Saturday, August 31, 2019

Different stakeholders in the health care system Essay

Week 1: Discussion 1: With so many different stakeholders in the health care system, many with powerful political lobbies, it is understandable that the government has been unable to effectively address the problems of cost, access, and quality. With the passing of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010 (PPACA), the government has taken a step towards reshaping the health care system. Answer the following question: How will the PPACA reshape the health care system in terms of access, cost, and quality? Discussion 2: In spite of its impressive accomplishments, the U.S. health care system is fraught with problems and dilemmas. There is a growing concern that health care is a big, complex, unmanageable business. In this week’s reading, six major stakeholders were identified, they are: the public, employers, providers, hospitals and other health care facilities, the government, and managed care organizations and other insurers. After reading this week’s text and other references answer the following questions: In what ways have the stakeholders contributed to make the current health care system in the United States is too complex and unmanageable? In your opinion, which stakeholder has had the most significant impact? Why? Who should take the lead in reforming the U.S. health care system? Why? Week 2 Discussion 1: An oversupply of physicians in many urban regions contrasts with continuing problems of access in rural and inner-city areas. After completing this week’s reading and viewing the video, discuss this topic using the following questions to help guide you: Why does the mal-distribution of physicians  persist in spite of the number of physicians graduated? Explore how these specialty medical practices affect access to healthcare, quality of care received, and costs associated with health care services. Do these same conditions exist in Canada or the United Kingdom? Why or why not? Discussion 2: According to Sultz & Young (2011), â€Å"Communication among providers and between providers and patients [is] problematic as medical technology progresses and time pressures on physicians increase† (p. 179). After completing this week’s reading discuss this topic using the following questions to help guide you: How might the increase in medical technology have a negative effect on communication among providers? Provide at least two examples. Are there any positive effects of increased technology on communication among providers? Why or why not? How does the increase in medical technology impact the provider-patient relationship? Provide at least two examples. Assignment: Disclosure of Physician Information The dispute over exposing the comparative performance of physicians on a wide spectrum of variables has been resolved in favor of the consumers of health care. Despite physician protests, a number of states have passed legislation that gives the public access to physician information, including disciplinary records, malpractice actions, and whether a physician has lost hospital privileges. In a three to four page, (excluding title and reference page), APA formatted, double-spaced paper, respond to the following questions: Are the physician reports cards fair and balanced? Take a position on this issue and explain your view. Provide at least two examples from references that support your position. Do physician report cards provide information consumers need to make medical decisions? Why or why not? Explain your answer. Support your position with two references in addition to the textbook. Note: one of the two references may be a professional website. Week 3: Discussion 1: The chapters assigned this week focused on hospitals and ambulatory (outpatient) healthcare organizations. Each has their own unique administrative and clinical requirements due to shifts in utilization. Choose one of situations presented below and discuss the implications for healthcare organizations, consumers, and the health care delivery system as a whole. Fully state and explain your position while providing at least two references (one may be the text). Situation 1: Overnight hospitalization has significantly declined as services have shifted to ambulatory care (care completed within a 24-hour period). What are some of the root causes for these shifts? What are the implications of this shift for hospitals, consumers, and the health care delivery system as a whole? Situation 2: More than half of all surgical procedures are now performed in ambulatory surgery facilities with the shift of surgery from the inpatient setting to outpatient. Explain the implications for hospitals, physicians and consumers. What are some of the root causes for these shifts? What are the implications of this shift for hospitals, consumers, and the health care delivery system as a whole? Discussion 2: According to Sultz and Young (2011), â€Å"with the multitude of tasks performed everyday by hundreds of employees in a busy hospital. Misunderstandings and information breakdowns in patient care are inevitable† (p.85). After completing this week’s reading discuss this concept as it relates to quality patient outcomes. Answer the following questions: In your opinion, do you agree with Sultz and Young (2011) that errors in the hospital setting are inevitable? Why or why not? Does the size of a hospital affect the quality that patients receive? Why or why not? Is there anything patients and/or their families can do to help ensure that they are receiving the best care possible? Assignment: This week, you will prepare an outline for your final paper. Please refer to Week 5 Assignment to assist you in choosing one of the four basic functional components of the U.S. healthcare delivery system (financing, insurance,  delivery, or quality). In your outline, identify future trends in U.S. healthcare related to your chosen functional component. Base your outline on the issues and questions listed in week 5 related to the one functional component you are choosing to focus on. The outline must reference at least five sources other than the course textbook. Only the title page and reference page need to be in APA format, as an outline does not have an APA form. While there is no standard for outline formats, you may choose to refer to the hyperlink for guidance: Outline . Week 4: Discussion 1: There are many factors influencing the increasing demand for long-term care services in the United States. Select two from the following list and discuss ways in which your two selected factors are affecting the market for long-term care services. Changes in the demographics of the U.S. population Social and economic changes in families Increasingly sophisticated medical technology Greater consumer sophistication and demands Increasing scrutiny of federal and state government financial involvement in support of long-term health care Discussion 2: According to Sultz and Young (2011), â€Å"there is no single ‘mental health system’ [in the United States] but a variety of systems that provide services. Those systems vary widely in what services are provided for whom, by whom, and in what setting† (p.329). Answer the following questions: Why don’t people with mental illnesses receive the same level of care as other illnesses? What barriers prevent people with mental illnesses from receiving the care they need? Are the barriers different in the U.S. as compared to other countries? Should the federal government take a more active role in the coordination of care and services to patients with mental illness? Why or why not? Week 5: Discussion 1: Critique the ways in which each of the following factors affects healthcare expenditures in the United States. 1. How do these factors impact the patients, individual providers, healthcare organizations, and insurers? Advances in medical care technology and diagnostic technology Changes in U.S. demographics Emphasis on specialty medicine Financing of healthcare Healthcare as a labor-intensive industry Consumer expectations How does healthcare spending/financing in the United States compare to other countries? Fully state and explain your position while providing at least two references. Discussion 2: Healthcare reform is underway in the United States. Given the history of previous attempts to reform the U.S. healthcare system and the current state of the U.S. economy, answer the following questions: Will the healthcare reforms now in progress resolve or worsen the key issues of access, costs, and quality? Can we achieve a system in which there is fiscal and clinical accountability for defined populations? Fully state and explain your position while providing at least two references. Assignment: The final paper should demonstrate an application of your knowledge of the U.S. health care system by synthesizing the information from the readings and class work into work and life experience. Your paper may include information and examples from previous experience as well as implications for future application. For your final paper, you will use the outline you created in week 3 to create an 8-10 page paper (excluding the title and reference pages). You will choose one topic to focus on for your entire paper: Delivery, Quality, Financing, or Insurance and: 1. Analyze future trends in U.S. healthcare related to that one topic. 2. Address the questions below related to that one topic: Delivery: What is society’s obligation to ensure access to a basic level of health care  for all its citizens and how can it be accomplished? Should government take a more aggressive role in reshaping the health care system or should the economy be allowed to continue exerting market-driven reforms? What lessons can be learned from healthcare delivery systems that exist in other industrialized nations? Hospital emergency departments continue to be used as a source of primary medical care by large numbers of the community’s medically underserved population. What are the implications of this practice for the patients, and on health care costs and quality of care? Identify the major factors that have resulted in the shift in utilization from inpatient hospitalization to ambulatory care services. What are the implications of this shift for hospitals, consumers, and the health care delivery system as a whole? Quality: How does the quality of healthcare in the United States compare to the quality of care in other industrialized nations? How can an acceptable quality of health care be assured for all? Will providing data in areas such as patient outcomes, compliance with national standards for preventive and chronic care, and comparative costs to the public be an acceptable measure of healthcare delivery outcomes? Though physicians believed that only physicians could and should judge the quality of hospital medical care, they found participation in such hospital peer review activities a most disagreeable obligation. What were the problems with the process? Managed care organization credentialing by the National Committee on Quality Assurance rapidly evolved as a standard of quality in the industry. Discuss the pros and cons on the value of credentialing by an independent organization to a managed care organization and to consumers. How does medical technology affect the communication between healthc are providers and patients? What affect does this have on the quality of care? Financing: How can the costs of health care be kept affordable for both individuals and society? Legislative attempts to address the problems of the health care system are always met by shifting alliances among well financed and, often, self-serving lobbying groups. How, in the American system of politics, can health care get more objective support on behalf of consumers? Since significant reductions are likely in the federally supported health care  programs that today account for about 40 percent of US personal health care expenditures, what will happen to those dependent on those programs for health care? How will the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010 (PPACA) affect the costs associated with healthcare? Who will benefit the most in terms of the cost of healthcare? Who, if anyone, will experience an increase in the cost of healthcare? The single most important impetus for managed care was rising costs. Should the US have a two-tiered medical care system in which people who can afford it buy all the specialty care they want and others live within the managed care restrictions? Are there any lessons to be learned from the way in which healthcare is financed in other industrialized nations? Insurance: The insurance industry plays a huge role in the American health care system and absorbs a significant portion of the health care dollar. A single payer system, whether it be a private company or the US government, would eliminate the complex insurance paperwork and free substantial funds that could be used to provide care. Why is there is there so much resistance to a concept used in every other advanced country? Discuss the evolution of private health insurance and its effects on costs and access to services. The availability of hospital insurance removed an important cost constraint from hospital services and charges. What were the positive and negative consequences of that development? Steeply rising costs of medical liability insurance are a growing concern for practicing physicians, medical schools, and teaching hospitals. As a result, physicians are leaving high premium states, choosing to retire early, or reducing high-risk aspects of their practice to lower their insurance co sts. Discuss the evolution of private health insurance and its effects on costs and access to services. Writing the Final Paper Must be eight- to ten- double-spaced pages in length and formatted according to APA style as outlined in the approved APA style guide. Must include a cover page that includes: Title of paper Student’s name Course name and number Instructor’s name Date submitted Must include an introductory paragraph with a succinct thesis statement. Must address the topic of the paper with critical thought. Must conclude with a restatement of the thesis and a conclusion paragraph. Must use at least five scholarly resources, including a minimum of three from ProQuest. Must use APA style as outlined in the approved APA style guide to document all sources. Must include, on the final page, a Reference Page that is completed according to APA style as outlined in the approved APA style guide.

