IT Management Essay

Database management is an important aspect of any modern organization given the massive growth of data volumes as a result of regulations on data storage as well as the increase in transactions and communication channels. This paper presents issues arising form the task of managing information through its lifecycle; specifically for companies based on PeopleSoft, SAP, Siebel, CRM, Oracle E-business suite, supplier relationship management (SRM) or ERP applications which are increasingly being affected by expanding data volumes within them. The article brings into perspective, ILM; which seeks to optimize on data by employing processes, policies tools and practices essential in linking the information’s business value with the most cost effective and appropriate IT systems from its conception to the time its disposed. While the current processes of defining, managing and storing data lack emphasis on its management, ILM provides a solution for effectively managing organization data applications. It is imperative to emphasize on the now prevalent decline in business agility as a result of problems with data volumes so as to keep data management cost down by taking an enterprise approach in managing data as records. ILM supports this. The findings that 56 percent lack interest in implementing ILM strategies or that they do not know of any ILM efforts within their organizations is biased considering that the enterprise approach is a relatively new approach to organizational information management. It is the current data systems that have failed as they only allow firms to handle problems as they occur and not that firms are reactive or else undisciplined about their data challenges. The finding that most firms either do not know or allocate minimal ILM strategy budgets ought to have outlined a parallel study of efforts made in alternative data management approaches. ILM introduces a cohesive strategy for the management of information across the organization which is exactly what is needed in modern business environments. Although ILM is promising, the author ought to have compared the findings with firms’ preference for alternative systems or even priorities as well as its fit with the current technology levels. The study also does not highlight the relative costs of implementing ILM with respect to the firms’ profit margins while outlining the implementation levels for ILM. However, ILM is an important strategy for data that need to meet certain legal storage mandates although it does not assess relative cost maintaining such information as opposed to frequency of events requiring this information. While the author addresses the issues of difficulties in determining information’s life cycle, he does not address the limitations of legal determinants which could jeopardize the gains from ILM. Nolan, R. & McFarlan, W. (2005). Information Technology and the Board of Directors: Building an IT Governance Committee. Harvard Business Review, 83 (10),  In such a digital age as this, it is imperative that any organization invest in a strong governance committee on IT that can oversee the formulation and integration of IT policies into the company’s competitive advantage strategy. Warren McFarlan and Richard Nolan detail the basics of establishing and maintaining an IT governance committee. An IT governance committee is paramount in developing a custom framework on which an organization’s IT policies are founded thus enabling a firm to avoid applying other companies’ best strategies which may not fit into the modern nature business strategy. The authors elaborate on the three key approaches that are essential in guiding any company in building an effective IT governance committee: appointing the suitable personnel as well as their chairman; assessing how the committee would link to the audit committee; and the preparation of the committee’s charter. The first two are particularly more important. Independence is vital for any modern-day committee effectiveness just as the authors recommend the independence of the IT committee. Noting the importance of the importance of mentorship and expertise, McFarlan and Nolan emphasize on a chairman who’s either an IT professional (for strategic mode firms) or has past experience (for factory, turn around and support mode firms) in a successful IT-strategy based firm. In all cases, being IT-savvy, understanding an organization and its business needs as well as the systems architecture is paramount in addressing the bigger picture; technology’s potential to change the outlook of the business economy and this supports the characterization of the modern-day business leaders. In this regard, the authors emphasize on selecting a chairman or at least an IT professional who can successfully balance the short-term needs of the firm with its long-term IT investments. Since distraction by difficulties stifle IT integration, the importance of the committee and especially IT experts is addressed as they understand the important dynamics governing technological advancement both at the board and senior management level and thus can appropriately criticize all in-house entrenched thinking. The current scarcity of such experts explains the reason for the increase in number of IT consultants. The article addresses the current issues relating to accountability to the regulatory and economic objectives through alignment with the audit department. However, drastic changes characterizing the advancement in IT would necessitate a considerable number of the committee be composed of IT professionals rather the one or a few suggested by McFarlan and Nolan. Gary, S. , Alice, G. & Alexis, F. Risk Management Guide for Information Technology Systems. Recommendations of the National Institute of Standards and Technology. National Institute of Standards and Technology Special Publication 800-30. Gaithersburg, MD. Risk management has become an important aspect of the information technology management system. Gary, Alice and Alexis emphasize on the role of IT-risk management amidst the increasingly growing use of automated information systems aimed at protecting organization’s information assets from IT based risks. IT risk management is largely a management function as this IT guides confirms through focus on the companies mission rather than the IT experts only as the firm’s capacity to perform its mission is affected by these risks. The guide outlines the practical guidelines and the available cost-effective security systems essential in protecting the mission information which is an imperative in the modern world. This guide is literary applicable in every angle of every firm as it can be easily expanded or abbreviated to tailor it to fit specific organizational situations. Apart from enabling firms’ IT departments to be accountable for IT budgets, the guide is also helpful in guiding the accreditation of the IT systems. This guide is an important resource for a wide rage of IT users: the non-technical and technical staff as well as the experienced and the non-experienced ones. Therefore this guide does not only provide an overview of IT risk management but also evaluates how such a process would rhyme with the all the phases of the system development lifecycle (SLDC) as well as detailing the obligations of individuals who usually support and apply this process. In this regard, the guide provides a clear methodology for IT risk management as well as its relation to the system accreditation. This is made simpler by the provision of system-based information essential in defining the IT system as well as its operating environment. For such a process, it is important that supporting material such as the samples for the documentation of the results for risk assessment, as well as samples of a security implementation plan be addressed more keenly as they are essential in improving the effectiveness of the guide. It also focuses on modern-day needs such as enabling IT individuals to customize their IT systems to fit into effective control systems. The authors address the importance of assessing the knowledge gap within the organization as relates to process of implementing information technology management systems. Although not related to the topic at hand, the example on electric power and railroads does address the key idea of being aware of the knowledge gap in the appropriate way so as to make the most out of IT systems’ opportunities. While it may be true that IT technologies’ cost performance had changed to the magnitude of about 107 in at the time of this study, it is no guarantee that it is going to evolve at this same as the author suggests given the tremendous growth in technology and educational advancement. The authors focus on cost effectiveness and the ability to do things differently through the transformational opportunities offered by IT integration as with the examples of American Hospital Supply’s and American Airlines SABRE. In this regard, they emphasize on the knowledge about IT’s associated economics. Strategic implementation and management of IT networks in organizations has made organizations capable of extending their scope globally to take strategic advantage of IT integration. This is because the authors address specifically the fast changing pace of business operations with regards to assumptions and rules of business competition and this an important resource for modern-day senior management and CEOs who are charged with the responsibility of diversifying into intangible services that are information based. While its clear that technology is increasingly growing, it implies that the opportunities due to IT integration are bound to increase; it also implies that companies venturing into IT management can differentiate their services and cost and product features not only for sometime to come as the author puts it but for an indefinite time provided there is follow up. However, the author provides a two lenses approach that provides a holistic approach towards IT integration. However, the authors do not note the likely challenges that the highly dynamic and drastically changing IT infrastructure as driven by competition may cost. In this regard, the article emphasize on roles of CIO and CTO.

