Pitfalls in executive information systems (EIS) development

As identified by Watson, EIS failures are due to the following factors: Lack of executive support – The support during the period of development is very essential. The support from the higher management with regard to information transparency and belief for the system would define better activity lifecycle and speed in implementation. Often information gathering from higher management is poorly managed and lacks standard processes for recording mechanism.As not enough documentation is done, the primary stage of IS development is miscarried and entire lifecycle suffers. Undefined system objectives – The system objectives are often revised and requirements are poorly defined. The scope of such systems is open and is never seized, thereafter making the system development in an undefined fashion. The system objective is not understood from the very beginning. The idea is to determine and set right goals for the system. Such initiatives are often neglected and not documented well.Undefined goals push activities to a different path and lack enough direction to succeed (McNurlin, 2009). Inadequate support staff – The support staff are often inadequate and unskilled to handle the development. The high skill individuals are often lacking for the development of EIS, which demands effective resources with years of aligned experience. Such shortages pose a danger to the development. Improper planning – The planning of the EIS system development is often is not adequate and lacks risk management information.The idea is to make the right judgment of the system in conjunction with various organizational objectives and the scope of the system. Such analysis often lacks and thus the system development fails. Planning the EIS system into various sub-systems for development makes the system development planned, however often the system knowhow makes it quite difficult to understand the entire system and thus the development of framework becomes difficu lt. References McNurlin B. C. and Sprague R. H. (2009). Information Systems Management in Practice (8th Ed). Prentice Hall.

Ghost’s Child Essay

Feather made the right choice, he should not have stayed with Maddy. Intro: Sonya Hartnett’s The Ghost’s Child reveals the mystifying story of Matilda’s remarkable journey up the mountain of life. Even though the departure of Feather pained Maddy emotionally, the overall outcome significantly boosted her emotional strength and confidence. Feather loved Maddy so much, but he knew he couldn’t change, so he had to do what was best for Maddy in order for her to be happy. The loss of Feather as well as the Fay encouraged Maddy to embark on many new adventures.At the end of Matilda’s glorious journey of life, she was, truly, happy. BP1: All Feather wanted was for Maddy to be happy, and the only way that was possible was to free her from herself by leaving her and letting her go. Maddy had thought that because of all the times he crept off to the beach, and to be with just the water and sand, that â€Å"Feather didn't care† about her, but it was not her, it was that Maddy was â€Å"less important than this strange, mysterious summoning thing†. Feather knew he couldn’t change his lifestyle to live with Maddy, and if he didn’t, he would continue to hurt her inside.The only way to satisfy them both was to leave. It was not the fact that Feather could not change for Maddy, but that he could not change enough for Maddy. Feather is willing to do anything for Maddy to â€Å"make her happy†. Even when he says that â€Å"it makes no difference† to him, it actually does, and he knows that if he does â€Å"move to the desert† with Maddy, they won’t be able to live happily together because of Feathers urge to get back to his old life. Maddy was holding Feather back by making him more civilized and changing him to be the opposite of the person she fell in love with.After living with Feather for quite a while, Maddy â€Å"still called him Feather, but it was easy to forget why† because of the new clothes she made him wear and his hair was washed and looked smart, and he had just lost the â€Å"strange smoky shimmer that swam from him† like the sun reflecting off a gold fish, in clear blue water. This shows that Feather left Maddy, not only to help her be happy, but also to let himself be happy. BP2: When Feather left Maddy, he freed her from the windowless â€Å"box† inside her head, and enabled her to live life without worrying about love or oss, and as a result Maddy proceeded to have many great experiences that heavily influenced her life. The loss of Feather strived Maddy to actually do something with her life, rather than dwelling on all of the bad things that have happened. Whether Feather meant to or not, he enabled Maddy to fight for what she wanted, and actually do the things she wanted to do right now. The â€Å"island of stillness† gave Maddy many new experiences and helped her learn a lot from them. The most vital thing that Maddy learns on the island is that â€Å"love is not the strongest or most important thing in the world†.She accepted the fact that she had lost the Fay, and now was losing Feather. After learning this she can properly move on with her life and leave Feather and all their memories together in the past. Maddy going to help with the war was a very significant experience as it gave her the epiphany that she wanted to be an eye doctor for the remainder of her career. She was inspired by the fact that the blind injured men in the war had lost the biggest thing of all, â€Å"they had lost the sight of beautiful things†.This tells us that one bad experience, can often lead to several good life changing experiences BP3: In the end, all of Matilda's great journeys and adventures love and loss, finally enabled her to accept that the loss of Feather did help her learn to be happy. Love can be brutal and leave you injured, but eventually we learn that we can move past this and learn fr om our experiences to help us become wiser more knowledgeable. Through all the amazing good times, and the ever-lasting bad times, all Matilda's memories made up an overall happy life.After the island of stillness and the war, Maddy was living her perfect life, a job she wanted to do and nothing to worry about. It is strange to think of the outcome if she was still living with Feather, and if she would be doing what she was doing now. In the end, all alone â€Å"Matilda was standing on the mountain top, and looking back along the path she’d walked and she was satisfied with what she saw. † Feather leaving, not only hurt Maddy, but more importantly it taught her valuable lessons in life and gave her many amazing experiences.Sonya Hartnett was trying to explain that love can give you as much pain as it does happiness and to really experience great love, you must first experience the bad times as well as the good. Even if something bad does happen and you end up losing th e one thing you love most, you must accept the fact that it has happened and that you cannot change it, and use it as a learning experience. No matter what happens, you have to learn to move on and enjoy all of the good things in life. As Matilda's eyes saw the last things they would ever see, â€Å"on her face were the remnants of a smile†.

Response to classmates Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Response to classmates - Coursework Example Ensuring employee retention is desirable as it reduces the costs of recruiting, hiring, and training employees (Janovsky, 2009). You, however, did not actually answer the question requiring explaining of the responsibilities of director personnel. I think you meant to say that the director personnel works to minimize turnover costs and ensure hiring of skilled and experienced workers in order to maintain the company’s competitive advantage. I also think that Otto needs to review the current appraisal process, implement a preferred process, and train employees about its use. I do not find any relevance in the first part of the question requiring department directors’ responsibilities. The second part is relevant as it proposes periodic reviews and notifications to employees prior to evaluations. Notifying employees about appraisals enables them to prepare lists of their attributes before the evaluation date (Clarke, 2011). Hiring the right people whose objectives rhyme with those of the organization is one of the best ways of curbing employee turnover (Xiaoyan & Erhua, 2013). I agree with you that other aspects such as proper training, competitive compensation package, and creating a conducive work environment are critical for employee retention. The factors that motivate employees are the primary requirements for encouraging employees to continue serving a company for a long time (Clarke, 2011). You argued that the rate of turnover can be reduced if employees are satisfied with the appraisal form. I think you wanted to emphasize on the both the content of the form and the process of appraisal; however, you concentrated on the process of appraisal that uses electronic form. The content of the appraisal form should cover several attributes to ensure that employees find at least where to fit in. The personnel manager should investigate whether all employees

Treadway Tire Company Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Treadway Tire Company - Essay Example Out of the three types of line foremen, the externally hired foremen is the most wandering one with no or insufficient training provided to them and due to lack of knowledge about the work they get no respect from the workers, hence a 75% turnover rate is observed. The line foremen are commanders with an ambitious mission and an army that has no or less regard for him. Any lapse on the part of the production, maintenance, quality assurance or from workers is attributed to the performance of line foremen with no say in the grievance process in order to discipline the worker. An inevitable direct cost is incurred in form of paid vacancy advertisements, payments made to the headhunters or recruitment agencies, lengthy testing process (FLT), medical checkups and in case of termination a pay in lieu of notice. Conscious efforts should be made by the organization to reduce the turnover rate and devise programs that retain employees for longer periods. Hiring a person without incurring costs on recruitment channels or without an aptitude test may result in a wrong hire results in further de-motivation and loses (Blake, 2006). The cost of hiring a new incumbent, getting him on board and hands-on with the company processes and production cycle is usually two to three times than retaining the old or leaving employee (Heathfield, 2012). Interviewers leave their core jobs to assess the candidate, the number of hours spent by human resources department on the recruitment process, training and induction costs along with administrative costs such as new uniforms, ID cards and other company property issued to the employee.  

CriticalThinking Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

CriticalThinking - Essay Example This will probably be a rural setting and thus may feel inferior while speaking the formal language. On the other hand, the person who prefers the formal language may be from an urban setting and thus more exposed than the letter. The argument above clarifies to us how the language spoken may say almost everything concerning our values and affiliations (Fisher 43) . Consequently, it is indispensable for one to be vigilant on which language to use when he wants to portray a specific impression. It is also evident that anyone who ignores this is either a child who is naà ¯ve or a drunkard who is simply careless. On the other hand, considering the views of another philosopher, it is very necessary, if we consider objective analysis of views before accepting them as lies or truths. To begin with, we look at a situation were by an individual is giving a testimony in a court of law. In this case, the judge must be careful, analytical and sensitive in order to give a fair judgment. He must make good use of critical thinking, in order to achieve this. In this context, we must make use of certain critical thinking facts, such as having a good understanding of things that may influence our judgment. Some of these factors may include Perception, which is something that may come up in our mind in terms of an impression (Fisher 99). Depending on our upbringing, there are things that we grew to learn as either wrong or right. Dogmatism where an individual only wants to believe in only what he knows and does not want to know anything knew. An individual’s past experience will always influence his thoughts and decisions. For instance, a child who fell from a tree when he was young will always avoid climbing on trees, or if he does climb on one, he will be very careful. These factors will always influence once decisions, and as a result, one must consider them (Fisher 63). In this case, the judge must be able to observe and

