Final Strategic Plan Essay

Everyone wants to have a delicious meal that will not cost them a lot of money. There are many restaurants that try to sell you their services. Greg’s Family Restaurant is a restaurant which will provide a wholesome nutritious meal and great customer service for all our patrons. Mission Statement The mission of Greg’s restaurant is to provide wholesome meals at unbelievable prices the competition cannot compare. Our restaurant is to provide customers the service each and every one of them want and deserve. We will provide this type of service with the technology that is available to us as a business. With this technology we provide our customers with great service and delicious meals at an unbelievable price. We will become the best restaurant in the area that provides our customers with Mexican, Afro-American cuisine. The employees of Greg’s restaurant will be like family. Organization Vision Vision is the strategic planning of a company to achieving its goals. â€Å"A vision statement presents the firm’s strategic intent that focuses the energies and resources of the company on achieving a desirable future† (Pearce & Robinson, 2009, p37). The aim for Greg’s restaurant is to in the next 2-4 years to be above and beyond the competition and to expand the business to other areas within the city. The future planning of the restaurant is to come up with menu items that will continue to help the business to prosper. Guiding principles: Culture, social responsibility, and ethics Greg’s restaurant is following many values and cultures according to the needs of customers. The menu items of the restaurant represent different cultures that can attract customers of different nationalities and societies. Greg’s restaurant is multi- cultural and offers a wide variety of menu items that everyone can enjoy. Greg’s restaurant gives priority to the values of honesty and integrity in full support of their valued patrons. The restaurant also offers specials throughout the week and also issues coupons to get half off on certain menu items. The business is using products that are environmentally friendly and to help protect the environment and health of the community. The vision, mission, and values statement of the restaurant will provide the framework, structure and the company’s goal. The vision is the end goal the restaurant wants to achieve whereas the mission and the values will provide the business with the everyday activities the business already performs and also the structure and framework for the strategic plan for the business. The business will address customer needs by providing good service and meals to each and every patron that enters the establishment. All customers will get the same fresh meal the first customer to the last customer. The staff will act in a professional manner and provide great customer service and our suppliers along with the restaurant will serve the freshest ingredients available. Organization Strategic Direction Without strategic direction the business will not be able to accomplish its mission or vision. So it is very important that a company has a strategic direction for the implementation of its mission and vision. Strategic direction is defined as strategies made by a business or company to fulfill its mission. Strategic direction helps the owner and employees to know what is needed or required to achieve the mission of the company. Customer needs and competitive advantage At Greg’s restaurant it is important for the business to provide a relaxed comfortable atmosphere to the customers so they can like at home. At Greg’s restaurant there has been mechanisms added to provide the customers with the necessary seating and waiting areas to help them feel more comfortable at the restaurant. It is also a positive direction the company has taken is there is no priority of any culture or religion to dine at the restaurant. Honesty is a key element that we strive when dealing with patrons. Strategy planning helps the company review the mission and vision and to make sure that the company is headed in the right direction on achieving the goals. The future planning and vision of the restaurant has an impact on the restaurant strategy and it could impact the way the business will do over the next few years. The business has to utilize its vision and mission statements to make new decisions or to improve on the decisions it makes about the future of th e business and what is going to benefit the business. SWOTT Analysis In the restaurant business and by being new to the industry which is very competitive a SWOTT analysis plays a key role and is needed for a business to succeed. Greg’s Family Restaurant sets itself apart from other restaurants by servicing their customers with excellent customer service and meals. When analyzing a business one has to look at the internal and external factors that affect the company. A SWOTT analysis provides a breakdown of all these factors even factors that could affect a business internally and externally. SWOTT analysis is a tool a company uses in forming a strategic plan. It is the most effective tool a company uses to determine and uses for a strategic plan. SWOTT stands for Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats, and Trends a company must face. Business can use SWOTT as a tool to create and overview of the organization strategic situation. (Pearce & Robinson, 2009). For a new establishment like Greg’s Restaurant a SWOTT analysis is necessary to establish and compare where it is in a competitive market. When operating any type of business preparation is a key element: looking into as many potential options as possible is a must to prevent the company from profit loss along with the shareholders but in this case it is Greg’s stakeholders at risk. By eliminating all possible threats and creating opportunities with limited financial resources and concentrating on the long- term goal is the key to the success of the business and the future. SWOTT provides basic framework for business existing or new. More opportunities can be created by eliminating various weaknesses. External forces which are opportunities, threats, and trends are sets of uncontrollable factors the restaurant face and must overcome to succeed in the restaurant business. After conducting a SWOTT analysis legal and regulatory, economic, technology, Global and social trends were found external forces that need to be addressed. Legal and Regulatory Because of the external forces of opening a new restaurant or possible refitting and exiting building you will have to deal with the zoning laws. Restaurants need licenses and permits to operate or a food service establishment permit, alcohol license and food safety permit. Food safety health codes vary from state to state but restaurant businesses have to abide by the rules and laws that are put forth. The rules and regulations are to help protect the consumers and business. Economic Information regarding to products, services, tools, technology, and suppliers will compromise the economic environment of the restaurant. In 2001 California restaurants are projected to register 63.8 billion in sales, every $1 spent generates additional $1.19 in sales for the state economy. In 2010 there were 62, 794 eating and drinking places in California; every extra $1 million spent in California’s restaurants generates an additional 23.8 jobs in the state. In 2012 California restaurants employ 1,445,000 people (www.restaurant.org). Macroeconomics is very sluggish at this point in time. Inflation is at a high and banks are increasing interest rates. People are not spending as they did in the past they are more frugal with their finances. With the housing market in a slump, unemployment on the rise and with energy prices on the rise it is giving the restaurant industry a hard time. Changing labor conditions and cost is affecting smaller family type restaurants to eventually lose their business. Globalization Globalization shows opportunity for Greg’s restaurant to expand outside the United States. Forming a Limited Liability Company (LLC) it protects your personal assets from any liability the business incurs. If the owner plans on setting up a restaurant in different locations have separate LLC for the location. Social Socially people love to meet, dine, and have a drink and fun. But given the economic conditions of today it is hard for people to dine like they once did in the past. People are also concern about eating healthy and given the increase of a lot of food recalls in the past. Social media is also playing a big role in the marketing aspect of the restaurant industry. Technology Technology in the restaurant industry is very vital to the everyday operation. There is software available to track inventory, supplier orders, and to manage food orders. Technology is being developed every day to improve the way restaurants do business. Managers are no in more control of their staff with remote monitoring systems. Internal forces are more controllable factors a business can use to improve the operation and its path to success. After conducting an internal evaluation these were the factors the business came up with that is logical: strategy, strategic capabilities, and structures. Strategy In order for the restaurant to grow and expand a strategy has to be designed to which the business should offer products and services which customers could not receive from anywhere else. As far as strategizing the restaurant has the use of resource control which is key i.e. (operations, finance, supplies, and manpower). Strategic Capabilities Strategic capabilities play a big part in the restaurant industry. A business can create its own uniqueness through its marketing and strategic capabilities. A well- organized supply chain, a well trained staff, and a competent management team are strategic capabilities that will help the restaurant to fulfill its vision. The business also needs to consider its ability to manage working capital, expecting manpower issues and customer expectations and the ability to think ahead of the competition. As the industry changes over a period of time the threats and opportunities the restaurant will face the strategies and model of the business will have to adapt to these changes to meet the needs of the customers. It is very critical management focuses and maintain a product mix that works well for the business. The restaurant should position itself to reach specific demographic groups. Issues and Opportunities As mentioned in internal forces issues that are apparent is the lack of interactions between the employees. With these issues it allows opportunity to create meetings between employees and management. These meetings will allow staff to feel they belong and part of the family. It also allows employees to express what is working and not working for the business and what need improvement since the staff are the ones interacting with the customers. Balance Scorecard To develop a Greg’s Family Restaurant a balance scorecard is essential. It is key component for defining the goals and targets of a business as well as the mission vision and SWOTT analysis. A balanced scorecard is, â€Å"A set of four measures directly linked to a company’s strategy: financial performance, customer knowledge, internal business processes, and learning and growth† (Pearce & Robinson, 2009, p. 202). Financial Perspective/ Shareholder Value A well thought out vision and mission statement will facilitate the restaurant to achieve its target. The restaurants objectives are to increase the performance of the restaurant. The responsibility of the restaurant is to seek its customer satisfaction. Increase revenue, and also achieve financial stability. Customer Value Perspective Customers determine the success of the business. The ups and downs of the restaurants as well as the delivery of the services the business provides relates to the customers satisfaction. The more the customers are satisfied the better the business will do to attract more customers. Process/Internal Operations Perspective Strategic planning is very effective to give a nutritious meal to customers. This should be done in accordance with the customer needs. The most important thing is to determine the purpose and intentions of the strategy, because this will help the business towards its goals. The restaurant should set its goals and the path while keeping in minds the values and interest of the patrons. Customer comment cards should be available so customers can express their comments and concern. Greg’s family restaurant is always taking initiatives to improve service and products to increase their customer base. Learning and Growth Perspective Learning and growth process is the prospective to know about your business and if it is developing into the type of business you dreamt of. Learning in accordance to Greg’s family restaurant means to learn about the attitudes of the employees which are internal and customers which are external. Strategic planning within the growth and learning perspective should focus on employee training to have competent employees. Balance Scorecard Shareholder Value/Financial Perspective Strategic Objectives * Market share should increase * Net revenues should increase * Financial stability should be achieved * Production cost should be minimized Performance Measure * Revenue growth * Increased operating cost * Return on interest and capital Targets * 3-6 % market share increase over the next 3 years * 20% profit margin Customer Perspective Strategic Objectives * Focus on public interest * Quality food should be delivered * Community support * Improving brand name in market Performance Measures * New Menu Items should be offered * Awareness of brand in public Targets * 100% customer satisfaction * 15% increase in customers for the next 3 years Initiatives * Restaurant should expand to other cities * Benefits & rewards program Learning & Growth Perspective Strategic Objectives * Employees retention increased * Technology should be improved * Employee satisfaction Performance Measures * Customer satisfaction should improve * Employee turnover rate decreased * Surveys, monitoring and training Targets * 100% participation of all employees Initiatives * Staff training * Improved customer service * Analysis of Staffing References Pearce, J. A. II, & Robinson, R. B. (2009). Strategic management: Formulation, implementation, and control (11th ed.). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill www.restaurant.org http://www.balancedscorecard.org/BSCResources/AbouttheBalancedScorecard/tabid/55/Default.aspx

