Psychological Testing and Assessment and the DSM Essay

Psychological Testing and Assessment and the DSM - Essay Example All the data and information from case history data is crucial in helping test administrators to gain good understanding of the test taker’s pattern of behavior. With case history data, therapists are able to develop and draw a relevant context on which to make reliable interpretation of current data about a client’s condition. As described by Cohen, Sturman and Swerdlik (2013), clinical psychology concerns with diagnosis, prevention and treatment of extremely abnormal behaviors. Clinical psychologists consider clinical interviews as part of instruments for collecting information about clients with reference to their behaviors that cause suspicion. Clinical interview then is an instrument or tool of assessment usually used by clinical psychologists to understand the actual condition of a test taker to determine their appropriateness to take tests. Cohen, Sturman and Swerdlik (2013) point that clinical interviews have helped clinicians to understand the possibility of a test taker harming self before, during and after a test and subjection to treatment. In most cases, clinical interviews have proved to be effective ways that clinicians and clients negotiate terms to establish competent contract to guide through treatment. This is to mean that clinicians use clinical interviews in consultation with clients t o establish goals, mutual obligations and expectations during and at the end of a therapy. Good clinical interviewers seek to set a positive ground and atmosphere for interview (Ployhart & MacKenzie, 2011). In most cases, seasoned interviewers begin interviews by open-ended questions and later as they gain trust and confidence of test takers, drive into closed questions. There are different forms of interviews that clinicians can administer to test takers. The type of an interview for a given psychological measurement depends on various factors such as appearance, current psychological

Efficiency Of Municipal Solid Waste Collection Essay Example for Free

Efficiency Of Municipal Solid Waste Collection Essay Solid waste has become an urban issue that gives evidence to the greatly increasing economic activities in the municipalities and poses a challenge thereto. As both an issue and a challenge, it requires a collaboration of efforts from the government and the private citizens of the municipalities. Related issues that would have to be checked and considered as well include the need for a change in the people’s overall lifestyle, their manner of resource consumption and allocation of their increasing income. The socio-economic, legal, health, environmental and cultural aspects of the municipalities would have to be revisited and made to contribute to the solid waste management programs of the government. (Jhaet. al. , 2007). Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) is a type of waste that, in particular, is not carried by water or air. The Federal Government of United States of America defines solid waste as any discarded material that is not excluded (40 CFR 261. 2; Mihelcic and Hutzler, 1999). Therefore, MSW is composed of the degradable, the partially degradable, and the non-degradable wastes. Degradable MSW includes paper, textiles, food wastes, straw and yard wastes; partially degradable waste includes wood and sludge, and non-degradable wastes include leather, plastics, rubber, metal, glass, dust and electronic waste. (Jha et. al. , 2007). The collection and disposal of the domestic wastes – whether degradable or non-degradable – over a period of years over-burdens the landfill. The continuous loading, dumping and subsequent accumulation of garbage all have a long-term effect on the environment (Sharholy et. al. , 2007). Hence, there is a growing awareness of the need to study the negative impact of solid wastes on the environment and human health, particularly in the areas adjoining the landfill sites (Srinivas, 1998). One city in India that is burdened by the dilemma caused by the rising volume of its MSW generation is Chennai. Chennai is the capital of the state of Tamil Nadu and is located at 13. 04 degrees latitude and 80 degrees longitude in Southern India. It is one of the four major metropolitan cities in India – the other three being New Delhi, Mumbai and Kolkata – with a total area coverage of 174 sq km, 19 km in length and 9 km in width (Figure 1) (Chennai Map, 2000). The population in Chennai has reached five million. One of the oldest corporations in India is the Corporation of Chennai, which was established on the 29th of 1688 by the East India Company (COC, 2004). Corporation of Chennai is the civic body that governs the city of Chennai. With the mayor as its head, the Corporation of Chennai has 155 councilors representing the 155 wards of the city. (Wikipedia) To do its mandate, the Corporation of Chennai has various departments attending to their respective duties and tasks. The departments are as follows: the Council Department, the General Administration, the Financial Management Unit, the Land Estate Department, the Revenue Department, the Health Department, the Family Welfare Department, the Education Department, the Parks Play Fields, and the Engineering Departments. The latter, in turn, are namely as follows: the Works Department, the Mechanical Engineering Department, the Electrical Department, the Buildings Department, the Storm Water Drain Department, the Bridges Department, and the Solid Waste Management Department. (COC website) Thus, the Corporation of Chennai is involved in the general upkeep and administration of the city, and the SWM in Chennai is but one of its concerns. The past 20 years has brought in industrial development to Chennai, and with it came both population growth and increased MSW generation (Esaku, 2007). The Corporation of Chennai has divided the area into ten zones for MSW collection and clearing (COC, 2004). The wastes generated by these ten zones are collected by either the Corporation of Chennai or the Neel Metal Fanlca, a private municipal solid waste collection body. The collection system involves getting the garbage through door-to-door visits and the setting up of garbage bins by the roadside in the streets. The collected wastes are transported via heavy mechanical vehicles (HMVs) or light mechanical vehicles (LMVs) to the transfer stations or directly to the city’s two dump sites, namely, the Perungudi and the Kodungaiyur dump sites. These wastes are mostly yet to be segregated; they are predominantly made up of organic and debris wastes (Sharholy, 2008). The segregation of wastes, though, is not effectively achieved in Chennai as a whole. Source or domestic segregation is practiced in a few areas in Chennai. Such practice contributes to the recycling of wastes like paper, plastic and metals. Still, it remains that the major contributors of recycled wastes are the rag pickers who collect wastes from the dumpsites and the municipal bins. Chennai, the fourth largest metropolitan city in India, currently faces the problem of having to efficiently handle and dispose of its growing volume of MSW (Esaku, 2007). The average volume of its generated MSW has increased from 600 tons/day to 3500 tons/day (Esaku, 2007). There has hitherto been no concrete and effective management measure taken to counteract this problem. Chennai is also accounted for having the highest per capita waste generation in India (Sharholy, 2008). The inefficiency of the garbage collection system in Chennai is due to the improper distribution of manpower, the ineffective work force, the incompetent collection methodology, the lack of public awareness and the scarce civic sense among the people. My study focuses on determining whether the allotment of additional manpower and vehicles for MSW collection would improve the efficiency of the garbage collection and disposal system of Chennai. My hypothesis is that proper allocation of manpower and vehicles to each zone, if implemented right by the Corporation of Chennai and the Neel Metal Fanalca, will significantly increase the efficiency of MSW collection and disposal in the city. My study would help the Corporation of Chennai and the Neel Metal Fanalca to improve the MSW collection and disposal in the city of Chennai. The city has been dubbed as â€Å"The City Beautiful† (COC website). To preserve its status as a place of beauty, the city government and its people should then act fast to solve the problems caused by the mounting volume of MSW continuously generated therein.

Evaluating Societies Culture by Norms, Values, and Laws Essay

Almost every society participates in a unique culture that cannot be accurately judged without acquiring viewpoints from the individual’s in it. While reading the article India’s Sacred Cow by Marvin Harris (1978) I was able to gain insight about the Hindu people and their reasons for â€Å"worshipping† the â€Å"sacred cows† (Harris, 1978). According to the textbook Sociology Thirteenth Edition by Richard T. Schaefer, â€Å"through cultural realism, or the sincere attempt to understand an individual’s culture from his or her perspective, we might obtain information on how to better ourselves and our society† (Schaefer, 2012). At first, many factors of Hindu culture seemed a little arbitrary compared to American cultures, but after I gained information regarding Hindu religious beliefs, I was able to understand, and somewhat relate with, the â€Å"values†, â€Å"norms†, and â€Å"laws†, that make up the culture of Hindu p eople. According to Schaeffer (2012), â€Å"values are conceptions of what we consider good, desirable, proper, or bad, undesirable and improper in a culture†; I believe that no value is correct or incorrect because not everyone has the same opinion on what’s â€Å"good† or bad† (Schaeffer, 2012). In a Hindu culture worshipping cows is considered proper and most likely desirable. This would most likely be labeled as abnormal and undesirable in most American cultures, because people in America usually do not depend on cows for their society’s well-being. According to Harris(1978), â€Å"the Hindi people depend on the cow with their lives, if they did not have the cow, then they would not have means to produce oxen to transport them from place to place and to plow the fields so they can have food (Harris,1978). This differs greatly from most American societ... ...even bizarre human cultures may appear, they can be understood at least in part.† He (1978) further supports this statement by claiming that â€Å"India’s sacred cow is in fact quite a rational cultural adaptation, because the cow is so extraordinarily useful† (Harris, 1978). Before judging a culture on a seemingly odd belief, think about it in context of the other individual, it may not be odd to them because it may be their norm, it may have value, or it may be the law. If every person can relate with the views of others there will be a more harmonious existence for all societies and their cultures. Works Cited Schaefer, R. T. (2012). Culture. Sociology: a brief introduction (13th ed., pp. 53-65). New York: McGraw-Hill. Harris Marvin.(1978). India’s sacred cow. Retrieved from http://www.sociology101.net/readings/Indias-sacred-cow.pdf