Coursework: Is Chester Zoo value for money? Essay

Introduction Chester Zoo is built on an area of over 100 acres. The Zoo, founded in the early 1930s by George Mottershead, is said to be the best zoo in Britain and under Europes top 30. Because the zoo receives no government funding it is based on the foundation. The zoo is split into three separate directorates under the management of the Director General, Gordon McGregor Reid: * Conservation and Education * Corporate Services * Commercial Services In 2006 Chester Zoo had more than 1,680,000 visitors, for that it was the most visited zoo in Britain. Chester Zoo has also won the â€Å"Zoo of the Year† award more than once what supports its importance under the Britain Zoos. Chester Zoo takes care for 7602 (2006) animals representing 424 (2006) different species. Nearly half of them are endangered. The Zoo is open all year from 10.00am except Christmas Day & Boxing Day. From Sunday 28th October to 31st December (excluding Christmas Day & Boxing Day) the last admission is at 3:00 pm. Strengths In General It is very interesting issue education is a key theme for Chester Zoo. Chester Zoo supports the learning of animals for student by reading, touching and smelling. They want to encourage you to take care for the environment which has never been as important like today. Chester Zoo has great plans for the future. Chester Zoo is working on a master plan for development and expansion called ‘SuperZoo’. It will become a world-class visitor attraction. The SuperZoo will be constructed in four phases. It will cost over à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½300 million of capital investment. In the first phase it will be in the region of à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½100 million, and the size of Chester Zoo is going to be tripled. The estimated completion date is 2020 and will divide the zoo into four zones representing African savannah, grassland, forest and island and wetland habitats. In the next 18 months, Chester Zoo is going to be built a new aquarium building called Origins. It is scheduled to open late 2008. Chester Zoo has a wide variety of animals and a lot of uncommon animals which number can just protected when they live with human supervision. There are children’s play areas, shops, kiosks and several picnic lawns sited around the zoo. Directions One of the strengths is the very good location the zoo has. It is very easy to reach by road, by bus or by the rail. One of the most used motor ways are going near to Chester Zoo. You can easily reach the zoo by following the brown Chester Zoo signs from M56, Junction 14 or Junction 12 on the M53. The zoo is also clearly signed on the A41 Chester road. Another opportunity is the bus or the train. Monday to Saturday the visitors can use the bus from Chester Railway Station and Chester Bus Exchange or from Ellesmere Port and Cheshire Oaks, Liverpool and Birkenhead every 20 minutes. Sundays every hour. Zoo shops All of the Chester zoo shops sell a wide range of merchandise to suit all price ranges, tastes and age groups. They offer an enormous range of animal-themed gift ideas, as well as books, videos and music. For your convenience films, batteries and other essentials are also available in the zoos retail outlets. The Ark Shop The largest shop is the â€Å"Ark Shop†. It is located at the main entrance, sells a vast range of gifts and souvenirs. Open all year round, the Ark Shop also sells useful items to help make your visit more enjoyable, such as waterproof ponchos and umbrellas, should the weather take an unexpected turn for the worst. The Fountain Shop Conveniently located in the centre of the Zoo, the Fountain Shop sells a wide range of gifts and is open all year round. The professional Face painting service, which is highly popular with the younger children, is available here during school holidays and weekends. Arara Shop Open during peak periods only, the Arara Shop sells a smaller range of popular goods and is located near to the Spirit of the Jaguar enclosure. Guided tours for groups There’s a new 90 minute guided tour exclusive to groups showing the party the zoo attractions, an insight into ‘behind the scenes’ and the zoo’s vibrant history. A maximum of 20 people can take part in each tour, at a cost of à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½35.00 in addition to the admission charge. Children’s Wristbands The zoo is also able to supply groups with plastic wristbands – ideal for writing contact mobile telephone numbers on in case of an emergency. It can supply these to the visitor in advance at a charge of five pence per wristband. Events for Groups On summer evenings the zoo offers a safari adventure complete with barbeque or dinner, evening picnics and exclusive tours through its gardens. For groups of 50 or more the event team can make an exclusive evening just for the visitor. Adopt an animal The zoo has a scheme whereby people can adopt an animal of their choice. They can also become zoo members. Every three months members and adopters receive the zoo magazine, called Z, which provides updates and information about what is happening at the zoo. Anyone can join the scheme for as little as à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½50 per year. You can pick an animal from the list. Everything the adopter gives goes to a special account for animal foodstuffs. The adoption runs for a full 12 months from whenever you can start, and they send a renewal reminder. Weaknesses The high price is a weakness of the Zoo. It costs à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½13.59 from march to October. In other European zoos the admission fee is the half (for example Berlin) and you get a much more breadth variety of animals there. Because most of the areas in the zoo are not be roofed, that’s a big problem for the zoo that the visitors won’t come on rainy days and spend no money on the zoo. Opportunities A lot people are watching animal documentations on TV. You also can go to the cinema and watch animal film. Threats Our guide told us that when Greenpeace had a demonstration against the bad care for animals in Britain Zoos they didnà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½t come to Chester Zoo because they have the highest standards of welfare and the best care for all animals. Conclusion All in all Chester Zoo is a very good Zoo, but there are Zoos in Europe which can offer you a wider variety of animals and a lower admission fee. On the other hand Chester Zoo is a foundation which has to be in a plus at the end of a year most of the other Zoos are subsidized by the government. Chester Zoo also is very interested in education and wants to give the visitor a lot of knowledge to save the environment. Therefore Chester Zoo is value for money.

Reflection Paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 13

Reflection Paper - Essay Example Most of them looked in their mid-30s, and they were most likely looking, for a restaurant, to dine in. I also noticed another group made up mostly of white Americans who were in The Mall for pleasure, including shoppers and tourists. In addition, it was also possible to make out some groups of people, in this case more diverse with white, Hispanic and some black people, who looked like conventioneers. Out on the streets, they all looked relaxed while some also looked to be people watching, as well. It was not possible to miss the bearded black man walked past me on the street looking through the trash bins. A number of similar men were also in the vicinity further down the street with shabby clothes, and most of them had cigarettes dangling from their mouths, oblivious of the numerous signs against smoking. As I neared my destination, I saw a group of people, mostly white, who looked out of place. Most of them are in camouflage trousers with grey tank tops, big backpacks and chained wallets. One group has particularly huge backpacks and has a walking toddler and another in a stroller. They are identifiable as what one of my lecturers calls transients, living on the street as street kids. It looked as if they were headed for the train station. Sitting in the outside area of the Starbucks later, I notice many passers-by with rolling suitcases, most of them white. The suitcases, one can guess, has their belongings, and they do not seem to be in any rush or have any purpose. In fact, most of the people I have seen today do not seem to be frantic or excited with most looking relaxed. This particular group seems to be going about everyday activities with the suitcases rolling behind them. Most of the people seated around me are white with a few Asians. I spot two Hispanic men working at the sports souvenir shop also people watching. They do not take any notice

Marketing Mauritius Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 8000 words

Marketing Mauritius - Essay Example al visitor arrivals throughout the world stood at 860 million, which stands to be more, then the total population of Europe and the US taken together. The businessmen, governments, financial experts and economists do testify to the immense potential of the tourism industry in uplifting the quality of life in the developing nations. It is a hassle free way of transporting the resources and foreign exchange from the developed world to the developing world. Mauritius is a volcanic island surrounded by coral reefs that lies in the Indian Ocean, about 800 Km to the east of Madagascar. Various favourable factors like the usage of English and French as the local languages, a stable democratic political system, an impressively high rate of literacy and an abundance of the natural beauty make Mauritius an ideal tourist destination. This dissertation delves into the international, commercial and economic dimensions of the tourism in Mauritius so as to have an insight into the advantages that Mauritius commands as a preferred tourist destination and to suggest positive strategies for marketing Mauritius amongst the international tourist community. Though tourism as an industry has distinct psychological, international, political and economic dimensions, it will be pragmatic to analyse the case of Mauritius as a tourist destination from an economic vantage. This approach becomes more expedient, considering the ongoing economic meltdown and the difficulties being faced by the developing nations like Mauritius in marketing themselves as tourist destinations. Thus the role of tourism in the Mauritius’ economy needs to be looked in, in a broader perspective. Hence, it will be utterly imperative to correlate the relevance and significance of tourism in Mauritius with the conclusions of The Manila Deceleration on World Tourism, finalized at the World Tourism Conference held at Manila in September 1980, which witnessed the participation of the delegates of more then 107

Australian contract law Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Australian contract law - Essay Example Such ways of making a contract can be; signing a document, clicking ‘agree’ button on the web as well as making an agreement over the phone. Contract law constitutes any regulations or laws directed inline of enforcing certain promises. The contract law in Australia is mainly regulated by the common law. However, more states are supplementing the common law of contract specifically in connection with the consumer protection (Goldring, 1998). What makes a valid enforceable contract between parties? A contract is considered valid if there is the provision of a written or signed agreement by both parties. It has been stated that the two companies entered into a written service contract which meant that, the Big industry decided to make an offer to Pat while on the other side, Pat accepted the offer and anticipated to arrive at a significant work from Big industry in future. The enforcement is valid due to the way that is has been laid down in a written document. The contrac t agreement had involved both parties which must have signed a document to establish an offer from one side and at the same time an acceptance of the other party. There is therefore a valid enforceable contract between Pat and Big Industry. Pat, a computer software consultant was expected to write four computer programs which were made to be used by the Big Industry in controlling its automated manufacturing machines. More terms within the contract agreement was that the Big industry was supposed to pay twenty five thousand dollars to Pat on completion of the work. Payments would only be made after the completion of the work on contract. Another term provided within the contract was that the written computer programs be delivered to the Big industry no later than may first. The contract agreement did not seem to provide any chance for delivery after the agreed date, the first day of May. No modifications of the contract would be valid unless it was in writing and signed by both the Big industry and Pat. The April fifteen phone call between Pat and Hillary brought in much effect on the contract terms. According to the contract agreement made on first April, Pat accepted to write the total number of the computer programs and gave much expectation for the Big Industry that before the first day of May, all programs would be ready for use. The phone call was meant to make a change in the agreement that Pat would not deliver the contract as it was agreed on April first. Pat said that he was having a problem with the programs three and one and that he would not be able to deliver them until at least eight may or may be sometimes closer to fifteenth of May. Pat went ahead to mention that he had some doubts that he would be able to write program number four at all since the Big Industry’s computer hardware was nearly obsolete. He communicated that he would only deliver program number one and two by the first day of May. This phone call demonstrated that change w ould occur in the terms agreed as per the contract. The contract terms were that Pat would write four programs by May first and that the total payment would only be made after the delivery. Pat on the phone call notified that he would only deliver two written programs and that one would come late while the other one would not be written at all. The change in the content of delivery meant that all terms and conditions of the contract would as well change. The Big Industry would as well adjust its payments and expectations for the

