Evaluate strategies used in health Essay

Effects of alcohol/drugs with rehab/AA To overcome the effects of alcohol/drugs barrier to communication, there are many types of organisations available. For example, rehab is a place where individual’s will slowly learn to give up drugs and adapt to clean blood in their body. There are classes such as AA classes which help individual’s clean alcohol from their system. Alcohol and drugs can sometimes affect how an individual speaks; therefore, they might need to stop drinking and smoking to make sure they are able to do so. Going to rehab and AA classes will help individuals very well. Rehab for alcoholics and drug addicts is very helpful as it clears the individual’s system of alcohol and drugs and gets them back on track with their lives. If in individual does follow the rehabilitation programme then he/she will see that their life has more financial benefits, family life becomes better and they start seeing a difference within themselves mentally and physically. Rehab is a good strategy to help with overcoming communication issues. If an individual is beginning to notice a change with his/hers communication while drinking, then they will have to enter rehabilitation and clear themselves of the addiction. To improve I would say that sometimes individuals need more moral support, throughout their rehabilitation. Therefore I would suggest the centres allow the addicts to talk to others with the same addiction for better moral support. Language needs/preferences strategy Sometimes language can be a big barrier if an individual is by themselves in certain situations. There are many different types of methods which can be used to overcome the language barrier. Individuals can use a special dictionary which translates the word they need to say from the mother tongue to their new language. There are also recordings available for listening to use when the individual does not clearly understand the new language. Translators are also available to help those who have language as a communication barrier. The language needs/preferences strategy is also good  as it helps those who are willing/wanting to learn a new language with many resources. There are tools and other things available to help overcome the barrier of not knowing a particular language that is needed to be known. I would say that some individuals find it hard to look for specific words in dictionaries and will not understand which word is linked to which meaning. This needs to be improved, so individuals do not get overwhelmed or frustrated. Assertiveness to overcome anger Assertiveness is a type of skill which can be used by those individuals who find that anger is a big barrier to communicating effectively. When people begin to feel stressed, depressed or annoyed, they will tend to let their emotions out immediately. These can involve anger. Anger is a big barrier to communication as it can lead to relationships breaking. To control this some people develop the skill of assertion. This involves controlling the emotions which break relationships and start arguments. It involves a clear mental attitude, wherein the individual will try to discuss the situation and deal with it. Assertion is a very sensible skill to develop if you work in the health and social care sector. It will definitely help deal with any issues that arise from service users or peers. In order to over-come the barrier of anger, developing assertiveness will certainly help. Being assertive will definitely help as it will decrease the amount of anger that an individual will have as a barrier to communication. It is a good skill to adapt to as it will benefit individuals for the future. For some individuals being assertive is a good aspect to maintain, however for an overly aggressive person it will be hard for them to grasp the concept of being assertive. For this reason to improve this strategy I would say to go through a slow pace when beginning to become assertive. Defusing aggression and staying confident Stress occurs a lot in the health and social care sector. Stress can lead to many other types of symptoms and illnesses, such as aggression or a mixture of emotions. Aggression can sometimes come from frustration, with the service provided or any other cause. Individuals must learn to overcome their aggression. Developing a calmer attitude towards any frustrations will  help overcome any type of anger. Aggression might threaten care workers; however it can also cause a withdrawal attitude from the service user towards the care worker. Defusing aggression and staying confident is yet another good strategy as it presents an individual of being very impressive and striking. Defusing anger and showing confidence is a very professional aspect to maintain as it helps in all areas of health and social care work. For example if an individual is being told off for doing something wrong, defusing ones anger and staying confident will get them out of trouble and keep them positive. Defusing anger is not always the best thing to do for some people as it could lead to stress/depression, therefore an improvement could be to sort out any confusion/anger issues before carrying on with any work, ect. Interpreters, translators