Dell vs. Hp Performance & Finanical Analysis

Financial Analysis Common-Size Analysis Common-Size Income Statement Analysis The common-size income statement for Dell shows a relatively flat history for cost of goods sold compared to sales from 82. 27% in 2006 to 82. 49% in 2010. Dell’s five year average for cost of goods sold to sales was 82. 23%, which is bit higher than HP cost of goods sold to sales five year average of 75. 96%. This in turn gives HP higher gross revenue than Dell most likely through means of obtaining raw materials and goods at lower costs, giving HP greater ability for an increased profit margin.This increased profit margin can allow for HP to offer more discounts then Dell may be able to afford, or increase spending in areas of investment for the company. Another area of interest within the common size income statement is related to selling, general and administrative to sales. Overall through the years 2006 to 2010, Dell saw an increase in this area growing from 9. 05% in 2006 to 12. 22% in 2010. M eanwhile, HP experienced the exact opposite effect, with this category declining from 12. 29% in 2006 to 9. 99% in 2010. According to Dell’s annual report, the major increase was due to the acquisition of Perot Systems.It also appears that over the last five years, Dell’s strategy of products directly to customers has been adopted by many competitors, allowing the competitors to decrease some of their overhead and commissions paid to retailers, all the while increasing sales. In the same time span as competitors partially adopted the strategy that made Dell prominent, Dell began to place more products in retail stores to compete directly on the front lines with its competition, as mentioned in their Management’s Discussion and Financial Analysis meetings.This approach FINANCIAL ANALYSIS OF DELL AND HP has caused a good percentage of the sales revenue to go to retailers and distributors, thus straining the ability to maximize net income for the present. Research, development and engineering for Dell as a percentage to sales were 0. 82% in 2006 and slightly grew to 1. 18% in 2010. HP research, development and engineering to sales is roughly 3 times the amount that Dell dedicated; however, HP has drawdown their research, development and engineering to sales from 3. 92% in 2006 to 2. 35% in 2010.The five year average in this category for Dell was 0. 99% and HP was 3. 04%. Even with HP’s much higher research, development and engineering to sales percentage than Dell, HP has a higher operating expense, but since their cost of goods sold to sales is lower, it gives HP the edge in producing a higher operating income than Dell. Overall net income to sales decreased for Dell throughout 2006 to 2010, with a major decrease happening in 2010 and overall having a five year average of 4. 51%. In 2006 the net income to sales was 6. 46%, then in 2009 it dropped to 4. 6%, but in 2010 was when the major drop happened, resulting in net income being jus t 2. 71%. The main contributor to the drop in net income to sales was from operating expenses, with one component being the increase in research, development and engineering, but the primary increase coming from the selling, general and administrative category. Increased operating expenses are reflective of Dell’s push of broadly branching out into the retail market. HP’s net income to sales remained flat during the same time span, with a five year average of 6. 88%.The basically net zero increase in net income can be attributed to the economic downturn, and its rippling effect on customers. Common-Size Balance Sheet Analysis The common-size balance sheet of Dell reflects a current assets to total assets five year average of 74. 91% and shows a short term liabilities to total liabilities and shareholders’ equity five year average of 63. 72% covering years 2006 to 2010. Dell’s current assets and current liabilities both decreased from 2006 to 2010, but the ir current liabilities decreased at a faster rate than their current assets did.The gap between the two in 2006 was roughly 7% and had increased to 16% by 2010, providing plenty of opportunity to grow and develop the company further in their plans. HP common size balance sheet represents a different story. Their a current assets to total assets five year average was 49. 45% and short term liabilities to total liabilities and shareholders’ equity five year average was 42. 37% across years 2006 to 2010. Both accounts FINANCIAL ANALYSIS OF DELL AND HP 7 decreased slightly over the years, and by 2010, HP had a gap of current assets to current liabilities of only 4%.Potential investors will focus on this close margin because HP may start to become too heavily leveraged, which could hinder their ability to expand. It could also pose the problem of decreasing the percentage amount that HP reinvests back into the company, due to using assets to pay off short term liabilities. Within Dell’s current assets, short term investments to total assets decreased from 8. 67% in 2006 to 1. 11% in 2010. Many of these short term investments had matured and were sold. The additional cash on hand helped decrease accounts payable, which decreased from 42. 4% in 2006 to 33. 80% in 2010. Reducing its liabilities strengthens Dell financial health, yet further liquidity and asset utilization ratio test should be conducted to determine if their more solid financial standing is long term or simple a one year over year change. Dell’s inventory to total assets remained mainly the same over the five year span with 2. 53% in 2006 and 3. 12% in 2010. This is a reflection Dell’s strategy of keeping on hand inventory levels low and only producing the amount able to quickly sell. HP inventory to total assets changed substantially from 9. 5% in 2006 to 5. 19% in 2010. The drop in inventory percentage to total assets is a representation of HP improved strategy to minimize holding periods by taking delivery of inventory and manufacturing immediately prior to sale or distribution of product to customers. It is also reflective of the aggressive discounting that HP conducted as a result of the economic downturn. Dell’s long term debt to total liabilities and shareholders’ equity increased substantially from 2. 69% in 2006 to 10. 15% in 2010 with average long term debt of 4. 71%.The major increased indicates that the company was dependant on long term debt to finance its acquisition of Perot Systems in 2010. HP long term debt to total liabilities and shareholders’ equity followed the same path by increasing from 3. 04% in 2006 to 12. 26% in 2010. This increased in total debt is explained in their annual report as being spending on acquisitions and share repurchases. Debt to equity ratios are needed to be further evaluated to determine the risk factor for this increased level of liabilities. Comparative Analysis Comparative Income Sta tement AnalysisDell’s net revenue sharply declined from 2008 to 2010, going from 6. 47% to (13. 42%), as a result of the economic downturn, as individual customers put off luxury purchases such as computers and commercial customers put off bulk computer orders for a later to be determined FINANCIAL ANALYSIS OF DELL AND HP 8 date. On average, the net revenue growth was 1. 86% while cost of goods sold was 2. 05%. Cost of goods sold increased faster than sales, lowering its potential gross profit. Even though selling, general, and administrative was reduced substantially from 2008 level of 26. 3% down to (8. 97%) in 2010, its growth rate averaged 9. 45%, which outpaced net revenue on average. The drop in selling general and administrative was due to decreases in compensation, advertising expenses and improved controls during the downturn. The growth rate of cost of goods coupled with the economic downturn, found Dell with a (31. 91%) operating income for year 2010. A large decre ase in the market yield of over 200 basis points from 2009 was the cause for the (210. 45%) for investments and other income n 2010. Net income average was (10. 8%) over years 2006 to 2010, with major causes for this being lower sales due to economic downturn, decreases in investments, increases in tax liabilities and higher cost of a hedging program. Much like with Dell, the economic fallout had its effects on HP. Their net revenue severely decreased from 13. 50% in 2008 to (3. 22%) in 2009. The dollar depreciation to the euro played a large part in this drop for its European sales. However, unlike Dell, HP rebounded in 2010, increasing sales up to 10. 02%, which can be attributed mostly in part to HP’s acquisition of EDS. HP’s annual cost of goods averaged 7. 4%, which was lower than their net revenue average of 7. 96%. This led to a more favorable net income on average, indicating HP’s ability to better control its operating income through successful marketin g or more effective investment approaches over the years. Comparative Balance Sheet Analysis Dell’s five year average total current assets growth rate was 7. 75%, which was higher by a slim margin over average total current liabilities of 7. 27%. The relationship was consistent with the common size analysis giving support to Dell’s capability to cover short term liabilities with current assets.However, caution should be raised and solvency ratios further investigated as Dell’s current assets dipped below its current liabilities in 2010 by a comparison of 20. 32% to 27. 60%. Its competitor HP current liabilities growth rate average is out pacing its current assets growth by almost double with rates of 10. 88% to 4. 68%, respectively. This should bring caution to HP to get control of its short term liabilities growth rate, but not be too alarming, considering that by its common-size comparison, the company presently has enough current assets to pay for its short t erm liabilities.FINANCIAL ANALYSIS OF DELL AND HP 9 Dell’s accounts receivable rate of growth was 11. 90% on average, growing faster than the company’s average sales rate, 1. 86%. This relates to the increase in the collection period in days also increasing over this five year span. The category of property, plant and equipment grew for Dell at an annual rate of 6. 12%, with the majority of this growth happening in years 2006-2008. Plant, property and equipment declined in years 2009-2010, (14. 66%) and (4. 2%) respectively, which coincides with the company’s declining sales growth over these same years. On average, Dell’s total liabilities grew 11. 36% annually, compared to its total liabilities and shareholders’ equity growth rate average of 8. 21%. This highlights the company’s candidacy for potentially becoming a long-term solvency risk. Financial Ratio Analysis Liquidity Current Ratio and Acid Test Ratio Average current ratio for Dell w as 1. 19 and the acid test ratio was 1. 14. These averages are better in comparison to HP’s current ratio of 1. 17 and acid test ratio of 1. 0, which tells that Dell has more current assets to cover its short term liabilities and makes Dell a safer and more financially strong company. HP had a risky year in 2008 when its current ratio fell below 1. 00, ending at 0. 98, but shouldn’t be focused on too much considering that their net revenue in sales averages 7. 96% growth rate and is averaging a 39. 33% net income growth rate. Collection Period Dell’s ability to collect customers payments on accounts receivable is stronger than HP’s, with Dell taking 32. 04 days on average compared to HP’s 49. 74 days.While both companies collection period was longer than the normal business benchmark of 30 days, Dell was much more successful in collection from its customers and thus reduced the liability for risky accounts receivable. The shorter period for collect ion also enables Dell to pay for its inventory and not have to expose them to greater amounts of short term debt through increased working capital financing. Days to Sell Inventory Dell inventory holding period was much shorter than HP, with Dell having days to sell inventory ratio of 6. 70 on average and HP having an average ratio of 32. 2. Dell operates in a FINANCIAL ANALYSIS OF DELL AND HP 10 slightly leaner production manner than HP and is able to quickly move inventory through its distribution networks. The quicker a company is able to sell its inventories, the quicker the clock begins to receive payment to be able to pay back money owed on inventories acquired and sold, and not have to increase your working capital financing. Capital Structure and Solvency Debts to Equity Ratios Dell’s five year average of total debt to equity was 5. 23, compared to HP lower average ratio of 1. 5. This shows that Dell had more debt (creditors) financing than equity (shareholders) finan cing. Long term debt for to equity on average for Dell was 0. 29 and HP was 0. 22. While many feel that debt from creditors is more harmful because of the interest paid on the principle borrowed, the advantage here is that once the creditor is paid back, they are gone and off the payroll. Whereas equity financing involves more shareholders owning parts of the company, which reduces the dividend payout per shareholder as well as waters down earnings per share.Dells approach to being more heavily financed through debt than equity may be in an attempt to keep earnings per share at an increased level. Return on Investment Return on Assets and Return on Common Equity An important ratio is the return on assets ratio for its ability to measure earnings per dollar from its assets. The five year average for return on assets of Dell was 13. 06% while HP’s was 9. 07%. This higher percentage for Dell reflects a more efficient use of its assets and higher earnings from products sold per c ompany asset.Both companies have strong return on assets that goes to show the loyal base of customers each brand name of the two companies has. Return on common equity is another important profitability ratio. This ratio measures the earnings success of its capital investments through common shareholders. The return on equity for Dell averaged 81. 46% while HP averaged 23. 91. An observation of this profitability measure shows that Dell is possibly much more attractive for potential investors for its ability to effectively manage and use funds generated through shareholders equity.Operating Performance Profit Margin Ratios Dell’s gross profit margin average of 17. 77% was lower than HP’s average of 24. 04% HP controls a larger portion of the computer market as represented through this ratio. Dell also FINANCIAL ANALYSIS OF DELL AND HP 11 posted lower operating profit margins and pretax profit margin compared to HP. Dell’s higher selling, general and administrat ive expenses are cause for lower operating and pretax profit margins, partly due to new retail and certain global distribution relationships.As expected from the precursors above, net income was also lower for Dell when compared to HP. Dell needs to encroach more forcefully into HP’s large market share to positively influence its sales. Operating expense components should be addressed as well to find cost savings measures to increase operation income in order to ultimately increase its net income. Asset Utilization Cash Turnover The measure of how efficient a company utilizes its cash and cash equivalents to create sales revenue is depicted with the cash turnover ratio. In respect to this ratio, Dell averaged 5. 0, while HP averaged 7. 09. This showed that HP used its cash and cash equivalents more efficiently to build revenue. On the other hand, it shows that HP used its cash and cash equivalents while Dell refrained from using its cash and cash equivalents, as evident in th e common size analysis, showing that Dell retained on average 31. 77% of cash and cash equivalents to assets while HP averaged 12. 41%. Inventory Turnover Inventory turnover represents how fast companies turn their inventories into sales revenue. Dell had a much slower inventory turnover on average, 58. 8, than HP’s 11. 86. Over the past five years more companies have became better at the Dell model of sales direct to customers which has overall effected Dell’s sales as evident in the comparative analysis showing on average Dell grew sales by 1. 86% while HP grew at 7. 96%. Also, HP has become more efficient in their inventory distribution cycle and the amount of inventories held in relation to total assets, dropping from 9. 45% in 2006 to 5. 19 by 2010. Dell’s turnover ratio was directly affected by its increase in inventory to total assets growing from 2. 53% in 2006 to 3. 2 % by 2010. The increase in Dell’s inventories to total assets percentage couple d with declining sales growth over the past five years was a cause for their much higher inventory turnover rate. Total Assets Turnover Total assets turnover measures how efficiently a company utilizes total assets to create sales revenue. On average, Dell’s ability to generate more profit from its assets was roughly FINANCIAL ANALYSIS OF DELL AND HP 12 double that of HP, being 2. 15 to 1. 07 respectively. This shows that for overall assets held, Dell had a better record of generating sales.Market Measures Price to Earnings Ratio and Earnings Yield The price to earnings for Dell on average was 16. 35, lower than HP’s 18. 52. From this statistical ratio, HP is able to show that its investors have higher expectations of their company performance by being committed to paying a higher price per share to own HP stock over the past five year time span. However, with Dell showing better results when it came to liquidation and return on investment, they are able to portray to potential investors that they are the better buy at a lower price per share when compared to HP.Earnings yield represents the amount of earnings generated for every dollar invested. Here, Dell has a better showing on average with 7. 02% compared to HP’s 6. 25%. This ratio can be another point of persuasion that Dell is the better buy for it being properly priced when talking of earnings yield over the years 2006 to 2010. Summary of Financial Performance and Suggestions for Improvement Both Dell and HP have the financial statistics showing why they are strong competitors in an ever evolving industry.In an industry that attracts potential customers by offering the latest, fastest and greatest products, Dell needs an increase their amount of research, development, and engineering to sales percentage. Dell can no longer rely on just offering cheaper products because offering the newest technology and quality of product has moved to the forefront of consumers’ minds. It wou ld be wise for Dell to focus on precise areas where they have a strong competency and not try to be all things to everyone. One area they may rethink of pushing into is their expanded exposure into retail stores.Considering that Dell is fairly new to the retailing segment, their ties to the retailing market are not as strong as many of its competitors who have long withstanding relationships with retailers. These long withstanding relationships with retailers give companies like HP an advantage over new comers to retail stores, such as Dell, and possible over the next year or so, Dell should rethink this new part of their strategy. At the moment, the amount of increased funds used on selling, general and administrative has not equally translated into higher sales revenue.