Why you should follow nutrition

  IntroductionOf the many things one can do to enhance one’s state of health, none is more important than maintaining proper nutrition. The mind and body cannot function optimally without the proper supply of nutrients and energy obtained from food.A key tenet of the holistic approach to health is that each person must take responsibility for his or her own health. Making intelligent decisions about nutrition—about what and how much to eat—is an important part of this responsibility, because the diet one chooses and follows can keep one healthy. In the words of Philip Lee (1977) professor of social medicine at the University of California, San Francisco, School of Medicine:As a nation we have come to believe that our medicine and medical technology can solve all our major health problems†¦ But the problems can never be solved merely by more and more medical care. The health of individuals and the health of the population is determined by a variety of biolo gical (host), behavioral, sociocultural, environmental factors. None of these is more important than the food we eat (Burkitt et al. 1974).Good nutrition: Striking the Right BalanceWhat is the best argument for following a good nutrition in one’s life instead of eating all the junk food one can consume. Every person’s body has a unique chemical and physical composition that corresponds to a state of optimal wellness, because the human body is constructed of atoms and molecules that are arranged in particular combinations and proportions that are unique to each person. One’s body contains few of the same atoms and molecules it had even a few weeks ago, because its chemical constituents are continually replaced by different atoms and molecules acquired from the food one eats.There are about forty known essential nutrients and perhaps others are not yet identified, that must be continually resupplied to the body (Ricciuto). Failure to obtain enough of one or more o f the essential nutrients can result in a nutritional deficiency disease, such as goiter (enlarged thyroid gland), which may be caused by too little iodine, beri-beri, a disease characterized by weakness and wasting away that is caused by too little thiamine (vitamin B1), anemia (too few red blood cells) from insufficient iron; and blindness from vitamin A deficiency, the most common cause of blindness in children, world-wide. Since all nutrients act in concert, a deficiency of one may impair the utilization of others even if the others are acquired in adequate amounts. Thus, a proper nutritional state is a matter of maintaining a complex balance of the essential nutrients.One can argue that one eats a little of everything in the proper amounts just to keep fit. But still it does not work that way. This is because poor health can result in eating too much of certain kinds of food, or from eating too much in general. For example, overeating is the principal cause of obesity, which co ntributes to the development of such serious diseases as high blood pressure, stroke, diabetes and some forms of cancer. Cancer of the colon may be related to eating too much meat and processed foods and not getting enough fiber or roughage that may be essential to maintain a healthy colon. High salt intake is related to high blood pressure and high sugar intake is related to tooth decay (the most prevalent disease in the industrialized world). Much of the tooth decay could be prevented if people followed very simple nutrition rules (Breslow & Enstrom 1980).Physiological Benefits of Body WorkOur industrial society depends on an enormous variety of machines that free people from an equally enormous number of physical tasks. Some of these tasks, such as heavy construction work of large-scale farming, would be well-nigh impossible without the help of machines. Others, such as traveling to work or school, getting to the seventh floor of a building, or washing clothes, could be accomplis hed without the aid of machines (and some people argue they ought to be), but few of us are likely to give up the use of cars, elevators, and washers. They simply make the task of daily living easier. As a result, few people do much moving around under their own muscular power. That is, many of us get little exercise.According to William B. Kannel and Paul Sorlie (1979) who have studied the effects of lifestyle on the occurrence of heart disease:  Ã¢â‚¬Å"Over the past quarter of a century, there has evolved a growing suspicion that the transformation of man by modern technology from a physically active agrarian creature to a sedentary industrial one has exacted a toll in ill health. The evidence on which this is based comes from epidemiological studies, clinical observations, and the work physiologist. Most of the attention has been focused on the possible contribution of physical indolence to the development of cardiovascular disease, the chief health hazard of affluent societies and their leading cause of death.†In addition to the physiological benefits, regular physical activity has psychological and spiritual benefits as well. Fr example, a study of middle-aged university professors found that regular exercise made them more self-sufficient, more persevering, less likely to experience mood swings, and more imaginative (Ismail and Trachtman, 1973). In another study, both men and women university students who engaged in regular physical activity were found to have greater self-control, to have increased self-awareness, and to be more self-directed. They also demonstrated a positive self-image (Jeffers, 1977).One of the principal psychological benefits that can come from regular body work is experiencing periods of relaxed concentration, characterized by reduction in physical and psychic tensions, regular breathing rhythms, and increased self-awareness. This experience is often compared to meditation. Tennis instructor Tim Gallwey (1976) describes fou r stages for obtaining a state of relaxed concentration through body work. The first stage, â€Å"paying attention,† occurs at the beginning of a body work session and involves riveting your concentration on your body work and excluding all other thoughts. The stage of paying attention requires a certain degree of self-discipline—the desire and ability to say â€Å"no† to other demands on your time and energies and to say â€Å"yes† to yourself.WORKS CITEDBurkitt, D. P. Walker, R.P. and Painter , N.S.   â€Å"Dietary Fiber and Disease.† Journal of theAmerican   Medical Association, 229 (1974), 1068-1074.Breslow, L. and Enstrom, J.E. â€Å"Persistence of Health Habits and Their Relationship toMortality.† Preventive Medicine, 9 (1980). 469-483.Ismail, A.H. and Trachtman, I.E. â€Å"Jogging the Imagination.† Psychology Today. 6(1973), 78-82Jeffers, J. M. â€Å"The Effects of Physical Conditions on Locus of Control, Body Image andInt erpersonal Relationship Orientations. University Males and Females.Dissertation Abstracts, 37 (1977) 3289.Kannel, W.B. and Sorlie, P. â€Å"Some Health Benefits of Physical Activity.† Archives ofInternal Medicine, 139 (1979) 857-861.Ricciuto, Anthony. What Power Nutrition can do for you. Retrieved April 19, 2007 at:http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/anthony26.htm

