Mgt 330 Management Planning Paper

Management Planning Paper MGT 330 Management Planning Paper The Boeing Corporation is the world’s leading aerospace company and is the largest manufacturer of commercial jetliners as well as military aircrafts. Boeing has teams that manufacture missiles, satellites, defense systems, and communication systems. NASA turns to Boeing when they need something and Boeing operates the International Space Station. Boeing has a broad range of capabilities and skills, which is probably the reason they are the world’s leading aerospace company.With the Boeing headquarters in Chicago, more than 170,000 people in 70 different countries find themselves employed with the corporation and most of them hold a college degree (Boeing Corporation,  2012). It takes many hard working employees and managers to make Boeing a successful corporation. This paper will discuss the planning function of management, analyze the influence of legal issues, ethics, and corporate social responsibility an d their effects on management planning. I will also analyze factors that influence the company’s strategic, tactical, operational, and contingency planning as they relate to the Boeing Corporation.The planning function of management is the process of setting goals within the corporation that are expected to be achieved over a set period. Therefore, Boeing got to be the world’s leading aerospace company by setting such goals. The Boeing Corporation has engineer departments, sales departments, mechanical departments, and product testing departments among a few others. Each individual department will have set goals put in place by corporate and guidelines regarding how they should achieve the desired goal for each project.Each goal is designed for each department to become the most efficient in their levels. There are six steps in management planning. The steps listed in provided course materials are situational analysis, alternative goals and plans, goal and plan evaluat ion, goal and plan selection, implementation, and monitor and control (Thomas S. Bateman, Scott A. Snell,  2009). Step one gathers and summarizes information that is in question. It examines current conditions with an attempt at forecasting future conditions. Step two generates alternative goals that may be used as an alternate if the first desired plan does not ork. Step three evaluates the potential of the alternative goals and prioritizes/eliminates ones that might or might not work. Step four in management planning is the selecting of goals believed to be most appropriate and feasible by the managers. Step five implements the goals and plans into action by managers. Goal achievement is likely to be linked to the organization’s reward system to encourage employees to achieve the goals and implement plans properly (Thomas S. Bateman, Scott A. Snell,  2009). Step six is essential in making sure goals and plans are met.If the goals and plans are not monitored and controll ed managers would not know if they were ever met successfully. Boeing the huge corporation that it is has had its fair share of legal issues. The corporation has to pay special attention to detail when it concerns obeying the laws and regulations in regard the manufacturing of aircraft. The planes must be tested for safety and flying ability before they ever hit the mainstream public. Notices on the aircraft tell passengers when they should be buckled and when it is considered safe to unbuckle. Engineers have to provide manuals for the aircrafts in case any issues may arise when in use.Ethical issues come into play when Boeing makes bids to other corporations like the military or NASA. They are not allowed to charge prices that people believe to be unfair or make any changes after things have already been agreed upon. This means that the sales department has to plan how much they want to sell their product for. The main corporate social responsibility that Boeing has is safety. They have to engineer items safe for the public to be on/use. With Boeing being the world’s leading Aerospace Corporation, millions of people rely on the use of their products.That means that engineers have to know the latest safety information and managers have to make sure that they put the safety information to use. Strategic planning is used by the Boeing Corporation when making new aircraft and other items. They have to figure out how to market their item just right so that buyers will be interested in it. This planning has led Boeing to make planes more efficient and comfortable for passengers to ride on. Tactical planning is organized for competition, such as Airbus and demand for product. Boeing is a competitor of Airbus, which is another aerospace engineering corporation.Boeing has to be aware of competitor’s new products and when they will be released. This means that they have to formulate and release products either better or more efficient than the competition ’s. Operational planning identifies the specific procedures and processes required at the lower-levels within an organization (Thomas S. Bateman, Scott A. Snell,  2009). So within the Boeing Corporation this would be those who deal with the delivery schedules and human resources departments. Every plane that takes off or leaves an airport has to be scheduled and the arrival/departure times displayed so that the public is aware.Human resources is responsible for the hiring/firing of Boeing’s many employees and any issues consumers may have with a product or service. If someone believes that they did not have a good experience in the flight he or she would call the resource department, and the department would most likely do everything in his or her power to make the person feel better. Contingency plans are put in place in case of any challenges that may arise when making their products. A good example of Boeing’s contingency plan is in 2008 they were trying to produce 40 aircraft a year but the United States hit an economic crisis.This meant that Boeing had to cut back their number of aircraft being created so they did not feel the effects of the economic crisis. So Boeing did not become the world’s leading aerospace corporation by doing nothing. It took hard work, planning, and management. There are six steps in management planning that corporations follow to try to ensure their survival in a competitive world. Boeing has had its fair share of legal and ethical issues and tries to abide by the rules and regulations for safety set forth by the goverment. Boeing tries to keep a strategic plan when creating new products and a tactical plan on how to market their items.Operational planning identifies the specific procedures and processes required at the lower-levels within an organization (Thomas S. Bateman, Scott A. Snell,  2009). Boeing demonstrates this with arrival/departure schedules. Finally Boeing has a contingency plan in p lace in case plan A is not able to be put into place. References The  Boeing Corporation. (2012). Boeing: About Us. Retrieved from http://www. boeing. com/companyoffices/aboutus/ Boeing Case Study. (2012). Boeing Case Study: The 787 Dreamliner, 1-17. Wall, R. , & Flottau, J. (2010). Stress Test.Aviation Week & Space Technology, 172(30), 36. Thomas S. Bateman, Scott A. Snell. (2009). Chapter 4: Planning and Strategic Management. Retrieved from Thomas S. Bateman, Scott A. Snell, MGT 330 website. The Boeing Corporation. (1995-2012). StartupBoeing – Business Planning. Retrieved from http://www. boeing. com/commercial/startup/planning. html Pritchard, D. , MacPherson A. (n. d. ). Industrial Subsidies and the Politics of World Trade: The Case of the Boeing 7e7. The Boeing Corporation. Retrieved from http://igeographer. lib. indstate. edu/pritchard. pdf

