Monday, September 30, 2019

Quick Books Essay

.Rissy Montoya Acct 31 Information Technology (IT) is a foundation for conducting business today. It plays a critical role in increasing productivity of firms and entire nation. It is proven that firms who invested in IT have experienced continued growth in productivity and efficiency. Many companies' survival and even existence without use of IT is unimaginable. IT has become the largest component of capital investment for companies in the United States and many other countries. Accounting/Finance application systems and QuickBooks let you manage your business with a little or no experience.All three application systems allow the users to manage the companies' capital including bookkeeping, inventory, non-inventory & service items, sales orders, purchase orders, and reports. It allows the companies to keep tracking of the financial assets and at the same time have the information the accountant needs. Using the accounting/finance application system, makes it easier to enter and proc ess the data rather than manually enter and process the data.. QuickBooks is an accounting software package which is developed by Intuit, Inc. It was launched in the 90's and since than it is one of the market leaders in accounting software.The software was designed to help the small business owners who had no formal accounting training. Very shortly after the introduction, there was no doubt that the product is going to be a hit. With a deep focus for the non-accountant, and a lower price than the competitor's products, it outsmarted its competitions. Intuit states that the company's mission is to create new ways to manage personal finances and small businesses that are so profound and simple, customers cannot Imagine going back to the old way QuickBooks created an application that is most commonly used accounting product for small businesses QuickBooks ProThe world today is in the computer age. Almost everyone now has a computer or access to a computer. Now that almost everyone kn ows how to use a computer, almost every business has one. Business’s before had to rely on people to do all the accounting by hand, and doing the accounting for a business used to take a lot of man-hours to complete. Business’s slowly moved into letting computers do a lot of the work for them, but they still had people to check on the computers because the applications that they were using would sometimes screw up and cause a lot of confusion or even loss of money.With the latest application QuickBooks Pro 2011, there is little need for any backup measures. This application does everything that the business needs to do, manage your business, track time, do payroll, develop estimates, and much more. QuickBooks Pro 2011 quickly finds the reports you need with the Report Finder, shows you critical information about your business at a glance with Company and Customer Centers, and track Features of QuickBooks that will help the company implement sound internal control polic ies and procedures; Access to accounting records should be limited to designated individuals.Once a transaction has been entered, the ability to change or delete it entirely should be limited to some other individual, preferably an accounting manager. Financial statements should be prepared monthly, with gross profit percentage and expense percentages, so that management can question apparent errors or omissions. The monthly financial statements should be comparative, i. e. show last year’s figures alongside this year’s, preferably with percentages as well as dollar amounts, to make apparent any significant variations in revenue or expense items that should be investigated for possible error or even fraud.Budgets should be prepared, and variances between actual and budgeted figures should be shown on budgetary income statements each month. The deficiencies with this program for internal control starts when you initially set up your accounts, you enter in your beginning account balance amounts (unless you are a brand new company with no activity). The problem is that if you do not input an amount, or input an amount correctly, the difference will go to Opening Balance Equity.If it is not fixed, it will stay there indefinitely. QuickBooks will allow you to enter a transaction for any date that you wish. While this is convenient for purposes of making projections, it can have bad consequences if you go backwards. QuickBooks retains every transaction you enter from the day you started using it. While this is useful to get historical information, on a practical basis, the file sizes can easily get large enough to be unmanageable and slow your computer. Conclucion

Sunday, September 29, 2019

English Phonetics and Phonology

THE UNIVERSITY OF HONG KONG HKU SPACE Community College Associate Degree Programmes 2012-13 Course Document Course Title: English Phonetics and Phonology Course Code: C C 8 8 3 5 6 0 0 Aims and Objective This course will focus on articulatory phonetics and the classification of sounds in English. It will explain how English is pronounced in the context of a general theory about speech sounds and how they are organized in languages. Topics will include the speech production mechanism; the description of sound qualities and their representations; prosodic features.There will be many exercises in ear training, sound production and their written representations. Intended Learning Outcomes of the Course On completion of the course, students should be able to: ILO1. describe how speech sounds are produced; ILO2. describe sound production with reference to the articulatory track; ILO3. link perceptual descriptions with production and explain in general how perceptually different sounds diff er in their production; ILO4. distinguish the classification of speech sounds and discuss their phonological groupings and distributions in English; ILO5. ecognize English Phonetic symbols and be able to transcribe connected speech in English; ILO6. discuss the syllabic structure of English; ILO7. select relevant details and systematically organize ideas in answering questions. Syllabus 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. Voice production and the organs of speech The production of vocalic elements in speech — cardinal vowels and their representation English vowels – their production, perceptual qualities and representation.Long short vowels, diphthongs and tripthongs The larynx, its structure and the role it plays in speech production The phoneme – its theoretical justification, symbol representation and realization under different phonetic contexts Consonantal elements in speech. English consonants – their production, perceptual qualities, place and manner of articulat ion. Discussion of the phonemic status of some consonants The syllabic structure of EnglishAssessment Type of Assessment (Weighting) Description Test 1: Transcription of English vowels (5%) Test 2: Short questions on the first half of the course (8%) Test 3: Transcription of English (entire text) (10%) Continuous Assessment (50%) Test 4: Long questions on phonemic theory and related issues (10%) Tutorial performance, ear training exercises and homework written exercises (12%) Attendance and performance in class (5%) Examination (50%) Pre-requisite(s) Nil Required and Recommended Reading Text Book: 1. English Phonetics and Phonology – A practical course by Peter Roach, Cambridge University Press, 2000.Written Exam Other References: 1. A Course in Phonetics by Peter Ladefoged, Heinle & Heinle: Australia, Canada, Mexico, Singapore, Spain, United Kingdom, United States, 2001. 2. Practical Phonetics and Phonology by Beverley Collins and Inger M. Mees, Routleddge: London and New Yo rk, 2003. 3. Fundamental Problems in Phonetics by J. C. Catford, Indiana University Press: Bloomington, 1982. 4. Introduction to Phonetics by L. F. Brosnahan & Bertil Malmberg, Cambridge University Press: Cambridge, London, New York, Melbourne, 1976. 29. 06. 11

Saturday, September 28, 2019

Explain Why the American Economy Expanded so Much and so Fast Between 1890 and 1920.

Explain why the American economy expanded so much and so fast between 1890 and 1920. Between 1890 and 1920, the American economy expanded hugely at an extremely fast pace. This growth saw, by 1900, people employed in manufacturing, mining, construction and services rise from 4 million to 18 million and the USA was producing 30% of the worlds’ manufactured goods. There were many factors that caused this growth such as the development of the railways, immigration, a large supply of natural resources, the idea of the ‘American Dream’ and monopolies. One of the biggest factors of the rapid economic expansion was the development in transport and communication systems. The development of the railway provided links that allowed the creation of a national market and access to raw materials. Also, the building of the railroads was a stimulus to industrial development in itself. By 1890, the revenue from railroads was over $1,000 million; double that of the federal government, and the mileage had increased from 30,000 miles to over 190,000 between 1860 and 1900. This development of the railway was partly due to the mass immigration that came from Europe. The huge, sudden growth in population formed an unending supply if cheap, eager labour. Men were paid considerably small wages to complete tasks such as building the railways. Developments in communications such as the telegraph in 1944 and the telephone in 1876 were also very significant. This allowed large scale management to communicate effectively nationwide and meant that companies could establish operations all over the country with no communication problems. Industrial development, sales and purchases were also now much easier to deal with and wide scale marketing and advertising spread across the West. Another important factor of the economic growth is the fact that America had an almost unlimited supply of useful natural resources such as coal, iron, lead, copper and timber. These great numbers of natural materials meant that America could almost become self sufficient and needed not to rely on other countries in order to be stable. The USA was able to put high tariffs on the land to protect their goods from foreign competition and the development of he railway meant that the transport of these goods from place to place was made much easier. Furthermore, the powerful entrepreneurs, such as J. P. Morgan, the Rockefellers of New York and Carnegie also played a big part in this economy expansion. The fact that there was barely any regulations on big business meant that people could pretty much do as they pleased when it came to business a nd companies. These entrepreneurs, controlling much of the economy and the political scene, had a huge amount of control over production and marketing. The development of monopolies; with one firm controlling an entire market with absolutely no competition, and vertical immigration; with one firm controlling all stages of production, these firms were able to become very powerful and rich. This idea of money and power spread to the everyday citizens in America and became a source of inspiration. These entrepreneurs were living proof of the ‘American Dream’ and gave people more reason to believe that if they too worked hard, they would achieve success. The ‘American Dream’ was a big pull factor for immigrants. It gave the immigrants hope and belief that they could move to the USA and start a new life. In conclusion, there are many explanations and reasons as to why America’s economy expanded so much in such a small period of time. The rise of big business meant that the economy was thriving and America were almost self sufficient. However, evidently the arrival of immigrants was a huge factor as they mostly built the entire railroad system, allowing huge advances and developments to be made.