Patronage Behavior of Indian Rural Consumers

The study has been conducted by Rajnish Tuli and by Amit Mookerjee in 2004. The study is entitled Retail Formats: Patronage Behavior of Indian Rural Consumers and has been published in the South Asian Journal of Management in its July to September 2004 issue. The purpose of the research is to investigate the customer and behaviors that marketers must consider in catering to rural consumers. The research focused on response and patronage behavior of rural consumer in their evaluation of retail outlets in India, and the decision factors influencing such behavior.In particular, the retail formats that were investigated were village shops and haats. The study presents that shopping activity cost and product purchase cost were the most influential variables for the village shot retail format. Moreover, it has been found that â€Å"bargain† and promotion incentives cause them to buy from other markets. The information derived from the study shall be useful in crafting effective prod uct placement marketing efforts. 2) Explain the business problems under investigation. The research aims to determine the reasons for the behavior and patronage of retail outlets by rural consumers.In determining such factors, retailers would be able to draft appropriate marketing strategies that influence these variables. The study proceeded with identifying the differentiators of village shops and haats in terms of various perceptual dimensions. Specifically, the study assessed the factors which affected the decision of rural consumers to either purchase from a village shop or at an outshopping center. Moreover, it is not only limited to physical attributes, but rather on psychosocial traits that affect their decision to purchase and patronage. These advantages are congruent with consumers’ value.The following are the specific objectives that the study addressed (expressed in verbatim): 1) To identify the relevant decision variables influencing the rural consumers’ p atronage behavior towards existing retail setup; and 2) To identify the most critical decision variable, which differentiates the perception of rural consumers towards the retail setup. There were several decision variables involved in the study, including access route, traveling cost, product variety, price of a particular item, credit facility, credit period, bargaining facility, bargaining gains, product quantity, returns and adjustments, and promotions.Access route pertains to the presence of geographical connections among settings or places. The study hypothesized that there is no significant difference in the perception of access route associated with the two shopping centers. The next dimension, traveling cost, refers to the cost of getting to the shopping center. It is hypothesized that there is no significant difference in the traffic barrier related to the two shopping centers. The third dimension, product variety, refers to the number of products offered by the center.The price of a particular item is defined as the economic value perceived by the consumer in purchasing a specific product from an outlet. The next dimension is credit facility which pertains to the concession accorded to consumers in purchasing from a center. Another variable is credit period which pertains to the length of time allowed for a consumer to pay off his purchase. Bargaining gains is defined as the reduction in the cost that a consumer may have access to as an outcome of negotiation with the retailer. Product quantity refers to the amount of merchandise that a consumer may avail of in choosing a center.Another variable is returns and adjustments, which pertains to the ease with which returns or defective goods are dealt with. Finally, promotions are the incentives provided by the retailer to consumers for increased brand usage and patronage. 3) Identify the parties involved in conducting the research. The respondents of the study were from 12 gram panchayats from villages in Western Uttar Pradesh and South Uttaranchal. The villages were selected using purposive sampling, with the following inclusion criterion: with more than 1000 population, having a strong retail setup with a minimum of 8 retail outlets.Tea was the product used in assessing purchase decision. 4) Describe the methods involved to conduct the research project. The dimensions utilized in retail store selection have been assessed by rural consumers in the current study. The questionnaire required respondents to make assessments through a 7-point Likert scale. A pilot study has been undertaken to evaluate the scale reliability, resulting in the dropping of two variables, namely, peer shopping behavior and retailers’ attitude. The respondents of the study were from 12 gram panchayats from villages in Western Uttar Pradesh and South Uttaranchal.The villages were selected using purposive sampling, with the following inclusion criterion: with more than 1000 population, having a strong retail setup with a minimum of 8 retail outlets. Tea was the product used in assessing purchase decision. The statistical tests that were used for the analysis included the mean, paired t-test, discriminant analysis and factor analysis. These all helped determine the pertinent factors that differentiated the two retail outlets. References Tuli, R. & Mookerjee, A. (2004). Retail formats: Patronage behavior of Indian rural consumers. South Asian Journal of Management, 11(3) 57-73.