and signers An interpreter is a person who communicates meaning from one language to another. This includes interpreting between spoken and sign language, such as English and BSL. When an interpreter works with people they immediately become a part of a communication cycle with that person. Translators are individuals who change a recorded material from one language to another. Translating involves communicating between different languages. Interpreters and translators have to grasp the meaning of a message and find a way of expressing it in a different type of language system. This is not very simple even for the professional and best translators. Interpreters can be professional people or even a friend or family member who can translate the sentence/ phrase said into another language. These people are able to explain messages in different circumstances. This is a very good strategy as it benefits others as well as the individual who is translating. Translating is very helpful for those who cannot speak a certain language. In today’s society many individuals use translators to assist them in important activities/meetings. It is a good strategy to use to overcome barriers to communication. It could be improved a lot. For example some translators do not always know the several meanings which come with certain words. Some translators need to be certified just to ensure the individual needing help that, they are really translators and they know how to professionally translate majority of words. Hearing aids Hearing aids are electronic devices with very small microphones that pick up and increase the volume of sound received by a person. Hearing aids will often make sounds in the background much louder and clearer to hear. Due to this wearing a hearing aid will not be that helpful as you might not be able to hear anything else a part from the background noise. Hearing aids are very helpful to those unfortunate individuals who are not able to clearly/not at all hear any noises or sounds. Hearing aids amplify the sounds for individuals, which need to be heard the most. However some hearing aids do not always work to their best of ability. For this reason, the sounds/ noises which need to be heard the most importantly cannot be heard due to technical issues which come with the hearing aid itself. Voice activated software Voice activated software is a simple type of software which simply uses an individual’s voice to activate or perform a task or instruction given to a computer. This software comes in many different types such as the speech recognition software which allows individuals to say their message and then it be typed out on their computer/phone. Voice activated software is also a good software as it helps individuals who are not able to physically type or have disabilities speak for them. Voice activated software is really good as it very much benefits individuals who are less able to perform the simplest tasks, such as typing. To improve some of the softwares cannot always pick up the voices as clearly, therefore the software should be able to pick up voices clearly without any vocal strain. For example speaking louder.

Research Methods in Health and Social Care

Research Methods in Health and Social Care Critical review of quantitative research Majid,S. Foo,S. Luyt,B. Ahang,X. Theng,YL. Chang,YK. Mokhtar,IA. (2011) Adopting and evidence-based practice in clinical decision making: nurses’ perceptions, knowledge , and barriers. Journal of the Medical Library Association 99(3) PP229-236. This essay will be a critical review on the study conducted by Majid et al (2011). The article which is titled ‘Adopting evidence-based practice in clinical decision making: Nurses’ perceptions, knowledge, and barriers’.Investigates the attitudes of Singaporean nurses regarding; evidence based practise. The researchers wanted to identify how the nurses informed were about evidence base practice. They also wanted to identify how the nurses researched literature. Evidence based practise is about good practice and improving the quality of care, this is achieved through a combination of evidence and professional expertise, integrated into clinical practice (Baker, 2012). The study reveals that the majority of nurses working in public hospitals in Singapore have positive attitudes towards evidence based practice.Literature review A literature review is a complete study and understanding of research literature that researchers examine prior or during their research study (Aveyard, 2010). Majid, et al. (2011) looked at a wide range of literature within their research, it is imperative for researchers to look at numerous research related to their research topic to gain an insight on how they conducted their study and the conclusion that was identified from the study (Aveyard, 2010). Literature reviews should have a sufficient amount of studies considered.Majid, et al. (2011) looked at a total of twenty two studies, by reading a sufficient amount of studies this ensures that the researcher does not get a misleading picture of the topic (Aveyard,2012). The sources used within the literature were relatively old; these old sources may not be relevant to current times. Literature