Paraphrasing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

Paraphrasing - Essay Example Setting up a proper democracy is the main challenge for Egypt over the next few years. Tourism has always been a huge boon for the Egyptian economy, so all the political upheaval has had quite a negative effect. Tourists are concerned for their safety and security after watching the latest news on television. Furthermore, many foreign countries have warned their citizens not to travel to Egypt because of the high risk of violence. As the number of tourists has been dropping rapidly, tourism minister Hisham Zaazou will have to come up with marketing schemes to get the tourists to come back. In addition, the political strife in Egypt has led to a decrease in foreign investment in the country. Before the violence Egypt was welcoming of foreign investment, so the government needs to get back to that image. Egypt has a robust and fair social security and welfare system for its citizens. The system is designed to help those in need, particularly people who cannot get jobs. Government employers and employees are required to contribute to the national insurance scheme to cover an array of benefits. Unemployment has skyrocketed over the past few years due to the political changes taking place. The World Bank Group is doing its best to provide training and support so that development can continue in the job sector. The Zewail City of Science and Technology was finally established after the January 2011 political protests. The project will help train 5,000 promising and talented students. The goal of the project is to bring Egypt into the 21st century by increasing productivity and exploring new technologies. In September 2012 an agreement was signed between Egypt’s ICT sector and a U.S. business delegation to help stimulate economic growth in Egypt. One of the first focuses of the deal was to improve infrastructure at the Cairo International Airport in conjunction with the Cairo Airport Company. Egypt is very open to foreign investment, although

Understand the attributes and skills of a leader Essay

Understand the attributes and skills of a leader - Essay Example They follow it up by the creation of a plan, monitoring and control of activities and then reporting and reviewing the entire process (Braun, et al., 2014). The managers for the group are responsible for the establishment of communication standards, group approach, anticipation and resolution of group conflicts, monitoring and maintaining ethics, discipline and integrity. Moreover, they are responsible for the development of group capability, maturity, team-spirit, morale, cooperation and team working, and they monitor all the process going on in the group (Adair, 2015). For the guidance of the team and the organization, the setup of effective objectives is very crucial for a leader. If the objectives are formulated badly, they can lead the entire organization in the direction that is wrong. In order to setup the SMART objectives, here is what needs to be done (Bill, 2004). Before starting on the SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic and Timely) objectives, the first thing that needs to be done is the distinguishing between the aims and objectives, and targets and goals. Objectives are supposed to be the battle-plans while the goals and aims are supposed to be aspiration-related. The best way to use the SMART technique is actually using it as MARST instead (Wolf & Akkaraju, 2014). Measure the objectives that you can achieve, by counting the evidences. Then, link the measurable with the achievable, because there is no point spending time on objectives that cannot be achieved. Follow the achievable with the realistic, because if the objectives are not realistic, they will not be achievable. After that worry about the specifications of the objectives, and then set timely deadlines for achieving the objectives in that specific timeframe (Reber, 2014). I worked on a team that had concerns that few team members were putting in limited efforts and imparting a negative impact on the rest

Understanding Terrorism Essay Example for Free

Understanding Terrorism Essay The word terrorism is derived from the word terror which means to instill fear or cowardice in someone. It also means to carry out acts that are considered inhuman with an aim of punishing or making life difficult and unbearable for the recipient of the terrorist acts. Terrorism is broad in its scope and it is for this reason that there has not been a specific definition for it. Even though there is yet to be a universally agreed definition of terrorism, there seems to be a unanimous agreement on the key components of terrorism. Some of these components include coercion and violence. Many studies have been conducted to unearth what causes terrorism, the tactics used by terrorists and targets for terrorist attacks. This discussion seeks to delve even further to find out what aspects drive terrorism (Lockyer. 2003). Objectives of Terrorist attacks There are a number of objectives with which terrorist attacks are committed. The main aim as already mentioned is to instill fear in the target party. Acts of terrorism are meant to make one afraid so that they do not continue with a particular state of affairs that may not be favorable to the attackers. Terrorism therefore is used to ensure that there is widespread fear (Lockyer. 2003). Terrorist attacks are also meant to create attention especially in the media so that the group responsible for the terrorist attacks can be recognized. Acts of terrorism are also carried out as a way of weakening; embarrassing and harassing the government through its security agencies by making it appear powerless and repressive. As a result, the government ends up overreacting and is thus subjected to public ridicule (Gus. 2009). Thornton, in his book, Terror as Weapon of Political Agitation, argues that one of the main objectives for terrorist attacks is to build morale within the terrorist group. Whenever they carry out the deadly attacks, the terrorists feel that their impact in the society is felt and this makes them feel significant within their organization. Terrorism groups also engage in their dubious activities as a way of provoking some form of response or feedback especially from the government. It is thus sometimes used as a way of making known the grievances of a particular group to the government (Bernard. 