On Free Choice of the Will Essay

Questions to be addressed: Would a good God let bad things happen? Why does man choose to do evil? For many people, nothing drives them away from Religion like pushy, preachy people. I don’t feel that I am knowledgeable enough to argue many points when it comes to religion. I’m actually not a huge fan of organized religion myself. Like most things, it has its good and bad points, but overall, anything that brings people to God is great. However, you won’t find a better example of hypocrisy than the church. Throughout history, no cause has driven people to war like religion. On the other hand, if one does not agree with what people have done to the church, does that mean we have to turn away from its very foundation? When one analyzes the core of Religion, they discover that its most basic principles are, in fact, good. God IS good, right? Does God allow bad things to happen? Yes. But why? Because He has to in order to keep His promise of free will. God doesn’t make bad things happen, people do. God doesn’t snap his fingers and *poof*, somewhere in the world another person is murdered. That murderer chose to put himself in that situation. So does God let this happen? In the sense that He allowed the murderer to exercise free will – Yes, He did. Does this mean that we should blame God? No, I don’t think so. There is nothing I am more grateful for than my free will. There would not be much of a life without it. In Saint Augustine’s On Free Choice of the Will, the idea that God allows bad things to happen is presented in a conversation between himself and Evodius. On page 5 line 19 of the text, Augustine states â€Å"Yet it perplexes the mind how God should not be indirectly responsible for these sins, if they come from those very souls that God created and if, moreover, these souls are from God. † The entire concept of blaming God for bad things has always been hard for me to understand, but the book does clarify many points. I intend on presenting those points by defining several terms and applying them to the argument that Saint Augustine uses in order to obtain a sufficient answer to the question. In order to do this, we must assume that God does exist. People often say, â€Å"I know there’s a God, but I want to understand: Is this God good? And if he is good, then why do bad things happen? † By asking this question, one might really be asking â€Å"Does God even exist? † which is completely different. The question of whether or not God exists has nothing to do with people’s suffering, but instead, with creation, revelation, world history, etc. Therefore, for simplicity, we will not venture to answer that question and will assume that God does exist. The question we are addressing is, in essence, requiring us to â€Å"judge God. † In discussing this issue, I have chosen not to address the question of why particular things happen. Take a physicist, for example. He may be able to tell you why a leaf will fall in a certain place- it has to do with the aerodynamics of the leaf, the force of gravity, and the direction of the velocity; however, if you ask him where the leaf will fall, he cannot because it is impossible to quantify the different forces that a make a leaf fall in a particular place. Of course, he can propose several general principles, but calculating exactly where it will land is beyond the realm of his analysis. It’s the same idea here. We won’t be able to say why specific things are happening in a specific situation, but we will be able to speak about general principles that can lead us to understand the workings of a good God who lets bad things happen. The Bible tells us: â€Å"God created man in His image, in the image of God He created him† (Genesis 1:27). What does it mean that man was created in God’s image? It means that human beings are finite and corporal. So how are we created in God’s image? Obviously, the â€Å"image of God† is dealing with the non-physical part of us – the soul. We get our drive for morality and meaning from the soul which is in the â€Å"image of God. † Just as God has independent choice, so too does each human being have independent moral choice. The image of God means that we have the ability to choose. The ability to choose is what makes us special as a race. Life only becomes meaningful because of our ability to choose. Take love for example. The difference in being programmed to love and the choice to love, is exactly what makes love special. Similarly, if I don’t have the choice to do good, but am programmed to do good, then there’s nothing meaningful about it. On the same accord, if I have the ability to do good or evil, then good becomes significant. For a choice to be truly genuine, there must also be consequences. If every time I get in trouble, mom comes to bail me out, that’s not really a choice. Choice means consequences. Our history-personal or global- is based on decisions made by human beings including the consequences that come from that. Now we understand that â€Å"image of God† means that God created beings who have the ability to make decisions, and those decisions will create consequences that will make this being a co-partner in the development of the world. This has many ramifications as far as why God allows bad things to happen. For free choice to operate, it’s obvious that evil has to have the possibility of existing. If every time someone chooses to do evil, God is going to interfere, then there’s no moral choice. If every time the gun is pointed, the turret points backwards, after a few times you get the message. It simply becomes pragmatic not to do evil. If the lives of the righteous were obviously perfect, that too would destroy the possibility of choice. Pragmatically, we’d figure it pays more to be righteous because look at all the good things that come my way! That’s not choice. That’s not becoming God-like. A world where a human being can create himself into a Moses, also carries the possibility of a person creating himself into a Hitler. We have to understand and appreciate that in the Holocaust, it was not God who built the crematoriums, it was the Nazis. It is not God who was massacring Muslims in Bosnia, it was the Serbs. Augustine’s approach to the â€Å"free choice of the will† assumes that â€Å"there can be no denying that we have a will. † Instead, Augustine defines â€Å"good will† as â€Å"a will by which we seek to live a good and upright life and to attain unto perfect wisdom† which, of course, assumes that it is free. Those who choose evil are ruled by their passion and desire for things of this world. This is futile because they only have, as Augustine says, â€Å"the love of things which each one can lose against his will. † One who chooses to do good ultimately gains everything because there is no fear of losing â€Å"things† due to lack of attachment to them. Those who become perfect could lose every material thing and still gain all precisely because they are trying to attain the perfect, which is wisdom. Wisdom cannot be lost as long as someone has good will. This leads us to the question: Why would we choose evil? It is my belief that humans always choose to do good, it’s just a matter of whether one chooses a lesser â€Å"good. † This occurs when one chooses to allow passions and desires to rule the soul, which tend toward things of this world. While Augustine’s friend Evodius can claim â€Å"there is a great difference between† passion-desire and fear, fear is a part of passion. We fear because we hate something, which may or may not equate itself to reason. Therefore someone of good will necessarily seeks to order oneself perfectly with God’s lines of the Gloria: â€Å"Glory to God in the highest, and peace to men of good will† (Luke 2:14). Augustine begins to answer the question why man chooses to do evil by declaring what makes humans distinct from animals. It is the fact that humans have the capability of reasoning and animals do not. He points out that some things that men possess uniquely as opposed to animals, such as the â€Å"power to jest and laugh† and â€Å"the love of praise and glory,† are â€Å"of a lower order. † As a result, when reason rules the soul, â€Å"the more perfect [reason] is made subject to the less perfect [desire and passion]. † In our day, most people do not even realize they should work toward having reason rule their lives. It has been â€Å"in style† for more than one hundred years that humans must have their desires and passions rule their lives. Those who have reason rule their lives are thought to be â€Å"rigid† because reason assumes that someone can find truth, which many now claim is impossible. One can view this outlook first hand. It is manifested by people who think they can determine their own morality and even reality. On the flipside, people tend to think they’re at the mercy of the bad things that happens to them to explain away their need to eliminate their faults. If we have a free will, then we also have the duty to make decisions based on a well-formed conscience and what is good and evil. What determines whether a particular action is good does not depend on one’s own judgment on whether â€Å"it feels good† or â€Å"does not hurt anyone. † Instead, we have a duty to determine good and evil based on truth and to have it rule one’s life, with passion and desire subject to it. When people are ruled by feelings, it necessarily diminishes the dignity of a person. When a soul is not well-ordered, the ability to use one’s will freely is diminished, but not completely destroyed. Rather, we have the duty to work to order our souls correctly, no matter how low we’ve gotten. An interesting fact about Augustine exemplifies man’s imperfections and low points. According to an online encyclopedia reference site (Wikipedia. com), Augustine had a mistress for several years before turning from evil to do good. Not much more was written about this incident, but it did mention that Augustine attributed his rise from a life of sin to a great doctor of the Church by means of God’s grace. He believed that through God’s grace, we can choose to become men of good will and live good lives. For me, a â€Å"good life† means that I make a comfortable living as a doctor, I and my family enjoy good health, and then I die peacefully at age 80. That’s a good life. Anything else is â€Å"bad. † In a limited sense, that’s true. But if we have a soul and there is such a thing as eternity, then that changes the picture entirely. Eighty years in the face of eternity is not such a big deal. Relating this to a major historical event, after being responsible for the torture and deaths of millions of people, could Hitler could really â€Å"end it all† by just swallowing some poison? No. Ultimate justice is found in another dimension. I will stop myself there since the concept of â€Å"another dimension† is a whole other argument. That it is very difficult for us to â€Å"judge† God because we are stuck in time and space. And because our view is so limited, when â€Å"bad† things happen, there are so many possibilities of why it’s happening that we are incapable of considering them all: Is this a challenge in life that was given to me so I could become an example to inspire others? Or is this to get me to fix a wrong I’ve done? Or is this due to historical/national forces that are affecting me as an individual? Or is what’s happening to me now through a choice that I’ve made? Or that I’m on my own because I’ve distanced myself? † The fact that there are so many possibilities makes it easier to come to terms with the question and to be more comfortable realizing that if I had God’s infinite view I would understand. Until that day comes, these theories of mine will have to do. On Free Choice of the Will by Saint Augustine An essay providing insight as to why a good God lets bad things happen as well as why men choose to do evil. Roya Mohebpour.

Friday, August 30, 2019

An Exit Strategy From Poverty: Sustainable Comprehensive Humanitarian Assistance and Planning in the developing and under-developed world