Operations Issues in Hospitality Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Operations Issues in Hospitality - Essay Example to assist people with related or interdependent job’s to examine ways in which their teams work together, at the same time identifying strengths and weaknesses, and developing plans to improve team functioning. In essence, team-building is a task-oriented activity with an emphasis on interpersonal interaction. The processes taken into account in team-building are setting goals, developing interpersonal relations, role analysis to clarify team members job, and overall analysis ÃŽ ¿f the team process. There is also an endeavour to use substantial contact among members to foster trust and openness, and there is a pronounced emphasis on changes that will lead to improvement in specific aspects ÃŽ ¿f team performance. For an operations manager to be more effective in his organisation to carry out functions and the duties required to operate the business effectively, it is essential to pass on authority to his management team to purse certain activities. The process ÃŽ ¿f delegation for the operations manager is one ÃŽ ¿f the major functions ÃŽ ¿f effective management. The process ÃŽ ¿f delegation relives the operations manager from involvements in the day to day detail running ÃŽ ¿f particular activities involved in his business operation but not absolves the operations manager from the responsibility ÃŽ ¿f ensuring that the duties ÃŽ ¿f his delegated are correctly and efficiently performed. It is necessary to delegate at every level ÃŽ ¿f management and supervision delegation has to take place, either because ÃŽ ¿f the need for specialist knowledge which the delegator does not process or because ÃŽ ¿f the amount ÃŽ ¿f work the operation manager has to perform and because ÃŽ ¿f the physically impossible by the huge volume ÃŽ ¿f work load. (Rutherford 2002) According to Eyre 0Forecasting is normally done for two periods, short-range and long-range. Both are necessary if the operations manager is to be successful in achieving its objectives in the long term and so can formulate plans for such

To what extent is children's well-being a priority in modern western Essay

To what extent is children's well-being a priority in modern western societies - Essay Example Threats to children’s well-being in the US Childhood obesity To date, many nutrition and behavior-based interventions have been made both within the home and the school but have achieved very little, if any, success in preventing the overweight or obesity in children. Presently, children in the US experience sobering rates of obesity. â€Å"In 2009–2010, 16.9% of U.S. children and adolescents were obese† (Ogden et al., 2012, p. 2). The obese children in the US face different kinds of health complications including heart disease in the very early years of their life. Causes of childhood obesity in the US The main factors linked with the increased risk of obesity in children particularly in the stage of infancy include but are not limited to excessive weight gain in women during pregnancy, smoking during pregnancy, lesser duration of breast-feeding, and lesser than required sleep of the children during infancy. These exposures are the major risk factors to children ’s well-being in the US because they occur during the early stages of development of children and thus regulate the energy balance in them in the long run. These factors specifically influence the hypothalamic circuits’ development which regulates the weight, the endocrine pancreatic function, changes in the lean body mass’s proportion to the fat body mass, and also several other metabolic programming cycles. In light of the aforementioned factors of risk of increased tendency of the children to become overweight or obese, programs or campaigns meant to prevent obesity in the children should specifically influence the earliest stages of development of the children so that the children develop right habits right from the very start of their life and can easily sustain them during the subsequent stages of development. The vulnerability of the children in the US to obesity can be reduced by designing interventions that help reduce excessive gain of weight as well a s smoking during the pregnancy in women, increase the breast-feeding’s duration for the children, and provide the children with more sleep in the stage of infancy. Programs to ensure children’s well-being in the US The Let’s Move Campaign In the US, children’s wellbeing as always been a priority, yet objective measures could not be taken since the efforts made have largely been experiments that have not yielded very fruitful results. However, the present government of the US has taken the issue of childhood wellbeing quite seriously and some very effective measures have been taken in this regard. For example, one of the campaigns for the prevention of childhood obesity have been started by the First Lady Michelle Obama on 9 February 2010 with the name â€Å"Let’s Move† (letsmove.gov, n.d.). The Let’s Move campaign proposes several practicable measures against the sedentary lifestyle of all communities in the US in general and the chil dren and especially the infants in particular since a considerable population of children in the US become obese right from the first two years of their life and accordingly, all complexities and health risks of obesity in children ensue. The main antiobesity strategies of the Let’s Move campaign are directed at empowering the consumers of the food products as well as the parents. To achieve

Expando manufacturers Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Expando manufacturers - Essay Example The situation was that the Expando Co. in State A received a wide variety of general subsidies from the State A government (including tax breaks, low interest financing, and technical assistance) that State A offers to all domestic enterprises within its territory. It is important to keep in mind that these breaks are offered in domestic situations. However, Expando manufactures began to market their wristwatch bands in State B and when this occurred the disagreement began.. The Flexo Co. in State B manufactures similar watchbands to those manufactured and marketed by Expando. Flexo Co. began to lose some of its market share to Expando and they became concerned over the loss. State A and State B are both WTO member states. While the market loss for Flexo ensued, there were some further issues that Flexo to take into consideration. Included was Their desire that State B impose a countervailing duty to offset the subsidies received by Expando from State A, and Flexo asked the State B Customs Service (which is responsible for imposing such duties) to do so. the reason that the question the question at hand was answered yes is because of the codes stipulating international business conduct for WTO members. According to these laws specifically Countervailing Duty Laws.

Four Seasons Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Four Seasons - Essay Example The objective of the organization which was to ‘personalize exceptional service’ attracts a very high number of clients and makes it very popular. Furthermore, Four Seasons also strives very hard to anticipate the needs of any customer and provide those needs even before the customer has requested for them. Four Seasons was also the pioneer of many unique services that has now become the norm when it comes to the hotels. For example, providing concierge services, repair of shoes, supplying shampoos, laundry and ironing services, multi cuisine menu and so on were pioneered by this hotel group, thus; giving it a very strong position in the hotel industry. An organization becomes an employer of choice not just by providing good salary and perks to its employees, but more importantly by providing tremendous amount of respect as well as a good working environment (Ablrichs, 2000). Four Seasons has succeeded in doing that. Four Seasons is considered to be an employer of choice because of its high focus on employee satisfaction. Along with benefits and remunerations, employees are highly respected. The employees treat each other the same way a guest is treated at the hotel. This creates a very healthy and robust environment that is necessary in the hospitality industry. ... In 2008, Four Seasons featured as no.88 in the Fortune List of best companies to work for. In 2011, they moved up to no. 53, giving testimony to the fact that it is indeed an employer of choice (money.cnn.com, 2011). 2. Explain its culture, is it unique to the company, how does this vary from its major competitors? In the hospitality industry, customer holds the key and is focused upon immensely (Butcher, Sparks & O’Callaghan, 2001). However, the unique culture of Four Seasons hotels is the high focus that it has on the employees. The culture of this chain of hotels is centered on a philosophy that everyone follows to the core. The golden rule is that everyone in the organization deals with others in the same way that they want to be dealt with. Primarily it comes down to how each employee of the organization is dealt with warmth, respect as well as courtesy. This level of respect and warmth directly translates into excellent customer service for the clients. The clients also receive personalized service that is done with a lot of warmth and care. This type of services forms the most attractive aspect of staying in a Four Seasons hotel. The culture of the company also gives immense freedom to each department and hence, the employees can put forth any ideas without hesitating. This created a very open and transparent culture, contributing to employee satisfaction. Furthermore, it was evident that employee satisfaction was also equally important as customer satisfaction. Most of the employees remain in the organization for a long period and grow in their roles. This also created employee loyalty and strengthened the culture of the organization. An important way of building