2007). Tactics Terrorist groups have a number of tactics they use in carrying out their activities. Their tactics are such that they are not easily suspected by the law enforcement agencies. Terrorism mainly comes as a result of unresolved conflict especially between the terrorist group and the government in power. The terrorist group therefore attempts by all means to frustrate any efforts by the government. This they do in a number of ways. Some of these tactics include religion fanaticism where people are sort of brainwashed to join certain religious groups which tend to control the manner in which people think and make their decisions. They therefore brainwash people into thinking that the government in power do not have their best interests at heart and this leads to rebellion against the government by the people (Lockyer. 2003). At times, terrorist groups can declare open opposition to the government of the day, as a tactic of carrying out their motives. For example, the very recent attack on the capital city of Uganda, Kampala, is said to be linked to Al Shabab who are opposed to the provision of peace keeping troops in Somalia. Other tactics include depriving the population of their basic economic needs so as to lead to a public outcry. At times, the terrorist groups can impose that there should be only a certain form of government as opposed to the form of government that currently governs a certain country. For example, in Somalia, the Al Shabaab group has been very opposed to the government of Somali and they have made several attempts to take over the government (Gus. 2009). Targets There are various targets that a terrorist group may have depending on their motives. It also depends on the ideologies and beliefs held by the group. For example, a terrorist group that is opposed to a certain religion will always target areas that are frequently visited by that group. If it is a multinational company that is at the center of controversy, then top officials may be targeted by the terrorist groups (Bernard. 2007). New Terrorism This term was coined after the September 11 2001 attacks which resulted to death of at least 3,000 people. Although there is not much that has changed in terms of tactics and objectives with the coming of new terrorism, it is believed that this new concept is more destructive than the former. This is because, while old terrorism aimed at creating attention and making known to the society that the group exists with as little damage as possible, new terrorism aims at creating destruction that is devastating and they will go to any measure to achieve their motives. This means that they objectives of terrorism have changed with coming in of new terrorism (Gus. 2009). Something else to note is that new terrorism is quite organized unlike old terrorism. New terrorism has a hierarchy of command and there are various ranks which move horizontally rather than vertically. New terrorism is also bended on religion more while old terrorism was bended on political ideologies. With several recent attacks being linked to the Al Qaeda group, these distinctions seem quite true. However, looking at the two concepts from a critical point of view, we note that indeed there is not much difference especially in terms of tactics and target. The new terrorism may seem to have changed the manner in which the dubious activities are carried out, but the underlying principles still remain the same (James. 2010). Role of the Media in Terrorism The media is a powerful tool of communication especially to the public. This is so because it is able to reach multitudes of people which other forms of communication may not be able to. For this reason, the media has for along time been used by terrorists to advance their propaganda and other terrorism activities. A good example is that of Osama Bin Laden who has always used the media to communicate the threat and hate messages by the Al Qaeda group (Gus. 2009). Due to the number of people the media is able to reach at any given time, the role played by the media either in stopping or encouraging terrorism is quite tremendous. The language used by the media for instance, when they are reporting on terrorism matters greatly. The words they choose will depend on how the audience of the news will react. A couple of studies have been carried out to establish the relationship that exists between the media and acts of terrorism. On more than one instance, the relationship between the media and terrorism has been described as a symbiotic one. This means that they depend on each other either wholly or partly and that none of the two is considered complete without the indulgence of the other. The symbiotic relationship exists in this manner that terrorist groups usually use the media to pass their message across to the target groups. On the other hand, when the media receives information from the terrorist groups it is treated as exciting as it will catch the attention of the public hence the media becomes popular (Bernard. 2007). Janny de Graff, in his book Violence as Communication, asserts that more often than not journalists tend to adopt the language of their sources. This means that whenever a journalist interviews a terrorist, there is a high possibility that the journalist will unknowingly pick the language of the terrorist. If then the journalist will use the same language to report to the public, there are high chances that such a report will result into a public uproar (James. 2010). Terrorism has major impacts on any given country. It is therefore important that governments of all countries guard jealously against terrorism to ensure that all their citizens are protected. Terrorism has seen great countries especially in the Middle East tumble down. It is not possible to overemphasize the importance of guarding any country against terrorism. It is one of the main ways of ensuring that a country does not fall apart References Adam, Lockyer. (2003). The relationship between media and terrorism, New York: Routlegde. Martin, G. (2009). Understanding Terrorism: Challenges, Perspectives, and Issues, New York: SAGE. Phillips, B. (2007). Understanding terrorism: building on the sociological imagination, New York: Paradigm Publishers. Poland, J. (2010). Understanding Terrorism: Groups, Strategies, and Responses. Washington: Prentice Hall.