Drugs in Lebanon

Facts and Official Action Cannabis has been grown in the Beak valley ever since the Roman Empire, despite the laws prohibiting it. A long-running measure by the government before the Civil War was to burn the fields before the yearly harvest. The war stopped that action and the country became one of the most prominent in the world in the production & export of illicit drugs, reaching its peak in the late sass's at 1000 tons of cannabis resin and 3 to 5 tons of heroin, which had only been introduced a few years earlier.In the early says, after the war ended, the eradication began again, but with the absence of alternative income sources and the promise of international aid that never materialized, this action plunged the local population in dire poverty, so much so that they have nothing more to lose and so they replant their crops every year. The culture and production had been In steady decline, and by 2002, most of It was Limited to the extreme north of the valley. But due to the r ising political unrest since 2005, it has significantly increased again.With the close watch of the land and sea borders for the traffic of arms, whisking of drugs out of the country has become harder, thereby forcing the growers to broaden local markets, increasing the local consumption, which has now become a serious epidemic amongst the Lebanese youth. In 1998, Lebanon passed Law 673, which stated that drug addiction was not a crime in itself. But there was no real implementation of the policy, and the Government continued offering only two choices: prison or abstinence.With some of the dealers being politically protected, and thus unreachable. Punishment came hard on users. They were caught, trialed, and held in conventional prisons for varying periods. However, recently, the Minister of Internal Affairs and the Minister of State for Administrative Reform stated clearly that addiction should be placed midway between crime and Illness, and that the addict should be treated Instea d of imprisoned with criminals, murderers, & traffickers which will be nothing but an additional cause for drug use.They are starting to promote cooperation between Government and No's where the addicts is caught and sent to rehab for proper treatment. Many dealers were and continue to be seized, as fortunately, action now concentrates on the root of the problem rather than the consequence. However, the Government still has a long way to go, as no official studies have Eden conducted on menders, prattles, Ana correct governmental reenrolled processes, and no rehabilitation centers are government-based.Numbers and Non- Governmental Organizations There are currently 7 available rehabilitation centers in Lebanon, all No's, offering awareness, prevention, non-residential programs to short or long residential programs. Their success rates are more or less high, depending on the programs they offer and their social reintegration processes. The centers are Mum el Nor, Skunk, Jejuneness Ant i Drogue DAD), Jejuneness Centre la Drogue COD), Bonjour du Ceil, Cancel De la Lumpier, and Horizons.To report accurate numbers would be impossible, as no serious official study of the matter has ever been conducted. Some incomprehension studies conducted by unofficial bodies, namely rehabilitation enters, and mainly in the region of Beirut alone show the following statistics: There are 10,000 to 15,000 estimated drug addicts in Lebanon, of which 2000 are female. This number could rise significantly if studies on other regions are conducted. 24% of prison inmates are drug users. Around 700 addicts receive treatment per year.A soaring 49% of all addicts fall in Beirut, with the other 51% divided amongst 6 other regions. Drug-related deaths are very underreported, and that for several reasons, mainly pertaining to the taboo nature of the issue, where families prefer to disguise he reason of death, when disclosing it might help other users. Average age for first time use has dropped dr amatically from 28 years in 1996 to 17 in 2000, to 15 in 2009, with 60% between 14 and 19, to 22% between 20 and 24, to 9% between 25 and 29, to small portions after that.As for educational level, the highest rate falls within people who have reached complementary school with 31%, but this does not indicate that education prevents addiction, as lower levels like primary school and illiteracy together represent only 18% whereas higher levels like some or full university education represents 27%. Socio-economical status seems to be more defining, as medium class contains 57% of addicts, versus 38% for low class, and only 6% for high class. But it is also important to note that the classes themselves are not equally divided.What is most interesting is that 80% of all addicts are single, divorced, or separated, with only 20% married, which clearly states that people with less responsibility and sense of purpose tend to fall deeper into that abyss. As for drug- related diseases, 43% of a ddicts show psychopathology diseases, whether before he addiction and leading to it, or after it, as effects of it, 25% have other chronic diseases, 20% Cardiovascular, 17% Hepatitis C, 7% Pulmonary, 2% allergies, 2% Diabetes, and 0. 5% AIDS. Needle sharing is not uncommon, and if it happens with AIDS or HIVE patients, these diseases will soon become an epidemic in Lebanon.Cannabis has the highest abuse rate at 66% but is considered a soft drug, less harmful than Heroin, which has a high rate of 65%, versus Cocaine 56%, Alcohol 47%, Ecstasy 20%, Amphetamines 13%, LSI 8%, and inhalants 2%. It is clear that poly substance use is very common. Cocaine and LSI are rising fast. It is very important to note that all the above numbers represents addicts, not occasional users. It is not uncommon to see people at parties having smoked cannabis, snorted cocaine, or popped ecstasy. So what makes an addict? Addiction is a disease, but it in not contagious.In order to develop, it needs the right accommodation AT assistance, personality, Ana solo-cultural Doctors. I en assistance needs to have addictive properties and has to meet the specific needs of the user. For example, Cocaine will satisfy a person with underlying low self-esteem, while Heroin would be the drug of choice for an overly sensitive person. The person needs to have genetic predispositions, psychological fragility, problematic relationships, and some sort of frail social skills, and of course certain expectations of what the drug would do for them.An antisocial or aggressive personality or morbid traits would also be determining factors. The socio-cultural factors should reflect some chaos and uncertainty, like a chaotic home or ineffective parenting, low communication, war, unemployment, or poverty in a consumer society, failures, loss of values, and the availability of the drug, affiliations with drug abusing peers, or peer pressure. Put together, these three factors are a fertile ground where addiction wil l grow and thrive until the person realizes that instead of solving his problems, it is making things much worse.What starts as an attempt to self-medicate ultimately backfires. Instead of treating the problem, drugs simply mask the symptoms. The problem is still there, but now, there are more issues at hand. Relationships are worse, poverty is accentuated, performance is hindered, and added to all the previous drawbacks is he acquired dependency to a substance that is potentially fatal. By then, it is too late, but only to an extent. An addict typically tends to be in denial as a strong defense mechanism for the substance that has now become his life.It matters more than anything else, more than friends, than family, than loved ones, than life itself. More than him. He has forgotten how to function without it, and even if he does realize that he is not really functioning, and that he is in a fast cycle of self- destruction, he cannot do much about it on his own. The drugs have alte red his rain, literally altered the way it looks and functions. Overcoming the addiction is not simply a matter of willpower. It is a disease and should be treated by professionals. In Utopia For a society to be free of drug addiction, the grounds have to be made infertile.Of course, the substance has to be made unavailable, the dealers caught and punished, the laws applied, the pharmacists infused with conscience, or at least punished so hard that they fear doing wrong. But even if the substance were hard to control, the other factors could be dealt with. The government would concentrate on the people it as elected to serve in the first place. It would strive to provide political and economic stability, health care, Job opportunities, and a secure future, giving the people a sense of pride, values, patriotism, and the feeling of belonging.If it weren't perfect in the first place, and suddenly acquires a conscience, it could contain addicts and treat them by opening rehabilitation c enters or helping existing ones grow, setting solid reintegration processes, and providing free psychological support and treatment to both addicts and their families (and other citizens). After all, it did argyle have a hand in their misfortunes in the first place. Finally, parents would know better than to become parents if they are unstable. They would treat their own issues before having children and passing on to them the troubles acquired from their own parents and past experiences.They would seek treatment to rid themselves of the frustration, the intolerance, and the shattered values caused by years of strife and instability. They would understand the importance of a stable none, loving support, detective responsibility, g values, Ana realistic expectations. Sadly, Lebanon is no Utopia. The Government continues to arrogantly refuse to assume its role as rightful servant and protector, and parents continue to ignore their responsibility of providing love before money, and sec urity before comfort.So it falls on our shoulders, yours and mine, to act with continuous awareness and assume the responsibility of grace. A closer look Most common international narcotics can be found in Lebanon. Taking a closer look at their nature and their effects will help a better understanding of why they are used. A drug, or psychoactive substance is any natural or synthetic chemical that has he ability to affect thinking, feeling, senses, and/or behavior, by acting in the brain on mechanisms that normally exist to regulate the functions of mood, thoughts, and motivations.