Evaluate the book Fast Food Nation, arguing its value (or lack of Essay

Evaluate the book Fast Food Nation, arguing its value (or lack of value) for a specific group of citizens of the United States - Essay Example This paper aims to evaluate this book and determine whether it contains or lacks value to a specific group of citizens in the US. The US fast food industry started after the Second World War when the country came out of the Great Economic Depression. These times saw the country experience an economic boom that led to massive gains on all fronts of the economy. More jobs were created by the many industries, factories and corporations that were founded on the basis of this economic boom. This led to urbanization, which was characterized by people moving from rural areas to urban centers where there were job opportunities. The lifestyle in the city necessitated for there to be a system that could offer fast food services to the busy metropolitan population. This was because lifestyle, in cities, did not allow a lot of time to be spent on meals at the expense of working hours. Thus, the fast food industry was borne, out of this necessity, to offer fast and convenient food services and de livery to consumers on the go due to time constraints (Talwar 58). The book offers valuable lessons, insights and information, to parents, which enable them to make informed choices about the source of food they allow their children to consume. The information contained in the book can help parents realize the detriments of fast food in the diet of their children. U.S. parents are given insights on how to recognize marketing gimmicks and ploys that are aimed at ensnaring their children onto fast foods. They can use this newly gained information to protect their children form advertising campaigns directed at their children. Apart from the negative impact that fast foods have on health, which the book does not keenly elaborate on, there other crucial features in the book that are important. The use of marketing campaigns directed at children poses a significant risk to children. According to Schlosser, this is in the sense that it serves as a form of indoctrination because it leads t hese children to becoming lifetime loyal customers. This is despite the fact that habitual consumption of fast food meals is a key causative agent for a myriad of health problems. This advertising predisposes children to becoming loyal customers who are blind to the detrimental benefits of fast food meals (Nestle 208). Fast Food Nation provides vital information, to parents, which is utilized to shield the innocent minds, of children, from advertising that might have an impact on the rest of their lives. The chapter about the chemical compounds used, by fast food companies, to flavor their food stuffs offers crucial information that can be used by health professionals. The book gives an account of some chemical food additives with known harmful implications that are used to give these food stuffs that unique taste. These substances are used to give fast foods their unique aroma, taste and appearance so that they are appealing and attractive to their customers. Some of these chemical substances have recognized abilities to promote the development of diseases and conditions like diabetes and cancer. The impact of these chemical substances is especially magnified if consumed for a long time from a tender age. This is because these chemicals build up in the body, raising their concentrations to levels that can cause toxicity. The effects of these chemicals can have far-reaching effects that can last through generations where damage

Evaluating a website as a source for learning history Essay

Evaluating a website as a source for learning history - Essay Example Should history websites be boring? This is the question that comes to mind after reading Lisa Richardson’s article. In attempt to be humorous, one can lose the traits of neutrality and objectivity that are crucial to academic work. The website chosen for analysis is http://opinion.latimes.com/opinionla/2009/10/glenn-beck-hilarity.html and it was visited on the 24th of October 2013. It was particularly interesting because it focuses on one of the most controversial but continual aspects of US history; slavery. Not only is this piece deficient in terms of historical evidence, it largely focuses on the opinions of a media personality. Therefore, it is an unsuitable website for learning history because it prioritizes political shaming over historical accuracy. Website analysis Instead of dwelling on historical information first, the author starts with someone’s untruths and then uses some historical events to back them. This article mocks media personality, Glenn Beck, by a sserting that he was trying to make a spin on a historical issue that was known to all. According to the author, Glenn Beck alluded to the fact that liberals in the 19th century were slave supporters. She then adds that this was totally unfounded because conservatives were slave-owners. They had much to lose from the abolition of this practice, so they fought against the liberals in order to have their way. From the spin on this topic, one can deduce that the writer’s agenda is to portray conservatives as irrational people. The target audience also consists of liberals who would find an attack against conservatives quite palatable. This site, which is known as Opinion L.A. belongs to a number of bloggers with liberal leanings. If the writer of the piece was interested in disseminating historical truths, she would have started with facts and then alluded to someone’s rant about the same. Useful information is hard to find and buried in a plethora of attacks, but it stil l exists. As a historian, one would still find something useful in the site. The story highlights the political disagreements that were sparked by debates on slavery. It sheds light on why the institution was able to persist for a relatively long time. Consensus on the matter was simply not forthcoming. At least the website mentions the relationships between the state and its constituents especially when it wanted to restrict certain practices. This website thus highlights the nature of controversies that stemmed from political disagreements. It is possible to know these facts because a civil war arose from the differences. However, one would require a thorough knowledge of the events in American history to discovery these hidden truths. This article is slanted on one side to make it appear as though democrats were the progressive thinkers of their time. A number of persons disagree with this view because they believe that democrats only acquired a progressive incline after the 1960 s when it was necessary to do so. Furthermore, the author is bent on labeling historians either as liberal or conservatives. The following statement illustrates one of the assumptions made by the writer: â€Å"Conservatives, of course, were slave-owners and liberals were not. Conservatives in the 19th century believed in the tyranny of state government and liberals did not.   Everyone with a shred of understanding about American history knows that. We had a whole war over it.† (Richardson, 2009) In the matter of slavery, this dichotomy does not work well because several individuals had liberal views but did not support slavery. Conversely religious activists fought for abolition of slave trade even when most of their views were regarded as conservative. It is for this reasons that one would question the comments of the writer. She seems too intent on painting one side of the political divide as a change agent and the other as a forestaller. It would have been better for the writer to focus on events as they were rather than

Writing a paper regarding the movie Miss Representation Essay

Writing a paper regarding the movie Miss Representation - Essay Example The media is evolving in the way it portrays women for the past few years however it is quite intriguing that it is not completely evolved. Women still play the roles of being sexual objects; little emphasis is made on their educational achievements and careers. However there are few films in the media which try to show women with strong personalities, depicting them as intellectual, self-reliable, unswerving and sincere. However still many images in the media today emphasizes on the traditional woman representation of being emotional, inactive and reliant. Research studies have revealed that may children especially in the adolescent stage heavily rely on the social media to supplement information needs. This really underscores the effectiveness of media in instilling appropriate moral conducts to the children. They follow whatever the media deems good or bad (Lauzen, 1999). It is quite disappointing that women in reality as shown through the media don’t usually support their fellow women who aspire to take up leadership positions. Even though we know that women hold the largest numbers of the electorate. This revelation raises a troubling question; why women still transmit this misconception? This is a shortcoming in the campaign against feminism as revealed in the documentary. There is wide campaign to educate people about the problems that women are experiencing. The irony is that women themselves tend to aggravate the situation instead of improving it. Little is done to help them derive mechanisms of reducing these stereotypic images. Possessing the knowledge alone is not adequate. As Katie Couric reveals that maybe she has been a source of perpetuating the misrepresentation of women in the media through her wearing of short skirts and a revealing blouse during her presentation of various television news programs.

Ethical Healthcare Issues Essay Example for Free

Ethical Healthcare Issues Essay Ethical dilemmas in health care are often the most difficult to navigate. Quite often the life of a person depends on the decision made when a challenge arises. This is certainly the case regarding patients in a permanent vegetative state. These cases have provoked very strong, opposing opinions throughout the medical community. Generating a definitive answer to how a facility handles these situations is extremely important to ensure appropriate ethical policy is followed throughout the care or termination of medical services for a person in a permanent vegetative state. Four ethical principles assist in guiding the ethical conversation: autonomy, nonmaleficence, beneficence, and justice. Autonomy Preserving a patient’s autonomy is a standard ethical policy for health care providers. Examples of how doctors and facilities protect a patient’s right to independence include Advance Directives, the Patient Self-Determination Act, and HIPAA. â€Å"The problem is that vegetative patients are not competent to refuse continued treatment, and there is concern about how best to protect them from treatment that they would probably refuse if they could† (Jennett, 2002, p. 356). A patient who has the unforeseen misfortune of entering into the permanent vegetative state may not have the chance to express their stance through an Advance Directive on how he or she wish to proceed medically, therefore stripping him or her of the right to autonomy. Some patients may have expressed their wishes informally to their family members and loved ones, such as the desire to donate organs when the time comes. If the decision were made to end medical care in a more direct and rapid way, organs would have a better chance of becoming used to help others, which would restore some of the patient’s autonomy (Wade, 2001). Most people would rather donate their organs for the benefit of others, rather than remain in an unconscious state, when given the choice. Unfortunately, these patients are not given a chance to voice that opinion. Nonmaleficence Nonmeleficence is the ethical principle to do no harm. It could be argued that a person in a permanent vegetative state feels nothing, and that poses the question regarding whether or not one can do harm to someone who does not feel anything emotionally or physically (Wade, 2001). In addition, continued treatment actually may be doing harm to the patient. â€Å"There have been many declarations that survival in a permanent vegetative state is not a benefit to the patient, some regarding it as a fate worse than death† (Jennett, 2002, p. 356). There are opposing viewpoints that believe patients in a vegetative state actually may be aware of their surroundings. According to Hope (2011) a study confirmed, â€Å"patients thought to be in a permanently ‘vegetative’ state may still be able to think and communicate† (para. 1). Although this may sound hopeful for loved ones, for some patients being aware of surroundings but not able to move or communicate is doing more harm to them. Would it be more nonmaleficent to end their suffering if they have poor quality of life? Beneficence The philosophical question beneficence raises is will an unknowing patient benefit from an act of good (Wade, 2001)? The patient is not aware of any kind or unkind act done to him or her in an unconscious state. Ongoing treatment could bring about a recovery, but a patient may not view this as beneficent. The state that their body and mind would be in and the quality of life they would have is questionable for whether or not keeping the patient alive was actually doing him or her any good. Beneficence can also relate to the survivors of the patient. In many cases, it is the willingness of the family to keep the patient alive in the hopes of a miracle even if it is against what the doctor’s recommend (Brody, 1988). Is it beneficent to the patient’s family to remain in a state of ongoing grief when there is no improvement in sight? Justice Justice is the most applied ethical principle for arguing for or against termination of treatment for patients in a permanent vegetative state. One argument that can be raised is whether or not it is fair to continue to allocate resources for a person in this state when it limits the care and resources other patients could be receiving (Wade, 2001). If a person is in a permanent unconscious state and doctors have determined that he or she will not regain consciousness or live a normal life, should the care and services he or she are using be given to a patient who has a greater chance of recovery. In addition, consider the cost to society for paying for the ongoing resources and care these patients will need (Brody, 1988). Is it fair to impose that cost on others? Instead, the funds could be used to save the lives of others. However, if the policy became to end patient’s care once they have reached a permanent vegetative state it could be said that attitudes may change toward other severely disabled people and the ongoing care they receive (Wade, 2001). Provider’s compassion may begin to be diminished over time through seeing the termination of care on these permanent vegetative patients, and it may desensitize them in a way that would make it difficult for them to provide any ongoing care to disabled people. Terminating an individual’s life whether it is physician-assisted or merely stopping food sources will always pose huge ethical concerns, even if the patient is in a permanent vegetative state and cannot express emotion or feel pain. Forming an opinion on the issue is not easy, and there are many parties who have interest in the outcome such as the patient, their family, the staff providing care, the facility providing care, and society. By applying the four ethical principles of autonomy, nonmaleficence, beneficence, and justice healthcare administrators can begin to form an ethical opinion to shape the way their facility approaches the many challenges permanent vegetative patients cause. References Brody, B. A. (1988). Ethical questions raised by the persistent vegitative patient. The Hastings Center Report, 18(1), 33-37. Hope, J. (2001, November 10). Vegitative patients can still think and respond. Daily Mail, 0(0), 28. Jennett, B. (2002). The vegitative state. Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery and Psychiatry, 73(4), 355-357. Wade, D. T. (2001). Ethical issue in diagnosis and management of patients in the permanent vegetative state. BMJ: British Medical Journal, 322(7282), 352-354.