Role of the United States Government Essay Example for Free

Role of the United States Government Essay Introduction In the recent past, we cannot deny that the media industry has experienced monumental growth both in terms of revenues and global expansion. Like other businesses, such as banking and manufacturing, the media business has enjoyed globalized operations to expand and grow, becoming one of the biggest conglomerates in the world. World media has proactively employed information technology and advancement in communication to expand their operations spanning several nations and continents. The news sector of world media seems to have captured most audience. Big corporations such as Cable News Network (CNN), Fox News, British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) and CBS dominate the news corporations with a worldwide reach. In the same regard, entertainment media, such as movies and television shows have also experienced immense growth. Companies from the U.S., for instance Walt Disney, Time Warner, News Corporation and New York Times Company are some of the biggest companies in world media market. U.S. firms have been able to pose formidable media entities in print and digital media services. They have also played an active role in asserting the views of the West with respect to the world issues and, therefore, becoming key players in the global media industry. Thus, for such commendable growth to be witnessed, the United States government must have, in one way or another, assisted these firms to grow and expand to the global market. While the U.S. government has always maintained zero interference in media, such policy is by itself is an active role. This essay will discusses the role of the United States government in assisting U.S. firms expand to the international market. Neoliberal Policies of the 1980s One of the most profound roles of the government in allowing growth in media and globalization is the neoliberal policies and stances adopted in the 1980s. The U.S. government with other likeminded governments, such as the United Kingdom, adopted neoliberal policies in the media industry. The term neoliberal is a multifaceted ideology with different meanings under dissimilar circumstances. However, Pickard (2007) argues that the term simply refers to efforts towards privatization, liberalization, deregulation and globalization of an industry. The U.S. government sought to allow the media industry propelling itself as guided by economics and other drivers of business. Privatization Drive Neoliberal polices first allowed and encouraged the privatization of media companies. With regard to this, private investors took up media operations an introduced new ways of running such businesses. Efficiency and competition became the norm and advertising transformed into a target of the competition. Similarly, foreign investors accepted the lure of privately run media corporations and thus created domestic competition that was unrivalled elsewhere in the world. Such competition led to mergers and buyouts; as a result, a few giants were left to compete in the market. Soon, the expansion in the U.S. was only possible in slight increments and, hence, expansion to the global market was paramount. Such magnificent growth in the United States motivated other nations, especially in the European Union, adopt similar policies (McChesney 2001). Open and competitive market gave the U.S. conglomerates an opportunity to invest in other countries. Today, the biggest media firms in the world are the American firms that expanded after privatizations of businesses. Loosening of Restrictions on Ownership Structures Additionally, neoliberal policies reduced restrictions in antitrust laws and cross ownership of business (Yong 2012). This allowed media businesses to undertake both horizontal and vertical integration. Horizontal integration is where a business diversifies its operation by owning subsidiaries of different sectors (Deloitte 2012). For instance, Time Warner is known print media, news networks and movie productions houses. On the other hand, vertical integration can be defined as businesses owning a business with one main stream of business or practice. Thus, loosening of cross ownership restrictions gave room for business to expand to different units and to the global market. A new approach to media business that emerged was the convergence of business. Convergence of business is where two, proportionately big firms, join to share audience as well as brand names (McChesney 2001). A notable case of convergence in the U.S. media industry was the convergence between AOL and Time Warner. While other convergences have also been experienced, the economic results have been mixed. The AOL merger experienced difficult economic conditions that they later preferred to de-converge. In all loosen restrictions on laws has provided for media to explore all sorts of business arrangement. Zero Government Intervention The United States government has always taken pride in itself as one of the most liberal government in the world. The term liberal has been used in the sense that the government adopts a hands-off policy towards the content and the manner in which media houses are run. To this end, the responsibility of ensuring that content and information dissemination is done in a responsible way rests with the media firms. Global Expansion of US Media Industries 5 Such a non regulated media demands that media firms seek professionalism in passing information. Pickard (2007) argues that a media free of government intervention has to go an extra mile in order to gain public acceptance. The U.S. media firm has employed professionalism in reporting and entertaining the public. Democracy and open space that the U.S. government has maintained has allowed media firms expressing varied opinion on different issues. Further, the freedom of expression that has been assured by the constitution and protected by the government has fostered a media that can be termed ‘the peoples’ ‘watchdog’. Thus the government has opened up itself for scrutiny by privately owned media firms in a move that improves on transparency (Reportlinker.org 2012). Such a responsible media has made other nations around the world to envy such media firms. American news networks such as CNN and Fox News broadcast to a lmost every corner of the globe. Many countries have these news broadcasts translated as their differences languages. These firms have been deemed as independent and professional media houses. Such acceptance is due to the good perception that these media firms enjoy back home. The U.S. government, by providing free space, has allowed U.S. media firms being accepted all over the world and, thus, facilitated the expansion. Conclusion From all of the information, it can be concluded that the United States media firms are one of the biggest non-financial conglomerates in the world. Companies such as Vivendi, Sony, AOL Time Warner and Viacom report billions of dollars in revenues. While the firm may appear to operate like other old conglomerates, the companies did not exist two decades ago. The American government played a vital role in fostering media firm expansions. The first change that the government implemented was the introduction of the neoliberal policies that the Global Expansion of US Media Industries 6 government instituted in the 1980s. These policies first allowed private ownership of media firms. Privatization of media firms allowed private investors running media firms and employ sound business practices. Either, privatization of media firms allowed foreign investors seeking stake in these firms and pursuing expansion. Global expansion was a result of massive expansion and competition. The second role hat neoliberal policies played was the loosening of media ownership restrictions. This allowed media houses practicing both vertical and horizontal integration as practiced in other sectors. The final and perhaps the most important role that the government has played is establishing independence of the media. The U.S. government has adopted a policy where the government has fully eliminated itself from the media business. Independence of media has created public trust within the country and beyond. This allows media houses broadcasting and disseminating information in the regions other than the United States. References Deloitte 2012, Where the true growth lies; the market for digital media, Deloitte ConsultingLLP. McChesney, R 2001, Global media, neoliberalism imperialism, viewed 22 October 2012, . Pickard, V 2007, Neoliberal visions and revisions in global communications policy from NWICO to WSIS, Journal of Communication Inquiry, vol. 31, no. 2, pp. 118-139. Reportlinker.org 2012, Media industry: market research reports, statistics and analysis, viewed 22 October 2012, http://www.reportlinker.com/ci02088/Media.html. Yong, D 2012, The political Eeconomies of media: the transformation of the global media industries, viewed 22 October 2012, http://www.bloomsburyacademic.com/view/PoliticalEconomiesMedia_9781849664264/c hapter-ba-9781849664264-chapter-008.xml.