Evidence based practice Essay

There is a need for health services stipulation to apply the best evidence instead of applying the customary methods (Stevens et al, 2001). However, this is only possible if practitioners, researchers, scholars, politicians, managers and public in general conducted a high quality research. Different methods of researches that are evident-based tend to have lack support from most users. This is because those researches are lack of proper referencing which the reviewer could not access. This module has requisite us to articulate the definition of evidence based practice, analyzing different forms of evidence and reflect on possible tactics utilized in the implementation of evidence based practice. To aid me in achieving those outcomes, I have use resources from database like ebscohost, books, researches, journals and search engine like Google. The paper I choose focuses on a descriptive-correlation method of research based on operating room nurse’s knowledge and practice of sterile technique. This research is vital due to several cases of surgical infection taking place in operating room. The aim of the study is to determine the information and extent of applying sterile technique among operating room nurses in four selected hospitals in Samar, Philippines. Globalization comes with a large number of professional developments and policies especially in the nursing sector. Working in a government hospital in the Middle East, and attached to operating department is tough because research carried out on operating room nurse’s knowledge and practice of sterile techniques clearly shows a clear association between knowledge and practice (Luo et al,2010). This study was conducted on four hospitals in Philippines. Inclusion standards were set for this study is participation among nurses are nurses with permanent employment, nurses who agreed to participate on this study and nurses working in the identified hospitals. The research concludes that knowledge has a positive effect on the extent of practice by the nurses. Different International bodies as Commission for health improvement prove that evidence based practice is researched on daily basis by different scholars. Evidence based practice (EBP) requires the  nurse to be able to apply his/her knowledge in operations without necessarily consulting. EBP Sackett et al (2000) denote evidence-based practice is a popular discipline that applies in clinical practices since 1992, and started with the medicine sector as Evidence Based Medicine (EBM). It later spread out to other fields like nursing, education, dentistry, psychology, and library among others. EBP demands that these practical decisions need to come from confirmed research studies, and they should interpret according to particular EBP norms. EBP is the incorporation of the best research evidence with clinical expertise and patient values. This explanation emphasizes on the patient’s situations, goals, available evidence and the practitioner’s expertise. However, there are some patients who reject the administration based on their different culture and values. Besides that, the practitioner might understand underlying hindrances like finances that may halt the application of EBP. Evidence Based Practice in nursing includes the major decisions made by the professionals, which in my area includes the surgeries. Some of these decisions include appraising, accessing, and integrating research evidence with their professional judgment and with their clinical decision-making (Department of Health, 2002). The research on operating room nurse’s knowledge and practice of sterile techniques intention is to identify the extent of nurses applying their knowledge in practice pertaining sterile technique. There are several factors on why nurses are reluctant to apply EBP in their daily work. Evidence based practice include making decisions by combining any knowledge acquired from the nursing practice, patients inclination, and applying research evidence. It means that the nurses have a variety of options including sitting back and watching, or taking action based on their experience. Nevertheless, the decision made is crucial hence it need brainwave. A clinical question is essential before making evidence-based decision. So, it is important to search for a suitable EBP to help in making the right decision at the particular situation. Lastly, the nurse evaluates the different effects of the action taken. Strengths of EBP Since the early years of Florence Nightingale, research became popular till the first nursing journal published in United States in 1952 which began considering evidence based practice. Nightingale is famous for her systematic thinking and applied religious faith that favored systematic approach. According to Keith (1988), Nightingale had a good access to governmental information and other material making her work knowledge based. She applied graphical presentation in form of pie and bar charts unlike others who used tables. The health ministry requested Royal College of Nursing in 1966 to examine the effectiveness of nursing. From then onwards, various research programs came up including Information provision and wound care. Anyhow, Rodgers (2000) noted that the progress of EBP is slow but it is successful as the years go. Utilization of evidence-based knowledge broadens the relationship between the nurses and the management like the clinicians. Another major strength in evidence-based practice includes a research carried out around 1990’s on the physical constraint normally applied on older frail generation. The result showed harmful and prolonged routines thus it made a change in the national policy within acute care hospices and long-term care settings (Evans et al, 2006). These changes presented a drop in constrained home care residents from 1980s 75% to 2004s 8%. Nurses applied excessive pressure on the elderly without realizing of the psychological torture involved. Weaknesses of Evidence Based Research Today, science has expanded and advance compare to those years during Nightingale years. In spite of this progressive development, there is still a gap on contemporary knowledge and the extensive adoption to improve the health sector. Bass (2010) stated EBP appliance in nursing profession is similar in all fields or disciplines. The major challenge is the readiness to apply these evidence-based researches due to different drawbacks that include lack of understanding, inclusion, and lack of necessary education programs. To further strengthen this argument, Pravikov et al (2005) mention most nurses have two years degree program which does not accommodate evidence based practice. Moreover, EBP weakness also includes accessing of vital information on the research done. The information gathered in research  is publishing in various resources like database, journals, health magazines, newspapers, books and online. Therefore, users find it difficult to access especially in work place. In nursing, the clinical specialists and the doctors who own higher skills in recognizing problems, analyzing, and translating are far from reach. Hence, they are hesitated to apply EBP in their practice. Usefulness of Evidence Based Practice in my clinical Practice Perioperative nurse must be knowledgeable on sterilized technique. Reflecting on my experience being a perioperative nurse for five years now, to enhance better understanding on the importance of sterile technique and the consequences of not applying sterile technique, EBP is the best tactic. For instance, EBP is based on studies done on sterile technique and they show result for not applying sterile technique may lead to surgical infection. EBP make perioperative nurses like me acknowledge importance of sterile technique and we are accountable for patient’s safety. Hereafter, nurses could make decision-making on evidence-based in their practice. It is crucial for nurses to be familiar with different decisions they partake and consider the consequences associated with the decision made. It is also important for nurses to be given the necessary skills required to enable them construct the vital questions and efficiently and effectively look for the available study evidence that best applies to these questions. The research on operating room nurse’s knowledge and practice evidently show that many nurses have not applied their knowledge in practice. Helpful information that I picked in this study is the importance of sterilizing the operating instrument. This study based on surgical sites infections that are common in most operating rooms. Globally, studies shows that, 2-5% of the patients undergoing operation suffer from surgically related infections. This definitely raises most hospital concern and wants more research to be carried out in order to identify where the problem lies. Surgical site infection causes many deaths during the operations, and that is the reason why different strategies like sterilizing technology came up. Many patients have died because of infected surgical wound and this calls for an evidence based study to resolve the prevailing problem. EBP faces major emphasis from  American Psychological Association (APA), American Nurses Association, Occupational Therapy Association, and American Physical Theory association. In psychiatry, rehabilitation, medicine, psychology, and other professional bodies, loose bodies of knowledge apply, and this is a major drawback on their performances. Evidence based practice begins with a profiling research which informs the professionals and their clients what works best for them. Easy access to EBP information enhances both clients and the practitioners to identify their helpful treatment before intervention starts. Methodology tool The article that I will critic is on operating room nurse’s knowledge and practice of sterile technique by Leodoro et al (2012)(Appendix 1).I have choose this article as it has link with my profession and it is very knowledgeable for me being a perioperative nurse. The critic tool that I have chosen is step by step guidelines in critiquing a quantitative research study by Coughlan et al (2007)(Appendix 2). The methodology tool applied in this study was descriptive-correlation research method. The descriptive method describes the knowledge and the extent of which the nurses applied the sterilization technique in practice. In addition, the correlation method is dissimilar relationships among the different variables used. This study was conducted in four hospitals in Philippines and the results are based on answers by nurses with permanent employment, nurses who agreed to participate on this study and nurses working in the identified hospitals. There are three-part questionnaire consisted of demographics profiles of the participants. This part carries 10 multiple-choice questions and 10 general questions with an expected score of 20, and intended to measure the nurse’s knowledge scope using sterilized instruments. Questionnaire 11 includes a checklist whereby the participants rated out of 5 points with 1 being lowest rate. The data analyzed through inferential and descriptive statistics consisting of frequency, standard deviation, percentage and mean. Critiquing Descriptive-correlation Tool Analyzing research studies require suitable tool looking at the methodology used. Tanner (2003) suggests these tools normally bear questions that aid the analyzer in determining the different steps followed in this research.  It is notable that some steps are more vital than others. Descriptive-correlation tool applied in this study is credible based on many factors. The researcher uses simple language that is easy to understand without consultation. This means there are no scientific jargons that sometimes pose a threat to the readers. The authors seem to understand the subject matter clearly according to the list of questions in their questionnaire. The questionnaire cover most elements related to the operating room’s practice. For instance, hand washing, scrubbing, intraoperative phase and circulator role. The purpose of this study is vital due to several incidents that related to surgical wound infection. In the article abstract, they mention the overview of their study, including the research problem which is in prevention of surgical site infection and contamination, sterile technique need to be implemented. They also remark the sample, methodology, finding and recommendations which is mention earlier in the need for the nurses to control and protect the patients from surgical site infections. The grammar used in this study is straightforward, easy to understand and systematically arranged. Usually, a reader like me demands an interesting research that motivates us to continue analyzing, and this presents well in the above-mentioned analysis. There are certain factors that strengthen this research, which includes the identification of the research problem. The hypothesis used is that most nurses have th e knowledge on sterile techniques but due to some reasons, they fail to apply it in practice. Some nurses bear the knowledge but they lack the confidence to put this evidence-based research into practice. There are four major reasons that limit the nurses from using EBP. Retsas (2008) stated research reports similar to the above-mentioned are normally complex, statistical, academic and nurses find it difficult to interpret or work with the research products. The research article on operating room nurse’s knowledge and practice of sterile technique is a study that is markedly academic and statistical. This may cause confusion to nurses during interpretation. The results are graphical and the nurse might have problems understanding it. This particular research is consistent and any nurse whether a graduate or a trainee can easily relate to it except of the graphical result. Beginning from the introduction, methodology, participants, instrument analysis, results and conclusion, the study is systematic with a great flow of intense  knowledge. The researcher clearly links each step to the other with the objective of the study, which follows with a literature review. In their literature review, the research is rather shallow compared to other great researches. It is lacked of specific details on the occasions where nurses have failed to apply the technology and the consequences that follow. The literature failed to analyze the different surgical tools applied in the operating rooms by the nurses. However, they identified the hospital and the need for the research. The literature should include the history of evidence-based practice including when it began and why. The hypothetical structure lacks in this study, which is necessary for reader who needs to understand and analyze the research. The researchers did not go in depth into the subject matter although the introduction had a good review of the search information. In terms of theoretical framework, which is a necessity in most researches (Basset & Basset 2003), the author failed to identify a conceptual model that would assist the reader as guidance. The research paper is lacked of proper relationship between different concepts in its literature. However, most theoretical frameworks work best in experimental