Humanitarian aid to the developing and under-developed world has been a hotly debated issue around the globe for decades, with the focus being on how these poor nations can be given aid and if the aid is only creating more barriers than it is breaking them down. The prevalent belief now is that previous models of humanitarian aid have been band-aid fixes for an enduring, wide-scale problem. There appears to be a sea change occurring with humanitarian aid, however, spurred by economic and social reforms to previous aid models. This change, examined at the most simple level is influenced by the proverb â€Å"give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish, and you feed him for a lifetime. † An organization at the head of the tide of this sea change is Sustainable Comprehensive Humanitarian Assistance and Planning (SCHAP). SCHAP represents a movement away from aid from nation states and NGOs to more independent work by non-profit organizations – with a different economic sense than before. This new sense focuses aid not on the previous ‘head-above-water’ emergency temporary fixes, but rather on the development of the poor nations and their people, to get them out of the water altogether. It is the sustainable and comprehensive on which SCHAP endeavors itself, seeing it not just as part of the name of their organization, but as the name of a â€Å"new humanitarian ideology† (SCHAP 1) where assistance and planning are critical to the creation of a self empowering infrastructure based on the thinking and development of the suffering regions and communities (SCHAP 1). It is this focus on sustainability and providing aid in a comprehensive manner that SCHAP shares with the organizations it works with and takes inspiration from, like the revolutionary Grameen Bank. What SCHAP brings to poor nations is a unique aid perspective from a business-sense, where entrepreneurship and lending reforms are paramount. SCHAP’s vision is that this sea change will see developing and under-developed nations become truly profitable in not only an economic sense, but also socially, culturally and politically. SCHAP, in other words, does not wish to provide the fish, but rather to help create a nation of fishermen. 2. SCHAP’s HUMANITARIAN AID PLATFORM SCHAP is a non-profit organization working in poor nations, and their mission is two-pronged: to bring sustainable solutions to humans living with extreme disadvantages in an effort to empower them with tools, resources, information and vision requisite for development and an increased quality of life, while also teaching the correct principles of sustainable and comprehensive humanitarian work to aspiring philanthropists. SCHAP 1) SCHAP brings an approach that focuses on internal development rather than external fixes or influences. With access to developmental skills and tools and proper education, SCHAP states that change will come from the spread of principles, technology and information from within communities (1). SCHAP’s non-profit status means that it can devote the entirety of its resources and donations to the communit ies of poor nations. Founder and President Cory Glazier emphasizes that every dollar that goes to SCHAP goes into the cost of their projects, and that with a fully volunteer staff, they can grow unabated by the freedom from the need for funds (KPBS 1). An aspect of SCHAP that has garnered it not only success in its application in villages like Matoso, Kenya, but also global attention, is from its focus on planning that examines the issues at the heart of the communities and builds aid from those issues in a way that respects the local cultural and social integrity. Glazier maintains that by looking at the roots of an issue rather than just the implications of those issues (which includes speaking with people in the villages), a better understanding is gained as to how these people’s circumstances got to be the way they are and what must be done (SCHAP 1) to promote development to cross the poverty line. By better understanding the circumstances that led to and that propagate the conditions the people of poor nations face, SCHAP is uniquely equipped with the knowledge to create a plan that implements a comprehensive multi-dimensional platform to create permanent solutions. Paul Polak sees this sort of planning as being â€Å"routine for large businesses or for any entrepreneur seeking to start-up venture capital, but it is rare for development organizations† (18). Polak’s wealth of experience with humanitarian aid has given him an exclusive perspective on what is needed in order to end poverty in the poor nations, and he sees learning from a real-life context from those who are suffering and not ignoring the obvious as leading to creation of world-changing ideas (18). SCHAP’s focus on the internal development rather than the external addresses what Jeffrey Sachs sees as the influence of the developed world and how the poor nations must break the barriers that have beset them as well as the barriers that foreign aid has unwittingly erected. Sach’s identification that â€Å"a country’s fate is crucially determined by its specific linkages to the rest of the world† (128) is one that SCHAP recognizes and looks to fix with promoting the internal development of communities to unwrap themselves from the more burdensome linkages, such as crippling terms of debt or the inability to gain credit. Sach carries forward on his premise of the effect of specific linkages with the rest of the world, suggesting two remedies that SCHAP champions, which are the concept of economic transformation of a broad-based sense and the possibilities of a practical nature that arise from conceptual thinking on a large-scale (128). The true promising potential of SCHAP is seen in how its fundamentals mirror what a United States Institute of Peace symposium in October 1995 outlined as to what was needed to create a more positive impact by NGOs on foreign aid, which were improved planning, more accurate assessment of needs, providing aid with the longest term benefit to specifically targeted groups and empowering local institutions (Smock 1). With SCHAP focusing on sustainable and comprehensive planning, it is operating within a new framework that is given a freedom as a result from working independently of governments and International bodies that have been heavily involved in foreign aid that has largely been ineffectual. Operating in this manner, SCHAP is not guilty of what David Smock admonishes NGOs for, which is functioning merely as agents for the implementation of foreign aid from governments and the United Nations (2). The most unique aspect of SCHAP is its local approach regarding aid. By focusing on a community, not only is the task less daunting for a smaller organization such as SCHAP, but it also plays to the organization’s strength of knowing the root of local issues. This knowledge entails a respect for the social and cultural identity of these communities and the importance that the sphere of a community is to the larger cultural and social national identity. It is tribalism mixed with 21st century economics, and it is this ‘best of both worlds’ framework which SCHAP is hoping to use to bring the people of poor nations out of poverty – for good. To evaluate the work that SCHAP is doing, its potential for long term developmental benefits and the support it has from other institutions that assist it or provide a parallel framework, three key areas that SCHAP is focused on should be examined. Firstly is SCHAP’s focus on providing the people of poor nations with an exit strategy from poverty by a business-oriented tilt towards entrepreneurship and the formation of a solid financial foundation from micro-credit. Another key area of concern for SCHAP is attention towards education, which will not only raise the quality of life for the people in the communities, but a focus on the development of children will lead to long-lasting benefits that will carry on for generations. Lastly, SCHAP is obviously promoting improvements in the health of the people of poor nations with such necessities as clean water and access to and knowledge of better nutrition. These three key areas of concern are part of the building blocks of the comprehensive vision that SCHAP holds of bringing an end to poverty for the people of poor nations – on their terms. . Providing an Exit Strategy from Poverty Foreign aid has largely been stopgap measures in emergency situations, with money and manpower being poured into poor areas to provide food and resources without addressing the causes of the problems that plague poor nations. This aid has managed to staunch some of the bleeding that poverty steadily provides, but it is only by giving the poor nations an independence from foreign aid and providing the tools and knowledge needed to ascend beyond poverty that these nations and, more importantly, their people will prosper. What SCHAP endeavors to provide the people of communities like Matoso, Kenya is an exit strategy from poverty that focuses on providing the means for not only self-sustainment but also profit. It is from Glazier that SCHAP’s unique foundation is formed, as he has a background business, which he uses to his advantage and to the advantage of his organization and the people they help escape poverty. To use Matoso as a case study, Glazier and SCHAP put together what he calls a â€Å"business plan for the village† (KPBS 1), which focuses on what is needed to increase the quality of life for the village as a whole and for families and individuals that live within it by promoting their own development. Glazier sees the inherent barriers that a cashless community faces in trying to interact with a cash community (1), such as a financial institution or a financially supportive NGO or nation state. SCHAP’s business plan is to break those barriers. SCHAP’s exit strategy from poverty for the people of poor nations involves teaching the principles of entrepreneurship, how to optimize businesses and the benefits of microcredit (SCHAP 1). The passing of this knowledge is intended to create sustainable rural development promoted by the entrepreneurship of local members of the community, which would create a market environment within the community (SCHAP 1). SCHAP recognizes that the potential of local entrepreneurs by to be business leaders and wishes to empower them with training and assistance to reach this potential. Implementation of this strategy includes business development workshops in the communities, teaching those in the communities to develop business plans and how to qualify for microcredit and to train and hire members of the community to serve as business development leaders to carry on the initiatives set out by SCHAP (SHAP 1). Muhammad Yunus, Nobel Prize winner for creating the ‘grandfather’ institution of micro-credit, the Grameen Bank, acknowledges the capabilities of the people of poor nations to be successful entrepreneurs and that the support of organizations with the objectives of SCHAP can create stepping stones out of poverty. Yunus sees entrepreneurship as a universal ability that allows people to choose to work for themselves rather than waiting for jobs to be created for them (54). Yunus likens the business development by local entrepreneurs to the growth of healthy bonsai trees, as the seed of a tall tree planted in a shallow pot will grow to resemble a tall tree but will be stunted; the seed is fine, but the soil needs to be adequate to promote proper growth (54). The ‘seed’ that foreign aid has provided in the past was well intended but the framework was inadequate to create real change to the situation of poverty. The business-driven initiatives of SCHAP look to create deep, fertile soil to promote the ascension beyond poverty. Another aspect of SCHAP’s exit strategy from poverty involves the access to microcredit in order to bring the impoverished into the financial sphere. Not only will microcredit allow for entrepreneurial growth, but it will also promote financial stability for future inevitabilities of families well beyond business. By providing microcredit and supportive training to qualified members of the communities, sustainable financial situations can be created and maintained. SCHAP looks to achieve this not only with access to microcredit, but by also working with the local entrepreneurs with developing a business plan and to achieve the qualifications for credit (SCHAP 1). This is a long-term initiative that looks to empowering the people of poor nations and breaking down the barriers that traditional financial institutions have erected by marginalizing – and even entirely dismissing – the people of poor nations. Breaking these barriers is what motivated Yunus to create the Grameen Bank to serve as a financial institution to the poor. Yunus’ evaluation of the treatment of the people of poor nations led him to the realization that banks considered the poor as unworthy of credit and as a result, the poor were prevented from entering into – and profiting from – the financial system, and from this broken system Yunus sought to create a financial institution that would worthy of the people (49). In the traditional financial system, the people of the poor nations are non-entities. Traditional financial institutions are concerned with making money, and providing funds to risky ventures is not in those banks best interests. Without credit, the poor cannot create a foundation to develop a long-term self-sustaining life and save money. The conditions that have created and perpetuated poverty in developing and under-developed nations are not the only obstacle that the poor must overcome in order to escape poverty. The barriers created by the traditional financial institutions hold back the development that the poor are capable of achieving given they are allowed access to what the rest of the world has had for decades. Turning up a nose to the people of poor nations’ need for credit is a hypocritical stance that ignores the realities of the markets in the Western World. Credit is arguably how the middle class in the West survives, and when that bubble bursts, the effects show how pervasive credit is in the economy of these countries. Look no further than the subprime mortgage crisis in the United States and the resulting economic instability for an example of the vast need for credit inherent in the developed world. To deny the developing and under-developed world credit is to deny their potential and their rights. Yunus created the Grameen Bank to allow access to credit for the poor to generate self-employment and income for them (Yunus 54). The Grameen Bank operates under Yunus’ principles of microcredit, which does enforce on the poor the rules and laws of traditional banks, but rather recognizes them upon their own worth (49). Microcredit provides microloans – small loans with small interest rates – to those without collateral or previous credit. Microcredit, and the other facets of microfinance promote entrepreneurship and the ability to develop the stability needed for long-term sustainability above the poverty line. The Grameen Bank’s use of microcredit and its unique lending terms allow for the challenging of what Yunus calls the â€Å"financial apartheid† (51), as traditional lending terms, especially interest rates, are entirely unreasonable for the people of poor nations. While the average person in the Western World is around 20 to 25 per cent, poor people, who are ‘graciously allowed’ to be burdened by traditional banks with payday loans, are facing annual interest rates around 250 per cent (51). Yunus faced widespread criticism from those appalled at his disregard for the low-risk activity of traditional financial institutions and willingness to apparently throw money away without any chance of seeing any sort of return. Yunus was literally banking on the potential he saw in the people of poor nations, and his work not only yielded financial returns, but also allowed for the economic development of poor communities. The success of the Grameen Bank and its microcredit platform is seen in the over 2500 branches that currently provide loans to over seven million poor, totaling six Billion Dollars (51) since the Banks’ inception in 1983. The repayment rate on those loans stands at 98. 