Symbolism in the Catcher in the Rye

Throughout the novel The Catcher in the Rye by J. D. Salinger obtain numerous symbols that persist in the book. The symbols I have chosen display Holden Caufield’s emotions, actions, and way of life. There are three symbols unparticular that are used most regularly in the novel. I’ve selected Holden’s red hunting hat, the Museum of Natural History, and the Ducks in Central Park Lagoon. All three of these symbols have great significance in this book.In the novel Holden says â€Å"I put my red hunting hat on, and turned the peak around to the back, the way I liked it, and then I yelled at the top of my god dam voice, â€Å"Sleep tight, ya morons! † I'll bet I woke up every bastard on the whole floor. Then I got the hell out. Some stupid guy had thrown peanut shells all over the stairs, and I damn near broke my crazy neck. † (Chapter 7, pg. 52) The red hunting hat is inseparable from the image of Holden Caufield, with good reason.It’s a symbol o f uniqueness and individuality as well. Holden also says in Chapter 16 â€Å"I took my old hunting hat out of my pocket while I walked, and put it on. I knew I wouldn’t meet anyone that knew me, and it was pretty damp out. † The hat is eccentric and displays Holden’s desires to be diverse from everyone else around him, yet at the same time Holden is very self-conscious about the red hunting hat. He always mentions when he’s wearing it and he often doesn’t wear it if he is going to be around people he associates with.Therefore, the point that the author is trying to make is that the presence of the hat, mirrors the major conflict of the book which is Holden’s need for isolation versus his need for companionship. Another detail is that the hat’s color, red is the same color as Allie’s and Phoebe’s hair. Perhaps Holden interacts with it with the innocence and the purity he believes with these characters represents and wears it as a way to connect to them. Holden never comments on the hat’s significance other than to mention its unusual appearance.In the book, Holden explains the symbol meaning of the museum’s displays. One detail he says is â€Å"The best thing, though, in that museum was that everything always stayed right where it was. Nobody’d move. . . . Nobody’d be different. The only thing that would be different would be you. † (Chapter 16, page 121) Holden also mentions that he is troubled by the fact that he has changed every time he returns to them. The museum represents the world Holden wishes he could live in, a world where everything is simple, understandable, and indefinite.I think the point the author is trying to make is that Holden is terrified about the unpredictable challenges of the world. He’s trying to get across that Holden hates conflict, he’s confused by Allie’s senseless death, and he fears interaction with other people. Holden’s curiosity about where the ducks go during winter shows a more genuine and youthful side to his character. I live in New York, and I was thinking about the lagoon in Central Park, down near Central Park South. â€Å"I was wondering if it would be frozen over when I got home, and if it was, where did the ducks go?I was wondering where the ducks went when the lagoon got all icy and frozen over. I wondered if some guy came in a truck and took them away to a zoo or something. Or if they just flew away. † (Chapter 12, pg. 81) The Ducks in the pond are symbolic in many ways, they prove that some vanishings are only temporary. Holden, traumatized and aware of the fragility of the life by his brother Allie’s death, Holden is terrified by the idea of change and disappearances. The Ducks vanish every winter, but they return every spring.The point the authors trying to make is the pond itself becomes a minor metaphor for the world as Holden sees it, because it is â€Å"partly frozen† and â€Å"partly not frozen†. The pond is in transition between two states, just as Holden is in transition between childhood and adulthood. In conclusion, there are countless symbols in The Catcher in the Rye. I personally thought the red hunting hat, The Museum of Natural History, and The Ducks in the Central Park Lagoon were the most significant and came up regularly in the novel. Each symbol has a different effect on Holden Caufield’s Life, emotions, and actions.

Student Collegiate Record System

CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION Background of the Study The Student Collegiate Record or SCR is playing an increasing role in the working stratagem of registrars. It enables them to hold and access the information of students like name, student number, date of birth, citizenship, gender, parents or guardian, occupation, permanent home address, schools graduated, course, year, subject, total number of units and final grade. The registrar records, edits and keeps all the information of old and new students thereby making the school's operations streamlined and effective.The existing SCR at AIE College International – Laoag Campus makes use of enrolment forms to obtain the necessary details from the enrollees. After which, the registrar records and saves these information in MS Excel. The registrar keeps each of the student’s records with a number attached (ex. IL-11-000478). The first two letters which is â€Å"IL† represents the AIE branch designation, the â€Å"11† numeric sign represents the year the student was enrolled and lastly â€Å"ex. 000478† represents the student number. Each student is only given one student number during the course of his education.The registrar then stores the hardcopy of files in bookshelves and the softcopy is kept in the computer. However, the registrar processes the information of the students individually so it takes a long period to finish all the papers. The registrar said that dealing with the student’s records manually is at times unmanageable because of the bulk of files to be checked one by one. The files’ security and confidentiality are also an issue since they are susceptible to access by unauthorized people and can be destroyed by unexpected circumstances.With this case, we proposed the â€Å"Registrar’s Student Collegiate System of AIE College International-Laoag Campus† to help the registrar minimize the time consumed in generating the records and information of the students. It will provide efficient enrollment process because it can track the subjects that the students have to take. It will be capable of storing, updating and securing the academic record of the students and through this, it will produce a more reliable and accurate students’ report. Statement of ObjectivesGeneral Objective To create a computerized system providing efficient enrollment process, accurate academic record maintenance and reporting, and sound student information and data management for students, faculty, and staff of the college. Specific Objectives ?To create a system that will accurately generate records such as student personal information, subjects to be taken and grade status of the students ? To come up with a computerized system that will reduce burden in tracking the students information ?To maintain a central system of complete educational records for the school ? To create quality Students' Permanent School Records ?To maintain and to safegua rd the confidentiality of Student's School Permanent Records Importance of the Study The results of the study on the computerized registrar’s student collegiate system are believed to benefit the following: Registrar – the study can help her work easier and faster in finding student’s record even if the student doesn’t know or remember his student number.She will be able to check student’s records and ensure that he/she has completed all of the requirements. Students – the study will provide them sound information about their school record Researchers – the researchers are benefited from this study because it will test their skills in making a system and provide them further insights about the effectiveness of the proposed registry system at their school Future Researchers – they may adopt ideas on how to build a system of another school or company Scope and DelimitationThe study will focus on the improvement and development of the registrar’s work to give accurate information of the students. It will lessen the errors that are provided by the hardcopies, and problems on editing the information of the students. This system will work easier and faster in looking or finding student’s record. This system can’t give the fees to be paid by the student. It is not capable of generating class schedule and the instructor that will handle the subject.It is intended to give the subjects to be taken, to check if the student passed or failed on his/her subjects and to show the final grade. Definition of Terms The following terms are defined for clarity and better understanding of this study. Bulk- it refers to all the records of students in a large quantity of hardcopies. Computerized – it refers to the use of computer to process one’s work easier. Files – compilation of documents

Action Report 2 Example

Action Report 2 Example Action Report 2 – Article Example Action Report 2 The big issue, according to Stiglitz concerns whether gross domestic product (GDP) offers a superior measure of living standards. In a number of cases, GDP statistics appear to propose that the financial system is doing far much better compared to most citizens own thoughts (Stiglitz 1). In addition, the spotlight on GDP leads to conflicts: leaders (political) are urged to maximize it, but citizens, on the other hand, also require that attention be given to improving security, reducing water, air, as well as noise pollution, and the likes – all of which may decrease GDP growth. The same issues in making comparisons in due course related to comparisons across nations (Stiglitz 1). The US uses more money on health care compared any other nations but gets much poorer results. Part of the dissimilarity between GDP per capita in Europe and the US might hence be due to the way people measure things.Another significant transformation in most countries is a rise in ine quality (Stiglitz 1). This means that there is a rising disparity between the median income (that of the "normal" earner, whose salary lies falls in the middle of the income distribution table) and average income. If a few people working in the bank get richer, average or mean income can increase, even as most peoples’ incomes are decreasing (Stiglitz 1). Therefore, GDP per capita statistics might not echo what is occurring to most citizens. Any proper measure of how well countries are performing should take into account sustainability, as well (Stiglitz 1). Just as a company requires measuring the reduction of its capital, so does national accounts require reflecting the drop of natural resources, as well as the degradation of the environment.Work CitedStiglitz, Joseph. The great GDP swindle. N.p, 2009. Web.

Roman Baths and Hygiene in Ancient Rome

Roman Baths and Hygiene in Ancient Rome Hygiene in ancient Rome included the famous public Roman baths, toilets, exfoliating cleansers, public facilities, and- despite the use of a communal toilet sponge (ancient Roman Charmin ®)- generally high standards of cleanliness. When trying to explain to children, students, readers, or friends what Roman life was once like, nothing gets to the heart of the matter more poignantly than intimate details about daily life. Telling young children that there were no telephones, televisions, movies, radio, electricity, traffic lights, refrigerators, air conditioners, cars, trains, or airplanes doesnt convey the primitive conditions nearly so well as explaining that instead of using toilet paper, they used a communal sponge- dutifully rinsed out after each use, of course. The Aromas of Rome In reading about ancient practices, it is important to put away preconceived notions. Did urban centers like ancient Rome stink? Certainly, but so do modern cities, and whos to say whether the smell of diesel exhaust is any less overwhelming than the smell of Roman urns for collecting urine for the fullers (dry cleaners)? Soap is not the be-all and end-all of cleanliness. Bidets are not so common in the modern world that we can afford to scoff at ancient hygiene practices. Access to Toilets According to O.F. Robinsons Ancient Rome: City Planning and Administration, there were 144 public latrines in Rome in the later Empire, most of which were located next to the public baths where they could share water and sewerage. There may have been a token payment if they were separate from the baths, and they were likely comfortable places, where one might sit and read, or otherwise amuse oneself sociably, hoping for dinner invitations. Robinson cites a ditty by Martial: Why does Vacerra spend his hoursin all the privies, and day-long sit?He wants a supper, not a s**t. Public urinals consisted of buckets, called dolia curta. The contents of those buckets were regularly collected and sold to the fullers for cleaning wool, etc. The fullers paid a tax to the collectors, called a Urine Tax, and the collectors had public contracts and could be fined if they were late with their deliveries. Access to Hygiene Facilities for the Rich In Readings from The Visible Past, Michael Grant suggests that hygiene in the Roman World was limited to those who could afford the public baths or thermae, as running water did not reach the poors tenements from the aqueducts. The rich and famous, from the emperor on down, enjoyed running water in palaces and mansions from lead pipes connected to the aqueducts. At Pompeii, however, all the houses except the very poorest had water pipes fitted with taps, and the wastewater was piped away into a sewer or trench. People without running water relieved themselves in chamber pots or commodes which were emptied into vats located under the staircases and then emptied into cesspools located throughout the city. Access to Hygiene Facilities for the Poor In Daily Life in Ancient Rome, Florence Dupont writes that it was for reasons of ritual that the Romans washed frequently. Throughout the countryside, Romans, including women and slaves, would wash every day and would have a thorough bath on every feast day if not more often. In Rome itself, baths were taken daily. The admission fees at public baths made them accessible to just about everyone: one-quarter as for men, one full as for women, and children got in for free- an as  (plural  assÄ“s) was worth one-tenth (after 200 CE 1/16th) of a denarius, the standard currency in Rome. Life-long free baths might be bequeathed in wills. Hair Care in Ancient Rome Romans were materially interested in being considered non-hairy; the Roman aesthetic was of cleanness, and, for practical purposes, hair removal reduces ones susceptibility to lice. Ovids advice on grooming includes hair removal, and not just mens beards, although it is not always clear whether that was accomplished by shaving, plucking or other depilatory practices. The Roman historian Suetonius reported that Julius Caesar was meticulous in hair removal. He didnt want hair anywhere except where he didnt have it- the crown of his head, as he was famous for the combover. Tools for Cleaning During the classical period, removing grime was accomplished by the application of oil. After the Romans took a bath, sometimes scented oils would be used to finish the job. Unlike soap, which forms a lather with water and can be rinsed off, the oil had to be scraped off: the tool that did that was known as a strigil. A strigil looks a bit like a clasp-knife, with the handle and blade being in total length about eight inches. The blade was gently curved to accommodate the curves of the body and the handle is sometimes of another material such as bone or ivory. The emperor Augustus is said to have used the strigil rather too strenuously on his face, causing sores. Sources Dupont, Florence. Daily Life in Ancient Rome. Translated from the French by Christopher Woodall. London: Blackwell, 1992.Grant, Michael. The Visible Past: Greek and Roman History from Archaeology, 1960-1990. London: Charles Scribner, 1990.Robinson, O.F. Ancient Rome: City Planning and Administration. London: Routledge, 1922.