reviewed should not be more than five years old as attitudes and beliefs change frequently meaning the studies could not be relevant to current attitudes and beliefs (Godshall, 2010). Majid, et al. 2011) found from their literature search that the general view on evidence based practice was positive. This could question whether Majid, et al. (2011) conducted a systematic review of the literature as there was no mention of any research which found that nurses found a negative view on evidence based practice (Houser,2008). The studies mentioned in the literature at were not conducted within the southeast of Asia therefore Majid, et al. (2011) wanted to investigate attitudes towards evidence based practice from the southeast of Asia.This gives justification for the study as there have only been studies conducted in North America, Europe and other developed western countries. Majid, et al. (2011) wanted to compare the result from their study with the previous studies. Majid, et al. (2011) also discovered that most of the literature that was reviewed shared the same findings on barriers to evidence based practice. The healthcare professionals claimed that lack of time was the barrier to acception, adoption and implementation of evidence based practice. Majid, et al. 2011) in addition recognised that only a few studies that they researched had explored the literature searching skills of nurses Literature reviews should be systematically y reviewed to ensure that the research reviews are reliable (Graziano and Raulin, 2007). Majid, et al. (2011) did not state whether the studies that were looked at were systematically or peer reviewed. Approach and Methodology The study was a primary study however did look at survey instrument used by other previous evidence based practise studies. Majid, et al. (2011) used a quantitative method of research.Quantitative research methods require finding a variable for concepts, operationalising them in the study and measuring them (Grix, 2010). Majid, et al. (2011) study did this by using a survey questionnaire as a means of collecting data. The questions were compiled by a team comprising information studies faculty at the Nanyang Technological University and nursing representatives from the National University hospital. Making the questionnaire unbiased towards the researchers. Marczyk, et al. (2005) states that it is important for all research to not be biased towards the researchers.Quantitative research methods are objective as it uses measurements and analysis of statistical data to answer the study question. The researchers’ opinions do not affect the outcome of the study, ensuring that the study is unbiased. Another advantage is quantitative research uses numbers and statistics which is understood universally (Houser,2008). The researchers have clearly described how they implemented their research in the methods section; the study is easily replicable as it uses a survey questionnaire to collect data.However the research study would have been better if they used qualitative methods to find out the nurse’s perceptions, knowledge and barriers towards evidence based practice in clinical decision making. Majid, et al. (2011) could have interviewed some of the participants to get detailed descriptions of how they feel about evidence based practice in clinical decision making. This would allow the researches to get an in-depth understanding making the study more valid (Saris and Gallhofer, 2007).Quantitative research is best used for quantifying relationships between variables (Hopkins, 2008). The objective of the study was not to identify relationships between variables instead was to explore the attitudes, awareness and knowledge towards evidence based practice. Some could argue that making this study more suitable for a qualitative study. Quantitative research study should have a hypothesis (Maryann, 2010). Majid, et al. (2011), did not state a hypothesis for their study neither did they define a prediction of what they think was going to be the outcome of the research.Sample The samples used for the research conducted by Majid, et al. (2011) were registered nurses in 2 public hospitals in Singapore. The researchers made 2,100 copies of the questionnaires to be completed, however 1,486 were completed. The response rate was 70% ,for quantitative research a large sample size is essential to ensure that the study is statistically accurate (Houser, 2008). The fact that not all of the questionnaires were completed means that the study cannot be fully generalised as some people did not respond.Also some staff was on annual, medical or maternity leave therefore could not participate again making the study not generalised and potentially biased. Majid, et al. (2011) used two different hospital sites to collect data from; this is a good approach as the views on Evidence based practice may be different in the two hospitals, therefore allowing for a comparison of the hospital views. However this could be a negative as only two public hospitals in Singapore were used, therefore making the study hard to generalise to other hospitals in Southeast Asia.All research must follow ethical guidelines. Researchers must ensure that their research