Security Challenges for Health Information Systems

Security Challenges for Health Information Systems Curtis Anderson   Health Care Information Systems faces challenges of many organizations protecting their information systems from potential threats, such as viruses, accidental fires, untested software, and employee theft of data. Falling into three categories: Human threats (intentional or unintentional human tampering), Natural and environmental (floods, fires, and power outages), and Technology functions (failure of drives, and no backup), viruses are the most common and virulent forms of computer tampering. Another common security issues has to do with internal breaches, usually caused by installation or use of unauthorized software, illegal and illicit communication surfing sites, and e-mail harassment, and using an organizations computer for personal gain. Hardware, like software, used in health care information systems must be protected from loss caused by theft, thereby exposing confidential patient information (Wager, Lee, Glaser, 2013, p. 352-356). The Department of Health and Human Services Security Rules published in the Federal Register on February 20, 2003 (68 Fed. Reg. 34, 8333-8381), and was updated by the HITECH legislation, which is governed by HIPAA Security Rule protects ePHI health information that is maintained or transmitted in electronically, is closely related to HIPAA Privacy Rule, which governs all protected health information (PHI) (Wager et al., 2013, p. 356). With the advancement of mobile technology and the development of applications found in many portable devices, health intervention is beneficial in the delivery of health care data. A conducted systematic review and meta-analysis shows the effectiveness of mobile-health technology, through a controlled trial of mobile technology interventions that is used to improve the delivery process of health care information. The conducted independent study of data allocation concealment, allocation sequence, measured the effects by calculating estimates, and random effects meta-analysis(Free et al., 2013). The study showed a low risk of bias, where the health care trials supported outcomes for the appropriate management of disease, and showed significant benefits to the improvement in nurse/surgeon communication use of mobile phones for reducing diagnoses with the use of mobile technology. The conclusion of these trials showed health care providers supporting the process of intervention benefici al, but a more quality trial outcome is needed to be certain of the results. Security Challenges The responsibility of the healthcare organization should be to protect health information at all times; a critical process of security practices and regulatory compliance in the healthcare industry (Kwon Johnson, 2013). Using the Ward’s cluster analysis, a minimum variance that is based on the adoption security practice between organizations, measured the dichotomous data to indicate the presence or the absence of security practices. When identifying the relationship of clusters and regulatory compliance, the results of the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society conducted a telephone-based survey, which found the United States healthcare organizations adoption of security practices, breach incident, and perceived compliance levels related to Health Inform Technology for Economic and Clinical Health, and the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, that state laws governing patient information security, identified three clusters: Leaders, Follower, a nd Laggers, producing a difference of non-technical practices, with the highest level compliance being associate with the organization who employed the use of a balance approach using the technical and non-technical practice (Kwon Johnson, 2013). Security Strategies Security incidents have been closely related to the use of laptops, other portable and/or mobile devices and external hardware storage that contain or used to access Electronic Protected Health Information (EPHI), falls under the responsibility of HIPAA Security Rule, which requires reviewing and modifying security policies and procedures on a regular basis (HIPAA Security Guidance, 2006). The reinforcing of ways to protect EPHI when accessed or used outside of and organization’s purview, using strategies can be reasonable and appropriate to conduct business activities using a portable medial/device (such as USB flash drives) to store EPHI, and the ability to access or transport EPHI using laptops, person digital assistants (PDAs) , home computers and non-corporate equipment, delegated by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), enforce HIPAA Security Standards, to determine actions covered by the organizations is reasonable and appropriate to safeguard the confid entially, integrity and availability of EPHI (HIPAA Security Guidance, 2006). The organization should establish risk analysis and risk management drive policies to reduce vulnerabilities that can be associated with remote access, and offsite use of EPHI. Establishing training policies in the workplace to address any vulnerability that may be associates with remote access to EPHI, by changing and safeguarding passwords, protecting remote device/media by creating polices that prohibits these devise unattended, and the transmitting of EPHE on open networks or downloading EPHI on open networks or downloading EPHI on a remote computer (HIPAA Security Guidance, 2006). It is important that a security incident and non-compliance issue be address in order to manage any harmful effects of the loss of the device, by securing and securing evidence, managing harmful effects, and notifying the affected party. Allowing for or the requiring of offsite use of, or access to EPHI should have and established strategy plan developed and implemented for the authorization and access of EPHI in accordance with HIPAA Security Rule  §164.308(a)(4) and the HIPAA Privacy Rule  §164.508(HIPAA Security Guidance, 2006). Social Networks Underlying factors have concluded that a lack of information regarding the benefits, and limitations of social media health communication amongst the general public, and health professionals, use a systematic approach to identify, these benefits, and/or limitations of social media to communicate health data by a methodological quality of study that is assessed. There were seven main issues of social media, which includes focusing on increased interactions with others, to facilitate, share, and obtaining health messages, as the new dimension to health care medium use by the public, patients, and health professionals who communicate health issues for improving health outcomes. The study shows that social media can be used as a powerful tool, which offers collaboration between users, and social interaction for a range of individuals to share data electronically (Moorhead et al., 2013). Securing Data on Social Networks There is a remarkable surge surrounding personal health record (PHR) systems for the patient and consumer, however biomedical studies do not show a potentially adequate capability and utility of PHR system (Tang, Ash, Bates, Overhage, Sands, 2006), hinders toe widespread deployment of PHR adoption. Since health care records are more than just a static repository for patient data, it combines data, knowledge, and software tools, to help patients become active participants in their own care. However, the challenges of, technical, social, organizational, legal, and financial requires further study, that requires stakeholder, patients, provider, employers, payers, government, and research institutions to play key roles for developing PHR technology to overcome the barriers to the widespread adoption of PHRs, and develop polices, the cost associate with PHR in medical errors, dollars, and lives, to realize the potential benefits of routine health care and catastrophic disasters (Tang et al., 2006). Strategies to Safeguard Data The use of new technology, applications and platforms, such as â€Å"social media,† has created new opportunities in healthcare but raises privacy and security challenges, The need to adapt old police and procedures, privacy and security protocols to cover communication channels and date sharing needs to be used effectively to protect a healthcare organization from the risk of a disclosing the privacy of a patient’s data (Social Media in Healthcare: Privacy and Security Considerations, n.d.). This process of using online tools and platform for sharing content and information for the purpose of: Delivering pre-development content – sending e-mail or posting on a website, engaging a population in discussion – to facilitate brand awareness/customer satisfaction, and manage communication – that offers individuals and organization a convenient organized way to consolidate their communication. The challenges healthcare organizations face is: Ethical challenges – an acceptable standard of regulatory and legal requirements that is mandated by Title II of HIPAA, and Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX), the National Center for Ethics in Healthcare (NCHEC), and the World Health Organization Ethics and Health Initiative (Social Media in Healthcare: Privacy and Security Considerations, n.d.), to avoid any misconduct or unethical behavior becoming a serious issue with regard to the use of social media. The U.S Supreme Court decision on Sorrell v. IMS Health, Inc. addressed the issue of aggregated databases and the sale of prescriber data for marketing prescription drugs, where the ability to distribute, exchange, and use date from multiple sources is integral to clinical informatics, research, public health, quality improvement, and other healthcare operations. A pharmacy filling a prescription collects detailed information which includes patient and provider names, drugs, and the dosage and prescribed quantities, and the date of the prescription being filled, allows a pharmacy to sell prescription information to data-mining companies of a patient’s information once it has been de-identified by meeting the HIPAA standards. However, legislation sought to restrict the sale of prescription date for marketing purpose using the prescription confidentiality law of 2006, where a data-mining company must obtain permission from the provider before selling prescription records (Peters en, DeMuro, Goodman, Kaplan, 2013). Hackers, cyberattacks and data breaches are the major attacks from outsiders, the motive and type of hackers is complex to chief information security officers (CISOs) and their staff in order to take action to protect and defend their data system. Causing grate consequences to the organizations, along with bad press, impact on reputation, and drop in share prices, requires legal action if a breach involves personal data theft. Identified as a data breach, the loss of control compromises unauthorized disclosure, unauthorized acquisition, and unauthorized access to data physically or electronically (Hayden, 2015). The protection of all date is impossible, as the proliferation of portable media, smartphones, USB drives and laptops increase the opportunity for the loss or theft of these devices along with their data requires that steps be taken to enable the encryption of mobile devise, and to immediately inform security management of a device being stolen, lost, data being compromised. Trends in enterprise mobility has made mobile device security imperative, and the sales of smartphones is surpassing PC sales, the completive edge and benefits of mobility can be lost if the smartphone and tablet PC are not protected against mobile security threats: Mobile malware – Smartphones and table are susceptible to worms, viruses, Trojans and spyware. Eavesdropping – wireless networks use of link-level security lack end-to-end upper-layer security, allowing for unencrypted data to be eavesdropped upon. Unauthorized access – the storing of login information to applications on mobile devise can be easily access to allow intruders access to email accounts and applications, and social media networks. Theft and loss – storing significant amounts of sensitive data on a mobile device can be critical if you are in a hurry and leave you iPhone in a taxicab, restaurant, and data loss can occur. Unlicensed and unmanaged applications – this can cost a c ompany in legal cost (Learning guide: Mobile device protection, 2015). Government and Quasi-government Benefitting from health surveillance, has pioneered, informatics analysis, and solutions in the field of informatics to serve other facets of public health, to include emergency response, environmental health, nursing, and administration. As the systematic application of information and computer science and technology, public health practice, research, and learning professions apply mathematic, engineering, information science, and social science to public health problems and processes that are important to biomedical or health informatics (Savel Foldy, 2012). With seven ongoing elements of any public health surveillance system: Planning and system design – to identify information and sources that addresses the surveillance goal. Data Collection – The use of different collection methods, to identify the appropriate use of a structured data system that supports easier, faster, and higher-quality data entry fields compared to free test, useful vocabulary, and data standa rds. Date management and collation – are used to share data across different computing/technology platforms to link data with data from a legacy system. Analysis – is used for the statistical and visualization application, to generate algorithms that alert users of aberrations in health event. Interpretation – this is useful to compare information from one surveillance program with other data sets. Application to public health programs – this utility assesses surveillance data directly flowing into an information system that support public health interventions and information elements (Savel Foldy, 2012). The challenges of surveillance informatics includes an efficient and effective way to combine sources of complex data and information into an actionable knowledgeable to meet the challenges to arise at a faster, better, and lower cost surveillance and interpretation of health events and trends, the leveraging of technology standards ability to not only talk and listen, but understand each other. Adopting such a system is insufficient since both semantic and syntactic standard must be implemented and tested to ensure system validity. In conclusion, healthcare security is vital to the securing and protecting a patient’s privacy and healthcare information from being breached, lost, stolen, while protecting the healthcare system from viruses, worms, malware and spyware, that can affect the integrity of an organization, a drop in stock prices, and legal issues. Protecting any system that stores vital organization and personal information should be a priority. References Free, C., Phillips, G., Watson, L., Galli, L., Felix, L., Edwards, P., Haines, A. (2013). The effectiveness of mobile-health technologies to improve health care service delivery processes: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Retrieved May 20, 2015, from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23458994 HIPAA Security Guidance. (2006). Retrieved May 20, 2015, from http://www.hhs.gov/ocr/privacy/hipaa/administrative/securityrule/remoteuse.pdf Hayden, E. (2015). Data breach protection requires new barriers. Retrieved May 20, 2015, from http://searchsecurity.techtarget.com/feature/Data-breach-protection-requires-new-barriers Kwon, J., Johnson, E. M. (2013). Security practices and regulatory compliance in the healthcare industry. Retrieved May 20, 2015, from http://connection.ebscohost.com/c/articles/84758015/security-practices-regulatory-compliance-healthcare-industry Learning guide: Mobile device protection. (2015). Retrieved May 20, 2015, from http://searchmobilecomputing.techtarget.com/guides/Mobile-device-protection-and-security-threat-measures Moorhead, PhD, MSc, S. A., Hazlett, PhD, MSc, D. E., Harrison, MSc, L., Carroll, MD, MPH, J. K., Irwin, PhD, A., Hoving, PhD, C. (2013). A New Dimension of Health Care: Systematic Review of the Uses, Benefits, and Limitations of Social Media for Health Communication. Retrieved May 20, 2015, from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3636326/ Petersen, C., DeMuro, P., Goodman, K. W., Kaplan, B. (2013). Sorrell v. IMS Health: issues and opportunities for informaticians. Retrieved May 20, 2015, from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23104048 Savel, MD, T. G., Foldy, MD, S. (2012). The Role of Public Health Informatics in Enhancing Public Health Surveillance. Retrieved May 20, 2015, from http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/su6103a5.htm?s_cid=su6103a5_x Social Media in Healthcare: Privacy and Security Considerations. (n.d.). Retrieved May 20, 2015, from http://himss.files.cms-plus.com/HIMSSorg/Content/files/Social_Media_Healthcare_WP_F Tang, MD, MS, P. C., Ash, PhD, J. S., Bates, MD, D. W., Overhage, MD, PhD, J. M., Sands, MD, MPH, D. Z. (2006). Personal Health Records: Definitions, Benefits, and Strategies for Overcoming Barriers to Adoption. Retrieved May 20, 2015, from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1447551/ Wager, K. A., Lee, F. W., Glaser, J. P. (2013). Health Care Information Systems (3rd ed.). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

Strong Women of Shakespeares Othello :: GCSE English Literature Coursework

Strong Women of Othello  Ã‚   William Shakespeare often described the women in his plays as being strong, confident individuals, much different from the stereotypical roles of the time period in which he lived. In Much Ado about Nothing, the main character____(look up) ---{describe role}. Similarly, in Macbeth, {discuss role of Lady Macbeth} The women of Othello also displayed characteristics of strong, modern women. .... From the beginning of the play, we see that Desdemona is a courageous and decisive woman who pursues Othello, falling in love with his intrigued stories of adventure, seeing "Othello's visage in his mind, and to his honors and valiant parts..." refusing the attempts of other suitors such as Roderigo. We become aware of Desdemona's determination when she marries Othello, despite accusations from Iago that she is under a spell and is deceiving her father. When her fiancà © is accused of bewitching her, she immediately defends her love for him. "And so much Duty as my mother showed to you, preferring you before her father, so much that I may profess due to the Moor my lord". Like many of Shakespeare's other female characters, Desdemona does not embody the stereotypical role of sixteenth century women. When Shakespeare wrote Othello, women had few rights and little power in society. They had virtually no say in arranging their own marriages, and were expected to marry a suitor chosen by their father. Desdemona, however, despite proposals from various suitors and public discouragement, continues her pursuit of Othello, and marries him. Although she is "†¦bound [to her father] for life and education†¦" , she affirms her belief that she belongs with Othello, and has such great love for him, so much that "a heave interim shall support his absence" . Soon after their elopement, envious Iago convinces Othello that Desdemona has been unfaithful to him. Othello becomes enraged cursing Desdemona as a whore. When Othello questions her, we again see her strong sense of devotion, pleading for his trust rather than vehemently defending herself. "I hope my noble lord esteems me honest†¦ Alas, what ignorant sin have I committed?" However, her faith in Othello is so strong that it undermines her "modern", prideful characteristics. Consequently, Desdemona is really not as strong and educated as originally perceived, for she continues to attempt to maintain Othello's trust, despite his incredibly harsh accusations. Although her arguments remain strong, the weakness in her character emerges, for she cannot see the monster that her husband is becoming, and failing to realize that he trusts Iago, a man who is extremely competitive with him, over his very wife's word.