Most Interesting Day of My Life Essay Example for Free

Most Interesting Day of My Life Essay But, culture is something that you cannot actually see, except through its physical manifestations in your work place. Culture is especially influenced by the organization’s founder, executives, and other managerial staff because of their role in decision making and strategic direction. Culture is the behavior that results when a group arrives at a set of generally unspoken and unwritten rules for working together. Culture is not usually defined as good or bad, although aspects of your culture likely support your progress and success and other aspects of life. â€Å"Employees learn the culture of their workplace by seeing how people react in various situations and by understanding what is important to management by observing what they do (more than by what they say)†. â€Å"Culture is made up of the values, beliefs, underlying assumptions, attitudes, and behaviors shared by a group of people†. How employees learn culture? Culture is transmitted to employees in a number of ways . An organization’s culture is made up of all of the life experiences each employee brings to the organization. The following points is more significant in learn culture. * Stories * Rituals * Material symbols * Language Stories: Stories such as these circulate through many organizations. They typically contain a narrative of events about the organization’s founders, rule breaking, rags-to-riches successes, reduction in the workforce, relocation of employees, reactions to past mistakes, and organizational coping. These stories anchor the present in the past and provide explanations and legitimacy for current practices. The stories reflect what made progress and what it will take to continue that success.

Kotters Eight Step Change Management Model Management Essay

Kotters Eight Step Change Management Model Management Essay Change is the word that best described of the modern societies and culture. Change occurred in almost every aspects of life. Change presses us out from our comfort zone. People changed in their life to avoid stagnation and to improve their quality of life and become a better person. This is also true in business where the rapid change in technologies, the way of doing things, advances in information technologies, internal and external pressures, e-business and globalization creates a competitive environment in most organization in order to survive and to be relevant. How business react, operate and adapt to any changes determine the survivability of the company. In organization, change is necessary but often proves to be challenging. To guide a change (managing a change process) may be the greatest test for the leader of the organization especially when there is resistance. Therefore to lead a change is essential but difficult (Kotter 2007). The successfulness on implementing change in an organization requires a series of phase, a correct tools and proper planning. Palmer, Dunford and Akin (2009) quoted that Changing organizations is as messy as it is exhilarating, as frustrating as it is satisfying, as muddling-through and creative a process as it is a rational one (p. 1). On the other hand, Lean Six Sigma or Lean thinking has been widely accepted and adoptable tool for improving organizational performance. The thinking provides a method to do more with less without jeopardizing the quality, cost and delivery and at the same time meeting customers requirements. Less means less effort, less equipment, less time, less cost, less space and eliminating all sources of wastes in the process. Developed as a production systems eliminating wastes in the Toyotas manufacturing plant in 1960s, now lean thinking evolving across countries and industries as a management approach that improves all processes at each level of the organization. However, in realities, many organizations are not able to transform themselves to lean organization and unable to get the benefit out of it. Transformation initiatives towards the lean organization are full with challenges and resistances. Many companies that promote lean thinking, even those undertaken with the best intention are often destined to a failure due to its unsuccessful execution (Jeyaraman 2010). There are a lot of resistance factors and mostly can be divided into human and non-human factor. From Langstrand et al. (2012) In a member survey, the Lean Enterprise Institute (LEI) found that more than 36% of the respondents attributed change failure to middle management resistance. Along with employee resistance and supervisor resistance, these were considered three of the four most significant obstacles to implementing lean (LEI, 2007). According to (Norani 2011) lean transition requires emergent strategy and he suggested that among all the emergent change approaches, Kotters Eight-Step Change Management Model is one of the best-known change management model. Kotter (1996) suggested Eight-Step Change Management Model as shown on Table 1.1. Table 1.1: Kotters Eight-Step Change Management Model Step 1 Establishing a Sense of Urgency Step 2 Creating the Guiding Coalition Step 3 Developing A Vision And Strategy Step 4 Communication the Change Vision Step 5 Empowering Employees for Broad-Based Action Step 6 Generating Short-Term Wins Step 7 Consolidating Gains And Producing More Change Step 8 Anchoring New Approaches In The Culture This study will analyze the effectiveness of change steps efforts that have been taken during the implementation of Lean Six Sigma Program in government owned service oriented organization from a perspective of change management using the Kotters eight-step change management model as benchmarks. Background of The Study In todays fast-moving era, if there is an organization that is looking for the pace of change to slow or slow in their reaction to any response, is likely to be sorely disappointed and left behind. In fact, some says that, in businesses change is permanent. Change is important in every organization because without change, business would likely lose their market shares, competitive edge and fail to meet the various needs of the customers. SIRIM Berhad is also not neglected from the challenges of reacting more intelligently to customers needs to become more effective. SIRIM Berhad, formerly known as the Standards and Industrial Research Institute of Malaysia (SIRIM), is a corporate organization owned wholly by the Malaysian Government, under the Minister of Finance Incorporated. It has been entrusted by the Malaysian Government to be the national organization for standards and quality, and as a promoter of technological excellence in the Malaysian industry. The organization came into operation on September 1, 1996 via corporatization scheme of standards and industrial research institute, initiated by the government with the vision to be a corporation of choice for technology and quality. SIRIM Berhad as the national organization of standardization and quality, and as the prime mover in industrial research and development acts as a catalyst in bringing about national economic dynamism through excellence in technology and international acceptance of Malaysian products and services. Their mission is to enhance their customers competitiveness through technology and quality, and fulfill the needs of the shareholders. As such its role is to act as: A champion of quality. The national technology development corporation. Vehicle for technology transfer. A provider of institutional and technical infrastructure for the Government. SIRIM Berhad has initiated a program called Lean Six-Sigma Program (LSSP). LSSP is developed based on the infamous improvement methodology known as Lean Six Sigma Strategy. It was initiated based on the emerging needs to develop SIRIM to be a market driven organization with sustainable business growth and global market penetration. The proposal has been developed by Group Quality Occupational Safety Health and Environment Department (GQOSHE) in 2008. The main objective of the LSSP is to establish an Integrated Business Process Improvement (IBPI) system that builds on four initiatives namely Lean Six Sigma (LSS), Innovative and Creative Circle (ICC), Just Do It (JDI) and Personal Quality Program (PQP). The first three initiatives are continuous improvement methodology used to enhance business performance while the latter is a motivational and cultural conditioning program for SIRIM staffs. The continuous improvement initiatives were used to promote, nurture and inculcate innovative, creative thinking and learning culture into SIRIM to strengthen its business processes and systems in order to be a market driven organization. Problem Statement Upon acceptance of the proposal from President and Chief Executive, LSSP was officially started on January 28, 2008 followed by the directive to begin the Lean Six Sigma project implementation on few small scale pilot projects on February 29, 2008. Seven (7) departments / divisions of SIRIM Berhad have been selected for the pilot project. These departments have been participating in the Lean Six Sigma workshops and training program which comprise of Green Belt and Black Belt programs. The program focusing on areas as follows; To assist the existing project team to implement prioritized ICC projects, Lean Six Sigma Value Stream projects, To initiate Lean Six Sigma initiative at other SIRIM departments and, To certify the Green Belt who has fulfilled the certification process. During the training period, 19 projects initiated on cost saving activities and 9 of the projects have been completed. Based on value stream mapping (process analysis) conducted at participating departments, upon completion of all the prioritized projects, the program has estimated cost savings of RM300k per year (including project savings from Genba Kaizen 5S implementation). Other tangible benefits from the program are: Safer and more organize work place. Creation of work space and elimination of obsolete and out-dated items. Low and controllable stock keeping level of certain items such as stationeries, chemicals resulting to better cash flow and stock management. Improved process visibility and productivity. Lean Six Sigma Program (LSSP) is expected to be a new change program in SIRIM Berhad and the successful implementation of the program is important for sustainability and growth of the organization. Despite the 3 years of training program consists of briefings, training session and pilot projects, the program unable to reach its goal of transferring SIRIM Berhad to become lean organization and to embed lean thinking into the culture of the organization. From an early interview with some of the staff involved, it is confirmed that currently Lean Six Sigma has not been practiced in their section or department. The program seems to be abandoned and not getting enough coalition to sustain the initiatives. Research Objectives The objectives of this study are: To analyze the effectiveness of change steps efforts that have been taken during the implementation of LSSP with reference to Kotters Eight-Step Change Management Model. To determine the benefit of LSSP to the department during the implementation stages. To determine the weakness of LSSP to the department during the implementation stages. To make recommendation on the finding to the management of SIRIM Berhad on managing lean program and any change management initiatives. Scope of The Study This study will be focusing on the implementation stages of Lean Six Sigma program in SIRIM Berhad. The respondents will comprise of managerial and non-managerial employees that participated in the program before. This study is focusing the change management steps as per Kotters eight change steps of change management as a benchmark. Significance of The Study After the training period, Lean Six Sigma program seems to be abandoned and not getting enough coalition to sustain the initiatives but no formal and structured study has been done to understand why the program not achieving the expected outcome especially on the implementation process. Therefore this study is significant to fill the gap by assessing the implementation steps that have been taken during the implementation of the Lean Six Sigma program. The research will analyze the employees perception toward the effort of change steps that have been taken during the implementation. By understanding this, it will help the management to prepare the suitable and effective steps to improve the implementation of LSS program in SIRIM Berhad and also to be used as a guideline for any changes initiatives in the organization. This study will also provide value by identifying if Kotters popular change management model is also useful in government owned service organization. As a result, the outcome can also be used by other government owned organizations that will or are undergoing Lean Six Sigma initiatives by providing information concerning the applicability of Kotters eight-step change management model as a useful model on managing a change in their organization. Academician and lean consultant could also get the benefit from the findings on the effective way of managing lean in government owned service oriented organization. Limitation of The Study It is important to understand that this is a case-study. This study is limited only to the staff of SIRIM Berhad that involved during the implementation of LSSP. The survey is based on perception and subject to bias that could impact the end results. Therefore the sincerity of the correspondents during answering the survey is very important. Definition of Terms Black Belt Full time position responsible for leading project teams. They are responsible for delivering the value and benefits that were determined for each of their projects during the projects selection process. Green Belts A person who works on a Lean Six Sigma project only part-time, on a specific process about which he or she generally possesses knowledge important to the success of the project (Michele 2002). Kaizen Continuous improvement in Japanese. The kaizen process is modeled after quality circle, the team-based continuous improvement vehicle utilized in the Toyota production System. The secret to Kaizen is that it emphasize creativity before capital (Michele 2002). Lean Six Sigma The activities that cause the customers critical-to-quality issues and create the longest time delays in any process offer the greatest opportunity for improvement in cost, quality, capital, and lead time (Michele 2002). Value Stream The set of activities that convert customer needs into delivered products and services. Improving an entire value stream requires multiple projects (Michele 2002). CHAPTER 2 LITERATURE REVIEW Introduction Chapter 2 presents the literature review of the research study. This chapter is discussing about the change management, lean six sigma, change model, Kotters eight-step change management model and the research questions. Change Management Change is a reality of life. In the past five decades change/improvements initiatives have been driven by a lot of approaches. For example, in 1950s Management by Objectives (MBO), Employee Assistance Programs (EAPs) have been introduced. In 1960s to 1970s Sensivity Training, T-groups, Quality Circles, Corporate Culture have been used. The famous improvement initiatives such as ISO9000, Total Quality Management and Corporate Culture were introduced in 1980s and in 1990s Reengineering Agile Strategies, Horizontal Corporations, Employee Empowerment, Core Competencies and Vision have taken the scene (Palmer, I. et.al 2009). Motivations for change have been customers satisfaction, cost reduction, improved efficiency, improved quality, or, in extreme cases, survival (Longbothom et.al 2006). Self D.R and Schraeder M. (2009) explained that the first challenge organization faced during implementing change in the organization is recognizing the need for change and second, and possibly more significant is effectively deploying strategies to implement change. Contemporary literature outlines a multitude of various strategies for implementing change in an organization. Wikipedia (2012) defines Change Management as an approach to shifting / transitioning individuals, teams, and organizations from a current state to desired future state. Smith (2005) explained that change is a process