ensures confidentiality, anonymity, legality and professionalism (Grix, 2011). Majid, et al. (2011) had ethical approval from the Domain Specific Review Board, appointed by the National Healthcare Group. The researchers did not have consent forms for the participants; however the participants were made aware that by completing the questionnaire they were giving their consent. The nursing managers were briefed and asked to hand the questionnaires out.There is no evidence that the participants were given a briefing from the nursing managers maybe it could have been more ethical if Majid, et al. (2011) briefed the nurses themselves before asking them t o complete the questionnaire. As the questionnaire was self administered the respondents may not have got the reassurance or debriefing needed ( Nosek, et al. 2002). Data collection Data collection must be appropriate, reliable and valid (Houser, 2008). Majit, et al. (2011) used a survey questionnaire. A 5-point liket scale was used in the questionnaires for collecting the nurse’s perceptions on evidence based practice.The advantages of using a likert scale are that the questions are easy to construct, furthermore the likert scale allows for easy comparison of the participants responses. The disadvantage of using a likert scale is the total score of an individual’s response does not have a clear meaning as a total score can be fixed by a variety of answer patterns (Kothari, 2004). Survey questionnaires require the participants to answer questions presented to them. The questionnaire was self administered, which allows for anonymity and less control from the researcher (Mitchell and Jolley, 2012).The first set of questions were demographic questions which as education, job title and length of experience. Majid, et al. (2011) used the results from the demographic information collected to identify a relationship between the demographic information and the ability to undertake evidence based practice activities and other related activities. Another advantage of the survey questionnaires are that a large sample group was targeted within a small space of time. The surveys were collected within a2-week period. Maybe if they waited 3-weeks they might have had a greater response rate.Lastly survey questionnaires are easily replicable as the questions are standardised therefore making them a good method of research (Mitchell and Jolley, 2012). The disadvantages of using survey questionnaires for data collection includes respondents of are usually unreliable as the participants may not have time to complete the survey. Majid, et al. (2011) had a response ra te of 70%. In addition research is also prone to the Hawthorne effect as the participants know that they are being tested, they may not answer the questions on the questionnaire truthfully (Waltz et al, 2010).This may mean the study To assess the nurses’ ability to search databases a hypothetical top was presented to the nurses, with 5 possible search statements and were asked to choose the most appropriate search statement. The validity of this method of measuring their ability to search a database could be questioned. Results The results are presented in table form making the data easy to analyse Majid, et al. (2011) seemed to make assumptions about the beliefs and attitudes towards evidence based practice. The result percentages are too close together.The results from the questions asked about beliefs and attitudes towards evidence based practice showed that 64. 3% of the nurses either disagreed or strongly disagreed with the statement that they preferred using traditional methods than new patient care approaches. Majid, et al. (2011) failed to account for the 35. 7% of respondents who didn’t disagree or strongly disagree. Majid, et al. (2011) found that 52. 8% of the nurses disagreed with the statement that they do not like people questioning their clinical practices that are based on established methods.From this Majid et al concluded that the nurses were open to adopt new health care approaches. Majid, et al. (2011) again did not take into account the 47. 9% of respondents who did not disagree. Majid, et al. (2011) used a statistical test to investigate possible relationships between the ability to undertake evidence based practice activities and other related variables. Their findings were a weak relationship was found between the ability of nurses to implement evidence based practice and their length of experience.Nurses who had higher qualifications were likely to have better abilities to undertake different evidence based practice tasks . Lastly nurses who attended evidence based practice training were likely to feel more competent in their abilities to implement evidence based practice. Majid, et al. (2011) was able to determine these results using data collected from the questionnaires. . This supports the finding s of the other literature which was mentioned in the literature reviews. Reliability and validity All research studies should have a high reliability and validity.Reliability is the ability to consistently measure what is being measured. Godshall (2010, p. 36) writes that ‘Validity is the ability to measure what is supposed to or is intended to be measured’. To ensure that the content of the questionnaire was valid Majid, et al. (2011) had the questionnaire reviewed by a team of experts. Majid, et al. (2011) used a large sample size of 1,486 making the study reliable as a large number size is important in ensuring that the research is reliable. However the responses from the questionnaire c ould not be truthful therefore making the study results unreliable.The results showed that 64% of the nurses expressed a positive attitude towards evidence based practice. 