Friday, September 27, 2019

Airline Cabin Cleaniness Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Airline Cabin Cleaniness - Research Paper Example For instance, cold, which is a common complication among passengers, has been attributed lack of proper hygiene in the aviation industry. It is imperative to ensure that air travellers are protected from such complication. Currently, the world has been grappling with the challenge of Ebola. The disease has not only affected the Africans, but was also witnessed in United States and some European countries. Lack of proper hygiene can predispose passengers to dangerous infections. The discussion will also demonstrate how aircrafts should be cleaned, and how frequently this should be done. The aviation industry has a major challenge when it comes to the cleanliness of the airline cabin. While this is an important exercise that is supposed to ensure that the health status of passengers is not compromised, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has neglected it. For instance, some of the current regulations to ensure safety of passengers include the Clean Water Act of 1997, and Clean Air act of 1970 (Jathar, 2012). The FAA has however failed to establish rules and regulations that would make it mandatory for the airlines to clean their aircrafts. In most cases, inspectors, or other individuals are not allowed to inspect planes during the cleaning process. This has made it difficult to know what kinds of detergents are used, or even whether aircrafts are indeed cleaned. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) have established regulation that should ensure that the health of employees is not threatened (Hoffman, 2011). It achieved this by establishing the Hazardous Communication Standards (29 CFR 1910.1200), which has been made part of the Code of Federal Regulations (David, 2011). Protecting the lives of the employees in a plane means that those of passengers are protected as well. The aviation industry has however continued to put the health of its employees and passengers in danger of infections. It has

Thursday, September 26, 2019

Change Management Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Change Management - Research Paper Example sidering that the management behind McDonald’s has decided to implement the use of digital CCTV in some of the restaurants around the world, this study will describe how the organization has addressed each of Kotler’s eight (8) steps for leading organizational change. Eventually, justification will be provided as to whether or not the organization has already addressed each of the Kotler’s eight steps. Given that the organization failed to address a step, a proposed method that will enable McDonald’s to address the step will be tackled to avoid resistance to change. Prior to conclusion, the truth behind Kotler’s statement â€Å"†¦successful organizational change is 70 – 90% leadership and 10 – 30% management† (Chang & Chan, 2001, p. 616) will be uncovered. Since there are McDonald’s restaurant all over the world operates at night, McDonald’s becomes one of the commonly selected meeting place among the criminals. In line with this matter, Andy Lane – McDonald’s region security manager created the urgency for the need to invest on CCTV in each of the company owned restaurants by convincing the top management that the use of digital video recorders could effectively protect their staff and customers from becoming a victim of crime (Dallmeier, 2009). By making the people know that McDonald’s is using CCTV that is directed straight to nearby police stations, there is a higher possibility that people who would visit the restaurant would behave appropriately at all times. McDonald’s top management has been successful in creating urgency for the need to put up CCTV in some of the company-owned restaurants. Not only did Mr. Lane identify business opportunities and consequences out of using CCTV cameras, he also managed to provide the people with valid security reasons for the said investment. To ensure that McDonald’s will implement the plan on investing on CCTV cameras, southern area managers Andy Lane and Robbie Hawes worked together to

Expanding Business to Singapore Research Proposal - 1

Expanding Business to Singapore - Research Proposal Example Currently the trends of business operations management have visibly tilted emphasizing over contemporary advanced factors that includes focus on globalization, efficient on time production, supply chain efficacy, innovative procedures for product development, customer oriented customized production, leadership cultivation by employee empowerment and ethical deliberation with environmental friendly initiatives. Singapore, that was a main focus of the research proposal is an acceptable choice for international business expansion on the grounds of favorable features of micro environment. The purpose of this research proposal is to align the information and informal values for company expansion under a defined strategy to come up with the best results in terms of profit and sustainability. Thus, it can be stated that an efficient operations management can be achieved through efforts to enhance the potential of an organization through outstanding performance in each of the business functi on. The researcher provides PEST Analysis on the topic of Aspects of Macro Environment as well as the analysis of Strategic management and corporate public affairs. Therefore, the operations management of recent times can be acclaimed far more challenging because of advanced technology of engineering, finance, marketing and information system strategy. In addition, the modifications have further supplemented business sustainability by means of significant element such as capacity planning and forecasting.

Wednesday, September 25, 2019

Should a company hire new workers or outsource an HRM function due to Term Paper

Should a company hire new workers or outsource an HRM function due to an increase demand of the companys product - Term Paper Example Should a company hire new workers or outsource an HRM function due to an increase demand of the company’s product? Outsourcing is an organizational trend practiced by most companies and its primary objective is to reduce costs and shorten workloads. It is economically beneficial to outsource an organizational function instead of hiring new employees. This is one simple way to reduce costs of acquiring additional manpower. Activities that can be outsourced include production or manufacturing, management functions like payroll system, financial processing, procurement, distribution and logistics, and other general services functions. Almost any kind of organizational activity can be outsourced but it is not advisable to outsource what is called core activity. Most firms in Europe and the United States outsource production and manufacturing activities. There are benefits for this kind of activity and arrangement on the part of the two companies but there are also drawbacks, for example, the quality of the product might be jeopardized. Some people judge service quality by comparing the service offered by an outsourcing company with the services that they used to have. There is also the disruption on the continuity of the services over a prolonged period of time, added with problems in the course of outsourcing. But through outsourcing, we can also have an improved operational process, although this is not to mean that we can outsource any activity in the organization in order to reduce costs. Abstract This essay will explain a firm’s choice of applying outsourcing to human resource. Instead of hiring new employees, a firm can hire the services of an outsourcing company to provide HRM functions. This is one of the simplest ways to acquire manpower but at the same time it answers to cost-cutting measures of a firm. With so many expenses a firm has to endure, outsourcing is seen as the answer. Moreover, through outsourcing we can institute changes and innovations and improve operational processes with the help of another organization. The question is: is it all positive? No, there are repercussions and drawbacks. Not all processes and functions can be outsourced. Managers and employees of firms that have experienced outsourcing have warned that there are functions that should be executed by managers and employees who are organic in the company. Another disadvantage is that outsourcing jeopardizes quality. Also, firms that outsource core competencies do not see the imp ortance of focusing on employees’ capability and knowledge considering that there is a relation between contented employees and contented customers. Introduction Firms find outsourcing as an easy way to produce products without much costs of production. Human resource is also another area where outsourcing can be done. Outsourcing is a trend in organizations where partnership of suppliers and businesses are involved, and networking is enhanced. There are hosts of other functions that can be done with outsourcing. But there are negative repercussions if outsourcing is not well planned and studied before it is applied. There may be economic benefits in the short term, but in the long run there can be negative effects, and some of these include cultural factors and cultural integration, continuity of skill of employees, and so on. The negative effects can also result into loss of savings or added expenditures on the part of the firm that applied outsourcing to HRM functions. An example of this negative repercussion is that there could be loss of skill on the employees, and some employees can feel insecure of their job that they opt to resign. If there are losses, then what good is outsourcing?

Tuesday, September 24, 2019

Sexual Harassment in the Work Place Research Paper

Sexual Harassment in the Work Place - Research Paper Example The industrial uprising and its transformation was found to bring in certain alterations in terms of the customary roles played or undertaken by both the genders. The altering responsibilities or tasks triggered the significance related to gender specialization along with giving rise to a fresh sort of workplace with regard to the Western society. The role of women remained no more restricted in just family affairs which increasingly specialized roles related to both the genders. The requirement of economic security began soaring as individuals started relocating in other cities. This growing need of economic security accelerated the need for specialization in the field of jobs. Thus, the role of men and women began to be comprehended more lucidly which gave a proper understanding regarding the kind of behavior that was predicted along with the manner of carrying it out. Subsequently, the responsibilities of both men as well as women became typecast (Lightle & Doucet, 2007; Boland, 2 005). Women who were found to be working generally indulged in certain variety of jobs which majorly involved other women. Women who belonged to the upper class were regarded as the â€Å"weaker sex†, as they were considered to be essentially supported by men. Therefore, women became gradually more dependent which endowed men with greater supremacy. As the aspect of power balance was found to support men, they considered themselves free to indulge in activities which are presently regarded as sexual harassment. The absence of such increased supremacy with regard to women hardly left them with choices other than accepting such behaviors. Sexual harassment mainly took place due to the encouragement of managers at work place. The reason behind such troubling acts were measured to be owing to the altering role of women as significant number of women started being a part of the workforce by accepting responsibilities and positions that were customarily male oriented (Lightle & Doucet, 20 07; Boland, 2005). Hereby, the paper intends to provide a detailed description of the current scenario of sexual harassment in the workplaces of United States following a comprehensive definition of the aspect. Moreover, the changing trend of workplaces in the US with this regards shall also be taken into concern in this study. Sexual Harassment and its Aspect It was found with regard to the above mentioned context that the discrimination of sex often leads to sexual harassment. Sexual harassment can be defined as, â€Å"the unwelcome verbal, visual, or physical conduct of a sexual nature that is severe or pervasive and affects working conditions or creates a hostile work environment† (Equal Rights Advocates, 2012). Harassing a person sexually is regarded just as a section or part related to sexual harassment and is considered to be unlawful. For instance, passing an illegal comment on women may be defined as sexual harassment as it can lead to mental torture of that particul ar person. Moreover, it is not necessary that while harassing anyone, the harasser has to be of opposite sex as to the victim. The harasser and the victim both can also be of same sex (U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, n.d.). Sexual harassment law is an integral part of Employment Discrimination Law and sometimes may relate to Civil Rights Law in the United States (US). Therefore, it can be stated that sexual harassment is an unwanted attempt and an activity that is subject to the court of law. There are two categories into which sexual harassment has broadly been categorized; they are Quid Pro