Ilm Motivating to Perform Essay

Introduction In the following assignment I am going to describe the value of formal and informal performance assessments within ***** and identify ways that will ensure that it is a fair and objective process. Following this I will highlight the factors that influence how people behave in the workplace, and how I would apply a recognised theory of motivation to my team, to improve their performance. I will explain why feedback is important to improve communication and the performance in my team and compare the effectiveness of different types of feedback used in the workplace. Performance Assessment Performance Management is a continuous process that involves informal and formal reviews as required. As Plachy and Plachy explained ‘Performance review occurs whenever a manager and an employee conï ¬ rm, adjust, or correct their understanding of work performance during routine work contacts.1’ this is the best way to manage performance. The objective of a performance review is to improve the performance of the individual which will in turn improve the performance of the company. Performance reviews are very effective to both individual and the organisation. It can identify an individual’s strengths and areas of development and indicate how their strengths can be used within the company and how to overcome the individual’s weaknesses. This can also improve communications by giving staff the opportunity to talk and their ideas and expectations and how well they think they are progressing. Currently *****is going through a lot of procedural changes. There are no formal systems for appraisals currently with ****** but they are looking at introducing and implementing Formal Performance and Appraisal Reviews. When implemented each employee will have an appraisal three times within a 12 month period. This will be with a member of HR and the employee’s line manager. Currently we have very little is the way of formal appraisals, It is important to have formal appraisals annually once introduced as it shows the employee what their strengths and weaknesses are, in finding this we can then turn the weaknesses into their strengths enable the management team to improve the team and KPI’s. This said personally as a Team Lead I do try to have regular informal appraisals with my Team Members. This is beneficial to them and also to myself as it gives the opportunity to identify and deal with issues which they may have. We can agree and set new objectives which can be achieved or even exceeded. On each informal appraisal I make point of recognising the achievements which were made during the last period, by doing this I feel that the team member knows the work that has been done is appreciated and good work is always noted. This will create motivation and they will want to develop and achieve more. Performance appraisals should be based on trust and mutual respect. An appraisal works best when the team lead and employee know each other and there is mutual respect between the two. Team Motivation There are many different factors which influence how people behave at work and it can depend on the type of work that they do. The environment that people work in is very influential of how people behave at work as they are going to feel a lot better if the environment that they work in is nice and if they like it. If people are not going to get along with one another at work then they are not going to be happy when they are working, therefore they may not perform to the best of their ability and may struggle to meet the demands that ***** has in place. If you have happy workers, then you are going to have a successful organisation. It may be that the employees are not happy with certain factors and motions that are in place at the work place and therefore they are not going to feel passionate about what they are doing and therefore will be less productive. If I was to apply one recognised theory to my team I would choose Job enrichment. The focuses of job enrichment is giving people more control over their work and where possible, allow them to take on tasks that are typically done by supervisors. This means that they have more influence over planning, executing, and evaluating the jobs they do. I would do this by rotating roles on a periodic basis, this will give employees the opportunity to use and gain a variety of skills. I would move employees through different types of jobs that allow them to see different parts *****. This would enable them to learn what different areas in the company do and how each task affects their own work. I believe by doing this it will also increase communication among teams which will in time break down the current silo effect we currently have within ******. ‘Treat people the way they are and they will stay that way. Treat people the way they can become and they will become that way. 2’ – Johann Wolfgang Communication in the workplace Communication skills are important because the way we interact with employees affects how well employees receive the feedback given. A supervisor who can communicate work directives and employee feedback clearly, in a manner that motivates employees instead of alienating them is a more effective leader. Feedback is a main part of the communication process. We may misunderstand the receiver and therefore not fully understand the task or information that has been given, if we did not have some type of feedback from the other party we may never know whether what was done was correct and was completed in the way intended. As a Team leader, part of my role is to give feedback. Feedback is important to individuals and teams. They want to know what they are doing well and where they need to develop. Positive feedback When giving positive feedback full recognition and credit should be given to let employees know that the Team Leader appreciates them. Positive feedback on good performance is a strong motivator, employees are more likely to accept and respond to constructive criticism. When an individual takes pride in their work they need to be recognised and told that they are performing well. This is effective as the employee will want to work harder as they feel they are recognised and appreciated and will want to progress. Negative/Corrective Feedback Corrective Feedback is used to highlight what has been done wrong and indicates where the employee needs to spend their effort, This offers an insight into where and how the individual can improve. When receiving negative feedback the employee tends to remember the bad points and ignore the good this can demotivate them and make them feel insufficient. That said Corrective feedback can give the individual the information they need to correct this and take their performance to the next level. Conclusion To Conclude I have described the value of formal and informal performance assessments within *******.I explained the value of each and identified ways that will ensure that it is a fair and objective process. Following this I highlighted the factors that influence how people behave in the workplace,  and how I apply a recognised theory of motivation to my team to improve their performance. I have explained why feedback is important to improve communication and the performance in my team and compared the effectiveness of different types of feedback used in the workplace. References 1. Title – Performance Management: Getting Results from Your Performance Planning and Appraisal SystemAuthor – Roger J. Plachy and Sandra J. Plachy 2. Title – Faust Author – Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, 1749-1832

Define concepts Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Define concepts - Essay Example Social Justice: Social justice is a concept that recommends equal rights for all human beings, regardless of their religion, race, or social standing. It advocates human rights for minorities, international justice, and prevention of crimes against humanity. Social justice is considered a goal for humanity, a state of existence that would guarantee that each human being values the other’s dignity, and that each human life is actively treated as equal. The ideal situation required by social justice is where the basic needs of each and every person on earth are well-fulfilled. Social Contract: Social contract is a contract that specifies the terms on which people, before the origin of society and politics, decided to come together to form a society and to submit to political authority.The theory of social contract is a significant part of political theory that serves as a quasi-fictional explanation of the existence of modern societies and their norms. Though it is difficult to disprove that humans have evolved as a social group, and were never in a state of individual non-co-operative existence, the social contract is a useful ideological tool in the field of political theory. Social Constructionism: Social constructionism involves the examination of society with a view to interpreting the evolution of its traditions, ways of thought, beliefs and practices. What is taken as natural and taken for granted by members of a particular society have a human origin. The adherents of social constructionism believe that some known social realities as we know them today, for example the distinctions between genders, homosexuality and heterosexuality, are in fact constructs manufactured by the society at some point of time in history. Multiple Identity: In our modern society of international immigration and global citizenship, the identity of a human being can be differently defined than it was before. Multiple identities come into the picture when a

