrungs forschung 1994. Joyce, Christopher. â€Å"Special Delivery†. USA Weekend 14-16 May 1999 Kalb, Claudia. â€Å"Our Quest to Be Perfect†. Newsweek 9 Aug 1999 Lemonick, Michael. â€Å"Designer Babies† Time Magazine 1999 â€Å"Prenatal Care† http:w-cpc.org./pregnancy/testing.html. Toriello, Helga, Ph.D. â€Å"It Happened Once-Will It Happen Again?† A Heartbreaking   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Choice Fall 1994 Wright, Robert. â€Å"Who Gets The Good Genes?† Time Magazine 11 Jan 1999

Different Cultural Practices in the Philippines

Christille Lindy Joyce D. Caluyo BMLS II-A 1) Different cultural practices in the Philippines which could affect our health. Herbalaryo/Arbolaryo/Witch-Doctors †¢ Filipinos believe that some illnesses are caused by evil spirits that enter the body which are cast by â€Å"Manga ga mud†. †¢ â€Å"Manga ga mud† casts spells on people if they are jealous or disliked. They take personal items such as, clothing, a brush (to obtain a piece of hair), pictures, jewelry, etc. It is also done by food poisoning. †¢ These people who became sick / cursed ask help from herbalaryo/arbolaryo. They are also called witch-doctors. The herbalaryo may treat â€Å"Manga ga mud† by gathering unmarried individuals, and a bag of rice. †¢ This treatment involves a night of ritual sprinkling of rice, dining and dancing to Filipino music. †¢ After the night of festivities, everyone will say a Filipino prayer for the person who has been cursed. They believed that this treatment would remove the curse from the affected person. Halaman (Medicinal Herbs & Plants) †¢ Filipinos also believe in the healing effects of nature. †¢ Medicinal herbs & plants like ginger, garlic, and chives are used to treat different sickness. Religion †¢ Filipinos believe that religion is closely tied to health.Younger Filipino gives importance to prayer. †¢Filipinos are religious people that they entrust their health to their faith. †¢Prayer also has a role in the understanding of health. Regardless of how religious each age category, there is a consistent belief that God is present at work in times of illness. †¢In the case of terminal or serious illness, Filipino accepts the situation in a sense that â€Å"it is God’s will. Superstitious Beliefs †¢Many of Filipino’s believe on superstitious things such as if you comb your hair at the night, someone will die or eating twin bananas will helmyou conceive a twin. These belie fs are not scientifically proven and can only be supported by the word of our ancestors. †¢Maybe these things occur because of coincidence, just like when someone died because he is ill then they blame it for combing their hair and the word spread all over the nation. 2) Different religious practices that can affect our health. †¢Religious beliefs cause patients to forego needed medical care, refuse life-saving procedures, and stop necessary medication—choosing faith instead of medicine. Religion can cause people to be judgmental and lead to alienation or exclusion of those not playing â€Å"by the rules. † †¢If physical healing does not come immediately, the person may be disappointed and disheartened and claims that the prayer was not answered and that God does not care, and worse that the illness was sent by an angry, vengeful God as a punishment. †¢Religion may become so rigid and inflexible that it becomes excessively restricting and limiting. †¢Religion may encourage magical thinking as people pray for and expect physical healing. Jehovah's Witnesses may refuse life-saving blood products, and some Christian Scientists may avoid seeing Healthcare Provider because they rely on prayer instead. †¢Patients may stop their medications after attending a healing service in order to â€Å"demonstrate their faith†. †¢People believe that being spiritually healthy could lead you to a healthy body. †¢People would pray always and avoid being problematic. Sources: http://www. hawcc. hawaii. edu/nursing/tradfil2. htm http://www. spirit-health. org/resources_detail. asp? q=12 http://www. esipa. org/happening/documents/Culture_Health_Report. pdf