and quasi-experimental researches unlike in descriptive studies similar to the above mentioned. According to Dale (2005) in every research, it is vital to identify the main question and this was not seen in this research. For example, the researcher should have asked how competent the management of the operating room is in educating their staffs on sterile technique. This would assist the researches in analyzing the situation because the failure to practice sterile technique could be perioperative nurses not sent for continuous education leading to lack of competency. These questions are likely to come from patients or the nurses themselves. The questions may derive from the customary practices or from different literature. The sample in this study, for me the size is relatively small compared to the many operating rooms in P hilippines. Anyhow, the choice of participants in regards to age group, and gender is great. In terms of experience, the researcher should have picked people with longer experience in the job. Most of the participants are below five years’ experience in this research. The attendance for educational training of these participants is equally poor so it could not provide a conclusive result. The distribution of the sample is also inadequate because female participants are 73% compared to their male  counterparts who are at 23%. A bigger sampling in all categories would have provided a better data analysis. This study was carried out in hospitals and chances for the nurses were conversant with the subject at hand. However, the participants were from only one-region hospitals and different issues may have limited their voluntary information. At times, the participants are not sure of their confidentiality, despite them signing confidentiality forms; they still have the fear of being exposed. The nurses could fear intimidation from the superiors, and this drives them to give false information in favor of the organization. The researcher got the approval from the ethics committee at Samar Provincial hospital, and the other hospitals before they began conducting their research. No participants were forced or harm during the survey. Neither there was any bias because the respondents were not selected purposively. In the operational definitions, the researcher ensured that the reader fully comprehended the study by applying simple concepts and terms in the research (Parahoo, 2006). The researchers have used clear and simple understanding terms to carry out this study. The research design used in the research on operating room nurses’ knowledge and practice of sterile techniques is a descriptive-correlation method, which is a recent method of study that is very effective. This is because it integrates the description of the nurses’ knowledge and the extent at which they practice the use of sterile technique together with a correlation analysis showing the relationship between the two variables. However, most of these studies relate because the objective regards patterns in group behaviors, tendencies, averages, and properties (Robson 2002). There is a possibility of mentality to take place as most of the researches done clinical credibility because these research products are not conclusive. This is a major drawback for nurses to agree in applying the results (recommendation) which also decrease the confidence in the products used for the survey like the questionnaire and the sample. In my opinion, the study did not succeed to offer a proper clinical direction and so the nurses prefer not to use them. Most nurses prefer a research that is more prescriptive and clinical concerning their work place. The data collection is similar to a quantitative methodology of research whereby different data that includes questionnaires, interviews, and observation tools used. These tools are appropriate with the study aim. Then again, questionnaires are  prevalent with different sets of closed questions and few with multiple choices and others with direct answers. The overall reliability and validity was discussed in the weakness and strength of the study done. It was describe as good but not perfect. Its validity, which is its ability to measure the content (Wood et al, 2006), is downcast due to the number of samples were insufficient (21 participants) and also from one region only. For the tool’s reliability, Wood et al (2006) stated reliability is to accurately measure and consistently measure the theory which being studied which was done in this research. The researchers have always emphasized on the extent of sterile technique practice throughout the study. This study had a pilot study, which assisted the researcher in making some adjustments in their research. The researcher’s data analysis is a well-analyzed methodology since it is not complex and daunting. The ratings are clear and easy to understand. For instance, they used descriptive statistics that include the percentage, frequency, standard deviation and mean. The interpretation of the results included 0-7 as â€Å"needed improvement†, 8-10 as â€Å"fair†, 11-13 as â€Å"good†, 14-16 as â€Å"very good†, and 14-16 as â€Å"excellent†. This is quite an easy interpretation and anyone is able to analyze and understand. These are inferential tests and it helps the researcher in identifying the relationship among variables. The researcher discussed the findings in simple and clear terms. The researcher has a logical flow of information and the hypothesis is clearly supported by these findings. This study bears significance in its findings as per Russell (2002), and the researcher specifies every result without generalizing it. They reported each section independently whether it could be gender, age, experience and number of training attended. As mention earlier, the perioperative nurses have knowledge of using sterile techniques but rarely apply them in practice (Luo et al 2010). The research also concluded that half of the nurses had the knowledge on sterile technique. In Goiana hospital, 75.6% seemed to understand the standard precautionary measures on surgical site infection (Melo et al 2006). Most researched documents have no references, which makes them less favorable. There are known perspectives on accessibility of information and they include the humanistic ideology which involves the notion that human resource is most accessible. There is also a strong belief that local information derived from locally developed technologies is more  accessible. The latest technologies information can be retrieve from internet easily accessible. However, the researcher did not mention much on recommendation for nurses to apply sterile technique in practice which is vital in guiding the readers. Discussion The study’s hypothesis that majority of the operating room nurses have the knowledge on implementing sterile technique, but seldom apply it in practice have been achieved as end result of the study. The findings confirmed that the nurses held a strong knowledge of the use of sterile technique according to the table 6 that showed the correlation between knowledge and the extent of use of sterile technique by the participating nurses. The discussion is clear and well elaborated in simple terms. The researcher explains the underlying causes on why nurses rarely apply the knowledge into practice. The issue of occupational culture where questioning is unpopular should be contested, and the nurses should ask any questions in the event of uncertainty. The information on sterile technique and importance of it should be taught to nurses by sending them for educational trainings or emphasize it at all times in work place. This information should be accessible especially the evidence-bas ed literature in order for the evidence-based practice to be implemented. For instance, books related to operating room and patient’s safety should be kept in operating department where nurses can access them anytime when needed. The researchers also discuss on the strength and limitation of their study which is appropriate as it helps the reader determine the reliability of the study and also the choice to implement it or not. The strength of the study is to ensure there was no selection bias; the respondents were inclusive of the entire population of operating room nurses in four identified hospitals for the investigation. Nevertheless, a wider variety of hospitals would have added this strength. Furthermore, the research shows that the investigation is from one province only, which weakens its strength. The discussion also noted the weakness in the questionnaire method of research because it lacked some details like. It is also clear that some participants fear telling the truth despite their secrecy assurance. However, the research discussion is clear on its demerits, and although it does not offer any suggestion on a further research, it is vital to have a more detailed study on the same  issue. Most researchers offer recommendation because their researches are not conclusive which this particular researcher failed to apply. The referencing in this study is very accurate especially on the in text citation. Most researches fail to offer the in text citation and leaves the readers struggling on locating the referencing. The higher number of references, the stronger the research perceives. Different methods of researches that are evident-based tend to have lack support from most readers. This research had 18 references, which is the average number, required for any research. However, more references would have strengthened the research. This study has much merit but the method requires evaluation. The sampling requires a larger demographic region in order to accommodate more representatives of the participants. It is crucial for perioperative nurses to apply their knowledge on sterile technique in practice. If sterile technique is not applied during surgery it may lead to surgical infection which will harm the vulnerable patients which may also cause death if not treated well. Conclusion The study on operating room nurse’s knowledge and practice of sterile technique is a vital research globally and it was fairly conducted. Further research is recommended because this problem continues due to frequent changes in technology and management. The nurses should implement a more basic role in services through application of their skills while addressing questions from outside clinical range. This would in return increase their service demands from the environs. For skills development, the nurses should complement their hands-on function within the department. These nurses should be able to apply their developmental products effectively in order to prove everyone else wrong. People have failed to recognize the efforts applied by the nurses. The management and the clinical experts need to recognize and appreciate the nurses’ efforts through understanding their skills. After all, the management should ensure the nurses knowledge, resources, and skills are readily available in order to assist implementation. This only happens if the research information is excellent, with clarity and enough strength to hinder any doubts from reviewers. References American Psychological Association. (2006). APA presidential task force on evidence based practice. Washington, DC: Barker P. (2000) Reflections on caring as a virtue ethic within an evidence-based culture. International Journal of Nursing Studies 37, 329–336. Bucknall T. (2003) The clinical landscape of critical care: nurses’ decision-making. Journal of Advanced Nursing 43(3), 310–319. Davies H.T.O., Nutley S. & Smith P. (2000) Introducing evidencebased policy and practice in public services. In What Works? Dobson, K., & Craig, K. (1998). Empirically supported therapies: Best practice in professional psychology. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. Drisko, J. & Grady, M. (2012). Evidence-based practice in clinical social work. New York: Springer-Verlag. Elwood, J.M. (2007). Critical appraisal of epidemiological studies and clinical trials (3rd ed.) New York: Oxford University Press Gambrill, E. (2003). Evidence-based practice: Implications for knowledge development and use in social work. In A. Rosen & E. Proctor (Eds.), Developing practice guidelines for social work intervention (pp. 37-58). New York: Columbia University Press. Gibbs, L. (2003). Evidence-based practice for the helping professions. New York: Wadsworth. Gilgun, J. (2005). The four cornerstones of qualitative research. Qualitative Health Research, 16(3), 436-443. Gilmour D (2000) Is aseptic technique always necessary? Journal of Community Nursing 14: 4. Howard, M., McMillen, C., & Pollio, D. (2003). Teaching evidence-based practice: Toward a new paradigm for social work education. Research on Social Work Practice, 13, 234-259. Keith JM. (1988) Florence Nightingale: statistician and consultant epidemiologist. International Nursing Review 147–50. Kilpatrick C, Reilly J (2002) The importance of surveillance for hospital-acquired infections. Nurs Times 98: 56-57. Luo Y, He GP, Zhou JW, Luo Y (2010) Factors impacting compliance with standard precaution in nursing, China. Int J Infect Dis 14: e1106-e1114. Mace, C., Moorey, S., & Roberts, B. (Eds.). (2001). Evidence in the psychological therapies: A critical guide for practitioners. Philadelphia, PA: Taylor & Francis. Mantzoukas, S. (2008). A review of evidence-based practice, nursing research and reflection: Levelling the hierarchy. Journal of Clinical Nursing, 17(2), 214-223. Roberts, A., & Yeager, K. (Eds.). (2004). Evidence-based practice manual: Research and outcome measures in health and human services. New York: Oxford University Press. Sackett, D., Rosenberg, W., Muir Gray, J., Haynes, R. Richardson, W. (1996). Evidencebased medicine: what it is and what it isn’t. British Medical Journal, 312, 71-72. http://cebm.jr2.ox.ac.uk/ebmisisnt.html Sackett, D., Richardson, W., Rosenberg, W., & Haynes, R. (1997). Evidence-based medicine: How to practice and teach EBM. New York: Churchill Livingstone. Simpson, G., Segall, A., & Williams, J. (2007). Social work education and clinical learning: Reply to Goldstein and Thyer. Clinical Social Work Journal, (35), 33-36. Smith, S., Daunic, A., & taylor, G. (2007). Treatment fidelity in applied educational research: Expanding the adoption and application of measures to ensure evidence-based practice. Education & Treatment of Children, 30(4), pp. 121-134. Stevens K.R. & Ledbetter C.A. (2000) Basics of evidence-based practice. Part 1: the nature of the evidence. Semin Periopeative Nursing 9(3), 91–97. Stout, C., & Hayes, R. (Eds.). (2005). The evidence-based practice: Methods, models, and tools for mental health p rofessionals. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley. Stuart, R., & Lilienfeld, S. (2007). The evidence missing from evidence-based practice. American Psychologist, 62(6), pp. 615-616. Trinder, L., & Reynolds, S. (2000). Evidence-based practice: A critical appraisal. New York: Blackwell. Wampold, B. (2007). Psychotherapy: The humanistic (and effective) treatment. American Psychologist, 62(8), pp. 857-873. Wood M., Ferlie E. & FitzGerald L. (1998b) Achieving Clinical Behavioural Change: A Case of Becoming Interderminate. Social Science and Medicine, 47, 1729–1738