Monday, September 23, 2019

Leadership Motivation and Performance Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Leadership Motivation and Performance - Essay Example Teachers also encourage students to improve their class and exam performances. Encouragement acts as a positive feedback for students that makes them repeat their performances in order to meet their teacher’s expectations. Encouragement motivates students to excel in their educational careers by showing good grades. Here, one point that is worth mentioning is that teachers should always have strong set of perceptions so that that can use their thinking abilities to design task-oriented and easy to understand learning methodologies for students. They should use their perceptual skills to identify hidden potential of students and use them to refine their learning abilities. Moreover, they should have a variety of strong attributes that can inspire their students and eventually improve their personality traits. Teachers can definitely become more effective by becoming more aware of these processes. They can use their cognitive and perceptual sets to solve their students’ learning difficulties, as well as to formulate new learning strategies for them. Similarly, they can use their level of performance expectations to change their teaching strategies accordingly and bring the desired improvement in their students’ performances. Moreover, they can also use their personal attributes, such as, creative and innovative thinking, openness, commitment, integrity, visionary outlook, and dedication to improve their teaching style and eventually bring improvement in students’ class and exam performances. â€Å"Teachers must be the perfect role models of honesty and integrity† (Slick, 2011). Students go to schools for learning and personality development. They not only learn things from their syllabus but also from their teachers who are their actual mentors. When teachers w ill have a strong and influencing personality, students will definitely like that and will try to adopt as much personality traits of their teachers as they can. Therefore, perceptual set,

Sunday, September 22, 2019

Stalins aims for the transformation of the Russian economy Essay Example for Free

Stalins aims for the transformation of the Russian economy Essay To what extent did Stalin succeed in achieving his aims for the transformation of the Russian economy? Under the NEP, Russia had managed to recover from seven years of warfare, but by the late 1920s Russia had still not been able to develop its economy beyond the level of 1914 and its agriculture was still very backward. Stalin felt that under the NEP, the Russian economy was underperforming and he felt he had to change this as he wanted to modernise Russia and move it forwards to a truly Socialist society. Stalin wanted to transform Russian economy in order for Russia to be a socialist society there had to be more workers than peasants and the country had to be at industrially advanced. This would mean that the Russian economy, which relied heavily on agriculture, would have to be changed and modernised industries would have to be developed and Russia would have to become an industrialised country. In 1929 in the Great Turn, Stalin introduced the collectivisation of agriculture; this set of policies, along with the Five Year Plans, created the framework for what became known as the Soviet centrally planned economy and transformed the Soviet economy. Stalin, through collectivisation and industrialisation, managed to transform the Russian economy. One of Stalins aims for the transformation of the economy was to build up heavy industry and increase the industrial output of the Soviet Union through the Five Year Plans, and to catch up with the industrialised West. Stalins policy of industrialisation was based on central planning the state produced three consecutive Five Year Plans that set production and output targets for all areas of industry, with emphasis on building up heavy industry and creating new industry. In order to provide capital to finance industrialisation, Stalin introduced collectivisation, which modernised Russias agricultural system. These Five Year Plans broadly achieved Stalins aim. There was a huge increase in the productivity and output of heavy industry. Whole new industries were developed in Russia, like the chemical factories, tractor and machine tool plants. Many new factories were built, whole new industrial centres like Magnitogorsk were created and cities grew rapidly. Russia was gripped by gigantomania there was an emphasis on large-scale projects like the Dniepostroi Dam. Communications improved, the transport links in Russia were better than before and electricity became available to the masses. Russia had managed to industrialise and catch up with the West at a time when much of the Western world was suffering from an economic depression. However, the goods produced were often of a poor quality, as quantity was more important than quality for Stalin. There was also a great deal of wastage, raw materials were wasted and the production of goods was often inefficient. The Five Year Plans often had unrealistic production targets which factories struggled to meet. Another of Stalins aims was to modernise agriculture and increase productivity through collectivisation. He believed that the peasant-based farming methods used were inefficient and large collectivised state farms would vastly increase production. Stalin needed to carry out the collectivisation of agriculture to finance industrialisation and feed the workers in the cities. Large, collective farms were created, where peasants worked to increase production of grain. This was, to some extent, a success all agriculture was collective by 1941. By 1939, Russia had reached the same levels of production as 1928 with less peasants working on the farms. Also, farming was modernised, there was increased use of machinery and tractors on the collective farms, which made the work easier. However, the human cost of collectivisation was great. In 1932, there was a Great Famine, which was caused by a drop in production in the early 1930s this affected the Soviet Union badly, especially Ukraine where 5 million people died. By 1941, Russia had only just regained the production levels of 1928; there was no increase in production. Also, animals were not used efficiently, and in this sense the Russian farms were still quite backwards. Stalins final aim to transform the economy was to transform Russia into a truly Socialist economy, by turning peasants into workers and introducing central planning into the system. In order for Russia to be a truly Socialist society, there would have to be a greater number of workers than peasants a Socialist economy would be more focused on industry rather than agriculture. This would mean developing industry, so the number of workers would exceed the number of peasants. This would also mean eliminating the privileged classes such as the Kulaks, who were better off than ordinary peasants. Kulaks that refused to join collective farms and co-operate with the state were either exiled or sent to forced-labour camps. Stalin also aimed to get rid of the last vestiges of Capitalism this would mean getting rid of the NEP and replacing it with central planning. However, the Russian economy did not become truly Socialist. Wage differentials and bonuses created a privileged class among the workers. The working and living conditions for Russians were still very poor. The system relied heavily on force, in order for the transformation of the Soviet economy to take place. In conclusion, Stalin did partly succeed in achieving his aims for the transformation of the Russian economy. Stalin managed to industrialise and modernise Russia, many new key industries developed and Russia no longer relied solely on agriculture for its economy. The new, collective farms were more efficient than the old farms, the same amounts were produced with less peasants. By the 1940s, there were more workers than peasants and, generally, Russia was a more Socialist society. However, there were limits on this there was still a small privileged class, and working and living conditions in the Soviet Union were poor. Also, the transformation of the Soviet economy came at a human cost, and many people died as a result of the Great Famine and dangerous working conditions in factories.