Components Constituting A Business Environment Commerce Essay

Components Constituting A Business Environment Commerce Essay The rapid changes in the healthcare environment have exerted significant pressures on the hospitals to pay attention to marketing strategies in general and health service strategy in particular. Therefore this research investigates the influence macro environment factors have on the health service strategy made by the hospital managers. This study proposes and tests a four factor macro environment model that explains the considerable variation in health service strategy in the hospitals. These factors include political, Economic, Social, and Technology, namely the PEST Analysis. The study goes on to conduct a SWOT Analysis of the organisation and critically evaluate how the organisation can accomplish to meet the stakeholders expectations, and the influence that specific stakeholders have on a health and social care organisation. We will critically assess the role of information management systems for improving the performance of a health and social care organisation, and the decisio n making techniques that the management uses to come up with the business strategies of an organisation. Components constituting a business environment The two broad categories that any business environment can be classified into are external and internal environments. A macro environment is thus a part of the external environment. BUSINESS ENVIRONMENT INTERNAL ENVIRONMENT EXTERNAL ENVIRONMENT MACRO ENVIRONMENT MICRO ENVIRONMENT Figure 1: Business environment and its components MACRO ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS OF AN ORGANISATION The new environment reality affecting the operation and performance of organizations is being characterized by continuous and often unpredictable change. As a result, many calls have been voiced for organizations to build the ability to respond and adapt to changing and uncertain environmental conditions, in order to sustain their competitive situation (Cardwell Bolon, 1996; Godiwalla et al., 1997; Chung, 2008; Aapo Tomas, 2008). Macro environment has been the subject of considerable research in both business and marketing literature recently. Furthermore, it became an area of primary concern to all organizations, depending critically on a subtle understanding and analysis of both the industry within which the hospital will compete, and the competitors working in same arena. Studying macro environment factors is an important issue in terms of the increased pressure placed upon hospitals and the competition that exists between hospitals. Any attempt at conceptualizing the term macro environment should, at some stage, involve an attempt to answer certain questions, such as: 1. What is the meaning of macro environment in hospital industry? 2. What are the main factors of macro environment? And how do they influence health organizations? MACRO ENVIRONMENT Macro environment is largely external to the business enterprise. Macro environment factors are uncontrollable factors and beyond the direct influence and control of the organisation. Its factors are powerfully influence to its functions. External environment consists of individuals, groups, agencies, organisations, events, conditions and forces. These are frequently contacted by the organisation for its functions. It establishes good interaction and interdependent relations in form of conducts business transitions. Proper designing and administration of macro environment enable appropriate strategies and policies to cope with and make changes. The major forces represent uncontrollable variables that hospitals must monitor and to which they must be respond. Marketers must also pay attention to interactions among forces to identify and take advantage of new opportunities and threats. For example of the offerings are affordable (economic), they may actually change attitudes and behaviour (social cultural) (Kotler et al., 2008). Macro-environment consists of broader forces that affect the actors in the micro environment (Armstrong Kotler, 2011). There are several elements for a macro environment, a detailed picture of which is given below. Figure 2: Macro Environment Elements The importance of analyzing the macro environment arises from the critical role it plays in the growth and profitability of organizations. This fact has been clearly highlighted by Kotha and Nair (1995), and later by Wagner and Gooding (1997). Thus, by understanding an organizations external environment, Fombrun and Shanley (1992), Gimeno and Woo (1996) indicate that strategic decision-makers can not only help improve its competitive position but also increase its operational efficiency, and win battles in the field of global economy. Based on this conclusion, Hill and Jones (1998) have further argued that to succeed, an organization must either fit its strategy to the industry/sector environment in which it operates, or be able to reshape the industry/ sectors environment to its advantage through its choice of strategy. Thus, companies typically fail when their strategy no longer fits the environment in which they operate (Hill and Jones, 1998). Crucially, any study of the external environment should include the identification of four major factors, namely Political, Economic, Social and Technological. PEST ANALYSIS Political Factor: A Political environment consists of laws, government agencies, and pressure groups that influence or limit various organizations and individuals in a given society (Armstrong Kotler, 2011). The political factors that may influence the health service strategy in healthcare scenario in particular are government objectives, policies, decisions, legal restrictions, various governmental units sharing legislative authority, laws concerning taxation, and privatization decisions. The clinical governance structure has, at its fundamentals, the foundation philosophy of continuous quality improvement (CQI) and total quality management (TQM). These two philosophies were developed first in manufacturing and industry, and then adopted by health services institutions in the early 1990s (Berwick, 1989; Kitson, 1994). The overall philosophy is to generate a culture of continuous quality based on effective cooperation between staff, systems spotlight, investment in people and staff, and self-monitori ng (McLaughlin and Kaluzny, 1999; Ovretveit, 2000). The political environment is based on the uncertainty. In some countries with multiple numbers of political parties, a political party does not get clear majority to form a government. In this situation, business activities collapse due to minority supported government. The political parties are unable to formulate stable government; it affects and