6 per cent – a blow to critics of microcredit and the Grameen Bank – and most importantly, 64 per cent of borrowers that have been involved with the Bank for five or more years have risen above the poverty line (52). SCHAP utilizes microcredit to promote development in communities because it allows for flexibility and growth that is within the reach of poor entrepreneurs. A study by Daryl Collins et al. howed that when given access to loans, the poor members of communities acted in a responsible manner that promoted sustainability, with savings being contributed to the bank weekly, and withdrawals being made only between two or three times in a financial quarter (161). The study also found that ease of use brought about increased development, as the introduction of the passbook savings account saw a dramatic rise in savings made by the poor members of the communities (162). The efficacy of the Grameen Bank and microcredit, then, can be seen in the quantitative evidence, but the true human impact can be seen on the quality of life of those borrowers. In these communities, the priority of families if of course the children, to not only provide them with the essentials for a healthy, productive life, but also to be given the tools and skills to continue the entrepreneurial activities. The Grameen Pension Savings (GPS) is a facet of the microcredit initiatives that greatly benefit children with the long-term stability of saving profits. The GPS offers a low interest rate to borrowers in exchange for the promise of a regular savings of at least one dollar per month for the term of the loan, which is either five or 10 years. The plan is not restricted to retirement resources, as it promotes the saving of funds for the social, cultural and familial inevitabilities, such as children’s schooling and weddings (168). While the structure of the GPS promotes savings discipline, it also is freeing in terms of its end-of-term options, as at the end of a GPS term, savings can be transferred into a deposit account at the bank and a new GPS can be started (168). Programs such as the GPS promote the sort of sustainable development that SCHAP is initiating in these communities, which will allow for the people to pick themselves up out of the hole of poverty and propagate the economic, social and cultural integrity of the community, the region and the nation at large. The Asia-Pacific Review highlighted the advantages of microcredit to organizations such as SCHAP and their initiatives: micro-credit is a dream come true for donors and non-governmental organizations†¦loans are invested in pre-existing survival skills, enabling the poorest to be magically transformed into entrepreneurs. That way, micro-credit’s supporters claim, lending to the poor shows that capitalism can benefit all, not just the rich. (xii) It is not magic that will transform the people of these communities into entrepreneurs, but the hard work of organizations like SCHAP and, more importantly, the hard work and dedication of the local members of the communities. One aspect of entrepreneurialism that SCHAP is channeling that hard work and resources into is the ensuring of ongoing regional economic development through a focus on agriculture (SCHAP 1). Polak has studied such agricultural reform with great attention, and has found that foreign aid to poor communities has provided only enough knowledge of farming to barely keep their heads above water. His experience in these communities found that the focus of agriculture was on the products and means of producing such that provided only enough to eat, but not near enough to reach a surplus on which money could be made on the market. Polak found that the difficulties of such practices come from two sources: an ingrained traditional in the culture of these communities and the propagation of such practices by government agricultural aid agents that applied Western knowledge of crop production for sustenance (84). Polak saw the potential for the economic benefits and an increase in quality of life in agricultural reforms, specifically in small-acreage farms. This potential arose from the ideals of the Green Revolution, for which its creator Norman Borlaug received a Nobel Prize. The Green Revolution refers to the sustainable change in food production, with a focus on small-acreage farmers, which would create an increase in food supply, new jobs and reasonable income from the selling of surplus food products (85). What agricultural reforms like the Green Revolution provide for small-acreage subsistence farmers is the opportunity to not to just live hand-to-mouth and remain reliant upon foreign aid donations, but to operate in a profitable manner that will allow them to be active members of the marketplace and to have the ability to purchase the food and resources they need. This is the sustainability that SCHAP endeavors to help provide, hence their attention to agriculture as a means for entrepreneurial success. The means for this success suggested by Polak concerning agricultural reform are teaching small-acreage farmers green revolution strategies, including using high yield varieties of crops already being produced, the use of fertilizers and proper irrigation to increase the yield of their food crops to enter the marketplace (84). SCHAP has used a business plan approach to agriculture to create cash flow in the village of Matoso. They took a plot of land and created – with the help of those in the community – a large garden. This garden served to not only get the economic ball rolling in the community to combat poverty, but also served as an example for the local members of the community as to how to develop a marketplace to benefit them by creating capital. In order to gain access to such healthcare products such as malaria medication or contraceptives, members of the communities could work in the garden and farm area in exchange for the medications, which SCHAP would provide. They did this, not to undermine the economy of the community, but to promote the knowledge and skills of producing time, effort and product into money (KPBS 1). By promoting entrepreneurship in this manner, SCHAP created a cycle of cash flow by purchasing medications and providing those medications to the community and then selling back the produce from the garden and farm area, (KPBS 1) in hopes of overcoming the stagnation of poverty with a new engine of commerce. This promotion of commerce with agriculture is not only an access point for local members of the community to qualify for microcredit, but also the creation of a sustainable way of life that promotes the growth beyond poverty. Lisa Avery points out that microcredit has gained recognition on the world stage as an effective mechanism for the empowerment of the people of poor nations in an economic and social sense (224), but her work also shows the importance of SCHAP’s comprehensive focus on battling poverty. The need for effective aid is to be multi-dimensional, and Avery recognizes this factor in the relationship between entrepreneurial pursuits and the support of microcredit and education and health, as she discovered that the children of borrowers from microcredit institutions like the Grameen Bank had much higher rates of enrollment in schools and that their medical needs were more likely to be met (209). 4. SCHAP’s Focus on Education. SCHAP’s comprehensive focus is supported by the Asia & Pacific Review, whose study findings led them to suggest that unless microcredit is couple with sufficient support in other areas, the poor borrowers, especially women, will find their capacity to generate income in decline (xii). A focus of SCHAP in addition to entrepreneurship is education, which speaks as much to sustainable development within these communities just as much as economic activity. SCHAP operates with heavy attention on primary education by introducing school buildings and the tools and skills to provide the educational framework within them. Yunus exemplifies the authoritative voice of support for SCHAP’s initiatives, arguing that â€Å"the first and foremost task of development is to turn on the engine of creativity inside each person† (56). Yunus also looks to the next generation of the members of these communities to be the focus of reducing or eliminating poverty, and maintains that any program directed towards children should be considered a prime development program, just as important, if not more so, than the development of infrastructure (55). In terms of the comprehensive approach to battling poverty, Yunus agrees this approach must be taken, as he argues that economic development must include the exploration of creative potential of the individual which, when enabled, will prove more important than any quantitative economic factor (56). This sense of education leading to economic growth not only shows the efficacy of the comprehensive approach of organizations like SCHAP, but also highlights the focus on the long-term sustainability of these communities and their people. By focusing attention and resources on children at a prime stage of development, the impressions made will last beyond their generation, as they will be passed on for many more to come. SCHAP’s primary education goals are to create schools and to create activities that foster learning and creative exploration for the children, as many of these communities have no formal primary educational programs and the education institutions that do exist are highly ineffective, which has resulted in high illiteracy rates and basic learning skills, especially in children under nine years of age (SCHAP 1). Construction of school buildings are repairs to existing structures is an example of a hands-on fix, while SCHAP looks to empower the community to provide education by providing training and jobs for local teachers as well as needed resources (1). Sustainability of these programs is addressed with the covering of overhead with small school fees, which are made possible by the economic reforms within these communities with entrepreneurship and access to marketplace due to agricultural reforms. The multitude of benefits from this focus on primary education is due in no small part to the role that poor education plays in the derailment of any long-term attempts at ending poverty in these communities. Lisa Avery found that children that do not receive schooling during their critical formative years will only serve to continue the cycle of the illiterate and uneducated in the communities, and that low levels of education contribute to the continuation of poverty, as a result of higher birth rates and those children competing in the families for resources already stretched too thin and they are left out of the workplace (212) due to lack of skills. The Academy for Education Development looks to primary education programs such as those of SCHAP as promoting the learning of skills and the articulation of ideas that promote the acquisition of knowledge and the means for development, but also in the acquisition of the processes and habits of reasoning that promote lifelong learning and the development of the community as a result of learning. An important aspect of SCHAP’s focus on education within the context of a community is that with local education there is also an instilling of cultural value systems. These value systems are just as important as the knowledge of the world around the students, as an understanding of where they come from and what it means to belong to that community, regional and national culture promotes the continuation of those cultural traditions and values to future generations. This is an empowering facet of the nature of these communities, not only to preserve the culture, but to also serve as a sense of independence from nations and cultures that they previously relied so heavily upon. In this way, every member of the community can be a teacher, and there is much to be learnt from them by the children. SCHAP recognizes this and involves parents and other elder members of communities within the educational programs to promote cultural learning. This is essential for not only the children, but also for the other members of the community to reinforce the cultural value and belief systems. The Academy for Education Development regards this activity as highly effective in doing so, recommending that for the success of such primary educational programs, parental involvement should be encouraged, not just as guests or family members but as contributing members of the community (23). Having parents and members of the community involved in primary school programs as SCHAP does promotes linkage between school and the community and home, where what is learned from each sphere can be transferred and shared between members. While the positive aspects of learning within a community are emphasized by SCHAP, so to are initiatives to overcome the aspects of the community that may impede learning. One such initiative is the creation of a â€Å"micro library† consisting of a collection of approximately 1,000 books on a wide variety of topics, along with providing assistance for studying the materials (SCHAP 1). What SCHAP is trying to do with these libraries is not just to provide another centre for learning, but also to combat the â€Å"closed system of information† (1) that communities become. Making new knowledge, skills and resources available to the community promotes an increase in development (1) in the economic, social, cultural and political spheres of the local region. Education works in tandem with business development to create a foundation from which to rise above poverty, but another issue that must be addressed before work can be done or learning is to be made, and that is the health of those in the communities. . SCHAP’s Focus on Health Health is obviously an important issue in the lives of people in poor nations and foreign aid’s attempt at solving. Unfortunately a large amount of funds and manpower has been put into emergency situations regarding health, but very little has been done to address the roots of health issues that are simplistic and relativ ely cheap in comparison to wide-spread relief efforts of the past. A health focus that comes from SCHAP’s knowledge of the fundamental roots of issues in these communities involves the access to clean water. The conditions of water in developing and under-developed nations is dangerously poor due to contamination from agricultural run-off, ineffective or non-existent waste management and illness-causing pathogens. By creating a clean water system in these communities, SCHAP is producing a permanent fix to the root health issue by providing a â€Å"sustainable, maintainable, expandable and replicable† (1) resource. One initiative to achieve this system is with the building and installation of a water filtration system that is simplistic and requires low maintenance, so that the members of the community can maintain existing systems and build and install more elsewhere. An IDRC study by Blanca Jimenez et al. recommends such simple filtration systems for communities such as these, with filtration removing dangerous particulate matter and illness-causing pathogens from the water (3). The IDRC also sees the benefit of access and propagation of these basic systems, as they are infinitely more cost effective than wider-spread regional programs that require significant funds and resources, such as the installation of water treatment plants (3). Another health focus of SCHAP that not only addresses a fundamental issue of poor health of the impoverished but also illuminates how health is linked with education and work in creating an escape from poverty is nutrition. The plan for improved nutrition involves the education of the community, particularly children, as to what is necessary in terms of food to keep them healthy, but also an education as to what agricultural output is most nutritional (SCHAP 1). While medications can be costly and difficult to obtain because of limited supply, addressing a health concern such as nutrition gets to the origins of issues before they can multiply or become fatal. Many people in poor nations die from illnesses that would be easily preventable with basic education and forethought into such things as nutrition. Engle et al. has examined the linkage between nutrition and child development, finding that illnesses that come from poor nutrition, such as anemia, impede such development (230). The prevention of childhood development that malnutrition causes is caused by a disruption of neural circuitry that can lead to permanent difficulties with cognitive skills (230). Early intervention in the form of nutritional education and agricultural reform is shown to combat this development impediment. To use anemia as an example, it occurs because of an iron deficiency. SCHAP initiatives would include the promoting of the growth of iron rich plants, which the IDRC has found to have positive effects on the childhood development of motor-skills, emotional maturity and language and other social skills (Jimenez 2). The initiatives of SCHAP in this context once again present a comprehensive approach to combating poverty, by promoting a healthy lifestyle and the means to achieve it, which can be passed down for generations to come. . Conclusion While only touching on a few of SCHAP’s initiatives for communities in poor nations, what is made clear is that a reformed, comprehensive approach that focuses on sustainable long-term results has the great potential for creating an exit strategy from poverty for these nations and to untie these nations from the cumbersome umbilical cord of foreign aid. What SCHAP is doing by setting up programs and initiatives in these communities is not a hand out, but a helping hand. By giving the tools and the means to create their own resources to these communities, SCHAP is contributing to the fight against poverty in ways that are far-reaching and long lasting. The emphasis made by Cory Glazier on listening to the members of these communities shows a simplistic approach to revolutionary, life-changing ideas. It implies the communication with and involvement of the people of these communities who not only have a right to have say in foreign aid that is given to them, but who also have a responsibility to create the changes that will end poverty in their nations. While SCHAP has shown great potential and has made great improvements in villages such as Matoso, the reality is that there must be hundreds more organizations like SCHAP to join the battle. It is not a battle that these organizations, such as SCHAP or their supporting institutions such as the Grameen Bank, can win, but it is in arming the people of these poor nations that the battle can indeed be won.