of letting go of things as they are in order to take up a new ways of doing things. Organizational change normally challenges the status quo of the employee and it may challenge the values and perceived rights of workers and work group. For some people, change is welcome and relates to something new, fresh and exciting but for some people may be more cautious by seeking to test and examine before proceeding. Palmer et. al (2009) explained that there are six images of managing change. First is change manager as a director which gave an image of management as control and change outcomes as being achievable. Second is change manager as a navigator where the manager is in control of a given situation and the outcomes are partly emergent rather than completely planned and result from a variety of influences, competing interests and processes. Third is change manager as care taker is an ideal image of management is still one of control, although the ability to exercise control is severely constrained by a variety of forces, both internally and externally driven, that propel change relatively independent of managers intentions. Forth is change manager as a coach where the manager is in a position to shape the organizations capabilities in particular ways. Fifth is change manager as an interpreter where managing change places the change manager in the position of creating meaning for the other o rganisational members, helping them to make sense of various organisational events and actions. And lastly change manager as nurturer where the nurturing image to managing assumes that even small changes may have a large impact on organizations and managers are not able to control the outcomes of their changes. For other journal, Michael Stanleigh (2008) found that most change initiatives fail because management may not be engaging employees in the process towards change and do not allow sufficient time for change to set. It is important to implement change in a series of phases that will engage employee and to allow sufficient length of time for each phase to become institutionalized within the organization. He listed out several drivers of change such as mergers and acquisitions, innovation, technology, restructuring / re-organizing, declining sales and/or market share, globalization, expansion and growth, sense of urgency and lastly when 75% of the leadership is honestly convinced that business as usual is no longer as acceptable plan. However he claimed that, too often, management fails to recognize that adjustment to change takes time. They expected the employee to react quickly to the changes and fail to recognize that each individual will go through all of the phases at different pac es. As a result, sometimes the employee may burn out, scared or frustrated and unable to cooperate. Therefore he recommended all managers to apply multi-step process to guide, include, empower, enlist and motivate employees toward change. 2.2 Lean Six Sigma Lean Six Sigma is a technique to improve process and can be used either individually, in a group of people or in combination with a target to improve the quality and delivery of any business process. Originally developed by Toyota called as Toyota Production System is based on series of principles focusing on eliminating 7 categories of Muda, Japanese word means waste, specifically any activity of consuming resources but creates no values. Waste such as over produced of goods that no one wants, transportation of goods from one place to another without any reasons, waste due to correction of defects which require rectifications, waste in waiting time due to delay in process, over-processing, inventory pile up and motion waste of unnecessary processing steps will end up not meeting the needs of the customers. Liker (2004) claimed that the lean thinking was used by Taiichi Ohno, a Toyotas Plant manager who was assigned to improve Toyotas manufacturing process back in 1950. TPS underpins many innovation including the elimination waste muda, quality at the source jidoka and continuous improvement kaizen. Through years of trial and error, Toyota caught the worlds attention in 1980s where the cars produced were lasting longer than American cars and required much less repair. Based on his study, in 1990s Toyota capable to produced new design of auto faster, with more reliability, at a competitive cost and became third-largest auto manufacturer in the world behind General Motors and Ford. Much of the success comes from its astounding quality reputation. Kaizen (continuous improvement) will lead to learning organization. This culture when embedded to the organization will give a great benefit by providing opportunities for improvement and sustainability in a long run. Any organization will obtain an effectiveness and efficiency in their process by implementing Lean. Lean requires a specific way of thinking, philosophy and management system. Liker (2004) describes fourteen principles of lean at Toyota Production Systems (TPS) and the principles can be divided into four categories that are; Long-Term Philosophy. The Right Process Will Produce The Right Results. Add Value by Developing Your People and Partners, and Continuously Solving Root Problems Drives Learning. Womack J.P and Jones D.T (1996) explained that the lean thinking provides a method to make any tasks more satisfying by converting waste into value with less human effort, less equipment, less time and less space while coming closer and closer to providing customers with exactly what they want. He proposed 5 lean principles consist of: Specify Value. Identify the Value Stream. Determine the Flow. Pull. Perfection. They proposed that all 5 steps should be applied holistically and it is important that all the steps are performing together due to the interrelationship between the principles is enough to enhance the outcomes of the others. They also argue than lean not just can be successful in manufacturing organization but also in any other organization. They come out with a term called From Lean Production to Lean Enterprise. Although lean will always associated with reduction of costs, eliminating waste and JIT but the adoption of lean is beneficial for knowledge-based activities such as services, design, engineering and product development. 2.3 Change Model There are a lot of change models been studied and introduced to organize change activities in a systematic approach. Researchers have been studying change, specifically organizational change, for decades. Detail studies on implementing change has been conducted by Ian Palmer, Richard Dunford and Gib Akin (2009) and presented in their book Managing Organizational Change. They said that in various change management approaches provide multistep models of how to achieve larga-scale, transformation change. They studied 9 examples of change management model that have been introduced from 1992 to 2006. These models differ not just in terms of the number of steps but also the way to implement the steps. Katner, Stein and Jick proposed an approach called Ten Commandments in 1992, Pendlebury, Grouard and Meston proposed Ten Keys in 1998, Nadler proposed 12 Action Steps in 1998, Taffinder proposed Transformation Trajectory in 1998, Anderson and Anderson proposed Nine-Phase Change Process Model in 2001, Kirkpatrick proposed Step-by-Step Change Model in 2001, Mento, Jones and Dirndorfer proposed 12-Step Framework in 2002, Light proposed RANDs Six Steps in 2005 and Leppit proposed Integrated Model in 2006. The summary of all 9 change models made by Palmer et. al. (2009) is as Appendix 1. Ian Palmer, Richard Dunford and Gib Akin (2009) said that possibly one of the best-known change management model is John Kotters eight-step model. Norani (2011) also says that among all the emergent change approaches, Kotters model is said to have a long standing high reputation that has flexibility to deal with vast number of problems and issues that may be experienced during change. Kotters simplifies the steps during change process to overcome the challenge and constraints that might occurred during the implementation. 2.4 Kotters Eight-Step Change Management Model John P. Kotter graduated from MIT and Harvard. He joined the Harvard Business School faculty in 1972 and after 8 years, at the age of thirty-three, he was voted tenure and a full professorship. He wrote a lot of books, journals and articled related to leadership, change and managements. In 1994 he wrote an article for the Harvard Business Review entitled Leading Change: Why Transformation Efforts Fail. It was based on his analysis from a lot of initiatives to produce significant useful change in organization via restructuring, reengineering, restrategizing, acquisitions, downsizing, quality programs and cultural renewal in companies that trying to remake themselves into significantly better companies. These companies included large organizations such as Ford, General Motors, British Airways, Landmark Corporation etc. The basic goal of all change efforts was to make fundamental changes in how business is conducted in order to cope with a changing market environment. He has made his st udy on both success and fail of change initiatives. As a result from his analysis Kotter developed his 8 steps for change. The eight steps were created to be followed one by one and in sequence where for him each step building on the previous. Kotter states that it is essential to thoroughly complete all 8 steps, not cutting only one or short. Kotter (1996) quoted Whenever you leave one of the steps in the eight-stage change process without finishing the work, you usually pay a big price later on. Step 1 is Establishing a Sense of Urgency. Change efforts begin successfully when some individuals of a group of people start realize and look hard at a companys competitive situations, market positions, technological trends and financial performance. Kotter notes that over half of the companies he analyzes have never been able to create enough urgency to prompt action. Compared with other steps in the change process, step one can sound easy but it is not. Well over 50% of the companies I have watched fail in this first phase (Kotter, 2007, pg. 3). Kotter proposed that the change initiatives can be successful is when 75% of companys managements is honestly convinced and agreed to change. Step 2 is Creating the Guiding Coalition. Kotter (1995) described it as a step that requires the organization to assembling a group with enough power to lead the change effort and encourage the group to work together as a team. The team may consist one or two people in the early stage but it must grow over time. It is important that the team get full support by the top managements. A high sense of urgency for change within the top management is such organization helps enormously in putting a guiding coalition together. Leadership play an important role to spread out the sense of urgency to change. Efforts that dont have a powerful enough guiding coalition cant only sustain for a while and in the end the progress will stop. Step 3 is Developing a Vision and Strategy. A vision helps clarify the direction in which the change results should be. Kotter (1995) describe this step as developing a picture of the future that is relatively easy to communicate and appeals to customers, stock-holders and employees. Without a sensible vision, any change effort can easily dissolve into a list of confusing and incompatible projects that can take the organization in the wrong direction or nowhere at all. Step 4 is Communicating the Change Vision. In this step, every possible communication channel must be used to spread out the change initiatives. Everybody needs to know, aware and get familiar about what is happening. Some key elements of effectively communicating shall be used such as repetition, explanation, forums and leading by example of the guiding coalition. Step 5 is Empowering Employees for Broad-Based Action. In this step, action should be taken to remove all obstacles to change. This might as be up to the extent of changing systems or structures that seriously undermine the vision. It also may involve allocating some budget, money, time, support etc. These are to get more people to involve. The more people involved, the better the outcome (Kotter 1995). Step 6 is Generating Short-Term Wins. Transformation will take time and effort and will risk losing momentum if there are no short-term goals or achievement. Some people will only get participate when they start to see the positive results. Without short term wins, people will get exhausted and may turn back to their original behavior or condition. Step 7 is Consolidating Gains and Producing More Change. In this step, Kotter gave warns that people tend to declare victory too soon before they are really won. They easily get satisfied with the changes without knowing that it is not fully embedded into the systems of the organization. The change might take years to complete. Step 8 is Anchoring New Approaches in The Culture. This step is the ultimate goal of any change initiatives. It embeds in the culture of the organization, when it seeps into the bloodstream of the organization. 2.5 Research Questions Based on the discussion above, the following research questions have been formulated to guide the study. Is the program established enough Sense of Urgency to the staff during the implementation period? Is the program creating a group of people with enough power to lead the change effort and encourage the group to work together as a team during the implementation period? Is the staff been thought about the Vision and Strategy and understand the end results of Lean Six Sigma program? Is the staff well versed and understand about the benefit of Lean Six Sigma? Is the program gets enough support from the management and well accepted by the staff? Is staff clear about the short term target and long term target of the program and feel that Lean Six Sigma will give a lot of benefit to them? Is the program continuously developing and more people start to talk about Lean Six Sigma? Is Lean Six Sigma embedded into the culture of every staff? CHAPTER 3 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY Introduction The previous chapters provide with a contextual framework for understanding the purpose and objectives of the research. Chapter three focuses on the research methodology and its application to the research objectives and questions outlined in chapter one and two. The research design, population and sample, sampling procedure, assessment instruments and pilot study are described according to its use in this chapter. In addition the statistical tools used for data analysis are defined in relation to the objectives and research questions. Research Design Research can be describe as a systematic and organized effort to investigate a specific problem that needs solution. Management research could encompass the study of employee attitude and behavior, human resources management, the impact of changing demographic on management practices, production operation management, strategy formulation, information systems, and the like (Sekaran, 1984, p. 5). The type of this research is applied research. When research is done with the intention of applying the results of its findings to solving specific problems currently being experienced in the organization, it is called applied research (Sekaran, 1984, p. 6). Data can be collected in a variety of ways, settings and sources. This study will base on quantitative research using questionnaires (survey) method and qualitative research by interviewing some of the selected staff purposive sampling. Sekaran (1984) explained that a questionnaire is a preformulated written set of questions to which respondents record their answer, usually within rather closely defined alternatives and interviewing is a process to obtain information on the issues of interest to the researched. It can be either unstructured or structured and could be conducted either face to face or any means. The main purpose of the interview is to have an early understanding on Lean Six Sigma Program that has been implemented. Population and Sample A total of 120 participants from 7 departments / divisions of SIRIM Berhad participated in Lean Six Sigma Program will involve in this study. The participants are full time staff work