fluctuate the government policies. Therefore, business organisation and public need a stable government to function smoothly. Economic Factor: The economic environment consists of factors that affect consumer purchasing power and spending patterns (Kotler et al., 2011). It includes the economic conditions, economic policies, and the economic system that is important to external factors of business. Economic fluctuations in the home market and inflationary factors are also impacts that have an influence, because they can produce both positive and negative effects on the demand for goods and services. For example, they could affect the specifications of certain goods or may require workers to receive specific types of training or preparation (George, 2009; Girijasankar Bhar, 2011). The economic conditions of the country include nature of the economy of the country, the general economic situation in the region, conditions in resource markets like money, material, market raw material components, services, supply markets and so on which influence the supply of inputs to the organisation, their costs, quality, availability and reliability of supply of products and services. The application of economic analysis in healthcare decision making, however, particularly with regard to medical necessity, has proven to be highly controversial. Evidence varies regarding the extent to which decision makers actually use economic analysis. Socio-cultural Factor: Social and cultural environment is made up of institutions and other forces that affect a societys basic values, perceptions, preferences, and behaviours (Kotler et al., 2011; Armstrong Kotler, 2011). Socio-cultural trends can present both threats and opportunities for many hospitals. They are reflected in customer wants and needs in terms of a health service. Some of the constituents of the Socio-cultural factor are population, health, education and social mobility, and attitudes to these. Socio-cultural environment is an important factor that should be analyzed while formulating company business strategies. If a company ignores the customs, traditions, tastes and preferences and education, it can affect the business. It consists of factors which are related to human relationships and the impact of social attitudes and cultural values. These are bearing on the business of the organisation. Technological factors: The technology is perhaps the most dramatic force now shaping, our destiny (Kotler et al., 2011). Technological factors include impact of emerging technologies, Impact of Internet, reduction in communications costs, increased remote working, research and development activity, and impact of technology transfer. Technological factors sometimes pose serious problems. A firm that unable to cope with technological changes may not be survived. Further, the differing technological environment of different markets may be called for service modifications. Technology in health services organizations has released such good things antibiotics, robotic surgery, MRI. The technologies environment change rapidly. In the past most of healthcare managers did not know about the ever-updating technologies that they get to know of nowadays. New technologies create new markets and opportunities. Therefore, the healthcare managers should study these updating technologies around the world to adopt them in their healthcare business or hospitals. Dramatic advancements in updating technology affect not only the products and services offered by organizations to customers but also the work processes needed. They can offer opportunities to those who can take benefit of such advancements. Otherwise, expecting and responding to technological trends can prove to be costly (Kotler et al., 2008). SWOT ANALYSIS In order to determine factors both within the external environment and within the organisation, a SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats) analysis have been carried out, the findings of which are enumerated as follows. Strengths: Healthcare brand in the UK is a universally known and well-respected brand. An important sector in all local economies that is a major source of skilled employment. National government prioritisation of the sector for assistance and skills development. Future employment growth on an upward trend. There is scope for greater integration and higher profile of social care There are strong links between Department of Health and the other healthcare institutions like NHS There are several dedicated communications resources working on social care There are healthcare companies with working groups with key stakeholders already set up Weaknesses: Every healthcare organisation has strong links to the Department of Health, therefore are unable to establish as an independent organisation. The complexity of the sector and its institutions. A negative public perception of the sector as being characterised by low pay, anti-social hours and working conditions. Substantial recruitment difficulties and skills gaps. The healthcare staff come from different and varied cultures and countries and need to create a common identity of working. Intensive training has to be provided yet to all the staff, in addition to communication training; everybodys still learning the job. Information collected has essentially remained the same for some time. Decreased relevance and usefulness. Perceived burden of collection among stakeholders. Healthcare branding, for example the NHS, is a barrier for social care stakeholders. Opportunities: To be seen as a source of information independent from government and Department of Health. Large-scale recruitment of new and skilled staff. Engage new stakeholders. Improved levels of service associated with a better trained and motivated workforce. Potential for improved IT systems and skills to increase patient focus of care and early reporting of medical successes and shortcomings. Radical pay reform agenda in the NHS which for the first time aligns pay and reward with knowledge and skills development. Improve the online presentation of statistics. Move from measuring activities to measuring outputs and outcomes will make information of more practical use in implementation and monitoring of services. Chance to be seen to streamline collection processes. Threats: Loss of proper skills and knowledge. Vast diversity in the cultural and communicational backgrounds of the staff and not being able to follow a single agenda. The highly politicised nature of the NHS undermining medium and long term planning. An older age profile than the average for all industries with proportionately low numbers of young employees entering the workforce. A relatively high turnover of staff in some sub-sectors and occupations. Lack of