The State Judicial Selection Process Assignment

The State Judicial Selection Process - Assignment Example Once a judicial officer ir a judge has been appointed, it would be expected that he or she would serve for a period of one year and then they would be subjected to a retention election based on the positive and negative affirmative yes or no. it is important to note and mention that the one year probation year serves as a litmus test to gauge the service and effectiveness of the judge. In any case the retention panel notes or realizes that the merit and quality of the judge has taken a dip of whichever aspect, the judge would not be re-elected and henceforth lose his or her judgeship position and stature. If a judge is elected his or her term would begin after the first Tuesday after the first Monday in January. Accordingly, there are irreducible minimums that are involved if a person wishes to serve as a judge in the state of Florida. The person must have practiced law and exhibited signs of excellence for a minimum period of ten years. The same person must be below the mandatory retirement age of seventy years, since it is a design that at the age of seventy the judges would have to retire. Another qualification is that the person must be a qualified elector within the legal fraternity and parameters. Intuitively, the vetting committee or panel would have the opportunity and chance to verify and interview an applicant then forward the same list of names to the governor of the state. The judicial nomination committee fronts the names of the three to six competent candidates to be considered for judgeship to the governor who is the appointing authority. In Florida, in case a vacancy occurs such as through resignation or natural death or cause, the judicial nominating committee would conduct vetting on the interested persons. The names of the successful applicants would then forward the name to the governor so that the vacancy would be filled accordingly. In Texas, the selection process

Discrimination Issue in Literature and According to the Famous Speaker Research Paper

Discrimination Issue in Literature and According to the Famous Speaker - Research Paper Example Issues  affecting the world and the United States including the economic crisis, global warming, and the importance of togetherness between all diversifying factors. The speech provided clear plans for future America by maintaining the unity and equality among all Americans. Obama demonstrated that even Blacks can make it; especially by claiming, it is the time for the Blacks of achieving the American dream of equality. He achieves the notions of racism by creating perceptions of attracting the whites to support the blacks in taking America forward. This short story illustrates the meaning and other importance of language through a discussion of the broken language spoken by the mother. The author explores various forms of English spoken around the world that makes it different to the way the mother speaks. She provides various examples of English versions spoken, in order to create an attention to different English speakers alternatively, the ones aspiring to read or speak English that it varies from place to another. This literature is directed to those people who do not understand the various types of language speakers including the various forms of English language. This helps them to understand one another in terms of racial equality and the place of origin where the language spoken is directly related to the mother tongue’s language. The story describes the life of the author as an Indian boy living in the eastern region of Washington State. It illustrates the way reading and writing affected Alexie’s life. The short story shows the way young Indian boy used his intelligence, as an Indian became a creative writing teacher for other Indian children living in the area. He started his literal experience when he picked his father’s book where he could not understand the words but get the conceptual making of paragraphs. The story illustrates the struggles and possibilities of adapting to different cultures of the people.

Exploring an art Object Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Exploring an art Object - Essay Example The contemporary art objects may include mass-produced things, transient materials, appropriate metaphors, and many other things. The object which I have selected for this assignment as a piece of art is ‘‘Kaftan’’. This paper aims to conduct an in-depth study and exploration of the object. Moreover, the paper will include different examples, sources, research work, interpretational perspectives etc. The visual design of this art piece which is selected for this assignment is a bit different as it is not a painting or a sculpture. ‘Kaftan’ is a cut of apparel; a long coat like garment or a loose dress with long wide sleeves which has been worn by humans for thousands of years. It usually reaches the ankles or floor at times (exceptions are there in different cultures). The cloth which is used in its making is usually and majorly silk and cashmere, however, sometimes cotton is also used (Torstrick and Faier). It has noticed some alterations, modi fications with the period of time and is a part of almost every culture across the globe. However, it varies in style and proportion in different cultures and the way they carry it. ... Similar is the case with ‘Kaftan’ as it has been doing it all. It is a single dress fulfilling all the requirements of an art object in different and unique manner. It has been telling different stories and cultures from the past to the present in a special way. Different artist portray their thoughts and creativity through fashion and clothing. It is now becoming as a medium for artists as significant as painting or any other (Chambers). Art has also been inspiring many lives for thousands of years. However, the portrayal of art back then was done in a different manner as compared to the present world. If we travel back in the history, then since the Ottoman Empire, the usage of ‘Kaftan’ has been of greater significance. It has been a part of many lives since then. Many people wear it as an identity (China); many wear it to hide themselves (Middle East), while many wear it as a fashion statement; the pop culture (West). It has different names as it travels from the west to the east (Faroqhi). In the West, the fashion started in the era of ‘Hippies’ in the 60’s; the Western ‘Kaftan’ has names like ‘bonjour’ and is a loose dress with wide sleeves it depicted the pop culture of that era. In the Middle East, the dress was worn and was famous since the Mughal and Ottoman Empire, and the Mughal Kings and Sultans used to wear it with a turban. At present, the Muslim women wear it as a piece of apparel which covers their body and hides it completely; it is normally called as ‘Abaya’. Moving on towards the Far East, then the Chinese wear it as a national dress and their national identity and the only difference is of a belt and the quality of the ‘Kaftan’

APPRAISE PERFORMANCE Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

APPRAISE PERFORMANCE - Essay Example When only one person is involved in the process, the risks of low objectivity and errors may compromise the delivery of good appraisal report. When many people are involved, these risks are spread out and accuracy is consequently increased. According to Jackson and Mathis (349), there are several errors that may arise in the process of performance appraisal, where the rating system is subjected to flaws. Some of these errors include application of varying errors, recency and primary effects, central tendency as well as stringency. The author explains that the effects of these errors to the final report are usually biased information on the performance of the employee. A more comprehensive report is obtained by use of different modes to avoid these errors as much as possible. Perhaps, understanding the nature of the type of appraisal done by each of the above stated individuals could bring the topic of appraisal near to clarity. An appraisal done by managers on their juniors is a common mode of carrying out performance evaluation. Despite there being a general reluctance from the managers to carry out routine appraisals on their juniors, it is still the most appropriate mode for many organizations. One of the reasons why managers heavily criticize this type of appraisal is due to the fact observed above in that one person inadequacy still affects them. Alternatively, managers are employed by organizations to instill improvement through coaching, encouragement, guidance as well as motivation but rarely acting as a judge. Proactive managers always look for ways to improve performance and common notions surrounding the appraisal principle tend to confuse them (Jackson and Mathis, 352). Once completed, managers’ or supervisors’ appraisals need to be reviewed by a manager senior than the one doing the appraisal to give it effect. When it comes to employees themselves, they may be subjected to self assessments to assist managers in extracting