Kenneth Fearing’s Dirge Essay -- Kenneth Fearing Dirge Essays

Kenneth Fearing’s Dirge Traditionally, dirges are composed in the form of a song or hymn of mourning as a memorial to a dead person. The very definition suggests that the particular qualities of the dead individual deserve recognition. The dirge is not just written for anyone, but for those deserving of glorification, who survive in the memories of the living as testaments to the greater capacities of humankind. It is against this traditional definition that Kenneth Fearing’s poem, â€Å"Dirge†, is working, not only as an overt commentary on the social, cultural, and political factors surrounding the destabilization of 1930’s America but also as an abstraction of the prevalent views of reality: the dehumanization of the human. Fearing superimposes these thematic projects onto the context of the Great Depression, a period of American history often seen as representing overarching society decline, the dull malaise of futility, and the alienation of the individual. Through an exploration o f the structural elements of â€Å"Dirge†, one can find just how Fearing constructs a particular vision of modernism. As a prelude to an inquiry into thematic elements of the poem, it is first necessary to draw out the importance of Fearing’s use of experimental form. Fearing â€Å"adheres† to the conventional use of strophic poetic construction, making use of epigrammatic style, where the seven stanzas separate the lament into isolated combinations and experiments on language and the content suggests each might stand alone as organic entities. Putting these highly-varied units into a single poem reflects on the incoherence of broader theme of death and the response to death, the dirge, as well as the notion that such a broad topic as death contains many sma... ..., the content and form has self-deconstructed, resulting in a meaningless reduction/manifestation of repetition. The primary focus of the poem on the death and memory of a man has been sacrificed, leaving only the skeletal membrane of any sort of focus in the poem. The â€Å"Dirge† which initially was meant to reflect on the life of the individual has been completely abstracted. The â€Å"Dirge† the reader is left with at the end of the poem is one meant for anyone and no one. Just as the internal contradictions in Kenneth Fearing’s poem have eliminated the substantial significance of each isolated concern, the reader is left without not only a resolution, but any particular tangible meaning at all. The form and content of this poem have quite effectively established a powerful modernist statement, ironically contingent on the absence and not the presence of meaning in life.