The Implications For An Economy Of A Rising Exchange Rate Essay

The Implications For An Economy Of A Rising Exchange Rate - Essay Example The performance of a specific currency is determined by the demand for the currency and the investments on the economy. An increased exchange rate of a country’s currency in relation to world currencies such as the dollar influences negatively on the export of the country’s products. On the other hand, the cost of imports is decreased by a strengthening currency and therefore more goods and services are imported. However, a strong currency discourages foreign investment and as a result, central banks use various strategies to ensure that currencies are regulated. This acts to protect the manufacturing industries from business failure due to reduced exportation of goods and competition. This paper gives a critical analysis on the impact of the rising exchange rate on world economies such as Australia, China, and Switzerland. The Australia’s steel export industry was impacted negatively by the rising exchange rate in July 2011 when the Australian dollar hit the highest point ever recorded in thirty years. This means that the value of the Australian dollar in relation to other currencies increased steadily. The demonstration for the negative impact of the rising exchange rate of the Australian dollar on the economy is seen in the increases in the cost of the raw materials for the industry in addition to the decreasing prices of steel . 1. Moreover, the strength of the Australian dollar led to the reduction of the export of goods and services from the agricultural, retail, tourism, and manufacturing sectors of the country’s economy. Foreign countries reduced their import of agricultural products from Australia due to the strength of its currency. The importance of agriculture and manufacturing industry in Australia shows the extent to which reduced exports of goods from these sectors affected the economy. Figure 1 Foreign Exchange Rate Australia/US Because of a rising exchange rate, the manufacturing industry of countries incurs big losses. For example, the Australian steel industry incurred a net loss of about US$1.1bn as a result of the appreciation of the Australian dollar2. The loss was due to asset write downs and reduction of the export activities. The impact of a rising exchange rate leads to the involvement of governments in an attempt to revive the failing economies. For example, the Australian government channeled funds to the steel industry to enable it to recover from the losses incurred due to the reduction of the country’s steel exports. The impact of the government involvement on the economy is twofold: the funds channeled to the industries for their recovery would lead to the improvement of the economy or reduce economic performance due to inappropriate prioritization of funds. The government involvement in the improving its manufacturing industrie s should therefore consider other sectors of the economy so that realistic distribution of funds is made possible. The exportation of a country’s products reduces when the currency strengthens because the prize of the exports and the costs associated with the shipments of the exports rise when the currency becomes strong. As a result, foreign importers from a country with a strong currency may reduce or terminate their imports from that country. As a result, the sectors of the economy, which export goods, are impacted negatively3. A rising exchange rate also affects the job market4. Because of the loss of revenue, which results from reduction of exports, a company is likely to reduce its workforce as a way of minimizing expenses. Blue scope, which is the largest producer of steel in Australia, for example reduced its work force by retrenchment following the reduction of its exports.

Guerrilla marketing and advertising Dissertation

Guerrilla marketing and advertising - Dissertation Example erception of GM 4.2.3 Impact of GM on Consumers’ Intention to purchase 4.3.4 Impact of GM on Consumers’ Purchase Behaviour 4.3 Findings from the Interview of the Advertising Experts 4.3.1 Reasons for Using GM strategies 4.3.2 Some Examples of Successful GM Strategies 4.3.3 Success of GM for different types of Products 4.3.4 Strategies and Tactics that for Viral Marketing 4.3.5 Challenges of Using GM/VM 4.3.6 Advantages of Using GM/VM 4.3.7 Future Role and Trend for GM Chapter 5: Conclusions and Recommendations 5.1 Summary of Research Findings and Conclusions 5.2 Research Limitations and Scope for Future Research. List of Tables and Figures Table 1: Reasons for Using GM strategies Figure A: Diagrammatic Representation of the Research Methodology Figure 1: Customers’ Awareness of GM Figure 2: Consumers’ Perception of GM as Aggressive Figure 3: Consumers’ Perception of GM as Aggressive Figure 4: Consumers’ Perception of GM as Creating Insights a bout Their Needs Figure 5: Consumers’ Perception of GM as Creating Awareness about New Products Figure 6: GM as Creating Awareness of Non-Advertised Products Figure 7: GM as creating more choices for customers Figure 8: Impact of GM on Consumers’ Intention to purchase Figure 9: Impact of GM on Consumers’ Purchase Behaviour List of Appendices Appendix A: Survey Research Questionnaire Appendix B: Interview Research Questionnaire References Chapter 1: Introduction 1.1 Research Background and Overview While a large amount of literature exists on the various advantages of Guerrilla marketing and also on the strategies and tactics related to this type of marketing, there has been little research on gauging the impact it has. Organizations indulge in viral marketing strategies with the objective of creating awareness for... This essay "Guerrilla marketing and advertising" outlines and analyzes the effect of the GM and its perception by the customers and the problems and opportunities that advertisers have with GM strategies. Guerilla marketing It is non-conventional as it does not confine itself to the regular media or channels of advertising and it uses content strategies that may be more creative or even bizarre. Guerrilla marketing, as it name indicates, largely draws parallels from the Guerrilla warfare strategies. In the case of Guerrilla warfare, the means of war are not straightforward and people do not fight by rules of conventional warfare. The element of surprise is used heavily to conduct short but highly forceful attacks on the opponents. In the same way, Guerrilla marketing follows the concept of surprise and taking the customer unguarded, and projecting the advertised content or message in a targeted manner when the customer least expects it or is least prepared to steal himself or herself against the impact (Tufel, 2004). The logic behind using the surprise element is that most customers being exposed to innumerous advertising messages throughout their day – through TV, the Internet, billboards, newspapers, pamphlets, in shop point of purchase displays etc. – are mostly able to immune themselves against these messages (Susca et al, 2008). There is too much clutter of advertising messages and customers can tune themselves out of the picture when plagued by a huge amount of information that impinges on their senses.