1918 Flu Pandemic Brings Higher Fatalities than World War 1 Research Paper - 1

1918 Flu Pandemic Brings Higher Fatalities than World War 1 - Research Paper Example The third section investigates the public health and medical issues at the times of the outbreak. Medical response to the pandemic is investigated in the fourth section and finally, the lessons learned from the outbreak are discussed in the fifth and final section. According to CDC (2006), the 1918 flu pandemic killed 2% of the world’s human population because of lack of sufficient knowledge about the virus and ineffective medical response. The 1918 flu pandemic provides important lessons for effective monitoring and management of flu outbreaks. Flu pandemics are serious threat to human existence, because of viral antigenic drift that produces new variant strains in every two to three years (Michael, 1998). Introduction The world today remains under serious threat of influenza pandemics. The last ten years have been characterized by outbreak of flu in different parts of the world causing deaths and widespread panic. Although the scale of the recent flu outbreaks do not compare with 1918 pandemic in terms of infections and fatalities, it is evident that the world population remains highly vulnerable to the infection. The United States Department of Health and Human Services (2006) classifies influenza into three different categories. These include seasonal flu, avian flu and pandemic flu. Seasonal flu also called common flu is a respiratory infection that affects people frequently. Although there is a vaccine for seasonal flu, the immune system of most people is capable of fighting the infection. Bird or avian flu is a zoonotic infection transmitted from wild birds to human beings. The H5NI virus that causes avian flu is extremely infectious and fatal to domestic birds. The main medical concern of the avian flu is that currently, there is no effective vaccine against the infection and people do not have immunity. Finally, pandemic flu is highly infectious ailment affecting human beings and it has the potential of causing global outbreak and severe disease s (United States Department of Health And Human Services, 2006). People have minimal immunity against flu infection and therefore the disease is transmitted quickly across an expansive geographic area. In the last century, devastating flu pandemics were reported in different parts of the globe. CDC (2006) estimated that over 43 million people in the world died from flu pandemics in the last 20th century alone. Some of the major flu pandemics included the 1918 Spanish flu, the Asian flu pandemic in 1957 and the Hong Kong Flu of 1968. Historical Perspective of the 1918 â€Å"Spanish Flu† Pandemic Before investigating the historical background of the 1918 Spanish flu pandemic, it is important to interrogate the meanings of pandemic and influenza. Michael (1998;51) defines pandemic as an â€Å"epidemic of human ailment that occurs over a wide geographical area, crossing international boundaries and affecting large number of people†. There are different forms of pathogens t hat cause pandemics, including the current HIV/AIDS virus, influenza and in the past, the plague that infected and killed numerous people in the world around 14th century. Flu is the short form of influenza and it causes respiratory disorders in human beings. According to Barry (2004), the common symptoms of flu infection includes fever, muscle aches, cough and in rare circumstances, opportunistic infections such as pneumonia occurs in patients infected with the virus. Flu virus is one of the major causes of death and it affects people of all ages. Human beings are the primary hosts of the virus but it can also spread to domestic animals including horses, pigs and