Performance Management in Non-Profit Organizations Essay

Non-Profit organizations are trusted to address some the most challenging issues affecting society: ending violence in inner-city communities, educating disadvantaged children, diminishing health disparities and empowering disfranchised populations to bring about change are just a few of these very difficult tasks non-profits take on. Considering the importance of that work and the pivotal role these organizations play in alleviating the burden of those issues to society, it is fair to say that non-profits are held against high expectations and consequently need to show stellar performance to live up to the magnitude of the scope of the work they were trusted upon. It is also fair to say that their performance will not only affect their bottom lines, but also the welfare of the communities they serve. Public and nonprofit organizations significantly affect, and have great potential to improve, the lives of citizens and communities in such areas as public safety, transportation, parks and recreation, economic development, education, housing, public health, environmental management, space exploration, social services, and more. In each of these areas there is interest, and sometimes very great interest, in ensuring that public and nonprofit organizations perform well and help society to move forward. (Berman, 2005) Looking at nonprofits from that viewpoint and understanding the impact their performance has on society, one would think that these organizations are usually driven by results and have efficient performance management systems in place. The truth is that it is not the case, non-profits are known to be mission-driven and the notion of performance-based management is somewhat new to most of those organizations. Non-profit organizations are of increasing importance in modern economies, not only as providers of goods and services but also as employers (Speckbecker, 2003). Moreover, there seems to be a growing awareness that nonprofits need management just as for-profit organizations do. As Speckbecker says: â€Å"Twenty years ago, management was a dirty word for those involved in nonprofit organizations† (Speckbecker, 2003). It meant business, and nonprofits prided themselves on being free of the taint of commercialism and above such sordid considerations as the bottom line. Now most of them have learned that nonprofits need management even more than business does, precisely because they lack the discipline of the bottom line.† (Speckbecker, 2003). In the business world, market forces serve as feedback mechanisms. Companies that perform well are rewarded by customers and investors; underperformers are penalized. Performance is relatively easy to quantify through quarterly earnings, ROI, customer loyalty scores, and the like. Moreover, such metrics can be calibrated and compared, ensuring that the companies producing the best results will attract capital and talent. Managers are encouraged to invest in the people, systems, and infrastructure needed to continue delivering superior performance. And internal feedback mechanisms, from up-to-the-minute operating data to performance reviews, keep everyone focused on critical activities and goals. In the nonprofit world, missions, not markets, are the primary magnets attracting essential resources, from donors inspired by organizations’ audacious goals; from board members, who not only volunteer their time and expertise but also often serve as major funders; and from employees, who accept modest paychecks to do work they care passionately about. (Bradach, 2005) There are many opportunities for performance improvement in the Non-profit field and there are many organizations that have successfully used performance measurement methods. This paper looks at some areas in which improvement has often been recognized and sought in recent years in order to better serving external stakeholders’ needs, improving organizational effectiveness and using resources efficiently, improving project management, and increasing productivity through people. Modern performance improvements efforts often raise the bar in these areas, and managers are increasingly expected to be familiar with the strategies and standards that they involve. These areas offer important opportunities for increasing performance and productivity. When it comes to performance management in nonprofit, the first issue that comes to play is how to define performance. When dealing with a segment whose products are not tangible, how can one define the effectiveness of that kind of work? At the same time, the expectations being placed on these organizations to show results by their staff members, their boards, and public and private donors are rising. Nonprofit leaders are put in a difficult position where they need to demonstrate accountability and quantify the goals they want to achieve. For that reason, most of them have resorted to a set of commonly used performance measures to ensure they are being much more explicit about the results they intend to deliver and the strategies they’ll apply to achieve them. This paper will discuss some of the performance measures used in the non-profit sector. Performance Measurement Performance measurement is the activity of documenting the activities and accomplishments of programs. (Thomas J. Tierney and Nan Stone, 2005). The performance of a nonprofit can be measured by quantifying outcomes and outputs that have been achieved through the services they deliver. For example, by showing how well students in a certain school district are doing with standard testing scores, reduction in communicable disease rates and how many inmates were connected with housing and jobs after discharge. It is about measuring what programs are really achieving and letting people know how resources are being translated into results. Performance measurement systems provide considerable detail about programs. It can be argued that performance measurement by itself does not constitute performance improvement; it is an information-gathering strategy. However, the purposes to which this information is put are clearly associated with improving performance (Berry, 2003). Coming from the point of view that performance is in the eye of the beholder and again revisiting the issue that nonprofits deal with issues that may not be tangible and are hard to quantify, the first question one can ask is who is watching non-profits to make sure they are doing a good job? Moreover, what qualifies as a good job for an organization such as AIDS Action? A cure for AIDS has not been found yet; does it mean that organization failed? Understanding what performance for nonprofits is may not be as clear cut and straight forward as it is for for-profits. After all, we are not looking at how many pairs of shoes have been sold or how many new branches of a bank have been closed. We are looking at quality of life indicators and those are much harder to measure. The most fundamental decision a nonprofit can make is to define the results it must deliver in order to be successful. That process entails translating the organization’s mission into goals that are simultaneously compelling enough to attract ongoing support from stakeholders and specific enough to inform resource allocations. (Thomas J. Tierney and Nan Stone, 2005) Most traditional management accounting systems are based on financial results and their practical relevance for performance management in for profit organizations is obvious. However, the concept of profit as defined as a way to measure results is not valid for nonprofit organizations. Clearly, this does not exclude that nonprofit organizations generate profits in the sense that they generate a cash surplus. For example, a hospital or a theater may calculate the surplus of specific â€Å"products† (a specific operation or a play at the theater) or the surplus during a particular period. (Speckbacher, 2003). However, the main difference is that even though these non-profits had a surplus, their focus is still their mission. They didn’t make decisions based on how they could make more money; they made decisions based on what was better for their programs. The fundamental difference between profitable and non-profit organizations when it comes to financial decision making is that for the latter the mission is still the focus. The past several decades have seen unprecedented growth in the scope and complexity of relationships between government and nonprofit organizations. These relationships have been more fruitful than many critics had feared and more problematic than many advocates had hoped. In the recent years, governments have increasingly relied on non-profits to address issues on a community-level. Non-profits deal with a wide array of issues and for each of these topics; these particular non-profits are experts on that subject. The government has acknowledged that expertise and also the fact that those organizations are usually community-based and more in tune with the particular needs of those communities or interest groups. As government’s dependence on nonprofits for public services, usually through contracts and grants, has increased, government officials have steadily increased their accountability demands for nonprofits, especially through greater regulation and performance-based contracting (Behn, 2001). Expectations for information and greater transparency in programmatic and financial operations are also on the rise at both the state and federal levels. In addition, many leading associations representing nonprofit organizations have called for greater levels of self-regulation, including better governance procedures (Maryland Association of Nonprofits, 2009; Panel on the Nonprofit Sector, 2007). A very common concept that derived from this relationship between government and nonprofits is performance based contracting. This paper will review that concept and outline a few additional approaches Non-Profits can use to measure performance. Performance Contracting Performance Contracting became very popular in the mid-90s with the â€Å"reinventing government† movement. New public management (NPM) practices generated a spike in the interest level from the government in doing business with non-profits. And due to this increased interest, all the ideas and concepts that concerned improving the performance of public services transcended to the non-profit arena. Moreover, this movement and the related NPM encouraged policy makers to adopt more market-based strategies for addressing public problems, such as contracting with private nonprofit and for-profit agencies (Lynn, 1998). In addition, the welfare reform legislation of 1996 created the Transitional Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program, replacing the long-standing Aid to Dependent Families and Children (AFDC) program (Berman, 2005). A central component of the new TANF program was performance-based contracts to encourage service providers to place individuals in permanent employment quickly (Berman, 2005). These contracts were also part of a broader strategy embodied by TANF to reduce the role of cash assistance in helping low-income individuals; social services delivered extensively by nonprofit and for-profit agencies through performance contracts were designed to help individuals who might have previously relied on cash assistance to obtain employment and/or learn new skills to prepare themselves for the labor market (Berman, 2005). Non-profit organizations greatly benefited from these new trends in New Public Management which allowed them to conquer a bigger space in the public arena, as they had increased visibility and more access to resources. Under the core principles of that movement, communities had to be empowered to address their own problems and the federal government trusted non-profits to implement high-level projects, as pointed out before. Consequently, governments become increasingly dependent on such organizations to tackle some of the more critical issues in society. And due to the fact these issues, such as welfare, violence prevention and land preservation are of high interest to the government officials’ constituents; accountability came in to play. These performance-based contracts are being executed with tax dollars and the government officials need to be accountable to their voters on how these resources are being allocated and what results those programs are bringing. What it comes down to is that Non-Profits are in charge of executing what elected officials promise their constituents. Therefore, the need to enter contracts with a clear expectation of how the budget will support programs and goals and how those monies will translate into improvements to that community or segment. Non-Profits greatly benefit from this relationship with government. From both the point of view of business development, since their contract revenue has significantly increased with the grants and contracts received from the federal government. And from the point of view of implementing performance management activities, since this new way of conducting business paved the way for the introduction of valuable concepts related to performance management in non-profits. In Summary, new public management brought a new set of ideas and principles that were embraced by nonprofits and changed some of their paradigm with regards to their own definition of success and they relationship with their mission. Performance started to be evaluated by directly connecting program budget to goals and outcomes to understand the impact of those contracts had on addressing the issues at hand. Over time, performance contracting spread to a wide variety of service fields in the United States and elsewhere. New York City, for instance, has restructured hundreds of millions of dollars of contracts with social and health agencies as performance contracts. Some state governments have â€Å"privatized† at least some of their child welfare services by shifting public services provided by state or county staff to performance-based contracts with nonprofits, with the goal of improving the efficiency and effectiveness of child welfare services (Courtney, 2000). The same has been done by the Health Resource Service Administration (HRSA) and Substance Abuse Mental Health Administration (SMAHSA), in the past five years when they increased substantially the funding available to communities to address major public health epidemics, such as HIV and Heroine/Crack use, that the government alone wouldn’t be able to tackle. Due to the magnitude of these contracts and the threat these issues pose to society, the issue of performance has been addressed tirelessly and governments pressured nonprofits to come up with a set of measures to account for their performance and their ability to fulfill the terms of those contracts. The benefits and disadvantages of performance contracts have been extensively discussed in recent years. Within the performance management strategy movement, other strategies have been employed that strive to be more nonprofit-centric. These strategies include benchmarking, logic models, balanced scorecards, and social return on investment (SROI). All of these strategies have been used to measure performance in non-profit organizations in recent years and can illustrate examples of how organizations are applying management concepts to their operations. (Heinrich and Marschke, 2008). The Performance management contracts introduced nonprofits to these concepts and in result they became better able to manage their own performance as a whole, and not only when it relates to these contracts. (Heinrich and Marschke, 2008). All these concepts will be discussed in this paper. Benchmarking Benchmarking involves identifying excellence and using it as a standard by which to measure performance. Benchmarking entails an effort to compare a specific nonprofit organization (or set of agencies) with other comparable organizations. It has its roots in the for-profit management world where companies are often compared on various measures, including profitability. The attraction of benchmarking is that it offers nonprofits a mechanism for them to assay their organizations, including administrative costs, the efficiency of their fund-raising operations, and number of members in comparison with other organizations with similar missions and profiles. Outcome evaluation is also very complicated, so benchmarking offers a strategy for program improvement and greater accountability, even in the absence of specific outcome data that are often lacking for many nonprofit programs (Kara D. Rutowski, Jeffery K. Guiler and Kurt E. Schimmel, 2007). Looking again at the issue that the product delivered by nonprofits may not be so easily measured and quantifiable as services and products in the for-profit industry, it is harder for nonprofits to assess their own performance looking at standard reports. For instance, let’s look at an HIV Testing Program whose goals are to promote HIV testing and raise awareness of risk factors. Hypothetically, let’s consider that such program tested 1000 people during a given year and only 4 were positive. How will they measure their performance based on those numbers? That can be quite difficult to determine if a 4% seropositivity rate is an indicator for success or failure. However, using the benchmarking approach this program can compare itself to how it did as it relates to other programs serving similar populations and obtaining similar results. According to HIVqual (HIVqual.org), an organization that specializes in providing benchmarking for different clinical indicators for HIV treatment, despite seeming low that 4% rate is well above the national average. The National average according to the HIVQual Project is about 1%. In this case an apparent low performance indicator, 4%, turned out to be