Organizational Behavior and Its Importance to a Company Essay -- Organ

Organizational Behavior and Its Importance to a Company What is organizational behavior and why is it important for a company to understand it? There are several crucial reasons why companies should utilize the concepts of organizational behavior, as well as understand the key terms that are associated with organizational behavior. To understand and utilize organizational behavior there are several key terms that must also be understood, for example organizational culture, diversity, communication, organizational effectiveness and efficiency, organizational learning. Intracorp, a bill review company, has the potential to be more efficient and employees could possibly be more eager to meet intended goals. Definition of Organization Behavior Organizational behavior is defined as â€Å"Organizational Behavior is the study and application of knowledge about how people, individuals, and groups act in organizations† (Clark, 1998). Being able to understand how individuals act within the organization gives management the tools needed to develop an â€Å"effective leadership guide† (Clark, 1998). Should management try and implement a way of leadership that most of the employees are not familiar with will only lead to conflict. It is important that management develop and interpersonal relationship and understand their employees goals should they want the most out of their employees. Intracorp could be one of the leading bill review companies should they have happy and willing emp...

Isolation of Clove Oil

Objective The objective of this experiment is to perform a steam distillation using a microscale distillation apparatus and isolate a natural product from cloves. Introduction By performing steam distillation we can isolate eugenol at lower temperature than its usual boiling point of 248 degree Celsius. Eugenol belongs to a category called essential oil. Many of these compounds are used as flavoring and perfumes and in the past were considered the essence of plant from which they were derived. Structure of eugenol (clove oil) and eugenol acetate: Reagents: Eugenol, CH2Cl2, Br2, FeCl3, MethanolProcedure: Co-distillation We first combine 15 mL of water with 1 g of crushed, ground cloves in a 25-mL round-bottom flask. Then added a spin bar to the 25-mL round-bottom flask and assembled the microscale distillation apparatus. We made certain that the ground cloves were well wetted. We maintained the temperature of the sand bath at approximately 130 Â °C and wrapped the bottom of the still with aluminum foil. Then periodically transfer the distillate from the Hickman head to a 15 mL screw cap centrifuge tube and continue the steam distillation until 5–8 mL of distillate have been collected.Then we started the extraction process by adding 2 mL of CH2Cl3 to the water–eugenol emulsion. Cap the tube and shake it frequently. We then allowed the layers to separate and transferred the CH2Cl2–eugenol solution to a clean, dry 5- mL conical vial. We made sure no water was transferred in this step. Then we added 1 mL of CH2Cl2 to the water–eugenol emulsion, cap and shake the tube. Allowed the layers to separate and transfer the CH2Cl2–eugenol solution to the 5-mL vial used previously and made certain that no water is transferred during this step.We then added 1 mL of CH2Cl2 to the water–eugenol emulsion and shook the tube. We allowed the layers to separate and transferred the CH2Cl2–eugenol solution to the 5-mL vial used in previ ous step. We made certain that no water was transferred during this step. Finally we finished the co distillation process by drying the CH2Cl2–eugenol solution with 2-3 microspatulas of anhydrous sodium sulfate. Evaporation Transfer the dried CH2Cl2–eugenol solution to a clean, dry, tared, 5-mL conical vial. And rinse the drying agent with a few drops of CH2Cl2 and transfer CH2Cl2 rinse to the 5- mL conical vial.In a fume hood, evaporate the CH2Cl2 using a hot water bath at approximately 40 Â °C max 55 Â °C. Classification Test of eugenol (clove oil) The eugenol isolated will be tested for unsaturation using the Br2Test and aromaticity with the ferric chloride test. Br2 Test First we dissolved the clove oil in 2? 3 mL of methanol then added 5 drops of clove? oil solution to a test tube. Then we added few drops of Br2 reagent and gently swirled and recorded our observations. W then prepared a control slide and matched our results to it. FeCl3 testDissolved the clove o il in 2? 3 mL of methanol Added 5 drops of clove? oil solution to a test tube Added a few drops of FeCl3 solution to test tube Gently swirled and record your observation Results and Calculations: Br2 test results. Original Br2 was yellow in color but when it was added to our solution it turned colorless. This shows that we had double bonds formation. Benzene gives us double bonds. Our results matched the result we obtained when we compared with control that we had created. FeCl3 test results: Our solution turned light yellowish in color.Control was dark orange in color. Discussion: Our benzene results indicated that we had double bonds formation. Benzene gives us double bonds. Our results matched the result we obtained when we compared with control that we had created. Our FeCl3 test gave us light yellowish color solution while the control was somewhat orange. This could probably mean that we had Eugenol acetate instead of Eugenol. References: Introduction to Organic Laboratory Tech niques: A Microscale Approach. Pavia, Lampman, Kriz, and Engel. (1999) Saunders College Publishing.

Acceptable subject for the play Essay

A taboo subject is a subject that people are embarrassed or find difficult to talk about. Death is a taboo subject because most people are scared of death and don’t want to about it. Usually, when people are talking about taboo subjects, they make it sound better than it is. This is called a euphemism. Lee Hall makes it acceptable in many ways. The first thing is that death is introduced very early on (the first page) so the audience won’t be surprised by it later on, â€Å"the poor lady who dies so well† â€Å"If I could ever grow up. I would †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.do the dying† Also death is introduced with the opera to make death seem beautiful and like an art. The opera is played at various points throughout the play to keep the theme of the staged and beautiful opera going. Spoonface thinks she understands death, â€Å"and the dying makes me so clear† which makes the audience feel better because she feels she knows what is happening but isn’t scared at all. She has a childlike attitude and isn’t embarrassed to talk about anything. She says everything exactly how it is so the audience know exactly what’s going on. She doesn’t use euphemisms to make things sound better than they are, â€Å"I was backwards† â€Å"And now I was going to die†. The audience now know that spoonface knows she is going to die. Normally this could be quite upsetting for the audience because no one likes to hear about people dying but spoonface doesn’t seem to mind therefore the audience are made to believe that the fact spoonface is dying is not too important. Later on in the play, Spoonface, her mum and her dad find out that she can ‘do numbers’. They think that she is a genius which is good because then there isn’t the feeling that Spoonface is extremely unfortunate and nothing ever goes right for her. The audience now know that Spoonface has got her own special thing that she is better at than most people which could make the audience less upset about her condition. Spoonface is not scared of death because she believes that when she dies, she will go to heaven as she believes in God, â€Å"God came and touched me on my head†. This faith she has makes the death seem a lot less worse because the audience know she believes in life after death and spoonface doesn’t seem to mind about the fact she is dying. Because Spoonface doesn’t seem to mind dying, the audience could get mixed feelings. Either they feel better because she doesn’t mind dying or they feel worse because they think Spoonface doesn’t understand what dying is. When Spoonface goes into the hospital, Doctor Bernstein talks openly about the holocaust and concentration camps and spoonface interprets it into her own words quite graphically. This puts Spoonfaces condition into perspective and sort of makes the audience feel more sympathetic towards Doctor Bernstein rather than having everyone focusing their attention on Spoonface. This doesn’t actually make death more bearable, it just gives the audience something tragic to think about to make Spoonface seem less unfortunate. Another thing is the slight humour of the play. It must have been a hard subject to put humour into but Lee Hall did this very well. An example of this humour is when Spoonface gives her list, â€Å"I was supposed to die†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ and we had fish fingers. † Spoonface thinks that having fish fingers for dinner is just as important as the fact she will die. Everyone knows that these two facts are not as important as each other and that having fish fingers is not really important at all. Because Spoonface thinks these things are of equal importance, the audience are led to think that death is not really important either. Lee Hall has written this play through the perspective of a naive child (Spoonface) so he can say whatever he wants and be as blunt as he wants. There are layers of meaning throughout the play because of Spoonfaces naivety. At the end of the play, Spoonface talks about ‘the sparks’. This is her idea of the point of life and death. She believes it is her destiny to be the way she is and that she has found her ‘spark’ and that once you find the spark there isn’t any point in you being alive. The audience think that she has completed what she was put on the earth to do therefore she isn’t really needed. The final point is that after reading the play, the audience gain better awareness and understanding of the play and it may alter people’s perspective on life and could make more people be happy to be alive.