Evidence based practice in antenatal Essay Example for Free

Evidence based practice in antenatal Essay INTRODUCTION In this globalization world, the nursing career had become more challenges and competence. IOM Report (2003) title â€Å"Health Professions Education; A Bridge to Quality† have recommended evidence based practice (EBP) as one of the integration of core set competencies into health professions education. Now days, EBP is the most popular topic to be talk and written about in nursing, nationally and internationally. Hitherto, nurses at times don’t understand what is EBP and some nurses are even called it buzzword. The latter couldn’t be further from truth. EBP is here to stay and nurses must understand it. Sacket et al (2000) described EBP as the integration of the best research evidence with clinical expertise and patients values. Evidence base practice is the application of the best available empirical evidence, including recent research findings, to clinical practice in order to aid clinical decision making evidence based practice is based on the notion of rational decision making. Higgs and Jones (2000) have purposed that evidence in evidence-based practice should be considered to be knowledge derived from a variety of source that has been subjected to testing and has found to be credible. Here the nurse selects all research that has been done in area. These research results are analyzed together, synthesized, coming up with a through integrate review. Then, the research put into the context of clinical expertise and the value system of the patient, and particular protocols or best practices are developed. In this paper, the important of EBP will be explored in relation to antenatal clinic. The objective of the study is to assess the effect on obstetric practice and pregnancy outcome of routine late pregnancy ultrasound define as greater than 24 weeks gestation, in women with either unselected or low risk pregnancy .The Australasian Genetics Resource Book (2007) highlighted ultrasound is the use of high frequency sound waves to make an image. In pregnancy, an ultrasound gives a picture of the developing baby in the uterus (womb). It is regularly considered part of the routine care for all  pregnant women. The ultrasound is used as both a screening and a diagnostic test either give an indication that the baby is at an increased risk of a problem (a screening test), or it can detect a definite problem in the baby’s physical development for example, in the heart or the kidneys (a diagnostic test). Mostly, a mother will question the nursing staffs working at the antenatal clinic regarding the ultrasound screening whether the process is safety of their unborn baby and themselves. In the rural area of Malaysia, most of the antenatal clinics have no facility such as ultrasound machine. As a result, the pregnant women with medically indicated and get referral letter from medical officer or midwife have to go to government hospital in the city to have an ultrasound. In difference, the private hospital performed routine ultrasound screening for pregnant women in their late pregnancy. The selected evidence are cited by Bricker L and Neilson J (2000) ; Routine ultrasound in late pregnancy ( after 24 weeks gestation) track down from Cochrane Library. Cochrane Database of Systemic Review , 2007, issues 1,published by John Wiley and Sons,Ltd. This research is done by qualified person because one of two reviewers was Dr Leanne Bricker who was the consultant in fetal and maternal medicine of Liverpool Women’s NHS Foundation Trust. It could be argue that the reviewer is eligible to do this research and this made the research the more reliable. WHO Statistic (1999) mentioned that annually 585 000 women die of pregnancy related complications. It is 99% in developing countries and 1% in developed countries. So, we can summarize that every minute one women dies from a pregnancy related complication. In Malaysia, high rate of prenatal and maternal morbidity and mortality continue to be a major problem in the country. A crucial factor of good obstetrics is the provision of adequate care during the antenatal period. Antenatal care was first introduced to medicine in the first decade of this century. Hence, there no qualm that it has a brought gigantic benefit to women and their children. The main purpose of antenatal care is to ensure an uncomplicated for the mother and the safe delivery of a life and healthy infant. At present, modern technology and  information technology have beyond more complicated. The equipment such as the ultrasound machine also was greatly up to date. The users of ultrasound as one of the obstetrician a rmamentarium have been part of the cause to improved antenatal and intra partum care. An ultrasound scan uses high frequency sound waves in very short pulses. These travel from a transducer, which rests on your skin, and are reflected off different tissues inside you and then received back at the transducer. The transducer passes the signal into a computer that displays an image of your insides on a screen. Usually this image represents a thin 2 dimensional slice of your anatomy. The operator moves the transducer around to get the best views to help diagnosis, whilst watching on the screen for anything abnormal. They will record several images or short video clips to illustrate the scan and these are kept in a computer database that is part of your patient record. The operator will use a small amount of gel on your skin to ensure the transducer contacts your skin effectively. Routine ultrasound can be used in late pregnancy to detect problems which may not otherwise be apparent, such as abnormalities in the placenta in the fluid surrounding the baby, or in the baby’s growth. The process of evidence base practice involved critical appraisal as one of the step. Hill Spittlehouse (2001) defined critical appraisal as the process of systematically examining research evidence to access its validity, results and relevance before using it to inform a decision. Ahead of implementation of critical appraisal it is essential to understand research process principal and being able to recognize a well conceived designed of conducted study. The Critical Appraisal Skills provide us what is the best evidence in order to understand the methods and result of research besides to access the quality of the research. Oxman et al 1994, mentioned that the piece of evidence will be critically appraise for it validity and quality using and appraisal tool named, Critical Appraisal Skills Programme (CASP). The word research means to search again and examine carefully, more specifically, research is a diligent, systematic inquiry or study that validate and refines existing knowledge and develop new knowledge. In fact,  research is determined, hand on, received, understand and accepted by nurse practitioner only, (Brown 1999). Furthermore, the ultimate goal of research is the development of a research body of knowledge for a discipline or profession like nursing. Joppe (2000) highlighted that the reliability of result is the key questions in a research. Brown ,1999;Melnyk Fineout- Overholt;2005 stated that evidence based practice is the conscientious integration of best research evidence with clinical expertise and patient values and need in the delivery of high quality , cost – effective health care. In this research, the reviewer has made the research more reliable by provided data of all research finding plus a clear precise description of the research methodology. BODY This title of the research clearly indicates the focus of the study. Above and beyond, the abstract includes the study problem, objectives, search strategy, selected criteria, data collection and analysis, significant result and implications of the findings for nursing practice. This research is significance to read because all relevant information is presented in a way that captures the attention of the reader. Crosby (1990) point out that a well-written abstract gives readers a good idea of what the study is about, how it was conducted and the findings or recommendations by the author. It is being stated clearly that, the reviewers drew on the search strategy developed for the pregnancy and childbirth as a whole. Relevant of trial were identified in the groups specialized registered of control test. The pilot reviewer assessed trial quality and abstract data under supervision of co-reviewer. Moreover, the trial were not assess blinded as the reviewer have the information about the author identification, source of publication and result when making inclusion criteria. In fact, regarding the disagreement and insufficient data, the reviewer contacted the author personally above and beyond search in all relevant studies in published and unpublished studies. The publication prejudice is less because all of the studies were in English. The neonatal upshot measures of the research also  seek advice from professor of perinatal medicine. By the way, any debarred trial was undoubtedly given a reasonable accused and all the information of follow up was stated in the references. The participants included all women in late pregnancy (after 24 weeks gestation) in both unselected population and the sample size of the trial wide-ranging. The type of intervention used was routine ultrasound examine in late pregnancy (after 24 weeks gestation) to assess one/some/all of the conclusion measure on fetal size; amniotic fluid volumes; placental grading; fetal structural anatomy; fetal presentation. In relation to Crombie (1996), when choosing a study design, many factors must be taken into account because different types of studies are subject to different types of bias. It claimed that in this study there is no mention about consent and participants were kept in murkiness about the study. Almost certainly, it is great to mull over in the ethical aspect. It could be quarrel that the participants have been treated purely as a source of data. Theoretically, the ethical considerations in all research are the same; the safety and protection of human rights. These rights are mainly could be achieved by informed consent. While no inform consent was taken even so confidentially has maintained. On no account mention any involvement of ethical committee it is a poor steps as explaining the study design is the core of understanding the methodology. Olsen (2003) put in plain words that they are three elements of ethical research to firmly practice. In this review, all results were presented clearly and were similar from study to study. The reviewers have assessed the quality of each study and include all RCTs of routine ultrasound in late pregnancy after (24 weeks) in the research. Quasi-randomized trials were regard as for inclusion due to scarcity of RCTs. The study was good in view of the fact that the limitations of the research and the reason for any variation in the result were discussed in particular by reviewers. The ultrasound selection were differed among trials; some offering routine scans to all participant earlier in the pregnancy (before 24 weeks gestation), some offering no routine scan at anytime in pregnancy to the control group and some offering scan at all stages of the trial, but only revealing results of late  pregnancy ultrasound (after 24 weeks gestation) for the study group. Furthermore, the rationale for routine ultrasound scan after 24 weeks gestation differed among trials as it is difficult to assess the effect of scan before 24 weeks gestation on the outcome measures. Although the reviewers has point out that the most effective approach to assess the cause of routine late pregnancy ultrasound would be trials where the intervention in late pregnancy ultrasound alone, but this is not such trials exist. However, the reviewers also have reported on the predictable finding in this study. In the Perth 1993, they were significantly higher intrauterine growth restriction on the Serial ultrasound and Droppler examination group. Even, the author states that it may have a chance finding, it is possible that frequent exposure to ultrasound may have influence fetal growth. On the other hand, none of the addressed long term neurodevelopment results. Exposure of the expectant mother to uncertainty and possible anxiety about the health of her baby has implication of which may be far reaching. The reviewers also have