an excellent outcome. Without access to that kind of information that program manager would not know how well he was doing and whether or not his program was being successful. Undeniably benchmarking tends to be most helpful with easy to obtain information, such as number of administrators, membership levels, and the amount of donations. However, the health care industry utilizes it a little more comprehensively, especially when looking at health outcomes of a particular community and health disparities data. The field of Public Health has also embraced that strategy for community-wide data evaluation, such as rates of violence and STD transmission, and used it to compare how effectively neighborhoods have addressed such problems. Also, the Boston Public Health Commission compares individual program data with city-wide data to determine how well a program is performing in comparison to others. Benchmarking is an attainable way to measure performance, as non-profits are comparing their outcomes to national and local averages they can have a clear idea of where they rank and where they need to improve. However, that approach can only be utilized if such data exists. As mentioned before, in the health care industry this method is widely used and there are plenty of data available on clinical outcomes. Different types of benchmarking may be undertaken, depending upon what the organization hopes to achieve (Rutowski, Guiler & Schimmel, 2007). Industry benchmarking, or functional benchmarking, is the measurement of several aspects of the company’s operations and a comparison of these across an industry. Competitive benchmarking is used to compare an organization with its competitors. Process or generic benchmarking is used to compare similar procedures at different companies. There has been relatively little research exploring benchmarking in nonprofit organizations outside of the healthcare industry (Rutowski, Guiler & Schimmel, 2007). Hopefully, nonprofits will follow the trend set by healthcare and employ this strategy as a performance measurement technique more efficiently in the upcoming years. Balanced Scorecards Another performance management strategy commonly utilized by nonprofits is the balanced scorecard developed by Robert Kaplan in 2002. The balanced scorecard is intended to counter the criticism from within the nonprofit sector that the application of certain types of performance management strategies borrowed from the for-profit sector do not sufficiently account for the social mission and values of many nonprofits (Berman, 2005). Kaplan describes the innovation of the balanced scorecard as follows: â€Å"The balanced scorecard retains traditional financial measures. But financial measures tell the story of past events, an adequate story for industrial age companies for which investments in long-term capabilities and customer relationships were not critical for success. These financial measures are inadequate, however, for guiding and evaluating the journey that information age companies must make to create future value through investment in customers, suppliers, employees, processes, technology, and innovation.† (Kaplan, 2002) The balanced scorecard is a strategic-planning tool that seeks to integrate financial, programmatic, operational, and mission-related objectives, so a nonprofit agency can strive to create a more efficient and effective organization while at the same time remaining faithful to its mission. (Berman, 2005). The balanced scorecard does involve a significant investment by a nonprofit organization because of its substantial data requirements and the need for extensive consultation among the different stakeholders of a nonprofit, including the board, staff, clients, community members, and funders. As a result, the balanced scorecard tends to be embraced by larger nonprofit and public organizations eager to drive substantial change in their operations. The balanced scorecard is also particularly worthwhile for organizations that seek to rethink or improve their relationship with their users, such as parents in a family-service agency or patients in the case of a hospital. In this sense, the balanced scorecard reflects the enhanced primacy placed on responsiveness to customers in all types of organizations (Berman, 2005). However, despite its holistic approach to organizational strategy, the balanced scorecard tends to focus on measurable indicators of costs and program utilization and thus is not widely used to consider the citizenship and community-building role of nonprofits although it potentially could be used to address these issues. (Berman, 2005) Also, the measurement of program impact through the balanced scorecard approach remains challenging given the difficulty of obtaining relevant outcome data because of the expense and the long-term effects of many nonprofit programs. (Berman, 2005) Balance score cards are a viable alternative for nonprofit organizations. In this system, one takes a look at various elements affecting performance and not a single isolated measure. Due to the fact that non-profits are very in tune with their mission, and are constantly focusing on trying to allocate their limited resources efficiently in order to achieve their goals, this system works very effectively as it provides these organizations with this bigger-picture view they much need. The balanced scorecard system has a multiple focus on several perspectives, including financial performance, and that will give nonprofits the tools they need to make decisions regarding where moneys will be invested in comparison with performance analysis of different programs. For a nonprofit organization, profit is not a determining goal of strategy; but no margin, no mission. Therefore, they need to be able to put their money where they can see results. The other issue to be considered with this approach is stakeholder involvement. In this case, the balanced scorecard provides a comprehensive framework that will help association directors and managers better define strategies, track performance, and provide data to show their various stakeholder groups how well they are performing in terms of mission value and outcomes. It helps as far as celebrating their successes and selling their message to others. Well-rounded and well-presented results will make those organizations look more appealing and that could potentially attract endowments, additional contracts and positive publicity. Logic Models Another performance management approach that is widely used by nonprofits is a logic model. As a matter of fact, many public and private funders now require nonprofit grant and contract applicants to develop a logic model as part of their grant application. Logic Models have become a standard performance measure for contracts due to the fact that they focus on process and outcomes. Logic models force nonprofits to map the entire â€Å"production process† for their programs, from the initial inputs such as staff and resources to the long term outcomes. For funders, logic models offer an opportunity to hold nonprofits accountable for the implementation of their programs. Thus, funders could sanction a nonprofit that fell short of its intended service deliver model after a contract or grant was awarded (Berman, 2005). For Nonprofits, logic models allow them to select which outcomes they want to achieve, so they can focus their efforts on achieving these particular goals. These goals are not chosen randomly, this consists of a â€Å"logic† process, from a cause-consequence frame of reference; therefore, these goals are very achievable and these organizations are very likely to succeed. Logic models have certainly caught the attention of nonprofits nationwide. Arguably their greatest value is on the â€Å"front-end† of service implementation. Ideally, the process of creating a logic model should engage a broad spectrum of a nonprofit agency’s staff and volunteers in thinking about impact and outcomes (Berman, 2005). This level of involvement helps them refine their strategies and win the support of agency stakeholders. By having everyone on board, these agencies will be more likely to achieve program goals. Logic models as a strategy to drive better outcomes and help funders select the most effective agencies for funding remains quite problematic. Furthermore, logic models tend to focus on programmatic performance and generally do not engage the agency in thinking about governance or citizen–agency relationships. (Berman, 2005) SROI – Social Return on Investment Another performance strategy designed for nonprofits that also take into account their difficulties in evaluating programs and defining success is the Social Return on Investment (SROI). This strategy was pioneered by Jed Emerson and colleagues at the Roberts Foundation in San Francisco who envisioned SROI as a vehicle for assessing the social value of nonprofit programs. Too often, nonprofit programs, especially social service programs, are evaluated quite narrowly and thus may not appear to demonstrate significant value for the community (Berman, 2005). Topics, such as quality of life, positive decision making, civic pride and affinity for diversity, for instance, are very hard to measure. One can measure how many people attended a benefit to raise autism awareness, but how can we measure how the lives of those who attended were impacted by their participation? Bearing that challenge in mind, SROI is designed to overcome this problem through a more inclusive approach to thinking about costs and benefits that consider the savings to society of nonprofit services. For example, a person’s employment because of job training and placement by a nonprofit would produce long-term benefits for society that should be considered when evaluating the impact of a nonprofit program (Tuan, 2008). This type of argument may be a hard one to make. There is the counter-argument whether or not current citizens are paying for current services. There is also the counter-argument that tax dollars should be directly benefiting tax payers, and projects such as school renovations may sound more appealing than investing on something that people will see results in the long run. Similar to other performance management initiatives, SROI focuses on programmatic impact rather than governance (Tuan, 2008). SROI is also quite complicated in practice so its adoption within the nonprofit sector has been quite limited, although the conceptual framework employed in SROI has encouraged funders and nonprofits to approach social impact more inclusively and to be rigorous and data-driven in thinking about costs and benefits. SROI has also spawned other efforts to think broadly about the social value of nonprofits (Tuan, 2008). In times where government and the country in general faces a dreadful budget crises making decisions from where to cut from such an abstract idea may be not the best way to measure performance as it relates to results from financial investments. This approach is probably the one that makes more sense from a long-term perspective. However, many non-profits can not afford that kind of thinking and need to have more tangible data to account for their performance. The idea of social impact can and should be used for lobbying and for getting buy-in from constituents; however, resting on that strategy to justify resource allocation and to measure results may be a risky decision to make. Conclusion: Overall, the varied performance management strategies commonly used by nonprofit organizations tend to minimize attention to internal management and governance as well as the external relations in favor of a focus on impact and the relevant costs and benefits (Berman, 2005). As previously discussed, the biggest issue faced by non-profits is the fact that their product may not be as easily defined as the services and goods are in the for profit world. The issue of the market inclination and how people are responding to their services is also another important one to be kept in mind. Non-profits are not dictated by their consumers’ behaviors, but by the environment as a whole. The definition of success in the nonprofit world is very complex and can be looked at from different angles as explained through the strategies above. Non-profits have increasingly tried to incorporate performance management strategies to its practices. And although the management of these organizations may be a little more in tune with those principles, we can not forget that those concepts may not be as evident to their staff. For many of the direct line staff, it is very hard to evidence the impact of performance management on management decisions and service improvements. Managers may be aware of the value of performance measurement in influencing decisions and improving services, but sometimes the communication with staff tend to be broad and disappointingly vague. As non-profits utilize these concepts to run their operations, they need to understand that front line staff needs to be equally aware of how the organization is performing and how that affects them. There is a presumed linkage to budget decisions, although promised in theory, is often difficult to detect in practice. Many non-profits have been good about disseminating those ideas among their managers, but that may not have been equally successful in getting their staff on board. In conclusion, performance management in nonprofit is a very broad topic that can be viewed from many different perspectives. The need to become more accountable to results has forced many of these organizations to adopt performance management systems. There are a few commonly used systems as explained in this paper, they each have their strengths and their weakness and it is up to each nonprofit manager to decide which one suits them best. This is a very new field, however, that has emerged with New Public Management and become more prominent in the 90s. There is a lot of room for new theories and approaches to be developed, and I am sure in the near future we will be hearing more innovative concepts coming into play. Regardless from which angle you look at predominance for nonprofit organizations, there will always be the issue of hard-to-define products and goals. And there will always be the cultural issues within those organizations where staff may not be as in tune as managers are of the needs to define success and measure performance. People join non-profits because they have affinity with their missions and the idea that they have to achieve goals and quotas may not be as tangible to them as their desire to help others. BIBLIOGRAPHY: 1. Bradach, Jeffrey (2005). Non-Profit Effectiveness. Washington, DC: Brookings Institution Press. 2. L., Thomas, J. Tierney, and Nan Stone (2006). â€Å"Delivering on the promise of nonprofits.† Harvard Business Review. 3. Lencioni, Pat. â€Å"Nonprofits vs. For-Profits: Mission and Performance.† Business Week Online 6 May 2009. General Reference Center Gold. Web. 1 May 2010. 4. Berry, J.M. (2003). A voice for nonprofits. Washington, DC: Brookings Institution Press. 5. Behn, R.D. (2001): Rethinking democratic accountability. Washington, DC: Brookings Institution Press. 6. Behn, R.D., & Kant, P.A. (1999). Strategies for avoiding the pitfalls of performance contracting. Public Productivity & Management Review, 22, 470-489 7. Blalock, A.B., & Barnow, B.S. (2004). Is the new obsession with performance management masking the truth about social programs? In D. W. Forsythe (Ed.), Quicker, better, cheaper? Managing performance in American government (pp. 485-519). Albany, NY: Rockefeller Institute Press. 8. Bovaird, T., & Downe, J. (2009). Innovation in public engagement and co-production of services. Meta-evaluation of the local government modernization agenda-White policy paper. 9. Emerson, J., Wachowicz, J., & Chun, S. (2000). Social return on investment: Exploring aspects of value creation in the nonprofit sector. San Francisco: The Roberts Foundation. Retrieved December 6, 2009 10. Lynn, L.E., Jr. (1998). The new public management: How to transform a theme into a legacy. Public Administration Review, 58, 231-237. 11. Lyons, M. (in press). Australia: A continuing love affair with the new public management. In S. Phillips & S. R. Smith (Eds.), Governance and regulation in the third sector. London: Routledge. 12. Marris, P., & Rein, M. (1982). D ilemmas of social reform: Poverty and community action in the United States. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. 13. Marshall, T.H. (1964). Class, citizenship, and social development: Essays. New York: Doubleday. 14. Berman, Evan M. Productivity in Public and Nonprofit Organizations. Armonk, NY, USA: M.E. Sharpe, Inc., 2005. p 15. 15. Tuan, M.T. (2008). Measuring and/or estimating social value creation: Insights into eight integrated cost approaches. Seattle, WA: Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Retrieved December 11, 2009. 16. Speckbacher, Gerhard. The Economics of Performance Management in Nonprofit Organizations. Nonprofit Management & Leadership; Spring2003, Vol. 13 Issue 3, p267, 15p 17. Ammons, David N., and William C. Rivenbark. â€Å"Factors influencing the use of performance data to improve municipal services: Evidence from the North Carolina benchmarking project.† Public Administration Review 68.2 (2008): 304+. General Reference Center Gold. Web. 3 May 2010 18. Kara D. Rutowski, Jeffery K. Guiler and Kurt E. Schimmel. Benchmarking organizational commitment across nonprofit human services organizations in Pennsylvania. School of Business, Robert Morris University, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA, 2007. 19. Courtney, M.E. (2000). Managed care and child welfare services: What are the issues? Children and Youth Services Review, 22(2), 87-91. 20. Kaplan, R.S. (2002). The balanced scorecard and nonprofit organizations. Boston: Harvard Business School.