management skills. Slippage to delivery of a common initiative, and its effect on the credibility of the programme. Failure to adequately consult with and engage all stakeholders. Wider local government agenda may be obstructive. STAKEHOLDERS AND THEIR INFLUENCE ON THE HEALTHCARE SECTOR The term Stakeholders refers to everybody who has an interest in the health and well being of the local population and the delivery and development of health and social care services. They can range from individual service users and carers to service providers such as primary care professionals, other statutory organisations and local Councils as well as the voluntary and community sectors and the wider public. SERVICE PROVIDERS CARE COMMISSIONERS SERVICE USERS Figure 3: Stakeholders that constitutes core elements of health Stakeholders can be classified into four groups: Key Players Keep satisfied Keep informed Minimal effort Key Players: These are the most important Stakeholders they have high power and high interest in healthcare sector and its activities. Such stakeholders need to be involved in all relevant developments and could have a considerable influence over the future of healthcare sector. They include health commissioners, Practice Based Commissioning (PBC) Groups, the NHS, specialist commissioners (For example, Neuro), healthcare providers, local full time officers of recognised unions, patient representative groups, healthcare sector employees, public health, GPs, board members, and local trusts. Keep Satisfied: This is a particularly difficult group to deal with. In this group, we often find regional representative or legislative bodies. They behave passively most of the time, but that can exert an enormous impact on the organisation. It is therefore necessary to analyze potential intentions and reactions of these groups in all major developments, and to involve them according to their interests. This group includes MPs, Interest Groups, Health Scrutiny Committee, CFT members, local media, Local Strategic Partnerships, Health and Well Being Board, Care Quality Commission, and other professional bodies Keep Informed: Stakeholders in this group have a high interest in the organisation and its actions. However, they have limited means to influence. Despite their lower influence, such stakeholders could be valuable allies in important decisions. Therefore, it is advisable to keep them informed about the issues they are interested in. This group of stakeholders may include voluntary organisations, local communities, communities that are hard to reach, Mental Health Trust, Care givers and users, and other independent sector organisations and competitors. Minimal Effort: Stakeholders in this group have little interest in healthcare corporate plans. They also has little power to exert much impact. It is therefore appropriate to keep these groups informed, but not invest too much effort into them. They include housing, police and national media. Focused on users, carers and communities, stakeholder involvement must focus on directly accessing the views of service users and carers who are using health and social care services as well as those living in communities who are experiencing the greatest levels of health inequalities to ensure they are having appropriate influence in shaping future priorities. Following are the principles that will underpin all stakeholder involvement: Stakeholders must see that their input has a real impact on the decisions made and that they are making a real difference to how local services are being planned and delivered. It is essential that feedback from involvement processes is communicated to participants and that the reasons for why particular decisions were taken are clearly outlined. The level of involvement should be proportionate to the scale of the issue being considered. The method of involvement should be tailored to ensure that appropriate stakeholders are accessed. It is important that all stakeholders are provided with an opportunity to participate and are actively supported to become involved either at a locality level or on a specific issue basis. It is recommended that, as far as possible, across Health and Social Care organisations, involvement with stakeholders on needs assessment and strategy development be taken forward jointly by the Regional Board, the Agency and Trusts. Staff working in each of the organisations should seek to form close working relationships to ensure that there is minimal duplication in involving local stakeholders and agree joint processes for taking forward this work. By adopting a more collective approach it will maximise the use of available resources both in terms of staff and information, minimise the time required from stakeholders to contribute to involvement exercises and ensure that all sections within the health and care sector hear the same messages and can plan services accordingly. ROLE OF INFORMATION MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS IN HEALTH AND SOCIAL CARE SECTOR Information management systems have much to offer in managing healthcare costs and in improving the quality of care (Kolodner et al. 2008). In addition to the embedded role of information technology in clinical and diagnostics equipment, Information systems are uniquely positioned to capture, store, process, and communicate timely information to decision makers for better coordination of healthcare at both the individual and population levels. For example, data mining and decision support capabilities can identify potential adverse events for an individual patient while also contributing to the populations health by providing insights into the causes of disease complications. All types of business need robust and comprehensive quality and business management systems however this takes on added importance when lives are in the hands of the business involved. Healthcare is certainly in that category. Another hallmark of healthcare information is that it is highly personal. As a result, any transfer of information between parties via technology involves risks that the information could fall into the wrong hands. Although electronic information can be made as secure as paper records, electronic storage may be perceived as having a higher likelihood of leakage, and such fears get further compounded by media attention. Thus, patients perceived probability of compromised privacy is often higher than the actual probability. An ideal Information management system should help the clients: Provides complete data protection and privacy Meet the business improvement objectives. Provide interfaces to other existing database repositories. Strategically unite and align quality and business process information that produces reliability