Forget Familiarity. You Need An Outsider On Your Team

Forget Familiarity. You Need An Outsider On Your Team Readers dont like unfamiliarity, but unfamiliarity might actually help your team. The developers here at had been working for a while on the multi-scheduler, a highly requested feature. I hadnt been much involved in that feature like I had with some of the others. The UI design, the capabilities, how it worked–I only had a scant knowledge of what they were building. The multi-scheduler was finally launched, and I was excited to use it. This feature was going to make things much easier. I had my notebook out and prepared to jot down any questions or bugs I might find and started to use it. I set out to use it with a blog post, sharing the post on all of our social networks with this new feature. Any guesses on what happened? The Problem With Familiarity When you are too familiar with something, you dont see what is right in front of your eyes. Its easy for your mind to get set in a rut. When you are too familiar with something, you dont see problems right in front of your eyes.Familiarity is why it is more difficult to catch the errors or edits in your own writing (or code) than in the writing (or code) of others. Youve become used to–and normalized–the mistake by repeatedly creating or seeing it. It isnt a bad thing, I said later, after testing the new features, that Im not always heavily involved in the development. Its a question of familiarity. The more familiar you become with your product or service or website, the more unqualified you become to judge it objectively. That doesn’t  feel  true, but it is. Cliff Seal, Logos Creative InnoCentive is a site where people who need problems solved make them available for solvers. These are complex problems that range from medical to engineering. A study by researchers at the Harvard Business School revealed something interesting about the solutions that came through InnoCentive: not only did problems get solved (33% on time, even), but they tended to be solved by people operating on the fringe of their expertise. In other words, according to Sam McNerny on the blog Big Think, [i]f a biochemistry problem only attracted biochemists it tended to remain unsolved. But if the same problem was tackled by, say, a molecular biologist or an organic chemist the chances were greater that the problem would be solved. Outside thinking was vital. Why does familiarity trip you up? The non-expert speaks. Familiarity feels a lot like expertise. People who are the experts in their area on the team dont always like being disagreed with by someone who isnt an expert. Its hard, when you know that you know what you are doing, to be told by someone who seems wholly unconnected and unfamiliar that they dont agree with your decisions. You get indignant, defensive. You have all kinds of reasons why you are right.  How dare this outsider who has no understanding of context casually saunter by and say that doesnt work. Familiarity, on its own, is an expertise that is blinded. You dont want to kill your pets. People who are unfamiliar with a project dont have favorites in the project, while you, the creator, do. Killing your pet is tough. We especially dont like someone to come along and look at hours of work and say that doesnt make any sense. Problem is, our favorite parts of a project are often the one we are most familiar with and we have no objectivity about this pet in regards to whether it works or not. A fixation on that favorite thing can easily destroy a project. We feed just the one thing. Jack of all trades, master of nothing, or so the saying goes. Were a big fan of reading books here at , and often suggest books and resources that have helped us. The thing is, its easy to get in the habit of only reading a certain subject. If youre big into startups or entrepreneurship, it would be easy to continually read books or blogs solely about those topics. Are you so familiar with one topic, one area of expertise, that youre missing out on the possible connections you could be making between it and other topics? Expertise Is Still Valuable So should we shun being an expert and hope ignorance and luck will bring about creative breakthroughs? Geoffrey Colvin, in his book Talent is Overrated: What Really Separates World-Class Performers from Everybody Else, discussed a study by Dean Keith Simonton, professor from the University of California at Davis. In his study, Simonton looked at more than 300 creative high achievers who were born between 1450 1850.  Were talking da Vinci, Beethoven–heavy hitters, in other words. He then measured their noteworthiness by how much space was devoted to them in a variety of reference works. What did Simonton find out? Plotted on a graph, the most noteworthy creators had knowledge, education, and training, but not excessive. There was a peak in the middle. It might have looked a bit like this: Does this mean youd be more creative if you knew less? Not exactly. According to Colvin, the most noteworthy creative people are those how have immersed themselves utterly in their chosen field, have devoted their lives to it, amassed tremendous knowledge of it, and continually pushed themselves to the front of it. Expertise is still a valuable component; you need experts. You need an understanding. You need the skills and the knowledge. You need that  10,000 hours of work. To be creative (and productively creative), you need a high level of skill, practice and knowledge. These are the foundations you need to even begin to approach the problems that need solving. Innovation occurs at the boundary of disciplines, but you’ll never hear about a novelist winning a Nobel Prize in physics.   @SamMcNerney Someone has to be an expert. And someone has to be able to approach a project as an outsider. If you can honestly assume the role of outsider on your own project, great. If not, youll have to find someone to do that for you. Keep in mind that the outsider may be an expert, too, but unfamiliar with your particular project. Think back to my example at the beginning: I could be considered an expert on , but the specific project was new to me. Introduce Unfamiliarity To Your Project How do you introduce the power of unfamiliarity to your project? 1. Stockpile Newbies Not everyone in your team has to be involved deeply in everything.  There is value in keeping a newbie on hand to test a product or read a blog post for the first time. If you are having a heavy planning meeting, dont bring in everyone. Bring in only the ones that need to be there. Save some of your team to be the fresh eyes that you bring in once in a while to give that unbiased outsider opinion. 2. Be Less Stubborn Consider the opinion of someone who doesnt have the expertise you have. Really consider it. Are you unwilling to listen because you cant get past your belief in your own knowledge? Are you letting arbitrary preferences or principles stand in the way?

Do you think colleges and universities should continue to increase the Essay

Do you think colleges and universities should continue to increase the proportion of online courses (as opposed to tradition face to face classes) - Essay Example With such changes in the education, it is most likely that many people will adopt the online courses. This is due to the immense supply of online courses from different schools in the world. According to Carr (35), millions of people across the globe have decided to enroll for â€Å"Massive Open Online Courses†. This brings the issue of many people having access to education despite the underlying factors. Apparently, the online courses are enhancing the productivity of the education sector as many people have constant access to education. Carr (35) states that online learning has been a factor in the development of the world. Many people that are in remote areas have access to online education. As such, they are enhancing and improving their lives by fostering education. The author notes that some places do not have educational and learning facilities. This limits many people from cessing quality education. However, with the induction of online learning, such people do not need to physically access the learning institutions. For example, many schools that have sufficient resources only admit a limited number of students. This is to limit overcrowding in classes. Similarly, a tutor only needs a limited number of students per each session. For example, a tutor prefers to teach less than 40 students per session. This will enhance concentration ion the needs of each student. However, when the number of students in each class is massive, the tutor will not give all the students enough concentration. This is a limiting fac tor to the quality of education. As a counteraction to such, online learning has gained supremacy. This aspect has improved the accessibility. Apparently, this has also had its setbacks ion online learning. For example, over 16000 students enrolled for online courses in a single class. In essence, this is a massive number for a single class. Though learning is made accessible to many students, the