Definition of Communication Essay

Introduction Whenever we interact with other people, intentional or unintentional, we communicate; because of its abstract nature, the concept of communication is difficult to define. If one remembers Communication Theory as a Field (Craig 1999), we gain insight into the scientific fields of communication, on how diverse the fields of study actually are. With such diversity among theorists’ approaches to communication, it is even harder to get a single definition standing, at least within academia. The devil is in the details; however some argue that it is rather impractical to study a subject that isn’t well defined. A First Look At Communication Theory (Griffin 2012) offers a working definition. (Griffin 2012:6) states â€Å"Communication is the relational process of creating and interpreting messages that elicit a response†. But does this definition of what communication is suffice in the light of what the different theorists argue it is? This will be the main focus of my paper. I find it most reasonable to approach this question with two communication theories with different fundamental approaches to communication. In order to cover both the interpretive and objective theoretical approach, I will discuss the definition in relation to Constructivism and Semiotics. The Definition The definition consists of five parts: messages, creation of Messages, interpretation of Messages, A Relational Process, and Messages that elicits a response (Griffin 2012:6-9). â€Å"Messages are the very core of communication study.† (Griffin 2012:6). The creation of messages is the implication that messages is usually not randomly generated (constructed, invented, planned, crafted, constituted, selected, or adopted (Griffin 2012:7)). A message does not hold a meaning in and of itself; e.g. there is a differentiation between the words and the meaning. Communication is considered a process, because it functions in a contextual sense. In addition, it is a relational phenomenon because it involves two or more participants and affects their connection. And lastly, if a message fails to initiate any reactions, it would be ironic to call it communication according to Griffin. Constructivism Constructivism approaches communication from the psychological perspective, focusing on cognitive competence in interpersonal communication (Griffin 2012:98). The level of interactional competence is determined by the sophistication of the actor’s social perception skills, and their ability to analyze the social situation (the cognitive complexity of an actor (Griffin 2012:99)). The cognitive complexity is reflected in the communication process through the effectiveness of person-centered messages. â€Å"†¦ the capacity to produce highly person-centered messages has been assessed by having participants generate messages in response to standard situations and then coding these messages within hierarchical schemes for the degree of person centeredness manifested. For example, messages seeking to persuade others have been coded for the extent to which the goals and desires of the target are taken into account.† (Brant R. Burleson, Scott E. Caplan 1998:II,B) In a constructivist view, the communication process is more goal-oriented than relational. Constructing the message in a communicational context is in and of itself an intention to get an anticipated or desired reaction. â€Å"The perception and processing of others’ intentional efforts to convey some internal state–may be viewed as a special case of social perception† (Brant R. Burleson, Scott E. Caplan 1998:II,C). The addressed uses a received message as input in the process of structuring their response. The effectiveness of a response is directly correlated to the message’s goal related structure, and the cognitive complexity and perception skills of both addresser and addressed. Semiology Semiotics is the study of signs; it involves the production and the analysis of socially attributed meaning to an object. The semiologist Roland Barthes focused his research on signs we use in communication (Griffin 2012:332). In Mythologies (Roland Barthes 2009) we see that Barthes’ perspective on communication is broader than the interpersonal level, focusing more on abstract connotations and mythical signs in a cultural context. He argues that reality is converted into speech through human history; therefore there are no eternal meanings (Roland Barthes 2009:132). Concordantly, the meaning of a sign can shift as time progresses, an original sign could become a denotation for something else through the semiotic process. The creation of meaning of signs is then not only an individual process; it is also a conjunction and ongoing process of communication and human history. Barthes offers a semantic explanation, in his example of wrestling, to the reactions of the audience towards the wrestlers (Roland Barthes 2009:11-12). Arguing that, with French wrestling, different connotations around the mythical sign of â€Å"justice† were at interplay. So in the process of interpretation; Meaning can be implicit. Unconsciously perceived as connotative factor(s) to what is consciously noticed, and then reacted upon. Directly applying the points of discussion Extending the commonalities and differences between the two theoretical views, with Griffin’s definition, some points are very clear. Both view messages as the core instrument in communication and see it as a process. Both agree that if no reaction is elicited in any way, then the function of the message initially failed. The circumstances thereof are different in each point of view. However the aspects of messages in each theoretical view are defined in such a fashion; without a response of any kind, it would be a contradiction to refer to them as such (If we, of course, interpret messages that elicit a response to include apathetic responses). On the points of objection, it seems mostly to be a case of â€Å"weighing the words†, when viewed by either theoretical lens. As an example: on the point of a relational process, constructivists might prefer â€Å"goal-oriented† rather than relational. Or from Barthes’ perspective, adding a concept of creating mea ning as a result of communication to the definition. Conclusion The outlined approaches in this paper of constructivism and semiotics, display clear differences in the assumptions, focus-points and explanations of communication. However their general outlook does not, in any significant way, object to Griffin’s working definition. I think this outcome qualifies the definition as sufficient, as a practical tool when studying communication. The evident boundary of my paper however, is the lack of other major theoretical lenses in the subject. Further work needs to be done in order to conduct a more unified definition. References Barthes, R. (2009). Mythologies. London: Vintage Classics. 3-14 and 131-144 Craig, R.T. (1999). Communication theory as a field. Communication Theory, 9, 119-161. Griffin, E. (2011). A First Look at Communication Theory. 8th edition. New York: McGraw Hill. J. C. McCroskey, J. A. Daly, & M. M. Martin (Eds.). (1998). Communication and Personality: Trait Perspectives. Cresskill, NJ: Hampton, pp. 233-286, Website: Presshttp://www.ic.arizona.edu/ic/wrightr/const/bu98b.htm#II.B.%20CC%20and%20%E2%82%ACMessage%20Production%E2%82%AC