Decision Making at General Motors Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

Decision Making at General Motors - Essay Example It also acquired poor performing automobile companies like Cadillac, Pontiac, and GMC. The GM extended its acquisition process to Europe where it successfully acquired the Opel (Germany), Holden (Austraila), and Vauxhall (England). The primary reason behind these mergers and acquisitions was to gain market dominance and wage off completion. To markets their car brands, the GM heavily invested in marketing by decentralizing its operations, with each of its founders heading different divisions within the company (Kettering 56). The introducing of price differentiation marketing policy by Sloan marked another milestone for the GM. The pricing policy has taken into account the differences in income of potential customers, thereby ensuring that irrespective of their income levels, clients could afford to buy the GM car brands. Sloan was also responsible for the institutionalization and coordination of proper decentralization systems of the company structure. This move proved effective in ensuring the GM’s central administration body had firm control over its divisional operations, but emphasizing on divisions’ operational independence in line with the goals of the company (Barrar and Roxane 41). The divisions further got divided into sub-groups headed by executives, who are answerable to the GM’s management committee and the CEO. The company also set up policy groups charged with the responsibility of formulating and setting required standards for the GM’s day-to-day managerial oper ations. It is these strategies that made the company very successful. Some of the major challenges in managing multinational and multicultural organizations like the GM entail differences in national orientations and cultural values. For instance, some processes such as manufacturing, engineering, design, human resource, among others were naturally domestic-oriented, therefore varied across the world.  

Educational Strategies Annotated Bibliography Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Educational Strategies - Annotated Bibliography Example Then he has explained several teaching approaches which may promote students' learning. He has made an effort to distinguish between teaching approaches and learning approaches to create a balance between the two. The author of this book is an education expert and has presented her views about classroom management after observing around 35000 classrooms. She has guided the teachers how an effectively managed classroom assists in developing self discipline among students, creates a bond and connection between teachers and taught, resolves time and space matters, promotes congenial learning environment and prevents misbehavior. This book has introduced teaching strategies on the bases of drama. It emphasizes that this drama based teaching bridges the gap existing in intercultural learning and speeds up the comprehension of children of a given play and they learn it through their own role playing for being fully involved. According to author the drama simply doesn't tress the educational purposes but it is an interplay of body and language and directs the learners towards new insights. The purpose of this study was to link consultant and teacher verbal interaction patterns to consultation outcomes. The author found teacher influence within the Problem Identification (initial) Interview to be positively associated with outcomes; here teacher PAI influence was negatively associated with outcomes. Implications include the need to examine consultation as a process and the role of influence within this process. 6. Figgis, J., Butorac, A., Clayton, B., Meyers, D., Dickie, M., Malley, J., & McDonald, R. (2007). Advancing Equity: Merging 'Bottom Up' Initiatives with 'Top Down' Strategies, Adelaide: National Centre for Vocational Education Research, pp. 12-16. This article is about one of the principal strategies for improving vocational education and training (VET) outcomes for equity groups has been to provide targeted funds that enable VET practitioners (either alone or in partnerships) to design and experiment with new approaches. The funding is understood to be 'seed' funding for a limited time and is intended to test whether the initiative 'works'. The author has emphasized the importance of vocational training for equity groups. 7. Gorlewski, J. (2009). Research for the Classroom, English Journal, (High School Edition), Urbana, 98(4),

What moral values are emphasized in The Theban Plays Essay - 1

What moral values are emphasized in The Theban Plays - Essay Example despite the fact that many of the main characters feel confident in their own power; this power is based on the lack of knowledge concerning the truth. In the play, Oedipus the King, Oedipus is seen as a man who is confident in his own power since he considers himself the savior of the city of Thebes after he killed the Sphinx, which was terrorizing it. He proudly states, â€Å"You all know me, the world knows my fame/ I am Oedipus† (Oedipus the King, 8-9). While this is the case, he does not know the truth concerning his own heritage; that he is a man who is cursed because he killed his father and married his own mother. This knowledge is revealed to him by the seer Tiresias, and this revelation destroys the confidence with which Oedipus carried himself. He comes to the realization that he had committed, albeit unknowingly, some of the worst sins known to man, namely, patricide and incest. The truth is so painful for the king that he chooses to blind himself so that he ceases to see the world that has brought him so much pain. Therefore, it can be said that truth is a powerful force in the play because it not only makes Oedipus realize the emptiness upon which his power is based, but it also creates a vivid picture of how the other characters respond to it. While truth is a good thing to have, it also ends up having a negative effect on the city of Thebes that loses a strong ruler to be replaced by chaos from civil war. Justice is one of the moral values that are displayed in the Theban Plays and it is used to reflect how the people who hold power tend to deny it to those who have none. Furthermore, in the plays, chastisement is seen to be meted out in agreement with the crime that was committed. The justice that is displayed in the plays is one that is based on crime and punishment, so that when characters commit an injustice, their punishment takes place swiftly. Justice seems to be the domain of the gods, who decide the people that are to be punished for the

Criminal Justice for Mentally Sick Offenders Coursework

Criminal Justice for Mentally Sick Offenders - Coursework Example The review examines these problems and presents recommendations for preventing such problems and alleviating it further. In this connection Mental Health Act 1984 was taken into study including all pertinent references, results and conclusions. After research of clinical studies it came into light that 6 to 15 percent persons are in city and county jails and 10 to 15 percent persons in the state prisons are suffering from severe mental illness and poor functioning. A considerable numbers from them are homeless, it seems that a majority of mentally sick person are arrested compare to general population of the society. One of the causes evaluated during research in criminal justice system is deinstitutionalization. Adopt more rigid criteria for civil necessities, lack of complete community treatment and the harsh attitude of police and society with this neglected segment of society. This segment is hardly access to community treatment and basic amenities of life. Recommendations includ e reforms in the act through which careful necessary treatment and after care treatment may be provided to such people. Jail detainees should go through a careful screening process and as per their past history and family support, as well as, police officers should be trained formally in this regard. In order to create a positivism segment in our society, offenders having mental disorders may get mental health training, when a minor offence have been committed by them. CONTENTS S. # Name of Chapter Page # 1. 1.1 Chapter 1 Mental Health Act 1984 . 5 1.2 Who is Patient under the Law. 5 2. Chapter 2 Criminal Justice System Related To Mentally Disordered Offenders 6 2.1 Definition of Mental Disorder .. 6 2.2 Health, Social Work and Related Services for Mentally Disordered Offenders 6 2.3 Current Health and Social Work Services Health Services 7 2.4 Local General and Forensic Psychiatric Services. 7 2.5 Out Patient and Community Service. 8 2.6 In Patient Care 8 2.7 Intensive Psychiatric Care Units 9 2.8 Forensic Psychiatric Service 9 2.9 Secure Provision 9 2.10 Admissibility of Confessions.. 10 2.11 Diversions and Public Interest Considerations .. 10 3. Chapter 3 The Standard For Information Required For Establishing A Mental Disorder. 11 4. Chapter 4 Some important figures / Tables / Graphs regarding mentally sick criminals/patients. 13 5. Chapter 5 Primary Care Criteria for Mentally Disordered Patient. 15 5.1 Medical Reports 15 5.2 Criteria for Adults.. 16 5.3 Referral Letter for Adults... 17 5.4 Criteria for Children Adolescents ... 17 5.5 Referral Letter for Children... 18 6. Chapter 6 Use of Mental Health Act 1984. 21 6.1 Before the Assessment.. 22 6.2 During the Assessment.. 23 6.3 Section 24.. 23 6.4 Section 18.. 24 6.5 Arranging Admission. 25 6.6 If the patient is not admitted . 26 6.7 Responsibilities of the Police (Home Office Circular No. 12/95) 26 6.8 Hospital Directions 27 7. Chapter 7 Rehabilitation of Mentally Disordered Offenders 28 8. Chapter 8 Proposals to Reform Mental Health... 32 9. Chapter 9 Editorial by Jill Peay and Nigel Eastman 35 10. Chapter 10 Editorial by Professor Jill Peay "An indefensible gap in mental health law" ... 37 11. Chapter 11 Book Review of Professor Jill Peay Book.. 38 12. Chapter 12 Results and Discussions 42 13. Chapter