Job Analysis, Recruitment and Selection Project. Arab Bank in UAE Essay

Job Analysis, Recruitment and Selection Project. Arab Bank in UAE - Essay Example For the purpose of conducting job analysis, two methods have been taken into consideration namely, critical incident method and interviewing. Critical incident method is very effective in gaining the required information related to the task. It is task oriented and helps in providing the needed information. Interviewing is a popularly used method and has proved to be effective in the process. Interviewing the candidates has proved to be effective because the information is generated directly from the person. Creating the pool of the candidates is very essential as the candidates need to be aware of the vacancies and the job responsibilities before applying for the job. Advertisement and employee referral methods have been used for this purpose. Among the various means of advertisement, online recruitment has been taken into consideration to increase the efficiency of the recruitment process. Employee referral method is another way of creating the pool of candidates. Here, the existin g employees refer to a particular candidate. This is also very effective because it helps in getting the right candidate in less expense. Different measures have been adopted to conduct the selection procedure. The KSAOs (knowledge, skill, abilities as well as the other qualities) analysis is done through the various measures such as tests related to the clerical, the administrative and the organisational ability of the candidates, role play and personal interview. Conclusively, the organisation’s initiatives that can be taken in relation to enhancing the chances of the candidates’ to gain success have also been discussed. Table of Contents Executive Summary 2 Introduction 5 Job Analysis Related To the Secretary of the Bank 6 Methods Used for Conducting Job Analysis 8 Critical Incident Method 8 Interviewing 9 Creating Pool of Candidates for Bank’s Secretary Post 11 Advertising Method 11 Employee Referral Method 12 Measures Adopted for Selection Procedure for the Post of Secretary Position 13 Tests Related To the Clerical Ability of the Candidates 13 Role Play 14 Personal Interview 15 Enhancing the Chances of Candidates’ Success 16 Conclusion 18 References 19 Appendices 21 Questionnaire 21 Arab Bank Advertisement 22 Introduction The paper will study the job analysis, recruitment and selection process of the secretary position in Arab Bank in UAE. This bank has been the part of the banking sector of UAE since 14 July in the year 1930. Abdel Hameed Shoman is the founder of the Arab Bank (Arab Bank UAE, 2011). The bank is oriented to the monetary dealings and is devoted in improving the economical condition of the citizens of UAE. The secretary plays an important role in the organization. The position for the secretary of the bank demands the ability of dealing with certain varied tasks which come by and provide with required support to the senior managers. The job responsibility of the secretary of the banks is to perform administrative duties in order to help the bank to perform better in effective and efficient ways. The paper includes the steps that are followed while performing the job analysis process for the secretary position and the different selection processes which are used for the selection of correct candidate. The study also intends to include the advantages and disadvantages of the methods which are used for the purpose of selection procedure. It will help in analyzing the responsibilities of the position and with the

Structural design for serviceability Thesis Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

Structural design for serviceability - Thesis Example As standards advance toward probability-based limit state design methods, serviceability issues are expected to become an integral part of design consideration. Whether a structure has passed a limit state is really a matter of perception. As far as the ultimate limit state is concerned, the perception is technical, and there are sets of rules and regulations which are established by building codes. However, in the case of serviceability limit the perception is often non-technical, as they involve the judgments and anticipations of occupants. As a consequence, serviceability limits in general have not been codified since desirable limits frequently alter from application to application. Hence, they remain a matter of contractual agreement between the owner and designer, and thus are not specified in the building codes. The purpose of the current project will be to explore and gather the history of serviceability criteria used for various types of structures. Design deflection and vibration criteria will be relaxed by increasing the floor span and reducing the member size, and the likely effects will be perceived. The paper will later look into possible techniques used for improving structural stiffness without incurring additional cost and materials. The objectives of this study are: to gain better understanding of structural serviceability performance needs of each country, to exchange data on structural serviceability and to develop performance-based design procedures for structural serviceability. The object of serviceability design is acceptable performance during expected service conditions for the design life. The objective maybe is to prevent damage to ceiling plaster or wall glazing elements to maintain a pleasing appearance or to prevent uncomfortable movement. Deflection is typically limited to some proportion of the span. Building construction may be such that there is a wall located near the

Information essay ---education related( preferred differences between

Information ---education related( preferred differences between chinese and western education - Essay Example In the modern times when a nation needs to concentrate on the Knowledge economy’, the role of education becomes more important to be addressed in the development of human capital. This is on the grounds that when a nation has a general public of educated citizens, it increases its chances of development at all the social and economic levels. Besides, the every capital pay of a nation altogether relies on the condition of economy which is straightforwardly relative to the education rate in a nation (Leung 42). Educated individuals have different chances and have the capacity to propel in different fields for openings for work, they are versatile and can work in anyplace inside the nation to earn a living and thus enhance their expectations for everyday comforts. Educated individuals have the capacity to enhance openings for work and adequately use the rare assets henceforth lessen neediness levels. For the vast benefits of education across the world, many nations have adopted different kinds of education systems. That is why there is a big difference between Chinese and Western systems of education; many scholars have been quoted to say that â€Å"Westerners are more assertive and creative, while Easterners are more conservative and reserved.† The underlying question is†¦what makes the difference? The difference comes as a result of dissimilar education systems; their approaches to teaching and learning are quite different .In China education is seen as the best approach to land the best position that has the most impact. Therefore, from the time kids can be placed in school, they are overwhelmed with homework, retention and the steady pressure to exceed expectations. Regarding education, conservative Chinese society weights students to study mindfully for required tests expected to move onto the following level of

SGT Rome award Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

SGT Rome award - Essay Example His unparalleled ability to multi-task and achieve outstanding results were truly invaluable to daily operations in the detachment. SGT Rome effectively demonstrated strong leadership and sound judgment on assignments by coordinating and advising the Commander on measures of efficiency and effectiveness on all products and product concepts. SGT Rome in many ways was the glue that bonded the three teams to remain cohesive for the purpose of accomplishing their mission. He is a person who can be relied upon and works without supervision. SGT Rome’s dedication to the mission and unwavering passion for his soldiers is an attribute that cannot be denied. His actions are in keeping with the finest traditions of the military service and reflect distinct credit upon himself, the nation and the United States army. Bibliography Hastings, M. (2011) â€Å"Another Runaway General: Army Deploys Psy-Ops on U.S. Senators†. Rolling Stone

Sherman Computer Repair New Direction Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Sherman Computer Repair New Direction - Essay Example This research will begin with the statement that business growth and development is characterized by changes in activities and operations of the business, consequently impacting on the performance of the business. Initiating and adopting relevant actions that enhance change realization is a process with risks. These risks are spread across business stakeholders and their impact varies according to the stakeholder being assessed in that regard. Change is inevitable if a business is to remain competitive over time, alongside the need to grow and expand. The degree of change adoption determines what direction the business takes and its competitiveness in the market. High reaction in the market is directly proportional to participation in change by firms. Planning for a new direction in business is essential for any given organization. Sherman Computer Repair cannot refute the fundamental role of planning for new business directions. This is a procedural activity that requires both time and resources to put in place. There are expected outcomes to look forward to prior to the operations and performance of the company. Steps and guidelines should be put in place in order to evaluate and assess the achievements of such a plan over time. It is important to note that organizational change is characterized by barriers that emerge from within and outside the business environment. With that in mind, the internal and external environments of the company should be assessed against the strengths and weaknesses of the company.

SGT Rome award Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

SGT Rome award - Essay Example His unparalleled ability to multi-task and achieve outstanding results were truly invaluable to daily operations in the detachment. SGT Rome effectively demonstrated strong leadership and sound judgment on assignments by coordinating and advising the Commander on measures of efficiency and effectiveness on all products and product concepts. SGT Rome in many ways was the glue that bonded the three teams to remain cohesive for the purpose of accomplishing their mission. He is a person who can be relied upon and works without supervision. SGT Rome’s dedication to the mission and unwavering passion for his soldiers is an attribute that cannot be denied. His actions are in keeping with the finest traditions of the military service and reflect distinct credit upon himself, the nation and the United States army. Bibliography Hastings, M. (2011) â€Å"Another Runaway General: Army Deploys Psy-Ops on U.S. Senators†. Rolling Stone

Love - Culture, Technology, and Entertainment Essay

Love - Culture, Technology, and Entertainment - Essay Example d, when a talk show, a movie or a song are not entertaining then they have little chance of influencing culture on the people who either watched or listened. Additionally, since entertainment involves showing what is popular with people this helps in defining culture. The interesting nature of any form of entertainment greatly defines the culture of people who come across this form of entertainment. It can be stated in a different argument that themes in any form of entertainment are cultural (Cheok, 2010). Technology is hugely beneficial not only to entertainment, but also the entertainment industry as a whole. For instance, through technology, it is possible to produce high quality movies or record high quality songs. The most employed form of technology in the entertainment industry is computer technology. Application of computers in the entertainment industry has made production and distribution of any form of entertainment effective and efficient. Taking production of movies into consideration, there are advanced computer software, which are used in the production process, known as the green screen. Through the green screen, movie producers can impose non-existing images or features in a movie. Technology is also beneficial to the music entertainment in the production process. Music producers use computer software to create instrumentals instead of the traditional way of playing musical instruments. Manipulation of vocals is also possible through computer software, which brings ab out voice clarity. The other area in which technology has highly become beneficial is in the distribution process. In this case, the internet has proved to be very useful. Whether the entertainment is in the form of audio of video, its distribution to customers through the internet is very efficient. The internet has made buying and selling of any form of entertainment faster, since customers can pay for a song or a movie online and thereafter download it on their personal computers.