Saturday, September 21, 2019

Reflective Journal On Interpersonal Skills Nursing Essay

Reflective Journal On Interpersonal Skills Nursing Essay An effective management is about getting works or things done through people. It is the capability of a person to perform in the complexity of the organization as a restrained or subtle, insightful, incisive performer that determines the success as a manager. For a person to work in a group either as a member or a leader in order to achieve a common goal it is essential to be interdependent and interactive among the group. This interactive skill is also called as interpersonal skill, people skills, social skills which help to build the social competence level. Social competent people are those who possess these necessary skills to produce desired effects on other people in situations in terms of influencing someone to work harder, make a deal, make an effective negotiation, or support someone in a crisis situation. This is also a very important consideration in fields like management, social networking, education and relationships. It determines how we communicate with bosses, superi ors, subordinates, peers, family and everyone around us. Interpersonal skills can be learned; most people learn how to relate on the basis of experience, through unstructured and unintentional processes of trial and error. Sometimes this approach is successful but at times it can be ineffective and unreliable. This social skill set helps in influencing others which is very important when working in an organization at a managerial level and you need to influence your subordinates to work towards achieving a target or goal. Many people working in organizations experience problems when attempting to influence others. Sometimes the source of difficulty is perceived to be rooted in a particular relationship and sometimes it is experienced as a more general inability. People react to this perceived problem in different ways; some give up trying and accept the impossibility of introducing any significant change while some respond by trying harder and becoming aggressive. They devote more energy to influence others and achieving results but when t hings do not go their way it leads to frustrations. The most effective people however seem to be those who expect to experience resistance in their attempts to influence others, but still have a way around to get things done. I faced a similar situation when I started managing a team for the first time, which is described below. In my previous employment, I got promoted to a Managerial role and became the clearing In-charge handling a team of 8 members. This department handled high transaction volumes and cheque clearance on a daily basis. It was the first time that these staffs reported me directly on any clearing matter. Overall it was a very new experience for me to perform as a manager. First I allotted individual job roles to everyone so that each one of them could focus on the required part and complete it accurately within the given timeframe. It was very important that all of my team members including me worked cohesively to deliver the task efficiently. Despite of clear work allocation and proper supervision of work; we still strive hard to do fire fighting in meeting deadlines and there was huge pressure on the team. In due course, I realized that this was primarily because I had not considered the teams inputs when doing the work allocation, and as such many people in the team were unhappy with th eir work. Post realizing this I corrected this, got the teams feedback and did reallocation of work. Although not everyone was still happy, I built a reputation for being considerate and listening to the team, which increased the motivation levels and helped in improving our teams productivity This chapter taught me that self awareness is closely linked to the ability to read the behavior of others, construct course of action and deliver an effective performance. People who have a high level of self awareness understand how their own values, beliefs and subjective theories influence what they see and do. In order to raise the awareness of how theories in use influence the way interaction with others can be managed, it is essential to observe own self of action. This can be possibly done by reflecting on patterns of past behavior and monitoring it. It is also important to be open and responsive to others feedback. In my previous company where I worked as a bank officer, I faced many situations where it was important to have a strong interpersonal skill. As a front office executive I was supposed to directly deal with the customers, understand their needs, and give them quality service. Many a times, I came across very demanding people who are tough to please. There was an instance when a very high net worth customer holding a priority account with our bank wanted to close the account because of some transaction issues. Apart from that he was very disappointed by my colleagues behavior, so with an angry attitude he came to my desk and asked to close the account. At that time I had two options, one was to close his account or try to pacify the customer and retain the account. I handled the case very effectively; offered him a cup of coffee, listened to him properly, understood his requirements, and gave him the solution. He was so happy with my attitude that he changed his decision and continued banking with us. The concept of micro skill approach to develop interpersonal competency gave me a clear picture of the steps to be followed in building the interpersonal relationships like accenting, following, listening, helping and negotiating. Utilizing these ideas which I learned from this chapter, I can further develop on my skills to strengthen it and implement in future for building stronger interpersonal relationships and use it in face to face encounters to arrange my behavior so that it is in line with the objectives. Summary of critical incident During our first tutorial we were asked to select our team members and form a group. The tutorial had 30 students from different nationalities and is designed to give the students an opportunity to interact with classmates from different places, know their culture and exchange values. I was very keen to be in a mixed culture group so that I can utilize this opportunity and learn of different cultures. But unfortunately no one was willing to include me in their group. Everyone was comfortable in making a group with people from their own nationalities. I tried to do likewise and asked an Indian group to include me. They refused saying that they are already a big team of 5 members. I felt sad wondering why none of my team mate wanted to consider me in their group. Later three members joined the tutorial and I teamed up with them, but still kept wondering about what happened. I realized that maybe since I did not socialize with people, they did not know anything about me and hence prefer red to include known people. Thereafter I voluntarily stood up, introduced myself, and started socializing with my classmates. The ability to work effectively within a group either as a leader or member requires good interpersonal skill. As my other friends were speaking various languages, I found it difficult to fit into their discussion which is known as cross cultural communication barrier. Some of my classmates had difficulty communicating in English and therefore were shy in discussing with me. But I made them comfortable by listening to them for long hours, understanding them, helping them in clearing their doubts. I tried to determine my strengths and weaknesses from the competency tests that I have appeared previously. Reflecting the findings of my chosen self analysis toolkit The psychometric test results indicate that I have a very lively social manner which I can leverage to build a good working atmosphere and to support others in developing their own ideas. I can easily integrate into a team, both as a leader as well as a member. The Worlds personality test defines me as performer with ESPF style which means I am sociable, optimistic and open to others. However my personality trait is authoritative and indicates that I like to have autonomous-decision making. I am good at arguing rather than convincingly and prefer to actively influence my group members. This functioning style may not fit in all situations; in case of my tutorial groups, I should not try to dominate and have my own way of independent decision making. This would portray me as an arrogant person; rather I should try to have more interactive session which allows equal opportunities to all to participate in discussions. This will encourage team spirit and I can still continue to motivate t hem as and when required. Implications for future career or personal development Post completing MBA, I intend to rejoin the banking industry and hence it is important that I improve my interpersonal skills which will enable me have an effective communication. This will be required for both professional as well as my personal development. The test result emphasized my core strengths as confident, sociable, organized while my weaknesses is that I deliberately follow my own convictions therefore find problems in predefined objectives which contradicts my viewpoint. I realize I need to leverage my strengths and work on my weaknesses to build a better personality. Summary of critical incident II I would like to share another incident from my tutorial activity related to decision making skills. One of our tutorial activities required us to analyze a case study in which we had to put ourselves in the shoes of a train driver and had to decide on which rail track to choose in a difficult situation. There were two rail routes; a running track in working condition and an unused track closed for some unknown reasons. At a distance ahead there were 10 children playing around; 9 of them were playing in the used rail track and only 1 child was playing in the unused route. At that time the train approaches, and we as the driver of that train had to decide on which track to take. This was indeed a tough decision as the lives of small children were at stake. I analyzed from 2 different aspects; considering the emotional value perhaps it was better to divert the train in the unused route so that 9 children can be saved. But logically, it did not seem appropriate; taking the unused track m ay cause derailment, which in turn would put the lives of thousands of passenger in danger. Therefore as the driver my decision would have been to take the used track and not put the lives of all passengers at stake. We had some interesting discussions in the class; with few people sharing the same thoughts as mine, while others argued that it does not make sense for killing 9 children over 1, they believed our conscience would never allow that. Another classmate gave a very different opinion saying that it is better to run the train towards the 9 children so that they will learn a lesson and never repeat this again to which Frankie, our tutor laughed and said, Will they realize after their death that they shouldnt play in such dangerous place? Finally the correct decision should have been taking the used track as the 9 children would be used to trains approaching on that track and hence would move out on time. However this analysis helped us in determining the emotional intelligenc e factor and we realized that as future leaders we may have to decide between things which may have contrary emotional and logical values. Reflecting the findings of my chosen self analysis toolkit The Jungs typology test indicated that I am a logical and well organized person. But it also says that I decide more based on feeling rather than thinking. This indicates that I am an emotional person and mostly I take decisions based on how I perceive things. Decision making capabilities based on situations sometimes require us to see whether the judgment benefits a larger mass or not. In such cases emotional values have to be controlled. My weakness is my inability to control my emotions at times, especially in stressful situations. Further from the Johari Window test, I found that my friends perceive me as indecisive. I respect this feedback and believe that my emotional quotient many a times makes me indecisive. Therefore I need to improve decision making abilities in order to become a successful manager in future. Implications for future career or personal development As I intend to return to the banking Job and continue my career as a Manager, I realize I need to leverage my strengths and work on my weaknesses. As a manager, I would be required to take tough decisions on the spot. I need to learn to show more maturity in dealing such situations and therefore I need to develop my reasoning skills, control my emotions and thereby improve my decision making abilities.