Can we consider Russian democracy imperfect Essay

Can we consider Russian democracy imperfect - Essay Example Political stability is strongly associated with the strength of democracy in a country. Politically non stable countries cannot be considered as strong democracies since political stability is one of the measuring units which determine the success of democracy in a country. Long standing democracies always will have political stability. In former British Prime Minister Sir Winston Churchill’s opinion, â€Å"No one pretends that democracy is perfect or all-wise. Indeed, it has been said that democracy is the worst form of government except all those other forms that have been tried from time to time† (Democracy, 2004) In a democratic country, judiciary, executive and parliament are considered as the essential entities apart from a well defined constitution. The democracy will be strengthened in a country when these three forms of democracy combine well and function together in accordance with the constitution. The judiciary must be free from any prejudices and bias and they should never keep any political intentions. The success of democracy remains in avoiding the clash between the judiciary and parliament. Both bodies should have mutual respect and should function for the growth of the country rather than political or individual gains. Constitution and democracy are interrelated. Without having a well defined constitution democracy may not be strengthened. Constitution is an instruction book which provides orders to the government and the public regarding the functioning of political, social, economical, cultural, and secular aspects. It defines what is legal and what is illegal in a country. It establishes the relationships between the government and the public with respect to the rules and regulations of a democratic country by which the government and the citizens should function. Until the early twentieth century Russians had very

Needs Assessment of the Diabetic Patient Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Needs Assessment of the Diabetic Patient - Essay Example Diabetes II finds that insulin is produced by the pancreas but it is ineffective in carrying out total body functions where the insulin is desperately needed to be regulated (Rubin 1999). Furthermore, just as this current patient faces issues of obesity, many adult patients who suffer with Diabetes II are quite regularly classified as being moderately overweight to points of morbid obesity as well which again is an issue that further complicates the treatment process. Since insulin therapy is ineffective in the treatment and management of Diabetes II and also because the majority of people with this form of diabetes are obese the most popular and beneficial treatment regimens that have been implemented into the care of patients has been an appropriate exercise routine with proper diet and nutrition mapped out for them. Seemingly this would be the appropriate guidelines for the current patient. Therefore the two main goals of the management plan for this patient will be to decrease hi s weight with an exercise program and to monitor his dietary and fluid intake on a weekly basis as well. Firstly, before an in-depth management program can begin with this patient there needs to be an initial development of a good interpersonal relationship between the primary care manager and the patient himself. Because patients with Diabetes II are sometimes severely obese the medical provider needs to have the clear awareness that this patient might suffer with depression and anxiety due to his physical appearance. Therefore, it should be the goal of the care giver to build a position of trust and faith between him or herself and the patient in order to provide a high quality care plan to manage the Diabetes (Aggleton & Chalmers 2000). Nurses who use an interpersonal approach have been found to be able to correctly assist patients in planning a strategic alternative to gaining control over a disease such as Diabetes II. This is due to the fact that an interpersonal approach utilizes techniques that are more thorough than a traditional nurse/ patient evaluation. For instance, the sk ills used are normally observing, questioning, examining, and testing and measuring to ascertain whether the patient will be able to meet the set goals being designed for them (Roper et al 1996). It is believed that this type of approach will be best for this patient in that it will build the proper relationship in order to work as a joint team in the management of the patients' illness. Furthermore, with regard to correctly acquiring this patient's information so that medical treatment and evaluation can be carried out, nurses and all medical care providers have to be careful not to tread over the stipulations that the NMC has specified when working with patients. This specific code states that, "nurses should protect all confidential information concerning patients obtained in the course of professional practices and make disclosure only with consent" (NMC 2002). This of course draws on the ethical and legal aspects of properly caring

A long way gone Essay Example for Free

A long way gone Essay Violence has a major impact on teenagers and children in today’s society. In the novel A Long Way Gone; memoir by a boy soldier Ishmael Beah, displays how teenagers are exposed†¦ Through the medias they are showed that the movie Rambo, which influences them to be violent and fight. Another way to seek violence is in real life when the boy soldiers are sent to fight the rebels. The violence that the young boys are exposed to caused them to think and act violently towards others, Firstly the boy soldiers in this novel are influenced by the movie Rambo , it encourages them to work harder and more violent. After the young boy soldiers watch Rambo for the first time they were motivated to be just like him and while in battle. â€Å"We all wanted to be like Rambo ; we couldn’t want to implement his techniques† (beah 121). This movies showed the boys how to fight , they wanted to use the same techniques to fight against the rebel villages. Some of the boy soldiers have been so influenced by this that they already implemented goals that will allow them to act like Rambo; â€Å"sometime I am going to take on a whole village by myself, just like Rambo† Alhaji told me smiling at the new goal he had set for himself† (122). This young boy has been trained to fight and destroy, watching Rambo has influenced him so much that he wants to take a whole village on by himself. Watching violent movies influences the boy soldiers how ever this is not how they gain courage and experience. Secondly the boy soldiers are able to gain courage and experience by being sent to fight against the rebels. The boy soldiers are brought to fight after being trained, they are told; â€Å"if you see anyone without a head tie of this colour or a helmet like mine, shoot them†(115). The boys didn’t know that they are actually going to battle however they do know what they have to do when they are in the field. When they are in the battle, the boys watch their friends get killed, this empowers them to fight back and kill; â€Å"I raised my gun and pulled the trigger , and I killed a man†¦ I shot everything that moved†(119). After watching his friends get killed Ishmael starts to fight back, he is saddened by what has happened to his friends and wants to have revenge on the people that caused their death . when the boys are in combat they gain the courage to fight back and kill people. The violence they are exposed to influenced them to act violently them selves. The boy soldiers are exposed to violence in their society which causes them to both think and act violently. The boy soldiers in the novel A Long Way Gone; memoirs of a boy soldier, are exposed to violent images in the media and in real life, which causes them to become addicted to violence. The boy soldiers in this novel are exposed to violence through movies and real life action. In conclusion violence can have a major impact on all teenagers and children no matter where they come from or how they are raised in their country.

Advantages Of Human Resource Planning Business Essay

Advantages Of Human Resource Planning Business Essay Human resource planning is really important that without this all planning will finally end up as a mere guess work. Even if the predictions or forecast is not always successful, it is still needed because the forecasts can be quite useful which will give a basis. Upon this basis it is able to avoid ad hoc problems to an extent. Therefore human resource planning should be articulated along with the organisational planning. A dearth of particular category of employee or particular kind skills will affect the organisation in achieving its goals. Rapid changes in technology, marketing, management etc., will result in need of particular category an skilled persons. Changes within an organization in its design and structure will affect manpower demand. Demographic changes like the altering profile of the manpower in terms of age, sex, education etc. The Government policies in regard to reservation, child labour, working conditions etc. Different labour laws affecting the demand and supply of labour. Pressure from trade unions, politicians etc. Advantages of Human Resource Planning: Human Resources Planning (HRP) expects not just the needed quality and quantity of employees instead decide the accomplish plan for all the occasions of human resource management .The major advantages of Human resource planning are: It assures the corporate plan of the firm. The HRP elucidates doubts and alters to the upper limit potential and enables the organization to have right kind of people at right time in right place. It allows background for progress and growth of employees through training, development etc. It aids in anticipating the cost of salary increasing, improved benefits etc. It also helps to predict the cost of pay offs, incentives and all other cost of human resources which facilitates the formulation of budgets in an organization. To forecast the changes in abilities, aptitude and attitude of personnel. It results in the advancement of different origins of human resources to encounter the organizational goals and objectives. It also aids in taking measures to amend human resource shares in the form of enhanced output ,business turnover etc It facilities the control of all the functions, operations, contribution and cost of human resources Planning as an organisational business strategy: Planning process in a strategic way is often accomplished by networking with in and outside the organisation. The focus is therefore on strengthening the networking with the internal human resource professionals and external human resource persons which will be rooted in sharing information, technology, tools necessary for planning and development of personnel. The outcome depends on effective implementation of the developed tools and resources needed. Out of these a sustainable and feasible strategy has to be formulated. The most important thing to be noted here is that the strategy formulated should be articulated with the overall business strategy of the organisation. For this they will consult different human resource managers and all the line managers in the organisation. In order to ensure highest possible utilization of the tools they will work in close conjunction with the managers. This will be aimed in creating a sound personnel data base and tools for the line managers. Long term planning for success in short term: Though long term planning is advised the daily operational pressures would cause the long term planning to give way to short term planning. This might cause the plans ultimately to be less successful. It can be very expensive too. Quite lot of lead time is needed for recruiting, developing talented personnel. This will require long term economic plans. For a successful planning, all the factors need to be interconnected. The impact of short term planning will be to rely on current work force for all the organisational activities. But so as to achieve long term goals of an organisation it must have some changes made in the current human resources. It should be able to foresee the future needs of the organisation even in worst external scenario. Now the focus has been shifted from long range planning to strategic planning. What long range means is to predict for a particular time in future the amount of demand of an organisations services and to analyse in what area that demand will occur in future. This is often used to determine the demand in certain situations like expansion, adding of more services to the existing situation, capital needs etc. But later when the industries became volatile and the external scenario became dynamic the long range planning was replaced by strategic planning. The idea behind long range planning is that the firm will continue its rendering of services so as to match with its demand. But the idea underlying behind the strategic planning is that there are lot of economic, social, political, technological and competitive changes happening. By understanding all these changes to analyse whether the organisation will be able to provide services that would meet these challenges or whether it should m ove to further new services and products. Though it will take considerable time to evolve a strategy, time span is not the important focus here. It might even take generations to evolve and implement a strategy. Therefore it is better to use long term and short term to describe the time that it will take for a strategy to implement. CHAPTER 2 Literature Review: Human beings are the most important assets in hospitals. Machines and other equipments which are integral parts of delivering health care require the human touch, expertise, and commitment for their full utilization and application in delivery of health care. Therefore planning of human resources is the key to any health care provision. The objective of human resource (HR) policy is to attract, recruit, retain and develop competent personnel and Create a continuously learning health care organisation. (B.Ray) Human resource planning is the projection of the number of people required and the type of people in terms of skill mix required for the organisation so as to achieve the desired goals and objectives of the organisation. This means that human resource planning is an important add on to the strategic plans. But evidence shows that the connecting bridge between human resource planning and strategic management is not stressed in practice (Baird et al.1983, De sancto-1983; Ohan Rynes-1983). Reason to this non utilisation is found in focus of human resource planning literature. Almost all the research focuses on human resource supply and demand forecasting (Zedeck Casci-1984). Extra care may be taken in developing a statistical model of manpower planning, but little care is given to gaining managerial acceptance of such plans. Thus there exist a huge gap between available techniques and their use because important organisational realities are not projected in to the models (Zedeck Casc io,1984) Rapid environmental change, globalization, innovations to provide competitive products and services, changing customer and investor demands have become the standard backdrop for organizations. To compete effectively, firms must constantly improve their performance by reducing costs, enhancing quality, and differentiating their products and services. To improve firm performance and create firm competitive advantage, HR should focus on better and new set of priorities. These newly set priorities should be more organisational, business and strategic oriented and less focussed towards old traditional HR functions like staffing, training, appraisal and compensation. Business strategic priorities include team-based job designs, flexible workforces, quality improvement practices, employee empowerment and incentive compensation (Jing and Huang 2005). SHRM was designed to diagnose firm strategic needs and planned talent development which is required to implement a competitive strategy and achieve operational goals (Huselid et al., 1997). Apart from report proof on the strategic importance of human resource planning, studies of organisation practices give an indication of its arousing grandness for strategic applications. A study interviewed human resource executives from 137 companies to describe the reasons why their companies were following human resource forecasting, which an important part of human resource is planning. The most important three reasons were for bringing up their human resources (77.6 percent), for avoiding personnel shortages (73.1 percent), and to collect information for decisions (73.1 percent). Another set of reasons for human resource forecasting included the following: optimistic action efforts (63.6 percent), budgeting (62.1 percent), and career planning (59.7 percent)