The Old Man And The Sea :: essays research papers

This book takes place in the past and is about an old man that loves fishing in the Gulf Stream. The old man was a thin with deep wrinkles in the back of his neck and had scars on his hands from handling the fishing rope. He taught this young boy how to fish and the boy loved him. He even brought him fishing many times. But the past 84 days the old man had not caught one fish. After 40 days of not catching anything the boy left and fished on another boat. The boy still loved him and brought him food and fresh bait to fish. The old man and the boy always talked about baseball because they both enjoyed it. One day, the old man was out on the water fishing. The weather was beautiful, the currents were perfect, and he saw all birds flying over the water. He knew he had to catch a nice fish today. He saw one of his poles have a jerk so he pulled it in and it was a bonita fish, which he was goin to use for a nice piece of bait later in the day. The day progressed and he saw a real big jerk on the pole. He jumped up and held it, but the fish was not hooked yet. A couple more jerks he felt, but the fish was not taking it. Finally the fish did and he could feel that it had to be a fish of enormous size. He could not pull it up because it was so strong. He had to hold onto it until the fish was tired and decided to come up. Then when it would come up, he would take his harpoon and stab it in the heart so it would die. This fish was taking all the strength out of him and it was pulling his skiff farther and farther out. Now he wished that the boy was here with him to help him pull it up. It was 3 days later until he finally got the fish to jump out of the water. When it did he saw that it was the biggest marlin he ever saw. To regain strength and pull the fish in, he had to eat the bonita that he caught. He ate all of it and it helped his hand that was cut from the

Characteristics of Modern Drama

The essence of this paper is to list and discuss characteristics of modern period drama. These characteristics are realism, naturalism and interaction between characters and the readers. They will be discussed along with Henrik Ibsen’s ‘Ghosts’ and Arthur Miller’s ‘Death of a Sales man’. Realism and naturalism are considered to be the cornerstones of modern drama as we know it today. They are the major influencers of the modern drama. Henrik Ibsen is considered to be the founding father of these two movements. It is crucial to note that characters in these two movements represent themselves as normal human beings and this aid to the readers to interact and analyse the play to make their own judgements which is a feature of modern drama. Realism in literature was first developed in France in the mid-nineteenth century. Realist writers sought to narrate their plays from an objective, unbiased perspective that simply and clearly represented the factual elements of the play. They became masters at psychological characterization, detailed descriptions of everyday life in realistic settings, and dialogue that captures the idioms of natural human speech. The realists endeavoured to accurately represent contemporary culture and people from all walks of life. Ghosts capture the issues that concern us in everyday life. They are real issues that concern us in the contemporary world. The fact that they are real and not shielded they led to the play being rejected when it was first produced in1891. What Ibsen was saying was the truth which was took place in the society before 19th Century and was concealed. By revealing issues such as sex, sexual transmitted infections, incest, and infidelity he hurt the society since such issues were not openly discussed prior the 19th Century. The reason why ‘Ghosts’ was rejected is that it dramatise those secret issues. â€Å"Daily Telegraph leader is perhaps the most damning, describing the play as: ‘an open drain; a loathsome sore unbandaged; a dirt act done publicly; a lazar house with all its doors and windows open’. Ibsen, (2002: xxvi). In reality matters such as promiscuity does happen. Captain Alving represents this issue and in turn it is concealed at first because the only time Mrs Alving mentions it is in Act 2 after Osvald made sexual advances to Regina at the end of Act 1. Pastor Manders not to believe it but she tells her that she confirmed it from Johanna, who is Regina’s mother. And also sexual transmitted does affect children. So it was of no help to conceal reality because at the end of everything it will bounce back ith its consequences having to be addressed. At the end Mrs Alving had no choice but to tell the truth though it is late at Osvald’s side because his syphilitic condition its already in the advanced stage for being cured. In ‘Death of a Sales man’ we see Willy Loman concealing the reality that he is no longer doing well in travelling sales. He claims that he is doing exceptionally well though he is in the habit of borrowing money from Charlie pretending it to be his weekly wages. He also claims to be well liked yet he is fired shamelessly in his job. He taints Biff and Happy by saying that being well liked is the key to success yet he is not successful himself. Now we can see how realism present itself in these two plays. On the other hand naturalism is a movement in theatre, film, and literature that seeks to replicate a believable everyday reality, as opposed to such movements as Romanticism or Surrealism, in which subjects may receive highly symbolic, idealistic, or even supernatural treatment. Naturalistic writers were influenced by the evolution theory of Charles Darwin. They believed that one's heredity and social environment decide one's character. Whereas realism seeks only to describe subjects as they really are, naturalism also attempts to determine â€Å"scientifically† the underlying forces (i. e. the environment or heredity) influencing these subjects' actions. They are both opposed to romanticism, in which subjects may receive highly symbolic, idealistic, or even supernatural treatment. Naturalistic works often include uncouth or sordid subject matter. For example, Emile Zola's works had frankness about sexuality along with a pervasive pessimism. Naturalistic works exposed the dark harshness of life, including poverty, racism, prejudice, disease, prostitution, filth, etc. They were often very pessimistic and frequently criticized for being too blunt. Naturalism applies to ‘Ghosts’ and ‘Death of a Salesman in the sense that it sees human fate as the result of the environment they find themselves in. As Sigmund Freud said ‘man‘s basic instincts are sexuality and extent that he was a highly promiscuous man who ended up impregnating her maid. Looking at Charles Darwin also we find that the environment is the primary cause of everything that man does therefore man has no control over his actions. This will backup Captain Alving for being promiscuous. By making sexual advances to Regina, Osvald is also the victim of the environment and heredity. Furthermore in ‘Death of a Sales man’ the reason why Willy Loman find himself in the situation he is in it is because of the environment. He wants to conquer new territories thus he refers to himself a New England man. He also says if one is well liked he will never want yet he is an unknown character. The fact that he commits suicide at the end of the play is the causality of the environment. The environment he occupied could not let him to achieve the values by which lives. According to naturalists he has no control all over things that happen in his life. Moreover the interaction between the readers and the characters is a characteristic of modern period drama. It is captured by the fact that these two plays are realistic. The characters in ‘Ghosts’ and ‘Death of a Salesman’ represents themselves as normal human beings. The issues that they capture are known and their consequences to the characters are mirroring what is happening in the society at large. The readers feel what the characters feel and also sympathize with them as in the real life. In ‘Ghosts’ the readers feel pity for Osvald for having acquired syphilis from his father. This situation also reminds us of the babies who are born HIV positive today. It is indeed a sad situation for an individual to find themselves in. Also in ‘Death of a Sales man’ as readers we wish Willy Loman could think otherwise in order for him to escape the fate he is in. We wish he could realise that the frontier was reached by those who arrived there first. And that he could teach his sons that being well liked and personally attractive has nothing to do with success at all. This is never achievable because the play was written to portray the reality of natural fate such as death. As human beings we do not have a control over these things. In conclusion realism and naturalism and the interaction between the readers an the characters are the characteristics in modern period drama. The plays portrays the real issues of life and also the natural part of life which human beings have no control over. Also we find that the readers are able to interact with the characters because what is going on in the play is the same as what is going on in life. REFERENCESIbsen. H, (2002), Ghosts, London, Nick Hern Books. Miller. A, (2000), Death of a Salesman, Great Britian, Penguin Group. e. Notes. com,Realism Introduction,(2010), http://www. enotes. com/realism/, retrieved 21-04-2010UNIVERSITY OF BOTSWANA FACULTY OF HUMANITIES DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH SHALANI GOBIFELWANG 200602865MR SEDA MODERN ENGLISH DRAMA ENG 482 21-04-2010Using any two plays that you have studied in this course list and analyse any three characteristics, features or conventions of drama of the modern period.