64% is not a large enough percentage to conclude the study.. Majid, et al. (2011) assessed the reliability and content validity of their questions using Cronbach alpha. Questionnaires in general have a low validity as the questions do not explore the topic in depth or detail. Majid et al, 2011 conducted a pilot study to test the survey questions. The feedback received showed that the participants wanted the language and the format of the questions changed.By conducting a pilot study this ensures that the study is reliable and valid. Conclusion and clinical implications The conclusions made from Majid et al, (2011) study were that nurses had a positive attitude towards evidence based practice. However they found adopting evidence based practice difficult due to barriers which effect adaptation of evidence based pra ctice. Majid, et al . (2011) suggest that hospital management arrange evidence based practice training and providing time off from work to learn and put into practice new techniques.To summarise the study was a conducted well, the study is easily replicable, although to further the study Majid, et al. (2011) should have considered using a mixture of quantitative and qualitative methods. Majid,et al. (2011) could have interviewed the nurses to get a further insight into the nurses attitudes and beliefs. Reference List Aveyard. H, 2010, Doing a Literature review in health and social care. A practical guide. 2nd ed, New York: Open university press. Baker. J, 2012, Evidence-Based practice for nurses, London: Sage Publications. Bowling. A and Ebrahim.S, 2005, Handbook of health research methods, Berkshire: Open University Press. Godshall. M. 2012, Fast facts for Evidence Based Practice, Newyork: Springer publishing company. Graziano. M. A and Raulin. L. M, 2007, Research methods a proces s of inquiry, 6th ed, Boston: Pearson Education. Grix. J, 2010, The Foundations of Research, 2nd Ed, Hampshire: Palgrave Macmillan Hopkins. G. W, 2008, Quantitative Research Design, Sports Science, [online] Available at http://libweb. anglia. ac. uk/referencing/harvard. htm [accessed 16th May 2012]. Houser. J, 2008, Nursing Research: Reading, Using, and Creating Evidence, London:Jones and Bartlett.Kothari. R. C, 2004, Research Methodology: Methods and Technique, 2nd ed, New Delhi: New age international. Marczyk. R. G, DeMatteo. D and Festinger. D, 2005, Essentials of Research Design and Methodology, New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons Mitchell. L. M and Jolley. M. J, 2012, Research design explained,8th ed, Wandsworth: Cengage Learning. Saris. E. W and Gallhofer. N. I, 2007, Design,Evaluation and analysis of questionnaires for survey research,Wiley-Interscience Waltz. F. C, Strickland. L. O and Lenz. R. E, 2010, Measurement in Nursing and Health Research, New York:Springer Publishing Compa ny.

Reduction of Food Wastages in Restaurants in the UK Coursework

Reduction of Food Wastages in Restaurants in the UK - Coursework Example Food wastages are problems encountered not by the U.K alone but by the United States and Europe as well. Food wastes is an ongoing problem as the food that goes to the bins could have saved billions of malnourished children in the world, create environmental problems and generate unnecessary costs on the part of businesses. This concern leads us to formulate a social marketing plan to change the scenario of food wastes. We plan to engage the cooperation of the government, the business owners, and consumers to participate in the program. To implement this plan, we will engage in partnership with a non-profitable environmental organization in the UK. We figure out that this will redound to the benefit of the community and the benefits the community will reap outweigh their efforts and costs. Budgets, implementing plans are still under discussions, but we plan to start in 2015. The target of the program is to get the participation of 20% of UK hospitality sectors in the UK by 2016, incr easing in percentage yearly thereafter. Â  We will also use the same marketing techniques but will implement it using social marketing procedures that is more in behavior change. What we strive to accomplish is to change the behavior of businesses and households in seeking ways to reduce food wastages thru social marketing. Â  The problem of wastes every year is a threatening problem to the government as inefficient use of resources costs businesses (restaurants) and households’ money, and environmental damage. As such, food wastages are seen as a problem globally. Â  This issue is significant as the amount of food wasted by the UK, the US, and Europe is enough to feed nearly one billion malnourished children in the world. (Tristan Stuart, 2009).