Friday, September 20, 2019

Impact Of Social Networking On E Business Information Technology Essay

Impact Of Social Networking On E Business Information Technology Essay Social networks have changed the way internet users communicate, search for and share data today. For example, increasing the relations between e-businesses and social networks can improve user satisfaction. Using data from blogs, forums and online journals, the evaluated impact that social networking has on e-businesses and e-commerce sites. The results show that while the majority of users do engage in social networking, those e-businesses and e-commerce site that transact with the social networking sites generally obtain significant benefits in the form of product promotion, branding and higher user satisfaction that the ones that dont. This is clearly shown by the illustration and graphs shown in this research paper. Introduction In its early years, e-business was used for uploading basic information about products and services and now it provides corporate information on sites that sell goods and services on the internet. If compared to e-commerce, the purchases made online are unlimited. E-commerce involves online financial transactions Top social networking sites like Facebook, Hi5, Friendster and MySpace have made a significant impact on how todays internet users communicate, search and share data. Users join these social networks, publish and maintain their own profiles by using publishing tools, they also establish links to their friends. The social links are evidence that trust has been established between the connected users. The marketing strategies of social networks can have a huge impact on e-business, for example, users can become members of both the social network and e-business. For example, users who buy or sell items on Ebay can leave links of their products on their MySpace account. To guide their financial decision-making, the social networks and e-business offers users information on how they are connected to each potential transaction partner. Since majority of internet users engage in social networking sites, those who do business with friends of friends end up benefiting from higher user satisfaction. The analyzed results show that social networking has a positive impact on e-business. Outline of the paper This paper is organized as follows: Section 2: Introduces Social Networking Section 3: Introduces E-business Section 4: Introduces E-commerce Section 5: Outlines the impact of social networking on e-commerce and e-business Section 6: Conclusion Social networking Social networking has always been known for its interactive communication with online participants who are brought together electronically to share views, upload images and so many other features. Social networking is free and all it takes is commitment, it has a short learning curve and provides access to global market. TagWorld social site was the first to embrace e-business and that has revolutionized social networking, it has also given them a competitive advantage over their rivals like MySpace and Facebook. TagWorld members can post items for sale in the new classifieds section, which can be searched by tag similar to a subject or catagory, keyword or zip code radius. Multiple images of an item can be included with the ad, as well as a payment model. Sellers can choose a fixed price or mark the item negotiable which allows buyers and sellers to haggle over a price. PayPal is integrated into the site to make paying for items easier. Items appearing in the classifieds can also appear in storefronts that members can incorporate into their personal Web pages. Mello (2006) T [8]Below is the size and growth of the top social networking sites. Profiles 12 months Growth Hi5 98.9m 33.6m 51.6% Facebook 50.1m n/a n/a Friendster 50.9m 19.6m 62.5% MySpace 184.1m 82.7m 81.5% Size Growth There are two types of social networking services they are, internal and external. Internal Social Networking These are for private communities like companies, organizations or associations. Most companies want their staff to stop using external social networks since its unproductive, so they block the external social sites. [2]Their staff can communicate with each other or even with different departments. [1]External Social Networking This is a public network, where all web users can access it. Most social networking sites are used to attract advertisers. A good example is Facebook, Hi5, Friendster and MySpace. Social Networking Analysis This is the mapping and measuring of relationships between people. It is used for the analysis of social structures. A good example of a social networking analysis tool is the Sentinel Visualizer product [5]. The tool is used to measure the degree of centrality, betweenness centrality, closeness and Eigenvalue. Degree centrality This is simply the number of direct relationship that a user has. If a user has more relationship, he or she is an active player in the network as shown below. In the above illustration, Alice has the highest degree centrality, which means that she is quite active in the network. For her to get to Rafaels clique she has to go through him [5]. Betweenness Centrality This identifies a users position within a network in terms of their ability to make connections with other groups in the network. The user with a high betweeness centrality has a big influence in the network as shown below. In the example above, Rafael has the highest betweenness because he is between Alice and Aldo. Alice and Aldo have a slightly lower betweenness because they are essentially only between their own cliques. Closeness This measures how fast a user can access more users in a network. A user with a high closeness has a high visibility as to what is happening in the network. Eigenvalue This measures how close a user is to other highly close users within a network, this is measured globally. Some companies like SAS Institute have come up with a system called SASÂ ® which detects and prevents fraud on social networks [4]. The same system measures productivity and provides other information to help manage the site efficiently and effectively [4]. E-business This is basically a way of conducting business electronically. E-business involves business processes like electronic purchasing and supply chain management, processing orders electronically, handling customer service, and cooperating with business partners. E-business involves a business cycle of production, sales, procurement, distribution, payment and marketing so its not hard for it to work for any business. There are several applications that can benefit e-business, these are blogs and forums. These will show the e-business how its users like their products by viewing their comments. E-commerce This basically means conducting business electronically, mainly via the internet. E-commerce has impacted sectors in governments such as the cultural and information sector. Another industry that may have a large future growth via e-commerce is banking. With the continuity of ecommerce, there will be futuristic issues like social, economical and privacy. Most of the internet users fear buying from online businesses since they often have limited guarantee about the privacy of their information. If such problems are resolved, e-commerce can play a positive role in improving the world business. Some applications that are used in e-commerce are email, online banking, teleconferencing and newsgroup. With e-commerce, users can conduct business anytime, access the global market, allow customers self service or customer outsourcing. There are constraints of e-commerce, they are: Time for delivery of physical products, e-commerce is often used to buy goods that are not locally available thus taking time and money, this is due to the buyer and seller being from different countries. Physical product supplier delivery uncertainty, most of the time e-commerce purchases are made on trust. This is because having access to the product physically is not possible, a purchase is made on an expectation of what that product is and its condition. Another reason is that supplying businesses is conducted across the world, a user or buyer cannot be sure whether or not the supplying businesses are legitimate and are not just going to take his or her money. Perishable goods: Goods bought and sold through the internet tend to be durable and not perishable, they need to survive the trip from the supplier to the purchasing business or consumer. Limited and selected sensory information: Whatever a user buys, all they can see is the images of the product and its description. They cannot smell, weigh or even inspect it as they would if it was in a local store. Returning: Returning goods online can be difficulty since most e-commerce business has stated that in their return policy. Privacy, security, payment, identity and contract: Most of the time e-commerce businesses have issues of privacy of information, security of the same information and payment details. One would think that the availability of goods online would increase competition and lower prices, but this doesnt always occur. A good reputation may allow a seller or a retailer to control his or her area of market. [7] Below is a diagram of the complaints made by Australians e-consumers: Impact of social networking on e-commerce and e-business E-businesses and e-commerce sites cannot compete in todays market without collaborating with social networks. There are several impacts that Social networking has on e-business and e-commerce, such as economical and social impacts. These are shown below: Economical Impacts One of the main advantages social networks have is millions of users, e-businesses and e-commerce sites have come up with ways of pulling or attracting those users to their sites. For e-businesses and e-commerce sites to actually benefit from social networks, they need to use the following marketing strategies: Driving internet traffic for ad revenue Brand building Link building for traffic and Search engine optimization Promotion of goods and services Affiliate Marketing Pay Per Click Advertising Driving Internet Traffic for ad revenue Driving traffic to a site is very inexpensive. Hence, e-commerce and e-business sites have to be attractive with rich contents so as to ensure user interactivity. This strategy will benefit both the social networks and the e-business/e-commerce sites. Benefits of Driving Internet Traffic for ad revenue: It is far better than pay per click as you already direct viewers to the page If an e-commerce or e-business site uses this strategy, it will be able to view their competitors, their products, services and their current strategies Link building for traffic optimization E-businesses and e-commerce sites can place links in social networking sites which will actually boost the traffic of their websites. Benefits of Link building for traffic optimization: This strategy can help e-business or e-commerce sites build trust by having multiple one-way links to their sites. It is a cheap way of driving traffic to the e-business or e-commerce sites. Promotion of goods and services This can be done by providing information to educate clients about the products. The information can be promoted by advertising on social networking sites. Benefits of Link building for traffic optimization: Clients have a better understanding of the goods and services. Goods and services can be commented on or criticized by clients. Affiliate Marketing This is one of the most efficient methods of promoting the e-business or e-commerce sites. Affiliate marketing is risk free since its marketing costs are only paid for actual results. This method eliminates the need for having an advertising budget or employees since the cost of using the affiliate marketing method is commission based. Benefits of Affiliate Marketing: This strategy allows the e-business or e-commerce to track visitors, this helps in E-businesses and e-commerce sites have access to a wider audience thus generating more goods and services. Pay Per Click Advertising This is a type of advertising where the advertiser pays depending on the number of times the published ad is clicked on. It is a very effective way of targeting specific users and it also provides a reliable way of measuring the effectiveness of the advert. Benefits of pay per click advertising: It targets users more accurately It can show what keywords users have clicked on to view its site. It is also simpler in targeting users who live in different geographical spots. The economical impact on e-business and e-commerce helps in building credibility. It is easier for the e-business and e-commerce sites to gain clients confidence if they connect with them on a personal and professional level. Social Impacts When it comes to social impacts, this mainly refers to productivity of employees in e-business and e-commerce sites. This is the biggest concern in e-businesses since it can lead to network security risk and damage to reputation. Negative employee blogging or inappropriate posts about the workplace on social networking sites presents a new, confusing and often very daunting challenge for many smaller employers, said Jackie Breslin, director of human capital consulting for TriNet. Business owners need to stop and ask themselves some important questions regarding their employees personal online usage of this growing technology in order to safeguard the companys reputation and protect themselves from liability if legal and harassment issues arise. Justin (2008) The solution to this problem is internal and an external custom social network. These are organizational or private social networks where only staff members and clients have access. This improves teamwork, collaboration and productivity within the staff members. When it comes to clients, it will improve loyalty and retention and most of all, increase the response time for enquiries. There are several negative impacts that social networks have such as Technical threat, online scams, cyber-stalking and identity theft. Malicious users are constantly trying to post or load their contents containing [6] browser exploits and then convinces users to view their contents. They also post scripts on the social networking sites that will run inside the browser of the users that view the content. A good example of this is cross-site scripting, this is basically a security exploit in which the attacker inserts a malicious code into a link that appears to be from a trustworthy source. Once a user clicks on the link, the embedded code is submitted as part of the clients web request and it executes on the users computer thus allowing the attacker to steal information. But the technical threat has preventive methods such as filtering scripts, and updating the web applications, antivirus and antispyware. The solution that millions of internet users trust is Secure Socket Layer certificates. A social networking site has to have a Secure Socket Layer installed for it to safeguard its members. The same applies to the e-business and e-commerce since the solution will ensure that clients online payment information will be submitted securely to its payment gateway and merchant account, it will also protect the website in case payment information is compromised. Secure sockets layer has other advantages like: It encrypts important information. Each secure socket layer certificate has unique, authenticated information about the certificate owner. SSL is used only where sensitive information is exchanged in order to provide privacy/security. So its a must have for both the e-business and the e-commerce. This means that secure socket layer certificate have no negative impact or disadvantage since its only used to encrypt important or vital information. 5. Conclusion While this research paper presents an evaluation of the impact of social networking on e-business. It seems that social networks have positive impacts on e-business even though some threats have been identified, such as security and privacy. Privacy has the most negative impact since almost all users write things about themselves which they wouldnt have in a social meeting. This makes it easy for hackers and malicious attackers to target them. Even with the integration of the social and e-commerce users, this has still created a new target for hackers and malicious attackers. Since e-commerce users post links in their social network account which will redirect anyone who clicks it to the products page in their e-commerce account, you may find that fraudsters or even hackers will place links that will actually give them access to information of both the e-commerce and social network accounts of the targeted user. It would have been better if further understanding of the structural differences between social networks and e-business were made. The observed differences could be attributed to the e-businesss nature of the network transactions, a further user behavior analysis on e-business or e-commerce could be carried. The findings could better the understanding of the motivation of the users socially and business wise.