Policy Report On Dispersal Of Asylum Seekers

IntroductionThe UK has been second home to asylum seekers for a very long time, having witnessed an influx of immigrants since the seventeenth century, some of which were looking for refuge. With time, the UK residents felt bothered by increasing concentrations of ethnic minorities in the UK and especially their clustering in particular areas which led to congestion. In response to the increasing uneasiness of the public, the government opted to come up with means through which they could redistribute the ethnic minorities in other areas so as to decongest the cities and encourage assimilation.This led to the formulation of the Asylum and Immigration Act in 1999 which led to the dispersal of ethnic minorities to various corners of the United Kingdom. The dispersal policy has however come under heavy criticism with claims that it isolates the asylum seekers from the renders them vulnerable to racially charged attacks. This paper therefore seeks to analyze the dispersal policy of asylu m seekers, examining its background and development. It will also offer as critique of the policy which will largely determine whether it is a viable policy or not.Background policy reviewPrior to the 1990s, many Europeans thought of refugees as a problem of the third world which needed to be contained by the third world.   Europe would only be involved in charity but refugees needed to remain within their own borders. When it became involved, Europe only admitted a selected few refugees and settled them under controlled circumstances (Robinson et al 2003, p. 3). The attitude that many Europeans held towards refugees especially those from the third world was that they were immigrants looking for economic opportunities and as such, they did not deserve to be accorded asylum status.In the UK, the number of people seeking asylum was rapidly increasing (Robinson et al 2003, p. 4). During the post war period, Britain needed manpower for economic reconstruction and since it was not able to fill these positions, it decided to turn to the commonwealth, leading to an influx of immigrants especially from Asia. Thus Britain has been multiethnic for a long time. While some of the immigrants were coming to look for work, others also started coming to Britain in search of refuge. As early as the seventeenth century, some 50,000 French Huguenots arrived in London seeking refuge. In the 1880s, Jews also arrived in droves to look for refuge as they escaped the pogroms. Thus by the turn of the twentieth century, Britain had developed a reputation as a place of refuge (Robinson et al 2003, p.103).In 1905, an Aliens act was passed which ended this particular type of migration but the influx of both voluntary and forced immigrants continued. Jews fleeing Nazi Germany settled in the UK, so did some Italians and Chinese immigrants. Rapid immigration led to a concentration of certain ethnic communities in particular areas such as Chinatowns and dockland black quarters. Britain used this immigrant manpower for labour due to local shortages (Robinson et al 2003, p.104). This development of ethnic quarters was a cause of concern for the public who even directed hostility at the immigrants for this reason; the state saw the need for dispersal of refugees as well as ethnic minorities even before the formulation of the dispersal policy (Robinson et al 2003, p.104).It started an informal dispersal program in which the government attempted to settle people in different areas. Public opinion showed that many Britons were xenophobic and did not approve of the way some economic groups were clustering in the country; fearing that this would have an impact on the national identity of the British. Racial exclusion became an aspect of life in many regions of the UK in the 1960s to such an extent that it became a matter of popular as well as political concern. Some parents even objected to the number of black children who were being allowed to attend local schools. This led to the ‘Boyles Law’ being passed which stated that local schools should accommodate a maximum of 30% of ethnic minority children.The Department of Education and Science even suggested some policies to prevent ethnic concentrations from building up. In the 1970s, many people became increasingly supportive of the dispersal of ethnic minorities. Dispersal was aimed at reducing the hostility directed at them and facilitating their access to better chances. It was felt that living in mixed neighbourhoods would challenge the stereotypes that were associated with ethnic minorities (Robinson et al 2003, p.106-107).In 1969, the Cullingworth committee investigating public housing in the UK expressed concern over the residential concentration of ethnic minorities especially in the inner city; a factor that had led to overcrowding and which, they felt could lower the standards of education. For this reason, they proposed dispersal albeit voluntary. In the years that followed howeve r, there were increased calls for the compulsory dispersal of ethnic minorities (Robinson et al 2003, p.107).In the 1970s however, the assimilation concept began to be viewed as outdated, politically incorrect and linked to a belief of ethnic supremacy. No policy makers or those in power wanted to be associated with the assimilation concept lest they be viewed as extremists (Robinson et al 2003, p.108). The development of the dispersal policy can be linked to the changing welfare ideologies of the UK. The ideology of social democracy was evident especially in the years immediately after the Second World War.This ideology prevailed in the post war period and was associated with recognition of the needs of all people including the working class, as opposed to the bourgeois only. Thus everyone, even the immigrants who constituted the working class, benefited from a wide range of welfare benefits. The recent third way ideology seeks to promote welfare to work program and it has been lik ened to the principles of neo- liberalism. It claims to attempt to blend the principles of social democracy with neo- liberalism and involves welfare to work program whereby people must be helped by to find work by helping them overcome the dependency on passive benefits, inculcating in them a sense of responsibility.The welfare reform program consists of welfare cuts; something that greatly affects the asylum seekers. Government wishes to reallocate welfare payments to those who are working as opposed to those not working such as the asylum seekers. Their benefits have practically been abolished under this program and they have to undergo rigorous testing to be eligible if at all (â€Å"the retreat of social democracy†n.d). The evolution of such welfare ideologies determines how asylum seekers are treated since they rely mostly on welfare.Asylum seekers dispersal policyUnder the informal dispersal program prior to the 1990s, there were stories of how asylum seekers were tran sported to remote areas only to find that their destinations were neither expecting nor prepared for them. For this reason, many of them returned to London just a few days after having been dispersed.The asylum seekers were not very willing to be dispersed and some of then refused to be assisted if it involved dispersing them to areas outside the capital. In response to the failed Local Government Association dispersal program, in 1999, the government passed the use of the Asylum and Immigration Act; a new compulsory policy that radically modified the reception of asylum seekers. It is worth noting that it was not mandatory for all asylum seekers to be dispersed but those who needed financial support had to agree to it since the government would offer financial support only to those who were in agreement with the dispersal policy (Robinson et al 2003, p.123).The objectives of the dispersal act were to control the number of people who were seeking asylum in the UK, hasten the assessm ent process for asylum claims and overhaul the mechanisms of financial support for asylum seekers so that they stop coming to the UK merely for welfare benefits. Under the Act, the National Asylum Support Service (NASS) was formed. Its purpose was to choose which asylum seekers qualified for state benefits, provide them with these benefits and disperse them from London as well as the South East (Robinson et al 2003, p.123). It would provide asylum seekers with housing in some areas which came to be referred to as cluster areas under a more centralized dispersal process.This act meant that asylum seekers were not entitled to benefits and they were subject to compulsory dispersal by NASS so as to decongest the cities (Griffiths et al, n.d). Asylum seekers would apply to the Immigration and Nationality Directorate for asylum and the Directorate would decide whether their claim was true or unfounded. Meanwhile, those who had been temporarily admitted would be forwarded to NASS who would provide them with emergency accommodation if they did not have means of supporting themselves.Within a seven day period, NASS decides who qualifies for support and disperses them to cluster areas outside London and the South East. The needy asylum seekers are given free housing inclusive of utilities cost and financial support. Once settled temporarily, the asylum seekers would know the fate of their claims within a two month period and could appeal within the four months that follows. The entire procedure is expected to be completed within a span of six months maximum.The Act also proposes an integration of the relevant authorities into consortia that would be responsible for the long term integration of asylum seekers who had been granted refugee status (Robinson et al 2003, p.124). The aim of the dispersal act is to redistribute the costs of catering to the asylum seekers, diffuse social tensions and discourage would-be applicants. The dispersed asylum seekers are taken care of and integrated into their communities by NASS which offers them accommodation within the clustered areas (Griffith et al, n.d).Critique of the Asylum seekers dispersal policyFrom its inception, the asylum seekers dispersal policy was met with severe criticism due to the critical issues that it raises to concerned citizens as well as the perceived risk that it poses to the asylum seekers themselves. This section uses the â€Å"othering† theory and the critical race theory to examine how asylum seekers are received in the UK and other developed nations, especially those which have a similar policy to UK’s dispersal policy.Critical race theory helps one to understand the prevailing social situation in terms of races, racism and the subsequent game of power. The critical race theory helps in determining how the society has organised itself especially along racial lines and how relationships between the races are organised in a hierarchical manner. Furthermore, it strives f or social justice and a betterment of the situation; a betterment of the relationship between the races (Delgado and Stefancic 2001, p.3). Central to understanding why races tend to group themselves together is the concept of ‘othering’.‘Othering’ is an important part of identity formation. As Dominelli (2004, p.76) puts it, the ‘self’ is in existence due to the presence of the ‘other’ who can be used to as a measure of comparison to oneself. This dichotomy facilitates the externalization of the other to such an extent that he or she is viewed in an antagonistic manner, thus creating hierarchical relations. In the formulation of policies therefore, ‘othering’ processes generate divisions such that those who are labelled as the ‘other’ are set apart from the normal population.They generate barriers that prevent those who have been excluded from mingling with others, and distinguish them as undeserving of fa vourable treatment (Dominelli 2004, p.76). In the UK, asylum seekers as well as refugees are subjected to ‘othering’ which makes them easy prey for violence. For instance, almost all asylum seekers in Scotland are located in Glasgow; a city rife with gangs that attack them for the ethnic minorities who are ‘othered’ based on their looks, their language as well as culture. Just looking different in Glasgow can make one a victim of racial harassment on a level that has been described as shocking by a Scottish executive study.The reason given by the gangs for these often brutal attacks targeted at asylum seekers is that they are usually given the best houses in the area; a result of the dispersal policy which is responsible for settling the asylum seekers in scattered places and providing them with financial support. What the gangs cannot understand is why the ‘others’ should be accorded such favourable treatment when the ‘deserving’ inhabitants of the regions can probably not even afford the lifestyle accorded to the others (Stewart, 2007). According to Morris (2007) asylum seekers are put at risk by the dispersal policy which, in an effort to decongest the main cities procures the houses for asylum seekers in far off places which are invariably poor. That the asylum seekers are given the best housing in the area makes them targets of prejudice and violence.This main reason behind such attacks is that the residents feel that the asylum seekers are being given preferential treatment. Most of the places where the asylum seekers are settled are volatile areas that have witnessed recurrent attacks on asylum seekers. For example, both the Moston district and the Cheetham district in Manchester continue to receive many refugees even though they are considered to be very dangerous and unpleasant. Other dangerous areas which continue to receive asylum seekers are Everton, whose residents felt that the asylum seekers we re being favoured, and Toxteth which have both witnessed several cases of racial harassment that are targeted at asylum seekers as well as refugees. Furthermore, some asylum seekers are placed in areas where there is none of their kind and where they have difficulty in communication. The dispersal system thus tends to isolate foreigners, making them vulnerable to hostility.In several studies carried out in the UK and documented by the Information Centre about Asylum and Refugees (ICAR n.d), it was established that most people were very concerned about the influx of immigrants into the UK with several of them expressing concern that immigration was out of control. Of particular concern was the question of asylum seekers, with most people wondering just how genuine these ‘supposed’ asylum seekers were. The study found that many people were concerned about the increasing numbers of asylum seekers and how genuine their claims were. A number of people felt that the influx of asylum seekers was economically motivated.They felt that if such immigration was left unchecked, then it would eventually threaten the British society in terms of their values, health, ethnicity as well as religion. The British economy would also suffer due to the asylum seekers becoming burdens to the economy, increasing competition and engaging in acts of criminality since asylum seekers were often associated with deviance which could lead to acts of illegality. The study also revealed that most people felt that the asylum seekers were favoured and were in fact, better off than the average white Briton. Most of the problems that asylum seekers face are have either been created or exacerbated by the dispersal policy since it tends to put the immigrants in places where they can be easily ‘othered’ and isolates them; thereby making them susceptible to prejudice.ConclusionThe dispersal policy has been faced with severe criticism due to the perceived danger that it poses to the asylum seekers. Isolated in foreign communities and not understanding the British system, they suffer racial prejudice and violence directed at them by the locals who cannot understand why these outsiders are being treated in a more favourable manner by the government yet they are just immigrants while the locals continue to be ‘worse off’ than these immigrants.The increased cases of violence directed at immigrants should sound alarm bells for the relevant authorities and lead to a review of the dispersal policy. It is crucial for nations to grant asylum to people fleeing the countries. However if this is done in a manner that puts offends the locals and puts them at risk, then the provision of asylum defeats purpose. It does not make sense for people fleeing death from their countries to be granted asylum in another, only for them to be met with the hostility that probably drove them from their countries in the first place. Thus the government should halt the di spersal policy or modify it so that the asylum seekers are not placed at risk.