Trends in the Global Emergence of Islamic Banking and Finance Essay

Trends in the Global Emergence of Islamic Banking and Finance Practices - Essay Example Global reach – First and foremost, the major trend in Islamic finance is geographical. There is a strong outward push of Islamic banks from predominantly Muslim regions to the Western world dominated by conventional institutions. For instance, in October 2003 the Bahrain Monetary Agency announced the move of Citi Islamic Bank and parent Citigroup to arrange a $250 million Sukuk (Islamic bond) issue for investors outside the Gulf. Nearly all the major international banks have set up Islamic-finance subsidiaries or units, such as Amanah by HSBC, Noriba by UBS, and so forth. Furthermore, in 2000 the Dow Jones established stockmarket indices tailored to Shari’a-compliant companies. Probably what has spurred the faster growth of Islamic banking is that Western institutions have themselves driven the development and acceptance of Shari’a banking products and services (Economist, 2003; Martin, 2005; Roane, 2007). Engineering of new finance modes – Initially, only Murabaha existed as the only mode of finance, mainly to finance imports and domestic trade, and ultimately giving rise to the momentum of establishing commercial Islamic banks. Later other instruments were devised, such as Ijarah for the purchase orderer and Salam to finance agriculture and light industries. Today, financial engineering is on the forefront of many financial institutions’ Islamic desks, in order to come up with Shari’ah based instruments that parallel conventional ones and which cater to the needs of not only Muslim but also non-Muslim institutions and individuals (Kahf, 2002). An example is the launching by Sharia Funds, an American institution, of the first hedge fund that was compliant with the Koran in December 2003 (Economist, 2004). Adoption of a uniquely Islamic audit culture and framework - One of the most critical areas where new practices may or have begun to evolve is in the field of accounting. Accounting practice and â€Å"audit cultures† are formed around conventional finance where interest is recognized as a necessary component of debt. With the growing acceptance and importance of Islamic banking conventions, there is a need for a rethinking of critical accounts (Maurer, 2002) and their definitions in accounting and auditing. Presently, the financial reportorial systems are highly attuned to the conventional methods of finance particularly in the treatment of liabilities and interest, and its view of risky assets. A new auditing system will need to evolve to address the special treatment of riba (interest) and gharar (risk) in the reporting of financial activities of institutions in the context of Islamic banking and finance. Adoption of a Shari’ah based legal framework – A major development in the adoption of Islamic finance and a certain sign of its widespread adoption is the move towards the establishment of a dispute resolution system that pursues a distinctively Islamic legal framework. Until recently, Islamic B&F disputes in developed countries sought recourse in the conventional courts which are not equipped to handle the special knowledge in shari’ah law which is required in adjudicating shari’ah compliant financial contracts and practices. For this reason, practitioners and scholars in Islamic law have begun exploring Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) what would be recognized under this legal framework. For a legal system to be set up to address these cases is

Change and Culture Case Study I Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Change and Culture I - Case Study Example Hence it can be safely said that for the management of a newly consolidated firm, the single most important issue that requires the utmost attention is the development of a strategy that ensures that the employees of the firms can smoothly transit between the pre and the post merger periods. This essay discusses the impacts that a merger has had on the employees of a healthcare organization and the strategic decision-making on part of the management of the organization which allowed the respective workforces to develop a system of trust and respect for each other. The essay also discusses the way mergers can effect the business processes and structures of firms and how management can deal with these issues in a way which ensures that the organizational values and culture is kept intact. According to Camara& Renjen (2004), studies by researchers and analysts has confirmed that mergers are as likely to destroy as to create shareholder value. A major cause for this is that mergers bring together two companies which had previously been working according to different policies, had entirely different business procedures and had unique cultures. Due to this, the differences that arise between the employees, as well as the changed rules and procedures seemingly create an atmosphere of uncertainty which is most commonly viewed by the employees as a direct threat. The organization in whose context we will discuss this issue further is a medical centre which has been active in the healthcare sector for the past 25 years. Having a reputation for providing excellent services , it is one of the leading hospitals in the country and according to the reports, a total of 22,080 inpatients and 230,000 outpatients were served in the last fiscal year. Before the said merger took place, the hospital, although extremely well-regarded, was working on a relatively smaller scale and housed 400 beds among which 58 were