improvement and meets standards Enable business governance and organizational communication. Streamline access and utilization of data repositories and analytical systems needed for long-term business improvement. Provide analytics and robust search features for healthcare process performance, analysis, management review, and planning. Healthcare costs have been increasing and the demand for reasonably priced high quality services is also on the rise. Effectiveness of a hospital or nursing home depends on the efficiency of its operations and management systems. Some of the major factors determining the efficacy of a health institution include patient care management and patient satisfaction. In order to meet these requirements there has been the growing need to implement hospital information systems. The healthcare industry has witnessed an increased spending on IT with most of the hospitals and healthcare organizations shifting to electronically-based information systems. Healthcare Information management system should provide equal access to medical records throughout the country by making the diagnosis online through different digital tools. This could make sharing information among physicians for treatment and consultation much easier. It should ensure improved quality and assurance, archiving capabilities. This is is a major tool to measure clinical outcomes and control budget. It needs strong infrastructure to broadly utilize the data available online to provide continuity on database and information integration. When you take a healthcare organisation, for example a hospital, the information management system should provide decision making processes based on qualitative information and knowledge. There should be a continuity of medical data and care information. This will aid in improving and increasing the efficiency of healthcare processes. It will also help in increasing clinical safety and the quality of the results. It is with no doubt that it can be said that better Information management system can provide better documentation and better customer services. The following diagram depicts an example of what an Information Management System in a hospital should include. DEMOGRAPHIC PARAMETERS VISITS AND HOSPITALIZATION IMAGING TREATMENT INFORMATION MEDICATION INFORMATION LAB RESULTS FAMILY HISTORY MEDICAL HISTORY PATIENT Figure 4: Patient Information Management System DECISION MAKING IN HEALTH AND SOCIAL CARE SECTOR Most decision-making techniques use a process used by leaders and managers to make decisions. This includes the following steps: Identifying and defining the problem. Gathering information, facts and assumptions. Analyzing the situation. Developing options and solutions. Comparing and evaluating these options and solutions. Select the solution that best addresses the problem, or a best alternative decision. Acting on the decision. The way in which decision making is approached is recognised as an important function of leadership and management in health care. This increasing interest in the process of decision making as a function of management is evidence of a much larger shift in management thinking among the academic community. Although we traditionally associate leadership and management in health care with individuals, the complexity of change required in the health care system means a new paradigm of management is required. Relational approaches to healthcare management offer an alternative view. Rather than being the function of an individual, leadership is considered to be an outcome of the processes that emerge when several individuals interact. Relational processes are being recognised as just as influential in changing peoples attitudes, behaviours and actions as the direct influence of a formal manager. CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS In conclusion, this study mainly focuses on the healthcare sector and the external factors that affect the management of the healthcare issues. Macro environment is a very important aspect in the healthcare sector. The study assesses the macro environment and its impacts on the health service strategy with the help of analytical tool like PEST analysis. The empirical conclusions drawn from this study are multi-faceted and as a consequence it is important that healthcare managers pay attention to the influences of PEST environment elements on health service strategy. The study concludes that healthcare scenario requires new health services, for enabling the hospital to meet the needs and wants of the largest possible market. Also if medical technology worldwide is updated it helps hospitals to gain opportunities that lead to increased market share and new market penetration. This study has outlined the stakeholder management strategy for healthcare sector to support the delivery of its organisational objectives and its development. It has established the current state of understanding of stakeholder power and impact, identifies key stakeholder groups and the influence of each group on the healthcare organisation. It also identifies the how the key strategic priorities and action plan for improving stakeholder relationships will be developed. The decision making process has been shifted from the main management and doctors to a wider range of management. Some recommendations for further research in this area: The study could be replicated with other services to further examine the transferability of the macro environment in the healthcare industry. Study the proposed model in other European countries in order to gain more validation for the model and more generalised findings. Study other service sectors, like public sector, in order to develop a model that represents the service sector more generally, rather than representing the healthcare sector alone.

Comparison of Ethiopia and Mali Essay -- essays research papers fc