Thursday, September 19, 2019

Jane Eyre :: essays research papers

Ten-year-old orphan Jane Eyre lives unhappily with her wealthy, cruel cousins and aunt at Gateshead. Her only salvation from her daily humiliations, such as being locked up in a "red-room" (where she thinks she sees her beloved uncle's ghost), is the kindly servant, Bessie. Jane is spared further mistreatment from the Reed family when she is sent off to school at Lowood, but there, under the hypocritical Evangelicalism of the headmaster, Mr. Brocklehurst, she suffers further privations in the austere environment. She befriends Helen Burns, who upholds a doctrine of Christian forgiveness and tolerance, and is taken under the wing of the superintendent, Miss Temple. An outbreak of typhus alerts benefactors to the school's terrible conditions, Mr. Brocklehurst is replaced, and Jane excels as a student for six years and as a teacher for two. Jane finds employment as a governess at the estate of Thornfield for a little girl, Adà ¨le. After much waiting, Jane finally meets her employer, Edward Rochester, a brooding, detached man who seems to have a dark past. Other oddities around Thornfield include the occasional demonic laugh Jane hears emanating from the third-story attic. Rochester always attributes it to Grace Poole, the seamstress who works up there, but Jane is never fully convinced, and the fire she has to put out one night in Rochester's bedroom plants further doubts. Meanwhile, Jane develops an attraction for Rochester, not based on looks (both are considered plain) but on their intellectual communion. However, the higher social standing of the beautiful Miss Ingram seemingly vaults her above Jane. Though Rochester flirts with the idea of marrying Miss Ingram, he is aware of her financial ambitions for marriage. An old acquaintance of Rochester's, Richard Mason, visits Thornfield and is severely injured from an attack†¹apparently from Grace†¹in the middle of the night in the attic. Jane, baffled by the circumstances, tends to him, and Rochester confesses to her that he made an error in the past that he hopes to overturn by marrying Miss Ingram. He says that he has another governess position for Jane lined up elsewhere. Jane returns to Gateshead for a while to see the dying Mrs. Reed. When she returns to Thornfield, Rochester says he knows Miss Ingram is after him only for his money, and he asks Jane to marry him. Jane accepts, but a month later, Mason and a solicitor, Mr. Briggs, interrupt the ceremony by revealing that Rochester already has a wife: Bertha Mason, Mason's sister, a lunatic who is kept in the attic in Thornfield.

Wednesday, September 18, 2019

Feminism in Sophocles Antigone and Shakespeares Othello Essay

Feminism in Antigone and Othello  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Feminism has been one of the most important forces in shaping our modern-day society. Thanks to the women's rights movement, females today enjoy rights and freedoms that are unprecedented in the history of Western civilization. However, it was not always this way. Whereas modern literature that contains feminist messages barely gets a second thought, readers in our time are intrigued and impressed by feminist works coming from a decidedly male-biased past. Two of the greatest works of Western literature, Antigone and Othello, written by the two great dramatists Sophocles and Shakespeare, have been said to illustrate feminist ideals in the "distant" past. Antigone, which embodies these ideals throughout and is primarily concerned with the inequity of gender roles, is such a play. Othello, while it contains occasional feminist sentiment, still keeps its women in conventional female roles and thus is not a feminist work. In order to determine if these plays are feminist, we first require a working definition of the term. This alone is rather complicated, because the word itself is popularly used and misused in many different ways. In its simplest form, feminist doctrine states that women and men are equal and deserve the same rights and privileges. This, although widely accepted in our time, was not in the past. However, feminism also has been seen as the belief that men are the inferior sex, a belief that might more accurately be termed "anti-masculinism". This belief has never been widely espoused in Western society, and probably never will be. It can also be said that "feminism" is any belief or idea that is meant to improve the well-being and social standing of females: for ex... ...e does not, and this is seen clearly in the play. We are driven to sympathize with Antigone, and we see that she finds a way to be powerful that does not fit in with the classical male-driven power structure. She is also powerful in the structure of the play: she is its most well developed character and the play takes its title from her name. Finally, Sophocles shows us that feminism works, at least in Antigone's case: she gets what she wants. Unfortunately, this happens to be death, but her attempts at power still get her what she desires.    Works Cited Shakespeare, William. Othello. Ed. Barbara A. Mowat, Paul Werstine. New York: Washington Square Press, 1993. Sophocles. Antigone. The Theban Plays. Ed. and trans. E. F. Watling. London: Penguin Group, 1947: 126-162. Watling, E. F. "Introduction." The Theban Plays. London: Penguin Group, 1947: 7-22.