Effect of Social Media on Nigerian Undergraduate Essay

Rapid growth of popular online communication mediums has introduced new ways for the students to communicate. The vast array of social communication changes introduced by the relatively young prologue of social network site mandate the essences of this study. This study accessed the influenced social media (facebook in particular) on Nigeria youth in the higher institution. Specifically it attempts to collect facts on the positive and negative influence of facebook on Nigeria youth. Background of the Study  New type of communication influence by rapidly changing internet-based-technologies have spurred research on mass communications theory(Ruggerio,2000). during the period of 1988 to 1998 the internet grow nearly 100 percent every year as of January of 1998,it was estimated that 102 million people were using the internet globally(Bastian,1998). in 2007, the pew internet & American life project forecasted that between 165 and 210 million users were surfing the internet in the united states alone (fallows,2007). Between November of 2006 and December of2009,the pew Internet & American life project found that teenagers and young adults were consistently to highest users of the internet. social network sites, in particular, have provide a prominent medium for relationship formation (valkenburg, Peter & sebouten,2006). As the internet quickly grow many key online technologies began to take shape. In 2008, social networking site were among the fastest rising most visited websites. CBC News reported that the popular social networking website Facebook jumped from the 60th most visited website to the 7th most visited website in 2008. One social network site in particular has become one of the most visited internet websites in the world. Initially started in February of 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg, the social network site Facebook. com has become largely popular. Its mission has been to â€Å"give people the power to share and make the world more open and connected† (Facebook. com, 2009). Millions of users are empowered to communicate with friends, share information such as photographs and videos, and learn more about the individuals they meet on Facebook everyday (Facebook. com,2009) At the time of data collection for this study Facebook. om had over 900 million active users, approximately half of Facebook’s active users log into Facebook on a given day. In addition, users have historically spent 500 billion minute per month on Facebook (Facebook. com, 2010). As of spring of 2010, Facebook had become the most popular social network site in the world. As online social networking grows in popularity the number of users placing personal information online does as well. Studies as shown that undergraduates put high levels of personal information online/ including inappropriate and appropriate information,which can be easily accessed by anyone.  This study focused on the influences of social networking on undergraduate that are using Facebook. This literature review discusses the previous research and findings on the influence of Social Media (Facebook) on undergraduate, youth and children. According to data gathered from several sources by Online Education . net. Social media may have positive impact on students’ sense of themselves in the community. social media-using students were twice as likely as other students feel well-liked by their peers and to participate in extracirricular activities. And more of Facebook-using students (as compared to students who didn’t use Facebook) said they felt connected to their school and the world. However, negative effects abound student who use Faceebok and hit the books simultaneously found their multitasking led to a lower grades than those of their more focused peers. Not only do grade suffer, but students might actually end up feeling depress. As Facebook’s dominance continues to grow, we are starting to realize the impact it is having in society, particularly on youth. DR. Larry Rosen, a professor of psychology at California State University, Dominguez Hills, researches on how technology impacts youth. Rosen presented his study at the 119th American Psychological Association Convention in Washington DC. His findings are based on survey responses from computer-based surveys distributed to 1,000 urban adolescents and his own 15-minute observation of 300 teenagers that were studying. Rosen said in a presentation title† Poke Me: How Social Network can both Help and Harm Our Kids. He said his research found both negative and positive influences linked to social networking. Rosen’s top three potential negative effects of Facebook; 1. Teenager who use Facebook more often show narcissistic tendencies while young adults who have a strong Facebook presence show more sign of other psychological disorders, including antisocial behaviours, mania, and aggressive tendencies. 2. Daily over use media and technology has a negative effect on the health of all children, preteens, an teenagers by making them more susceptible to future health problems’ 3.  Facebook can be distracting and can negatively impact learning. Studies found that middle school, high school, and college students who checked Facebook at least once during a 15-minute study period achieved lower grades. Rosen’s top three potential positive effects of Facebook; 1. Young adult who spend more time on Facebook are better at showing â€Å"virtual empathy† to their friends 2. Online social networking can help introverted adolescents learn how to socialized behind the safely of various screens, ranging from two-inch smart phone to 17-inch laptop.   3.  Social networking can provide tools for teaching in compelling ways that engage young students. Jasmine, P. (2011) rightly said; today youth is addicted to social networking site like orkut, Facenook, e. t. c. But nowadays especially Facebook is most popular amongst youth. Due to this over indulgence, their studies suffer a lot. Even it not only hinder their studies but also their physical, social, mental and ethic growth. Children have become couch potato. Parents are under stress to see their children spending more and more time on this social network sites. ot only children became a prey of these but every age group fascinated of this sites. this sites are meant for connecting people, to make them socialize, communicate with each other, share videos, photos, their past memories etc. but people especially youth used whole day wasting their time on this sites. they are addicted to this sites. Mose Jator(2011)also has this to say; social networking is good to some extent that people share views and ideas as well as keep in touch with friends and love ones. ooking at it on the other hand, you will discover that people today tend to use this avenue for their selfish interests which in most cases offend public decency. Some use fake identity. Looking at it on the other hand, you will discover that people today tend to use this avenue for their selfish interests which in most cases offend public decency. Some use fake identities with the sole aim of cheating hence the prevalence of cybercrime. Many youth today found themselves in one secret society and either consciously or unconsciously through social networking. Walther (1995) postulates that computer-mediated communication(e. g. social network)offers additional opportunity for students with limited amounts of time for socialization to develop their personal relationship than their face-to-face peers(as cited in Mazar, Murphy & Simonds,2007). Methodology The intent of this study is to examine the influence of facebook on undergraduates. it seek to determine the positive and negative impact of facebook have on undergraduates attitude, grade and social life. An interview with 15 respondent from the major higher institutions in kwara state. Interview guide was used in collecting in-depth or rich data from the respondent. the purpose of this section is to describe the methodology used in this qualitative study. Findings Social media has become an integral part of our lives and no group feels it impact more than students. Facebook started on college campuses and it continue to thrive there the most. there’s no doubt that social media has had a huge impact on the lives of students, but what’s less clear is whether this impact has been good or bad. As a result of the interview guide administered to undergraduate of higher institution of Kwara state. Akinkunmi Jayeola, a business study student of Kwara state polytechnic posited that facebook are good platform for sharing what’s in your mind, a good medium of communication, easiest and cheapest means of communication. it’s a good way to stay connected with your friends in this fast going trend. You get a good knowledge about present going things. He later go further by pointing out the negative side of it by stressing that, if you give it so importance it will make you as slave. Another opinion from Afolayan Kabir another student from same institution also elaborate what Akinkunmi has said by stressing that facebook is good to use if we use it to some limit. it help us in improving our communication, use for creating awareness and negative aspect of it is that students waste too much time on this site. Baderu Ayotunde also have something to say; he rightly stress that it is good for student to use facebook if it is used in a right way because it a means for individual to explore the world without physically taking risks. nother student expositing on Baderu’s point of view that facebook is a good things for youth of Nigeria to think beyond friendship to close or old friends and new friends around the globe, one can share thought to each other and exchange the knowledge. he further enriches his point by sitting instant like; Today if breaking news happens before the news channels flashes, facebook flashes up the detail which were uploaded or shared by t he nearby person using facebook. he took his stand that to him that facebook is the way to develop the people of Nigeria and aware them. Najeeb Blogun student of university of Ilorin held a contrary opinion by stating that facebook have a negative impact on youth by spoiling their life and killing their most valuable time in chatting rather than spending time more on their studies. He go further by also positing that youth are cheatting one another by their false name on facebook, like a boy coming into facebook and introducing himself as a girl to divert attention towards himself and exploiting the people’s mind, it may also increase terrorism. In exploring the underlying structures of influence of facebook on Nigeria youth, the fact deduce is that facebook site has became the means of communication where individual were connected with friends and relatives with this sites as they don’t have enough time to spend with their friends in their busy schedule they can stay connected with them by sharing their feelings, thoughts, pictures etc. It’s the easiest and cheapest means of communication as now that internet is easily accessible to everybody. As anything that exceeds its limit becomes addiction therefore this can affect anyone that got addicted to facebook. The information uploaded can be misused by the people so it increases the question of privacy. so adaptation of things in limited ways is important.