Community Health Partnerships Essay Example for Free

Community Health Partnerships Essay Community: Social groups of any size whose members reside in a specific locality, share government, and often have a common cultural and historical heritage. A social, religious, occupational, or other group sharing common characteristics or interest and perceived or perceiving itself as distinct in some respect from the larger society within which it exist ( Stanhope Lancaster, 2012). Community Health: Refers to the health status of a defined group of people, or community, and the actions and conditions that protect and improve the health of the community. Those individuals who make up a community live in a somewhat localized area under the same general regulations, norms, values, and organizations. For example, the health status of the people living in a particular town, and the actions taken to protect and improve the health of these residents would constitute community health (Green Ottoson, 1999). ). Community Health is the meeting of collective needs by identifying problems and managing behaviors within the community itself and between the community and the larger society (Stanhope Lancaster, 2012). Community as Client: The concept of community as client is based on the assumption that community nursing practice is â€Å"community oriented,† seeking â€Å"healthful change for the whole community. The community is a client only when the nursing focus is on the collective of common good of the population instead of on individual health (Stanhope Lancaster, 2012). Community Health Partnerships: defines as voluntary collaborations of diverse community organizations, which have joined forces in order to pursue a shared interest in improving community health. Community Health Partnerships differ from traditional community organizations in their mix of public and private members and they diverge from grass roots organizations with their inclusion of multiple constituents and stakeholders. (McKenzie Smeltzer, 1997) Lay community members have a vested interest in the success of efforts to improve the health of their community. Lay community members who are recognized as community leaders also possess credibility and skills that health professionals lack. Therefore, successful strategies for improving  community health must include community partnerships as the basic means, or key, for improvement (Stanhope Lancaster, 2012). Overall impression of participating family’s community and environment is an inner suburb of New York City named Hackensack, New Jersey, a city in Bergan County, New Jersey. Located 12 miles north west of Midtown Manhattan and about seven miles from the George Washington Bridge, from a number of locations, you can see the New York City skyline. The Metropolitan campus of Fairleigh Dickinson University borders the Hackensack River. The city is known for a great diversity of neighborhoods and land uses existing in very close proximity of each other. Within its borders are a massive medical center, a trendy high-rise district about a mile long, classic suburban neighborhoods of single family homes, stately older homes on acre-plus lots, older two –family neighborhoods, large garden apartments complexes, industrial areas, the Bergan Count Jail, a tidal river, and Hackensack River County Park. Cultural Diversity and Vulnerable Populations present in the Community: The racial make-up of the city was White, African American, Native American, Asian, Pacific Islanders, Hispanic or Latino. My participating family consists of an African American woman C.R. 68 years young whose family lineage is African American and Dutch, shares a lovely suburban two- family home with her daughter K. R. who is 48 years young and her life partner S. M. who is thirty nine years young and a native of the British Virgin Islands. It is my understanding from the family that same sex households are most certainly part of the community as well as interracial couples. The home is very nicely decorated, well-kept and the grounds are well manicured. The fact that the younger ladies are a same sex couple makes them part of a vulnerable population. I asked â€Å"if there were any prejudice or pressure they feel from the neighborhood regarding their lifestyle†? They both responded there is no pressure or prejudice put upon them. I must mention the time I have begun to spend with them, talking and observing their behaviors with one another, I have to say,† there is more love between the two of them than some heterosexual couples have in their little finger for each other† and they are not embarrassed by their life style nor do they hide who they are. They are both beautiful people inside and out. Aspects of the Community that could affect residents’ health: The  factor in the community that could affect health is the fact that there are many industrial areas surrounding the communities. The chemicals, fumes, and gases that ar e put into the air of the community and inhaled by all potentially could be of danger to the community. The County Jail and the potential of escaped criminals pose a threat to the community; Flooding is a potential threat during hurricanes and storms. Reproductive and Sexual Health of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Health is relevant to the community in that the goal is to maintain and improve health and well-being. LGBT individuals encompass all races and ethnicities, religions, and social classes. Eliminating health disparities and enhancing efforts to improve health are necessary to ensure that LGBT individuals can lead long healthy lives (healthy 2020), REFERENCES: Green, L.W., Ottoson, J. M. (1999). Community and Population Health, (8th ed.) Boston: WCB/McGraw-Hill McKenzie, J. F., Smeltzer, J.L. (1997). Planning, Implementing and Evaluating Health Promotion Programs: A Primer; (2nd ed.), Boston: Allyn Bacon. Stanhope, M., Lancaster, J. (2008) (8th ed,). Population-Centered Health Care in the Community. St. Louis, MO. http://www.healthypeople.gov/2020/topics

Resolution of Sin in Nathaniel Hawthornes The Scarlet Letter :: Scarlet Letter essays

Resolution of Sin in The Scarlet Letter    Hester Prynne is a young, beautiful woman who was sent to Boston by her husband who planned to join her but was persumed lost at sea. She looked to Arthur Dimmesdale for comfort and spiritual guidance. Their solace became passion and resulted in the sin of adultery and the birth of their daughter, Pearl. This sin had a huge impact on them and changed their lives forever. It is what the book The Scarlet Letter is all about and how different the characters dealt with it.    Hester Prynne has a strength of character. She is very honest so she openly acknowledges her sin. Hester stands on the scaffold, exposed to public humiliation, and wears a scarlet letter on her dress for the rest of her life as a sign of shame. Her beauty and warmth go away, buried under the burden of the elaborate scarlet letter on her bosom. Hester settles in a cottage at the edge of town, lives a somber life with her daughter, and earns a living with her needlework. She has to bear the contempt of the townspeople and she has nothing but her strength of spirit to sustain her.    Dimmesdale has not the strength of Hester, or her honesty, so he cannot stand alone to confess. He is a good minister and his effectiveness betrays his desire to confess. Sin and agony have enabled Dimmesdale to recognize and empathize with other sinners, but still his congregation loves him, and this tortures him even more! Dimmesdale struggles with his knowledge of his sin, his inability to disclose it to Puritan society, and his desire for penance. In an attempt to seek salvation he fasts until he faints and whips himself until he bleeds. These punishments are done in private and do not provide the cleansing Dimmesdale seeks and needs.    The life of public repentance, although bitter and difficult, helps Hester retain her good sanity while Dimmesdale seems to be losing his. His agonized suffering is the direct result of his inability to disclose his sin. Hester's ex-husband also tortures Dimmesdale very badly because of his jealousy. Dimmesdale becomes very ill as a result of his unconfessed sin.

Comparing Feminism in Frankenstein and Dracula :: comparison compare contrast essays

Throughout the texts we have read in English thus far have been feminist issues. Such issues range from how the author published the book to direct, open statements concerning feminist matters. The different ways to present feminist issues is even directly spoken of in one of the essays we read and discussed. The less obvious of these feminist critiques is found buried within the texts, however, and must be read carefully to understand their full meaning- or to even see them. Mary Shelley's anonymous publishing of her very powerful Frankenstein is a fine example of feminism found in society. Many have criticized her for allowing her husband, Percy Shelley, to edit her work. The society of her day has also received much negative criticism for not allowing her to publish her works with her name directly attached, by non-verbally agreeing they would not buy the works of a woman. For they believed that a woman's work could not live up to the superiority of a man's. Societal disapproval of women taking on roles outside of the home are surprisingly found also within her book. A person can easily see evidence of this, as Walton's sister Margaret is addressed only in letters, with no mention of any accomplishments with the exception of staying home and "being there" for Walton. Elizabeth herself didn't leave home to go on trips, not even when her "dearest Victor" was in the darkest of his troubles. It was not Elizabeth who went to comfort her fiance, she instead remained at home to care for the household affairs. This was no doubt a better place for her, as the society of the times demanded Mary Shelley to agree so that her literature would be sold. Johanna Smith spoke directly of feminism in several cultures, highlighting on French, British, and American cultures. She spoke of language and politics as they related to feminism. Another woman who directly spoke of feminism was Simone de Beauvoir. Her works highly criticized the way society, particularly men, worked women to a ragged condition. In retrospect, Smith analyzed cultural feminism, while Beauvoir attacked societal feminism. Bram Stoker craftily allows women to take charge, though at times he allows them to seem pitiful creatures in need of male protection and care. Through the word "journal" in reference to Mina's writings, Stoker allows her to be equal with her male companions. She is also put on the level by being allowed to travel and be an active part of their discussions and works.

Math quiz

GIF Emma is creating gift baskets with scented soaps and bottles of bubble bath. She has 15 scented soaps and 6 bottles of bubble bath. If she wants all the gift baskets identical without any items left over, what is the greatest number of gift baskets Emma can make? In preparation for a party, Dante is putting desserts onto platters. The chocolate cake is cut into 8 pieces and the cheesecake is cut into 16 pieces. If he wants to prepare identical platters without having any cake left over, what is the retreat number of platters he can prepare?LLC Alice and Christina are studying a set of new words for Spanish class. Alice decides to break the set into lists of 17 words. Meanwhile, Christina creates lists of 6 words. What is the smallest number of words there could be? Danny and Karakul are fishermen who, by coincidence, caught the same number of fish this week. Danny caught fish in nets that hold 12 fish, while Karakul caught fish in nets that hold 8 fish. What is the minimum number of fish each must have caught?Mug He's Bath Shop sells bars of soap in boxes of 16 bars and bottles of soap in boxes of 19 bottles. An employee is surprised to discover that the shop sold the same number of bars and bottles last week. What is the smallest number of each type of soap that the shop could have sold? Race to simplify fractions in this fast-paced game! All you need to play is a deck of cards, paper and pencils. Shuffle the cards, and you're ready to get started. Simplifying fractions is an essential skill for every math student in the fifth read or higher.Students need continued practice with simplification in order to successfully add, subtract, multiply and divide fractions. Play this game again and again and work towards mastering this important concept! What You Need: Deck of playing cards (with face cards removed) Even number of players Paper Pencils What You Do: 1. Create a fraction bar sheet by drawing a line across a piece of paper. 2. Set up the game so that th e players face one another. For each pair of two players, you'll need to rate a separate fraction game board. . Shuffle the deck of cards. 4. Distribute the deck evenly between two players. 5. Have the players place their decks face down in front of them. 6. To start playing the players should simultaneously turn over a card from their deck and place it on the fraction bar sheet. Each player should place one card above the fraction bar. The cards above the fraction bar represent the numerator. 7. Then the players should place one card below the fraction bar. The card below the bar represents the denominator. 8.There should be a card above the bar and a card below the bar, giving you four cards total. 9. The first player to correctly simplify the fraction shown by the cards wins all four cards. If a tie results, split the cards evenly. 10. If the fraction can't be simplified, each player should collect the card that the other player put down and position it at the bottom of his deck. 11. Play continues until one player has accumulated all of the cards. 12. Alternatively, you could set a time limit on the game. When time is up, the player with the most cards wins!