identified the future research on the maternal psychological outcome and long term neurodevelopment outcome. From the time when, it is not mention what type of ultrasound machine was used and which group of personal is performing the procedure. Sometimes this could probably introduce preconceived notion to the results. In some situation, the ending measured effect the result because the quality of ultrasound imaging is not reach the standard regarding the technical capabilities of the ultrasound equipment and also on the skills or expertise of operators. METHODOLOGY There are two type of research method; quantitative research method and qualitative research method. The quantitative research method defined by Burn and Grove (2005), is conducted to test theory by describing variables, examining relationship among variables and determining cause – and – effect interactions between variable. It is a formal, objective, systematic process using numerical data to obtain information about the world. In addition, quantitative method is research method dealing with number and anything that  is measurable agreed by (Smith, 1988) that quantitative research involves counting and measuring of events and performing the statistical analysis of a body of numerical data. Counting and measuring are ordinary structure of the method. More often than not, the outcome or result of the study is presented in tables, graphs or other form of statistic because it is a kind of number or a series of numbers. If truth be told, the quantitative analysis endow with result that is more reliable for statistical approaches. The main concerns of the quantitative paradigm are that measurement is reliable, valid, and generalize in its clear prediction of cause and effect (Cassell Symon, 1994). The strengths of the quantitative method are it stating the research problem in very specific and set terms as stated by (Frankfort-Nachmias Nachmias, 1992). It also clearly and precisely specifies both the independent and the dependent variables under investigation. As well, quantitative method include following firmly the original set of research goals, arriving at more objective conclusions, testing hypothesis, determining the issues of causality. In view of (Balsley, 1970) it’s help achieving high levels of reliability of gathered data due to controlled observations, laboratory experiments, mass surveys, or other form of research manipulations. To boot, this method are also allowing for longitudinal measures of subsequent performance of research subjects. Kealey Protheroe (1996) indicated that quantitative method rally round eliminating or minimizing subjectivity of judgment. Despite the fact, the weaknesses of the quantitative method are failure to provide the researcher with information on the context of the situation where the studied phenomenon occurs and inability to control the environment where the respondents provide the answers to the questions in the survey. Limited outcomes to only those outlined in the original research proposal due to closed type questions and the structured format. More to the point, not encouraging the evolving and continuous investigation of a research phenomenon are the disadvantages of using quantitative approach. According to Munhall (2001) the qualitative research method is a systematic,  subjective approach used to described life experiences and situation and to give them meaning. The knowledge generated the qualitative research will provide meaning and understand of specific emotions, values and life experiences. As said by Morgan (1980), the qualitative research shares the theoretical assumptions of the interpretative paradigm, which is based on the notion that social reality is created and sustained through the subjective experience of people involved in communication. Some researcher using qualitative method are concerned in their research with attempting to accurately describe, decode, and interpret the meanings of phenomena occurring in their normal social contexts as declared by Fryer (1991). In view of that, qualitative approach in general is more likely to take place in a natural setting acknowledged by Denzin, 1971; Lincoln Guba, 1985; Marshall Rossman, 1989. The strengths of the qualitative method as declared by Bogdan Taylor, 1975; Patton, 1980, it provide a holistic view of the phenomena under investigation. Furthermore, qualitative method is the process of obtaining a more realistic feel of the world that cannot be experienced in the numerical data and statistical analysis used in quantitative research. It also provides the flexible ways to perform data collection, subsequent analysis, and interpretation of collected information. Kirk Miller, 1986 writes that it gives the ability to interact with the research subjects in their own language and on their own terms. Summarizing, the qualitative approach present descriptive capability based on primary and unstructured data However, the qualitative method coming up with some weaknesses of as point out by Cassell Symon (1994) that it departing from the original objectives of the research in response to the changing nature of the context. In that case it also arriving to different conclusions based on the same information depending on the personal characteristics of the researcher. The inability to investigate causality between different research phenomena and difficulty in explaining the difference in the quality and quantity of information obtained from different respondents and arriving at different, non-consistent conclusions appeared as the disadvantage of qualitative method. It follows requiring a high level of experience from the researcher  to obtain the targeted information from the respondent. Lastly, it also contributes lacking consistency and reliability because the researcher can employ different probing techniques and the respondent can choose to tell some particular stories and ignore others. In spite of that, the quantitative research method is used in this research. Seven eligible Randomized Controlled Trials (RCTs) were participated in this survey. The methodology mostly could be summarized as quality and the reporting of reports were good. Yet, the Glasgow 1984 (UK) study was ‘quasi randomized’ with allocation according to the hospitals number and this had probable to engender bias. On the other hand, RCTs for evaluating the effect of intervention in this study, is used even though it is less in effect in answering questions about patient’s personal experience, attitude or psychological outcome. Sequentially, to explore psychological aspect of the pregnant women during the routine ultrasound screening, it could be squabble that it will be more apt to include qualitative research in this study. Review Manager (Revman) software was used to act upon statistical analysis. Meta analysis was used to analyze and combine the result of the studies and it is an appropriate technique of data analysis. The plus of using this type of analysis is that it increases the sample size so that if the significant differences exist they are more likely to be demonstrated. Sacket (1996) mentioned that evidences from systematic review and Meta analysis has taken the top place of the hierarchy because it provides misleading about the effect of intervention. In this research, quantitative and qualitative approaches were bringing into being be a foil for each other while the scantiness of each were essentially counterbalance. Conversely, it also point out the time and cost implications, from the time when the volume of data produced was enormous and an tremendously extensive knowledge foot was vital to analyze it. Seeing as the â€Å"method† section is a strength of the study. In this study, the sample size was large (25 036 women) and included variety of subjects. This heterogeneity of the subject has increases the generalizability of the findings as agreed by Burns Groove (2005). The sampling method, sampling  criteria, and sample characteristics are clearly presented. The study could be considered as ethical because it was approval for conduct by an institutional review board but in state of affairs unethical because no informed consent was obtained from the object or sampling. RESULT In this research seven trial comprising 25,036 women were included ( Alesund 1999 ); Glasgow 1984; Perth 1993; new Zealand 1993;Trondheim 1984;Peterborough 1987 ; Radius 1993) . The attribute of the incorporated test on the whole was acceptable as assess by reviewers. There was no difference in antenatal, obstetric and neonatal intervention or morbidity in screened versus control group. From the result of the studies, routine ultrasound in late pregnancy was not associated with improvement in overall perinatal mortality. However, placental grading as an adjunct to third trimester examination scan was associated with a significant reduction in the stillbirth rate in the one trial that assessed it. There was no data on maternal psychological effect. Data with regard to long term substantive outcome in fetal neurodevelopment is lacking. IMPLICATIONS The study originated that there is thus far no evidence that routine ultrasound improves outcome or increase interventions. The fact, ultrasound could be used in late pregnancy to find the cause of compilation such as bleeding. In some situation, ultrasound screening in late pregnancy appears to be useful in placental grading. In some country, screening all pregnant women for possible problem late in pregnancy is controversial. The ultrasound is seen not demonstrated fetal harm if we use properly followed proper procedure. For the long term side effect, the users of repeated ultrasound are still not fully known regarding the exposure of the fetus. Some problems occur with such screening are increasing major intervention without benefit like caesarian section. Till now, there is no specific epidemiological evidence that ultrasound screening during pregnancy is harmful but no fact conclusion has been reached from available data, for  that reason continue awareness is necessary. In sp ite of that, the policy practice in the antenatal care needs a changeable. So, it is highly recommended that routine ultrasound in late pregnancy only be done for high risk mother such as mother with placental previa. RECOMMENDATIONS In fact, further studies on maternal physiological outcomes and long term neurodevelopment outcome for the fetus is essential to be carried out. In addition, the level of performance of technical operator and equipment should be sporadically audited and governed by a dogmatic body to prevent the mother and unborn child. In our day, nursing care is grant access to be root on the modern best evidence, interventions will be more useful and will effect in superior patient outcomes. So, nurses are motivated to learn how to group and interpret data to implement in their practice on the best evidence available. Evidence based practiced (EBP) has grows to be a critical concept for ethical liable in professionals nursing practice. As said by Mckenna et al (2004), negative beliefs, Krishbaum et al (2004), attitudes and value (Pravikoff et al 2005) have been shown to be powerful barrier to EBP. In order to overcome barriers in EBP, strategies are needed to recover such as awareness, knowledge and skills in evaluating evidences. It is also importance to have administrative support by providing access to EBP or research mentor in practice arena. As indicated by Avis (2006), the Randomized Control Trials (RCTs) are remains one of the best means to make your mind up whether one form of care is better than another. Since RCTs is purely and evaluation technique, the consequence of knowledge cannot be condense to the application of procedure to fabricate evidence. Besides, understand the result as well as the limitation of relevant research study, it also need an awareness of the background theories which influenced particular research studies. CONCLUSION In my view, this research is simply good because it provide complete information include literature review, sampling method, sampling size and etc. Basically the methodology was performed clearly and the result was presented well. All the statistical tools used were shown and the barrier exist were explained particularly. It is the most swollen with pride that the study had achieved the objectives and was helpful in development of nursing practice.