Who Will Light the Incense When Mother’s Gone? & On Going Home

When reading non-fiction we have to think critically about what the writer is trying to convey in their piece. We look at formalist criticism and historical criticism, to see if there is anything that belong in either of those two categories. Writers also can also use different strategies in order to convey their thesis or themes. The non-fiction works that I have chosen are â€Å"Who Will Light the Incense When Mother’s Gone? † by Andrew Lam and â€Å"On Going Home† by Joan Didion. I will discuss their theme and how Lam and Didion conveyed that theme into their work and for what purpose and to whom it was for.I will also discuss why it is considered a piece of non-fiction and how imagination plays a part in the selected stories. Who Will Light the Incense when Mothers’ Gone? By Andrew Lam Summary The theme that comes out in the short story by Andrew Lam is â€Å"tradition. † Lam conveys this theme when his mother asks who will light the incense. In Vietnam, which is Lam’s homeland, he remembers lighting incense but since fleeing to America is has become a distant dream and he no longer knows who to pray to and for what purpose.â€Å"Having fled so far from Vietnam, I no longer know to whom I should address my prayers or what promises I could possibly make to the long departed. † (p. 1115). It is a tradition that his mother has kept since moving to the America’s and it is a tradition that could be lost once she is no longer on this earth. But Lam realizes that his mother and he live in two different worlds. His mother still believes in praying to the ancestors every morning, while Lam is too busy living an American life. Strategy Purpose & Audience Lam conveys this theme by his memories of what it was like growing up with his mother in America.She kept her children’s degrees, trophies from sporting events, just as any loving proud mother would do. But above that shelf, she had her incense that she l it every morning, religiously. â€Å"†¦she climbs a chair and piously lights a few joss sticks for the ancestral altar that sits on top of the living room bookcase. † (p. 1115). The purpose of this story that I believe Lam is trying to express is the feeling he felt when he heard that no one will light the incense when his mother is gone. This is a feeling that any immigrant child can be able relate to; disappointment.His mother wishes for one of her children to follow the tradition of praying to the ancestors but she knows that it will be too much to ask. â€Å"And when, upon my mother’s insistence, I light incense, I do not feel as if I am participating in a living tradition so much as pleasing a traditional mother. † (p. 1116). Lam expresses that he feels he does not belong is lighting the incense because it is such a Vietnamese tradition and he has adopted the American ways. Non-Fiction This piece is described as non-fiction because this is a recount of a day in his life, and how he felt about that day.He first starts off by describing his mother’s birthday. â€Å"My mother turned seventy recently, and though she remains a vivacious woman†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (p. 1115). He then goes in detail about the conversation that went on between his mother and his aunt. His mother asks who will be able to light the incense when she is gone, his aunt then reply’s that she does not know because none of her children will do it and to forget even thinking that the grandchildren will do it. (p. 1115) Imagination Imagination is required in reading this story. I say this because, as the reader you have to put yourself in the narrators place.Unless you are a child of an immigrant, you need to try to understand what he or she is going though in this story. Lam feels disappointment in himself because he could light the incense but would not feel right in doing so because he has not practiced doing so in such a long time. If you were to imagin e yourself as an immigrant child who does not follow the traditions from your homeland anymore, you would not feel comfortable in doing the traditions as well. â€Å"I wish I could assure my mother that, after she is gone, each morning I would light incense for her and all the ancestor spirits before her, but I can’t.† (p. 1116)On Going Home by Joan Didion Summary In Joan Didion’s â€Å"On Going Home† the reoccurring theme is â€Å"home. † The narrator is home for her daughter’s first birthday and the feelings of being home again are overwhelming â€Å"And yet some nameless anxiety colored the emotional charges between me and he place that I came from. † (p. 636). Didion is explaining that the term home, now has a different meaning to the younger generation. She explains how she feels about being home and what she wishes for her young daughter. She exclaims how she cannot give the life or feeling of â€Å"home† to her daughter, like she had.â€Å"†¦would like to give her home for her birthday, but we life differently now and I can promise her nothing like that. † (p. 637) Strategy Purpose & Audience Didion is trying to convey the feeling of being home again. Even though Didion is getting into her thirties, married, with a child and with a home of her own, being at the place she grew up brings unexpected feelings. â€Å"†¦and yet I was almost thirty years old before I could talk to my family on the telephone without crying after I had hung up. † (p. 636) During the time that Didion left home, the idea that you were never able to come home again weighted heavy on your mind.The purpose of this story could be to see if anyone still felt the same way about being home, like she did. Anyone who has left home, and wished to come back could relate to this story, or someone who is close to their family. Non-Fiction This story is a form of non-fiction. Didion is retelling the time she went ho me to her parents’ house for her daughters first birthday. She talks about the conversations that she and her family has about people she once knew. â€Å"†¦and we appear to talk exclusively about people we know who have been committed to mental hospitals, about people we know who have been booked on drunk-driving charges†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (p.636)Another bit about this story being non-fiction is how her family and herself talk to one another. She says that they do not â€Å"demand† anything from her, and that they do not fight, and there is nothing particularly wrong. She also speaks about visiting her aunts. These are all events that Didion went through while visiting her family for her daughter’s birthday. Imagination In this short story, you do need to have a sense of imagination. You need to place yourself in the shoes of Joan Didion while visiting her parents’ house, about being around the objects that are now so precious to you.She brings on emoti ons that only a child who has left home, or a person who is thinking about leaving home can feel. The emotions of getting into a routine again, having conversations about people around town that you used to know, and being around family that you have not seen in a while. Having to imagine this can provoke the same nameless emotions that Didion expressed. Conclusion Both themes for each stories revolve around family. Having a tradition that means a lot to a family member or being able to come home for a visit. Everything leads up to being around family, who love and support you though everything.

Petroleum and Investment Grade Rating

Petrolera Zuata, Petrozuata C. A. case study â€Å"La Apertura† (The Opening) †¢ Target: Orinoco Belt heavy/extra heavy oil accumulation (biggest known in the world) †¢ Key Strategy: Opening Venezuelan oil sector to foreign oil companies †¢ How: Profit sharing agreements, operating service agreements, strategic joint-venture associations †¢ Ownership: PDVSA or subsidiaries contribute10 years), fixed interest rates, fewer more flexible covenants, larger amounts. – Cons: fund must be raised in a lump sum.Excess funds create a drag on earnings (negative carry) †¢ Rule 144A market (private placement market): – Pros: Like public bonds + speed, underwritten within six months – Cons: only qualified investors can invest in them Conditions needed: hot markets and investment grade rating What kind of debt to choose? †¢ The sponsors should use 144A (private bonds) to fund the deal because of the important advantages and the significant d isadvantages which can arise by using the other debt kinds. Rule 144A has big advantage of time – Markets seem to be going in the right direction (Hot markets) – What else is needed?†¦ (on the next slide: Investment grade) Investment Grade Rating †¢ Agencies look at 3 main factors: sponsors’ creditworthiness, project’s economics and Venezuela’s sovereign risk. †¢ Problem: Venezuela’s rating: S&P â€Å"B† Moody’s â€Å"Ba2† †¢ Petrozuata is strictly connected with country’s risks because it is controlled by PDVSA which is Venezuela’s state oil company and operates in Venezuela †¢ If Venezuela defaults on its debt Petrozuata will default too unless†¦ Conoco Inc. is a subsidiary of DuPont which operates worldwide and has investment grade rating †¢ Investing in Petrozuata is indirectly investing in DuPont †¢ If you invest in Petrozuata your real investment is also in Vene zuela and DuPont †¢ Petrozuata project has a very good structure and business projections †¢ Same comparables with other oil companies operating in other countries and having investment rate grading †¢ Ras Laffan example of oil company having higher rating than the country in which it operates(Qatar) In order to obtain investment grading it is very important to have DuPont in the deal †¢ If rating agencies consider the fact that Petrozuata will repay its debt although Maraven defaults on its part of debt because DuPont wants to mantain its good reputation it might obtain an investment grading †¢ If Venezuela is strictly linked to Petrozuata and has a â€Å"B† then Petrozuata should have at least a â€Å"B† rating plus a considerable bonus because the risk is diversified into DuPont †¢ Project’s base case DSCR would probably have to exceed 1. 0X †¢ Break-even point low enough so the project can cover all operating and financing costs if oil prices fall substantially Is it a good deal? †¢ We would invest in project bonds as they will likely yield a higher return compared to the 21% cost of equity. Factors that need to be considered: †¢ Hierarchy of payments is good (referred to â€Å"Cash Waterfall†) †¢ Balance Sheet and Income statement suggest PDVSA and DuPont are supposed to be solid companies †¢ Oil prices are not that volatile; fluctuating but arresting around a price between $20 and $25 per barrel (suggested nominal break-even price in 2008 $8. 3 per barrel) †¢ Lower operating costs with respect to competitors (cash operating cost around $3. 19 against industry median at $8. 55) †¢ More than enough heavy crude oil reserves to sustain the planned production according DeGolyer & MacNoughton (U. S. based oil consulting firm) †¢ Project’s design in accordance with good industry practice; complying with Venezuelan and International environmental laws as stat ed by Stone & Webster Overseas Consultants, a U. S. ngineering and consulting firm What should Conoco take into account? †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ True problem is not very favorable business environment Theoretically, if all contracts are respected and hierarchy of payments holds, the only entities bearing risks are PDVSA and DuPont with their capital investment Banks and whoever invests in project bonds according to the hierarchy of payments should be a safe investor Uncertainty in government’s future actions could be very harmful.Remember that in January 1976 the Venezuelan government nationalized the domestic oil industry and the compensation package was only 20% of market value!!! (according to foreign oil companies). Lending to Petrozuata is indirectly investing in Venezuela’s business environment and doing business with the government as PDVSA is 100% government owned, which has a non-investment grading by rating agencies †¢ What should Conoco do? Take carefully in consideration what has been mentioned †¢ Make an in depth analysis on Venezuela’s macroeconomic issues †¢ Try to revise the â€Å"Off take agreement† to be sure of having the right to buy the 104,000 BPCD at the pre-fixed price †¢ If benefits exceed these further costs then consider equity investment †¢ Otherwise the best move would be to take some other entity in the deal to diversify risks even more †¢ Personally, we would be very cautious with investing equity capital as Conoco.