Management Accounting Change Essay

Describe the ‘Challenge of Management Accounting Change’ in light of recent research findings and discuss, how can this change help an organisation, in getting its strategic, tactical and operating objectives? Management accounting change and the continuously changing roles of management accountants have dominated accounting literature for the past few decades and the theme of management accounting change procedures has been a topical issue of many studies such as Baines and Langfield-Smith, 2003; Kapla, 1985 and Granlund and Lukka, 1998, just to name a few. In order to understand the relationship between a firm’s strategy and objectives with its management accounting systems, it is necessary to first define the latter. The Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA) define Management Accounting as â€Å"the process of identification, measurement, accumulation, analysis, preparation, interpretation and communication of information used by management to plan, evaluate and control within an entity and to assure appropriate use of and accountability for its resources. Management accounting also comprises the preparation of financial reports for non-management groups such as shareholders, creditors, regulatory agencies and tax authorities. † It is important to explore the extent to which management and strategic concerns are driven by accounting practices, and also how accounting practices are mediated by the views that managers have of the role of accounting (Burns et. al, 1999). Changes in Management Accounting can be viewed as an inevitable process, and they are also intrinsically interlinked to not only changes in a firms strategy, but also with environmental changes. Both internal and external changes in our economic and business environment are the dominating factors in the change of management accounting practices within organisations. This view that change is inevitable has been supported by Kaplan (1985), where he details the change as a â€Å"cause-effect relationship. † In short, management accounting systems have to change whenever there is any sort of change in an organisations business or economic environment. Organizational change is frequently a response to environmental change; such as changes in competition, or changes in laws and legislation. So if Management Accounting change occurs due to organizational change, it is important to note the indirect link between environmental change and management accounting change (Burns et. al, 1999). Wijewardena and De Zoysa (1999) support this idea by detailing that the success of an organisations strategy can be determined by how quickly and effectively management accountants can adapt to their systems to ever changing environmental and economic conditions, thereby supporting the link between management accounting practices and the business environment. It is fair to state that there are a number of factors that can influence change in management accounting and these factors are both internal and external. A research project on management accounting change in the UK, that was funded by CIMA and the Economic and Social Research Council was conducted between 1995 and 1998 by Burns et. al (1999). The study aimed to investigate changes in management accounting systems, the changing role of management accountants and the adoption of modern accounting techniques. The study initially sought to settle the claim that management accounting had not changed in more than 60 years (Johnson and Kaplan, 1987). The initial stages of the research found that management accounting practices use traditional accounting systems and modern techniques such as Activity-Based Costing and Strategic Management Accounting were not being used as much as expected. One reason for management accounting changes is the general economic factors such as the globalisation of markets. Changes in technology are another key factor, especially changes in information systems and methods of production. It is in this context that changes in management accounting have taken place. Changes in information technology have allowed for accounts and information to be dispersed around the organisation and managers have a more profound and hands on role within a firm. This in turn indefinitely has an impact on how objectives are met and how strategies and tactics are implemented to achieve, said objectives. This has led to a decentring of accounting knowledge, meaning that it is not only specified accountants who have knowledge of a company’s accounts, but also managers and their subordinates. This gives managers a greater ownership of information and it also means that they have to have an increased knowledge of accounting systems. Ezzamel (1997) states that a â€Å"lack of change in accounting practices is presented as being not only detrimental to business interests but also threatening to corporate survival. † However we must also look at external environmental factors and how they affect management accounting systems. A definition stated by Macy and Arunachalam (1995) define an external environment as â€Å"a phenomenon that is external and have either potential or actual influence on organisations†. However we must reiterate the fact that organisations of no control whatsoever over external factors. It is in an organisations best interest to take any external factors that could affect their operations, into consideration and to recognise them for their long term survival. External factors create a lot of uncertainty for firms. This uncertainty means that companies have to learn to adapt to sudden changes in external environmental business factors. Research by Mia and Patiar (2001) show that organisations must have more refined management accounting practices in order to operates successfully in uncertain business environments. There are also a number of views that contradict the idea that management accounting systems are directly influenced by external environmental factors. The idea of uncertainty, according to Chapman (1997), can be linked to internal factors as well as external factors. More research shows that external factors affecting management accounting can be dealt with in the way internal managers and accountants actually perceive the external variables. Despite the vast amount of advantages to management accounting and organizational change, there are also downsides to such changes. Burns, Scapens and Ezzamel (1999), show that accounting change can challenge existing routines and institutions within an organisation. This can then lead to conflict and resistance within employees, managers and perhaps even board members. Goal congruence may disappear, and an organisations strategy to achieve objectives may be hindered with the lack of an aligning view from all the members who have succumbed to the initial accounting change. Burns et al. (1999) also state that it can be a difficult process for previous systems to be unlearned. A major role for management accounting systems is to motivate behaviours of employees and managers in line with the desires of the organisation as a whole. A great problem is that many managers try to implement new accounting systems without taking into consideration the behavioural implications and consequences of employees with regards to these systems. The lack of goal congruence and effective communication can lead to low motivation and dysfunctional behaviour of employees. A change in an existing system will reduce employees’ knowledge and skill thereby affecting the effectiveness to achieve company objectives. Implementation of new techniques has to be orchestrated with great care and communicated thoroughly throughout the organisation. Accounting practices and emerging routines can be said to be institutionalised when they become widely accepted in the organisation such that they become the unquestionable form of management control. In which case, they are an inherent feature of the management control process, and represent expected forms of behaviour and define the relations between the various organisational groups (Burns and Scapens, 2000). Burns et. al study of â€Å"CHEM†, a small chemicals manufacturer showed that a change in the accounting and organisational systems had little impact on the company as a whole and it did not change their previous ways of thinking. This led to conflict between individual members of the chemical manufacturing company. Later, the new accounting systems were scrapped as they offered little benefits to the company; there had been very little change in the routines, institutions and systems of the firm. There are also claims that management accounting does not always change or respond to environmental or business changes. For example Kaplan (1984) suggests that despite significant changes to the business environment, such as increased competition and continuous changes in technologies and production processes, there has been no signicant changes in management accounting to match since 1925. Research conducted by Horngren (1995) and Burns et. al (1999) show that firms still tend to use traditional management accounting methods instead of adopting new techniques such as ABC. It is also important to note that their has also been a lack of implementation of non-financial measures such as Total Quality Management, Strategic Management Advice or Internal Financial Presentation and Communication. The absences of â€Å"modern† accounting methods support the claim that there is indeed in some cases little change within organisations from traditional accounting systems to new techniques. It is a difficult process to draw a set conclusion on the effectiveness of management accounting change. It is evident that there are vast pools of research both supporting the idea that management accounting hange is beneficial in aiding an organisations strategy but there is an equal amount of research to support the idea that change in accounting systems is derogatory to the success and progress of a business. It is fair to say that further external factors can determine how successful accounting change can be for a firm. For example we must take into account cultural and political factors of the country a particular organisation resides in to fully understand the implications of strategic, and management accounting change. It is impossible to apply findings from research to every company, because in short, every company is different; be it it’s strategy, its structure, its ethics or its objectives. We must be liberal in what we determine is successful implementation of management accounting change. The change that has taken place in organisations cannot be pinpointed to solely a change in management accounting systems and techniques but it is in fact the change in how these new systems are used and implemented (Burns et. al 2000) and these changes are more often than not part of wider changes of the organisation as a whole.

Automated Record System of Barangay 38 a Thesis Proposal Essay

Barangay P.N.P Compound is located in the heart of Davao City particularly situated in the center of San Pedro , Bolton , Rizal and Quimpo Boulevard Sts. Even in the older times it is the center of trade and religious activities. Barangay P.N.P Compound in the late 1940`s used to be a swampy area with barely 20 houses ( more or less ) built from light materials was situated. Since our barangay is located near barangay bucana which is also very near the coastal areas most parts of our barangay is usually submerged in water caused by the changes in the sea level. According to the pioneer residents which is now our senior citizens , the area during Their times were mostly fishponds and crabs were all over the place specially during High tide . However , as time passes by population gradually increase and fishponds Turned into houses and establishments . In the year 1978 , our first appointed Tenyente Del Barrio Mrs. Lourdes Espiritu was placed in the position but during Mrs. Espiritu`s term their were still no kagawads . However due to health problems she Was replaced by barangay captain Angelita B. Maneja who was duly appointed by the City Mayor that time , together with six (6) of her barangay . The first ever barangay election was held during the late 80`s . In 1993 , under The administration of the late barangay chairwoman Paz Oracion , our barangay hall was constructed. Although made with wood and light materials it is still an Accomplishment that needs to be recognized up to the present times. In 1994, Barangay Captain Paz Oracion was re-elected with new set of barangay council. During the May 7,1993 barangay election barangay Chairman aspirants Robert Cepe and Paz Oracion both got the same number of votes . However , by means of â€Å" toss coin â€Å" which was done in front of the Barangay Hall Robert Cepe was declared as the new Barangay Captain . He serve for the position from May – September 1997 . Paz Oracion Field a petition in court and a recount was granted . It was found out that there were Two (2) ballots that were invalidated . As a result Paz Oracion was declared as the Barangay . At present , we have already made may improvements and developments Within the barangay . We have estimated a total number of six hundred houses (600) And population have also increased . We are constantly thankful to the past and Present Barangay Officials , the constituents and all those local Government Units and Officials who have unendingly given their support , effort and dedication in the spirit Of public service which paved the way in making us one of the developed barangay`s In the heart of the City. Statement of the Problems The study will seek to the following question : †¢ How should the current system security problems be solved in order to provide a system which is proof against unauthorized person ? †¢ What is the difference between manual record keeping and automated record keeping . Objectives of the study This study conducted in surveyed for the purpose of city government serve a barangay . †¢ To know how the barangay was created. †¢ How it become a reservation of Philippine National Police or know as P.N.P compound. Significance of the study This signifies as basis of a barangay to ensure the people living in b Barangay the maintenance , peace in order , health and sanitation . Scope and limitation of the study The scope of the study will focus on the computerization of barangay P.N.P Compound . The barangay officials and staff of the said barangay will be the major respondents of the study , being the direct representative of the establishment. The proposed system will be created using Microsoft Visual Basic as the Front – end and Database Management System (DMS) as the Back – end . Definition of terms The following definitions are based on the conceptual and the operational definitions †¢ Conceptual Definitions : †¢ Automated – automatic the password , store and process †¢ Record – a process where the entries are recorded into a storage device . †¢ System – instrumentality that combines interrelated interacting artifacts designed to Work as a coherent entity Operational Definitions : †¢ Automated – process all the data †¢ Record – a process where information is permanently stored in a database . †¢ System – a collection of related process that benefits from each other .