Tuesday, September 17, 2019

Potential Hazards in Health and Social Care Essay

Introduction For this assignment I am going to produce an information booklet for new employees. Within this information booklet I will be explaining potential hazards and the harm that these hazards may arise in health and social care settings. My chosen service user group is the elderly infirm. The working environment in which I will be identifying the hazards is a care home for the elderly. When working with the elderly it is important that you take health and safety into consideration, this is because the elderly are starting to become frail and weak, their movements start to become slower and moving around alone can be a lot harder and may require the support of staff or other aids to get from A to B. This is why it is important that there are no hazards in place which could harm or cause injury to the clients. A hazard is something around you that could cause harm to you. There are different types of hazards, health hazards are incidents that could lead to someone getting ill. Safety hazards are incidents which can lead to someone getting injured and damage to a property or building. Security hazards are all about intruders whom put service users at harm for example, theft of the building, service users being taken without consent and accessing confidential information without any consent. I am going to be explaining hazards from the bellow areas and explaining how they can be harmful to the service users and staff; Environment Equipment Infections Substances Working conditions Working practice Security systems Environmental Environmental hazards are things within your environment which could cause harm to clients and staff. Environmental hazards include things such as the temperature of rooms, the pollution, objects and many others. An environmental hazard that could put clients at risk of harm is poor lighting within a room. This can affect those elderly clients who have poor vision; poor lighting makes it hard to see when moving around this could lead to someone tripping over and falling, it is also frustrating for the client and could cause confusion. This hazard could also put the staff at risk of harm to; for example if a room is too dim and they are guiding a client around the room and because of the poor lighting they are unaware of the table leg and they then trip over it, not only will they hurt themselves put they are also putting the client at risk to as the client may not be stable enough to stand on their own without any help. It is important that the lighting in all rooms within the care home are set the right way and this is to avoid these unexpected trips and falls, even though they may seem only minor but clients within the home have started to become frail and weak and if they end up falling and tripping over it could really have a big impact on them. â€Å"Slips, trips and falls can have a serious impact on the lives of employees and those being cared for† HSE (04/10/2014) If a client’s room is unclean and is full of clutter on the floor this can be hazardous to the client because if they get up and move around they could end up falling over the clutter and damaging themselves. It is also a major trip hazard for staff as they could be trying to get a client out of bed and because of the mess they end up tripping over it they then are at the risk of injury and could then be off from work because of they are injured. It is important that within the care home no objects are left on the floor, the floors should be clean, they shouldn’t be left wet and if they are wet then there should be a sign there to support the hazard and this is so that the clients are safe to walk around without the risk of them getting hurt. If the room temperature is set too high or too low this can be hazardous to the clients, as they have become older their immune systems have become weaker which means that they can catch illnesses quickly and it is hard for them to maintain their body temperature. If the temperature in a client’s room is set on low this could then lead to the client getting a cold and a cough. If the temperature in a client’s room is set too high and the client is unaware of it, it can then put the client at risk of becoming dehydrated and may sweat due to their body being over heated. In care homes it is important that each room is fitted with central heating this way the temperature of rooms can be manually set to meet the client’s needs. Equipment In a care home it is important that all equipment is used correctly and safely in order to ensure your clients and staff are not at risk of harm. Hazards from equipment include things such as; unsafe practise, poor maintenance, how tidy the place is and many more. In the living room of the care home there will be a lot of electrical equipment, it is important that there are no over loaded plug sockets, if there are any over loading plug sockets then it puts both the clients and the staff at risk of being electrocuted if they touch it. When plug sockets are all together and are live they can get heated up too much, if it is touched then the person could be left with burns and bruises. Overloading plug sockets can also cause a fire to the home and this incident could lead to death of clients and service users and this why it is important that safe practise is put into consideration. All electrical should be checked regularly to see if they are still in good working order and still are safe to use. It is important that within the care home there is a regular maintenance check and all this is recorded. This is because if the equipment is not safe to use but is still being used unware by the clients and it puts them at danger as the equipment could blow a fuse and injure them. For example, the kettle in the kitchen was last checked two months ago, within the two months a problem could have occurred without anyone knowing and when someone uses it, it then causes injury to  them. This is why it is important that all electrical’s are checked regularly to ensure safety. Within the care home where the staff are based there will be computers for staff to complete their work on. If the computer is positioned too high this can cause harm to the member of staff who is using the computer as they may be straining their neck whilst having to keep looking up at the computer screen. If the member of staff is constantly looking into the computer screen this then can strain their vision and may suffer from headaches. All used equipment should all be put away and nothing should be blocking any areas of the care home, it is mostly important that there is nothing blocking any of the safety exits as this will then put everyone in the building at risk when trying to evacuate if the fire alarm has alerted to do so. Especially for the elder clients as there mobility has become slower and it will take time for them to get out of the building and if for some reason they are blocked they could end up falling over things whilst trying as fast as they can to rush out of the building. A major trip hazard could be wires left on the floor, for example if a member of staff is using the hoover to clean the clients rooms and have gone from one room to the other whilst leaving the wire on the floor; anyone who is walking past could be at risk of falling and tripping over the wire. Whether it is a member of staff who is supporting a client around the hall or a client who has poor mobility and is trying to get around and does not see the wire then ends up falling over, this then could lead to them having sprained bones and some may suffer from broken bones. Infections- Whilst working in care settings it is important that you take infection control into consideration. Not only for the safety of your service users but for your own safety and health to. If infection control is not controlled it can lead to people getting ill and especially in a care home setting like so where elderly adults are they are at risk of quickly catching illness and infections. This is because as they have become older  their body has slowly weakened which means that their immune system isn’t as strong as before and fighting infections can become harder. â€Å"Infections acquired in care homes may be serious and, in some cases, life-threatening. These may worsen underlying medical conditions and adversely affect recovery† GOV.UK (2013) Within the care home the use of injections are used quiet frequently, it is important that after the injection has been used it is disposed straightaway in the right area and this is the member of staff’s responsibility to do so. If this is not done then the service users and staff are at risk of bacteria being spread and also because the injections carry body fluids such as blood, if it is passed on then the body fluids carry infections such as Hepatitis B and Hepatitis C and HIV. Needles are also sharp and can cause injury to the clients and staff users if they are around and not disposed after use. Personal hygiene should be taken into consideration in the care home, staff should be aware of their personal hygiene. They should be washing their hands the right way frequently after touching different things and when working with different client, or the use of hand gel is used a lot this is so germs and viruses are not spread between staff and clients. If they are spread then they are at the risk of catching illnesses and infections. This can affect the staff member as then they would have to take time of work for recovery and will affect the client as they will become ill and have to stay in bed and take more medication if needed which may affect their care needs. Staff should also be taking the clients personal hygiene needs into consideration and this is because as they have become older they rely more on the staff to do things for them. Staff should be asking the client whether they would like to take a bath or change clothes, this is so they are not spreading germs around the care home and putting other at risk. Substance- Within the care home many different substances are used which are hazardous to the clients and staff if they are used the wrong way. In the care home there are many types of substances found from cleaning products to  medication. A very hazardous cleaning substance used in the care home is bleach, if bleach is being misused or being used by accident it can cause really bad harm to the person. Bleach is full of chemicals and if it has been drunk can cause burns to the throat and the inside of your stomach is affected. Many elder clients may suffer from dementia and may not understand that it is bleach and may drink it because they think it is a drink. This is why it is important that staff store it in the right place with a lock so that it is only accessed when needed to stop this harmful substance from causing harm to any of the client’s staff. It is quiet easy within a care home to give the wrong medication out; this is because there are many different clients who all take different types of medication. But if medication is swapped around this can cause harm to the clients, each medication is used for its own reason they may have side effects that strongly affect a client which can make them become ill and other side effects that could harm the clients are things such as drowsiness and nausea. Also it can affect them as they may be unware of the dosage use and could end up taking an overdose. Clients whom suffer from dementia are at high risk of taking an over dose and this is because they forget about when they are supposed to take their medication and how much medication they are supposed to take. If the wrong medication is took for the wrong illness it can cause other illnesses, such as if someone by accident takes Arthritis tablets they can cause harm to the stomach and stomach ulcers can occur which can effect a person’s eating and health. Working Conditions- Working conditions are about the way you work, such as working hours, how many staff work and the relations between staff. All these conditions also have impacts on the clients within the care home. As care assistants working hours can be very long, many care assistants do day time shifts where they will be caring for the clients all day long then  pass on the information to the next night time shift workers when their shift is over. It is important that carers take their own health and wellbeing into consideration. They can become quiet tiered after long hours which do mean their ability to work will change, it will make them make unexpected mistakes and accidents may happen. This then puts the clients at danger when they are being cared for, they could end up being given the wrong medication or overdoses can be given. When working in care setting it is important that staff have a good relation with each other, this is because you are caring for other people and looking after venerable adults needs. Staff will need to be able to share information with other staff member revolving the clients, if the right information is not shared then the client’s needs are not going to be met the right way which then puts the client in danger of neglect. For example it is coming to the end of the day shift and notes have been made about a certain client which involves information such as when the client last had medication, when the client was last changed etc., it is then the responsibly of the staff to share and explain the information to the next member of staff because if this is not done so, without knowing the next member of staff could go and give the patient a dose of medication not knowing that they have just had a dose which then again puts the client at risk of a medication overdose and may suff er from harmful side effects. If there is not enough staff on shift the clients are not being able to get their needs met, this is because the shortage of staff means some clients may not be seen to when they need to because the staff members are busy dealing with other clients. Clients are then at risk of accidents as a client could be needing the toilet but because there is not any staff around to take them they end up wetting their selves and some clients may be at danger of falling if they feel they have to get up their self and they may have poor mobility which means they may end up falling when trying to get up and are at risk of breaking bones and being in pain for a long time. Working Practices- Working practises is about the way you do your job and how safely you do them  in order to not cause harm to your clients. Working practices include the training you have had in certain areas and how you use them skills gained to care for the clients within the home. Some examples of working practices are things such as; Manual Handling Training, working with challenging behaviour and preparing foods. It is important that all rules and regulations are followed when working in care settings, if you do not follow rules and regulations not only are you putting clients at risk of harm but you are also putting yourself at risk to. Every member of staff should be aware of the fire regulations and should know what to do if a fire occurs. If staff to do follow the set of rules that have been set for fire procedures they are putting their own life’s and clients life’s at risk, in a care home as the clients are older their mobility may be slow so may need help trying to get out of the building safely, staff should ensure the they are getting the clients are getting out safely and nothing is blocking the exits. If rules are not followed on time and the right way then they are at risk of being burnt and getting hurt. In order to care for clients well; certain training is needed, such as a Manual Handling. Before any staff member can lift a client they have to be trained in Manual Handling. This piece of training makes staff aware of the risks that could occur to both the staff and client if they do not lift clients the right way. If a member of staff goes to lift a heavy patient out of bed without having any training in this they can be putting their self and the client at risk, they could end up dropping the client which will hurt them and may end up getting injured and could also be putting their selves at risk because they could get bad back pains or fracture a bone which means they have to take time of work. So handling people should be taken into consideration at all times in order to keep people out of danger. All staff need to be trained in preparing food the right way, they need to be aware of the rules and regulations that should be followed in the kitchen. They should be aware of things such of cross contamination and this is about the germs being spread from different things, if cross contamination takes place it puts whoever is going to eat the food at risk of being food  poisoned. Within the kitchen area there should be different coloured chopping boards for different foods, these should be used correctly in order to prevent cross contamination from taking place. Staff should be taking personal hygiene into consideration, ladies should have their hair tied up and a hair net should be worn and this is because hair caries all sorts of bacteria and germs and if it goes in the food it can put people at risk. After touching different foods hands should be washed straightaway so infections are not spread. Security Systems In order to keep everyone safe in the care home security systems have to be put forward. If security systems are put forward it stops intruders from entering the building. Within care homes at the front is a locked door this stops unexpected visitors from entering the building and stops clients from leaving the building without any consent. Usually there is a signing in and out book so staff are aware if who is in the building and who isn’t. If intruders do enter the building it puts clients at risk of being abducted. Personal and important information is held within the care home which is all confidential, this shouldn’t be accessed when not needed and should only be accessed by the right people. If information is accessed by an intruder this is wrong and shouldn’t be happening because all clients have a right to confidentiality. If this sort of information is stored on the computer then there should be a high security password that only certain people know otherwise if the information is stored in files then the cabinet should have a lock on it to stop unauthorised people getting to it. Other security systems should be put into place within the care home such as windows which do not open fully, if a window does open fully then clients are at risk of falling especially if it is upstairs. They will then be at risk of suffering major or minor head injuries. Before staff are allowed to work in the care setting it is important they carry out a DBS check which checks to see if they have had any previous criminal offenses. If this check is not carried out and staff whom have been  previously convictions are working with clients are putting the clients at risk of abuse, or harm as they are vulnerable and may not understand. That is why it is important that appropriate staff are looking after the clients in order to keep all clients safe at all times whilst they are living in the care home. Conclusion- In order for the above hazards talked about in this booklet not to occur in the care home for the elderly infirm. I think that it is very important that before anything risk assessments should be carried out to look for all the potential hazards which could cause harm to the clients and staff in this environment. If the hazards are looked at beforehand control measures can be put into place which could stop the hazard from occurring. This way the clients will get to live within a safe environment without being at risk. Staff will be able to work and deliver their care in a safe environment to the clients. Also when the care home is under inspection they will be given a good reputation which mean staff will get to keep their jobs and clients can live securely in the care home. Bibliography HSE (2014). Slips and trips in Health and Social Care. (04/10/14) GOV.UK (2014). What are risks? The effects of heat on health. (04/10/14) GOV.UK (2013) Infection Prevention And Control In Care Homes. (04/10/14) NHS Professionals (2010) Standard Infection Control Precautions. (04/10/14) www.dh.gov.uk (04/10/14) Moonie, N. (2010). BTEC Level 3 national health and social care. London:Edexcel