Business management - Starbucks Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Business management - Starbucks - Essay Example Information obtained from http://investor.starbucks.com/phoenix.zhtml?c=99518&p=irol-irhome, also posits to the effect that â€Å"Starbucks purchases and roasts high-quality whole bean coffees and sells them, along with fresh, rich-brewed coffees, Italian-style espresso beverages, cold blended beverages, a variety of complementary food items, a selection of premium teas, and beverage-related accessories and equipment, primarily through company-operated retail stores.† The company also sells coffee products and tea through other channels like licensed retail stores. According to information obtained from its official website, Starbucks was established in 1985 and its operations are mainly guided by its mission statement: â€Å"To inspire and nurture the human spirit—one person, one cup, and one neighbourhood at a time.† The company also strives to be the world’s leader in production of fine coffee. Its success as the world leader in the coffee industry can be attributed to the differentiation strategy it uses. This report will specifically focus on the United States Segment where the company has its own stores as well as licensed stores. Starbucks is very popular in the US and of notable concern is the fact that its operations are also shaped by trade practices as well as regulations such as North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).The economic forces in the US also shape the operations of the company. However, the US operating segment contributed 69% of total net revenues for the fiscal year 2011. 1.1 Task A: ANALYSIS OF STARBUCKS’ EXTERNAL ENVIRONMENT This section of the report critically analyses Starbucks’ external environment. PESTEL analysis will be used to analyse the macro environment while Porter’s five forces model will be used to analyse the micro environment. This part of the paper will also identify the opportunities and threats that exist in the external market. 1.2 PESTEL Analysis There are vario us external factors that shape the operations of Starbucks and PESTEL is an acronym for political, economic, social, technological, environmental as well as legal factors impacting on the operations of the organisation and this too is going to be used to carry out the external environmental analysis. The table in index 1 shows the external factors that impact on the operations of the above mentioned company. Starbucks FY11 Annual Report (2011) shows that the company managed to raise the highest amount of revenue of $11, 7 billion from its operations. This is the highest amount of revenue to be generated by the company after the global economic recession that was witnessed in the US around 2007-2009. The success of the company can be attributed to the external factors that are obtaining in the environment where the company operates. As shown in appendix 1, political stability in the US plays a pivotal role in the success of the

Argumentative Synthesis Essay in Becoming Functional

Argumentative Synthesis in Becoming Functional - Essay Example For many organizations, the optimum approach is to follow the consequentialist approach of ethics, which ascertains that the outcomes of a leader’s actions minimize the bad outcomes, while enhancing good outcomes (Baggini & Fosl, 2007). In a diverse multi-cultural environment, the leadership of an organization is required to perform many additional roles. Since such environment is more volatile and prone to conflicts, application of ethical principles becomes a central theme in matters of dispute (Harris, 2013). Additionally, harassment that can become a frequent problem in such settings needs to be dealt with in accordance to the ethical principles (Einarsen et al, 2010). Many more challenges like religious issues, differences in level of education, socioeconomic differences and the likes may be encountered by leaders of a multicultural organization. For this reason it is safe to assert that leaders of multicultural organizations have no option other than to judge every daily-life situation on the basis of ethical criteria that are universally

China history questions Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4000 words