Thursday, August 29, 2019

Asian American Experience Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 1

Asian American Experience - Essay Example The economic diversity of Asian American citizens has been a worrying factor. Takaki (502) argues that differences in the social standings of Asian American communities have caused suffering to some of the Asian Americans. Although the Immigration Act of 1965 brought many elites to the United States, it also brought in many refugees seeking better life. This means that the Asian American community is a bipolar one, having the educated professionals and the needy group. Judging, however, by the notion advanced by the media, that most Asian Americans are prominent and intelligent people, many feel obliged to conform to this stereotype. The government often neglects groups such as the unemployed, the elderly and the farm laborers. Social services such as access to medical services and schooling for this needy group are often unavailable. The Asian American community is seen to exemplify the American dream, to the extent that President Reagan, in 1984, perceived the Asian American popula tion as America’s utmost success story (Takaki). President Reagan stated categorically, that all Americans were descendants of the immigrants chasing the American dream. He added that America’s economy needed the hard work and honesty of the Asian Americans to continue thriving. The wages of most Asian Americans are not at par with those of the ordinary Americans. According to Takaki (612), the mean personal income of whites in 1980 was equivalent to that of the Japanese provided the latter had more education and worked for longer hours.

Wednesday, August 28, 2019

Athenian Greek Women's Role in Religion Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Athenian Greek Women's Role in Religion - Essay Example Women’s roles are well defined, being depicted as slaves to the community. Another role is that of a wife for the continuity of the society. This paper focuses on how different institutions in Athenian society have led to oppression of women. Athenian women were socialized into having a conservative approach towards life. Women who were noted to be vocal were termed as prostitutes. The society viewed a woman’s place to be home, roles like childcare and spinning defined a valuable woman in the society. Women from poor households went through a tasking experience compared to those from rich households. Due to poor economic background, this woman was forced to seek for a job through which she would raise funds to assist her household. Acquisition of clothes for her family was done through personal efforts. She was to engage in sewing and collecting water from the rich. These duties arose due to the fact that, there are no funds to be used in hiring slaves (Classen 2007) On the other hand, women from rich household enjoyed some privileges compared to those from poor households. Their lives though with full of oppression from men, she was relieved of some duties. Slaves were hired to work on farms therefore; they did no t have to participate in tasking jobs like weeding and planting. There major role was to coordinate the slaves in households and offering training to different households. Women both from rich and poor households were not allowed to freely interact with men. In case of any visitations men were the only people allowed to welcome visitors after which women were to live in the guest room in case the visitor was a male (Tetlow 1980). This was to create a drift between men and women. The Athenian society highly stratified women; there were those from wives class, concubines and the hetaerae class. Those from wives class were not to participate in social ceremonies apart from those that were religious. Concubines were gained from poor children who had been considered as outcast due to their parent’s immoral nature. The third class is comprised of educated women. This group of elites was majorly to provide company to men in ceremonies only after being paid handsomely. Concubines and learned women have been drawn as providers of companionship to men (Graham 2003). Religion Religious functions were the only functions that Athenian women could participate freely. A priestess was appointed who received much respect from the society; this can be attributed to good morals. There were religious festivals carried out and women acted as the main participants. Virginity was vital for these ceremonies to be successful; girls were chosen from the ruling class to participate in procession. The main reason of choosing virgins according to Athenian society was a sign of purity and good luck (Lipshitz 2001). The Greek religion was made up of different beliefs at the same time rituals that governed the society. They believed in existence of many gods and goddesses who had different roles in fulfilling societal needs. Gods did not have equal powers. There were those that were powerful than others. The society believed in fate especially on matters concerning wars. Dead people w ere to be respected due to the fear that they might haunt the public. Spirits of the dead according to the Greek society did not die with them therefore in case they were provoked the society would face environmental catastrophes. Athenian women had little influence in the operations of the society. They were denied legal rights. Ownership of property was mainly for the men who later leased it to their wives or sisters. Women were

Tuesday, August 27, 2019

Case Study on Apple Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

On Apple - Case Study Example â€Å"Mike† Markkula, Jr. have experienced the ups and downs of the organization due to competitive pressures and changes in the external environment. With the latest generated success from non-PC products, Jobs, currently the CEO is faced with the dilemma of evaluating Apple’s current performance in view of future prospects. The question that is to be responded to is: Was Apple’s recent success just another temporary â€Å"up† in its up- and-down history, or had he finally established a sustainable strategy for the company? The case is hereby assessed by addressing the questions enumerated below. I. Current Situation A. Current Performance In the 1980’s Apple’s competitive advantages focused on the following: (1) possessed strong corporate position and image as a pioneer manufacturer and marketing of easy-to-use computer for a wide range of clientele; (2) begun to exhibit excellence in product design; and (4) launched a successful Initial Pu blic Offering of their shares. However, during this period, Apple was reported to â€Å"rely on proprietary designs that only Apply could produce† (Yoffie & Slind, 2008, p. 2) in contrast to IBM’s â€Å"open† system which enabled other computer producers to clone. The result of this on Apple’s financial performance during the 1980s was a drop in their market share by 6.2% in 1982; decreased net income from 1982 to 1984 by a significant 17%. The condition necessitated removal of Jobs as in charge of operations and eventually made him to decide leaving the position to Sculley, a previous CEO from Pepsi-Cola in 1983. The financial performance of Apple reflected an up-and-down history of financial success. The selected financial highlights presented in Exhibit 1 indicate increasing trends from 1981 to 1996 with a sharp decline in 1998. The upward trend likewise continued to be exemplified from 1998 onwards. The latest financial figures from the time Apple foc used on non-PC products in 2001 attest to the increasing pattern, ending with net sales of $24 billion in 2007 to $24.6 billion for the first to third quarters of 2008. Likewise, net income improved considerably from only $65 million in 2002 to almost double to $3.7 billion for the first three quarters of 2008 (Yoffie & Slind, 2008, p. 16). The composition of net revenues for Apple come from Macintosh products and non-PC products with majority of revenues accounted for by the non-PC products (70%). From Exhibit 1b, it can be deduced that financial success was mostly attributable to the iPod, seconded by portables. Other fast moving products were desktops and other music products. Data from Exhibit 1c provides information that supports that more than 61% of net sales in the first three quarters of 2008 came from the U.S., followed by Europe (33%) and the remaining sales coming from Japan. Exhibit 2 indicated that the share prices for Apple rose sharply, starting in 2002 and more abru ptly after 2006, consistent with the introduction of the iPhone in the market. On a global scale, however, the financial figures indicate that worldwide PC share had actually been steady at an average of 2.5% since 1997 (Exhibit 3). Apple’s gross margin has bested other competitors, particularly Hewlett-Packard and Dell (35% in 2007) (Exhibit 5). Comparing their net income to those of its competitors, Apple’s net income of $3.5 billion in 2007 was only almost similar in amount to Dell ($2.9 billion). All other competitors topped the net income according to the following positions: Microsoft ($14 billion), Hewlett-Packard ($7.3billion), and Intel ($7 billion). B. Strategic Posture During the governance of Sculley and just

Monday, August 26, 2019

Mission Statement Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Mission Statement - Essay Example The style of the company itself is to work with the energy present throughout our value chain and the passion of individuals within the organization to give our clients exactly what they demand. The researcher then presents the beliefs of company's team, such as belief that without passion and energy, no work and no task can ever be satisfactory and for that purpose, belief that all partners and stakeholders should have the same level of energy and the same level of commitment as the company do when it comes to making sure that the clients are satisfied and that there is no gap between what the company promise and what the company deliver. The researcher then analyzes several fields of business to fully describe values that are important to the company. Such values presented make improving the reputation of the business a primary focus of the company and it includes continually finding ways in which the team can serve their clients better. The issues and values mentioned in the essay add together as a mission of the successful company which drives the business forward and gives the company strength to remain in the race. In effect, it makes them the best company to do business with since such team not only speak their mission clearly but also live it and stand by it when it comes to making business decisions and looking at the competition with the right attitude. In conclusion, the researcher states that the energy and passion of the company and it's employees feeds into the mission they have developed.