A Brief Overview of the History of Ethiopia Ethiopia is one of the most unique among African countries for maintaining its freedom from colonial rule, with the short exception of an occupation by the Italians from 1936-1941. A socialist state was established in 1974 with the overthrow of Emperor Selassie, who had been in control since 1930. A junta or group of military officers called the Derg was responsible for the coup. Yet, this corrupt administration has lead only to warfare and wide scale public suffering. In 1991, the junta was finally brought down by a combination of revolutionary forces who called themselves the Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front. In 1994, a constitution was drafted and 1995 marked Ethiopia’s first multiparty elections. Recently, a boarder feud with Eritrea, that lasted over 2 years, was ended in December of 2000; yet recent objections by Ethiopia have delayed a final declaration of border. The landlocked country of Ethiopia is located in east Africa, just west of Somalia, and is roughly twice the size of Texas . Ethiopia’s natural resources include platinum, copper, and small reserves of gold. Only .65% of the land is suitable and allotted for permanent crops. Ethiopia is currently facing several environmental concerns including deforestation, overgrazing, soil erosion, and water shortages due to poor management of water-intensive farming. Ethiopia’s population is in excess of 66 million. Ethiopia is home to numerous ethnic groups, the largest being Oromo, which accounts for 40% of the population. About half of the Ethiopian population is Muslim, with the majority of the other half practicing Ethiopian Orthodox. Ethiopia’s government is a federal republic which grants its citizens voting rights at 18 years of age. Currently, Ethiopia faces the problem of attempting to control the illicit drugs that come through the country, as it acts as a hub for the transportation of heroin and cocaine. A Brief Overview of the History of Mali Mali became a French colony in 1904 and was renamed French Sudan. In June of 1960, it gained its’ independence and became known as the Sudanese Republic. The Sudanese Republic associated with the Republic of Senegal under one federation. In August of 1960, Senegal broke off connections with the federation, and the Sudanese Republic changed its name to The Republic of Mali.... ... use their homes as collateral for startup capital to create businesses or invest, promoting economic expansion. It was also interesting to read about the history of each country, and I was surprised when I realized that Ethiopia is one of the oldest independent countries. This report was extremely fascinating and helped me get a better grasp on events outside of the United States. I feel that a worldview is increasingly important in our day and age to help people better understand the problems and solutions in developing nations. Works Cited 1.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The CIA, http://www.odci.gov/cia/publications/factbook/index.html 2.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The formal HDI Report, http://hdr.undp.org/reports/global/2003/indicator/pdf/hdr03_indicators.pdf 3.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The European Union, http://europa.eu.int/index_en.htm 4.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The World Bank, http://poverty.worldbank.org/library/view/8702/ 5.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  http://www.geographia.com/mali 6.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  http://www.nationsonline.org/oneworld/mali.htm 7.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  http://www.nationsonline.org/oneworld/ethiopia.htm

Making High Fructose Corn Syrup is an Unnecessary Process :: Artificial Sweetener HFCS Food

An Unnecessary Process: Making High Fructose Corn Syrup The process of making High Fructose Corn Syrup is a long and complicated one. It was first discovered in 1900’s. High Fructose Con Syrup has been used as an artificial sweetener for decades. It involves the change of sucrose sugar into fructose sugar. It is a complicated process involving many changes on the molecular level. It also needs specific temperature and pH changes throughout the process to insure that the chemical changes and the enzymes all function properly. If the enzymes and chemical reactions don’t all work properly, the sucrose won’t change properly into fructose and the outcome will not be High Fructose Corn Syrup. The specific change from sucrose sugar into fructose sugar is vital so the process for changing it must be accurate. The fructose sugar is sweeter than the table sugar or sucrose sugar, which is why the fructose sugar is used instead of the sucrose sugar. This extra sweetness makes it favorable for commercial uses. The other factor mak ing both useful and favorable for commercial businesses to use it is its low cost. High Fructose Corn Syrup is cheaper to make and therefore is sold cheaper than regular table or cane sugar. Many commercial food-processing businesses are using High Fructose Corn Syrup because of this meaning and therefore making High Fructose Corn Syrup a common ingredient in many food items. The process of creating High Fructose Corn Syrup started in the 1800’s. Food industries have known about using microorganisms to produce new foods and increase the shelf lives of foods. In the corn industry, wet millers have used the process of isomerization, or converting D-glucose to D-fructose. The process of isomerization used to be done by treating glucose with alkaline catalyst at a high pH. This technique was unsuccessful because the conversion created large amounts of by-products, which tended to create a dark color and also develop off-flavors. Despite these side effects, isomerization was continually used with most of the research being done in carbohydrates. This research led to the discovery in the 1950’s that showed that when given right enzyme, the monosaccharide outside the cell the cell would undergo ketolisomerization. This enzyme discovered was xylose isomerase. This discovery was made by biological and medical scientists. More research then worked on how to change the molecular structure of glucose molecules with 5 carbons to fructose molecules with 6 carbons. An enzyme prepared from pseudomonas hydrophilia provided this structure change creating D-fructose.

Mouldy Bread

I. Abstract This experiment was run to see how fast molds grow on bread in 3 different dry location, such as indoor room, fridge and freezer. The samples in a plastic container at room temperature showed mold in fewer days than the samples that kept in low temperature place as fridge and freezer. I think that this is because it was a better environment for the molds to grow. The breads that is kept cool will last longer on the plate than bread in normal room temperature. II. Introduction The purpose of the experiment was to know in what conditions the mold most grow and how fast.I thought that this would help people to find the best place to store the bread so that it would stay fresh and last longer. I also was curious about which factors do most affect the mold’s growth. I learned from my food science subject that mold is a tiny spores in the air that fall into damp food especially bread and grow by producing chemicals that root down the food, which also causes a bad taste f or the food. If you look under a high power compound light microscope, you can see these microscopic look like threads that seem to be spread out thickly on the bread.Bread mold is found in many different types, shapes and colours. The most common bread molds are Penicillium and Aspergillus family. Penicillium and Aspergillus molds usually appear to be similar with spherical shape, also green and grey in colour, but both are different. Aspergillus mold have fine hairs that contain large balloons with spores inside. Some molds cause allergic reactions and respiratory problems. And a few molds such as Aspergillus produce mycotoxins, poisonous substances that can make us sick.The molds can be controlled by many different factors, such as the temperature, Ph (acidity and bases range), and the moisture. The optimum temperature for molds growth is around 20 – 35 oC and terminated at 100oC. The Ph range for growth is around 2 (acid) to 8. 