Micro Economics

We stand in the beginning of the twenty first century with new groups in positions of great power within our economic. One would think that, with this peak strength, American man would be secure, ready to move forward. An uncertainty, however, seems to be besetting us. We are unsure of ourselves. Internally, we are ill at ease and suspect one another – so much so that sometimes we seem can forget our fundamental belief in the dignity of mankind. People enjoy a standard of living, but often we do not enjoy life. People are mobile in their cars and can see the whole world in television. Yet people are not sure where they want to go or what they want to see. Modern world baffles people, and we do not know how to turn our knowledge into creative expression both as a nation and as individual citizens. Such a situation, if to continue, is in danger of in the end to sap our viability. Unless people try to understand the fundamental nature of our society as interrelated systems of power – economic, business, political, and moral – we can misunderstand our mission in this world. I believe that the mission of every person is to establish a great civilization on this continent and to create peace and security for mankind. Therefore, the fulfilment of my aspirations for effective and moral living is, and must be forever, a never ending business. My life must be a business. It is the most important business I will ever be responsible forever. I will face challenges and risks with little or no planning. Economics is a kaleidoscope that touches all aspects of the business of living. According to several reports issued by the Small Business Administration (SBA), the single most dominant reason businesses fail is directly attributable to a lack of planning. This paper is intended to build my life’s economic plan. It will consider issues of wants and needs, supply and demand, long term employment probability, unexpected economic challenges, and what I believe the economic future to be and how I will adapt to it. Planning I can use the terms â€Å"plans† and â€Å"planning† to many different aspects of my everyday life. One use of the term â€Å"plan† I will use to describe a procedure for achieving a particular goal or desired outcome. For example, when somebody asks me â€Å"So, what's the plan?† I think of a set of directions to guide my thoughts and actions. That is, I create the directions on what to do and when to do it, and this in turn might tell me those things that are most important and those things to consider. Ideally, my plan should be complete. That is, the contents and ordering satisfactorily accomplishes the goal. The plan should be efficient and foolproof. The instructions of the plan should be easy to memorize, monitor and execute, with little chance of things going wrong (Morris 99). However, in my daily life, plans may still be useful without offering explicit guidance or instructions. A map of the new city or an architect's diagram detailing the layout of a house may also be correctly referred to as plans. However, these plans provide a representation or overview of a project or problem, rather than a set of directions. A clear understanding of the current state and what should to be done, together with awareness of the different means and methods at my disposal may greatly facilitate the efficacy of achieving my goals. Through using planning and strategies, a chosen subset of new alternatives may be found more quickly and more efficiently than would be the case if I used only pure trial or error, or if I regularly investigated each and every possibility in turn. Many theories of planning propose that the first stage is to form a suitable mental representation of the goals. The representation may include the initial state and the goal state as well as a range of possible actions that could be taken (Morris 123). Planning tips, strategies and tactics are known as heuristics and algorithms. My planning involves intended actions to be taken in the future, motivational control may be needed in order to carry them out appropriately. My planning is subdivided into four sections: first, a number of key goals are introduced; second, SWOT analysis is introduced; third, short summary descriptions are provided outlining the main themes and issues to emerge from the savings planning; fourth,   a view on the nature of man as consumer is presented. Goals I have specific goals that consistently pursue. There are a mixture of goals and success factors which are important to the achievement of my goals. True goals are probably confined to the first three categories. Long term employment Profitability Growth Of these three the one of primary importance to me is profitability. From my perspective this could be more specifically defined as Return. Growth and Long term employment are pursued to the extent that they yield a long term benefit in terms of Return. After graduating I am going to be a manager employed by a company. How do I as a manager make my decisions? Perhaps these decisions can be better appreciated by setting up a scenario and observing the behavior patterns of a manager of a factory. Let us suppose that the factory is part of a corporate empire in which top management is ensconced in a big city office and middle management runs the factories located somewhere in the hinterlands, far from the lights, fun, and frolic of the big city. Suppose that I am a middle-level manager of a factory that makes widgets along with an assortment of other products. I have both production and marketing responsibilities and report to a president who is held accountable for the overall operation of the factory by those in the corporate headquarters. In the game of Musical Chairs, the winner lasts as long as it takes to set up the chairs, turn the record over, and play a new round. And in the game of King of the Hill, one remains king for as long as he can fend off new attacks. There is a transient aspect to positions of power that is true in children's games of fun and in adults' games of life. Nevertheless, whether a king is attempting to maximize the profits of his company or trying to maximize his longevity in power, somewhere in the king's organization, there are middle-level managers. These aspirants to power have not yet risen in position to dream of toppling the king. They are still in the Musical Chairs stage of development. While biding their time until they are in a high enough position to try and topple the king, which may never come about for some, they have to think about something else to justify their jobs. And there is no better justification for a job than thinking about the profitability of the company. What this means is that, while top management and the members of the board may be taking a more tangential view of profitability, there is someone in the organization looking at the price of goods in the marketplace, the cost of making goods on the factory floor, and the inventory of finished goods in the warehouse. That person is making, or recommending, some important decisions: 1. Expanding or contracting production 2. Raising or lowering prices 3. Building a new plant or closing an existing one These are certainly important decisions if one is a worker employed by this company. The development and implementation of good system for a business will be a task for a manager. This involves a mixture of techniques and technologies. Related to this development and implementation process is the proper planning and leadership needed to identify and organize modern technology. Also, there is the cultural aspect. This aspect promotes an atmosphere of community and intelligence sharing among company employees. In its intention to get the required resources for its future success, the manager creates and then implements management practices that encourage new technology. In order to better understand the mixture of techniques and technologies used in the development and implementation of business system, the following four basic elements are recapped below (Hoctor 78): 1. upgrading current information systems to tie in with smart business system 2. employing data storage to its fullest extent for optimization. The focus is on using appropriate aged data and real-time data 3. utilizing smart business software for optimizing a company’s operations today as well as in the future 4. making great use of computer networking in particular on E-commerce In modern world, the creation of good system for business is leading the way to optimizing a company’s operations in quality control for changing times. Not only is computer technological innovations are changing more quickly each day, but also are business demands. Managers are being pressed to respond to customer needs. They also face competitive threats in days and weeks instead of months or years. Products and services that could wait for 6 to 12 months just a few years ago today need to get out the door in a much shorter period of time. And it is not just multinational companies or global organizations that are being pressed with shortening time frames. Almost any business, from a small firm up to the world’s largest corporation, is at risk of being replaced by a more quick-witted, E-business-enabled rival. The success of businesses will be estimated by how well managers have developed E-business applications to distinguish themselves from the competition. Therefore, how well the managers can respond to changing times is important factor for its success. Systems for a business can be the means to meet these fast changing times for a modern company. SWOT analysis SWOT is a widely used thinking framework for identifying Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats. It enables key factors to be visibly recorded as a high level summary of personal (or a business) situation. It is a summary that is simple but powerful. The technique can be used to document the key factors arising from the review of a particular project or business, through looking at the Opportunities and Threats it faces in the wider world. The SWOT summary may be used to consolidate key issues identified through other forms of analysis (Elkin 90). The uncertain world of the consumer Not all the money may be spent. Some may be saved. Savings will be important to me because we live in a world of uncertainty. The uncertainty aspect that worries me most might be death, but a close second is unemployment. Unemployment is a consequence of a free market environment in which employers not only are free to dismiss, lay off, or in other ways terminate employees but also are forced to do so by the workings of the free market itself. If a factory makes a product, and if for any number of diverse reasons that product cannot be sold, at some point the factory owner must reduce the factory's output. If he does not dismiss any workers, the factory owner is paying for workers who are producing goods that are not being sold. This is a cash outflow at the same time when he is not selling his product. Consequently, there is no revenue from sales to generate a cash inflow to counterbalance the cash outflow. What is his choice with regard to laying off his workers? Does he even have a choice? The answer is no. Thus, savings are necessary to provide some sort of cushion, a security blanket, a nest egg for the bad times. Savings are my safety net to protect myself when things turn against me. Savings have little to do with the running of a communist society. The economic philosophy behind communism is that the state will take on all the burdens of an individual such that he is never exposed to risk of any kind (Dunning 56). Housing, food, medical care, education, you-name-it -these are all the responsibility of the state. The communist system does not expect that an individual has to save, as he would in the free market system, because all aspects of personal security are guaranteed by the state. However, it must be noted that individuals in communist nations do save. Sometimes it is to accumulate the funds necessary to make a major purchase, such as an automobile. Sometimes the act of saving is a default condition in that there is nothing on the shelves that a consumer wants to buy. Saving then reflects the inability to spend. Perhaps this best illustrates the fundamental difference between the two economic systems. In one, a consumer saves because of the inability to guarantee a secure income. In the other, a person saves because of the inability to be a consumer. The philosophic underpinnings of the free market system assume that man is basically an unhappy and dissatisfied individual who abhors work (Dunning 90). People work for one basic reason: if they don't, the alternative is to starve to death in a dark, cold room. Relatively few people find satisfaction in work. Most work is tedious, repetitious, and boring. The primary incentive to man a machine is to earn some money to feed one's family, keep clothes on their backs, provide a roof over their heads, and keep the rooms lighted and warm. Because the very nature of the free market system hardly inspires confidence in the future, man as consumer saves a portion of his pay for a rainy day. The amount that he saves varies from individual to individual and depends on a number of issues. Among these are the extent of his present savings, his possession of material things, the general direction of prices, the relationship between the interest he receives on his savings and the effect of inflation on the price of goods, and his confidence in holding onto his job. While these are the more important considerations one takes into account in determining how much to save, one consideration overrides all others. That consideration is confidence. Possession of material things The desire to possess material things influences spending habits. If a person feels that he is behind, so to speak, on the possession of material things with respect to his peers, he will have a general tendency to. When people see the unemployment lines getting shorter and the want ads for jobs becoming more common, their attitude toward spending becomes more positive. Good times begin as soon as unemployment rates start decreasing. Even with continued high unemployment, the fact that things are getting better permeates the thinking of consumers. If unemployment rates are decreasing, and if one has a job, then the chances of being laid off are nil. The worst is over, and it is time to forget the bad times. Declining unemployment means that the security associated with a job is going to be much greater than during times of increasing unemployment. One can afford to be a bit more profligate than during less auspicious times. As the economy falters because sales are collapsing, fear of losing one's own job makes one more cautious in his spending habits. This is in the best interests of me – spend less, save more, and add to the nest egg in case things get even worse. References Dunning, John H. (2001). Global Capitalism at Bay? Rutledge: London. Elkin, Paul. (1998). Mastering Business Planning and Strategy: The Power of Strategic Thinking. Thorogood: London. Hoctor, James J. (2003). Smart Business Systems for the Optimized Organization. Praeger: Westport, CT. Morris, Robin. (2004). The Cognitive Psychology of Planning. Psychology Press: Hove, England.