Mars Attacks! Review

January 24, 2013 Review of Mars Attacks! Mars Attacks! is Tim Burton’s clever thought at a martian invasion on the United States of America. After their landing, they easily took advantage of the governments trust, understanding, and compassion. Human beings, especially Americans, show just how ignorant and unpredictable they can be. However, their stupidity paves the way to their survival with a little bit of a population remaining. Source Materials: The constant struggle between war and politics makes this movie a classic bumbling mess of emgo fighting over what they consider to be right.The 1950’s science fiction focuses on how these peoples egos were created in a time of growing personalities. Genre: Parody Science Fiction portrays humility at the expense of American’s under the superior mind of the martians. Ultimately giving the upper hand to the human race for a reason that could not even be fathomed by mankind. Star Personas: The film is shown through the eyes of powerful figures from Nevada to Washington D. C. Everyone has an opinion and the best idea with how to deal with the martian invasion.A poor kid from that gets no attention within his society turns out to be the hero of the film. Technology/CGI: Used strongly throughout the entire movie, because anything that had to do with the martians was created by CGI. It was used to give a feel of abstract science fiction and not just a battle for superior intelligence. Plot: Told from a variety of different viewpoints and the advantages and drawbacks that went along with them. Everything comes together in the end to make it a bittersweet happy ending for all of those still left alive.

Gay Marriage Rights

After the legalizations in Massachusetts and, most recently, California, gay marriage has been a growing trend in the United States. In the 8 months since the legalization, more and more gay couples have been rushing to California to tie the knot. However, California and Massachusetts are not the first to make an effort to strengthen the bonds of homosexual couples some European countries including Denmark, Holland, some Scandinavian countries, and others have legalized same-sex marriage and have found the results positive. Gay marriage has been a contradictory issue since gay men and women began requesting marriage licenses.However, gays are denied their rights to marriage licenses, which is denying then their rights as American citizens. Gays should be treated equally to heterosexuals and granted their rights to marry the person they love, whether they are the same or opposite gender. Although the idea of a same-sex wedding hasn’t been legal long enough for statistics to be developed on children of same-sex marriages’ developmental upbringing, or that they are harmed by their environment, many people seem to think that they will be less healthy or normal if the couple that raises them are homosexual.People believe that the children will grow up to be gay, or different from any normally raised child, if they don’t grow up in a â€Å"normal† family. The results of studies testing these ideas are quite contrary to the popular belief of heterosexual couples. In fact, the studies show that children raised by gay couples seem to be more adjusted than the â€Å"normally† raised ones. The argument that children raised in homosexual households will grow up to be gay is completely illegitimate.In a study of over 300 children of homosexual parents, there have been no indications that there are any disturbances in the development of the child’s sexual identity, or the lifestyle that the child will live later in life. In reality, most children raised by heterosexuals are not raised in normal households. With divorce also becoming popular we have families with three kids and only one parent. There is no doubt that homosexuals want to have children, and not only is the ban of gay marriage denying their rights to be married, but also denying them their rights to have a two-parent family with children.Some also say that marriage is between a man and a woman for procreation purposes, and that gays cannot naturally produce children. If this were the case then wouldn’t the state prohibit marriage between heterosexuals when one, or both, are sterile? If the purpose of marriage is, in fact, for procreation then who’s to say that post-menopausal women should have the right to marry? Children in foster care and orphanages are also a problem, so why not kill two birds with one stone and give gays their rights and orphans or unwanted children a home and a family that loves them?Another argument against gay marriage is that it is against religion. Whose religion? Some religions, such as Buddhism, actually celebrate gay marriage. The fact that gay marriages are illegal goes against not only the gays’ rights, but their rights also. And the fact that people are bringing the bible into their arguments also means that other religions religious rights are being infringed. The bible has no standing in American law, this was made clear by the first amendment of the United States constitution, and no one has any right or authority to set rules based on something they take as a moral injunction stated by the bible.The Christian and catholic religions cannot speak for all religions, and the United Stated government is allowing them to do just that. The main purpose of our government is to preserve the rights of the citizens, and at this, our government has failed. Homosexuals are not the only people being denied their rights, but also the members of certain religions that support same-sex marriages. Along with this, people also say that gay marriage would force churches that have an objection to perform gay marriage to perform same-sex weddings.There is no law stating that any church would be required to marry any couple, heterosexual or otherwise, that they do not wish to. Gay marriage would not change the churches right to refuse to sanctify any marriage that they do not wish to. It would only give churches the opportunity to legally wed gay couples if they would like to. None of the arguments above are valid. So now, let us examine the true reasons that people oppose the marriage of homosexual couples.Most people just are not comfortable with the idea. For years now, society has promoted the idea that two men or two women being married is wrong. This is mostly because of the arguments mentioned previously. However, none of those objections make sense! So neither does the idea that gay marriage is wrong. Being uncomfortable with a proposal is not a valid reason to oppose it. It is selfish to infringe other human beings’ rights for your