Project management synopsis

Project management synopsis Project management ensures that project requirements are met by applying tools, techniques, skills, and knowledge to project activities (or tasks). The fundamental structure of project management is defined by the project stakeholders, which are project sponsor, project team, suppliers, support staff, customers, and users. Other fundamental areas of project management are project management tools and techniques, and project management knowledge areas project integration, scope, time, cost, quality, human resource, communication, procurement and risk management. However, of these knowledge areas the project integration management is most critical because it integrates all other areas of project management. Although, project management primarily ensures that a projects requirements are met by applying tools, technique, skills, and knowledge to project activities (tasks) to meet project requirements, it is also is a group of interrelated processes: initiating, planning, executing and monitoring. Of these three processes, the executing processes require more time and resources, followed by the planning processes. A broader picture of the activities involved in project management is seen in mapping the activities of the process group into the [nine] project areas. Since it is critical for project management to meet project requirements [goals], and satisfy stakeholders, it is equally critical for project managers to identify, understand, and manage relationships with all project stakeholders. Also for a project management to meet requirements, and satisfy stakeholders, project must have a project plan. This project plan must define and confirm project goals and objective, identify tasks and how goals are accomplished, quantify needed resources, determine project cost [budget] and project completion timelines. Apart from defining and confirming project goals, the project plan entails the management and implementation of the project plan, change control operations, ensuring communication of accurate and objective performance information during project life cycle (or phase), and project failure recovery mechanisms where necessary. The concept of triple constraint is very critical to the successful completion or execution of a project. For a project manager to successfully execute a project, by managing triple constraint, the project manager must be able to balance these constraints [goals] scope, time, and cost. Since [most] projects involve changes and balance between these competing goals scope, time, and cost it is very critical for project managers to have strong coping skills. Another important factor in project is quality. Since customers satisfaction invariably depends on the quality standards of a product, it is therefore important for the project manager to consider quality as an added element to the elements of the triple constraints scope, time, and cost when embarking on a project. A successful project manager must simultaneously and effectively manage these four basic interrelated elements -scope, time, cost and quality knowing that quality is an inseparable part in setting the scope, time a nd cost of a project. In order for any project to address all the tasks required to complete the project successfully, the project scope management, which is a critical part of project management, must include processes scope planning, WBS creation, scope definition, scope control and scope verification required to address and accomplish such tasks. Since one of the key reasons why project fail is scope management, it is, therefore, important for a project scope management to have a clear statement, showing project requirements; scope change management, and user involvement. Because most [information] projects do not meet their project time estimates, manage and track the way project activities (or tasks) are scheduled in order to meet project expectations. Project time management is a critical aspect of project management that involves processes activity definition, activity resource estimating, activity duration estimating, activity sequencing, schedule development, and schedule control which are critical to the management of projects in order to meet project schedule, which in turn guarantees a project would stay within the project budget. Cost management is another important and inseparable part of project management. Because cost management is to the effective cost management, project managers must take responsibility of understanding how basic cost concepts, cost control, budgeting and cost estimate are critical to a successful execution of a project (or project phase). Because the quality of a project invariably affects stakeholders satisfaction, it is very critical that project quality management, which involves quality assurance, quality control, and quality planning, is taken very seriously. However, in maintaining quality standard that would satisfy stakeholders needs, that project must conform to specified project requirements, and making sure items (deliverables) that meet such project requirements are delivered. With quality control and planning, specific project results are monitored to ensure that such results conforms to quality standards, and quality standards pertaining to the project are identified and satisfied. Since people are the most valuable assets in any project, it is very important that these assets [people] that are involved in a project are properly managed. Human resource management, which embraces all stakeholders, is a very important part of project management since it directly affects how these resources [people] perform to attain project objectives. When resources are well managed, project responsibilities, roles, and relationships are identified; the personnel needed to work on a given project are assigned to the project; individuals and groups are trained on project management skills to enhance project performance; and project team members performance is tracked, and conflicts and issues are resolved. The importance of communication cannot be undermined when managing projects. Communication is the platform on which any project runs. The failure or success of a project depends on the way all key elements of a project communicate information about that project to each other. With effective project management, which involves information distribution, stakeholder management, communication planning, and performance report, a project manager is able to manage the team members and communicate well with other key elements in a project. Also, with effective communication [interface] management, whereby reports and status updates, changes, and other project issues, that could affect the execution of a project are communicated to the appropriate personnel in a timely manner, project objectives (or goals) would be achieved. However, project managers and team members must understand the importance of creating a good working relationship as project information is communicated. Since the number of communication channels increase with increase in number of people that need to communicate, it is very critical that project managers must develop a good communication and conflict management skills. Like communication, resource, scope, time, cost, risk management is very critical to a successful execution of a project. Since risk management is a process in which what may impact a project negatively or positively, it is important that the project manager has appropriate risk plan in place. With the risk plan, approaches and plans for risk management activities for a particular project are decided. The processes involved in risk management are risk monitoring and control, risk identification, risk management planning, quantitative risk analysis, and qualitative risk analysis. Procurement, which is the aspects of project management that involves obtaining goods and services from outside source or company, includes processes planning purchases and acquisitions, requesting sellers responses, planning contracting, select sellers, administering contracts, and closing contracts that are very important to the health of any project. Plan purchases and acquisitions involves a process whereby items to purchase for a project and when needed is determined. In planning purchases and acquisition, the project manager should be involved since the project manager is practically acquainted with what would be needed for the project. However, in requesting seller responses, list of vendors to consider are identified, and information about their capabilities and prices through vendor proposals and price quotes are received. The list is further narrowed down to a list of companies that meet certain criteria. Plan contracting is another process that involves creating products and services requirements. These products and services are those that are needed for a project execution. The companies or suppliers that would supply these product and services must be identified. Select seller is the process that involves choosing the vendor that meets the criteria set by the company for a particular project. The chosen vendor would provide the product or service that is required for the project. Contract administration is the process that involves managing the relationship with the contracted company. The project manager must work with the vendor, writing and administering the contract, bearing in mind the legal consequences that could occur he does not understand the contract. Contract closure is the process that involves the completion and settlement of all contracts that existed during the project life cycle. The project manager and project team will be involved to ensure the completion of the contracted work and to gather lesson learned during the procurement process. As an IT professional, project management is very critical for IT project execution or completion. The lesson learned from this class is one that would be applied in my future work environment. Planning a project is not for a project manager alone. There are team members, like me, that would be involved in projects that would require me to show what I have learned over the course of this class. I should be able to contribute to the success of any project for which I would be a project team member. Knowing the project knowledge areas and process groups; applying the various project inputs, and adhering to the professional ethical code of conduct, would guarantee a litigation-free and successful project execution.