Hand hygiene Critiquing an article using Quallitative technique Assignment

Hand hygiene Critiquing an article using Quallitative technique - Assignment Example s a seminal moment in the nursing field has been published; Karen Lee’s article â€Å"student and infection prevention and control nurses’ hand hygiene decision making in stimulated clinical scenarios and the use of hand washing, gel and glove† is one such articles. This paper shall candidly and comprehensively critique the aforementioned article. Firstly, research critique is an informed stepwise process of carefully and objectively gauging the weaknesses and strengths of a particular study with the particular motive of improving the research skills by effecting changes in the critiqued or apparently wrong or weak areas or sections. While there are many frameworks used in critiquing a research, this paper critiques Lee’s article using the step-by-step guide posited by Patricia Cronin, Michael Coughlan, and Frances Ryan (2007). To begin with, the title of a research should be precise, 15-20 words, contain key terminologies in the pertinent field, arouse curiosity and interest while attracting the readers’ attention. While the title of Lee’s research strives to be objective, Lee ends up with an excessively long title, 27 words, that is more general and lacking details as it simply mentions controlling of infections through hand hygiene in nurses and students. Shortening the title and adding more terminologies that will ground it in the nursing field will create a more professional look and make the article quite enlightening without the need to go into finer details in the body of the research (LoBiondo-Wood & Haber, 2006). The author’s professional and academic qualification significantly determines their ability to deliver in a given field. Polit and Berk (2009) assert that the author’s attained domain, integrity and professional be reflected in a research article. Lee meets this threshold as he has an apposite academic, and proficient qualification in the nursing field having taught in a medicine school for 30 years. The article’s credibility,

Self reflection 03094 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Self reflection 03094 - Essay Example and models and developed my understanding on how organization can cope up with the problems related to organizational culture and consequently establish harmony in the organizational context efficiently (Cameron and Quinn, 2011). In this reflective essay, I will discuss the critical opinion of researchers regarding organizational culture and its different perspective such as organizational changes, organizational learning and merger- acquisition. Organizational change is the process through which an organization introduces structural changes i.e. changes in its business strategies, technological involvement, operational methods and other attributes of organizational culture. My research has also shown that any organization, operating in the global multinational circumference, organizational change is inevitable for confirming its existence in the ever- changing business world and ensuring smooth running of its operations (Markovic, 2012). I have studied organizational change in the research of Battilana and Casciaro (2012) as a continuous process which is important for any organization to review the internal and external business environment over a distinct period of time and understand whether any changes are required to bring in the organization. My research on the theories introduced by Cameron and Green (2012) has revealed that various internal and external factors existing in the environment in which the business entity is operating, forces its management to bring changes in the organizational process. If I consider the external variables, changes in economic and political regulations such as increase in exchange rate or changes in trade regulations over time highly influences the business to change its short and long term decisions in order to safeguard the organization from realizing huge loss. Technological advancement also influences an organization to bring in changes so that the method of production becomes swifter and economic. In some cases, I

Women should be advised not to consume any alcohol during their Essay

Women should be advised not to consume any alcohol during their pregnancy Discuss this statement, including relevant research evidence - Essay Example a substance which interferes with the normal development of the embryo or foetus) that readily crosses the placenta† (p.1). There is enough research evidence now to confirm that drinking alcohol during pregnancy can have many different effects physically, neurologically and mentally. The severity of these effects varies widely. According to The American Pregnancy Association these effects are categorized as ‘Foetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders’ (FASD). The incidence of FASD in children indicates the seriousness of the issue. Statistics presented by the British Medical Association show that 0.21 per 1000 live births in 2004 in England and Scotland, between 0.5 and 2 per 1,000 live births in the US; 4.7 per 1,000 live births in Australian aboriginal populations; 68.0- 89.2 per 1,000 children in part of South Africa and 10 in every 1,000 live births in Canada (p.2-3). The effects of alcohol on the foetus have been adequately documented. The US Surgeon sums it up in their news release when they state â€Å"Based on the current, best science available we now know the following: Alcohol consumed during pregnancy increases the risk of alcohol related birth defects, including growth deficiencies, facial abnormalities, central nervous system impairment, behavioural disorders, and impaired intellectual development†. More specific effects include disrupting cellular activity which alters the transport and utilization of glucose and th is can cause premature cell death. Normal development is therefore interfered with. This is what causes the abnormalities in the physical structure of the foetus and in the central nervous system. For the mother there are also dangerous effects such as risk of miscarriage, infertility, menstrual disorder, pre-term deliveries or even still-births. The National Institutes of Health (2007) attribute the following to prenatal alcohol

Analyze the associated activities in the evaluation phase of a patient Essay

Analyze the associated activities in the evaluation phase of a patient - Essay Example In any case all practitioners are required to know how to evaluate a patient. Traditionally nurse’s role in evaluating a patient has to record the observations made but not to interpret them. The main observation includespulse, temperature, rate of respiratory, blood pressure and consciousness level (Alice, 1985). The ability of nurse to record such observations accurately will determine the priority of the patient care. Assessment based on priority setting is one of the major skills that nurses that are newly fit may lack. There are elementary evaluation that can be executed on any patient while there are some that are specific to particular cases, for instancediseases that are chronic, trauma and other emergencies (Jacques, 1988). Unfortunately, the essential assessments are not always carried out. After taking patients details such as names and insurance, it is also important to understand if the patient has any historical background of an illness, such information include when the patient was last in the hospital? What disease was the patient last diagnosed? And other historical details of the patient (Allan, 2012). Such information gives a clue as to either the illness is recurrent of it involves new prescription. Patient evaluation is done through history of medical information (Alice, 1985). Physical examination is carried out so as to be able to notice any physical behavior that may likely to be caused by illness; some patients will have a pale skin and other physically observed conditions. Routine laboratory tests are necessary to try and establish the specifics of the disease (Jacques, 1988). Other diagnostic procedures can also be carried out. Physical examination must involve the suitable measurement of blood pressure, with contralateral arm confirmation. Optic fundi examination is also done. Further examination requires calculating the mass index of the body, the BMI calculation, measuring the circumference of the waist is equally

Why does the United States have an inconsistent policy in the middle Essay

Why does the United States have an inconsistent policy in the middle east - Essay Example (1). Since independence in 1776, the United States of America has followed a policy in the Middle East that is marked by its independence from its colonial master in the form of the British, and the other European allied powers, like France. However, it is the American policy in the Middle East that is crucial to the region, because of the strong influence it has in the region, though it has been a late entrant to the happenings in the Middle East. There is strong criticism that the inconsistent policies followed by the Americans, marked by self-interest have had a strong influence on the poor state of affairs in the Middle East. (2) United States Policy in the Middle East since 1776 and its Reasons American policy in the Middle East has been more at loggerheads with the earlier influential colonial powers till around the formation of Israel. The growing economic might of America meant that it would have a strong influence on the course and consequences of the First and Second World Wars. Yet, even though the Americans went to war in Europe in favor of its allies, the then President of USA Woodrow Wilson refused to declare war against their enemy Turkey, despite the genocide that was occurring in Armenia, due to Turkish actions. (3). The Suez Crisis of 1956 is another marked example of the US differing with its European NATO allies on the Middle East. Britain and France believed that Nasser was inimical to the interests of the Western world. While America agreed with this evaluation, it was against any use of force against Nasser to prevent opening the door to the Soviets. America worked against British and French action. (4). America has thus demonstrated its desire for influence in the Middle East, even to the extent of upsetting its European NATO allies. This desire is a reflection of the self-interest that America has in the region. (2). The allurement for the Middle East for America is based on its national interests including control of a region with abun dance of oil. Yet, America has used diplomatic, economic or military power towards this end. In other words, economic appeasements and use of the military might have been the main weapons used by America to appease its national interests in the Middle East. This has led to the charge of inconsistencies in American policy in the Middle East. America has used economic and diplomatic means to draw to it national leaders with whom it believes it can deal with from strength and acted to use economic and military might to overthrow or marginalize national leaders that it does not like. Such inconsistent policy stems from its belief in its moral superiority that came with the â€Å"Pilgrims at Plymouth† and its attraction to an exotic Middle East that it sees as â€Å"the mysterious, menacing Orient†. (1). Israel in the Middle-east has been a fixture in American policy in the Middle East and the reason for its inconsistent policies in the Middle East that runs against its gra in of liberty and justice. The strong pro-Israeli has both political and religious basis. The political basis is reflected in the words of President during the formation of Israel and the strong American backing â€Å"I have to answer to hundreds of thousands who are anxious for the success of Zionism.† (1). This can be construed to mean that at there are many more Jews in America than Muslims from the Middle East. The religious entanglement in American policy in the Middle East comes from missionary zeal in attempting to change the Middle East to mirror its liberal and Christian values, such that the land that it is attracted to changes in its eyes for the better. (1). The political and religious basis of American policy i

Look to the Future or to the Past Essay Example for Free

Look to the Future or to the Past Essay Today there are many obstacles to success, and the decisions you make, along with a little bit of luck will greatly influence whether you succeed or not and the magnitude of this success. Now the things we have done on the past will influence what people think about us, influence the actions that people have on us, and is significant in the situations you will be put in. However, when we are faced with making a decision nowadays, we must look at the big picture: What will happen to me because of this decision tomorrow? Next month? Next year? How about in 5 or 10 years? How will my friends and family be affected? And are the consequences going to be good or bad? This big picture is why I believe that people must look to the future when making decisions because it holds more weight in making a decision. Looking to the future is more likely to help you make a good decision because it makes you look at what will happen as a result of a decision with a clear head. If you look to the past, your judgment might be clouded with what did happen without understanding that it simply is what DID happen, and it probably won’t happen again, but the decision you make will effect what will happen. The big picture is always important here because every small decision that a person makes can have a huge effect on what the future will be like. For example, lottery winners have a tough time deciphering this and looking at the big picture. Most lottery winners just take the cold hard cash instead of getting equal payments every year for the rest of their lives, these winners not looking to the future, just go and squander away all of their money as if they have an unlimited amount when they essentially just have a minor boost, like a shot of nitrous or steroids. Just like the lottery winners if they can’t spend the money well, which most of them don’t, they lose it all and fast, backed up by the fact that 70% of lottery winners spend up all of their money in years. This is simply because they didn’t look at the big picture and that is a problem today, people are always looking for a quick fix, instead of looking at the big picture. Clearly, having the ability to make big decisions is just as rare in some cases as winning the lottery, you usually only get one chance and by looking at the big picture, to the future, it can help you make the best decision. In conclusion, I think it is best if we look towards the future. This is because as people we must look at the big picture when making a decision so e can make the best decision possible to help shape our lives the right way, and looking to the future will help us on this task. As they say if we don’t learn from history it will repeat itself, so we must learn from history and learn to apply it to our future by always looking ahead. That is a quality that us humans have is to look ahead, and in this world, looking ahead is our best shot at success because making a decision won’t influence your past, which cannot be changed, however, it will affect your future.