Educational Attainment in China after 1949 Essay

This essay is about the two readings involving research on educational attainment in China, particularly, the effects of state policies and social origins of people in China who are trying to obtain their education, on particular periods. We will begin by discussing the first research paper by Deng and Treiman. The Treiman paper discussed its intention to gather and analyze data to answer the three hypotheses, namely: 1) Effect on social origin in China as education expands, during the Cultural Revolution; 2) Considerable effect of educational attainment among the bureaucrats of China during the Cultural Revolution; and 3) Considerable effect of educational attainment to men of elitist background as compared to men of military or cadre background, during the Cultural Revolution (Treiman, 413) . The Treiman paper gathered and analyzed its data from a particular period of China’s census returns. The conclusion for the three hypotheses was in the affirmative. During Cultural Revolution, state policies was implemented to foster educational attainment among the youth of working class or peasant background, and has discriminated the youth of elitist background, thus proving the first theory true (Treiman, 424) . It should also follow the second theory as true as the data showed a decline of educational attainment among the elitist, and an increase of educational attainment among the peasants (Treiman, 424) . Incidentally, the data also showed that even the decline affects both elitist and cadres or with military background, much impact was felt by the elitist rather than the cadre, thus proving the third theory true (Treiman, 425) . In the second research, Zhou, Moen and Tuma measured the effects of educational attainment based on social origin on a more stretched period as compared to the Treiman paper. The Tuma paper explored four historical periods: The Great Leap Forward, Destratification Policies, Cultural Revolution and Post-Mao Era. The Tuma paper further made use of interviewing respondents on particular cities for its data and to prove their hypothesis that socio-economic status was not a factor in attaining education, rather, political status dictated educational attainment during those four periods (Tuma, 201) . The results of the data showed the same as that of the results discussed with the Treiman paper. However, it does not particularly established its theory as true since the data results were varied, having educational attainment effects on all three classes in all historical periods (Tuma, 217) . The two papers indeed came with the same data results, that there are effects on educational attainment based on social origins. The papers differ in such ways as using specific topics. The Treiman paper was clear in its intention to answer its theories because its theories were more specific than the theory used by the Tuma paper. Treiman paper likewise used a specific Era, while the Tuma paper explored four periods, which could be quite confusing. Further, aside from using social origin as basis of the research, the Tuma paper dwelled on other basis such as gender inequality and geographical location, thus creating more confusion.

Peak Garage Door Swot Analysis

Case 2: Yorktown Technologies Group 7 I. Problem definition: Trying to find a marketing and distribution strategy that would help the company reach its revenue goals. II. SWOT Analysis: 1-Strengths: †¢ The company raised additional capital to fund its business operations and had more than three dozen different investors †¢ The firm will be launching the first commercially available biotech animal in the U. S †¢ Yorktown Technologies grabbed the attention of the media and the news of the upcoming Glo fish launch was on the front pages of many famous magazines †¢ $ 4 million out of $ 700 million was spent on Yorktown Technologies products by consumers. †¢ Yorktown technologies’ suppliers and distributors have been regular suppliers of tropical fish to the 3 major retail chains †¢ The company was given exclusive rights to lines of red, green, yellow and orange fluorescent zebra fish which provided the company with an effective barrier to entry against potential competitors 2-Weaknesses: Generated more than $ 120,000 loss in 2004 †¢ There is no enough money to support a national advertising campaign †¢ Not being able to sell the Glofish in California which is an important market with high population †¢ High demand on limited supply †¢ Some countries are still not convinced with the safety of the GloFish 3-Opportunities: †¢ California is a very important market that has a population of 33 million who are willing to buy innovative products †¢ International markets where the fish can be sold mainly Asia †¢ Zebra fish are known to be very popular ornamental fish with more than 200 million sold in the U. S alone †¢ Two dozen regional wholesalers located throughout the country distribute freshwater ornamental fish to an estimated 5000 retail establishments for sale to consumers †¢ Total sales of pet stores are increasing at an annual rate of 7% †¢ Consumer market for freshwater ornamental fish and related products in U. S exceeds $700 million annually and is growing at a rate of 9% a year 4-Threats: †¢ The blanket regulation that the California Fish and Game Commission passed and that prohibited the possession of genetically modified fish in California †¢ Number of pet stores in U. S is declining at annual rate of 2% †¢ The anti-biotechnology groups that are trying to stop or disrupt the launching of Yorktown Technologies by spreading misinformation about the safety of the fish †¢ The ethical and environmental questions regarding the sale of the genetically modified fish †¢ The strong competition in Asia especially Taiwan where genetically modified fish is being sold and rumors say that some of them are being introduced in the U. S III-Alternative courses of action: 1-Alternative one: Opening a Glofish Kiosk in a shopping mall Advantages |Disadvantages | |Shopping mall kiosks have enjoyed explosive growth in |High renting cost per year | |terms of revenue and numbers |Customers might get confused with the availability of | |Offering GloFish branded tanks and supplies |different products | |These outlets sells variety of products |Small space | -Alternative two: Possibility of marketing the Glofish product line through the internet directly to con sumers Advantages |Disadvantages | |no rent costs |Availability of numerous dot com firms that marketed | |no operating costs other than delivery |tropical fish to consumers | |ability to offer and show customers the variety of |Competitive prices | |products available for GloFish |Delivery cost is high | 3-Alternative three: Selling the fish through international markets |Advantages |Disadvantages | |Increased sales |must consider foreign regulations that would apply to | |High market share |the genetically modified fish | |High brand awareness by consumer due to the expansion |cannot market the product in all countries | | |high competition with similar products and prices | IV-Recommended course of action: My suggestion is to go with the first recommendation that states to open kiosks in shopping malls Reason of choice: Due to the fact that malls are explosively growing in numbers and revenue and this would be a great benefit for Yorktown Technologies. V-Recommendations: a-What should be done? Showing people the value Glofish add b-Who should do it? Middle management (marketing and distribution department) and the sales team that is in contact with the customers – When should it be done? As soon as all people are aware that the following fish are harmless and the regulations allow their sale. d- How should it be done? -displaying then fish in a way that will show their true color and glow which will be the first thing that will attract the customers -offering competitive prices and promotions -always reminding people that they are not a threat e- How much it will cost? Rent is high which is between $12,000 and $36,000 per year and operating costs

Colonial Latin America Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Colonial Latin America - Essay Example As a function of analyzing the level of superstition that existed within the Spanish Empire of Latin America, it is necessary to realize that three distinct groups comprise the majority of cultural exchange that took place within Latin America between 1518 50. As such, these three groups are as follows: the ethnic Iberian Spanish that originally moved from the old world to the New World, the African slaves that came along with the Spanish as a means of providing the labor for the plantations and natural resource extraction in the New World, and the natives that originally occupied the New World territories Firstly, as a means of understanding the coalescence of different cultures within Latin America, it is necessary to focus on this issue from three unique standpoints. The first approach that can and should be engaged is with regards to seeking to understand superstition from standpoint of the Roman Catholic tradition; the one that was most commonly exhibited with respect to the whi te Spanish colonists of the particular regions in question. The Roman Catholic tradition necessarily engaged in understanding that a differentiation between good versus evil helps to define the world they were in. Moreover, the Spanish Inquisition, having only concluded within Spain several hundred years before colonization of the New World began, had ingrained a solid understanding within the minds of the colonists that the battle between God and the devil was very much alive and was exhibited through even minute differentiations with regards to doctrines and beliefs. A further reality with regards to the overall level of superstition that existed within the early Spanish colonials was with regards to the fact that the individuals who were first responsible for settling and colonizing this New World were in fact seaman. As such, these seafaring wanderers were perhaps the most superstitious of all individuals within the Spanish Empire; as they saw each and every occurrence as some t ype of omen or superstitious sign concerning life, death, fortune, or wealth. As such, a guiding compass of the way in which this particular group integrated with an understanding of superstition was predicated upon a very narrow view of religion and the fact that evil, Satan, or the devil could exist in any number of forms with regards to the world they interacted. As such, even though many scholars and led to believe that the Spanish stakeholders within the New World were the ones who are the least superstitious, seeking to categorize Spanish in such a way is disingenuous and ineffective as will be seen with regards to the level of superstition that pervaded the remaining two groups that are under discussion and analysis within this brief essay. Due to the fact that the individuals who initially settled these New World were perhaps the most superstitious of any socio-economic strata of the Spanish culture, it comes as no surprise that they readily adapted to the superstitions of t hose that they came in contact with. Naturally, the second group of stakeholders is referenced with respect to the many Native American populations that existed within the New World long before the Spanish ever began to colonize it. By very nature of the way in whi

Leadership for Health Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Leadership for Health - Essay Example Health care industry should be among the most excellently managed industries globally. Leaders in the health care industry should familiarise with the most effective leadership styles and strategies from successful institutions and organisations in applying them for promoting their own. Some of the variably admired traits that nursing leaders should possess include the ability to inspire, exhibit honesty, intelligence, competence and visionary. The four leadership styles that demonstrate the ideals of moral leadership include transformational, evidence-based, authentic and servant leadership. Transformational leaders are charismatic and act as role models to their followers. This is because they yearn to inspire autonomy as well as promote servant leadership (Nielsen, Yarker, Brenner, Randall and Borg, 2008). They motivate nurses to engage in problem solving strategies, team work in decision making procedures and personal professional development through strategies such as coaching a nd mentoring. According to Leach (2005), application of transformational leadership style enhances the act of communicating organisational or professional mission, vision and goals. Shirley (2006) posits that authentic leadership is practised by individuals committed to personal core values, compassionate leadership as well as understanding their own sense of purpose. Authentic leaders possess profound integrity and have abundant sense of personal conviction in matters related to personal beliefs and values. Authentic leaders are appropriate for managing and overseeing the nursing units and departments dealing with the care of old people because their high level of awareness enables them to advise and lead their followers accordingly. Servant leadership is a product of the possession... This paper approves that there is no doubt that health care leadership is at stake. Any health organisation that is mindful of the future should prioritise the tradition of perfect leadership. Improving leadership will involve training the new leaders on effective application of the new technology and instilling the required leadership capabilities. Leaders in the health sector should learn the most effective methods of management in order to promote the industry into the greater heights. Leaders should ensure that the context and concept in which nursing care is provided is appropriate for improved care. Some of the strategies that enhance improved care include appropriate mixing of skills, creation of the systems that facilitates shared decision making, facilitating staff relationships and establishment of systems that are supportive to the work force This report makes a conclusion that technical practice development approaches are short term and normally focused on the results rather than the strategies used in the achievement of those results. This approach is task based and specific to the project e.g. the inclusion of a new policy in nursing practice or acquiring new skills and competencies. However, this approach is currently ineffective because it involves the application of contemporary top-to-down approach of implementing change. The best alterative to the technical approach is the emancipatory practice development. Application of this strategy by the nurses involves focusing on the practices that improves health care practice through the development of sustainability and person centred cultures.