Sunday, August 25, 2019

Gone With The Wind Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Gone With The Wind - Research Paper Example As such, parody on its own or with the inclusion of satire does not attract infringement while a satire that stands alone attracts infringement of the copyright law. This brings the issue of fair use as demonstrated by several infringement battles such as in the case of Colting’s 60 Years Later novel and Suntrust Bank v Houghton Mifflin. Fair use sets a legal ground that permits commercial and creative decisions regarding rewrites. This leads to more cultural products making our culture richer, but also poses the big challenge of determining what qualifies as fair use and what does not. Thampapillai, Dilan. The Novel as a Social Satire: 60 Years Later, the Wind Done Gone and the Limitations of Fair Use. Deakin Law Review (2012): 427-452.Print. In The Novel as a Social Satire: 60 Years Later, The Wind Done Gone and the Limitations of Fair Use, the author, Dilan Thampapillai, evaluate the doctrine of fair use and its application in the society. He also explores the difference be tween fair use in Australian Copyright law and the American Copyright law in order to give an insight into the distinction between satire and parody. Furthermore, Dilan evaluates application of fair use with reference to the case of 60 Years Later and the rewrite of Gone With The Wind. Dilan Thampapillai currently works as a lecturer at the Deakin University School of Law. Prior to this, Dilan worked at the Australian Government Solicitor and Attorney-General’s Department as a lawyer. Evidently, he has a good background in the area of law giving credibility to his work. In addition, Dilan specializes in topics such as free speech, intellectual property, and public law. Dilan currently studies PhD at Melbourne University, holds a Master in Laws and a Bachelor of Laws from Cornell University and Australian National University respectively. Furthermore, the article is recent, published in 2012, thus, has up to date information about fair use. I will use the information in this a rticle to get an insight into the issue of fair use and infringement of Copyright issues. I will use the information from this article to evaluate the circumstances that a rewrite qualifies as fair use, and the circumstances under which it does not, that is, qualifies as infringement. Thus, this article will help me to understand better the concepts of parody and satire, and how they apply in Copyright issues. Dilan Thampapillai writes, â€Å"What must be accepted then is that both parody and satire are exercises in free speech and the fact that they warrant a free use exception in copyright law suggests that the statutory monopoly that is copyright needs to be reconciled with democratic values† (429). Beebe, Barton. An Empirical Study of US Copyright Fair Use Opinions, 1978-2005. University of Philadelphia Law Review (2008): 582-586. Print. In An Empirical Study of US Copyright Fair Use Opinions, the author, Beebe Barton discusses several opinions that argue for fair use. Ba rton refers to the four conditions in the US Copyright Act that fair use is dependent on. These are character and purpose of use, nature of the work copyrighted, sustainability and amount, and effect on the market. Beebe Barton is an intellectual law expert and a lecturer of the same at the New York University of Law. Beebe has J.D. from Yale school of Law attained in 2001, PhD from Princeton University and B.A. in Masters from the University of Chicago. In addition, Beebe is well vast in the topic of intellectual law, infringement, and

Saturday, August 24, 2019

The Economic Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

The Economic - Essay Example Aside from the education sector, the construction segment also suffered from a major cut due to the slowdown in public construction projects. Irwin also mentions Obama’s response to America’s unemployment problem, which is the $447 billion American Jobs Act. The Act aims to channel money to the state governments to avoid more job cuts (Irwin 2). This Act however is facing a lot of resistance from Congress who deem it unacceptable for the federal government to rescue the state and local governments. This article by Irwin presents a bird’s eye view of the current unemployment situation of the US. It is very informative, citing valuable data on the labor front. One thinks that even if the public sector does not create new jobs or cuts on its employment, the unemployment figure could still improve provided that the private sector is able to take in those who lost their jobs from the state and local governments. The question though that persists in one’s mind is whether the private sector is ready to hire more with the current state of the

Friday, August 23, 2019

English Language - Business Writing ( memmo and informal reports ) Essay

English Language - Business Writing ( memmo and informal reports ) - Essay Example ch allow readers to validate where the information stems from as well as to provide readers with the ability to personally investigate information† (Bolt, 2007). In the workplace, weblogs can allow the company to gain a deeper understanding of what â€Å"clients actually want, need and will pay money for† (Innovation Creators, 2007). This article on ‘How to use Blogs in the Workplace’ states the opportunity for personal motivation and focused business communication amongst the uses for weblogs besides public relations and marketing. When used to facilitate focused business communication, weblogs can be effectively used â€Å"as a platform to help people withing your company communicate about what they are doing for work† (ibid). Not many CEO’s use blogging mainly for reasons of time and the fact that it is more likely to be under scrutiny by employees (Jeremiah, 2007). However, if used carefully, it is quite simply an easy and powerful means of communicating. In fact, weblogs are a mass communications channel for company information, public relations as well as internal communications. And, the medium of technology makes the whole process of blogging easier. Through the Internet it is easy to reach a huge global audience not limited to the company or immediate market. Debbie Weil author of The Corporate Blogging Book says that, â€Å"an effective blog enables you to have a two-way conversation with customers and employees†. Also, weblogs can make effective use of a combination of images, audio and video content too besides text. The sheer quantity of webblogs is very large but Internet search tools are powerful in finding the precise information required. Weblogs also help to build connected businesses. Hyperlinks make it possible to link with related information from other writers. I strongly urge to consider the option of blogging to supplement your existing communication methods to reach out to your audience more effectively. It is a popular trend and

What Causes an Economic Downturn Literature review

What Causes an Economic Downturn - Literature review Example Growth of the Housing Bubble: The year 2006 has seen a number of people refinancing their properties to be able to pay lower interest rates. The customers have also been noted to have taken out a second mortgage as well. These were steps taken by the house owners to extract as much money as possible. This however has lead to the increasing the housing bubble and leading the house prices to decrease. Once this hit the country, the borrowers were not able to pay for the interest rates and neither were they able to refinance the homes. This lead the borrowers to default and lead to foreclosures from the banks due to delinquency (Smith, 2009). Sub – Prime Lending: Subprime lending basically refers to lending to people with higher risks, i.e. with low credit ratings. Post the IT bubble burst in 2000 the fed had reduced the interest rates, and also agreed to provide loans to people with low credit ratings (even below 620). Post the borrowers receiving the loan amounts, and with the lowered interest rates, there was a sudden hike in the prices of the real estates of the company. This lead to the borrowers to be able to borrow even more. This extra borrowing became a burden for the subprime borrowers and the number of defaulters had grown to a great extent (Waring, 2007). Banking Sector Issues: Shadow Banking systems is referred to when non – bank financial institutes provide for loans to businesses to operate. With the increasing ‘Shadow Banking System’ in the country, the NY Federal Reserve Bank placed a freeze on the funds. This led to major companies needing to sell off the long-term assets at much lower prices to be able to meet up to the short-term loan payments. This left the system completely shaken up and also left a huge damage on the regular banking systems and the credit cycles. A combined effect of all the above factors together has led the country to move into complete recession. As far as even in 2008 various  articles, the writer had refused to use the term recession for the US economy (Khan, 2008).  

Thursday, August 22, 2019

Sub-band coding Essay Example for Free

Sub-band coding Essay Abstract Sub-band coding refers to the process of subdividing audio and speech signals into a number of frequency bands before each of these bands is digitally encoded on its own. As lower frequency bands contain more speech or audio energy than higher frequency bands, they require more bits in order to be encoded. Sub-band coding is useful for this purpose. This paper will further explain the usefulness of sub-band coding and describe each step involved in this method. Introduction Analog signals include video, radar, audio and speech signals. These signals must be converted into digital form so as to be digitally processed. The digital form of an analog signal is a number sequence with finite precision. The A/D converter is the name given the process of conversion (Proakis Manolakis, 2007). This process is subdivided into the following processes: sampling, quantizing and coding. Sampling entails the conversion of continuous time signals into discrete time signals with the use of samples of continuous time signals at a known frequency. Quantization involves changes to continuous time values of the discrete time signals so as to convert them into discrete time values. The process of coding gives binary numbers to quantized signals depending on their values. There are various ways of converting analog signals into digital form for both storage and transmission. Sub-band coding happens to be an efficient method for this conversion, especially with medium bit rates (Pirani Zingarelli, 1984, 645). As the rate of sampling alters with time, either with an increase or decrease, the efficiency of the conversion process can be enhanced by minimizing the energy of transmitting or sending signals, depending, of course, on their sample rates, so that a greater amount of energy is made available for high sampling rates. It is also possible to compress data in order to reduce the amount of energy required for the process of transmission. This should be achieved without impairing the quality of the signal that is decoded (Crochiere, 1981, 1633). Sub-band coding is an effective technique for data compression. With the Matlab program, sub-band coding can be developed before it is implemented in the C7613. Here, the coder of sub-bands uses sampled signals as inputs. Depending on the energy of different signals, the various subs of the sub-band coder are assigned different numbers of bits. Thus, sub-band coding is expected to provide output signals that are similar to input signals. (See Sub-band coder in Figure 1, resulting in differing accuracies for output signals. Accuracies are dependent on the different values of bits used in the quantizers. It is preferable to give a greater number of bits for higher energy subs of the signal). Sub-band coding Sub-band coding involves the sub-band coder and sub-band encoded. There are different subs in the sub-band coder responsible for filtering the input sample with both filters, H1 and H2, in addition to down sampling. Sub-band encoded, on the other hand, entails quantizing, upsampling and filtering with K1 and K2 before the bands are summed for the final signal. (See Figure 1). As shown in this figure, if the rate of sampling the signal is Fs sample per second, the frequencies of each of the subdivisions of the sub-band coder can be computed. The signal spectrum is split into two equal-width parts by the first frequency subdivision: a lowpass signal (0FFs/4) and a highpass signal (Fs/4FFs/2). Sub-band coder The signals in both lowpass and highpass frequency bands require interpolation and summation. The filtering step serves to do away with signal noise, which may be lower or higher in frequency than the required signal. Filtering further serves to reduce the rates of sub-band sampling in order to minimize overall bit rates for encoding of signals. Hence, a superior performance in sub-band coding can be achieved by developing an accurate filter design (Crochiere, 1633). Filters that are idle, for example, the Brick wall filters as shown in Figure 2, are suitable for this purpose. However, such filters are not available outside of theory. Aliasing must be avoided; this is achieved by the decimation of sub-band signals. As actual filters have overlaps, it is best to resolve the problem of aliasing with the use of quadrature mirror filters. These filters have frequency response characteristics as shown in Figure 3 (Proakis Manolakis). The following equation shows perfect reconstruction: . From this equation we chose . Next, the filtered signal is down sampled with the process of down sampling. This process involves the deletion of every second sample. If there are three samples, for instance, the second sample would have to be deleted. This deletion reduces the number of samples to be quantized. Using the quantizer, the down sampled signal is quantized following deletion. Through quantization, we add quantization noise to bits being sampled. Thus, every set of two samples is averaged in order to approximate continuous time input signals on each of the bands by discrete numbers of samples (Veldhuis, Breeuwer, Van Der Wall, 1989).