Competitive advantage of Firms in Global Industry

Competitive advantage of Firms in Global Industry THE COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE OF FIRMS IN GLOBAL INDUSTRY Introduction First and foremost, the important aspect to note and to discuss is the creation and sustainability of competitive advantage of multinational enterprise in the Global world and how strategies formed by each firm contributes to competitive advantage. Strategic competition An industry regardless is a combination of group of competing companies providing services or products that compete directly with each other. Products are encircled by strategically oriented industries especially if they have similarities in competitive advantage. The industries who share the same consumers, technologies, production channels, and etc. have their distinct way of competitive advantage requirements. Multinational enterprise competition is either won or lost depending on how successful their strategic competitive advantage favors them. The industry is an open avenue where multinational enterprise can compete with each other. Firms use competitive advantages to sustain and maximize profit for themselves although, there is no best competitive advantage but only the strategic means that is in favor of the firm succeeds. There are two major aspects to be considered while choosing a firms competitive advantage. The structure of the industry where the firm competes. The industrial competitiveness differs to each other, so for sustainable profits, not all industries offer same opportunities. Positioning within an industry: competitive positioning is very important but some multinational enterprise in a highly attractive industry may still be in difficult situation and might not have earned satisfactory profits if it has not chosen the right competitive positioning. Changes in the structure or entry barrier of industry can influence the attractiveness of the industry. Analytical structure of industry There are five competitive forces that explain what multinational enterprises undergo in order to compete with each other in the industry. They are as follows: The threat of new entrants into the industry The threat of substitute products or services of another firm Suppliers bargaining power Buyers bargaining power Rivalry among the existing competitors The performance and the profitability of each multinational enterprise are determined by the strength of the above mentioned five forces. Many industries where by the five forces favors them performs profitably well with great invested capital returns such as soft drinks, database publishing, pharmaceuticals etc. Whereas, industries which experiences pressure from one or more of those five forces tends to struggle and few among the firms in the industry realize profitability for a long term. The five forces are the basic tools used in determining the profitability of the industry because the prices firms charge are controlled by these forces and likewise the cost they have to bear and above all the investment required to competing in the industry. for instance, when a new entrants surfaces, there would be limits to the overall profit potential in the industry due to the fact that new entrants would bring fresh capacity and would look for market share pulling down margins. Higher cost of competitiveness brings about more profits for example, advertising, sales expense or passing on profits to customers in form of lower prices. Competitors tend to lower the price they charge on of products due to the presence of close substitute products. The structure of the industrys function is determined by the strength of each competitive factor for instance, the extent at which an enterprises sales is at risk to any one buyer and the issue of price sensitivity. This is regarded as buying power. Multinational enterprise can use their strategy influence the five forces to raise barriers of entry for instance the introduction of computer information to airline industry has raised the entry barrier as any new enterprise would require investment in hundreds of millions of pounds. Industrial structure varies and are different to each other depending on the type of industry it is such as the pharmaceuticals where barriers of entry is very high and difficult to penetrate due to the need of huge fixed research and development costs and economies of scale in selling to physicians. Getting and developing a substitutes and effective to drugs is not an easy task. The structure of the industry creates differing requirement for success such as differing skills and resources in different industries. Furthermore, multinational enterprise must be structurally attractive in the industry with sustainable entry barriers such as technology, skills, channels access and reputation of brand/product. Factor that might affect competitive advantage of multinational enterprise is the standard of living which would depend of the capacity of the firm to penetrate structurally attractive industries. Structural change helps competitiveness and creates opportunities for competitors to penetrate new industries. Structural change creates avenue for competitors to penetrate industries. A good example is the American dominance of IBM and Xerox, the firm was challenged successfully by a Japanese copier company due to underserved product segment such as small copier, using a new approach to the consumers by using dealers instead of direct sales, mass production of goods and pricing approach was modified. This strategic approach reduced the entry barriers and had a negative implication on the previous leaders (American firm) advantages. Positioning within industries According to Porter, at the heart of positioning is competitive advantage therefore for multinational enterprise to achieve success, they must possess a sustainable competitive advantage the two types of competitive advantages by Porter are as follows: Lower cost: this means being able to design, produce and market similar product more efficiently than other competitors. For example the Korean steel and semiconductor firm was able to produce at a very low cost, using low-wage but highly productive labor force and a modernized process. Differentiation: the ability to maintain quality and unique and superior value to consumers. From: http://tutor2u.net/business/images/competitive_strategies.gif Competitive Advantage Creation Competitive advantage would be shifted by innovation if multinational enterprise fails to perceive a new way of competing or are not able to respond to competition. For e.g. the Swiss watch producers were unable to identify the competitive advantage of Timex an American company due to the fear of low quality production whereas the American Timex mass produced inexpensive disposable watch. Causes of competitive advantages are: New technologies: some multinational enterprises steeped in an old technological paradigm cannot cope with this New and shifting consumer needs: in order to meet the needs of consumers firms might need to adopt a new value chain which might be difficult for some firms. For example the American fast food firms were able to gain competitive advantage over local restaurants due to this. Shifting cost: firms may find it difficult to compete as cost of production changes. New entrant /new industry segment: Government regulation changes: government may change her regulation such as the standard required for each products. This might be a barrier for some firms to compete. Highlights of factors affecting multinational enterprises There are two major types of factors affecting multinational enterprise. Internal factors External factors Internal factors include: Political parties Suppliers Buyers Competitors Consumer of respective country External factors include: Political environment, Legal environment, Socio-cultural environment Demographic conditions of respective country FURTHER EXPLANATION ON THE PROBLEMS FACING MULTINATIONAL ENTERPRISE The supply chain of multinational companies can be made richer and promising, the cost of work force which is high could be changed or transformed and potential markets can be expanded. Furthermore, the advantage of multinational enterprise competition can be made stronger in a global market. Otherwise, some problems are met in the changed environments in foreign countries at the same time. The changed environments can be divided into four main parts, such as the following: Difference in culture Factors occurring in the environment Legal issues in environment Economic environment Political system issues All the changed environments make problems to multinational companies. In particular, problems which are caused by changed culture environment are the most serious aspect of running a multinational business. Cultural Competitive Advantage The norms and values of a country contribute to the cost and influence the cost of doing business in that country and likewise, the cost of doing business in a country enhances the strength of firms competitive advantage in an international market. For instance, the Hindu does not support capitalism as the ethics embedded in the Protestantism and the Confucianism furthermore, the Islamic laws disallowing interest payments mat raise the cost of doing business by constraining a countrys banking system. The example of Japans cultural influence of competitive advantage on international business cannot be over emphasized due to its ability to lower the cost of doing business such as group affiliation, loyalty, reciprocal obligations, honesty, and education which has contributed to the success of the countrys competitive advantage. In comparison of Japan and American firms, it has been argued that Japan is not in support of entrepreneur whereas the Americans are which has made it possible for the American firms to dominate companies that are in support of entrepreneurial activities such as biotechnology and computer software. Maintaining Economic Competitiveness Factor bestowal/benefaction As argued by Michael Porter, according to Heckscher-Ohlin theory, governments investment in education would go a long way to help the country by giving a good and proper education and skills to a larger population in the country. A good example is Japan, the secrete behind her success is the provision of quality education to a larger number of her population, which has tremendously maintained, contributed and helped her competitive advantage. Status of demand The status of home demand has a major role to play in the production of domestic products which enables firms to be innovative and aspire for quality. Japaneses quality camera production is due to the need for consumers demand. Complementing industries The existence of complementing industries would help the strength of its competitive advantage such as the Swedish steel industrys strong competitive advantage due to the production of fabricated steel like ball bearing and cutting tools. Adopted strategy, structure and firms rivals According to Michael Porter argument, the idea developed or employed by each country varies which might or might not help them maintain national economic competition. According to him, the Japanese and the German firms are being dominated by top engineers whereas in the USA, that with good financial background dominates the firms. He further argues that the USAs loss of power in the engineering dominated firms was due their adopted idea. Furthermore, rivals into the industry always bring about ways of improving production quality, cost reduction and innovative ideas which helps firms to compete internationally. Conclusion Michael Porter has very good competitive ideas which could help a firm to compete internationally. References: Richard M.S Wilson and Collingilligan A. (2007) Strategic marketing management, planning, implementation and control 3rd edition. Elsevier limited. Helen Deresky (2006) International Management, Managing Across Borders and Cultures. 5th Edition, USA: Pearson prentice hall. Jan Aart scholte (2000) Globalization, A Critical Introduction, 2nd Edition. Palgrave Macmillan. McGraw-Hill/, (2005) international business: competing in the Global marketplace 5th Edition. The McGraw-Hill/Irwin companies Inc. http://tutor2u.net/business/strategy/global-business-global-strategy.html 4th Jan 2010 http://i.investopedia.com/inv/articles/site/IndustryHandbook1x.gif 5th Jan 2010 http://www.oecd.org/dataoecd/56/36/1922428.pdf 9th Feb 2010 http://www.oppapers.com/essays/Discuss-Management-Problems-Facing-Multinational-Companies/120224 10th Feb 2010 http://tutor2u.net/business/images/competitive_strategies.gif 11th Feb 2010 http://www.articlealley.com/article_183485_22.html 13th Feb 2010