5 (base), which means that it is extremely h ard to control its acidity. They also need moist ground to grow on the surface, but it depends on how much free water particles inside which will changed into solid when the temperature reach 0o C. I have oticed that food left on the counter in the summer molds faster than food left out in the winter, this is the proof that mold likes warm environment. I also found out that the mold grows on the bread even in the dry place, which means that mold just need a very low moisture. My hypothesis is that the bread inside room temperature will grow faster than other samples that inside the refrigerator, because the amount of free water molecules will be decreased or even become solid. III. Materials * 3 slice of Wonder Whole Meal ( White loaf bread ) * 2 Plastic plates 1 Plastic container * 1 Fridge * 1 Freezer * 1 Eye dropper * Water IV. Methods 1. Take out the bread of the package 2. Place one piece on each plastic plates and plastic container 3. Labeled the plastic plates ( B and C ) and the plastic container (A) 4. Take 30 ml amount of water into the eye dropper 5. Drop every 5 drops into each samples, once a day 6. Seal the plastic container 7. Place the plastic container on the counter 8. Put the other plates inside the fridge and freezer 9. Check back every plates every days for a weeks ( around 10. 00 PM ) 10.Record the data by measure the amount of mold by percentage (%) covered on each pieces of bread. V. Results Over a week and 7 days studies, I saw a slight difference in the amount of mold that grew on every pieces of bread. The bread in the plastic container grew much more than the other samples; even I can barely see the differences between the bread inside the fridge and the freezer. I measured the percent covered by mold on the top side of the bread. Data on % coverage can be seen below. The chart can be seen below in figure 1. Day 1, A=0% B=0% C=0%In the first day, I prepared all the materials and put them on the counter, fridge and freezer. Day 2, A= 0% B=0% C=0% In the second day, I don’t see any difference on the breads either. In this step I believe that it still need more time before the result comes up. Samples B and C become fragile. Day 3, A=4% B=0% C=0% In the third day, the sample A start to show the mold activities, it covered a small area around the corner of the side and start to shrink a little. But there is no difference on the others samples. The samples B accidently cracked because I put something on it. Day 4, A=11% B=0% C=0%In the fourth day, the molds on the sample A keep spreading around the surface, its colour is dark green and produce some bad smell, while the other samples still clean. Day 5, A= 15% B=0% C=0% In the fifth day, I saw a little difference in the mold’s area size but the bread really shrinks, the others two stay the same. In this day I try to not put some water into the samples. Day 6, A=15% B=0% C=0% In the sixth day, I can’t see any difference on all the samples which I came up with a conclusion that the mold really needs water to keep grow in the dry situation like Melbourne. Day 7, A=20% B=0% C=0%In the seventh day, the last day of my study, I found out that the threads of mold keep spreading around the top side o the bread and have a lot more verity of color, such as navy green, dark green and black. In contrast, the other 2 samples showed us that there is no single activity of mold appears but in exchange the bread become so hard and fragile. Figure 1. Percentage of mold coverage on bread VI. Discussion The mold grew a lot more on the bread in the container which stay at the room temperature and there are not even a single mold on the breads that stored inside the fridge and freezer.I think this is because the free water molecules inside become solid in a day and cause the mold growth to stop. In the seventh day the mold was starting to show a lot of different color. There was pale green, dark green and black color showing up at the end. I thi nk if it kept going, the whole piece would be covered in a month. The bread that stays at room temperature is out of my expectation, because it should be mold faster than this. I believe it was caused by the cold temperature these days, as we entering the winter season. It kept the mold from grows as the free water molecules decreased.If the bread that you buy is moist and you keep it inside the plastic bags it will mold. So to prevent it from molding you can store it inside the refrigerator, either fridge or freezer is okay. It is still unclear from this experiment about how to slow down the growth of mold other than froze the bread. The frozen bread as the result of stored it inside the fridge will make lose its softness and it was getting as hard as the pores got dry. It can’t return to its original characteristic anymore. The other way is to dry toast it; it won’t mold more than a week since the progress is the same as the refrigerator.It didn’t look like it could let any more molds to grow. Also, the rate of coverage stopped increasing on the dry bread, so it might be done. VII. Conclusion Mold grows better in a moist environment than it does in a dry environment. The plastic container kept the moisture in and allowed the bread to mold. The temperature is also taking a big part in this experiment which means the lower the temperature, the longer it will stay edible. It seems to be sure that fridge and freezer is one of the best solution to kept the bread stay last longer. VIII. References In a major study of Food Industry (Bee May, 2012), it was found that the Mould is one of the micro organism that cause food poisoning and spoilage. * * Ezine Article. (2005). Bread Mold. Retrieved from http://ezinearticles. com/? Bread-Mold&id=405845 * Abigail’s Bakery. (No Year). Bread Mold Causes. Retrieved from http://www. abigailsbakery. com/bread-recipes/bread-mold-causes. htm * True Visions Microscopes. (2005). Looking at Bread Mold Unde r the Microscopes. Retrieved from http://www. truevisionmicroscopes. com/looking-at-bread-mold-under-the-microscope. html