Monday, September 16, 2019

Health Care Reform Project Essay

Introduction â€Å"By 2030, one in five Americans will be over age 65, and the healthcare system is just beginning to feel the burden. (Matthews, 2013)† Medical technologies, from the discovery of antibiotics to the portable defibrillators in nearly every workplace in the United States, have succeeded in prolonging life. In fact, humans are living about thirty years longer. (Matthews, 2013) This creates a gigantic problem for the US government: Who is paying for the health care of these aging individuals? Cause of Death for Seniors Over Sixty-Five An article in live science last year indicates that a senior over 65 years of age is most likely to die from falls resulting in head trauma. (Live science, 2013) â€Å"Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a major cause of death and disability in the United States, contributing to about 30% of all injury deaths. Every day, 138 people in the United States die from injuries that include TBI. Those who survive a TBI can face effects lasting a few days to disabilities which may last the rest of their lives. Effects of TBI can include impaired thinking or memory, movement, sensation (e.g., vision or hearing), or emotional functioning (e.g., personality changes, depression). These issues not only affect individuals but can have lasting effects on families and communities (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2014).† Falls resulting in traumatic brain injury for seniors, if the trauma is severe, may result in months – if not the remainder of the individual’s life and l eave the individual in need of around the clock nursing care. The ensuing results, if the individual survives a traumatic brain injury, may render the individual’s personality (change in mental status, mannerisms, or habits) being adversely affected to severe deficits  in the senses. The capability of walking and/or talking, the use of one or both arms, and the ability to control bodily functions are all possibilities that may occur if an individual suffers traumatic brain injury. The cost of therapy and nursing care can swiftly deplete a senior’s savings. Once stabilized, following the occurrence, an individual, if the individual is able to ambulate sufficiently returns, he or she may live for additional decades. If the ability to ambulate is grossly affected, despite adequate care, the individual stands to experiences frequent battles with lung infections, which may eventually lead to death. Regardless, beyond 65 years of age with one or more chronic diseases, the need for assistances will grow with each year. According to Matthews, seniors tend to â€Å"romanticize† the past – a time when families took care of their elders, often at home. If a senior is in anticipation of this happening, chances are the realization dwindles with each passing year. (Matthews, 2013) Most of the baby boomers with chronic illness will require nursing home care and will rely upon Medicare and Medicaid to withstand paying for it. Who Pays for Baby Boomer’s Health Care? Couples turning sixty-five now should assume their portion of long term health care will be a minimum of $220,000 or more out of pocket. Most baby boomers have $50,000 or less when sixty-five rolls around and will expect to rely solely on Medicare and Medicaid. (Gleckman, 2013) This mindset is unrealistic. The number of people already dependent on these systems that are under sixty-five has nearly bankrupts the systems and the anticipation of the addition of large numbers of baby boomers certainly more than justifies the need for Health Care Reform. Conclusion Many baby boomers failed to prepare for the high health costs associated with aging. Medical technology has prolonged life. However, for all the technology, nothing was done to ensure the baby boomers (or those younger than the â€Å"boomers†) retained adequate savings to meet the high cost of health care. Realistically, a twenty-five year old couple – each earning minimum wage – has a gross salary of $580 per week, $2,513 per month. The couple would have to save 25% of their gross salary to come â€Å"close† to the amount needed to cover out of pocket expenses after sixty-five years of age.  (Gleckman, 2013) In today’s society, is that reality? What happens then? Baby Boomer’s reality check has yet to reach full impact. It is going to take tremendous government change and far more restraint on the US citizen to pay for senior care in the future. References Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (June, 2014). Injury & Prevention & Control: Traumatic Brain Injury. Retrieved from http://www.cdc.gov/traumaticbraininjury/get-the-facts.html Gleckman, H. (5/22/2013). Why Baby Boomers Need to Get Real About Health and Long-Term-Care Costs in Retirement. Retrieved from http://www.forbes.com/sites/howardgleckman/2013/05/22/why Live science (January 15, 2013) what’s the leading cause of death for the elderly Retrieved from http://wwwlivescience.com/32413-what’s-the-leading-cause-of-death Matthews, S. (10/03/2013). How the Aging Population is changing the Health Care System. Retrieved from http://www.everydayhealth.com/senior-living/aging-and-health WHO, International (May, 2014). The top 10 causes of death. Retrieved from http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs310/ent

Sunday, September 15, 2019

Rhetorical Analysis the Gigantic Society Mirror : Media.

ENL 101 Essay # 2 Assignment Prof. M. Ryckebusch. Final Draft 03/26/12 Luis Serrano Word Count : 820 The Gigantic Society Mirror : Media. Living in a society with a fierce hunger for capitalism generates an active promotion of companies' services and products which incites people to spend money on them. Advertisements and publicity have a strong influence on the companies’ marketing process, where creativity and innovation are the keys of attracting new customers, but the intrigue preserves on where should the limits for this advertisements be bounded in order for society not be exposed to things like violence through the media .In her essay, â€Å" Two Ways A Women Can Get Hurt†, Jean Kilbourne – an award-winning author and educator who is best known for her works about media images effects on young people- emphasizes how violence ( specifically sexualized violence ) in our culture is present through the media, which she recognizes as a powerful mirror in which society is somehow shaped by. Kilbourne’s analysis suggests that erotism in advertising promotes pornography, which main goal , according to her, is to embraces the idea on people minds that women are objects used to fulfill men’s sexual desire ( Kilbourne 459).The use of the images in the essay serves as evidence to support the author’s message, where she invites the audience to interpret her arguments by applying appeals to reason while they visualize how inhuman and violent some advertisements are. In addition to her thesis, the author emphasizes that some advertisements foster the belief that women reward men with sex when they wear or buy their products ( Kilbourne 459 ). An equally significant aspect mentioned is that these advertisements produce a collateral damage that aims both genders, where individual ideas/actions coming from the images mentioned can be self-harming (Kilborne 467).As mentioned before, Kilbourne explains in one of her paragraphs that certain advertisements are not only harmful to women, but also to men. She adds that our economy system has developed new markets that had targeted men as sex objects in advertisements. Evidence for in support of this position, can be found in the image of an almost naked man making a advertisements of Calvin Klein Jeans, which is shown to sustain her idea of how pornography is invading the media and the negative effects it has on humans by promoting violent aspects (Kilborne 467).Even though she mentions that men don’t feel targeted the same way women do, nor they feel threaten by this advertisements, the objectification of any human being is a dangerous thing and its never good. Furthermore, it can be seen from the above analysis, that if a man grows up seeing advertisements that encourage them to mistreat women, there will be a high possibility that he will perform such acts of sexism and violence. The images that bombard us daily influence us to think and behave in certai n ways, profoundly affecting the way we see ourselves and others.In this manner, men are also victims of the publicity in the media because they might find themselves in legal accusations and problems because of their lack of understanding how a women should be treated. The author earn’s the attention from a different audience, appealing to pathos, since she mentions how men are also targeted from the media. In order to support her claim and bridge the controversy the author involves some images, through the essay, in order to bring logos to her thesis. However, there is no shortage of disagreement with the judgements of some images as the main encouragers for a man to mistreat a woman.In the pictures provided – corresponding to men’s cologne advertisements- the author induce that the admonition behind the publicity infers that ignoring and mistreating a women is a way a men can get her attraction. It is quite obvious that these advertisements she shows are targ eted for men customers and the main goal of these advertisements sponsoring products like colognes, is basically to show how effective they are among women. Moreover , it is important to mention that we live in a materialistic society where what what we wear or use is a form of expression that is intended to attract our peers, and in this case the opposite sex.So when men are wearing a fragrance , they expect women would like the smell of it, since the main purpose of it’s use is attracting women . So on most pictures of cologne , you will always expect a man surrounded by women, indicating the effectiveness of the fragrance instead of men’s supremacy over women. In such declarations, the author show weakness on her credibility by applying excess of emotions when she describes this images, it is apparently clear that the authors feelings lead her to a misconception of some pictures which discredits her ethos.In writing this essay, Kilbourne faced a challenging task: to write an impressive and brief essay about two of the most broad topics in our society which are media and gender stratification. The problem of people being indifferent toward advertisements is a matter of fact that only few have been aware of. Even if the main purpose of Kilbourne was to target (by different emotional appeals and some biased feminist thoughts) women as her main audience, this essay embraces the idea of how dangerous the media can be in our society and how offensive it can be . not only women, but buy any human being.