Information systems and globalisation

Information systems and globalisation Task 2 Literature Review â€Å"Information systems and globalisation† The purpose of this literature review is to show how information systems relate to globalization and how different cultures affect the use of information systems. In this literature review, cultural diversity and their concerning issues, organisational behaviour, behaviours of individual at workplace due to globalization and what are the key elements for developing a truly global information systems will be discussed. Globalization affects information systems in a lot of aspects like the use of internet by general public in the world, global e-mail providers like hotmail and yahoo connects the whole world together. Information systems has big role in globalization by influencing different cultures through internet, where big economies and developed countries benefit the most out of this. Globalization has revolutionized internal management. It has also made easier the interaction between countries, regions and continents, thus contributing to profitability. It is the private sectors philosophy that propelled efforts to utilize every means, including information technology, to make companies survive, even the biggest and the most powerful company in the world. Global economic integration is growing rapidly, although the precise implications of this growth are subject to debate. The acceleration of this growth has been facilitated in part by information and communication technologies which are supporting organizations that span national and regional cultures. These cultural differences then become intra-organizational differences. As a consequence, information systems reflecting different cultural assumptions must interact effectively. Beyond the core of Western technical development and diffusion lie a number of economies of growing significance subject to a parallel development, modified by successive inward infusions of technology from the west. In North East Asia a number of economies have been relatively late adopters of many facets of office automation because of a range of cultural differences, not least their use of non-Roman characters. Haywood (1995) outlines the complexity of the development of the western alphabets and Shepard ( 1993), writing from direct experience, sets out the technical complexities of networking in an environment that must move beyond the ASCII standard. The situation is in some ways comparable to the technical handicap suffered by Western Europe before the adoption of Arabic numerals. Littleton and Yamsey (1978) emphasize the role of Arabic numerals in facilitating the emergence of the basis for western accounting practices during the fifteenth century. In conjunction with secular literacy, this technical innovation allowed a range of economic developments such as credit, capital and property rights to find expression in the development of written accounts. In North East Asia computer support for numerical and scientific tasks may have reached levels comparable with the west, but the lack of support for non- Roman text so reduced any advantages over established manual systems that office automation has been selective and partial. Such countries have made extensive and effective use of a subset of office automation technologies such as fax and telephone that do not incorporate the requirement of a specific alphabet. Castells and Hall (1994) argue that the development of the fax was driven by a Japanese desire to promote a technology which did not disadvantage them over western users. The sophisticated bit-mapping technology able to deal with ideographic text has emerged relatively late in the process of global diffusion of desktop computing. This means that these increasingly significant players in the world economy are operating in a technical context and to sets of standards, official and de facto, which have been shaped by outside cul tural assumptions. There is a cultural dimension to the established practice and expectations within organizations which imparts its own dynamic to the process of change and development. Grounded, longitudinal observation offers access to this dynamic (Badham et al. 1995; Glaser and Strauss; 1967), however, a complex issue has been further confused by the variety of ways in which culture has been formulated by different writers on organizations. One conception of organizational culture has been used to explain the relative success of individual organizations and entrepreneurs (Peters and Waterman, 1982). Other writers refer to culture in terms of national differences in social and economic organization. Latin, Anglo-Saxon and traditional cultures are reflected in distinctive organizational types identified in studies examined by Lammers and Hickson (1979). Turner (1971) describes industrial subcultures which can be identified across individual organizations, and are distinctive from the larger society. Eldridge and Crombie (1974) define organizational culture as characteristic for individual organizations while Strauss et al. (1973) describe a range of cultures within a single organization. Thompson (1967) utilized the concept of an organizational constituency capable of entering into coalition with other constituencies in order to promote its interest. Such a conception allows the formal elements of an organization to be related to the informal communication and negotiation which often modifies, or in extreme cases frustrates, the intentions of management. It also allows consideration of intra-organizational variations in culture, arising from these differences of interest and experience. The rapid growth in desk-top and end user computing during the 1980s brought about a number of profound changes in the character of organizational i nformation systems. The dramatic reduction of cost and consequently wider availability of computing resources led to a process of commoditisation, initially of the hardware platforms courtesy of the open architecture of the de facto IBM standard clone, then of the operating systems and increasingly of the basic components of business software. Hu (1992) presents several criteria by which we can judge the nationality of the global organizations. According to him truly global organizations are still to emerge and the geographical location and scope of organizations still favours the country of origin, however several prominent organizations might be known as bi-national. Hu suggests that organizations based in relatively small economic countries might locate more of their resources externally, although, management and control is likely to indicate which are the origin locations of the organizations. With some exceptions, the majority of employment is in the home country, and foreigners are not likely to be represented by the organizations. Nobes and Parker (1985) presents a number of taxonomies of different techniques in accounting practice across the globe, which relate zones of influence both to the development of modern accounting in Scotland and England, its spread over other Anglophone cultures and the effect of alternative models on the emergence of spheres of influence. This degree of institutional changes suggests that regional differences in practices will continue to let go technical internal operations for some time to come. Burris (1993) plots the emergence of a technocratic frame in Western development from the enlightenment through the industrial revolution to Taylorist scientific management to Veblens â€Å"soviet of technicians†. She argues that the technocratic rationality is the dominant paradigm for workplace organization, polarizing the internal labour market and favouring abstract diagnostic and technical activities. This paradigm carries with it a range of implicit cultural assumptions, which imply that the global diffusion of western technology is a substantively rational and inevitable process. The technocratic perspective sees cultural variation as either irrational or insignificant and not as a resource. Technocracy is gender and culture blind and incapable of acknowledging cultural differences, understanding of which is critical to smooth inter-operability. Instead a technocratic perspective sees a smooth migration of older techniques to less industrialized countries, while the cor e economies refine advanced technologies. There is already considerable evidence against such a simplistic view and Burris suggests that Reich (1992) demonstrates a better recognition of global implications for core economies, although still exhibiting a bias towards the expert sector. This bias allows optimistic interpretations of the impact of technologies by focusing on the beneficiaries within the workforce, rather than the affected workforce as a whole. IT has played a significant role in the economic and social processes of globalisation. Technology does not determine social and organizational change. The spread of ICT around the world does not result in universal patterns of organizational structure and activities. The World Wide Web is only a few years old and has witnessed explosive growth in terms of the number of people connected and the amount of information available on it. It is now possible to make available an enormous amount of information to anyone with access to the Net and, increasingly, to carry out a variety of transactions from filling in and sending forms to ordering and paying for goods and services on-line. We need to harness the potential of the technologies available. But it is not simply a matter of creating web-based content: the content has to be useful, it must be easy to access and updated regularly. We also need to take special care to ensure that use of IT does not create a new class of haves and have n ots. While, on the one hand, we increase the use of computers, we must also ensure that they are accessible and functional in the rural or remoter areas. This is extremely important because the technology makes it possible for a person in the remotest of areas to have access to the same information base on the internet as someone located at the heart of the most developed cities. However, if the rural communications and networking infrastructure as well as ‘information booths are not put in place, the technology is of no use to the people living in those areas. Internet and intranets are the important trends in new technology. The recent advantages in information technology have opened up opportunities to provide basic government services to a much broader segment of the population with optimal quality at the desired time, place and cost. Some of the state governments have taken initiative to develop â€Å"one-stop shops† to deliver a host of services to the citizens, Technology is not culturally neutral but it is developed in a cultural context and in the case of information rich countries, IT applications carry that cultural context within their designs. Applications of culturally developed systems, such as office and management systems assume the users compliance with the design culture, but this inevitably leads to cultural clashes when the systems are applied outside the design context. The idea that Information Technology (IT) can be an enabling force, not only for business and trade but also for government, has now been widely accepted. However, a cursory glance at the existing initiatives in developing countries seems to suggest a mixed picture. With the exception of several worthwhile utilization of IT in particular sectors, IT applications seem to have had no remarkable effect on the manner in which citizens benefit from the services of the government. Against this backdrop, the efforts of the developing countries to harness Information Technology seem like a major initiative to deliver an improved administration. Todays trade is highly dependent on Information Systems. Information is the most globalized of goods services. There is a low cost to transport information. Information work is readily traded. A global information system supports the operations and decision making of an enterprises multi-country strategy. A global information system supports the operations and decision making of a person over space and time. It amplifes attenuates information exchanges to free up conscious attention References: Haywood, T. (1995), Info-Rich Info-Poor: Access and Exchange in the Global Information Society, Bowker-Saur, London. 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