Wednesday, August 21, 2019

HRM Information Systems

HRM Information Systems ABSTRACT Information technology is expected to drive Human Resource (HR)s transition from a focus on Human Resource Management (HRM) to Strategic Human Resource Management (SHRM). This strategic role not only adds a valuable dimension to the HR function, but also changes the competencies that define HR professional and practitioner success. The study aims at investigating what role if any do Human Resource Information Systems (HRIS) play in SHRM. It attempts to examine how HR professionals and managers in different organizations see the effects of HRIS on strategic HR tasks and job roles. It also tries to find out if there is any significant difference in the usage of HRIS between Small/Medium (SME) size and large size companies. A survey questionnaire was sent to different companies. The target group of the questionnaire was HR managers, HR directors, and HR professionals in companies based in England. The scope was widened to include both large and small/medium sized organizations across all the business sectors. The results of the survey reveal that HR professionals not only consider HRIS usage as a support for strategic HR tasks but also perceive it as an enabling technology. The study also indicates that large sized firms are most likely to experience considerable HRIS usage in support of strategic HR tasks. Moreover, there was no significant difference in proportion to the size of a company regarding HRIS usage in support of commitment management and managing trade union relations with organizations. Low response rate of this study makes generalization rather difficult however, future research would benefit from higher response rates for more generalized results OVERVIEW The relationship between the HR strategies and the firms performance is an issue that has caused significant differentiations in the literature mostly because of the existence of many parameters that can influence the results produced through the examination of this problem in practice. Moreover, because within a firm, the participants and the interests are many it is difficult to identify the role and the significance of each particular organizational element particularly when there is no specific corporate plan for such an investigation. RESEARCH PROBLEM The human resources strategies followed by modern organizations present significant differentiations in accordance with the firms position in the market, its performance and its financial strength in general. In the long term, the application of specific human resources strategies has been found to be related with the performance of the organization. Moreover, where appropriate HR plans have been applied, the organizational performance has been found to be increased. AIMS AND OBJECTIVES OF THE RESEARCH Current research as already mentioned above will focus on the examination of the relationship between HR strategies applied within a particular organization and its performance. In order for the above task to lead to valid results, a series of other issues are going to be examined at a secondary level. These issues are indicatively: a) Which is the significance of the HR for the organizational operation, b) How the HR strategies can be more effective? c) Is there any chance for innovation in firms with specific HR plan or any relevant initiative has to be adapted to the existed framework? d) Which are the main aspects of organizational growth and e) Are there any other factors that can influence the firms performance and which would be their interaction with the HR strategies already implemented in the particular firm? LIMITATIONS OF THE RESEARCH Current research is limited by the fact that it is rather unlikely for companies to provide data related with their employees problems related with the workplace. On the other hand, any programs or support tools existed are very likely to be provided by all firms that would be engaged in the research of current project. For this reason, although the job satisfaction and the personal development of employees would be rather easily monitored, the existence of problems in the workplace would be difficult to be proved. For this reason current research as already described above focuses on the examination of the human resources strategies followed by organizations in general as these practices can be observed in most firms of modern commercial market. The existence of specific differentiations in accordance with the specific issue will have to be proved either by statistics released in general or by cases examined particularly in the legal area. INTRODUCTION According to Likert, Every aspect of firms activities is determined by the competence, motivation and general effectiveness of its human organization. Of all the tasks of management, managing the human component is the central and most important task because all depends how well it is done. This quotation sums up the importance of human components in an organisation and the need for managing it effectively. Human resource management is concerned with all aspects of managing the human resources of an organisation. More specifically, human resource management involves determining the organisations heed of human resource, recruiting and selecting the best available employees, developing, counselling and rewarding employees, acting as a liaison with union and government organisation and handling other matters regarding to the well being of employees. Each of these functions is necessary to some degree irrespective of nature and size of the organisation. That is why in most of the organis ation a separate department know as Personnel/Human resource Department is created for the effective performance of these functions. The relationship between the HR strategies and the firms performance is an issue that has caused significant differentiations in the literature mostly because of the existence of many parameters that can influence the results produced through the examination of this problem in practice. Moreover, because within a firm, the participants and the interests are many it is difficult to identify the role and the significance of each particular organizational element particularly when there is no specific corporate plan for such an investigation. Organization must have a set of unique resources for gaining competitive advantage moreover proper utilization of those resources matters a lot. Today organization employee acts as a main resource and knowledge, skills and abilities have to be deployed and used to the maximum effect if the organization is to create value. LITERATURE REVIEW Human resources should be considered as a significant organizational asset. In this context, the application of the appropriate strategies for its development, can lead to the improvement of the corporate performance both in the short and the long term. However, there are also companies where human resources are not considered as having particular importance for the firms growth. In this context, Haines (1997, 95) supported that there are firms that view their human resources as an expense rather than an asset an element that is expendable and perhaps discarded when the skills possessed becomes obsolete; however when human resources are viewed as an asset, companies enhance individual value through training and human development and ensure continued contribution to the organization. The importance of human resources for the corporate performance has in any case proved both in the literature and the empirical research conducted in all industrial sectors. In accordance with the above, in order for a firm to achieve a stable and continuous growth, it is necessary that its employees are satisfied as this term has been explained in the literature. More specifically, in accordance with Kim (2005, 669) job satisfaction is an affective or emotional response toward various facets of ones job. Job satisfaction has been a topic of great interest for researchers and practitioners in a wide range of fields, including organizational psychology, public administration, and management. On the other hand, the existence of job satisfaction has been extensively related with the level of payment of employees in the particular sectors of a specific organization. Indeed, the study of Rudman (2003) showed that paying for performance is a big issue in contemporary human resources management; organisations have long believed that production and productivity improve when pay is linked to performance, and have developed payment-by-results (PBR) systems and incentive schemes to support th is belief. In the same context, it is noticed by Blinder (1990, 117) that employees usually feel that profit sharing and gain sharing are good for personal effort, company growth and productivity, and workplace atmosphere. However, in order for the firms to achieve the maximum level of growth, it is necessary to design and apply the appropriate HR policies as indicated by each particular firms needs. The use of fit as a criterion of evaluation of the appropriate corporate strategy has been extensively used in practice. Towards this direction Wright (1998, 56) mentioned that the basic theory behind fit is that the effectiveness of any HR practice or set of practices for impacting firm performance depends upon the firms strategy (or conversely, the effectiveness of any strategy depends upon having the right HR practices). In other words, the issues that need to be considered by a firm before applying any relevant HR strategy are many. Indicatively, Katzell (1975, 5, 11-12) tried to identify the relationship between the employee satisfaction (as a result of a specific HR strategy) and the corporate performance and found that policy-makers must face up to a serious dilemma and find some way to resolve it; the dilemma is this: policy-makers would like to achieve two objectives for work organizations, on the one hand to enhance productivity and performance, and on the other to improve the quality of working life and job satisfaction for employers because under certain conditions, improving productivity will enhance worker satisfaction and improvements in job satisfaction will contribute to productivity; what it does mean is that there is no automatic and invariant relationship between the two. Under these terms, corporate performance has been found to be related with the employees performance within a particular organization. From a different point of view, Lawler et al. (2003, 15) supported that HRs greatest opportunity to add value may well be to play a role in the development and implementation of corporate strategy; HR can make a logical case for being an important part of strategy development, because of the importance of human capital in the ability of the firm to carry out its strategy. In other words, HR strategy can influence the firms growth in accordance with the measures provided for the personal and professional development of the firms employees even in the long term. The implementation of appropriate diversity strategy has to be considered in this case as absolutely necessary because in case of inequality in the workplace, no cooperation would be regarded as existed even if such cooperation exists, it will be problematic. In this context, Mathews (1998, 175 ) noticed that before diversity strategies are implemented, the organizations cultural environment, management and evaluation systems should be examined to ascertain if existing personnel/human resources processes will support or hinder diversity in the organization; then, appropriate strategies can be designed to develop and manage diversity based on these findings. From the same point of view, Ramlall (2003, 60) supported that given that several large-scale studies have proven that HRM is a critical driver in an organizations financial performance, it is imperative for HR and other leaders to understand the critical nature and utmost importance of understanding the effectiveness of all HR activities in creating value for the organization. To a more thorough examination of the problem, Christensen managed to identify the five elements that are considered as most crucial in the improvement of the employees productivity (as this improvement is expected to lead to the increase of the corporate growth). More specifically, Christensen supported that there are five elements which are extremely important for the effectiveness of employees within a particular organizational environment. These are (1958, 34): a) The technical organization of the group; b) The social structure of the group; c) The individual task motivation, i.e., the willingness to work hard that each member brings to and maintains toward his job; d) The rewards he receives from doing the job, and e) The satisfactions he obtains from being an accepted member of the group. The above elements can exist in any organization and can influence the productivity of its employees either in the short or in the long term. HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT (HRM) During and after 1970s, several changes took place in many countries which led to the term Human resource Management in place of the traditional term Personnel Management. These changes, declining importance of trade unionism, shift from industrial employment to service sector employment, growing competition, deregulation of economies, etc. As a result, three important roles of human resources have emerged as stated below. Human resource policies can be integrated with strategic business planning and used to reinforce appropriate culture. Human resources are valuable and a source of competitive advantage. Human resources can be tapped mostly effectively by mutually consistent policies which promote commitment and Foster a willingness in employees to act flexible in the interests of the adaptive organisations pursuit of excellence. The term Human resource management has been the subject of considerable debate, and its underlying philosophy and character are highly controversial. Much of this controversy stems from the absence of a precise formulation of and agreement on its significance and definition (Storey, 1989; and 1995a), as cited by Bratton and Gold (2003: 7). Obviously, definition of the subject matter is needed for analysis and understanding of HRM theory and practice. HRM DEFINITION HRM has a variety of definitions but there is general agreement that it has a closer fit with business strategy than previous models, specifically personnel management. In all the debates about the meaning, significance and practice of HRM, nothing seems more certain than the link between HRM and performance (HRM Guide October 2006). Below are some of the definitions of HRM, although it can be argued that these will only be ones of several possible definitions. De Cenzo and Robbins (1996: 8) defined HRM as the part of the organization that is concerned with the people dimension, and it is normally a staff or support function in the organization. HRM role is the provision of assistance in HRM issues to line employees, or those directly involved in producing the organizations goods and services. Acquiring peoples services, developing their skills, motivating them to high levels of performance, and ensuring their continuing maintenance and commitment to the organization are essential to achieving organizational goals. This is much the case regardless of the type of organization, government, business, education, health, recreation, or social action. The authors proposed an HRM specific approach as consisting of four functions- staffing, training and development, motivation, and maintenance. In addition, Bratton and Gold (2003: 7) define HRM as the strategic approach to managing employment relations which emphasizes that leveraging peoples capabilities