Should Art Galleries or Museums or Heritage Sites Avoid Controversy or Essay

Should Art Galleries or Museums or Heritage Sites Avoid Controversy or Not - Essay Example Museums should steer clear of controversies. Controversies contribute to unnecessarily unfavorable images of the museum. The museums display artifacts representing different civilizations and cultures. Some quarters criticise the items displayed in the museum’s shelves. Controversies may unexpectedly appear. Individuals have different interpretations of the works of art. For a priest, nude painting is not an acceptable art alternative. The nude painting creates a vivid picture that the artist used a naked female model to finish the artwork. Museums should avoid controversies. Controversies trigger an unfavorable museum image. The word controversy equates to conflict. A conflict occurs when different sides have opposing views. Conflicts may lead to court cases. In other situations, a conflict creates animosity between the disagreeing parties. The news reports of controversies will not be good on the image of the affected museums. The above Rosetta Stone artifact is one example of a museum controversy. The controversy creates an unfavorable image that Our British Museum stole the Egyptian artifacts. In the controversy between the British Museum and Egypt, Egypt demands that the British Museum should return the Egypt artifacts. Egypt claims that Egypt is the owner of the artifacts displayed in the British Museum. This claim creates an impression on the public that the British Museum holds stolen property. Consequently, Egypt bombards the news outlets with statements that damage the reputation of the British Museum.   Further, the controversy states Egypt wants the Rosetta Stone returned to Egypt. However, our British Museum refuses to comply with Egypt’s demand. Similarly, Egypt insists that the Neues Museum should return Nefertiti’s Bust. The Neues Museum is located in Berlin, Germany.  

Feminist Criticsm Gendered Lives Paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Feminist Criticsm Gendered Lives Paper - Essay Example No doubt, the whole show has captivated millions if not billions of television viewers many of whom are glued to their seats relishing every action, words, color, walk and talk of the regal queens, kings, princes, princesses and the nobility from London and elsewhere. Their stately, dignified bearing also equals the royal showcases of the UK from the Goring Hotel and Buckingham Palace to Westminster Abbey. All the color and splendor of the occasion has greatly enhance the relevance of the monarchy in our time through the power of media notably television. Keyword: UK – United Kingdom 3 That television is educational can no doubt be more explicit and strategically relevant through a quadrant of colors and technology in one of the most widely covered television programs of our generation that is the royal wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton in London, England. Probably one of the most elaborately detailed programming in television and video industry, the coverage has gi ven everyone not only inspired viewing but an idea of the workings of the royalty in present times and a glimpse of its rich historic past. That’s information and television programming at its most effective medium participated in by all accredited stations from all corners of the world via satellite lead by such giants in the trade as the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC is known as the world’s oldest and biggest broadcasting outfit) playing the role as the anchor station for its partners from all points of the world. Without modern television, the event would be just one of a small family affair as Prince William has been reported to have quipped in jest to his father-in-law. How could it be when the British royalty has been in constant public censure for taking a huge chunk of taxes paid for its upkeep. They must rekindle the reputation, pride and joy of Her Majesty, Queen of England as one of the few surviving monarchies in the world. Television programming an d sharing the regal splendor, pomp and color to the world is the biggest and world-widest way in reliving what was once and still mighty and proud monarch. This time with some twists bigger but surprisingly silent as a non-issue compared to that of Diana’s breach of the time-honored royal protocols (The deceased Princess of Wales has been 4 known to be at odds with the royal family on the issue of her close affinity and constant contact with the public). Subjects and Kings are supposed to be miles apart. But not anymore, traditions have been effectively broken with television bringing the unspoken words of the breach in festive streaming colors. Television brings wedding pageantry to the world, as AP (2011) said in the entertainment headline. Prince William maybe the man of the hour, his boyish grins and toothed smiles captured on the wide screen but it was Kate, lovely in her long gown and made more adorable with her sympathetic eyes, who represented the dreams and aspiratio ns of the common people. What would life be without women? Have you ever thought of this very lonely situation of living in a world without women? The situation is pretty much the same of the question in reverse of a world without men. However, that is not the case in the original order of things (Creation story). Without women,

New Product Packaging Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

New Product Packaging - Research Paper Example It is important to note that the consumers recognize the colors and other forms that trigger the visual stimuli in the cognitive mind (Johnson, 2012). Once this happens the as, a survival instinct works, and you engage the consumer by the attraction nature. We shall use pink, blue and print the letters in black for total engagement. Pink is a color that symbolizes nurturing and unconditional love, giving the car owner the sense of love to the car and matching it with the product. Blue symbolizes the brand loyalty and confidence in the product; this communicates the sense of friendliness and consumer importance to us. The black letters print will represent the strength and brand authority also makes it stand out from the others, the letters are printed in aerial fonts for easier reading.The cartoon must have a simple design on one side indicating the number of piles for piling together plus other information like temperature and keeping it up. On the opposite side, it contains the add ress and location of the company. The other two sides show the content inside the carton. The simple design on the carton is effective in communication and branding. The print on the carton is tailor made to connect with the product inside hence the use of graphic design on two sides.For the small runs, flexography printing methods will be suitable for our production. It allows printing of up to three colors this make it a viable option for a high-quality small runs tailor made cartons for packaging the car perfumes.

Alternatives to Visitaton Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Alternatives to Visitaton - Case Study Example Therefore, this paper critically outlines the employment of virtual visitation as an alternative visitation process in custodial parenthood. The concept of virtual visitation was first recognized as a legal alternative to custodial visitation processes by the state of Utah. Therefore, the state provided clear legislative definitions of the process. In addition, the scope of virtual visitation was also outlined (Welsh, 2008). In these regard, virtual visitation was mandated to supplement personal parent custodial time as opposed to replacing this time. Since the passing of this legislation by Utah, other states have followed suit by passing similar legislation in regards to custodial parenthood. This case provides a typical example of the legal dilemma that arises when dealing with custodial parenthood cases (LeVasseur, 2004). Thus, the case highlights the importance of shared physical custody between divorced parents. In this case, the appellant, Shanley Coleman wanted to relocate to Bristol to her new husband. However, her ex-husband, James Morison wanted his children to remain in Chelmsford. Therefore, this resulted in a conflict of interest, thus, necessitating the court’s intervention. Based on the oral arguments, the appellant, Shanley Coleman provided the most compelling argument. Since Coleman had a toddler by her second husband in Bristol, her quest for relocation was justified. The effective upbringing of the toddler required input from both parents. Thus, her quest for relocation would provide her with the desired parenthood. Failure by the courts to grant her desires meant that Coleman would have to split her time between the two locations that are miles apart. Thus, this has contributed significantly towards the physical separation of Coleman’s family. Obviously, virtual visitation has received numerous resistances from many sectors. However, the process also offers an effective

How does the Rule of St. Benedict schedule reflect the medieval world Essay

How does the Rule of St. Benedict schedule reflect the medieval world - Essay Example The medieval worldview revolved around a sense of community rather than individualism. Society was divided into three divisions: those who pray, those who work, and those who fight. These different groups of people had to work together to meet the community’s needs. The values of the medieval world reflected a focus on eternity rather than mortality, an economic structure that privileged land and traditions, and a focus on the community rather than the individual. Monasticism (from Greek ÃŽ ¼ÃŽ ¿ÃŽ ½ÃŽ ±Ãâ€¡ÃÅ'Ï‚, monachos, derived from Greek monos, alone) is a religious way of life characterized by the practice of renouncing worldly pursuits to fully devote oneself to spiritual work (Wikipedia The Free Encyclopedia). Monks would live in communities and live a life characterized by celibacy, poverty, and obedience. Monks would move into secluded areas, separating themselves from society in order to live as monks under the authority of an abbot. A monk’s daily life was divided into three parts: holy work, holy study, and holy prayer. Monks followed a very strict and rigorous schedule and were expected to do exactly as they were told without any hesitation, delay, grumbling, or complaint (St. Benedict of Nursia 3-4). Everyone living within the community would work together for one common purpose and goal. They all would do holy work, holy prayer, and holy study. Each individual in the monastery had to fulfill his orders and be obedient to make sure the community needs were met. The main value emphasized by monasticism was the priority of the community before the individual. All members of the community must work together to meet a common purpose as heirs of the kingdom of heaven. Monasticism deemphasizes the individual. All members of the religion share the common goal of dwelling in the tabernacle, so they must grow in religious life and faith. They shall learn to follow God’s commandments