China history questions - Coursework Example This means that it was relatively easy to form an empire in China, and once form such empires only suffered from rare international interference until the modern era. Beyond this, however, there are also aspects of Chinese society that led to this longstanding imperial nature. One is a unified language: China was a highly literate society from its earliest days, and more or less the same language (or mutually intelligible dialects) have been spoken uniformly across that range ever since. Beyond that, Chinese philosophy has tended to be relatively patriarchal, glorifying those who are in power as deserving to be so (either through the meritocracy of the government tests or divine right of the supreme ruler) and thus societies within China were relatively unlikely to rebel against their overlords. Despite all of this, however, governments did occasionally fall. One of the most famous cases occurred at the close of the first Empire, when Qin died on a trip to the distant parts of his em pire, and his subordinates conspired to place a pliable son on the throne. In this case, it can largely be argued that the disintegration was caused by overwhelming importance of the personality of the emperor in this early state, and the volatility caused by a popular emperor dying and his son having foolish policies. One case of the overthrow of China’s power through invasion occurred via the Mongol invasions of the middle ages. Here, the steppes that had formerly posed as a protection from China against invading people actually became the source an invasion. The country quickly formed back into its imperial habits, however, with a Mongol ruler simply replacing the Chinese ruler. This quick reconstruction as a consequence of the strength of the bureaucracy and the relative flexibility of the Mongols, who tended to adapt easily to new systems of control. One case where the empire almost fell but remained together was the Rebellion of the Seven states. In this case the Seven pseudo independent states under the Han dynasty rebelled against further centralization of government – but a military conflict allowed the Han to retain control, indicating the power of the centralized imperial army that the dynasty had been able to develop. 2. Though China imagined itself to be an unlimited realm, it was in point of fact quite constrained. The ideological underpinnings of this perception of the centrality of China were somewhat well supported: as far as China knew it was by far the largest and most powerful empire in the world (and for most of this existence it was probably true). Furthermore, Chinese culture was put on a pedastul above all others, which were considered barbarous. Despite China’s imagination, however, it was not an unlimited realm. In physical terms, China was in fact quite limited: as discussed in the previous chapter, China actually had significant barriers to entry on almost all sides of it. Yet for all this, China did engage in i nternational relations, most prominently with other countries in south-east Asia, but also with much more distant peoples. China did have some trade across the Himalayas with India, who in turn traded with Arabs who in turn traded with Europeans. Thus, China did have contact with the realms outside of itself, albeit

Thinking about representation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Thinking about representation - Essay Example The photograph has been regarded as the testimony. At one point, Krauss depicted a photograph as a transfer off the real, owing to the fact that it is a photo chemically processed, to trace a casual connection with a particular thing in the real world. Krauss further observed that a photograph, refers parallel to a particular object. Although truth in a photograph is disputable, the painting in the truth in the photograph is indisputable (Sturken & Cartwright, 2001). The photograph in this case presents a tension, owing to the fact that it is camera generated, and thus it combines both subjective and adjective features (Sturken & Cartwright, 2001). Although it may be mythical, it allows the connotation of literal meaning of the Weegee’s. In this case, the photograph sets an ideology, based on the projection that it is produced. In regards to the Weegee’s, the icons indicate that the individual’s looks have a symbolic meaning to any viewer. This indicates that there is curtaining of culture in the photograph, owing to the fact that it is specific on time, place and iconic representation that seeks to derive certain emotions and connotation (Sturken & Cartwright, 2001). People attempt to interpret images either intentional or unintentional, in order to suggest a meaning. This is done by checking on the formal elements, such as color, tone, composition and contrast among others. The Weegee’s photograph has images of multiple personality from diverse and complex backgrounds. Although the image composes of school children in the early 1940s, who had just experienced a murder scene, it brings a collection of mixed feelings among the children. There is a heightened emotion in the photograph, as they are looking at the scene of murder with morose fascination, and this is evident in the photograph. There is neck craning and pushing, movement and emotions in their faces, which create juxtaposition at the scene of crime. The