is critical to achieving sustainable competitive advantage. This is achieved through a distinctive set of integrated employment policies, programs and practices. The authors presented HRM functions as planning, recruitment and selection, appraisal and performance management, reward management, development, employee relations, health and safety, and union-management relations. Moreover, to Alan Price (2004: 32) HRM aims at recruiting capable, flexible and committed people, managing and rewarding their performance and d eveloping key competencies. Contributing to the working definition of HRM is Abecker et al., (2004). They see HRM as a strategic and target oriented composition, regulation and development of all areas that affect human resources in a company. Efficient and effective management of these resources to a large extend, affects human resource behaviour, and consequently the performance of the organization as a whole. Moreover, the authors identified HRM with the field it covers. These include planning aspects- personnel requirements analysis and personnel asset analysis, and change aspects- recruitment, personnel development and labour displacement (Ibid). Next, is the diagrammatic representation of the said field. Human Resource Management Change Aspects Planning Aspects Personnel Requirement Analysis Labour Displacement Personnel Development Recruitment Personnel Asset Analysis Figure1: Fields of HRM (Source: Abecker et al., 2004) It is however, somehow strange, that, an important aspect of HRM, payroll or compensation/payment is missing from the field in figure 1 above propounded by the authors. Abecker et al., (2004) like the previous other authors, did not present a conclusive and detailed definition of HRM including the other concepts (HR processes). Lastly considered are the opinions of various management scholars who have taken a more in-depth look at the whole concept of HRM. These opinions should be given the greatest weight, since they reflect more in-depth research on the subject than is done by most textbook authors. Few such authors are Dessler et al., (1999), and Torrington et al.,(2005). According to Torrington et al., (2005: 5) HRM is fundamental to all management activity and has evolved from a number of different strands of thought. It is best described as a loose philosophy of people management rather than a focused methodology. Thus, distinction has been made between HRM as body of management activities on one hand (generically described as personnel management) and then on the other as a particular approach to execute those activities (carrying out people-oriented organizational activities than traditional personnel management). An organization gains competitive advantage by using its employees effectively, drawing on their expertise and ingenuity to meet clearly defined objectives. Torrington et al.,(2005: 5) identified the role of the human resource functions with the key objectives. These four objectives are the corner stone of all HR activities. These include Staffing, Performance, Change-management and Administration. Staffing objective focuses on finding the appropriate pool of human resources needed to ensure full and timely supply of work force (Ibid). It therefore involves designing organizational structures, identifying working conditions for different groups of employees followed by recruiting, selecting and developing the personnel required to fill the roles. Performance objective aims at ensuring workforce motivation and commitment for effective performance. Consequently, employees training and development remain important. Moreover, managing change effectively and efficiently remains one of the core objectives in almost every business. Key issues here include recruiting and/or developing people with the required leadership skills to drive the change process. Change agents are employed to encourage acceptance of change by coming out with reward systems associated with the change process. Employees involvement is also paramount here and is encouraged. The aim is to avoid resistance to change, more especially where it involves cultural changes (attitude, philosophy or long-present organizational norms). Administration objective aims at facilitating the smooth running of the organization. Hence, there is the need for accurate and comprehensive data on individual employees, records of achievement in terms of performance, attendance, training records, terms and condition of employment and personal details are (Ibid). However, for the purpose of this study, literature on the HRM concept will be based on the opinions of Dessler et al., (1999). The authors defined HRM as the management of people in organizations. It consists of the activities, policies, and practices involved in obtaining, developing, utilizing, evaluating, maintaining, and retaining the appropriate number and skill mix of employees to accomplish the organizations objectives. The goal of HRM is to maximize employees contributions in order to achieve optimal productivity and effectiveness, while simultaneously attaining individual objectives and societal objectives Dessler et al., (1999: 2). To the authors, the function of HRM include assisting the organization in attracting the quality and quantity of candidates required with respect to the organizations strategy and operational goals, staffing needs, and desired culture. Helping to maintain performance standards and increase productivity through orientation, training, development, job design, effective communication, and performance appraisal. Helping to create a climate in which employees are encouraged to develop and utilize their skills to the fullest. Helping to establish and maintain cordial working relationship with employees. Helping to create and maintain safe and healthy work environment. Development of programs to meet economic, psychological, and social needs of the employees. Helping the organization to retain productive employees and ensuring that the organization complies with provincial/territorial and federal laws affecting the work place such as human rights, employment equity, occupational health and safety (Ibid). HRM PROCESSES This sub section illustrates the processes involved in executing the HRM functions. Each of the functions: planning, recruitment, selection, orientation and training, performance appraisal etc. goes through a process. Unless otherwise stated, the rest of this section will be drawn from (Dessler et al., 1999)s literature based on pages 165 to 533. PLANNING PROCESS Human Resource Planning (HRP) process reviews human resources requirements to ensure that the organization has the required number of employees, with the necessary skills, to meet its goals, also known as employment planning. HRP is a proactive process, which both anticipates and influences an organizations future by systematically forecasting the demand for and supply of employees under changing conditions, and developing plans and activities to satisfy these needs. Key steps include forecasting demand for labour considering organizational strategic and tactical plans, economic conditions, market and competitive trends, social concerns, demographic trends, and technological changes. RECRUITMENT PROCESS Recruitment is the process of searching for and attracting an adequate number of qualified job candidate, from whom the organization may select the most appropriate to field its staff needs. The process begins when the need to fill a position is identified and it ends with the receipt of rà ©sumà ©s and completed application forms. The result is a pool of qualified job seekers from which the individual best matching the job requirements can be selected. The steps in recruitment process include identification of job openings, determination of job requirements, choosing appropriate recruiting sources and methods, and finally, generating a pool of qualified recruits. Job openings are identified through human resource planning or manager request. Next is to determine the job requirements. This involves reviewing the job description and the job specification and updating them, if necessary. Appropriate recruiting sources and methods are chosen because there is no one, best recruiting te chnique. Consequently, the most appropriate for any given position depend on a number of factors, which include organizational policies and plans, and job requirements. SELECTION PROCESS Selection is the process of choosing individuals with the relevant qualifications to fill existing or projected openings. Data and information about applicants regarding current employees, whether for a transfer or promotion, or outside candidates for the first time position with the firm are collected and evaluated. The steps in the selection process, in sending order include preliminary reception of applicants, initial applicant screening, selection testing, selection interview, background investigation and reference checking, supervisory interview, realistic job previews, making the hiring decision, candidate notification, and evaluating the selection process. However, each step in the selection process, from preliminary applicant reception and initial screening to the hiring decision, is performed under legal, organizational, and environmental constraints that protect the interests of both applicant and organization. ORIENTATION, TRAINING AND DEVELOPMENT PROCESS Employee orientation is the procedure of providing new employees with basic background information about the firm and the job. Is more or less, considered as one component of the employers new-employee socialization process. Socialization process is an ongoing process of initialling in all employees the prevailing attitudes, standards, values, and patterns of behaviour that are expected by the organization. Training however is the process of teaching new or present employees the basic skills/competencies needed to perform their jobs. Whereas training focuses on skills and competencies needed to perform employees current jobs, employee and management development is the training of long-term nature. The aim is to prepare current employees for future jobs with the organization or solving an organizational problem concerning, for example, poor interdepartmental communication. Training and development processes include needs analysis, instructional design, validation, implementation, and evaluation and follow-up. CAREER PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENT PROCESS It is the deliberate process through which persons become aware of personal career related attributes and the lifelong series of activities that contribute to their career fulfilment. Individuals, managers, and the organization have role to play in career development. Individuals accept responsibility of own career, assess interests, skills, and values, seek out career information and resources, establish goals and career plans, and utilize development opportunities. The career stage identification entails career cycle (the stages through which a persons career evolves). These stages include the following: growth, exploration, establishment, maintenance, and decline stages. Occupational orientation identification is the theory by John Holland. This theory enumerates six basic personal orientations that determine the sorts of careers to which people are drawn. They include realistic orientation, investigative orientation, social orientation, conventional orientation, enterprise orientation, and artistic orientation. PERFORMANCE APPRAISAL PROCESS Performance appraisal may be defined as any procedure that involves setting work standards, assessing employees actual performance relative to these standards, and providing feedback to the employee with the aim of motivating the worker to eliminate performance deficiencies or to continue to perform above par. Processes in performance appraisal contain three steps: defining performance expectations, appraising performance, and providing feedback. First, defining performance expectation means making sure that job duties and standards are clear to all. Second, appraising performance means comparing employees actual performance to the standards that has been set, which normally involves some type of rating form. Third, performance appraisal usually requires one or more feedback sessions to discuss employees performance and progress and making plans for any required development. Some of the appraisal methods include graphic rating scale, alternation ranking, paired comparison, forced dis tribution, and critical incident methods. EMPLOYEE COMPENSATION AND BENEFITS PROCESS Employee compensation involves all forms of pay or rewards accrued to employees and arising from their employment. This however consists of two main components: direct financial payments, and indirect payments. While direct financial payments are in the form of wages, salaries, incentives, commissions, and bonuses, indirect payments are in the form of financial benefits like employer-paid insurance and vacations. Moreover, legal considerations in compensation, union influences, compensation policies, and equity and its impact on pay rates are the four basic considerations influencing the formulation of any pay plan. Benefits are indirect financial payments given to employees. These may include supplementary health and life insurance, vacation, pension, education plans, and discounts on say company products. Furthermore, income and medical benefits to victims of work-related accidents or illness and/or their dependents, regardless of fault are all part of employees compensation. The processes in establishing pay rates involve the following five steps: First, conducting wages/salary survey to determine the prevailing wage rates for comparable jobs, which is central in job pricing. Second, determine the relative worth of each job (job evaluation) by comparing the job content in relation to one another in terms of their efforts, responsibility, and skills. This eventually results in wage or salary hierarchy. Third, group similar jobs into pay grades, a pay grade comprises of jobs of approximately equal value or importance as determined by job evaluation. Forth, price each pay grade using wage curves. A wage curve is graphical description of the relationship between the value of job and the average wage paid for the job. However, if jobs are not grouped into pay grades, individual pay rates have to be assigned to each job. Fifth, fine tune pay rates. This involves correcting out-of-line rates and usually developing rate ranges. OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH AND SAFETY PROCESS Occupational health and safety process aims at protecting the health and safety of workers by minimizing work-related accidents and illnesses. Laws and legislations to ensure and observe general health and safety rules bound employers. More so, rules for specific industries, for example, mining and rules related to specific hazards, for instance, asbestos have to be adhered to. The following steps are important in this process. Checking for or removing unsafe conditions by using checklist to audit a companys adherence to safety rules that are guarded against hazards, which cannot be removed. Next, through selection, screening out of employees who might be accident prone for job in question without compromising the human right legislation. More so, establishing a safety policy, this emphasizes on the importance of practically reducing accidents and injuries. Setting specific loss control goals by analyzing the number of accidents and safety incidents and then set specific safety goals to be achieved. Enforcing safety rules through discipline and conducting health and safety inspections regularly by investigating all accidents and near misses, and by having a system in place for letting employe