How do you understand the arts to be theraputic Essay

How do you understand the arts to be theraputic - Essay Example way of communication than to have to go to a therapy where they have to speak of what’s held inside of them, especially with mentally challenged and special individuals who cannot communicate by speaking which makes it harder for a psychiatrist to understand their emotional and mental state. It is now being used in the work of sociologists, psychiatrists, social workers and marriage and family therapists and even physicians with the brief forms of therapy and increasing pressure of completing the therapy sessions in time they found that art therapy has helped them communicate and put an end to issues quicker than any other technique. (Cathy Malchiodi, pg 1,2) Surprisingly the interweaving of art and healing is not really a new phenomenon, at has been existed in this society ever since the human society itself, re-occurring through history across place and time. It is in fact growing importance day by day, proving to be an exceptional medically proven treatment. (Malchiodi 2006) It was not up till the classical period (1940s- 1970s) that the term "Art Therapy" began to be used in written forms for describing their work with their patients/clients. (Cathy Malchiodi pg 9) Who knew it would have come this far to be known as one of the most used and effective processes used by psychiatrists and other counselors for special treatment. Art Therapy can be beneficial for everyone as it does not matter what age, race or gender one is of and so it reaches out to a vast audience of people who need some sort of help psychologically. This form of therapy can be used as a healing strategy in many different psychological disorders such as emotional trauma, depression, and anxiety by expressing themselves fully, creatively without having to worry about them being good at art. Patients with brain damage due to injuries, illnesses and stroke are making a clear relationship between art making and brain function. Sandy Allen, who happened to have a large tumor in her cerebral

Women Trafficking around the world Research Paper

Women Trafficking around the world - Research Paper Example This trend is expected to grow in the future with the fact that it is highly profitable, lowly investigated and few traffickers are usually prosecuted. In the Middle East, trafficking in women and girls is a prevalent crime where the victims are usually discriminated against by the prevailing cultures and customs. Some laws in the region do not even recognize human trafficking as a crime, which is why the crime continues to fester in the region (Murphy, 2001). Though victims of human trafficking are usually sold for reasons like slavery and forced labor, trafficking for sexual exploitation is still the biggest problem faced in the region. In most states in Arab regions, trafficking for sexual exploitation is not restricted. This is because some countries in the region have retrogressive laws that discriminate against women and favors the men. For example some countries allow temporary marriages, where the man decides when the marriage ends, which means that women and girls can be use d as sex slaves. Another supporting factor is that the women and girls who are caught up in the trafficking syndicates are usually prosecuted as illegal immigrants, which only serves to increase instances of human trafficking. ... The other economic factor that contributes to the women trafficking is the demand for cheap labor in destination countries. For example, Saudi Arabia demands for a lot of cheap labor, so women and children are trafficked from other countries and forced into slavery in this country. The other main cause of women and girls trafficking in the world is the increasing demand for sexual services. In the Middle East, women are usually discriminated against and can be exploited for sexual services Anti-Slavery International (2006). The traffickers understand that victims of human trafficking do not usually have any real rights in the countries of destination, so exploit this chance. Most of the women trafficked into these countries are transformed into sex slaves and commercial sex workers to earn a revenue for their masters. This increased sexual abuse of trafficked persons is recognized by the UN as a cause of increased demand for sexual services and should be addressed separately. The oth er reason why there is an increase in women trafficking is the fact that there are retrogressive laws in the destination countries. As already mentioned, some of the countries of destination of trafficked women and children do not recognize the rights of these women and children. Government lack of control and the lack of laws that prohibit women trafficking serve to increase its instances. For example, lack of legislation that expressly prosecutes human traffickers means that it is going to continue. In many countries, human traffickers are not sufficiently investigated or prosecuted. Domestic violence and organized crime are two other reasons that usually

Minority Transfer in California Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Minority Transfer in California - Essay Example Historically, jobs offered to minorities did not require a four-year college education. Secondly, the four-year institutions were not interested in receiving minorities as students from two-year colleges. The four -year institutions mainly targeted students with Advanced Placement. This majority-minority demography who desire and need higher education is hitting colleges and universities. This maintained a two-tier system with an underlying aspect of white supremacy. In California, where 60 percent of K-12 scholars consist of minority groups, only 65-75 percent enrolls in the community colleges. According to reports, only 17 percent Latinos and 19 percent African-American scholars intending to enroll to a four- year institution manage to do so. This system locked out many of the minority students as it is different. Technical course credits were not transferable, and students could not get fee waivers. However, recommendations to revise the old transfer policies are in place (Chau 1) . Statistics indicates that, by 2025, there will be a shortage of degree holders in California. Analyses also indicate that students performing poorly in high schools transfer to community colleges and perform poorly too. ... Poorly prepared students rarely transfer. The report encourages low-performing high schools to help the students realize the challenges of developmental education (Chau 1). Racism is a noticeable aspect within the community colleges. Minority students registered less than 20 percent of all the transfers recorded in colleges. This has necessitated actions aimed at educational reform. Stakeholders involved have come together in order to streamline the system. Civil Rights Project, in its report, recommends dual-enrollment programs, which will provide a better transition between the high schools and colleges, thus expanding programs meant for college readiness. They also recommend simpler transfer processes with credit transfer uniformity. The report also indicated that colleges offering financial incentives would improve on the transfer rates. Some of the colleges have already started implementing the report (Chau 1). In January 1998, Proposition 209 terminated racism segregation in pu blic colleges and universities in the state of California. The Proposition refers to the ban on preferential treatment in learning institutes. Proposition 209 defines new diversity guidelines issued by the Justice and Education departments. Institutions find it difficult to enroll and retain historically under-represented minority (URM) youth. The number of African American and Hispanic scholars drastically dropped at four-year institutions after the year 1998. The University of California has embraced proposition 209. It has diversified efforts and developed a program that reviews the application to incorporate the barriers students have put under control. This has led to the creation of Eligibility in the Local Context program (ELC), to assist in increasing

The English Barrier Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

The English Barrier - Essay Example Due to this the import of immigrants is a contributing factor is a heavy offset. Therefore, near perfect accents will be very necessary for a non-native speaker to focus on work-related dealings. Similarly due to the internet burst, business dealing have also been brought to one’s home, free video calling and voice chats now mean that only emails will not be the form of business meetings, hence the need of speaking the language well. All of these factors coupled with more are explicitly explained in this research paper, joined along with personal opinion on the issue (Exforsys Inc, 2007). THESIS Before an opinion is laid out that whether it is necessary to have perfection in speaking of the English language, especially when the person learning will have to deal with people who are also speaking English as a non-native language, one has to skim through the reasons for learning English as a secondary language. The first and foremost being that of getting a job in an English spea king country, also if your interaction is with people who have English as their mother tongue. The second reason; being that of working in an environment where English dominates the working culture even if the mother tongue is not English. Also, the fact cannot be negated that most of the business done in any part of the world has something to do with countries other than yours, therefore a common language for correspondence is more often than not English and hence the need to learn the language is necessary. Similarly as mentioned before, the advent of technology has ensured that English governs the world as no other language ever has done in the history of mankind. Some experts go on record to claim that this is now the king of languages, and may never be dethroned. Some cynics also foresee it as not the case, since some major socio-political issues in the world may deem a universal language unnecessary. All these factors aside, the use of English language for the common man is fa st turning out to be the tool needed for making big bucks in this ever drowning economy of the world (Mydans, 2007). OPINION There are always two faces to a coin, both opposite and totally different. Similarly this topic constitutes a debate about the proficiency of oral English, especially when the people one has to talk to are not well versed with the English language. Many people think that it is unnecessary for a person to be proficient in English speaking skills as there is no such need for them when conversing or corresponding with a person whose native language is not English. I tend to disagree with the hypothesis. There are many reasons to my biasness with this topic. First of them being, the level of professionalism is a key factor in inducing people to do work or business with you. An aura of professionalism oozes out for the person in front of you to see and admire. Such will be the effect that half your problems will be solved. Another major issue that is solved when on e is proficient in speaking English is that; at times, is very unfamiliar with the language, as it is his second language. Therefore one has to change gears in his vocabulary to come to a lower level, this feat can only be performed if you are well-versed in the language, not only in reading and writing but also in speaking. Many people take good

Ethical issues - New centry financial corporation Case Study

Ethical issues - New centry financial corporation - Case Study Example These decisions prompted the stakeholders of the company to quit thus leading to its bankruptcy. It is notable that the ethical issues associated with New Century Financial Corporation were damaging to various groups of people in the subprime mortgage industry. The groups included mortgagors, investment banks, and mortgage brokers, rating agencies, lenders and investors (Palepu, Srinivasan & Sesia, 2009). The low quality of loans that the company offered affected the Mortgagors (borrowers). Investment banks realized massive losses from the money they had invested by offering New Century Financial Corporation mortgages. Mortgage brokers also made losses by conducting business with the corporation. Lenders and investors, likewise, realized massive losses due to New Century Financial Corporations misuse of their funds. By 2005, the subprime market was already experiencing advancement both in technology and loan quality. However, New Century Financial Corporations management failed to adapt to these changes. Instead, the companys performance continued to deteriorate due to a poor management. Most of the decisions New Century Financial undertook based on efficiency. The company ensured that the distribution of its securities to investors was favorable. It also terminated loan applications for efficiency due to the withdrawal of its lenders. The companys decisions and operations were associated with various ethical issues. First, it was unethical for New Century Financial Corporation to lack proper documentation of its operations. Proper documentation would enable the company to keep perfect records. Secondly, the corporation had an ethical issue in the valuation of the loans it was selling. For instance, the management was unable to account for purchase of its mortgage loan reserves. Next, the loan quality offered by New Century Financial Corporation was an ethical issue. The company